Dear Abbie...

Jerusalem Part 2 - Day 6

2011-02-12T21:24:00.000+08:00

DAY 6

So today we made it to the most sacred and controversial site in the whole of Jerusalem - Temple Mount! Woohoo!

Dan Hotel in Jerusalem - just the driveway.

(On a completely different tangent - have you seen the videos of the supposed 'UFO' descending and then ascending on Temple Mount? I'm pretty sure it's a hoax.)

But anyway, back to the topic here.

On day 6, we visited Temple Mount and the Western Wall in Jerusalem. It was freezing that day and everyone was huddled in layers of clothing. I was in a dilemma as to whether to keep my hands in my pockets where it was infinitely warmer or bring out out into the wind and cold to take pictures! I think in the end pictures won out though, since it was sort of once in a blue moon trip! My fingers were frozen stiff after though!

Yep, mine is the only one with gloves - although I bet everyone else was wishing it was theirs instead! ;)
Picture by Zhu Ping Loh.

Red Riding Hoods visit Jerusalem - look out, wolf!
Picture by Zhu Ping Loh.

Yup. Hair all mussed up from the wind!

The Temple Mount is is one of the most controversial sites in the world. It is special to many Jews because it was the site of the first and second Temple. Some also believe that it will be the site of the final Temple. The Temple is however also special to the Muslims because the Dome of the Rock is built there. The Dome of the Rock is believed to be the spot from which their prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven.

Picture by Zhu Ping Loh.

Must be a Qur'an study?

A little further out, there were a lot of excavated findings. This is just one of the door entrances that must have belonged to the wall? It's actually quite a small archway. I don't think the typical Aussie would be able to walk through without stooping. I can of course because I'm not a typical Aussie. :D

Guess what? You're right. It's a toilet... no really, it is.

The Temple Mount is built on Mount Moriah (where Abraham nearly sacrificed Isaac and also where Jesus stayed behind to talk with the elders and priests of the Temple after his parents had left the Temple)

Picture by Zhu Ping Loh.

We also visited the Western Wall (aka Wailing Wall) on that same day. The Wall is divided into 2 sections. Only men were allowed in the left part of the wall, and only women were allowed to pray at the right end of the Western Wall. There were bits of paper stuck all over the wall - in every nook, cranny and crevice. White bits, yellow pieces, pink slips and what not. You name it. There were also white plastic chairs placed just in front of the wall for women to sit on and pray in front of the wall (those not able to stand for long periods of time). Silence was observed when one was standing in front of the wall - everyone prayed fervently but quietly. Also, after prayer, it is tradition and etiquette (I suppose) to back away from the wall. One was not allowed to turn their back to the Wall. I guess it was sort of like bowing out of a Chinese Emperor's presence - one didn't just turn and walk away. Well, I had to learn that the hard way. I didn't know about that until I had walked about 4-5 meters away from the wall, and there was this middle-aged lady who keep signalling a circle to me. She didn't say a word! I just stared at her blankly, like - are you talking to me? what are you saying? SPEAK! Yeah well, I eventually got the message that I was meant to walk backwards. Awkward.

I really like this picture. I think it's very touching - especially when you think about how much this Wall means to the Jews - and the reality of war in their lives. Any day, any moment could be their last - or that of a loved one.

Adam and John Tay at the Wailing Wall.

Subsequently, later in the afternoon, we visited the Jewish Quarters. I guess this was more like the suburbian area for the Jews? There still were tourist shops in that area, but the stuff there were sold at much cheaper prices than those in the more 'touristy' areas.

Houses in the Jewish Quarter
Picture by Zhu Ping Loh.

Shops
Picture by Zhu Ping Loh.

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

While at the Jewish Quarters, we were taken to visit the Burnt House Museum. This is the remains of a house in Jerusalem, probably belonging to a rich Jewish family before it was destroyed by the Roman soldiers in 70 AD. Archaeologists found a kitchen, work rooms and a small ritual bath. There were also some interesting other remains dug up at the site.

