haha

Say hello to Frank.

I just went to my first Singaporean wedding this past weekend.

We had sea cucumber at the dinner. Also shark fin soup. There was chicken too...head and all. Yea, that's his head up there. I named him Frank. Seemed appropriate...he looks like a Frank.

I don't remember where I saved these from, but they sure are a riot to read...especially after going to that wedding last week....have a ball.


ROMANCE MATHEMATICS
Smart man + smart woman = romance
Smart man + dumb woman = affair
Dumb man + smart woman = marriage
Dumb man + dumb woman = pregnancy

OFFICE ARITHMETIC
Smart boss + smart employee = profit
Smart boss + dumb employee = production
Dumb boss + smart employee = promotion
Dumb boss + dumb employee = overtime

SHOPPING MATH
A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he needs.
A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn't need.

GENERAL EQUATIONS & STATISTICS
A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.
A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.

A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can
spend. A successful woman is one who can find such a man.

HAPPINESS
To be happy with a man, you must understand him a lot and love him
a little. To be happy with a woman, you must love her a lot and not try to
understand her at all.

LONGEVITY
Married men live longer than single men do, but married men are a
lot more willing to die.

PROPENSITY TO CHANGE
A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn't.
A man marries a woman expecting that she won't change, and she
does.

DISCUSSION TECHNIQUE
A woman has the last word in any argument.
Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.

HOW TO STOP PEOPLE FROM BUGGING YOU ABOUT GETTING MARRIED
Old aunts used to come up to me at weddings, poking me in the ribs
and cackling, telling me, "You're next." They stopped after I started
doing the same thing to them at funerals.

Can someone please explain this?

I saw this ad outside of a doctor's office the other day. I don't know what to make of it..

I can't even think of what to write about it...

"....."

Life Lessons #1

I started a journal many years ago entitled "Life Lessons: The Classroom of Life" In it I've been writing about experiences and observations I've come to develop certain conclusions on. For the past 2 or so years there has been no new entry. Shame on myself. Growing up as a teenager and college student I was a prolific writer. Yup...got tons of notebooks and documents filled with a smattering of topics, lessons, ideas, and thoughts held together by nothing more than an underlying current of "Dude...I gotta write this down." Yea...that's about it. One day I hope to put some kinda order to them all. Here's a start I think...

I decided to post some of them from time to time on this blog-o-mine because I know many of you back home (hey yall!) , some in Japan (o-hisashi buri desu ne?!) , and a few here in Singapore sometimes stop by this little speedbump on the information superhighway. No man is an island. What good is life if one doesn't share experiences one has been through? A friend once told me that blogs and things like it are for people who are lonely or need reassurance for their ego. Well, that just about wipes out the entire genre of autobiographies, self-help books, The Diary of Anne Frank...yea, I'm sure she really had to stroke her ego big time. haha...so silly lah! (had to give props to Singapore there)

My mom just published her first book last year based on ideas and journal entries she's had over the past 5 or 6 years. I hope one day to do the same. Not exactly sure what I'd write about, but comments from people since I was a teenager until now are pushing me to realize that it's time to, "...cowboy up." (in the words of my roommate)

Hey, we're all human and we all have very real issues in life! As I was reading over some of these entries I myself was tickled silly by some of the things I've said...and I still agree with the comments even after all these years. Wow...I was real serious at times when I was growing up. Funny, not much has changed...except that I find myself liking bananas a lot more these days.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'VE LEARNED:

Meeting old friends is always an interesting encounter. The conversation usually takes on the tones of where, what, how, and with whom we’ve been spending our last couple of years (or however long we’ve been apart.) I’m never sure if the person I’m talking to is really interested in knowing the answers or if they are just asking to be asking. Me, I wouldn’t say I’m interested, nor would I say I’m not interested. It’s just a way to keep a conversation flowing with someone who has a history with you. Depending on how well we knew each other in the past determines our level of interest, I guess. So for some friends I’m really into the conversation – their marriage, college years, jobs, etc. Others I have bumped into cannot produce a name with the face I’m talking to. Yet and still the surface feeling is the same.

