My first visit to Duolos..

We set off early this morning to visit Duolos. It was a long awaited trip as each Saturday had been filled with some activity or another and this was the last Saturday the ship would be here...

Jon and Kelly came along with us which was fun! Kelly helped us with directions as we all had absolutely no idea where we were supposed to go except it was Westport and StarCruise terminal... Thank you, Kelly! Jon was good company (as usual!) and we had a hot but "fruitful" time at the book store. I bought books and books and books.. mainly gifts and such! The prices were good and variety too! Since it was the last weekend before they left, there weren't any souvenir t-shirts for sale so all we have is the car parking butt to remind us that we visited Duolos! We also didn't manage to get anything for our resource centre..

Our treat after the excursion was Teluk Gong seafood at the famous Coconut Flower Seafood Restaurant. They served yummy fried lala meehoon which I first tasted when William's folks took us there and large portions of everything else! We couldn't finish the food we ordered but it was delicious!

That's it la.. our Saturday out...

Faithfulness in small things..

Luke 19:17 "And he said to him, 'Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, you are to be in authority over ten cities."

This verse is part of the Parable of the Ten Minas and is often quoted when we talk about faithfulness and character.

For those who know me, I am one who is constantly looking, watching others in search of character... especially in men and women of God. After all, that is one of the things that sets us apart.

I believe that watching and looking out for good character is a most "beneficial" pastime. I would be reminded to thank God and also be able to encourage others with my observations.

Traditionally, some would be looking out for character too except that some look and see only bad character...

So yesterday, I saw Godly character in action! I was so pleased, grateful, thankful and proud when I spotted it!

Here's what happened yesterday... My church chairman drove up at 8.15am, which was unusual as he's usually at the mother church to attend service there. As he was not scheduled to speak at our centre either, I was pleasantly surprised to see him. He had come all the way to pass us 15 copies of the Asian Beacon for sale at our church and that was it! He dropped off the mag and was off again!

I see this as an act of faithfulness in small things and was very encouraged by his act of service and the fact that nothing was too big or too small for him to do for God!

I suppose I shouldn't be at all surprised as our pastors, leaders and even ordinary members of our congregation, for that matter already serve us in big and small ways (some of whom are "In Secret Service"!) but I choose to see this as Godly character in action and be encouraged by it!

Character.. Godly character! I am thankful to be serving alongside such greats!

Gift of Healing...

Our 9 year old Eunice Low is in need of the gift of healing and Uncle Beng has asked us as a church to stand by the family in prayer for her to receive this gift.

Eunice has a lumbar or two move from her spine's alignment. She wears a brace and I think she experiences pain when walking. The doctors have recommended corrective surgery which sounds fine except that they'll also need to remove the screws they put in now, when she is 15 years old. I don't like the idea of her having these surgeries either and wanna place my hope in God for her to receive healing.

Right now, the plan of action is to dedicate especially the 21 day United Prayer and Fast (organised by CBC) from 7-27 Aug to praying for Eunice. I think it is a good idea.

For those of us who have some doubts or questions on healing, I found this article helpful and comforting. Have a read.. http://www.contenderministries.org/biblestudy/giftsofthespirit4.php and be encouraged to pray for young Eunice with us!

How to be a better spouse..

We had Pastor Aaron Tham and his lovely wife, Constance come to speak on this topic last week and this Sunday to both our husbands and wives.

It was in Ps Mal's heart that our couples be ministered to and how right he is! The attendance was not terribly encouraging but most of the married ones turned up, so I guess I shouldn't complain. The unmarried ones either think they are alright or they don't think it would help them... Their loss..

A couple of points I think were pretty good include the idea that the ladies must learn to stop COMPARING their spouses to other seemingly more "successful" men out there. It's like when they married their darlings they were perfectly content that they got the best one in the block but suddenly a friend whips up another specimen and she's suddenly all flustered and feel that their darling ought to "show them" or they simply need to "do better"!

I think keeping up with the Jones-es is a terrible affliction many of us suffer from...

Another good point that was raised was about wives having affairs instead of the traditional idea that only men cheat on their wives. Husbands especially Christian men, need to realise that their wives are not immune to advances of other men and are tempted in the same manner as they are in the marketplace. They need to help their wives continue to feel secure and loved, treasured and adored just like anyone else..

Women are a strange bunch though. When given the opportunity to ask ANY question about men (Pastor Aaron volunteered to answer anything!) they just kept mum! Maybe too many eyes and ears around? Maybe, the COMPARING affliction is rampant in church too? So sad...

Looks like I got my work cut out for me.... Women's Ministry, anyone?

Everything we do and don't do has consequences...

