Article: Did I Marry The Right Person?

Saw this posted on Facebook by a few friends of mine. Thought it wa worth sharing on this space. Enjoy the read:


DID I MARRY THE RIGHT PERSON?

During one of our seminars, a woman asked a common question. She said, 'How do I know if I married the right person?'

I noticed that there was a large man sitting next to her so I said, 'It depends. Is that your husband?'

In all seriousness, she answered 'How do you know?'

Let me answer this question because the chances are good that it's weighing on your mind.

Here's the answer:

EVERY relationship has a cycle. In the beginning, you fell in love with your spouse/partner. You anticipated their call, wanted their touch, and liked their idiosyncrasies (unconventional behavior/habit).

Falling in love with your spouse wasn't hard. In fact, it was a completely natural and spontaneous experience. You didn't have to DO anything. That's why it's called 'falling' in love... Because it's happening TO YOU.

People in love sometimes say, 'I was swept off my feet.' Think about the imagery of that expression. It implies that you were just standing there; doing nothing, and then something came along and happened TO YOU.

Falling in love is easy. It's a passive and spontaneous experience. But after a few years of marriage, the euphoria (excitement) of love fades. It's the natural cycle of EVERY relationship. Slowly but surely, phone calls become a bother (if they come at all), touch is not always welcome (when it happens), and your spouse's idiosyncrasies, instead of being cute, drive you nuts.

The symptoms of this stage vary with every relationship, but if you think about your marriage, you will notice a dramatic difference between the initial stage when you were in love and a much duller or even angry subsequent stage.

At this point, you and/or your spouse might start asking, 'Did I marry the right person?' And as you and your spouse reflect on the euphoria of the love you once had, you may begin to desire that experience with someone else. This is when marriages breakdown. People blame their spouse for their unhappiness and look outside their marriage for fulfillment.

Extramarital fulfillment comes in all shapes and sizes. Infidelity is the most obvious. But sometimes people turn to work, a hobby, a friendship, excessive TV, or abusive substances.

But the answer to this dilemma does NOT lie outside your marriage. It lies within it. I'm not saying that you couldn't fall in love with someone else. You could.

And TEMPORARILY you'd feel better. But you'd be in the same situation a few years later. Because (listen carefully to this):

THE KEY TO SUCCEEDING IN MARRIAGE IS NOT FINDING THE RIGHT PERSON; IT'S LEARNING TO LOVE THE PERSON YOU FOUND.

SUSTAINING love is not a passive or spontaneous experience. It'll NEVER just happen to you. You can't 'find' LASTING love. You have to 'make' it day in and day out. That's why we have the expression 'the labor of love.'

Because it takes time, effort, and energy. And most importantly, it takes WISDOM. You have to know WHAT TO DO to make your marriage work.

Make no mistake about it. Love is NOT a mystery. There are specific things you can do (with or without your spouse) to succeed with your marriage.

Just as there are physical laws of the universe (such as gravity), there are also laws for relationships. Just as the right diet and exercise program makes you physically stronger, certain habits in your relationship WILL make your marriage stronger. It's a direct cause and effect. If you know and apply the laws, the results are predictable... you can 'make' love.

Love in marriage is indeed a decision; not just a feeling.

Remember always this:

'God determines who walks into your life.It is up to you to decide who you let to walk away,who you let to stay, and who you refuse to let go.'



*On a personal note, I'm glad to have Mei Kuan in my life. Being in a relationship with someone like me isn't the easiest thing in the world, especially when you have this super-phlegmetic-guy-who-always-needs-to-be kicked-in-order-to-move-his-lazy-butt boyfriend.
I'm glad that we've slogged through the tough times, and good times. I'm thankfful that God has provided me with someone who loves me in spite of the way I am, and I'm thankful that I am able to love her in the same way too.

**I'm sorry I haven't been posting much lately. I'll admit that it's partially because of me being lazy, but it's also due to obligations here and there. Can't wait to write about my new job, though!

