Flood in Melaka

For a long time I've not encountered any flood. now after a few days of continous rain, some parts of Melaka are submerged in water. Went back from work, passed by Malim... some parts of Malim are flooded, certain parts of the road are closed. Taman Merdeka too are flooded. Maybank Malim and amazingly Maybank Main at Jalan Hang Tuah are also flooded.
Received news that many more areas are flooded. Thank God that the rain stopped for a day though there are heavy clouds over the sky.

Many shoplots are flooded in Malim.... no business.

Rain rain go away

has been raining for the past 3 days continuously.... Thank God for giving rain. cool weather, windy until no need to switch on the airconditioners. but rainy days also means less customers.
some parts of Johor are flooded. The river behind the shop is overflowing.

rainy days also makes me lazy. i thinks I'm more of a reptilia than a mammal. Cold means less activity. prefer to hibernate. ok... must go back now and sleep.

Traffic summons

did I not mentioned that I kena saman on Sunday morning. after work at about 4am... drove back to BR. As usual, I normally don't stop at the traffic light junctions coz there's no cars and stopping at the traffic light waiting for the green lights seems so stupid. so as usual I just drive through lah.

then after a few minutes there's this police car passed by and I saw the policeman waved me asking me to stop my car. hahaha busted. So kena saman lah... lazy to appeal to him... its 4am and I'm sleepy. So saman lah.

Thank God, when reached home can sleep well.

worker oh worker, where art thou

my part time worker will stop working this Christmas. need to find worker. Lord send one please.

Worker oh Worker... where art thou. If thou are searching elsewhere, come thou to Starhawk Internet Cafe. But are thou honest and realiable? Are thou a man/woman of thou word? If not... be gone thou and never ever dare to step into my domain.

Christmas celebration

Maybe this year Christmas will be in Shah Alam. Not sure yet what the other brothers and and sister wants to do this Christmas. Since Mom is in Shah Alam, maybe I'll go there to visit her.

Anyway, it'll be good for Mom to know that her children remembers her even during Christmas.

I'm older now

I celebrated my birthday peacefully... nice. Had a nice talk with my wife, mental and intelligent engagement. Sharing and listening to one another. Ahhh.... and also KFC for lunch. Long time no KFC so took the opportunity to go for it... ya ya ya....unhealthy... but it's finger licking good. of course I didn't lick my finger but to me its delicious.

How loving my wife trying to make my Bday a memorable one. Gave me a whole body massage. Next time must get a better body lotion, one that can "absorb" into your skin and not leaving a lotion feeling after the massage. Thankyou dear.

Then off to work...

mumblings....

many things to write about but its all somewhere in my brain. only a few in my thoughts right now but all jumbled up. business, family, church, faith, holiness, money, etc etc.... many times I purposed to blog about certain things but just don't have the time to blog or just don't feel like typing. so now here I am... with my brains still not fully working 100%... I feel like mumbling about something.... something lah...

oh... family...... Michelle is great.... doing household chores everyday. Really respect her for her initiative to look after the house. But the volume of household chores is taking its toll. Will try and help her out more. Especially taking care of the children. Lord please bless the business so that I will have more time to be with the family. I know she's trying her best to do something special for my birthday and I thank God for that. All I want for my birthday is a quiet time and just be with her... talking and sharing our hearts and feelings. Miss those times where we talk and talk and just share from our hearts.

Barnabas is very very very manja... always want to be carried. Too manja I would say. If I jaga him... sure cry coz I don't carry him... put him down so that he can try to crawl... but no... he don't want to crawl but want to cry. haiyoooooooooo. no wonder Michelle is so stressed.

The two girls are also very manja, always want to be carried (Clarissa) and want to sleep besides their mummy. But its' nice to hold them, hug them and let them tell what happened to them.
Next week, I'll be doing daytime shift, so will have time to be with my family at night. Hope to be able to help Michelle with the children.

ahh... business.... have been slow this past one week.... don't know exactly why.... but I'm praying that God will send more customers. My guesses. The Vietnamese are working night shifts so they didn't come. Somemore, I heard that the companies are not giving overtime (business not good).... so they've no money to spend. The college students that frequents my cafe are on holidays for a month. Giant Hypermarket has yet to open. Rained for the past few days. Looks like I've to get a Malay as my permanent staff. They are willing to accept a low paying job. Pray that God will send a trustworthy, honest and diligent worker.

Relationship with God..... a new phase. Faith, trust, obedience, prayer, righteousness, earnestness, fervency, blessings, enlarge, taking hold, claiming, promises, inheritance, giving, .... all these words came to mind. Hope that in due time everything will fit in its proper place.
Haven't fully decided where to attend church on a regular basis. At least one important criteria is that church must have a proper mother's room and clean (for Michelle, Barnabas and Clarissa).

Mother... from the emails... she is getting better.. and she looks better (from the photos). Maybe she'll be back by end of this month, after Christmas. Will be having her check-up on 21,22 and 26 of this month. That also, provided that the maid comes in. Without the maid, Mother will not be staying at home, coz nobody to look after her.

The front house auntie (acheh Eng) have been taking things from the house. Stealing.... things like starfruits, sukun, kelapa, bunga telang, pisang... and maybe other stuffs that we are not aware of. As though lah that all the things at our house is hers. Somemore, don't even ask permission and at least inform/request lah... nothing.... silent... and we heard it from other people. ..... Need to put up the wire fence soon.

ok lah.. will stop here for now. Right now, there's no customers in the cafe. it's raining outside. sales very low today. will wait until 12midnight before closing. oh.. need to paint the cement also.

Thank you Lord. Love you too for being in control.

Expansion

Plan to get 5 more PCs. But before that, have to add another phone line coz want to add in another streamyx line. Also have to buy the Prolink Multi Homing Load Balancer that will help set the bandwith used by each PC. Now a number of the customers are complaining of “lagging” while playing online game. Had to upgrade the service to maintain customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Cost to add another 5 PCs is about 11K. Wah… wonder whether I’m too daring and optimistic about the business.
Has yet to find workers for the shop. Need to go by word of mouth already.

Mixed feelings

Now, the feeling is mixed.