It is the ending of these passing conversations that are the most painful. It makes my mouth go dry just thinking about it. The reason is that almost always people end up saying things like the following: “Let’s keep in touch,” “I’ll call you sometime,” or my favorite, “We should get together sometime.” Of course, none of these happen unless there is some great business, profit, or mutual gain to be had. Get together? Sometime? Uh, I haven’t seen you in the past 8 years and now all of a sudden we’re going to “get together”? What, to have the same awkward conversation that we are now having? Hmmm….I think not. Keep in touch? And the reason is…? The one that really makes me feel sorry for the other person is when they say they’ll call or they’ll keep in touch. Do you think I ever hear from them after that? Ha! Now all of this is from their perspective. What of mine?

I used to make statements like those. But not because I really meant them, but because that’s what seemed like the right thing to say. You know, it kept the peace. But then I realized it’s not that I don’t want to keep in touch or get together (except for the privileged few who earn that I-really-don’t-want-to-see-you-again status…heh.), but I have no interest in doing so. What would be the point? For me, there would be none unless we are working together towards some goal of sorts, some common job, club, activity, etc. I am not a chit-chatter, a small talk person. During these brief encounters that is what they are all about. So, I’ve learned not to say things like that…things that I don’t mean. Because usually if I say I’ll give someone a call, I will. Why? My goal is to say what I mean so that I will always mean what I say. Any less is hypocrisy. Am I good at it? No, everyday I challenge myself to do it. But then I’ll meet a long-lost school or job or church acquaintance and say to myself, “Here we go again.”

Now, the point is simple: I really like meeting people from my past, I enjoy talking about things that happened (“Do you remember when….?”). It is the promises, the things said, the intentions revealed during or at the end of the conversations that get me. It is better to say things such as, “It was good seeing you again. Take care.” “Have a good one.” “Tell your family I said hi!”

These are all safe, kind, and peaceful endings to chance encounters like these. They do not leave feelings of regret at having promised something knowing all the while that it would go undone. I’ve known many a friend who feel the same way. They say they hate saying “We’ll keep in touch…let’s get together” because they know that they never will. Why say these things?
Hard as it may be, when a person says to me, “Let’s keep in touch.” I purpose in my heart and mouth simply to smile and say something like, “Ya, maybe I’ll see you around! Take care.”

Sometimes this throws the other person off…they are expecting a mutual response to their suggestion. But hey, this is my heart, my life, my honesty I’m trying to uphold here. Sorry if your conscience is bothered. I want to sleep in peace tonight.

Lesson Learned: Say what you mean and mean what you say.

Skilled Barbers, Rancid Meat, and No More Rain

I found this hair gel ad in a magazine. As if our days aren't messed up as it is, now we can put gel in our hair to stay messed up all day! Just what I've been wanting!! What will man think of next...this?

Or maybe this...

Well, at least it comes in 3 different colors...

STORY #1

So I went to the barber today to get my hair cut. Little did I realize that this particular Malay barber had other plans for my head...

Like a master craftsman, he took to my forehead with fierceness in his eyes! Blazing through the deep forest of knotty tangled mess, I witnessed my hair fall to the ground in chunks as if they were boulders. How could this man cut in such a way that even hair "rolls" to the floor? This guy was serious...

All was well until the razor came out. Fierce eyes turned into blood soaked focus as he practically engraved every stroke into the back of my neck. Not once, not twice...not even 5 times...but not until he had managed to destroy every little itty bitty piece of hair from the back of my neck and sides of my head did he stop scraping with that blade. I thought I was losing brain cells he scraped so much...I did fade in and out for a hot minute there.

Luckily, after I gained conscienceness, my head looked quite alright.


STORY #2

I don't know what in the world they are cooking, but there is a family that lives somewhere in the air-rea around our apartment that loves to cook what smells like 10 month-old rancid meat. At least that what it smells like. My roommate and I will be peacefully studying or doing something in the house when something knocks the wind out of our nostrils. We bolt to the windows to block the invading odors from coming any further into our domain. Maybe one day they'll make scratch-n-sniff blog sites...cause I really want you to smell this. Cause, like, I know you really want to....


STORY #3

The rainy season is over. My brief moment of enjoying doing things is somewhat over. It's fun in the sun again. Like one of my co-workers said today, "Man, it's hot."

Time for bed...

...heiwa (peace in Japanese).

The Price of Leadership

I've put this pic up before, but it seems fitting for this entry today.