Giving Your Everything

A rich multi-millionaire walks into a church one day, sits down and says to the man beside him, "12 years ago, I was sitting on this same seat with only a dollar left in my pocket, and I put everything I had into the offering bag. When I walked out the church that day, I met a man who signed me a million-dollar business deal, which had made me the successful person I am today."

The second man replied, "That's a great story. But would you put everything you have today into that same offering bag?"

Would YOU?

NEW Blog Title!

I finally decided to change my blog title and tagline after weeks of procrastination. I could have said that I've been busy with my new job, but that would just be me giving lame excuses.

Thanks, Nick and Klieo for the feedback to my proposal.

Anyway, do leave some comments on whether you like or dislike the new change.

On a side note, here's a picture of me 'skydiving' without a parachute.

"Hooray!"

Yea, yea, I know I'm lame. You don't have to point out the obvious.

Of Love And Poetry

I used to think that love makes the best poets out of the most ordinary people;
But it was not long after I met you, that I realised that true love makes the dumbest of people out of the best poets.

Here's to us.

Reaching Out

Photo from Truth Finder

You can't help those who don't want to be helped, but you could at least reach out a hand and hope that they grab on eventually.

-RC-

The Bridge

I discovered this short movie quite awhile back and have already shared this movie with quite a few people. The title of the movie in Polish, Most, translated to English would mean The Bridge.

This movie is adapted from a true story about a man named John Griffith, who was a railroad bridgemaster. Although the characters in the movie do not directly portray the actual story about this person, it is adapted from the famous story which was inspired by this man's life.

In the 1930’s John worked as the controller of a huge railroad bridge across the Mississippi River. Every day at certain scheduled times the huge bridge was raised so that barges and other ships might make their way down the river. And according to a schedule, John would lower the bridge so that the freight and passenger trains could rush across.

In the summer of 1937, John Griffith took his then eight-year-old son with him to work for the first time. The boy was excited to watch the big railroad bridge and the trains & boats, and also to see the control house with all kinds of levers over which his daddy had absolute control.

His father took him to an observation deck so that he could watch the boats and trains go by. At noon John put the bridge up to let some ships go by since there would not be a train coming for awhile. He made his way to the observation deck where the two of them had lunch.

Just as John was telling a long story about the trains & boats, he was startled by the shrieking of a train whistle in the distance. He quickly looked at his watch and noticed that it was 1:07.

In the midst of his story telling he had forgotten that the passenger train - the express for Memphis with 400 passengers on board - would soon be roaring across that bridge.

Without panic but very quickly he leaped from the observation deck and ran back to the control tower. He placed his hand upon the massive iron controls and started to close the bridge. But before pulling the lever, he glanced down beneath the bridge to see if there were any ships beneath it.

There a sight caught his eye that made nearly made his heart stop.

His son had slipped from the observation deck and had fallen into the huge gears that operate the bridge. Though the boy was still alive and conscious, his left leg was caught in the cogs of the main gears! John knew that if he pulled that lever his son would be crushed.

His eyes filled with tears of panic, and his head was spinning. What he could do was to take a rope, rush to the observation tower, tie it and lower himself into the gear box, free his son, bring him back up to the observation deck, and make his way quickly back to the control tower to lower the bridge.

But no sooner had he thought it, than he knew there was no way he could do it in time for the train.

Again, closer than ever, the train whistle sounded. He could hear the wheels clicking over the tracks and the puffing of the engine.

But that was his son!

Yet there were 400 passengers on that train which was roaring toward the bridge. But John Griffith was a father and that was his boy!

He knew what he had to do so he buried his head in his left arm and pulled the master lever.

That massive bridge lowered into place just as the Memphis Express roared across the Mississippi.

When he lifted his head with his face smeared with tears, he looked into the passing windows of the train.

There were businessmen casually reading their afternoon papers, uniformed conductors looking at their large vest-pocket watches, well-dressed ladies in the dining car sipping coffee, and children pushing long spoons into the dishes of ice cream.

No one looked at the control house and no one looked at the great gear box.

With wrenching agony, John Griffith cried out at the train, "I sacrificed my son for you! Don't you care?" But nobody heard. They never even looked up from their newspapers, watches, coffee and ice cream.