Great because God has been with the business and the income is more than the expenses. Not much but at least I don't have to come out extra money to cover the cost. Praise God for that. Also in the past 11 days in November, the sales have been steady.

Now the opportunities to minister to my customers are more. Not just the Vietnamese, Indonesians and Nepalese, there are also the Malaysian youths that I can minister to. Having said that, so far the only progress is building up friendship with them. Also playing Christian music in the shop helps me to focus on Jesus, which is really helpful during busy time. Have yet to get the Christian materials to be distributed to the foreign workers.

Time - tough when taking care of the shop on my own. Now looking for 2 shop assistants to look after the shop. Daytime and night time shifts. Praying that God will provide those that can be trusted and capable in pc troubleshooting. Can only offer RM500 a month. May the Lord provide.

Mom is still in the hospital. Been there for more than 2 weeks. Praise God that she is recovering well. It will be a week or so before she can fully recovered. After this, life will be different. With Mom's condition, things at home will be very different. Another stage of life, hoping that things will fit into places soon and smoothly. Am praying that things will go back to normal,.... but then life should not be "normal" but offering various challenges to make me grow more into Christlikeness. Due to the work in the shop, haven't got time to attend church. All the more must develop a closer walk with God... which seems strangely difficult and not as easy as I thought. No, working in an internet cafe is not so free as most people thought. Always got things to do.

The good thing is that I lost a few kilos of my weight. Also strange coz I thought I'll gain weight "doing nothing in an internet cafe". Maybe because of lack of sleep and different working hours as before. I do feel lighter, my pants are loose, but I also feel that I'm no longer fit. Have not have any exercises for more than 2 months. Thank God for the Usana Essential supplements that keeps my body healthy. God first and the supplements.

Starting Business

After much waiting and preparation, everything is in place (well, almost everything). Started the business full time now (beginning 1st October 2006).

So far, not many customers yet. The Giant Hypermarket that is supposed to open before Hari Raya will only be ready before Christmas. Looks like they need about another 2 months before they can be ready. Most of the shops here are waiting for the Giants to "wake up".

Looks like Kamdar is going to open very soon, maybe within this week. All their clothes and dresses and whatever stuffs are already in the premises. No signboard up yet.

As for me... the lack of customers are a bit of a challenge (using a better word than "worry"). More customers during night time, mostly foreign workers using the Yahoo Messenger to chat with their friends back home. Now that's good news to me because this is why I choose this location... to be where the foreigners are. This will be a good place for me to practice my mission calling. Vietnamese, Nepalese, Cambodians, Indonesians, Pakistanis and Malaysians have come to the shop. I pray that God will empower and enabled me to relate and build friendships with these people so that Christ will be revealed to them.

I pray (and please pray for me also) that God will bring in as many customers possible so that I don't have to worry about the income to sustain the business. Then I'll be able to have more time firstly for my family, then to mission training, then to other needs. As for this month, I'll be full time at the shop from morning till 12 midnight.

Oh ya, last month while I was still doing some stuff for the shop, two Pakistanis came to use the internet. I let them use... the computers can already be used though other things are not ready. Then one of them came back in the evening and we managed to chat. Got to know him better and managed to share about sin and Christ to him. Using the bridge method and Korban concept to share with him why people need to believe in Jesus.

During the Asian Sports Conference in YMCA, KL, a few of my friends promised to send to me brochures in their respective languages. These I will put at my cashier counter and my customers can take and read it for free. I pray that many will want to know more about Christ when they read the phamplets.

Will go out and give out more brochures to promote the business. We may plan but it is God who prospers his people.

Business

This is the shoplot for my business. It will be an internet cafe. The surrounding area are apartments where foreign/factory workers stay... a strategic location to reach out to the foreign workers. Do pray for me that I'll use whatever opportunity to reach out the customers for the Lord.

Life as a Christian is difficult....

Being a Christian is difficult. Only with the power of the Holy Spirit can we truly obey God's commands. What our carnal nature wants to do is always in contradiction to what God wants us to do.

Since I resigned from my post in the church, my life has been busy. I thought being at home will give me more free time but no... its much more hectic. Household chores can really take all your time.. and its never ending one. Now I know that housewives are much more busier than those working in the office.

It looks like that God has slowly shown me the next step/stage of my life... careerwise. I plan to start my own business. It went through two deaths of a vision. And now it starts to unravel in a wonderful and marvellous way.

There are many blessings that God has shown me if only I learn to obey His commands even in the setting up of the business. Many of these blessings are wonderful testimonies of God's providence, which I can't share at this moment.

One testimony that I will share is about the shoplot needed for the business. As I surveyed the areas that are suitable for the business, I found one good place for the business. And I also found one shoplot for rent in TBU, which is very strategic and would be the best place for the business. Called the owner Mr C and agreed with him that I would rent the place from him. However, since the money has not come in, I dare not put in any deposit with him. I told him that I would need more time to wait for the money to come in before I make the deposit for the tenancy.

Verbally, Mr C agreed to give me a call first should other people also wants to rent the shoplot. I trusted him. Then on 27 July I received an sms from Mr C saying, "Regret 2 inform d Bacang Utama shop has been rented. Unable 2 call as tenant place deposit on d spot". SMS received at 22.03pm but I only saw the sms at about 22.30pm. Tried to call him twice but to no avail. Voice message. I was very very disappointed and angry too. How could he do such a thing. Not keeping to his word. Also angry because the money has not come in earlier for me to clinche the tenancy.

Anyway, I'm reminded of the song, "In all things give thanks to the Lord, He is good". Though very disappointed, angry and frustrated, I know that I still need to give thanks to God, ... and I did. To me the non-availability of the shop signifies the death of a vision. There is no other strategic shop available for rent. But I'm reminded to bless those who persecute you, to love and bless your enemies.

As the Holy Spirit fills me with God's ways and love, I decided to reply to his SMS. I wrote, "Truthfully, I'm disappointed becoz you did not keep your word. Forgiven. I pray dat God will bless you abundantly - sincerely davidbong". SMS sent at 22.51pm. Though its hard todo, I prayed for God's blessing upon Mr C.

