2008

There's something about this year. For the chinese , 8 is a good number. But I understand the Indians hate 8. But, this year has proven that the Yinyang theory has been true. A balance of white and black , the good and the bad. ( Am not being racist here ) :p By the way, I was just kidding about the Yinyang theory.

However, this year has been very eventful and dramatic for the whole world in the economic and political scene. I don't need to mention them la , you should know. Unless of course if you're Amish. Personally, this year has been A YEAR OF THE LORD. For those who do not know, 2008 has been a break year for me. A year of rest and learning. A year I never expected myself to be in.

There's just so much God has taught and shown me throughout this whole year. Things so deep in my heart that only an oil rig drill can reach. But God has chosen this year , to dig out all the dirt , to expose me , to prove to me that there's nothing He does not see, or does not know. I've been full of pride inside, deep inside. Of course, always being the few top student in school , having the attention of every teacher , being the ' school grass' of every school I was in , having girls harrasing you , having your own name being mentioned everywhere only for the good things, being viewed as an all rounder and it goes on. These things , have been building up inside me for years , and it felt good, I didn't want to expose it.

But God humbled me, knowing that if I had gone on like that , I'll probably never turn back. And so, through the circumstances of 2008 , I was humbled. I was ' left' behind in Kluang. The reasons : I didn't do as well as I expected in STPM , didn't get the course I applied for , didn't even get in the first private uni intake , made to wait for half a year for the second intake , became the last person in my batch to leave town for studies when I always thought I'll be the first ! How awesome is that ?! The scripture says , the first shall become the last. Yeap , now I get it! To the world , I may be viewed a failure , and I rather fail. I rather fail now. Than to fail harder next time. I thank God for making me fail. Now, I really love to fail. It just breaks me again and again , and drawing me closer to the One who breaks me. I don't know what He's doing , but I know where He's leading me to. I thank God for whatever He has done to me , eventhough I do not understand then. But now, I know. I've got nothing to prove , have got nothing to show , all my successes had been His , and never was mine.

God is dealing with another area in my life now. He is challenging me to the course of giving up everything I have , and desire to have. All for his sake. To love Him more than my father, my mum, my wife ( if I'm going to have one ) , brothers and sisters. Only then shall I be worthy to be called his follower. I am counting the cost , I am struggling with it. I am waiting upon Him. It is really a call for all Christians , who call themselves a true follower of Christ , who does not want to be conform to the pattern of this world , but be transformed by the renewing of mind. This is it , this is the call. Take it or leave it.

Besides all that , of course I enjoyed my 'stint' in my lovely town here. But it's coming to an end. And I shall go where God wants me to be. It's been a fruitful time here in kluang , getting to be with my family , friends and getting to be part of God's work here. I've been enjoying late nights and late mornings. haha. I am going to miss those times. Nevertheless, something bigger than me awaits and I shall be discovering and experiencing it very soon.

You see , another strange thing has happened. God has been allowing me to go places I never thought I would have gone , eventhough deep inside my heart ,I did thought of it. But never did I pray or ask God for it. Let's see, in 2008 , I've been to Pulau Redang , Pulau Penang, Pulau Langkawi , and China. Honestly , I have always wanted to go these specific places , but not until this year. I didn't even ask HIM!! Amazing right ? I didn't even purposely plan to go , it's just opportunities and opportunities. Now, I understand again what the scripture means when it says ' Your Father in Heaven knows what you need even before you ask ' !! Hmmmm........

In conclusion , expect great things in 2009 ! You'll never know or expect what God is going to do to you. haha........ So, be on guard :) Oh , btw , I would love to thank everyone in Kluang , to my friends and those of you who have been a part of my life so far. I truly am thankful to God for putting amazing people like you in my life. You know who you are ;) Shalom !

p/s : No this is not my farewell speech. This is just 2008's closing ceremony. wahaha!! 2009 !

Expect the unexpectebles !

Solli !!

Dear Folks ,

Firstly , would like to apologize for the dormancy of my blog. It's been a while since I really write. I know , you probably are tired with my pics. haha..... Anyways , this is a test of your patience and endurance. Which I know most of you have passed because none ( except for a few ) of you have bugged me to update my blog. It's either that , or no one visits my blog anymore :(

However, the future is not as bleak as you might sense it , there is still hope ! I'll be back..... Yes , I'll be back !

Let me tell you a lame joke first.

One day , Mr Muthu asked Mrs. Karupayahthambichi whether his hair is messy .........
Guess what Mrs. Karupayahthambichi said ?
She said.................

"What to do ?
Go to Pudu
Look for Muthu
Lick his kutu
Fry a muruku
Solve the sudoku "

Yes, that's all she said :)

Balik Kampung

I went to China, and I felt like I was going back to my roots. Yeah, my first time in China. According to some old chinese men , if you are a chinese , you must visit China at least once in your lifetime. Or else , your ancestors won't be happy or something of that sort. And, so I've fulfilled the responsibility of every chinese man ( according to them ) :) . I went with my mum to visit my uncle who is living in Shanghai with his family , and also to meet up with my cousin uncle and his wife from Australia , who also happen to be there. We went to few places. We went to Shanghai , Nanjing , Hangzhou , Suzhou , and Xi'an. Yup, we had a great time there. Thank God for this opportunity. Here are some pictures....................


From left : Cousin Uncle , Cousin Aunt, Mum


My uncle and I


From right : My cousin , Aunt, little cousin


Mum and I at Shanghai Bund


At Terra-Cotta Museum


Terra - cottas


Cheeky cousin and I


Bronze chariots seen in The Mummy 2


So much food!