In the same way, the Son of God has been sacrificed so that we might have eternal life.

Will we look up from our newspapers, watches, coffee and ice cream?

Taken from http://www.goarch.org/

Here's a fan-made video adapted from the original movie:

Random Banter

hooraymydarlingisbackinpenangforgoodandigettospendmoretimewithherandmakeupforthefourmonthswewereapartandifeellikehoppingupanddownlikealittlekidcozmydarlingisbackkkkkkk!

=)

Movie Review: Mary & Max (2009)

MOVIE TITLE: Mary & Max
YEAR: 2009
GENRE: Animation/Drama

I wonder if any of you have heard of this movie before called "Mary & Max". If I recall correctly, I don't remember ever seeing this film in local cinemas, nor have I heard about it until I spotted it sitting untouched in a friend's external hard drive. He told me that he'd never seen it yet, but I copied it into my own, out of curiosity.

The film managed to take me by surprise, as I didn't have high expectations for it. If you know me well, very few animated films have managed to impress me, and I am very proud to say that this one has!

Based on a true story, our little tale unfolds in 1976, in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, where an estranged 8-year-old girl named Mary Daisy Dinkle, who lived with her emotionally absent father and alcoholic mother with a tendency for shoplifting. Being friendless and completely naive, she decided to randomly pick out a name from the New York phone book and write to the address. Scrolling through the long list of names in the directory, she decided to write to "M. Horowitz". M. Horowitz, or Max, as she learns later on, was an equally estranged man, with Asperger's Syndrome, a condition that renders him unable to physically express his own emotions, as well as perceive emotional facial ques of others. Thus begins a unique correspondence of letters between the two, but not without interruption by several incidences and misunderstandings along the way.

The juxtaposition of monotonous dialogues and narration, as well as the monochromatic colour scheme throughout the whole movie, with a vast array of emotions and symbiotically colourful personality of the characters combined (ironically) truly makes the film an immensely enjoyable one for the literature and art fans alike. And the fact that a monotonous and monochromatic film which features lifeless works of clay is able to stir emotions of the viewers (well, me at least) in such a manner makes the film a true work of art.

The movie will take you through the life of both Mary and Max as two unique individuals, from Mary's naive and querulous thoughts as a child through her ups and downs as she matures into a woman, to Max's monotonous expressions of his experience in life as a social outcast, and his rigid mundane daily endeavours. A truly insightful watch for the viewer seeking artistic and mental stimulation. But be warned, that the movie is not made for every random movie buff. No, this movie is for but the faint of heart, not because of the graphic explicitness (which it has none, if you discount the one scene where Max visualizes himself naked on a desert island; hey, it's just clay anyway), but because of the monotonous 'emo' theme throughout the movie may come as a huge bore to the common movie goer. Yup, you heard me, the movie is "very the emo," and the director, Adam Eliot beautifully brings the viewers into the climax of emo-ness when (SPOILER ALERT!) someone tries to kill him/herself. Truly, the makers of this movies should be crowned geniuses together with the likes of the Wall-E people for successfully drawing out raw human emotions from lifeless patches of clay.

Final words, I would so recommend this movie to all lovers of literature, theatre, fine arts, and art in general. Definitely earns a spot in the list of movies I deem worth watching over and over again.


RATINGS:
Rotten Tomatoes: 90% on the Tomatometer
My Rating: 8.5/10

Here's the trailer:

Don't let the trailer fool you. Take my word for it, it's super emo, unlike what the trailer portrays.

The Signs Of The Durian Season

Picture courtesy of Aesthetic Awakenings

Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come claiming, 'I have durians,' and will deceive many. You will hear of Durians and rumors of Durians, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the season is still to come. Durian lovers will rise against durian haters, and Malaysians against the "Ang-Moh". There will be thumps and thuds in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.

Then your durian will be handed over at airports and hotels, and you will be hated by all nations because of durians. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate durians, and many false salespersons will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of substandard durians, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will feast. And this love of the king of fruits will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end of the season will come.

DURIAN SEASON IS COMING!!!

Burnt Biscuits

*Disclaimer: I want to be this husband, and father. Thanks, William, for sharing this.