It was thursday lunchtime at Apollos Coffee Shop and the boys were getting their char-siew rice before going off to school. We were talking about praying for things like, the tsunami that hit Indonesia's Jawa and the Lebanon-Israeli trouble when the younger one remarked that he was glad that the tsunami didn't hit us in Malaysia...

Well, I remarked that everything that happens around the world impacts us somehow. Although the disaster didn't hit us as a nation, it affects us nonetheless. I proceeded to explain how it would affect us, using illustrations like how an orphaned boy or even a bird dying makes a difference in our lives.

Sometimes we feel so isolated from the rest of the world and as Christians we may even feel that things that happen in other areas outside of our church existence like politics, world events, other believers' struggles might just have no consequence or impact in our lives but boy, how they do!

We are confronted with so many items in a day that we can and ought to pray for. Some of us think no more of it than as a mere "to-do" item whilst others worry and muse over about it for ten minutes or until some other seemingly more urgent matter takes over our "thought slot" or maybe call it our consciousness, much like a whistling kettle boiling profusely would shatter one's train of thought... and time passes by and all is left behind...

ok, here i am trying to write very "storybook like"! bleh!

Here's the deal. What we do or don't do counts LOTS in God's Kingdom. We decide whether we want in or out. We choose to make that difference. There is much we can and ought to do and it must begin with prayer, prayer and prayer... effective word here is BEGIN..

Today, I shall pray for (in no particular order of importance as they are all vital) -

1. the victims of the escalating violence in Lebanon and the implications relating thereto.
2. the victims and rescue efforts of the tsunami hit areas in Indonesia.
3. Malaysia as a nation and for the unreached and officially unreacheable people groups.
4. evangelism efforts in 1, 2 and 3.
5. violence in and around us including, rape, robberies, snatch thieves, domestic violence, abuse of domestic helpers, etc.
6. Lina Joy case (http://www.graceatwork.org/) and implications relating to our standing as Malaysian citizens and our constitutional freedom of choice.
7. Politicians in Malaysia who seek to reveal the truth.

Being a friend..

Many times and in the various seasons of my life, I find myself wondering who friends are and what a friend ought to be...

I don't have many friends but I do know many people and they know who I am. They have shared much of my present, or past and many have touched my life in a special way and I treasure their presence in my life.

But who is a friend really?

Dictionary.com says that a friend is...
1. A person whom one knows, likes, and trusts.
2. A person whom one knows; an acquaintance.
3. A person with whom one is allied in a struggle or cause; a comrade.
4. One who supports, sympathizes with, or patronizes a group, cause, or movement: friends of the clean air movement.
5. Friend A member of the Society of Friends; a Quaker.

By this definition, I suppose I do have many friends..

To pursue this further, would I then have different categories of friends? I suppose there should be good, very good, extremely close, new, old, etc. friends and then there will be acquaintances, people I know, people who know me or know of me?

I would define a friend as something MORE than what is defined in the dictionary...

I see a friend as someone who...
- knows me as well as i know him/her or at least attempts to..
- does not have any other motive of spending time with me aside from simply enjoying my company.
- listens to me rant and rave without judging me.
- loves me for who I am and not wish I was someone else/better.
- scolds me when they see me do something stupid/wrong.
- shares their lives with me, good and bad without fearing that I would judge them.
- doesn't mind if I don't call or see them for extended periods and won't feel slighted. we ought to be able to pick up exactly where we left off the last time we spoke...
- can hold an intelligent conversation with me as well as ROTFL with/at me!
- trusts me with their heart and doesn't worry about their "place" in my life... ie, he/she doesn't need or care to compete for my affections.
- keeps all that we speak in complete confidence.

These are some of the things i see that a friend ought to be. I wonder if what i have set out is too tall an order for any one person to expect or aspire to be? I think not cos then we'd know who our friends REALLY are... It separates the men from the boys, so to speak! I don't think any one of us should have/expect anything less..

Looking back at my definition, it gives me great comfort to see that I have more friends than I thought I did.

I have been blest by the times I shared with them and how they enriched and influenced my life. I look forward to spending more time with them and being with them. Just need to appreciate them more, I guess!

No resources online!

Am dissappointed that Malaysians aren't a charitable lot when it comes to our own language and resources related thereto...

Whenever I get hopeful, I will use various search engines to search for helps like dictionaries online especially BM ones. I can't seem to find any!

I suppose charity begins at home... I may just be given enough reason to get off my behind to set up some kind of website with a potpourri of things I find lacking in the internet as my contribution to the online society.

Yes, I seem to be talking besar now.. let's see if this urge will last!