I feel contented.

Not in an I’m-so-satisfied-I-don’t-wanna-move on-in-life, that sort of contented. We have been doing the study in the book of Philippians in church as well as a more in-depth Bible study in cell group. As we discussed from the previous cell group about the life of Paul as well as his affection and gratitude for the Philippians, he told them one of the secrets in life; and that is to be contented in whatever situations. This of course is derived from a sense of completeness that comes from God. I do love the Word of God for all that’s in it.

Our Zone Leader, Choon Ean was leading cell, as Shelley was away in Penang. I thought she led the cell group well and during the end of cell, S k y e and I were chatting with her and the conversation got really interesting as we were talking about how she started an independent media ministry called LiveWire. She was telling me about her experiences shooting in Indonesia when the tsunami happened as well as her experiences in East Timor. The purpose of the shoot was to raise awareness of the real need in Indonesia as disasters hit and people’s lives were severely affected. The video was then edited and distributed to churches and organisations here in Malaysia.

Through the conversation, something was ignited in my spirit. It was the familiar flicker of a dream and a vision that was kept in my heart for a long, long time. It wasn’t a coincidence (I believe) that I bought “The Principles and Power of Vision” by Dr. Myles Munroe from Canaanland that weekend too. I began to share quite openly although very briefly that it was something that God has put something like that in my heart for a long time, right from the time when I was still in Melbourne. The stories of Ps Neil Smith’s church in Perth having a media/graphic design wing that is wholly owned by the church further flamed the dream inside of me. Yet when I came back here, I wouldn’t dare say the dream died down, no… it was the otherwise. Because of the realness of the dream, I began to think with even more intensity these days, how should I position myself so that I can see the outworking of the dream in my life.

It was no mistake that God has put me in advertising and prior to that, production. It is also no mistake now that He has strategically positioned me in marketing. All these are building up to something. Brick by brick, building a structure that thrust its structure in the centre of the Rock. What is this something? It’s a dream, a vision, a not-too-distant reality. Dr. Myles Munroe quoted in the book “sight is the function of the eye, but the vision is the function of the heart.”

S k y e and I, we recently bought a few sermon mp3s from Hillsong. One of which we listened with intent on a rainy Saturday afternoon. It was a sermon called “Ishmael” by Ps. Charlotte Scanlon-Gambill. In the sermon, she told a story of a boy whom nobody cared. An outcast by the standards of the society. A hopeless wreck if you were to measure by the rule of the superior education system. Yet, Charlotte loved him. She cared for him. Told him he had a hope and a future. She put up a Christmas gift-giving celebration in her church one day. And this boy, James was invited. He came, he got touched. He wrote a letter to Charlotte telling her that usually, she wouldn’t come to church. Why? Because the world saw him as an Ishmael. But Charlotte saw him as a boy God loved. No lesser than how God would have loved Isaac. So, he wrote a letter, he thanked her for her love. He said, somebody in church once asked him, what is his dream? For James, he never knew the word. But ever since, he said, he in fact had a dream. His dream was to love other people that have been through the same thing as he did. He wanted to help them. He wanted to show that God loved them and He still do. He was not given a gift of sight; he was given the gift of vision.

I want to encourage you. And I want to encourage myself.

That God believes in you. That the dream is not dead. That if God can use Abraham, Moses, Samson, Esther, Matthew, Paul, Timothy, Bill Graham, Myles Munroe, Ps Russell and Sam, and even James; He can use YOU. I’m just gonna finish off with this; Over the weekend, S k y e and I took the step to sponsor 2 children. One from Cambodia and one from Indonesia. How much did it cost us? RM60 and about 5 minutes filling up the form. How much did it made a difference for them? Their whole life. I know a few things now. I know that tonight they will have a bed to sleep on. I know when they wake up tomorrow, they will have food to eat. I know that they will have a book in their hands and they will read. I know they will know God and know of their huge plan and purpose that God has destined for them. And I know I can love them with God’s love.

“What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds."
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.”

