All Things

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Romans 8:28

the battle is the lord's

During the Civil War, the town of Moresfield, West Virginia was on the dividing line, and seesawed back and forth between Federal and Confederate troops. In one old house which still stands today, an elderly woman lived alone. One morning Yankee troops stomped up on her porch. Though at their mercy, she remained calm and invited them to be seated at her table.

When breakfast was set before them, she said, "It is a custom of long standing in this house to have prayers before meals. I hope you won’t mind." With that, she picked up the Bible, opened it at random and began to read from Psalm 27 (KJV):

"The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? ²When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. ³Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident... ¹³I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. ¹⁴Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD."

When she finished, she murmured quietly, "Let us pray." As she prayed, she heard stealthy sounds of shuffling shoes. When she ended with "Amen," she opened her eyes. The soldiers were gone! Her lack of fear had made them fearful of lingering any longer!

Learn to fly

By The Beatles

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise

Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.

Black bird singing in the dead of night
Take these sunken eyes and learn to see
all your life
you were only waiting for this moment to be free

Blackbird fly, Blackbird fly
Into the light of the dark black night.

Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take these broken wings and learn to fly
All your life
You were only waiting for this moment to arise,oh
You were only waiting for this moment to arise, oh
You were only waiting for this moment to arise

Lev Borodulin (1923 - ?)

A great photographer who defined Russian photography. Particularly remembered for his sports photography, moved to Israel in 1972. Read more here.

Intrigued I am, of course. Perspective & ability seem to elude my attention thus far. Time to re-chart attitudes...

Dad turns 55

Happy chinese pineapple tarts!

Actually I've only had 1.5 tarts this year (.5 was for sampling). It's funny that mom started off lamenting the lack of time & energy, but eventually succumbed to self-made tradition, i.e. tarts & steamed cake. Reunion dinner last night was steamboat fare, homemade but replete with abalone & merlot.

The break from tradition was the lack of grandma's birthday celebration (mom refuses to say why). Cake and song zilch - even though Dad's birthday falls on the same day this year (Gregorian meets lunar). Hmmm...

Grams are certainly getting older - grandma's got weak and aching knees, while grandpa can't see properly in 1 eye.

2 days of CNY = Rest, Reflection, Recreation & Relationship.

Tuesday saw a major deliverable completed at work, only a couple more to go this month. Am wondering what's next... More of Him in me, that's certainly my prayer. Definitely bu bu gao shen, as my aunt wished me!

Huat! Tarts

Still courtesy of mommy dearest :)

Productivity

Found out today that a colleague has 6 children - possibly because he's Catholic, nonetheless am impressed by the peace and fatherly love he exudes.

Fruitfulness - the desire to produce - beckons. Yet distractions flit by. Focus shouldn't be and isn't so difficult!

No excuses given, certainly; for sure, singlemindedly pressing on is clearly the way.

Running

When the call to race sounds, one braces for the next leg, unfamiliar and probably uncomfortable.

Questions abound - who what why where when?

Yet within, anticipation bubbles.


Night jogger, courtesy of Dave Beckerman.

Running
No Doubt

Run
Running all the time
Running to the future
With you right by my side

Me
I'm the one you chose
Out of all the people
You wanted me the most
I'm so sorry that I'm falling
Help me up lets keep on running
Don't let me fall out of love

Chorus:
Running, running
As fast as we can
I really hope you make it
(Do you think we'll make it?)
We're running
Keep holding my hand
It's so we don't get separated

Be
Be the one I need
Be the one I trust most
Don't stop inspiring me
Sometimes it's hard to keep on running
We work so much to keep it going
Don't make me want to give up

Simple is beautiful

For His ways are higher than our ways... it's not about me but all about His love and mercy.

Amen

My primary love language is probably

Physical Touch
with a secondary love language being
Quality Time.

Complete set of results

Physical Touch:		8
Quality Time:		7
Acts of Service:		6
Words of Affirmation:		5
Receiving Gifts:		4

Jumpin' jumpin'

*snap* and January's practically over... Then the LORD answered me and said: "Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it. (Hab 2:2)

*snap* another photo bites the dust. Feel convicted to spend less time snapping actually.

*snap* many a lesson well learned "How to conduct meetings" "How to emcee while having fun"

*snapped*

time waits for no man

Watching The Savages reminded me about life's inexorable mortality and was reminded about my previous fear of growing old and losing one's capacities.

But today I fear not because God is with me. And aging from glory to glory, hopefully youngish looks will linger :)

Indeed, from babe to kid to teen to young adult to worker bee to parent to caretaker to care receiver, Man's life seems but an intense wisp that flits by.

And Carpe Diem! we say - though translated as "seize the day", a more literal translation of carpe is "harvest" ("harvest the day"), as in the harvesting of fruit.

So there.

Random Thought

Occurred to me this morning while queueing: How much money does the ATM typically hold? Can I withdraw cash up to the limit and deposit immediately? Then repeat as necessary?

Floating On

Nary a minute passed when yesterday looped in one's mind. But thank God for His comforting presence and also a cool-headed superior.

Back home, brother stands amazed by miraculous phenomenon. God's got big plans for him, I'm sure!

Picture courtesy of Martin Munkacsi (1896-1963).

Shaken, not stirred

When the rodent of poor preparation meets the road...