A picture of archaeological findings at this site. In the bottom right picture you can see a girl's arm and a broken spear head. Picture by Zhu Ping Loh.

The basement of the Burnt House - where the girl's arm bone and spear head were found.

RANDOM PICTURE OF THE DAY AGAIN:

Picture by Zhu Ping Loh.

First Grade Logic

2011-02-10T20:48:00.000+08:00

This was emailed to me from someone at work and I thought it was pretty good for laughs. I personally didn't really get the last one, but oh well - some of the others are good!

F1RST GRADE LOGIC

A first grade school teacher had twenty-six students in her class. She presented each child in her classroom the 1st half of a well-known proverb and asked them to come up with the remainder of the proverb. It's hard to believe these were actually done by first graders. Their insight may surprise you. Keep in mind that these are first-graders, 6-year-olds, because the last one is a classic!

ocregister.com

1. Don't change horses ---- until they stop running.

2. Strike while ---- the bug is close.

3. It's always darkest before ---- Daylight Saving Time.

4. Never underestimate ----- the power of termites.

5. You can lead a horse to water ---- but how?

6. Don't bite the hand ----- that looks dirty.

7. No news ----- is impossible

8. A miss is as good as ---- a Mr.

9. You can't teach an old dog ----- new Math

10. If you lie down with dogs ----- you'll stink in the morning.

11. Love all ---- trust Me.

12. The pen is mightier than ----- the pigs.

13. An idle mind is ----- the best way to relax.

14.. Where there's smoke ----- there's pollution.

15. Happy the bride ----- who gets all the presents.

16. A penny saved is ----- not much.

17. Two's company ----- three's the Musketeers.

18. Don't put off till tomorrow ----- what you put on to go to bed.

19. Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and ----- you have to blow your nose.

20. There are none so blind as ----- Stevie Wonder.

21. Children should be seen and not ------ spanked or grounded.

22. If at first you don't succeed ----- get new batteries.

23. You get out of something only what you ------ see in the picture on the box

24.. When the blind lead the blind ----- get out of the way.

25. A bird in the hand ------ is going to poop on you.

The WINNER and last one!

gettyimages.com

26 Better late than ----- Pregnant

Jerusalem Part 1 - Day 5

2011-02-06T20:03:00.002+08:00

DAY 5

The Church of St Peter in Gallicantu

The Church of St Peter in Gallicantu is a remembrance of Peter denying Christ, but also of Christ being led to torture and crucifixion for the sins of the world. Picture by Zhu Ping Loh.

Pictures by Zhu Ping Loh.

If you look closely enough, you will be able to see the faint scratchings of the middle cross on the layer just above the dark hole. Picture by Zhu Ping Loh.

This is the Dungeon area of Caiaphas's house - where Jesus would have been tortured and beaten before being crucified. It is probably also where both Peter and John would have been beaten for preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

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

Next we visited the Upper Room. The Upper Room actually means a guest room - it was a spare room used for guests. It doesn't really have special connotations.

In the Bible, the Upper Room is also known as the room where the last supper of Jesus and His disciples took place (Matthew 26:26-35). This is also where the disciples were gathered together praying when the Holy Spirit descended upon them on Pentecost after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus (Acts 1:13-16).

The Upper Room is located just outside the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem in Mount Zion. It was rebuilt by the Crusaders after it was razed to the ground by the Muslims. Therefore you will be able to see quite a bit of the Crusader influence in the architecture of the building. The floor below the Upper Room is the traditional burial place of King David (Tomb of King David).

Upper Room. Picture by Zhu Ping Loh.

The Olive branch is used as a symbol of faith in that room because it was non-offensive to all religions - Muslim, Jews and Christians.

Upper Room entrance/exit

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

After visiting King David's tomb downstairs of the Upper Room (we weren't allowed near the actual coffin because it was barred away but we could see it), we visited the Tower of David Museum. This museum features the history of Jerusalem from its first Canaanite inhabitants to the current Middle Eastern populace in it today. Pictures are by Zhu Ping Loh.