When I was a kid, my mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then. And I remember one night in particular when she had made breakfast after a long, hard day at work.

On that evening so long ago, my mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage and extremely burnt biscuits in front of my dad. I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed! Yet all my dad did was reach for his biscuit, smile at my mom and ask me how my day was at school. I don't remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that biscuit and eat every bite!

When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my mom apologize to my dad for burning the biscuits. And I'll never forget what he said: "Honey, I love burnt biscuits."

Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him if he really liked his biscuits burnt. He wrapped me in his arms and said, "Your Momma put in a hard day at work today and she's real tired. And besides - a little burnt biscuit never hurt anyone!"

Life is full of imperfect things, and imperfect people. I'm not the best at hardly anything, and I forget birthdays and anniversaries just like everyone else. But what I've learned over the years is that learning to accept each others faults - and choosing to celebrate each others differences - is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship.

And that's my prayer for you today. That you will learn to take the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of your life and lay them at the feet of God. Because in the end, He's the only One who will be able to give you a relationship where a burnt biscuit isn't a deal-breaker!

We could extend this to any relationship. In fact, understanding is the base of any relationship, be it a husband-wife or parent-child or brother-sister or friendship!

"Don't put the key to your happiness in someone else's pocket - keep it in your own."

There Is A Life Outside Of Facebook

Ah, Facebook; the social networking site everyone's crazy about. It is the very piece of identification everyone should have, second to their identity cards. If you don't have Facebook, you'll look like an alien to everyone else. It's such an 'in' thing, that even the most stubbornly resistant people on planet earth would eventually succumb to the pressure of having a facebook account.

Contrary to other social networking sites, Facebook is not only limited to youngsters. Instead, it has successfully attracted hordes of users of all ages, ranging from kids to senior folk. I've heard of kids, as young as the age of SIX, asking for a Facebook account. And like it or not, we all dread the very day we'll see our parents/grandpatents sends us a friend request. Time to time, we would see a random teenager's status update reading something like this:

"Oh no! My mother sent me a friend request. Should I accept?"

or,

"My grandma is the coolest grandma on earth! She has Facebook!"

Excuse me, since when did Facebook become the pre-requisite for 'cool'? And what's with the surprised expression, like the world is ending tomorrow, when someone tells you he/she doesn't have a Facebook account? Please la, guys and girls. There IS a life outside of Facebook. Your virtual cow named Bessy on Farmville won't die even if you don't feed it for one day.

Okay, maybe it will.

But even if the cow dies, it shouldn't be such a big deal like everyone makes it to be. What's the point maintaining a virtual farm anyway? Honestly, I've been there too (not on Farmville though), playing Facebook games. In the end, we'll only find yourself playing it just for the sake of it without any goals. Some people will die if they don't log into Facebook for a single day. For others, it would seem like a huge sacrifice to make if they spend time with you instead of killing that Mafia boss from Timbuktu in Mafia Wars. It would be such a big deal to them until they would say, "Hey, I didn't log into Mafia Wars today because I attended your party, OKAY?!" Pfft! Big deal.

And you know what else I don't get?

Why is Facebook like the centre of the world to everyone? ESPECIALLY THE RELATIONSHIP STATUS?! I don't get the whole it's-not-official-unless-it's-on-Facebook nonsense. I've heard people gossip, "Hey, this so-and-so are officially together!"

And when I ask why 'official'?

"Because they just updated their statuses on Facebook!"

Come on lah, you mean all that holding hands, smoochy-moochy, lovey-dovey thing they do before that was not 'official'? And the best part is when I update people about other mutual friends, like, "Hey, did you know so-and-so are getting engaged?"

They'll ask: "Did you find out about that on Facebook?"

"No, I TALKED to them."

At the back of my head: "In case you don't know, it's something that normal people have been doing since the dawn of mankind."

I'm not saying that Facebook as a bad thing. It is actually very useful to keep in touch with old friends, communicate, share photos and stuff. But for goodness' sake, don't let it suck the life out of you!

People shouldn't take Facebook so seriously; it's not the whole world. For those of you who don't know, there IS a life outside of Facebook!

