Difficult Times

There will be difficult times. Even Jesus said in John 13:33 that "In this world you will have trouble"

However, these difficult times shape us and it is our choice on how we want to deal with them.

It's not what happens TO you that matters, it's what happens IN you as a result...

Dream

I just came back from a preaching session at Faith Christian Church. The preaching topic was "Linking your dream to your destiny." A very fiery-spirited preaching by the American pastor i would say. Have really been challenged....do you dare to believe in your dream? Do you dare to stand firm in your dream even if the whole world is against you? People who are with you may not necessarily be for you....

Never sell your dream, never sell your mind, never sell your forgiveness!

What i really want to share though..is one of the verses in a song that we sang..."Hope for the hopeless, we dream". I am sure all of us have dreams and aspirations. However, these dreams are for ourselves. They are centred on us.

This verse really got me to think more for others. To give the less fortunate, a dream. To give the hopeless, hope. To give the faithless, faith. To give the helpless, help. To give the uncared for, care. To give the unloved, love.

Have a dream for others...

Heartwrenching!

I was in a friend's car yesterday when we witnessed a really heartwrenching incident. Our car was waiting to make a right turn at a junction while the light was green for the other cars to go straight on.

An elderly man tried to cross the road, despite the pedestrian traffic sign showing the no crossing sign. As he took a step out into the road, he was taken aback by a fast approaching car. He jerked backwards and fell, landing heavily on his back. His plastic bag of fruits rolled onto the pavement. He struggled to lift his head up and was rolling his body slightly from left to right, as if trying to gain momentum to get up. The trembling hands were evident. I saw the helplessness in his eyes. I was heartbroken to see that sight.

The most infuriating part of it was that there was a guy just beside the elderly. He seemed oblivous to the situation. He took a look at the fallen elderly, hesitated a little bit before helping the elderly. However, he did not pick the elderly man up first. Instead, he picked up the fruits first before attending to the elderly!!!

Sometimes when we fall in life, we really need the help of our family members and friends. However, we would want them to help in the most direct manner, by addressing the issue at hand, and not give us dodgy advice or help. I realised the importance of having an appropriate helping hand in a time of need.

Is there someone whom you can count on for help when you fall? If no, start building authentic relationships! You do not want to wait too long, when you become frail and weak!

Missing You

I chanced upon a video that my brother took of me when I was at the airport last year, about to leave for Australia. I saw my mum in the video. All of a sudden, emotions just welled up within me.

I miss my mum. I miss my dad. I have not seen them since February and I wonder how they look like now. Have they grown thinner? Have they gotten more white hair? I miss the times my mum would pamper me by cooking my favourite dishes. I miss the times when i would rest my head on my dad's belly. I miss the times when we would watch television together. I miss the times my parents would rub my head and say "silly boy!"

I miss my brother too..If only he was here in Melbourne...

I love my family a lot...i really do....

Satisfaction

I think i am beginning to feel how parents feel now. I sometimes wonder how parents feel when they see their kids grow and see their kids achive success. It must be a bitter sweet feeling i believe. How much tears, how much sweat and how much stress they must have gone through just to have their children put a smile on their face.

I think many of us here have put in a lot of effort in things which we want to see success in. But the joy is so much greater when you see the amount of time you invested in some events and some people pay off. That joy is just so great! When you see a tree bear fruit, that joy is just so immeasurable.

Is it time for you to start caring and sharing your life with someone today?

Judge Not, Decide Not

I learnt something new today. Judge not by what you see, decide not by what you hear.
It is very common for us to pass judgements when we face certain issues concerning people or events. Yet, by whose standards are we basing our judgements on? Some may say, we know how to define what right is and what wrong is. So if he/she doesnt do something right in our eyes, he/she must be wrong. Right, so is this REALLY how it goes?
"We judge others by their actions while we judge ourselves by our own intentions." If this phrase is really what we are doing now, ask yourself, how self-righteous is that? How right is that? I believe i need not elaborate more.
Certain things are very clear cut. Right is right, wrong is wrong. But in certain things, when we do not understand why certain things are done in a certain way, give them the benefit of the doubt. In love, ask them why they did what they did. Understand their point of view.
"Decide not by what you hear" is an interesting one to me. Think, how many times in school or at work have u heard a friend/colleague commment about someone else and then you form a judgement of good or bad? A better example would be politics. Political debates and campaigns is the classic example whereby people vote by what they hear. They vote for the parties which say that they will endeavour to work for the best interests in certain issues pertaining to them. They hear what they want to hear. They shut their ears to things that they do not want to know. Bounded rationality you may call it...

After reading all these, you may ask, "What is your point?" I would most probably confuse you even more by replying "Let those who have eyes see, let those who have ears hear."

Superheroes Night

We had a Superheroes Night last thursday and it was so encouraging to see so many people dressed up as their favourite superheroes. I dressed up as Wolverine and as I went through that night's program, i was pretty much reminded of my childhood days...oh..those days...haha! I miss those days, but i dun think i wanna go back into time..haha! cause i wouldnt want to grow up all over again!
Anywayz, enjoy the pictures!

Overwhelming

Sometimes i really do not know what to do when i get so overwhelmed. Overwhelmed by work, worries, people, situations and by many other things. The knowing that "I have overcome them before" doesnt seem to work for me sometimes.

I know that I need to trust in a higher authority. I need to let go. The not knowing of what will happen sometimes causes my insecurity. What i am trying to learn is not to control everything. The more i want to control things in my hand, the more upset i become. This is most probably due to my risk adverse personality.

Changes to my life are on the way. Hopefully for the better. Adapting to new things will be the norm of life. Hopefully for the better.

Just an entry to ramble....

Hope

Proverbs 13:12 "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life."

I came across this verse as I was reading the bible a few nights back and it really struck me a lot cause I recently experienced disappointment over a certain issue. To explain this verse, it would be "The delay of what is anxiously hoped for, is very painful to the mind but when you obtain it, the joy surpasses all the pain"

I was hoping that a certain thing would come to pass, but it didn't. But still, I am hoping, hoping that it thing would materialise. For when it does, one will realise the value of hope.

It may be a sweeping statement, but I reckon that people these days hang the following words "aiyaz, no hope liao" on their lips quite frequently. They wait for a while and if something doesn't happen or if it doesnt go their way, they say there is no hope.

One lesson we should learn is to learn how to hope, no matter how hopeless the situation is. Hope is that remaining lighted candle that shines it light in the midst of darkness. If that candle is extinguished, you will be engulfed by darkness. You will have lost everything. Being a rational being, no one wants to lose anything. Do not lose hope.

Osi's Farewell Party

We had a farewell party for Osi on the 23rd July. He just graduated and will be heading back home to Africa. We had dinner and a relatively touching sharing session about Osi before we ended off with a prayer for him.
The things I will always remember about this brother of mine is his humility and his incredible optimism in life. Never once did I see him fret, frown, groan or complain. Instead, I see joy from that huge smile of his.
Will miss you a lot Osi! Will never forget the most important verse you have taught me: "When you sow in tears, you will reap in joy!"