Love that keeps on giving

It's Boxing Day today. Time to put away the gift boxes. For many Christmas is about Santa and Christmas presents. For some, the toys will be played with for a a seaon before being tossed aside. Rarely will gifts last forever. But Pastor reminded us during Christmas service, at its heart, Christmas means no matter what else will disappear in the future God's love will last forever.

1 John 4:9-10
By this the love of God is revealed in us: that God has sent his one and only Son into the world so that we may live through him.
In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

Being Thankful...

I received this email from a friend. It's about being looking at life from a different perpective and being thankful for things we ordinarily complain about.

I am thankful:

For the wife
Who says it's hot dogs tonight,
Because she is home with me,
And not out with someone else.

For the husband
who is on the sofa
being a couch potato,
because he is home with me
and not out at the bars.

For the teenager
who is complaining about doing dishes
because it means she is at home,
not on the streets.

For the taxes I pay
because it means
I am employed .

For the mess to clean after a party
because it means i have
been surrounded by friends

For the clothes that fit a little too snug
because it means
I have enough to eat.

For my shadow that watches me work
because it means
I am out in the sunshine

For a lawn that needs mowing,
windows that need cleaning,
and gutters that need fixing
because it means I have a home

For all the complaining
I hear about the government
because it means we have freedom of speech.

For the parking spot I find at the far end of the parking lot
because it means I am capable of walking
and i have been blessed with transportation

For my huge heating bill
because it means
I am warm.

For the lady behind me in church
who sings off key
because it means
I can hear.

For the pile of
laundry and ironing
because it means
I have clothes to wear.

For weariness and aching muscles
at the end of the day
because it means I have been
capable of working hard.

For the alarm that goes off
in the early morning hours
because it means I am alive.

And finally, for too much e-mail
because it means I have friends who are thinking of me.

What New Delhi Taught Me About Gratitude

There is a Sunday school song that goes something like this "Count your blessings one by one". Too often, we forget to do that. It's only when we see others less fortunate than ourselves that we are reminded of how much we have been given.

On my first trip to India, I saw first hand how the poor in one of the world's largest populated nations live. It's not something one forgets easily - families building make-shift homes on the sidewalk. I was told that some of these people have to pay "rent" for the sidewalk space. Livestock and strays forage for food in piles of rubbish. Horses, cows and donkeys that pull carts filled with supplies look mal-nutritioned. People cram into buses, three-cycle motorcyles, trucks and tractor or animal pulled carts, some hanging precariously. Children have to work, be it in the paddy fields or selling souveniers to tourists.

Of course, not all of India is like that. But during my 5-hour car ride from Delhi to Agra, home to the magnificent Taj Mahal, I saw these scenes repeatedly. After an experience like that, I'm not likely to be complaining about the "hardships" of life anymore. My troubles compared to the daily struggles of these people and animals just to survive day to day seems insignificant. If there's one thing my experience in India has taught me is to count my blessings one by one.

"Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have, we will not be happy - because we will always want to have something else or something more."

Brother David Steindl - Rast

Rising above the pain

Amidst a heartbreaking tragedy, a man rises above his pain and forgives. "I don't blame him, I don't have any hard feelings. I know he did everything he could," Don Yoon said. He asks people to pray for the pilot. Yoon lost his entire family - his wife, 2 baby girls and mother-in-law when a fighter jet crashed into his home in San Diego on Monday.

I was in tears when I saw the press conference two days ago. Here was a man who have just lost his loved ones to a tragic accident. No one would blame him if he demanded for justice and accountability from the authorities. Yet he did no such thing. Instead he exhibited such compassion for the pilot and deep belief in God. May God's grace and comfort hold him up in this time of sorrow.

Psalm 23
A psalm of David.

1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Words of Wisdom

"We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give."
Winston Churchill

Following through my last post on our visit to Philea Home, I wanted to share a quote on giving. Giving isn't just about money. It's also giving of our love and time. In the busy world we live in, we are sometimes so preoccupied with getting more. Sometimes it feeds itself, the more we get, the more we want. And in the quest of making a living, we forget to make a life. We have no time and energy to give to our loved ones, let alone strangers. So, take a step back to reflect and make a life by giving.

The Simple Pleasures of Life

I adore simple pleasures. They are the last refuge of the complex. Oscar Wilde

In the midst of crazy schedules, gridlock traffic, increasing prices (for everything!) and the general madness of life, it is good for the soul to take time to appreciate the simple pleasures of life. Yesterday, I was blessed to experience two simple pleasures of life.

During the day, I spent some time with little C, a precocious 3 going on 4-year old. We were hanging out at the children's pool. The wind blew some leaves on to the pool. Now, we adults would either ignore this or be annoyed that the pool was now littered with leaves. But not this little boy. He started a game of collecting the leaves (and even went to the extent of gathering the leaves by the pool deck and spreading them in the water! Not sure if the pool cleaner appreciated that!). We then had a game of hide and seek with the leaves whereby we took turns to "hide" the leaves in the water whilst the other person would have to seek the leaves. Later, we created little fountains with our hands at the mini waterfall in the pool. Aahh...the simple pleasures of life - a little boy and his imagination.