Scaled life-sized model of Jerusalem in the 2nd Temple Period.

Tower of David Museum - gorgeous isn't it? It's magnificient. I would really have like to have seen King David/Solomon's palace in those days and what the splendour of that place would have been like!

Statue of David after cutting off the head of the giant Goliath

Map of Jerusalem in the Byzantine empire

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

SO NOW WE COME TO THE GARDEN TOMB!

The Garden Tomb is believed to be the tomb and site of Jesus Christ's resurrection. There are several sites proposed to be possible sites of Christ's tomb, but this one seems the most likely for several reasons. Firstly, there is a large cistern located underneath the garden which indicates that this could be the garden of Joseph of Arimathea. Secondly, there is a very strong resemblance of the rock face on which the tomb is built to resemble a skull. The Biblical account tells that Jesus was crucified in 'Golgotha' (translated literally, it means 'place of skull'). Also, the Biblical account tells us that Jesus was crucified by a wayside (those who passed by wagged their heads and blasphemed Jesus). The Romans crucified people at the wayside as a message/deterrance to others, and this place is located by the main roadside where many would have passed by. In fact, the place has been converted to a busport today! Again, pictures were taken and shared by Zhu Ping Loh.

Our tour guide through the Garden Tomb. I believe his name is Phillip.

There was a group of people from Congo there making a joyful shout and song to God - rejoicing in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It was pretty hilarious really, because our tour guide could barely be heard over them. He tried unsuccessfully to quieten them down several times - all to no avail! And there was even someone who looked like a cameraman for a news station there. You can see him in this picture carrying a clunky camera around with him!

That small hole in the rock is the entrance to the tomb.

The place where Jesus would have been buried if this was His tomb.

This is the interior of the tomb. It was very small. As you can see, it's EMPTY!

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

RANDOM PICTURES OF THE DAY AGAIN:

Just a random window in Jerusalem that I really liked. Picture by Zhu Ping Loh.

Both my right and subsequently my left sole fell off halfway in the trip!! So I had to make do with rubber band until I found super glue to glue it back together! I'm SO glad for super glue - it's one of the BEST things man invented. Picture by Zhu Ping Loh.

Dead Sea, En Gedi, Gethsemane and Bethesda - Day 4

2011-02-05T22:28:00.000+08:00

Day FOUR

So it turns out the Bedouins owned camels and donkeys and we got to pick one to ride on. Of course everyone picked the Camels!

The camels are tall creatures you can tell when they are seated - or more accurately, kneeling on the ground - but when they get up you feel like you are standing on someone else's shoulders! The process of getting up from the kneeling position is really quite funny. The guide pulls on the halter of the first camel. The first camel obediently rises WITH ITS BACK LEGS FIRST! So it feels like I'm being thrown forward out of the saddle as the camel is getting up! I was gripping on so hard to the saddle. Then when the camel stood up with its front legs the whole thing evened out - it was pretty fun though. After the first camel in the chain stands up, all the other camels behind it stand up too - sort of like a domino effect being replayed backwards.

Courtesy of Zhu Ping Loh

I was so scared for Daniel when he went so close to the camel! They're pretty scary creatures because I'm pretty sure they bite. AND THE CAMELS WERE PERPETUALLY CHEWING SOMETHING IN THEIR MOUTHS! It was freaky - like a Willy Wonka everlasting chewing gum or something. Photo courtesy of Zhu Ping Loh.

Photos courtesy of Zhu Ping Loh.

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

So you know how we didn't shower yesterday because - well it was too cold to shower and the bathroom facilities were kinda inadequate and to be fair nobody felt like showering - so anyway, we made it up by going for a early bath in the Dead Sea right after lunch and then showering in the shower facilities provided by the Sea (how convenient for us tourists).

The Sea was so cold even though it wasn't too unbearable I suppose simply because it was supposed to have the lowest atmospheric pressure in the world at -415. So even though it was 'winter' there, we could still swim in the Sea (unlike our wintery Australia!)