Thinking Of Changing My Blog Title

I need your take on my blog title. Thus far, I feel that the blog title doesn't really reflect the contents of the blog.

I have therefore came up with a proposal for a NEW BLOG TITLE:

"TO MAKE THE SHORT STORY LONG..."

I think this new title would suit my "cheong hei" personality and posts more than the previous title, and this new title is very... me.

What do you think? To change or not to change?

Amalkan Gaya Hidup Sihat, Perut Buncit Takkan Dilihat!

It's now my third month back in Penang, the food paradise. And after a year being away, I felt like diving into a pool of Char Koay Kak once I set foot on Penang soil. To top off my cravings for tasty Penang food, it also happened to be the Chinese New Year week, which means more good food, therefore, even harder to resist.

Char Koay Kak - Picture courtesy of http://www.foody.my/

To make the short story long...

It comes to no surprise, then, that I managed to pack on a whopping 3 kilograms within the first week! But it didn't really bother me much, coz hey, it is Chinese New Year after all, right? I continued feasting like nobody's business after Chinese New Year without bothering about my expanding tummy.

Until one day...

I was preparing to go for my interview, and was browsing through the options of clothes I can wear. And guess what? All my nicer formal clothes, which I previously looked good in, couldn't fit! I looked like an uncle with a potbelly in those shirts! In addition to those, the buttons from two of my shorts came off (I'm currently sticking to elastic waist shorts for the time being)! And here's the final blow: ALL my formal slacks couldn't fit! I kid you not, it was worse than The Incredible Hulk wearing Bruce Banner's pants!

At least The Hulk could fit into those pants. Aye, that's the rub.

Picture courtesy of www.microwaves101.com

Thanks be to The Good Lord Almighty that I tried these on a good few days before the interview. So on the following Sunday, I set out on a quest for a new pair of slacks.

Alright, now on to the main point. I finally realised how... err... fat... I've become, gaining a total of 6 kilograms in 3 months, that I've finally decided to...

...are you ready for this?

EXERCISE!

*all the fat people gasps*

Yup, you heard me! I finally went for my first round today at my housing area, which happens to be an ideal spot for an all-round training. By all-round, I meant that it's a good place for all round shaped people like myself to train. The housing area I live in happens to have a fair distribution of leveled surfaces as well as steep surfaces, so you can have the option to walk, jog, hike or do all three - like I did. But I didn't stretch properly! =( And being flat-footed, improper stretching of the feet can lead to painful consequences. I ended up with a mildly swollen right foot, but that will not stop me from going at it tomorrow! An additional motivation to me exercising, is that Pippy Duck also needs to train for her upcoming mission trip, so I won't have any excuse for skipping training for at least 2 months.

I initially thought of documenting my daily/weekly progress on the blog, but the thought of snapping pictures of my ugly, flabby body would give you readers the nightmare that is worse than the Nightmare On Elm Street. And photographing my progress with a shirt on would not really do the trick. What do you guys think? To bare it all for the camera or not? Personally, I'm more inclined to 'Nay', but I would like to hear your opinions on this. Leave me a comment and let me know if you'd like to see my half-naked body on the blog.

I'm gonna end now with this story:

Not too long ago, I had a friend come up to me and tell me: "Reuben, you need to exercise! You're out of shape!"

I replied: "I'm not out of shape! Round is a shape."

P.S.: whydoihaveafeelingthattherewillbepeoplewhowilltellmetopostuppicturesofmyflabbystomachsotheycanmakefunofme?

Question: If A Christian Has A Bad Relationship With God, Is He Still A Christian?

We often hear Christians say: "Christianity is not a religion; it's a relationship."

But if a Christian has a bad relationship with God (i.e. they don't communicate, frequently disagree, and he deliberately goes against Him), can he still call himself a Christian?


Do share with me your thoughts on this by leaving me a comment here. I have thoughts of my own too, but I'd like to hear yours before I tell you mine.

New Layout, Baybeh!!!!

