Tuesday, February 28, 2006

John Eldredge
When two people recommend something, I think it's a prompting that requires action on my part. And so I find myself reading The Journey of Desire by John Eldredge. Halfway through now. Very engaging. On one of my favourite topics - deep matters of the heart.
Sharing some sentences that have struck me:
At its core, Christianity begins with an invitation to desire.

But Jesus is quite clear when he speaks of eternal life, what he means is life that is absolutely wonderful and can never be diminished or stolen from you.

We don't need more facts, and we certainly don't need more things to do. We need Life, and we've been looking for it ever since we lost Paradise.

The greatest enemy of holiness is not passion; it is apathy. Look at Jesus. He was no milksop. His life was charged with passion.

Once upon a time there lived a sea lion who had lost the sea.

Think we are like that sea lion. We live in the desert, find shelter under a scraggly tree and derive momentary, fleeting joy from our little muddy water hole. For the most part, we have forgotten what the sea was like and worst still, often lose the desire to get back to sea........where we really belong.

Thursday, February 23, 2006

Bathing Baobei......
Was all sweaty & gross after my morning run today. Twas a good time give the doggie the overdue bath. Every now and then, Baobei goes through a shedding phase. It's pretty unappetizing for everyone because there is hair all over the place. Doesn't help that the gentle breeze that blows in also creates a whirlwind of tiny dog hairs scattering about. Personally I find the various hair clumps most disgusting. It's a sufficient mass to pick up as a clump. Like a hair ball. All this leads to the necessity of vacuuming the kitchen a few times a day. Tim suggested I shave her completely. Hmmm......I just might.

The bath itself is quite an experience for both of us. It's downright backbreaking for me. Sends her into the shivers. There I am working up a luxurious lather with all that hair she's got....and there she is, her legs shivering from the perceived trauma I'm putting her through. I don't know why she doesn't like to bathe. I'm as gentle as can be and am talking to her throughout the whole process. It always ends with the requisite powerful 'flick'. You know....to get all the water out of the body. Sends a 360 degree spray of fine droplets of water within a 2-3 metre radius of everything in its path. Today I was wearing my spectacles, so you fellow goggle-eyed compadres will know what that does!

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Have a little clarity on how to proceed with the issue in my last post. Patience. Sensitivity.
Something lighter now.

Grrrhhhhh. What's one to do with an extremely endearing son who also happens to be absolutely clueless about so many things. Sigh. Gives new meaning to the name 'blur sotong'. Can't go into details here. I wonder how many times I inadvertently display my awful quizzical look of amazement every day. Somewhere deeper inside me this then translates into a brand new white hair sprouting out on my head. My hairdresser thinks it is not necessary for me to highlight my hair (which seems to be the thing to do nowadays) because I have enough strands of white hair to give that effect. Don't know if that was an insult or compliment. Not that it mattered.

There are too many books to read and not enough time to read them all. Yet I want to try. I'm already in the middle of so many different books. What's one more right? Next book I'd like to get hold of is Anne Rice's Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt. She's a classic example of someone who has moved from darkness to light.

Monday, February 20, 2006

Thoughts today....
Was speed reading through my 'junk' email today. This sentence caught my eye.
I'd rather see a sermon than hear one any day, I'd rather have you walk with me than show the way..
Think it's about how action speaks louder than words. You know...walk the talk.
I'm in a bit of dilemma. Had someone spill their guts to me earlier this afternoon. She's had quite the tragic life. Like Job in the Bible. A good chap...but just about everything went grossly wrong. She doesn't see the light at the end of the long, long tunnel. Asking God....why, why, why. Weary and fatigued. Wondering when the roller coaster ride will end. Ready to resign from God...from life. I have no answers. I barely know her but I think I know what she needs. Quite simply....a friend. Should I or should I not? Unfortunately, it's not that simple. There are some boundaries I think I have to respect.

Thursday, February 16, 2006

Highlights this week..
Going to Corrinne May's concert on Monday night. She is so talented. Love her melodies, love her lyrics even more. It really resonates with me. I identify strongly with her core values that come through very clearly in her songs. Delightful time catching up with my pal over supper afterward. In a nutshell, we both agreed that life is rich mainly because of our relationships.....with family, friends...and I hope one day soon she will see...also with God.

Tuesday - Two incidents that make me wonder about coincidences that I now choose to believe are in reality divine intervention.
Got a text from a friend in the morning about her choir that would like to visit our church. Shot an email to Pastor Peter. He just happened to be making plans for a Prayer Service and was hoping for some sort of string ensemble. He hadn't even dared think about getting a choir. So I made the connection. Hope it worked.
Got a text from another friend in the afternoon. She was about to go off to SKS to hunt for a guide on studying the book of Esther. She felt a strong prompting to call me to ask if I had anything to recommend. Infact, I did! I had just used what I think is an excellent study guide named Life Change Series by the Navigators. I was so pleased she called that I ended up accompanying her to SKS the next day.

Wednesday - Lovely breakfast with a very, very busy friend. Despite her busy-ness, I was able to spend time with her last Friday as well. Just goes to show.....when there is a will, there is a way. It is very possible to carve out time with people who are so busy all the time. I'm still amazed actually. There was some motivation behind it as she sort of took the initiative to meet up I think. Think everyday I should sing that hymn to remind myself......"make me a blessing, make me a blessing".

Today. Visited my hairdresser. We were talking about the difference in standard of living here and Malaysia. Thought there was some profound wisdom in her statement.
Here in Singapore, you just open your eyes and then start to pay and pay.....

Best news for the year for me so far. My dear, dear friend has been smoke free for 55 days. This is a first in something like 20 years. And so you see, there can be miracles when you believe.....



Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Bashing!
Last two Sundays was spent bashing through the jungles of Bukit Timah Hill nature reserve. Have to say - that is a very happening jungle. There's such a diversity of terrain there. My fave was the 'Rock Path'. It's almost vertical and it's so fun hauling one's butt up those big rocks. I felt so....Angeline Jolieish. Especially with my brand new waterproof Columbia hiking boots. I was thrashing through the little river path part with no fear of getting soggy socks. I'm depending on them to keep out those awful, yucky leeches that I've heard so much about in Mt Ophir.
Tim, my slave driver, was following Commander Philip's instructions to the letter. He loaded my backpack with a minimum of 8kg! This was achieved rather uncreatively by putting four 1.5 litre bottles of water in there. I thought my neck was going to drop off. It felt like someone kept pulling me backwards.
We bashed around the jungle from 3pm till 6pm. Amazing thing....it was really cool with all that dense foliage above us. Can't say I saw very much though. You see....have to keep looking at the ground. So I see the tips of my boots and the area in front of it...to get the right footing. There are tree roots and rocks, uneven ground all the time.
Looking forward to go shop for a hiking backpack next. Then a five man tent. Sleeping bag. Goretex rain coat. Maybe a parang. Heeheehee.

Thursday, February 09, 2006

Close Shave
I think that, unfortunately, there are many negligent drivers on our roads. Today I visited my friend who is recovering from being hit by one such driver while cycling. There were actually 3 out of 4 cyclists that were affected. Thanks to high quality protective headgear and I'm certain, grace from up there....no lives were lost. I was curious if she had given any thought as to why God had allowed this accident to happen and what His purposes could be. She gave a really heart warming reply. Oddly enough, this accident had actually allowed her to start to fulfil 4 out of 5 objectives she had set out for herself last year. Amazing.
My take on this. That we have a personal God who is aware of the deep desires of our heart and seeks to fulfil them. Sometimes.......these are achieved by the most unexpected, and even undesired, ways.

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

I think life as we know it is very fragile. It tends to be lived by the tyranny of the urgent, and not the important.

The book of Job was written approximately 2000-1800 B.C. I found Verse 7 in Chapter 26 very intriguing. He refers to God:
He spreads out the northern skies over empty space; he suspends the earth over nothing.
The Bible is not in conflict with scientific evidence that is verified years later. Even if it is thousands of years later.

Saturday, February 04, 2006

Incredible Stories
Last night I, and a few others, sat listening to our friend share about what God has been doing in her family. We were captivated for more than 5 hrs and still wide eyed with wonder and astonishment at 2am. It was the kind of sharing that came from the depth of her heart....real, personal experiences and encounters of a divine kind. It was about a personal God who performed miraculous healing for 14 health complications. The kind where medical doctors say there was no chance and yet, each and every impossibility was achieved. It was about subtle and overt demonic manisfestations that were silenced and overcome victoriously by calling on the name of Jesus. It was about hardened hearts of stone that have been softened by the love of God. Hands that once held joss sticks on a regular basis now clasped in prayer to God. This scene so impossible only a few months back. Now impossible to deny the supernatural acts and presence of a supernatural God. Now, there are new hearts, new spirits and new desires. Just like those mentioned in Ezekiel 36.
It was about so many "coincidences" that were uncanny. The same thoughts and bible verses that kept popping up at strategic times. Yet through different ways and different people who didn't even know each other. An arrow prayer that was shot up to God and came answered precisely by a timely SMS by an acquaintance. This is goose pimple material. A remark that stays in my mind that was uttered by a pre-believer then:
How come your God is so direct?
It was about passages from Psalms that came 'alive' with such clarity and directness to her doubt, fears and questions. But those Psalms were written 1500 years ago. It was about how the words in the Bible became her lifeblood, and soon the lifeblood of those around her. It was about a pre-believer's description of a vision of Jesus he had seen in his dream. A very clear dream. How did he know it was Jesus? He said.....he simply knew. It was a bright dazzling light and although he could not see the face, he simply knew it was Jesus, the Son of God. It was about an inner peace that transcends human understanding. Logic simply went out of the window. There was no denying the spiritual realm and the spiritual warfare that was being waged. I was and still am awed. Incredible stories......of an incredible God.

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

CNY 2006
Some snippets of what's been said and done.

On the First Day of the Year of the Dog, I met and was totally enchanted by Felicia, an Italian waterdog. She's a greyish brown dog that looks like a poodle. One of only two in Singapore. She only understands Swedish. Quite unique to watch a Burmese maid speaking Swedish to an Italian dog.

My pimple count: One on my left eyebrow. Two on my forehead. Two on my chin.

Tim (to the boys): If you see Mummy going for the candy, just smack her hand.
Boys (with glee): OK! OK!
Me: Tsk.

Elliott juggling kum.
Me: You better not drop that...

Boys (groaning in the car after the umpteenth visit): Are we going home now?

Things I enjoyed eating the most: Aunty Letty's 'burnt' almond cookies, Aunty Choo's moist carrot cake.

Tim (deeply disappointed that we can't make Aunty May's lunch this year due to clash in days): I don't care. I want to eat Shanghainese nian gao now.

Boys (enroute home...finally...looking somewhat forlorn): Will you let us play Xbox when we get home?

Was great to see Uncle Eng Kheng, despite his failing health, in such a jolly mood and chatting away like I've always known him to be.

Something sobering. Receiving news of a friend's brother who succumbed to cancer on second day of CNY. Went to the wake last night. Reminded me of Christmas eve when I received news of a friend who also succumbed to cancer.