- James 2:14- 18

Energy Friend has a Calculator that apparently let you calculate how many cups of coffee (and other caffeine-related drinks) you need to drink before you kill yourself. According to it, I need to drink 120.37 cups of espresso in a single seating before I croak. Man, thankfully I stopped at 119 cups!

I just came back from the patent agent in Plaza Sentral.

It’s been my second time there, and this time we went there with the purpose of moving ahead with the patent application for one of our current projects. Sure enough a familiar sign greeted me as I entered their large boardroom with views of the KL cityscape, except today it made me feel like I was in Genting, ‘cause the haze was kinda bad, so it made it look like there’s fog in the city.

So, yeah back to the sign. You see, this patent agency has a very interesting sign that stood on a low cabinet together with a few of the awards they won in the previous years. I would have surely taken a picture of it if it had been convenient. But this is what is said:

“Beware of the lawyer (don’t worry the dog’s safe)”

Now, one should feel more careful if a lawyer’s agency had that in the boardroom, displayed to the world. But somehow, I felt pretty amused and just brushed the anxiety off by saying “It’s ok, the people here have a good sense of humour”. I do like it when people can take the mickey out of themselves and their job.

So, remember folks: Beware of the lawyer, me thinks even the dog’s not safe… Poor doggies, who knows if the lawyers would wanna sue them one day for Disruption of the Public Space causing physical and emotional Damages based on the licentious dissipation of its feces. Poor doggies, I say.

*tries to tune guitar then strums a G* :P

Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday to S k y e dear :)
Happy birthday to you!

Friendships are a whole dimension which was once started of a beauty and it still is, but sometimes unknowingly and quietly it gets thwarted, polluted and twisted through a series to events, which may seem harmless slash fun-loving or even under the guise of spirituality. There’s a term called Christian witchcraft. It is a term used when a person mostly a Christian manipulates the gospel for his or her own benefit thus feeding the flesh self in him.

There is certain sin in this world where even the world hates. Such are the sin of murder, abortion, rape, homosexuality, incest, and the like. Yet there are certain grey-area sins that the world takes no stand, but worse still if Christians have no stand and no say about it. Yes, not without a coincidence I know of people who like that. The drug-takers, the lust-slaves, the murderers of the spirit. Watch out it says. Watch out for the dogs! The mutilators of the body, soul and spirit. They coming! Open your deaf ears and listen… Yes, they coming!

Kill
The
Dogs!

You hear the dogs? You hear them? ‘Cause if you don’t you dead! Hear me? You dead. Don’t tell me your living and breathing stories, ‘cause if you don’t watch out, you dead. They gonna sink their teeth on you when you’re asleep. When you’re walking, talking, laughing, shopping, eating, drinking. When you asleep, when you awake. When you don’t watch out for the stinking, flesh-mutilating, blood lusting dogs, you dead! That’s all it is. No, grey area nonsense. No, pink Barbie excuses – “oh-I’m-trying-to-share-the-gospel-with-them”. There’s the world (that the One and Only Son so loved and died for) and there’s the dog!

The world’s filled with dogs sent from the devil to eat you up if you don’t watch out! You deaf? Spend more time with the dog-killer than the dogs. They don’t do any good. They gonna kill, steal, eat you up alive. Before you know it, you’re seeing the road sign that’s says “Next Stop – Hell” yeah, that’s right, you gotta watch out for the dogs! What sin are the dogs perpetrating? You gotta keep your head. You listen closely, they’re coming after you! Watch out, I’m telling you, watch out!

KILL
THE
DOGS!

Malaysia is a beautiful country.

Yet just like anywhere in the world you have the good news and the bad news. So, this is just a lil something from the news to end my working (Thurs)day.

Good news: YTL in talks to build rail link to Singapore.
Bad news: Once-powerful Malaysian grumbles to press he controlled.

Just a snippet of news about Mr. Francis Yeoh, the chairman and founder of YTL Corporation Berhad. His corporation is a RM 19 billion market capitalisation with subsidiaries all over the world. The corporation serves more than 10 million customers worldwide. So, here we have a man who is at the helm of this large corporation. At the same time, he is a Christian as well. In the past years, the government of Malaysia offered him a free permit to build a casino. Completely free! Yet, Mr. Francis Yeoh turned the offer down, showing his tough stand againts gambling. He in fact, made some strong statements againts millionaires that have invested in the gambling industry in Malaysia, namely people like Lim Goh Tong.