It's been about a month since I started this blog, and WOW, I never knew that quite a number of you are reading and following this. So, I would like to firstly express my heartfelt gratitude to you... yes, YOU! The one reading this. I'm talking to you! THANK YOU!

Now on to serious matters, I'VE GOT A NEW LAYOUT FOR MY BLOG, BAYBEH! *Does a nerdy dance* Yup, as you can see, I've decided to give me blog some personality! Not that my previous layout had no personality, but I think this would suit me better, no? Sadly, I forgot to copy a picture of my old layout before I saved this new one... darned it!

I would like to hear from you guys, about your opinion on this new layout. Do you prefer this one, or the last one? Do leave me a comment here (Facebook is alright, but I'd prefer that you comment here) and tell me if you love or hate this new layout.


'til I hear more from you guys,

May the fourth be with you.
(For those of you who don't get this, look at the post date)

Buy My Brand New iPad For Only RM1000!

As most of you know, I'm not exactly a very big fan of the latest gadgets. Most of you would know that the phone I currently use is only worth 20 bucks if someone were to buy it from me. I've never owned an iPod, PSP, iPhone, BlackBerry or any other trendy gadget you can ever name. It's just not me, to chase after these petty things.

However, I've recently had some extra money to spare, and decided to buy myself an iPad. Sort of like a birthday gift to myself. I was so stoked about having this new gadget, that I forgot to eat dinner before heading home. Yeah, finally I am a proud owner of a cool and trendy gadget! Now, my friends will not call me old-fashioned, but ogle enviously at my new gadget. I ripped open the packaging like it was the Berlin Wall that separated me from my iPad.

But upon seeing the iPad, my face turned downcast faster than a fat kid who dropped his ice cream. I felt like I've wasted my savings on something totally useless, because I couldn't figure out how to use it. Being so far behind time, I've actually lost track of how technologically advanced Apple products have become. They said that you can have hours of fun with an iPad, and that it was the must-have item of today, but I just couldn't figure out this thing.

Therefore, after much struggle figuring out this thing called an iPad, I finally decided to give up and sell it off. It is still in mint condition, except that the packaging is torn. Other than that...

No scratches, no damage.

Still.Brand.New.

Why am I selling it so cheap? Well, I just don't want to look at it anymore, because it just reminds me of how I foolishly wasted my money on a gadget I can't even use.

So, for those of you who are dying to own an iPad, this is your golden opportunity. Just leave me a comment here and your contact number as well and I will get in touch with you as soon as possible.

Here is a picture of my iPad (scroll down):

The instructions said to "just plug it in, and you're all set."

But plug it in where??

I Have Something Great To Reveal!

What if you wake up tomorrow and find that everything that we know of the earth today is completely changed? What if you wake up finding that the lives of the people you love are in grave danger? Who do we turn to? Who can save us?

Dear readers, I'm here to tell you that there is one person you can trust in these trying times. There is someone out there who is willing to stand up for what is right; for justice; for TRUTH!

Click here to watch the video and find out more. It takes a while to load, but it's totally worth it. Absolutely inspiring and breathtaking. Enjoy!


P.S.: You can be a hero too! Find out more at the end of the video.

What Will You Do With Your Life?

To every man, is given the gift of Life;
It is his own choice to invest it into the lives of others and make the fullest out of it; or keep it to himself, and let it amount to nothing.

Online Gaming Addiction

What do you do when your mom cancels your World of Warcraft account? You stuff a remote control up where the sun don't shine.

Comments Form Fixed!

Hi, guys! I just realised that my comments page was set in a way that only registered users could post comments on my blog (Thanks Tim!). I have since fixed the problem, and now everyone is welcome to comment.

Yes, I would very much like to hear from you guys too about the stuff I write on the blog. In fact, I would very much LOVE it to hear from you guys! I promise I will try to reply and/or acknowledge your comments on the page.



Hope to hear from you guys soon!

Reubz


P.S.: Here's an old picture of me before I underwent psychological treatment.

The Truest Form Of Worship

Today, I had the great privilege to witness with my own eyes, a woman who knew what true worship means. To her, it was not about the music; it was not about the singing and clapping; it was not about her being able to sing better than her neighbors beside her; it was not about how well the worship leader could sing or lead the congregation; it was about her relationship with her God – her Daddy.