Single lens reflects

I had forgotten all this - my travel mate had spotted star fishes back in Phuket. Though reluctant at first to handle wildlife, I quickly found myself amused by these critters, frantically creeping over our palms with hundreds of feet.

Have had my Olympus DSLR for some time now, but admittedly pictures haven't been all satisfactory. Even my friend's photos, shot with a compact camera, turned out simple & attractive. It's all in the eye, they say (though I often blame inadequate equipment).

Even over the past couple of weeks, I've found myself learning little - but certainly significant - life lessons. And now, sharing perspectives is lending a different light.

Surely SMARTER is as smarts can be - and more, I pray. Let's pray desires will surely be found.

Swiftly come, swiftly go

In the blink of an eye amidst fading pyrotechnic smoke, we thus ushered in the New Year with cheers, shouts and song of Auld Lang Syne. Had a great time with ministry mates at Sunway Lagoon over New Year's eve. Besides the food & fun, it was really the fellowship that's most meaningful - getting to know people better and shaking off impressions and stereotypes.

Life never fails though to remind us of its fragility; I can't say my life flashed before my eyes on board the Viking but I certainly saw the news about a freak roller coaster accident in Japan. As if the deaths of an Army Major and a local comedian weren't sudden enough, a motorbike accident on SLE topped it off this morning - spied the rider motionless on rightmost lane whilst car driver/passengers looked frantic.

What's that, my 2008 goals? Some are on my mind, partially penned down. The weighty thing is this, I'm realising: time to evaluate and move from "I used to" and "Maybe..." towards "I've done it!"

Swiftly here I go!

Across Time, The Heart Asks for More

Caught Across the Universe with bro. Great show - full of heartfelt Beatles songs, well-depicted the phenomena of the time - war, love, peace & psychedelia - and with a touching love story to boot.

All in all... what do we believe in? What would we live for... and die for? Though a different era with an altogether different psyche, man needs a sustaining purpose & life theme.

Today I found myself weighed down by another's emotional reactions. It's as if someone's singing that Corrs song "What can I do to make you love me" and all I feel is irritation and condescension.

Ok, enough of melodrama from me.

But really, this thing called Love - how does one get into it? Perhaps romance is only for the young and foolhardy.

Hey Jude don't make it bad
Take a sad song and make it better
Remember to let her into your heart
Then you can start to make it better

Hey Jude don't be afraid
You were made to go out and get her
The minute you let her under your skin
Then you begin to make it better

And any time you feel the pain, Hey Jude, refrain
Don't carry the world upon your shoulders
For well you know that it's a fool who plays it cool
By making his world a little colder
Na na na na na
na na na na

Hey Jude don't let me down
You have found her now go and get her
Remember to let her into your heart
Then you can start to make it better

So let it out and let it in
Hey Jude begin
You're waiting for someone to perform with
And don't you know that it's just you
Hey Jude you'll do
The movement you need is on your shoulder

Na na na na na
na na na na Yeah

Hey Jude don't make it bad
Take a sad song and make it better
Remember to let her under your skin
Then you'll begin to make it better
Better, better, better, better, better, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah

Awesome?

Recorded for cellgroup's year end party "All Stars High Graduation"

I thank God for...

1. Peace, love and joy in my family. Mom is fully recovered and back on her feet at work.

2. Talents, gifts & abilities with which to bless and serve others. As well as creativity and focus to pull ideas off. Above are pics of my virgin fisherman's pie (well received, I must say).

3. Opportunities in career and ministry, and capacity stretched!

4. Financial blessings through stocks, increment & bonus.

5. Completed my virgin marathon!

Most importantly, I thank Him that he's always my side, even when I was faithless.

Christmas 2007

1. Christmas with good ol' AC folks. Some things never change, yet things aren't quite the same ever. Was great catching up and hanging out till 4am. Till next year, guys!







2. Christmas at Chang's - Candlelight service was as beautiful as ever, so too the symbolic act of one person lighting another's candle. I teared - yes I did - as I was reminded of that night divine and more so, because of the burden for friends yet touched. Merry Christmas indeed, to one and all.

Back from Phuket

Spent 3 nights on Koh Yao Noi at The Paradise. Snorkelling, tanning, lazing, spa-ing, breakfast-binging, island exploring, relaxing...

Wonderful place :)

View pics here.

Wisdom in photography

Wise sayings by Mr Hui from PSS photography class:
1. You're not taking a picture, you're creating a picture.

2. Don't follow what everyone else's doing; do what you do best with what you have.

Keep On Keeping On

Completed my virgin 42K in 5 hours this morning - it's on target and I'm satisfied :)

As CNA put it: Just crossing the line was a big enough prize.

The last 12K took a lot out of me though - cramps in the quadriceps and calves later left me hobbling along (yes I shoulda trained properly). Even the final 5km seemed so near yet so far, and Deep Heat can only do so much.

It was humbling to be overtaken by uncles and younger girls. But it was entertaining to read fellow runners who had scrawled their "Reason to Run" behind:

Most amusing - "Have you even seen the fuel prices recently?"
Most meaningful - "What's 42K compared to carrying a baby for 9months? To my wife and 6mth old son."
Most thought-provoking - "Each run is preparation for the next."

All in all, I thank God for His strength and protection, and for the grace to run this race.

Next year's possible target: 4h15min with running buddies