So the water was VERY cool, VERY calm,VERY salty, VERY murky and VERY slippery. You can't see the bottom - the water sort of looks brownish green. But apparently VERY good for one's skin. Everyone who went down to the sea started applying the mud from the bottom of the sea floor to their face, arms, legs and body - someone *AHEM* even applied it to his hair/scalp - like it was going to do any good there.

Dead Sea - Courtesy of Zhu Ping Loh

Courtesy of Zhu Qing Loh.

Before we got over enthusiastic with the mud. Courtesy of Zhu Qing Loh

AFTER we got over enthusiastic with the mud! Courtesy of Zhu Qing Loh

Salty enough to float on the water without effort! Courtesy of Zhu Qing Loh

Washing all the mud off before going to shower - We weren't allowed in the shower rooms until we were spotless - which kinda defeats the purpose but hey - it's their showers! Courtesy of Zhu Qing Loh.

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

Panorama of En Gedi. Courtesy of Zhu Ping Loh.

Rock Badger in a Tree - mine :) I didn't really expect a Rock badger to look like this! I thought it'd be black and white like the old Badger in Wind in the Willows. Oh well... gues that's why they call them ROCK badgers - because they are supposed to match the colours of the rocks - which are most definitely brownish, limestone yellow.

Rock Badger in the Crags - Courtesy of Zhu Ping Loh

Ibets - The Deer in the Psalm referred to as Hinds (see how small its legs are that they can walk so sure-footedly on the narrow ledges and mountain trails in the Judean deserts). Courtesy of Zhu Ping Loh.

Our Israeli tour guide - Donny Brody.

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

After En Gedi, we headed off to visit the Sanctuary of the Dominus Flevit - which is like a small church/chapel built to remember the spot where Jesus wept for Jerusalem on top of the Mount of Olives. All of these places observe strict silence and no flash photography.

Dominus Flevit - the Church built to as a memorial of where Jesus wept. Courtesy of Zhu Ping Loh.

The view from the Dominus Flevit window - especially created to show what Jesus would have seen when standing on the top of the Mount of Olives weeping for the lost souls of Jerusalem. Courtesy of Zhu Ping Loh.

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

Then we headed for the Garden of Gethsemane. We passed by a lot of cemeteries on the way.

It's a cemetery on the slope of the Mount of Olives. See the 'white-washed sephulchers'. Courtesy of Zhu Ping Loh.

View from the Top of Mount of Olives. You can see a lot of Jerusalem from up there! It's completely breathtaking and so lovely.

Panorama of the Garden of Gethsemane - photo by Zhu Ping Loh. Truth be told, I was rather disappointed with the Garden of Gethsemane. It was too neat and pretty. I was expecting something from the scene of the Passion of the Christ - you know - the moonlight night with dark shadows and huge boulders any of which could have been the one Jesus sweated blood on. Oh well.... at least these trees are supposed to be great great descendents of the ones that were alive back in Jesus' days. So that's something I suppose.

Another church to memorialise the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prayed and gave Himself over to the will of the Father. Courtesy of Zhu Ping Loh.

Depiction of Jesus praying - Courtesy of Zhu Ping Loh.

Altar of the church - Courtesy of Zhu Ping Loh.

High Priest Caiaphas's house and probably also where the Dungeons were. The signs below explain more about it.

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

Pool of Bethesda

I couldn't find a picture of Bethesda so I got one off the internet for you :D The pool is currently located within the grounds of St Anne's Church. The church had amazing acoustics - the sound echoed and dragged out beautifully even after we'd finished the song. It was fantastic.

Photo from: http://www.atlastours.net/holyland/st_anne_church_and_bethesda.jpg

Timna and Masada - Day 3

2011-01-30T21:03:00.004+08:00

Our beautiful and luxurious resort by the Red Sea, also known as the Gulf of Eilat. We had a buffet of pancakes, fish, eggs, fruits, salads, meat and desserts for breakfast! It was my favourite hotel/resort in Israel. Apparently, shopping is good in Eilat as well.