A notable speaker from America has come and preached about how 2005 was a year of switching hands, of how angels have been talking about the people of God, of how our experiences in life reveal to us our destiny that God has preordaind for us to live out.

A post from a friend's blog:

"The higher one goes up the leadership leader, the more one sees and the greater the view becomes. Along with it, comes more dilemmas, contradictions, and difficult decisions to make. Knowing what the leader knows, he has to make unpopular decisions with the faith that it is for the good of the people. He relinquishes his rights to always be able to explain his decisions. He gives up the place to be always understood and symphatized. He finds fewer people around him now who truly appreciates him for what he does.

Ask me again and I will tell you what the price of leadership is. It is loneliness."

Unless a leader has peers to whom he or she can relate to (and thus silence the gap between those he or she follows and those he or she is being followed by), my friend's last statement above strikes true ever so clearly...

It's interesting that our pastor recently said that most of the psalms of David are psalms of lamentations...I've always known that although no one I've met seems to acknowledge it. till now at least. Leaders who act as if they have it all together and are like "super-power never weak" - stay clear of 'em, I say. I once was told that men shouldn't cry. Dude...King David's bed was tears many nights. Don't tell me that foolishness!

It's even more interesting that quotes like the ones below have found special nooks in my heart that have kept my engine running long after the gas has run out. Having lived and worked in so many different churches and jobs where, if not explicitly than implicitly, I have been humbled to take on a role of responsibility (sometimes before any type of foundation of relationship is built with people which, IMHO, isn't wise), I have found the following quotes to be quite true of one in a leadership role. Take heed, friends. Take heed not for fear, but for reality's sake...



It is a luxury to be understood.

Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind. -Ralph Waldo Emerson

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Life is rarely exactly as we would like it to be.
Instead, life is exactly as it is.

All persons are puzzles until at last we find in some word or act the key to the man, to the woman; straightway all their past words and actions lie in light before us.
- Emerson, Journals (1842)

When your work speaks for itself, don't interrupt. - Henry J. Kaiser

Do not do to others what angers you if done to you by others.
- Socrates

We all wage battles, yet the sound of the fight, in all of its glory and heartbreak, often echoes no farther than that space between our temples. -MD

People can be divided into three groups:
1. Those who make things happen.
2. Those who watch things happen.
3. Those that wonder what happened.

Bear Bryant, a famous football coach said, “If
anything goes bad, I did it. If anything
goes semi-good, then we did it. If anything
goes real good, they did it.”

Think, when you are enraged at anyone, what would probably become your sentiments should he die during the dispute. – Shenstone

His soul will never starve for exploits or excitements who is wise enough to be made a fool of. To be “taken in” everywhere is to see the inside to everything. –Chesterton

People who feel themselves to be exiles in this world are mightily inclined to believe themselves citizens of another. –Santayana

Man is a gregarious animal, and much more so in his mind than in his body. He may like to go alone for a walk, but he hates to stand alone in his opinions. –Santayana



Ahhh...but what is the hope of the leader? What is the joy of he or she who at times may have their good evil spoken of? What is the peace of he or she who has not the luxury of being able to explain themselves to those whom they love dearly? What is the victory that overcomes the price of having to make hard decisions? What is the satisfaction of he or she who obeys the Lord their God in spite of it seeming like foolishess to those following?

Is it not Jesus, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising its shame? (Hebrews 12:2) Is it not Jesus, who gave us His peace that passes all understanding, not coming from this world? (John 14:27 / Philippians 4:7) Is it not Jesus, who has overcome this world and death itself? (John 16:33) Is it not Jesus, who is the portion for those who make Him alone their refuge in the storms of life? (Psalm 73:26)

I used to watch this show in America called the director's chair or something like that. They would have famous actors or directors come to this acting school and on stage a man would ask them questions about their life and other things. Totally no script and BAM live. The last question this guy would always ask was about when they reach heaven. There was an actor who once said something that has stuck with me ever since.

Q: "When you reach the pearly gates, what do you want God to say to you?"

A: "(your name here), I understand."