You could see the sparkle in her eyes; the purest smile on her face. You could see her singing from the bottom of her heart, though she couldn’t. Yes, she literally couldn’t. She is an elderly lady who previously had a stroke which left her paralyzed on her right side, from top to bottom, with the left side of the body with very limited function and little strength. She moves around with a wheelchair, with the help of an assistant. Before the elevator in our church was completed, she climbed up three flights of stairs, every Sunday, to the main hall of the church, situated in the first floor of the building (with the help of her son– now moved to New Zealand – and an assistant). The words she uttered amounted to unintelligible groans and noises, and one had to listen really closely to understand what she was trying to say. In spite of all these difficulties, she worships.

Usually, because of her disability, she would sit down at her usual spot at the second row from the front (she gets off her wheelchair to sit on the pew), occasionally lifting her (left) hand in worship for a few seconds before putting it down due to the lack of strength. And because of her inability to support herself due to her paralyzed condition, she would occasionally slouch to the right side, almost falling, before her assistant or someone else would come to her rescue by holding her and securing her back in her original position. Occasionally, she would also stand up (with much help from her assistant, of course) to worship, but only for less than a minute before she sits down again from the lack of strength.

As you can see, I’ve been observing her for quite awhile now, but what I saw today moved me to tears. The presence of God was really strong as we were worshiping today, and I saw her lifting up her hands again as how she usually does. She then asked her assistant to help her stand up to worship. After standing for a little while, her strength waned and her assistant helped her back to her sitting position. But instead of sitting down, she tried to pull herself back up to her standing position. And with one hand held firmly to the pew in front, together with the support of her assistant, she stood for the longest time I could remember her doing so. And as she was worshipping, I saw the purest smile I’ve ever seen, etched on her face. And after some time standing up, she let go of the pew she was holding on to and lifted her hands up high while standing.

Seeing this, I heard from the Lord, “This is the truest form of worship I desire.”

And I realized the true significance of her worship. Worship that truly is a sacrifice of praise to God; worship denied of self and given wholly to God; worship that is beyond her physical conditions and circumstances; when she had a totally legitimate reason to hold back her expressions of worship, she worshiped God with all her strength – literally.

Though I do not know her personally, and she does not know me, I hope to be able to get a picture with her someday. When I do, I would be sure to post it up here for you to see. My prayer is that I would be able to offer that sort of worship that my Savior deserves, and for you to be able to discover the truest form of worship as I have discovered through her.

It brings me great joy to see a true worshiper offering her all to a God who gave her His all, and it puts a smile on my face, knowing that she will have a new and glorified body in heaven in which she can praise God with. I sincerely look forward to the day that I will see her do so in the presence of the King of kings.

My Take On Today's Events

A few weeks ago, I noticed a friend's Facebook status update that read, "Every bit of hardship we face is yet another opportunity for a great testimony for God." (paraphrased)


I think you all would agree with me that it is a very nice quote. Very inspiring.


I would like to think that this is true in my life, and remind myself at times of hardship about this. I read books and hear great sermons about how our suffering becoming an amplifier of God's message in our lives. And I try to live up that principle in my life.


Something happened that got me thinking today; something pretty major (If you have my Facebook, you would probably have seen me spamming your Facebook home page). We prayed hard about it. I prayed hard about it. And we believed with all our hearts that a great testimony would come out of this situation.

Then I realised.

Do I have an expectation about the type of testimony that will come out from this situation? Yes I did. I realised that all this while I've been limiting God's hand with my expectations. And I believe some of you can identify with me on this; We believe with all our hearts that the same God who worked miralcles through Moses, Elijah, and Jesus, is able to work a miracle in this situation. We believe that the same God who was good to the guy who shared his awesome testimony last sunday would be good to us in our current situation. But we get disappointed and ask, "WHY?" when things don't go our way.

We should just let God be God, even when we do not understand it. Whether things happen or not, it still doesn't change the fact that God is still God, and we should let God write His testimony in us, instead of us writing the testimony on God's behalf.