The next day, I was really down, wondering about God's plan for my life. In the evening as I passed by the same area, I saw another shoplot at a different block/location that is for rent. Called the agent and managed to see the inside of the shoplot. Not the best of shoplot for the business. Even my wife feels uneasy with the shop. I was disappointed because my wife doesn't like the place. Anyway, we did not confirm the shoplot. After much discussion, my wife and I agreed to pray for a shoplot at the same row as the previous shop in TBU. If no shoplot is available until this coming Friday, we will go for the existing available shoplot. As much as I want to start the business as soon possible, I also want a shoplot where both my wife and I are totally at peace with.

On Monday, at about 18.30pm I received a call from Mr C. He was very apologetic and told me that the tenancy with the other tenant does not come through and he is asking me whether I'm still interested with the shop. I was very surprised and excited. He asked me whether I'm angry at him for what happened, to which I assured him that I'm not. Also told him that I prayed for him. So I got the shoplot that I wanted... plus he is willing to reduce the rental by RM50.00. Praise God for His timing.

I know I've learned something... to trust God and give Him thanks in all situations. I also learned patience as God arrange all things according to His own timing, not my time or way. I pray that the owner will be ministered through this event... and will come to know Christ through me.

In His Time, He Makes All Things Beautiful.

More pictures

more pictures of Barnabas Bong

Barnabas Bong pictures

Praise God for blessing Michelle and I with another baby, a baby boy, Barnabas Bong.

Thank all of you who prayed for Michelle and the baby. God bless you all.

Barnabas Bong is here.

Praise God! For His blessings upon Michelle and I. Barnabas Bong safely born on 12 June 2006 at 6.17pm at General Hospital, Melaka. Praise God for giving Michelle the strength and comfort to give birth without me besides her. Praise God for all the support we received from the church members who prayed for us.

Photos will come later.

Baby, induce?

Michelle will go to General Hospital on Monday morning for a check up. If the doctor feels that it is time, then she will ask to be “induced”. Praying that that would not be necessary and that the baby will want to come out naturally.

Be Perfect by Great Works!

There are five great purposes that God wants each one of us to fulfill or seek to help others fulfill. They are given in sequential order in the life of Adam.

• The first and most important work is to establish and maintain an unbroken relationship with the Lord.
• The second is to demonstrate God’s love and power through a livelihood.
• The third is to develop a life message based on obedience to God’s commands.
• The fourth is to experience a loving oneness in marriage, and
• Fifth is to raise up Godly sons and daughters who are mighty in Spirit.

The rewards of loving God’s commands are given in Psalm 112:1–2: “… Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed.”

Let’s search out the great works that God preordained for us and give our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength to accomplishing them so that we can reach new levels of spiritual maturity.

What is friendship?

Friendship is like the breeze,
You can't hold it,
Smell it,
Taste it,
Or know when it's coming,
But you can always feel it,
And you'll always know it's there,
It may come and then go,
But you can know it'll always be back

*How to make a woman happy*

It's not difficult to make a woman happy; a man only needs to be:

1.    a friend
2.    a companion
3.    a lover
4.    a brother
5.    a father
6.    a master
7.    a chef
8.    an electrician
9.    a carpenter
10.    a plumber
11.    a mechanic
12.    a decorator
13.    a stylist
14.    a  good mother
15.    a gynecologist
16.    a psychologist
17.    a pest exterminator
18.    a psychiatrist
19.    a healer
20.    a good listener
21.    an organizer
22.    a good father
23.    very clean
24.    sympathetic
25.    athletic
26.    warm
27.    attentive
28.    gallant
29.    intelligent
30.    funny
31.    creative
32.    tender
33.    strong
34.    understanding
35.    tolerant
36.    prudent
37.    ambitious
38.    capable
39.    courageous
40.    determined
41.    true
42.    dependable
43.    passionate
44.    compassionate
*
WITHOUT FORGETTING TO:*

45.    give her compliments regularly
46.    love shopping
47.    be honest
48.    be very rich
49.    not stress her out
50.    not look at other girls
*
AND AT THE SAME TIME, YOU MUST ALSO:*

51.    give her lots of attention, but expect little yourself
52.    give her lots of time, especially time for herself
53.    give her lots of space, never worrying about where she goes
*
IT IS VERY IMPORTANT: *

54.    Never to forget:
        * birthdays
        * anniversaries
        * arrangements she makes
*
HOW TO MAKE A MAN HAPPY*

1.    Bring beer
2.    Hand over the remote.

AMAZINGLY TRUE, ISN'T IT!

Men's transformation to Women

hahaha…. this is funny.

 

    

Scientists for Health Mexico recently suggested that men should take a

look at their beer consumption, considering the results of a recent analysis

that revealed the presence of female hormones in beer. 

    The inference had been that drinking beer makes men turn into women.

To test the finding, 100 men were fed 6 pints of beer each. It was then

observed that 100% of the men:

• Gained weight
• Talked excessively without making sense
• Became overly emotional
• Couldn't drive
• Failed to think rationally
• Argued over nothing

    All Scientists unanimously agreed that the Beer successfully converted 

men into women.

What is love? What is marriage?

The student asks a teacher: What is love?

The teacher said: in order to answer your question, go to the paddy field and choose the biggest paddy and come back. But the rule is: you can go through them only once and cannot turnback to pick.

The student went to the field, go thru first row, he saw one big paddy, but he wonders....may be there is a bigger one later. Then he saw another bigger one... but may be there is an even bigger one waiting for him.Later, when he finished more than half of the paddy field, he start to realize that the paddy is not as big as the previous one he saw, he know he has missed the biggest one, and he regretted. So, he ended up went back to the teacher with empty hand.

The teacher told him,
this is love... you keep looking for a better one, but when later you realize, you have already miss the person.

The student asked: What is marriage then?

The teacher said: In order to answer your question, go to the corn field and choose the biggest corn and come back. But the rule is: you can go through them only once and cannot turn back to pick.

The student went to the corn field, this time he is careful not to repeat the previous mistake, when he reach the middle of the field, he has picked one medium corn that he fee satisfied, and came back to the teacher.

The teacher told him, this time you bring back a corn.... you look for one that is just nice, and you have faith and believe this is the best one you get ....
this is marriage.

How do you know you love somebody?

For all you people who say "I love you" when you have no clue what love is exactly!!! something to ponder upon.....
Are your palms sweaty, is your heart racing and is your voice caught within your chest??
It isn't love, it's like.