Like I Films

How come some of the best movies have the cheesiest covers? Like Willow, for example. What in the world kind of pose is that? Ghetto fabulous? The "bling, bling" pose? Oh well, thank God the movie redeems it. Obviously I have low "formatting the pictures correctly on the screen" skills... :-)

Was reading over some of my old blog entries today and realized I forgot to finish, or continue, my "favorite movies back in the day" list. So, here goes: (with some current ones)

The Little Princess (the new one...great color saturation)

Escape from New York

Saving Private Ryan

Willow

The Black Hole

Le Chateau de ma mere (French)

Au Revior Les Enfants (French)

Dreams (Japanese)

Raise the Red Lantern (Chinese)

To Live (Chinese)

Young Guns

Snow Falling on Cedar

The Last Emperor

Hamlet (the one with Mel)

Ride with the Devil

The Mission

The Color Purple

The Professional

Yup, I'm sure there are more, but can't think of any now. Wow...come to think of it I used to watch lots of movies. No time now, plus the motivation to watch has somewhat changed over the years.

As one grows, one changes. Old likes turn into dislikes, old habits fade away while new ones arise. We are creatures of change alas...

The weather has been UNBELIEVEABLE the past 2 weeks. My roommate and I are in heaven. We actually enjoy going out, eating, coming back home --- all without breaking a sweat! Yes, it is possible. I mean, I was cooking soup the other day and actually enjoying it for the first time since I've arrived here. Why? No sweat! No oppression! The stove was actually hotter than the room for once! And sleep is once again a comfortable thought.

haha...

Well, that's all folks. Oh, one more thing to the list:

Looney Tunes

The coyote in the road runner is my favorite. Poor guy, can't seem to catch the little thing...

peace-

The Great Quiet that is God

But is it our business to pray into what may happen tomorrow? It is a difficult and painful experience which saps the strength and uses up the time given us today. Once we give ourselves up to God, shall we attempt to get hold of what can never belong to us - tomorrow? Our lives are His, our times in His hand, He is Lord over what will happen, never mind what may happen. When we prayed, "Thy will be done," did we suppose He did not hear us? He heard indeed, and daily makes our business His and partakes of our lives. If my life is once surrendered, all is well. Let me not grab it back, as though it were in peril in His hand but would be safer in mine!

- Elisabeth Elliot (Keep a Quiet Heart)

Can I have your autograph?

"With the wonder and simplicity of a child does my heart long to faithfully worship you, O Father..."

"Stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." (I Corinthians 15:58)

"Every job is a self portait of the person who did it. Autograph your work with excellence."

"People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered. Love them anyway. If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway. If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway. Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway. The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway. The biggest people with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest people with the smallest pride. Think big anyway. People favor underdogs, but follow only top dogs. Fight for some underdogs anyway. What you spent years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway. Give the world your best." -Reader’s Digest

Have a good year everyone...

Whaja expect?

My taiko group back in Japan when we performed at the Annual Taiko Festival in downtown Kumamoto. I miss them so very much...look at the seriousness on these kids faces! They inspired me then, and still do to this day...

How intricate and delicate we humans can be at times.

I was discussing some weighty matters with a group of friends the other day during our holiday dinner (*ahem* dinnerS for me as every night for the past 3 nights has seen me throwing down turkey and/or chicken..haha) A couple in our church is getting married very soon and some of the other married couples were sharing thoughts about friendship, courting, marriage, etc.
Various questions came up with appropriate, wise responses.

"How do you know she's/he's the right one?" "When did you know you could start dating/courting?""How did you go about getting to know the parents?"etc, etc...
Not having any experience in the matter, I remained silent until a particular statement then follow up question arose:

A:"I think if you have too many or high expectations of your partner, disappointment sets in very early."
B: "So, how do you avoid disappointment?"
Me: "Don't have any expectations."

Sounds harsh in hindsight, I suppose. However, personal experience has shown me that the more expectations you have of other human beings, the more you set yourself up for disappointment. Yup...it is this that I wish to blog about. As C.S. Lewis said, "...there's a lot of nice things you can do with sand, just don't try building a house on it," when speaking about not putting one's trust in man.

Though I've yet to experience a serious relationship, I've learned a lot from watching others unfold (or fold) before me. More than not, it seemed that selfishness, unrealistic expectations, lack of communication, and personal motives were the root cause of many dumbfounded relationships.