Most of us, myself included, overlook the fact that WE should the testimony, instead of looking for the testimony in the situation. Situational testimonies only come to mind in seasons of hardship. What about good times? Where is the 'amplifier'? Where is the 'megaphone'?

But when we learn to glorify God with the testimony our lives, we don't even have to share our testimonies to people. The people who have seen God in us will share the testimonies on our behalf. And THAT is what a solid testimony is.

Personally I think that I don't really have a problem praising God in bad times. And I definitely don't have problems praising God in good times. But I realised that it is more than that.

"So what's the problem?"

I realised that it's NOT about praising God in good times; It's NOT about praising God in bad times; It's NOT even about praising God all the time - NOT when we do it out of our own strength; NOT when we do it out of our knowledge of God; NOT even when we do it out of our past experiences of God's goodness.

It's when we praise God for who He is.

Because He is God; because He deserves it. And not because we have to, or we want to, but because we can't help it.

"Father, my situations everyday be an empty page to write your testimony on;

But more importantly, let my life be a book with empty pages for you to write your story."

Of Conversations On Geography

I must say that interesting conversations seldom happen at the dinner table in my home. The sounds you usually hear are, "Clink-clink! Slurrrp! Clink! SLURRRP!!! Ahhh... BURP!" This feast of sounds is usually accompanied by the soothing background of the television.

However, a rather interesting conversation took place over the dinner table a few nights ago:

News on the television was reporting about the magnitude 7.2 earthquake near the Mexico-California border on Monday.

Mom: Wah, earthquake again ar?

Me: Ya, near the border of America and Mexico.

Sis: Wait, isn't Mexico a part of the US?

Me: No, Mexico is a country by itself

At this point, I'm thinking in my head that she must have mistaken the country...

... for the American state,

NEW Mexico

Sis: But isn't Mexico situated in South America?

Me: Yup, that's correct.

Sis: So, isn't South America a part of America?

Me: *Bursts out laughing* No.

Sis: *Confused look*

Me: Do you actually know how the US looks like?

Sis: *Doesn't dare to answer* Then what about South Africa?

Me: *Being a little mischievous* What do you think?

Sis: *Thinks for awhile* It's a continent!

Me: *Bursts out laughing again* No, South Africa is a country!

Mom butts in: Oh, then Africa must be part of Europe!

Me: *Laughs even harder*

Meanie me.

I Can Haz A Blog!

Whoop-dee-doo! I finally got around to setting up my own ranting space on the net, after such a long time wanting to do so. Ya, I know I'm a little late, but in my defence, I didn't want to start one unless I was sure I can maintain it on a regular basis. Actually I had a few attempts at blogging previously, and mind you, I was pretty good at it (*perasan*); but alas, I didn't have the discipline time to do so. Those blogs, however, are still out there somewhere. If any of you are interested to read them, go ahead, but I won't tell you where they are.

Back to the matter at hand, I'm hoping that this edition will last, seeing that I now have a wee little more time on my hands. And for the sake of all you readers out there (if any at all), I will try to maintain this on a regular basis.

Now, I understand that not all of you are big fans of Jazz music - don't worry, it's not all about Jazz. And although the title suggests a musical connotation, it's actually more about stuff in general. And before all you Jazz fans start pelting me with eggs, let me assure you that I will occasisonally review some of the music that I love in this blog, which includes a variety of genres like Jazz (*duh!*), Blues, Rock, Folk, Oldies and the like. I won't bother reviewing Lady Gaga or Akon, because they will automatically get a bad review (*ducks for cover*).

Apart from music, I will include blog posts about my personal views on Religion, Love, Relationships, and other random stuff. To sum it all up, it's my take on Life.

You can also expect some photography (when I finally get my hands on Nick's Nikon d60), from about next month onwards, and links of interesting websites, videos and links on the net, among other things.

So, there. Hopefully this first post will help you know what to expect from the blog. I shall stop here and restrain myself from writing too long.


P.S.: I know this post sounds quite formal. Do allow me some time to shift back into 'casual writing mode.' I promise you a lighter post for my next entry.