You can't keep your eyes or hands off of them, am I right??
It isn't love, it's lust.

Are you proud, and eager to show them off??
It isn't love, it's luck.

Do you want them because you know they're there??
It isn't love, it's loneliness.

Are you there because it's what everyone wants??
It isn't love, it's loyalty.

Are you there because they kissed you, or held your hand??
It isn't love, it's low confidence.

Do you stay for their confessions of love, because you don't want to hurt them??
It isn't love, it's pity.

Do you belong to them because their sight makes your heart skip a beat??
It isn't love, its infatuation.

Do you pardon their faults because you care about them??
It isn't love, it's friendship.

Do you tell them every day they are the only one you think of??
It isn't love, it's a lie.

Are you willing to give all of your favorite things for their sake??
It isn't love, it's charity.

Does your heart ache and break when they're sad??
Then it's love.

Do you cry for their pain, even when they're strong??
Then it's love.

Do their eyes see your true heart, and touch your soul so deeply it hurts??
Then it's love.

Do you stay because a blinding, incomprehensible mix of pain and relation pulls you close and holds you there??
Then it's love.

Do you accept their faults because they're a part of who they are??
Then it's love.

Would you give them your heart, your life, your death??
Then it's love.

Now, if love is painful, and tortures us so, why do we love? Why is it all we search for in life? This pain, this agony? Why is it all we long for?

This torture, this powerful death of self? Why?

The answer is so simple cause it's...LOVE. It is such an addictive thing that even people who are not having it wish to experience it and share it with others as well.

Tips on relationships

 
ONE. Give people more than they expect and do it   cheerfully. 
TWO.  Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their
conversational  skills will be as important as any other.  
THREE.  Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you
want.  
FOUR.  When you say, "I love you," mean it.  
FIVE.  When you say, "I'm sorry," look the person in the eye.  
SIX.  Be engaged at least six months before you get married.  
SEVEN.  Believe in love at first sight.  
EIGHT.  Never laugh at anyone's dream. People who don't have dreams
don't have much.  
NINE.  Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the
only way to live  life completely.  
TEN..  In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.  
ELEVEN.  Don't judge people by their relatives.  
TWELVE.  Talk slowly but think quickly.  
THIRTEEN.  When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer,
smile and ask, "Why  do you want to know?"  
FOURTEEN.  Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.  
FIFTEEN.  Say "bless you" when you hear someone sneeze.  
SIXTEEN.  When you lose, don't lose the lesson. 
SEVENTEEN.  Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; and  responsibility for all your actions.  
EIGHTEEN.  Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.  
NINETEEN.  When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps
to correct   it.  
TWENTY.  Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your   voice.  
TWENTY-ONE.  Spend some time alone. 
 

21st Century living

Got this from an email. Most of them are true.

21 st Century...

Our communication - Wireless

Our dress - Topless

Our telephone - Cordless

Our cooking - Fireless

Our youth - Jobless

Our food - Fatless

Our labour - Effortless

Our conduct - Worthless

Our relation - Loveless

Our attitude - Careless

Our feelings - Heartless

Our politics - Shameless

Our education - Valueless

Our follies - Countless

Our arguments - Baseless

Our boss - Brainless

Our Job - Thankless

Our Salary - Very less

Would you remarry if I die?

 My wife asked me this question about 2 months ago. Check her blog http://michemaylee.liquidblade.com/?p=431

 

Well, I guess that most married man will face this question at least once in their life. I’ve survived but maybe not many men are blessed like me.

 

Here is what would normally happened during that conversation.

 

Question : What would you do if I died?

 

A definite no-win question. (The real answer of course is "Buy a Ferrari and a boat".)

 

No matter how you answer this, be prepared for at least an hour of follow-up
questions, usually along these lines:

 

WOMAN: Would you get married again?
MAN: Definitely not!

 

WOMAN: Why not? Don't you like being married?
MAN: Of course I do.

 

WOMAN: Then why wouldn't you remarry?
MAN: Okay, I'd get married again.

 

WOMAN: You would? (with a hurt look on her face)
MAN: (makes audible groan)

 

WOMAN: Would you sleep with her in our bed?
MAN: Where else would we sleep?

 

WOMAN: Would you put away my pictures and replace them with pictures of her?
MAN: That would seem the proper thing to do.

 

WOMAN: And would you let her use my golf clubs?
MAN: She can't. She's left-handed.

 

WOMAN: ...silence...
MAN: Shit!!

 

Two precious souls enters the Kingdom

I'm excited. Really excited of what is happening. So many opportunities to reach out to the lost. I can't sleep well for the past 2 weeks thinking about the door of opportunity that God has opened.

I went to one of the NS camp for the Religious Class. The first week, there are only 11 students that came, most of them are Christians. The second week (last week) saw a group of about 25 students in the class, where about 15 of them are non-Christians. What a wonderful opportunity to minister to them the love of God. The topic shared was the "5 Languages of Love" which they enjoyed and showed their interests. This led them to come again for the class the next day and the number added to about 50 students. Some of the students requested for Bibles, which was given to them FOC. As this is a good opportunity to share to them, I took the opportunity and promised them a film show for the coming Thursday (this week). Most of them have not seen the movie as the movie is not screened to the public in the cinema (except with special permission).

On Thursday night I went alone to the camp. Reached the camp at 8.10pm, much earlier to set up the LCD projector. After completing the setup at about 8.30pm, the students started to come in. Didn't expect the number of the students to be many but many came to the classroom. It seems that the Christian trainer Mr. F has informed all the non-Muslims students about the film show. The classroom was not big enough to sit all the non-Muslims students. Because of that, some of the students that are not able to go inside the classroom had to attend another class under Mr F.

Altogether there are about 90 - 100 students that watched the movie The Passion of The Christ. Most of them have not seen the movie. The show started at 8.50pm. Managed to share briefly about the movie and the purpose of Jesus suffering on the cross.