Selfishness: makes sense to me because we are flesh and flesh is naturally selfish. In other words I can see how this sinful behavior can find its way into even the best of relationships. All anyone wants is to be appreciated and loved. Selfishness goes about fulfilling this natural need separate from the living God. What doesn't make sense to me is I never understood the concept of "what can I get OUT of this relationship?" I always thought it should be, "what can I put INTO this relationship?" SelfLESSness seems more appropriate...

Unrealistic expectations: nobody's perfect. For a person to expect their marriage partner to be perfect is like shooting themselves in the foot, eyeball, right knee cap, and heart. The only expectation one should have going into a relationship, I feel, is that of themselves: they should have high expectations of giving, loving, caring, and respecting the other person and/or group.

Give-Give

If I expect my mother to buy me a shirt and, heaven forbid (!) she doesn't, I get disappointed. On the other hand, if I don't expect her to do this, then whether she does or whether she doesn't, there is no room for disappointment. Now, naturally a mother/father's role in the life of a child is to provide for them physically, emotionally, spiritually, socially, and mentally. So if the mum & dad uphold their responsibilities, then the shirt (or whatever the need or want may be) will be forthcoming per the parent's wisdom.

Now, this is an overly simplistic example, but the principle applies to all areas of life. I am fully persuaded about this. Sure, there are things friends are supposed to do, say, or act just because they are "friends". But if I always expected people or friends to treat me in a certain way, to be there when I needed them, to listen when I talk, to understand me, etc, etc...I'd probably be the most bitter person on earth. One lives and learns to do with or without the luxuries of life...

Instead, I believe the only expectations we should have are those ones we hold for ourselves. I expect myself to love my mother, father, sister, and family regardless if I get the shirt or not. And if I really need the shirt, I get a job, make money, and buy it. If another person needs the shirt, I buy it for them. To bring scriptural light to this, I will use a passage that the LORD impressed upon me many, many years ago. I can say it was revealed to me in the Spirit and has since been confirmed over and over. It shocked me, but also put a grave reminder and responsibility in my heart to be fulfilled one day:

Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so [let] the wives [be] to their own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; (Eph 5:22-25 KJV)

Many people preach/teach about how the wife is supposed to be submissive to the husband. Uh, hello?!? Can you continue reading? Husbands are to love their wives, "...even as Christ also loved the church..."

So the next question is how did Christ love the church? When this is answered, then we have a model for how the husband is to love the wife. Well, let's see here....

- He died for the church
- He gave up His time, energy, and self for the church
- He discipled the church and continues to do so
- He loves the church in all of love's most powerful aspects (see I Corinth 13)
- He forgives the church
- He protects, saves, delivers, and covers the church
- He ALWAYS is thinking about the church- He dotes upon His church
- He does not accept the church as it is, but accepts the potential that the church is fulfilling everyday (in other words, the church is continually growing and striving to be found perfect for Him...this is what He accepts and believes in: our continual growing)
- He romances the church with times of refreshing and peace
- He is with the church in deep storms and tribulations
- He will never leave or forsake the church
- He sings of our love every day and takes great delight in the church
- Basically, Jesus gave up everything anyone could ever ask of him for the church
- Shall I go on?...

Hmmm...I'd say we need to start preaching the latter part of those verses a wee bit more. The heavier responsibility lies with the dude in a marriage.

Now, I'm no marriage counselor nor do I pretend to have all the solutions or words of wisdom. But I do believe the Word of God should be used as the basis for all of our decisions and modes of living. So what I basically said to everyone at the dinner were the things I just wrote above because I feel so very strongly about them. If two individuals are committed to seeing each other grow, pursue, overcome, and strive for the kingdom of God and their own personal relationship with Christ, they will be unstoppable. The only thing that could hinder them is themselves.

A quote:

"Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but rather gazing in the same direction." Not all encompassing, but I agree nonetheless.

Here in Singapore I hear the terms boyfriend and girlfriend alot....even more than back in the states! And there are a lot of young guys and girls in our church who, very soon, will be considering life mates. Consider well my friends....I'd say beside choosing the Lord as your savior, choosing she/he who will complete and compliment you is the next most important thing. (Notice the words carefully chosen: complete and compliment)

(*sigh*...back in the day at my church I had the opportunity to observe this situation since I was much younger than the "eligible group" Now, I have the opportunity to observe this same thing since I am older than the "eligible group". haha...I should write a book.)
Well, that's all for now.