Furball update

My mother cat gave birth to another 3 kittens. 2 white and 1 grey. They are super playful at this point of thier 'kittenhood'. haha....... Anyway, these are few pictures for you to feast your eyes upon. muahahahaha!!!
p/s : don't be jealous k ? Cos I am not keeping them, thinking of giving them away. So, if you want to adopt one of these furballs , just register at www.myfurball.com.

No, I was just kidding. But really, if you are interested and committed to taking care of them, I am more than willing to give them to you. :D

Pictures !! here you go ...........

Pit Stop

For those who realize , F1 cars change their tyres, yes all 4 of them every time they come to a pit stop. Wait, that's not all, they also refuel and have mechanical adjustments. Sometimes, if necessary they change drivers too. Even machines get worn out, what more us, human beings. Most of the time, we wonder why we cannot love others the way we use to. We feel so dry, empty and powerless to even love and care for others. We lose that passion,that zeal, that excitement and enthusiasm that keeps us going.

That's when we ought to have a thorough self-examination. Ask ourselves whether we have been loving others with our own strength or God's. Because, only God's love will last ( for he has love us with an everlasting love : Jeremiah 31:3) .We love with a finite love, a love that will run dry if we do not constantly get our supply of 'loves' from Him. Therefore, when we run out of love , it's not difficult to tell. :) it's pretty obvious. To be able to love naturally out from our heart is to first experience His love and constantly refresh ourselves with God's love.

We have to arrive at the pit stop. Replace new tyres, refuel , tighten some screws and off we accelerate again into the track , back to the race. And then, when we are down and out, come to the pit stop again. And get yourself reconditioned. It is constant and repetitive. But it is necessary. When it rains , we have to put on tyres made for wet condition , when it is scorching hot, you have another set of special tyres. Depending on the weather.

Let's not wait till our tyres explode , or our absorber breaks , or when our car can't move anymore before we decide to drop by the pit stop. Because, by that time, it's quite too late. The tower has to come to tow you to the pit stop, you have to have a major repair, and the worst of it all, you are wasting time !! Come to think about it, does it make sense ? :D

Here's a song to encourage those who are hungry :)

Hungry ( Falling on my knees )

Hungry, I come to You
For I know You satisfy
I am empty but I know
Your love does not run dry

Chorus:
So I wait for You
So I wait for You

I'm falling on my knees
Offering all of me
Jesus, You're all this heart
Is living for

Broken, I run to You
For Your arms are open wide
I am weary but I know
Your touch restores my life

Chorus

I'm falling on my knees
Offering all of me
Jesus, You're all this heart
Is living for

Trinity?

From the left : Snowy ( the kitten),
his father,his mum.

You see, weird things happen to me. But this time it's a good thing. No, I didn't buy the these cats. They came to my house and gave themselves to me. Believe or not ? That's the fact! And the wonder of it all, they are all white.Plus, the couple has only one kitten,and the only kitten is white too. Haha...... I don't know what you call this , a coincidence? Maybe. But I am taking a different view. A view of symbolism. As the title has it. Trinity. And they white represents holiness , purity and stainless. Well, so far these cats are amazing. They are cute and entertaining. And the father caught a fat rat behind my house. Well, tell you a secret. I actually love cats. Just that my mum didn't want to buy me one, well too bad now. Because they came. :D
More pictures after the jump .............

The Repelling Factor

Have you met people who hate Christians to the core ? I am sure most of you had. Some of these people might be even Christians themselves. Personally, I had. And man , did I have a hard time! Well, not so much of convincing them that they misunderstood what 'real Christians' are, but just to even talk to them about God in general.

Hurting people are all around us. They are hurt not because of the fact that we are Christians, but more because we do not live out what we are supposed to be. Well , we all can argue that we are still human and that we are still sinners subjected to failures. But if there is no expectation, then why are we called Christians ? What is the difference between a Christian and a non-believer?

I think the biggest gospel repelling factor are these two: Bad tongue and Pride

As proverbs says ' the tongue has the power of life and death'. Why the tongue ? Why not the stomach or the liver ? Because the tongue is the most effective and accurate expression of the heart. For out of the tongue comes what is in the heart. When a person has a foul mouth filled with sarcasm and thorns in every sentence , who would dare go near him? Right away, people get hurt and offended. Our words ought to go through the filter of love,sensitivity,caution, and courtesy before coming out from our mouth with a purpose of encouraging, lifting and exalting a person. Like what chinese people say ' Go through your big brain first'. Well, it is very different from sugar-coating words. Because when you sugar-coat words, people can feel it. It smells fishy and inauthentic. But when you speak with love, it is a verb. :D

Pride. The greatest downfall of many church leaders. Why leaders? Because these are the people thrust into the lime-light, running the the so called ' show' of ministries. Often, the problem of people with pride is that they do not realize they have it. Why? Because it has become so assimilated and well-blended into them that they can't see it. Sadly, when they do realize it, it is probably the last few stages of severity. It is also the hardest time for them to admit because they are already hardened. And when they choose to hover on in pride, the deeper they fall, and the harder it is to humble themselves. Unless of course if God chooses to humble them. Actually, it is not very difficult to humble a proud person. Just some diseases,financial crisis,lost of someone they love,retrenchment and you see their world crashing down. Why? Because these are the things the proud hold on to, the shakable things, things that threaten their degree of loft. What they need are the unshakable things. The things NOT of the world.