In my opinion, this is a man who dares to lives out what he believes. He doesn't need to talk about the gospel, because from his life he is already shouting it out aloud. Well done, Mr. Francis Yeoh! Now, imagine what 10 or 100 of Mr. Francis Yeohs can do. More than all the wealth and power in this world, he is a man who is rich in his integrity and a favour that comes from God.

The man who knows his direction without knowing his destination arrives no where. But the man who knows his destination looks forward at the journey ahead with anticipation. Although they may be dark alleys and road blocks, he would stir up a drive in himself. And if it means digging through the roof to get to his destination, he will do it. Because he knows as long as he stays focused on the destination, he will never lose his direction.

He is a man with a Destiny and a Hope.

A silhouette of kites flying high up in the sunset sky. It was a beautiful sight as I traveled back from work yesterday. It reminded me of how many times we’re like those kites. Trying to reach higher and higher. Yet the one who holds the ball of strings know what is best for us, doesn’t he? I remember when you fly a kite, you can’t release the strings to fast, ‘cause sometimes it would break if there is a strong wind. Other times, the kite just won’t fly if you release it too fast. As I looked at the kites, I began to understand in a deeper understanding why God says “Abide in me and apart from Me, you can do nothing.” How true ain’t it? If we are the kite and the One who holds us is God Himself. There is nothing we can do, if we choose to go our own way, we will just fall to the earth miserably. Yet a lot of times, we wrestle with God over control of our lives. How shallow, immature and naïve could we be if we keep thinking that? On the flip side, if you and I let God take control in our lives, we would fly higher and higher into the sky. He promises that He’ll take us from glory to glory, strength to strength. But sometimes, it takes a bit more time. He will release the string more and more as we put our trust in Him and let Him have full control. God know how high we can achieve if only we let God take control.

I'm a man
I'm not a child
A man who sees
The shadow behind your eyes

Did I waste it
Not so much I couldn't taste it
Life should be fragrant
Rooftop to the basement

Who's to say where the wind will take you
Who's to say what it is will break you
I don't know
Which way the wind will blow

- Kite, U2

True, we don’t know where the winds of life will take us to. Blue skies one day, stormy clouds another. Yet our Lord is the same yesterday, today and forevermore. Wait upon the Lord, and you will soar like an eagle. Whichever way the wind blows, God, You be my Navigator.

Another day, another week.

My baby’s back in Singapura. But I’ll be there this Saturday (yay!) more Saturday bus-riding-goodness. It feels vaguely weird that we’re back to the sms-then-call-and talk-till-it’s-late-ish kinda system again. Although we have done it for most of our relationship for the past year especially. But you know, it feels awesome to be together in one place then when you displace that, it requires a little readjustment of lifestyle again. Nothing big, just a random observation.

Anyway, I have to write this down before I forget. If any of you tries this, please tell me whether it works. It’s Jamie Oliver’s Special Lemon Sorbet (the reason why I’m writing it out rather than copy and paste is I think I’ll remember better like that) So, there we go:

What do you need:

200g sugar
200ml water
200 ml lemon juice
1 zest of lemon
1 heaped tablespoon of mascarpone

How do I do it:

1. Pre-freeze a container (preferably metal since it’s gonna freeze faster) of 20-25cm deep.
2. Put the water and sugar to a pan and let it boil. When it looks syrupy, remove it from the heat and let it cool for 15 minutes.
3. Add the lemon juice and zest to the pan.
4. Add mascarpone and stir till it’s mixed evenly.
5. It’s very important at this stage to give it a try. In the words of Jamie, if it makes your face curl up, you know you need to add more sugar (duh). haha
6. Pour the mixture into the container and put it in the freezer.
7. Check every hour or so for the next 3 hours to stir it around if it starts to freeze.
8. Now, you got yourself the goodness of lemon sorbet ala Jamie Oliver of course. Enjoy!