And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This [is] now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. (Gen 2:21-25 KJV)

...perfection...

Factors for Team Success

My first (and last) "MCUBE" logo. MCUBE = the MultiMediaMinistries of our church

An excerpt from something I wrote about 1 year ago here in Singapore when asked the question, "What for you are the critical factors necessary to ensure a successful team?"

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Cohesiveness of defined purpose, integrity of character, and transparency of soul for one another would be my choices.

Cohesiveness of defined purpose: when our purpose for being, for existing as a team, is clearly defined we will have accomplished the first step. More important than defining this purpose, however, is the commitment each team member has to that purpose. Once this commitment is generated in each person (through effective communication, “provoking one another to good works”, accountability, personal examination, etc.) then every project, every decision, every meeting, every activity – in short, everything the team does will have a powerful, cohesive bind based upon the commitment to the purpose.

Integrity of character: Each person’s character must be held accountable to Jesus and His holy Word. When the fruit of the spirit permeates every area of the team members’ lives then there is nothing that can come against the team to harm them.

But the fruit of the Spirit is: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23 MKJV)

If the members strive to make these fruits active in their character then integrity will follow. And when it follows each member‘s progress can be made.


Transparency of Soul: Feeling comfortable being vulnerable around each other takes honesty with self, honesty with God, honesty with our fellow man, and trust that these three (self, God, man) have our best interests in mind. Like a triangle with God at the top and self – man at the bottom, transparency of motives, thoughts, emotions, dreams, visions, hurts, joys, (things of the soul) will enable the team to become one with itself very quickly.

But that you, speaking the truth in love, may in all things grow up to Him who is the Head, even Christ; from whom the whole body, fitted together and compacted by that which every joint supplies, according to the effectual working in the measure of each part, producing the growth of the body to the edifying of itself in love. (Ephesians 4:15-16 MKJV)

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Although one would be hard pressed to find a team in the world in any type of organization or group of people that exhibit these qualities 100%, I wholeheartedly believe that if we strive for the mark, if we work together with love and forgivness in the palm of our hand, if we establish Jesus Christ as the ruler of our thoughts and behaviors...well, anything is possible. None the least a glorious church that has made itself ready for the Lord.

Tag around my neck --> "under construction"

peace....

*sigh* 2

The dog poop is still there...

*sigh*

Ahh...the famous pork of Singapore. It has been described to me as...oh what was it he said..."a clogged artery with a side order of heart attack..." Anything that tastes this good (and it DOES taste good) is bound to be bad for your health...

*sigh*

So goes my expression at the sight of dog poop nicely spread along the public walkway near my apartment on my way to work today. I don't know if it was my natural instincts or an angel of the Lord that protected my 3 year old left sneaker from meeting an untimely demise this morning. But I praised God anyway for "...deliver[ing] me from all evil..." He keeps His Word indeed.

My winter holiday is coming up soon. We have 2 weeks off from school which is bangin'! I'm doing my best to save some $$$ so I won't be going anywhere special. I suppose I could take a trip to...say, eastern Singapore. Ya, that might do. I think that is where the Singapore Zoo is. They have a night safari which I have yet to go to. My Japanese students say it is really cool. Maybe I'll go during the day just to wake up all the night animals and throw off their sense of time and space. haha..

The camp in Malaysia this year was beyond words. Suffice it to say that life has yet again taken on new meaning for me...I think for all who were involved. God is just getting started. He is about to fulfill the prophecy of Joel in a very VERY big way. The latter day rain is turning into a pouring rain storm and we are beginning to see the effects of it. Rain on, Lord. Reign on...

I met someone from Connecticut there! AWESOME...he's an outdoors dude too. Taking troubled kids outdoors for some rockclimbing and kayaking. We were talking and I had to tell myself to stop drooling during our conversation. Let's just say if I didn't know any better I'd be over there and begging him to work for/with him. haha! We're going to stay in touch and I pray the Lord that we'll get a chance to meet up again. Hopefully on the side of a mountain somewhere or something.

Jesus is so very good to us! I will sing of His love morning by morning! I will talk of His goodness while walking by the way! He is to be exalted above all thoughts and emotions! Jesus is the potter and I am the clay! Oh praise be to His most majestic name from which the enemy flees in all directions!