The movie is about 2 hours. During the show, the students watched attentively especially during the scene where Jesus is being tortured. I sincerely believe that they are touched by what they see in the movie. Throughout the movie, I prayed that the Holy Spirit will convict the students of guilt in regard to their sin (quoting from John 16:8, a Scripture verse shared by Mrs Kirby, a missionary lady, the night before in a prayer meeting)

The setback is that I have to stop the movie before the ending. As the students have to go for the roll call at 10.45pm, I had to stop the movie abruptly and let the students go. The reason is that the Chief Trainer who is a Malay is not happy if we continue until after 10.45pm. As such, I had no opportunity to give an altar call for the students. I feel dissapointed that I was not able to give the altar call. I wanted so much to see more souls enter the Kingdom. But God has a better plan.

The next night (last night), I went there with another 4 church members. Earlier I planned to just divide the group and start a new topic. Somehow, by God's direction I was moved to bring the VCD, a laptop and the LCD. I'm thinking of using the laptop and LCD or my Powerpoint presentation of the topic, not so much of showing the movie. And this is indeed a blessing. As we reached the class and starts to setup the laptop and LCD, the students came in and fill up the classroom. They wanted to see the ending of the movie. Hallelujah..!!!! They all came back for the movie. We showed the ending part of the movie (which is only about 5 minutes). I took the opportunity to relate God's love as shown in the movie and invited those interested to know about Christ to meet me or the church members.

Then we divided the students into Mandarin speaking and non-Mandarin speaking group. Wow! there are about 50 Mandarin speaking students. As they left to another class, the Indian students came back from their visit to the temple. And these Indian students came into my class requesting to see the ending of the movie. Praise God! (Now I know God's purpose for allowing the movie to stop just 5 minutes before the ending). Promised them to show the movie after the class. Proceeded to teach the class (25 of them) about moral and ethics. After the class, I showed the ending of the movie (for the second time that night). Again I took the opportunity to share to them the love of Jesus who had to suffer on the cross for their sins.

As we were packing our things to go back, I was informed that 2 girls approached one of the church members, desiring to believe in Jesus and they were led into the Kingdom in prayer. Hallelujah! Praise God! I'm so excited.

Praise God for the 2 souls that entered the Kingdom last night.
Praise God for the Scripture verse shared by Mrs Kirby which I can use in my prayer.
Praise God for the Church for releasing the cell group to minister in the NS camp.
Praise God for the movie that tried to portray Jesus' suffering as best as possible.
Praise God for the LCD projector.
Praise God Mr F who encouraged the students to go to the class.
Praise God for the work of the Holy Spirit who convicts people of their sins.
Praise God for His love for me.
Praise God for giving me this opportunity to minister to these precious souls.
All glory be unto God.

Lord, bring more students into your Kingdom.

See Enemies as Agents!

See Enemies as Agents!

Wisdom is basing responses on the bigger picture. This means recognizing that whatever happens to us is not the whim of fate, or the will of man, but the work of God. If a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without God’s approval, neither can anyone attack us without God’s permission.

If we view revilers as our enemies, we will get angry and discouraged, but if we see them as agents for our good and God’s glory, we will rejoice!

Paul was tormented and attacked so painfully that he pleaded with God three times to deliver him. When God explained that this messenger (agent) from Satan was allowed for the purpose of keeping Paul humble so that the power of God would rest upon him, Paul gloried in the assault and took pleasure in it. (See II Corinthians 12:6–10.)

Job had the same insight. Satan was clearly responsible for the destruction of Job’s children, possessions, and health; yet, Job did not say, “God has given, and Satan has taken away.” Instead, he said, “The LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away…” (Job 1:21).

God causes the wrath of men to praise Him by using revilers to bring about the very achievements that they ridiculed.

The brothers of Joseph reviled him for his preposterous dreams that one day they would bow down before him. In an act of hate and envy, they sold him as a slave, which actually brought his dreams to pass. Later, he told them, “Ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good” (Genesis 50:20).

Jesus was reviled by the Pharisees for stating that if they destroyed the temple (of His body), He would raise it up in three days. Their cruel act of nailing Him to the cross allowed this historic achievement to come to pass for our salvation.

Actually, the pages of Scripture and history are filled with examples of great achievements that were facilitated through the reviling of opponents. Dr. Raymond Damadian was ridiculed by colleagues for thinking that he could design an imaging unit that would produce an image of internal organs. Their reactions spurred him on to invent the MRI scanner, which revolutionized diagnostic medicine.

Since this is the way of God, it is no wonder that we are to rejoice when all men speak evil of us falsely. God is getting such a person ready for great achievement here and for great rewards in heaven!

Through Christ our Lord,

Bill Gothard

Paid in Full

A little boy came up to his mother in the kitchen one evening while she was fixing supper, and he handed her a piece of paper that he had been writing on. After his Mom dried her hands on an apron, she read it, and this is what it said:

For cutting the grass: $5.00
For cleaning up my room this week: $1.00 For going to the store for you: .50 Baby-sitting my kid brother while you went shopping: .25 Taking out the garbage: $1.00 For getting a good report card: $5.00 For cleaning up and raking the yard: $2.00 Total owed: $14.75

Well, his mother looked at him standing there, and the boy could see the memories flashing through her mind.
She picked up the pen, turned over the paper he'd written on, and this is what she wrote:

For the nine months I carried you while you were growing inside me: No Charge.

For all the nights that I've sat up with you, doctored and prayed for you: No Charge.

For all the trying times, and all the tears that you've caused through the years: No Charge.

For all the nights that were filled with dread, and for the worries I knew were ahead: No Charge.

For the toys, food, clothes, and even wiping your nose: No Charge.

Son, when you add it up, the cost of my love is: No Charge.

When the boy finished reading what his mother had written, there were big tears in his eyes, and he looked straight at his mother and said, "Mom, I sure do love you". And then he took the pen and in great big letters he wrote:
"PAID IN FULL"

~ Author Unknown

How to Discipline your child.

Susannah Wesley (1669-1742) was a London pastor's wife and the mother of
nineteen children, including hymn writer Charles Wesley and John Wesley,
evangelist and found of Methodism.  In his journal, John Wesley recorded his
mother's rules for the family [paraphrased]:

1. Fear of punishment often leads children into lying, till they get
    accustomed to it and cannot stop.  To prevent this, my mother made a rule
    that whenever someone did something wrong, if they would sincerely
    confess it, and promise to change their behavior, they would not be
    punished.