The essence of pleasure is spontaneity. Germaine Greer

My second encounter took place later that night. J & I met up with a family we knew when we lived in Bangkok. The Kohs were one of the first friends we made when we first moved to Bangkok and really helped us settle in the place we called home for 1.5 years. Despite more than 10 years age gap, our friendship bloomed. Conversation flowed over dinner as if we were never apart. With some people, you just pick up where you left off without any effort. We really are blessed to count the Kohs as our friends. The simple pleasures of life - true friends.

A true friend reaches for your hand and touches your heart. ~Author Unknown

SOS - The Secret to Healthy Long Life

Let me start off by stating that I am not qualified to give the secret to long life as I have not lived a long life. This "SOS" secret was shared with me by an elderly gentleman whom I met for the first time whilst queuing this morning. Uncle T is 80 years old, highly independent, looks healthy, has good hearing and is able to drive himself in KL (and if you know KL, traffic is horrendous and roads have changed so much), and plans to travel abroad by himself to visit his daughter overseas. Wow! If I ever live to be 80 years old, I would like to be like Uncle T.

So, what's his secret of achieving a healthy long life? He says, "When you reach 40 years old, reduce:
S - Salt
O - Oil
S - Sugar"

Aahh... That explains his good health. But really, if you ask me, diet aside, his secret is that he has a passion for learning. You know the saying "You can't teach an old dog new tricks?". It doesn't apply to Uncle T. A retired principal, this gentleman took up ball-room and Latin dancing 5 years ago and is still strutting dance moves today. He has also taken computer lessons from the Seniors Citizen Club. E-mail? No problem. Burn CD? No problem. Sure, it takes a while for him to learn it. But the point is, he wants to learn. He says his grandchildren have more patience to teach him than his son has. Food for thought, isn't it?

Sometimes, we younger people have little patience to teach our parents new technology. We get impatient. But we forget that when we were younger and our parents had to teach us maths (for example), they did it with patience and love. The very least we can do is to now be patient when we return the favour. Just yesterday, mum & dad came over so I could help fix dad's phone which was on vibrating mode and despite attempts to adjust the settings, it wouldn't ring. So, I did what I normally do when electronic gadgets don't work. Switch it off and on again. But, my parents who have minimal experience with computers don't know that. And so, we teach...for the umpteenth time...with patience... After all, they did that for us too.

So, what did I learn about life from my encounter with Uncle T?
1) Eat healthy
2) Live life. Always keep learning.
3) Be patient.

Proverbs 20:29
"The glory of the young is their strength; the gray hair of experience is the splendor of the old."

Lessons from The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian

This second movie in the Chronicles of Narnia series sees the Pevensie children, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy abruptly brought back to Narnia, this time via the London tube station instead of the wardrobe. The children are a year older, but in Narnia, 1300 years have passed since the children's departure from Narnia. Everything has changed. Narnia and its inhabitants are almost annihilated by the Telmarines. Those who are left have gone into hiding. Prince Caspian, the rightful heir to the Telmarine throne has been usurped by his evil uncle, Miraz and inadvertently summons the children, (who are also Kings and Queens of Narnia) back to Narnia when he blows Susan's horn for help during a pursuit by his uncle's soldiers. The children and the Narnians helps Prince Caspian defeat his uncle to win back his rightful place and there was peace among the Telmarines and the Narnians.

I left the movie theatre with 2 lessons imprinted in my mind. The first comes from Lucy, the youngest of the Pevensie siblings. She has such simple yet great faith in Aslan. It is Lucy who sees Aslan across the river and tells her brothers and sister that Aslan is calling them to come to him. But because Peter, Edmund and Susan did not see Aslan themselves, all they saw was a huge ravine that separated them and dismissed Lucy. Yet, after trudging ahead, they could not find another way to cross and had to return to the spot where Lucy had seen Aslan. Lo and behold, there was a path for them to take that will eventually take them across the ravine. It was also Lucy who saved the day when she rides off alone to bring Aslan to save Narnia during the battle scene at the end. And Lucy who had the courage to stand by herself to confront the evil Telmarine Lord at the epic river battle, before she was joined by Aslan.

I am reminded of this verse from Luke 18:16-17:

16But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."

The second lesson comes from Peter, the oldest. In contrast to Lucy who believes, Peter tries to win the battle on his own strategy and strength - a strategy that backfired and caused many Narnians to lose their lives during their failed attack on Miraz's castle. Later, Peter was almost tempted to bring back the White Witch to help regain his wounded pride and defeat Miraz.

How often do we try to win life's battles by our own strength, instead of relying on God? How often are we tempted to use wordly means to achieve our goals? More often, than we would like. After all, it is human nature. Instead, let us have child-like faith that God is in control and patiently wait on Him when we don't understand our circumstances. Let us have courage to stand in the face of our own battles knowing that God is by our side.