How fleeting is this life. How petty our wants and desires when compared to His providence and grace. How we long to be found in Him daily...in His presence, in His favor, in His love. Yea, as haply as we believe and want this, we will be found resting in the shadow of His wings. So fly, my Jesus, fly on until we reach the secret place of the most High.

DCDCDCDCDCDCDCD

If olive oil comes from olives, Kon ponders, where does baby oil come from?...

Hmmm...I've been quite lazy lately.

Most of my posts as of late have not been done by my own hand. No matter; some things written by others have just the right tinge of "it" that I was feeling at those moments. That and not having enough time to do much lately. Because....

...our church camp meeting, dubbed Deep Calleth Deep, is coming up next week! Can't wait, but I must. I have lots 'o responsibility to be on top of. My group will be handling some of the more expensive pieces of equipment that belong to our church...and we're entrusting its care to a wonderful crew of brothers and sisters who will be there to help. This year is going to be great for the MCUBE (the group I'm helping out) and the rest of the church body as a whole. Amen!

While I'm looking forward to the spiritual aspect of the camp (first and foremost), I'm also looking forward to the drive up and drive back. The mountains and trees of Malaysia remind me of home and that which I enjoy most: being in the outdoors.

Well, I have so much more to write. Will have to wait till I come back the week after next. I'm sure the tone, tenor, and motivation of that which I write will change by then....

A quote to consider:

The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools. –Spencer

Live hard...Play hard....Follow hard

Following Hard After God! by A. W. Tozer

How tragic that we in this dark day have had our seeking done for us by our teachers. Everything is made to center upon the initial act of "accepting" Christ (a term, incidentally, which is not found in the Bible) and we are not expected thereafter to crave any further revelation of God to our souls. We have been snared in the coils of a spurious logic which insists that if we have found Him, we need no more seek Him. In the midst of this great chill there are some, I rejoice to acknowledge, who will not be content with shallow logic. They will admit the force of the argument, and then turn away with tears to hunt some lonely place and pray. "Oh God, show me Thy glory." They want to taste, to touch with their hearts, to see with their inner eyes the wonder that is God.

I want deliberately to encourage this mighty longing after God. The lack of it has brought us to our present low estate. The stiff and wooden quality about our religious lives is a result of our lack of holy desire. Complacency is a deadly foe of all spiritual growth. Acute desire must be present or there will be no manifestation of Christ to His people. He waits to be wanted. Too bad that with many of us He waits so long, so very long in vain. Every age has its own characteristics. Right now we are in an age of religious complexity. The simplicity which is in Christ is rarely found among us. In its stead are programs, methods, organizations and a world of nervous activities which occupy time and attention but can never satisfy the longing of the heart. The shallowness of our inner experience, the hollowness of our worship, and that servile imitation of the world which marks our promotional methods all testify that we, in this day, know God only imperfectly, and the peace of God scarcely at all.

If we would find God amid all the religious externals, we must first determine to find Him and then proceed in the way of simplicity. Now, as always, God reveals Himself to "babes" and hides Himself in thick darkness from the wise and the prudent. We must simplify our approach to Him. We must strip down to essentials (and they will be found to be blessedly few). We must put away all effort to impress, and come with the guileless candor of childhood. If we do this, without doubt, God will quickly respond. We need not fear that in seeking God only we narrow our lives or restrict the motions of our expanding hearts. The opposite is true. We can well afford to make God our All, to concentrate, to sacrifice the many for the One. The man who has God for his treasure has all things in One. Many ordinary treasures may be denied him, or if he is allowed to have them, the enjoyment of them will be so tempered that they will never be necessary to his happiness. Or if he must see them go, one after one, he will scarcely feel a sense of loss, for having the source of all things he has in One all satisfaction, all pleasure, all delight. Whatever he may lose he has actually lost nothing, for he now has it all in One, and he has it purely, legitimately and forever.

by A. W. Tozer "The Pursuit of God"

Finally...

Cat.

Lines.

Understanding.

...I sent off my New York Institute of Photography Unit 2 assignment! I have yet to find a good place to get film developed. I see all these convenience type store deals around, but they look all average to me. I developed two rolls I had at a place near my church last month and they totally destroyed all the color tones and contrast in them. Never again till I find someplace good.