2. No sinful action, such as lying, stealing, playing in church, being
    disobedient, fighting, etc., would ever go unpunished.

3. No child should be punished twice for the same error, and if they change
    their behavior the error should never be mentioned again.

4. Every act of obedience, especially when it went against their nature,
    should always be complimented, and frequently rewarded.

5. If any child was obedient or tried to please the parents, even if it
    wasn't done that well, the obedience was kindly accepted and the child
    encouraged to do even better in the future.

6. The property of the children would be respected, even the smallest object,
    and not taken away from them unless they agreed.

7. Promises should be strictly kept.  Once a gift is given it could not be
    taken back, unless it was a conditional gift and the agreement it was
    based on was violated.

                                   -From "The Heart of John Wesley's Journal"

===================================

Below is a version found on the Internet, May 27, 1998.

Over 200 years ago a lady named Suzanna Wesley reared 19 children.  She was
devoted to the task and had 16 rules. They are as follows:

 (1) Eating between meals not allowed.
 (2) As children, they are to be in bed by 8 PM.
 (3) They are required to take medicine without complaining.
 (4) Subdued self-will in a child working together with God to save the
        child's Soul.
 (5) Teach a child to pray as soon as he can speak.
 (6) Require all to be still during Family Worship.
 (7) Give them nothing they cry for, and only that which they ask for
        politely.
 (8) To prevent lying, punish no fault which is first confessed and repented.
 (9) Never allow a sinful at to go unpunished.
(10) Never punish a child twice for a single offense.
(11) Commend and reward good behavior.
(12) Any attempt to please, even if poorly performed should be commended
(13) Preserve property rights, even in smallest matters.
(14) Strictly observe all promises.
(15) Require no daughter to work before she can read well.
(16) Teach children to fear the Lord.

                                                                       

Another soul in the Kingdom of Heaven

Praise God! Hooray… another precious soul entered the Kingdom of Heaven.

On Thursday nite, I went to a NS camp, to give the “Ceramah Agama” or religious talk to the Christian trainees in the camp. After the talk, one of the trainee Nichol approached me and told me that she is not a Christian and she wants to know how to become a Christian. I told her to come again to the class the next day Friday which she did.

Yesterday, I manage to find a Mandarin Bible and a few literature from the Chinese church. Brought it to the camp last nite. After the talk about the various meaning of the word “love” in the Greek language and the 5 languages of love, I called Nichol to lead her to accept Christ. I also asked another trainee, Wendy to be a witness to the conversation.

Nichol was ready to accept Christ. She has lots of questions as to how she should live her life as a Christian. Told her that the first and important thing to do at that time is to accept Jesus as her Lord. Then I shared briefly salvation story using the bridge illustration. She understands it very well. Then I led her to say a prayer to accept Jesus as her personal God, in Bahasa. She followed the prayer… and we rejoiced together after the prayer.

Praise God… for another precious soul that is saved. Will share about Christian Living next coming Thursday nite.

A New Heart?

My heart is failing me in many ways. It is not strong as before. I’m indeed getting old. And it is shown by the performance of my heart. Had many problems lately with my heart. And it is affecting the body. A few weeks ago, while I was on the road, my body started to shake. Not enough energy flowing through my body. As though the blood is not reaching the place where it should go. Thank God that the shaking stops after a few seconds. I know my heart is getting weaker by the day. Can’t do much lately. Can’t even run as fast as I did the in the past. Getting tired easily. After a run, and while I was resting, the body started to shake. Had to breathe in faster to stop the shaking. This is not good… really not good at all.

Thinking of my heart. What’s wrong with it? Can I get another heart if my heart fails? What’s the cost of heart transplant? Where can I get the money? Is there a heart suitable for my body? ………………….. must rest now… not feeling good well.

I read that...

You can find healthy ways of weight loss and how to help with high blood pressure and heart disease. So if you feel like you may have high blood pressure or heart disease, talk to your doctor and get it treated.

Is he a Baba?

Went to Michelle colleaque’s house for CNY. One of her sister was there and saw me. The next day, Michelle was told that her colleaque sister asked about my race. She said that I don’t look like a Baba.

Hmmmmmm…. what do I look like? If not a Baba, then what. In the past, many has mistaken me for many other races…. among them… Iban, Indian, Kadazan, Philipino, Indonesian and of course a Malay. Wow… I’m a man of many faces/races. Yet, can only speak BM and English.

What I know is that I’m definitely OCBC.

 

Greater accountability demanded of judges

Greater accountability demanded of judges

Read this article on The Star today. Interesting quotes about the role of judges and accountability.

“Given the very nature of their duties and responsibilities, judges were exposed to public scrutiny and criticism, Justice Shim added. 

“It has been said that public criticism of the judiciary within limits is permissible,” he said. 

“Justice is not a cloistered virtue; she must be allowed to suffer the scrutiny and respectful, even through outspoken, comments of ordinary men,” he added, quoting Britain's renowned Law Lord, Lord Atkin.” 

 This reminded me of what I learned in law school. “Nobody is above the law and nobody should act as though they are above the law. Everyone must be accountable to another.” Another thing/quote that I’m reminded of is “Justice must not only be done but be seen to be done.”

May the judges of this country upholds justice without fear or biasness.

Clever doctor

A young man had completed medical school. He went back home to the small town to work with his father. They went out the first day to make house calls. As they went in the first house the father said now you watch me so you will know what to do.

Inside, a woman was in the bed and she looked terrible. The old doctor checked her out. He was making notes when he dropped his pen to the floor. He picked it up and told the woman she need to quit cleaning and working so hard in her house, she just needed rest.

When they got outside, the son asked how he knew that she was cleaning too much. The old doctor said that when he dropped his pen, the floor was so clean that there wasn't a speck of dust anywhere.

When they arrived at the next house, the father told his son that it was his turn to examine the patient. At this house too, the woman was in bed, looking terrible. The young doctor took her blood pressure and pulse, asked a few questions, and made some notes. Then he dropped his pen and reached down to pick it up. He told the woman that she was doing too much church work, and needed to cut down on what she did.

When the two doctors went outside, the old doctor asked the young one how he knew that she was doing too much church work.

The young one said, "Well, when I bent down to pick up my pen, I saw the preacher under the bed."

So far so good

Well, so far so good. My pastor came and talk with me just now. Just a short time of talking about the church events. Nothing much to talk anyway since there's not many activities planned yet.

What is important to me is that my pastor is trying to keep his promise. We will try to meet at least twice a month, just to keep each other updated. Sounds good. Almost like what we did during my first 3 years in ministry. Though most of the time we didn't meet due to other unforseen circumstances but at least there was open communication. I pray that this year it will be a change to the better.

Looks like I'll be taking care of the monthly missions trip to various churches and outreaches. May this be the opportunity for the members to be excited again about serving the Lord. May this be the opportunity for them to exercise their spiritual giftings. And may this be their motivation to draw closer to God.

My pastor also asked me about starting a preaching outreach in Tanjung Minyak, a place near my house. Not keen at all to do this. I'm not a pioneer or church planter. I'm a team player. Anyway, that's an opportunity available to me should I want to.

The church backdrop for this year is "Relational Evangelism in 2006". Finished putting it up just now. More relationships to build this year.

Stomach achhhhhheeeeeeee

Got stomach ache since last night. Could be the walnuts that I took yesterday evening. Now still having the ache. Couldn't sleep well last night. Lots of wierd dreams.

Some more, I injured my ankle whild doing some house work yesterday. Now, it still hurts.

Hate this kind of day. On leave but yet can't do anything except rest.

Anyway, thank you Lord for your love to me.

Praise God, I got better eyesight!

Praise God. My eyesight is getting better.

Yesterday, at the shopping centre, I went for an eye test. And the result is good. The specs power has reduced to 125 point. Earlier my specs power is 150.

This is good news. Thank God for the eye exercises that I followed about less than a month ago. It works. Now I’m more motivated to follow through the exercises. My aim will be until I no longer need to use specs.

For anyone who is interested to do the eye exercises, I do have the e-book. Let me know if you want a copy of that. It is about 2.5MB so you must have an email address that can accept such big file, and of course a good internet connection.

They say that the eye is the window to the world. Now the world is getting clearer for me. Hehehehe. Thank you Lord.

The Promise

Was called to the pastor's office again yesterday.

"So, have you thought about yesterday's discussion?" "Well, yes. I've thought about it. .... I think I could have be more gentle in the way I ask the boy to leave. I could have talk to him one to one and explain to him the situation. I could have listened to his reasons (whatever it may be). Then only will I ask him to leave the field."

Then we talk some more. My pastor said that there's a difference in values between him and I. To him, the most important thing is the soul of the person. He quoted me as saying "I don't care about him (boy)" in the previous conversation. Truthfully, my pastor misquoted me and derive at a wrong conclusion. But I kept quiet about it, not really sure whether I did say those words. I'll give my pastor the benefits of the doubt and assume that I said that. But I told him that it is definitely not true that I don't care about the soul of the person. Jesus died for me, and for that player. Why should I not consider his soul as precious. I think the context of those words being spoken is about discipline and having to bear the consequences for not following instruction. It is in that context per se, and should never be confused with the value of a soul.

My pastor also mentioned that I should know what my roles as an Assistant Pastor. Basically to assist the Senior Pastor. That is very clear to me.

He said that I need to have the same core values as him. That if my values are not the same as his, then I should rethink my position in the church. (Sorry, this is not the exact words used by him, but the message is such). Told him that what happened is not so much of values but different way of handling certain situations. He told me that his ways are more of encouraging and giving people time, flexibility when being asked to do things in the church. I told him that my way is more of the army style, demanding a certain level of commitment from the members.

He told me that only if we have the same values, could we work together. Told him that I'm willing to learn and grow provided that he is sincere in his promise to guide me and help me grow.
At the end of the conversation, we prayed together.

My thoughts: -
1. Well, truthfully speaking, there's nothing much that is keeping me in this church except my pastor's promise to help me grow. Only his promises that I'm "clinging/holding on" to.

2. I've heard from a former staff that my pastor is a great pastor. And for the first 3 years in the ministry, he proved himself to be that. The church is moving and growing. My pastor has the vision that everybody is buying into. There's clear direction on where the church is going. We all are part of the team, thinking, planning and enjoying serving the Lord together. He took up the leadership. But then things changed. There is a change of leadership. Unconsciously the leadership role was given to someone else. That's when confusion, dissatisfaction comes in. The church health starts to decline gradually. Sad... but I pray that things will change back to be better. If only my pastor will take back upon himself the leadership responsibility and not letting others decide for him, then I'm sure things will become better.

3. Thoughts of leaving the ministry occured many times. But then where can I find a leader with big vision, a vision from God that is bigger than my vision? Where can I find a leader whose leadership skills are higher and better that I can learn from? Why is there such a vacuum in the Christian leadership? If none, where would the Lord lead me?

Leadership

Had a talk with my pastor yesterday. About the event on Sunday evening. My pastor not happy with the way I handled the player.

Basically the gist of what my pastor wants to tell me is this (not to be read in specifics but in general): -

"That's not the way we do things in Bethel. There should be grace and flexibility. Especially when relating to non-believers. You will put them off. They are there just to play, recreational purpose. They don't know what you have in mind. "

Told my pastor the reasons I made such action.

"Need to set the standard for the players. Instructions has been given much earlier. Flexibility in terms of grace period has been given. Many times the instructions has been communicated to the players (and to this player in particular). Evangelism through high standards and character in sports."

I would say that the conversation with my pastor does not end properly. Basically what I understand from what he wants to tell me is this.
"My action in asking the player to leave the field is not warranted, not proper, and too harsh. There is a risk of the player having negative thoughts/impressions of Christianity. This will defeat the purpose of having sports ministry, the main objective is to reach out the lost. Until and unless the players are clear to the commitment expected of them, there should not be any rules enforced on them. "

Upon reflecting on the events and on what my pastor said, these thoughts came to my mind: -

1. I could be more gentle when asking the player to leave. I could have approach him one to one and explain the whole situation and ask him to leave. This would not create such a stunning effect to the other players (so that the weak in faith would not be stumbled).