It's been like a year and 2 months since I sent off my first one. Hope my professor forgives me. Got 6 more units to go and they are big....can't wait! This school was started in 1910 and is still going strong. Learning boat loads o' stuff...

The Truth of Seasons

To every [thing there is] a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up [that which is] planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

-King Solomon (Ecc 3:1-8 KJV)

When your work speaks for itself, don't interrupt.
- Henry J. Kaiser

Would to God that unecessary speech wasn't such a necessary crutch in the world today.
If actions do speak louder than words, why speak? Act and you'll be loud & clear....

True Victory

"It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again ang again; who know the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement; and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly; so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."
-Theodore Roosevelt

"Hear, O (your name here), ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies; let not your heart[s] faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them; for Jehovah your God is he that goeth with you to fight for you against your enemies, to save you."
- Deuteronomy 20:3,4


...'nuff said. The day approaches; let the battle begin...

ObeyyebO

And if we obey God, we must disobey ourselves, and it is this disobeying ourselves wherein the hardness of obeying God consists. Herman Melville (Moby Dick)

(Shame, I've never read the book. I've never read a lot of books come to think of it. Oh well...I think I spend too much time thinking, I think.)

It is the simplicity of obeying our God that will find us walking in the victorious destiny that the Lord Jesus has always planned for us. Time and time again in the Old Testament we see a preemptive God warning Israel that IF they would obey His voice, comfort the poor, execute justice for all...basically obeying all the commands that were given them...then it would go well with them and their families. If they disobeyed, well, they were messed up big time.

So too is it with the disciples of Jesus today, I believe. In our obedience we have every promise of our Great God at our fingertips, ready to be manifested in a most powerful way. Morever, we will have the ever-abiding presence of the Lord with us in sweet communion throughout the day as we walk in the Spirit and in obedience.

If disobedience should rear its ugly head and cause us to break fellowship then the strength and level of our bond with our loving God will be weakened, disillusioned, and marred. The effects of disobedience are immediate (remember Adam and Eve's quick realization that they were naked?) and painfully real. Left unconfessed andunconqueredd, a far more serious fate awaits our souls...

Oh bless the Lord for Jesus Christ who so willingly gave up His life so that we could be restored to a life of obedient servitude! Jehovah-Rophe...the reviver of unfulfilled commitments, the forgiver of disregard for the laws of grace and truth, the healer of wounds caused by turning away from the Light of the world, the restorer of liberty, anointing, and faith.

O, just one more quote. Off topic, but oh well...

Protest long enough that you are right, and you will be wrong. -Yiddish Proverb

Amen....

Lightnings of the Mind

Some recent observations:



It was cool today. Very cool. I thought that was worth mentioning...

Better to make people wonder why you didn't speak than why you did.

I composed a song this morning. (that makes 80 something now I think...)

I realized that many human beings + small spaces + humid weather = lots of varied and interesting smells, especially when everyone is wearing different perfume in order to NOT smell.

I almost forgot a friend's keys and clothes on a bus the other day. Thank God for kind people who tap you on the shoulder and say, "Is this yours?"

I'm not the only one who thinks one should allow people to exit the MRT first and then procede to enter. It's funny to see tourists deal with differences seeing as I'm no longer one anymore...

We all hurt at times. It is God who gives us each a measure of grace that is sufficient to handle our particular situations.

Homemade tunafish is really good. (w/ lots o' sweet relish)

I have to iron my clothes again...

Dude, I really like the song the Lord gave me today. "Oh God!"

Can't wait to see Chronicles of Narnia, even though I've never read the book. Hmmm...dunno which to do first: read or watch. Maybe watch and read....

The entire collection of Calvin and Hobbes is at Borders Books for over $150 (I think) and weighs a ton. I must get this...it's a moral imperative. Calvin + me = same sense of humor.

Morning prayer is one of the most important things a human being can do to live victoriously in Christ the Lord. And if one starts this good habit, it will be hard to let the morning by without entertaining the presence of the Lord Jesus.

This life is transistory. Nothing lasts forever outside of God...thus all happenings in our lives can be explained in one word: seasons. And seasons, we know, come in cycles.

My mom and sis are the two strongest, most beautiful women in the world, and my dad is the most giving man I know.

Some people just won't understand...

Thank God that He understands every single little intangible thing about us.

Well, that's about it for now.