2. There should not be any rules given before starting a club. I'm not really agreeable to this thought. In any games/sports there are simple rules that should be followed. If these simple rules seems so difficult to follow, it shows our attitude and should not play the game as our action could endanger not just ourselves but other players.

3. There is difference in leadership style between my pastor and me. He's more on ensuring that everybody's feelings are look into. The impressions I got is that it is okay to be flexible (in this sense, to lower down our standards) if we could win them to Christ. Well, I'm okay with being flexible but the extent of flexibility and the consequences of that flexibility needs to be define.

As for me, I'm more of the army style. Instructions given should be followed. I demands commitment, not so much to make me feel powerful, but so that they will move to a higher standards in life. Some may argue that I'm following the ways of the world in leadership. Yes, why not? If that leadership style is not inconsistent with the Bible teachings. In fact, Christians should reach higher than the ways of the world. While we take what is good (e.g. commitment and obedience to the rules), we must also include Godly characters to it. If however, our mentality is such that Christian conducts is more of "grace", that it is not necessary to follow rules because we need to have show more grace, we are actually pulling down God's standards for Christians. Paul experienced the same issues (Romans 6), "Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?" Paul clear answer to that issue is "By no means!"
Showing grace to others is necessary but it should not be to the extent that they be allowed to go on "sinning".

4. I think the name Sports Ministry is a misnomer. It should be Recreational Ministry. Different emphasis.

5. Should we risk our integrity just because we want to pacify one person, hoping that that person will come to know Christ? I don't think so. By lowing our integrity we can be in danger of entering hell. Christians can be viewed as people without integrity.

So at the end of this matter, do I think that my pastor is wrong?
Well, no he is not wrong. It is a matter of different leadership style and different perspectives.

Tough decision

Last Sunday, I had to make a tough decision. Been thinking about this possibility for a few weeks already. I know that it will come to this situation. Making tough decision. I hope that it will not come to this but it has. I have to stand on my word and be strict with the players. That means that if they don't follow the instructions given, they have to pay the consequences.

I've given them ample time (a month) to get the proper gear for the football game. Told them specifically that beginning of December 2005 every player must wear long socks and shin guard. If they don't have these, then they would not be allowed to play. Even then, after two weeks in December, there are still some who do not have these football gear. Rebellious players.

So last Sunday is the big day. They have to be confronted. They have to be reprimanded. I must set the discipline right. The players must know that it is important to follow instructions, especially in the team sports like football. Two of the players (the expected rebellious players) still come without long socks and shin guard. Asked them why they didn't wear the long socks and shin guard. And the answer is "Bought it but forgot to bring it. It's at home".

"Okay, then you can go home." I told them. "Only when you wear your long socks and shin guard you can play with us". Then one of them said that he still wants to play. "We don't want to play with you" I told him. "Two months already I said that must wear long socks and shin guard,... is it so difficult to do that? You can go home".

I turned my attention to the others who only has shin guard but no socks, and ask them to do 10 push-ups. Then I asked one of the players to lead in warming up session. The rebellious player slowly went out of the field. With that a few of his friends also had to follow him as they came to the game together in one car.

We had a good game that evening. And I know the other players will have more discipline in future. As for me, I feel great as making that tough action. I'm prepared to enter into a fight if necessary (since that rebellious player is quite a big size guy and known to have unruly character). Thank God that didn't happened. Thank God also for the support that I received from my other coach. Making tough decisions altough it may mean that people will not like you.

Clarissa

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A sad christmas tale.

Christine had just finished the tree, the lights worked and it looked good.
She picked up the phone as it rang.
then listen carefully,
her daughter spoke on the other end, Mum we cant make it over to you christmas day.
the kids want to be with there friends and we are also very busy, hope you forgive us and have not gone through to much trouble.
tears filled her eyes but she said its ok.

It seems so long ago when the house was last full of laughter and the smell
of foods and all christmas things,
she took one last look at the presants under the tree, then switched the lights off.

It was quiet in the big old house Christine sat alone for hours in the dark,
thinking of days gone by, the loss of her man,the kids moving out,
the tears run down her face,
feeling old and alone Christine headed for the bedroom got out her best dress then layed on the bed,
she took the tablets to the music im dreaming of a white christmas.

Christine started to drift into dreams she entered her dark lanes,
she thought she could see lights and felt that someone was holding her hand.
Christine knew this was her last christmas day alone.


Check your list to make sure that you havent left anybody alone out there,
so many people friends mothers fathers decide to walk dark lanes at christmas,

Windfall for Nicol

Windfall for Nicol

Yeah… Nicol David won!. I’m so happy and proud. Prayed for her during the World Open. And now she will be World No. 1 player this coming January. Yeah… way to go Nicol.

 

My 3D faces

Tried out the Face Generator Modeller.
This is what my face looks like.
Of course, in real life, I do have nice short hair on my head.
Also, I got my moustache and beard.
I don’t think my ear looks like that.
The eyes, eyebrows and the nose are similar.
The mouth and lips are similar too.
The “scary” utopia eyes are similar too.
Well, will try and generate my wife and daughter’s face.

Cinema Screen delayed

Looks like the construction of the big screen will be delayed. Not so much of budget cut or red tapes but because of the weather. It has been raining almost daily. This is not good for the plywood screen. Will have to wait until the weather changes to dry. Anyway, so far I'm busy with other things.

Making a cinema screen

I’m making a big billboard in front of my house. Planning to use it as a screen to watch movies using my LCD projector.

Last night, Annabelle helped me with nailing some of the nails to the plywood. Hopefully to get it done by end of this week. Then I can start enjoying big screen movie right in front of my house. Plan to watch LOTR again (extended versions).

Tired.... tire.... tir....ti....t.......zzzzzzzz

Feeling very tired lately. I think it is because of lack of sleep, … or lack of real quality sleep. I had 8 hours of sleeping time but still wakes up tired.

Found an E-book about sleeping patterns but haven’t got the time to really go through it. Maybe when I’m not tired, I’ll will go through it. But then, I must read it so that I can know how not to be tired. Vicious circle of tirednes.

 

Purplish on Jeanette's birthday

 

My wife bought the stripe T-shirts for Annabelle and herself,

but not for me. So I had to wear the purple colored vest.

Enjoyed the party as I’m not involved in the preparation of it.

Kids humor...Dear GOD