The chef who let me make my own pancake! He was actually making something more like pikelets, but I didn't know that so mine must have looked massive to him! :)

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

We visited the Timnah National Park where we were given a tour of a replica of the Jewish Tabernacle that the children of Israel built while they were journeying to their Promised land.

Timnah National Park - Rocks!

Replica of the Tabernacle that the Israelites built on the way to their promised land. This is a project by the Messianic Jews. One of them took us on a tour of this tabernacle and gave us very detailed an insightful explanations.

The laver that the Priests used to wash and cleanse themselves before going into the Tabernacle.

Taken by Zhu Ping Loh.

Altar of Incense before going into the Holy of Holies.

Taken by Zhu Ping Loh.

The Table of Showbread. Taken by Zhu Ping Loh.

Replica of the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies. Taken by Zhu Ping Loh.

Replica of the contents of the Ark of Covenant: 10 commandments, Manna and Aaron's rod that blossomed

View of the complete Tabernacle and Courtyard in the Timna National Park. I had to climb partway up a mountain to get this!

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

Then, we visited Masada. Masada is a Judean fortress in the southern part of Israel overlooking the Dead Sea. It is famous in historical records for mass suicide of its inhabitants the day before Romans captured the fortress after a seige. The Jews killed their families before ending their lives when it was clear that the Romans were going to overtake the fortress. They chose death over possible slavery and torture.

Herod also had a palace on Masada. It was a grand, luxurious palace in those days. Part of the frescos remain to this day. In some of the pictures, you will see a black line. The black line was drawn by archaeologists to show which parts were uncovered as it was and which parts were reconstructed from the torn down materials. Everything below the black line stands now as it did all those years ago. Everything above the black line has been reconstructed with the original pieces - it is just that those pieces broke off over the many years it was under rubble.

You can still see the original frescos that were handpainted over 2000 years ago.

Roman sauna - Imagine that! They had a sauna all those years ago already with a limited supply of water - they had to invent creative ways to cycle the rain water they got with a very intricate water system.

Masada today - still much work to be done.

Jewish family at Masada

Our tour group at Masada

There were 2 options to get off the fortress of Masada: we could take a cable car, or trek down the treacherous snake path. That's dad in the picture as evidence he went down the snake path. There are railings to start off with, but once you get further down, there are no railings for holding on to. You needed to watch your steps.

Still in the early stages of climbing down Masada. BUT IT FELT LIKE A LONG TIME! We still had a long way to go before getting to the bottom. Because the path zig-zagged across the mountain face it actually took a lot longer for us to get down than it first looked like it would!

This is a picture I took when I simply HAD to stop to let my quivering legs rest! We were only about halfway down. My legs were shaking and felt like jelly by this time. It wasn't that it was such a long distance - it was just that it was continually walking downhill on loose stones that really exercised those thigh and calf muscles!

The rest of those game enough to take the long trek. They were right at the back - and ironically, they comprised of the fittest of the group who went down the snake path.

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

It was dusk by the time we finally reached the end of the snake path and the bottom of the Masada mountain. So it was time to head to our accommodations for the night: a Bedouin camp.

One of the Bedouins turned out to be a musician! Fancy that! He studied music in university and wanted to pass on the Bedouin tradition of music. He played a wedding song for us and even allowed my brother and I to try out some sort of mortar and pestle like instrument that creates the beat for his music. He played a Bedouin instrument which looked like a cross between a banjo and a guitar.

Archway made of dried palm leaves - I thought it was a fire hazard, especially since the place was so dry and hot.

Panorama of the Bedouin camp

Campfire site - told jokes, sang songs (including Somebody to Love by Queen!) and played cards by the fire.

Singing silly songs :D

Our sleeping arrangements - everyone slept in one giant tent! However, it is usually the custom of the Bedouins to separate the men from the women with a partition.

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

RANDOM PICTURE OF THE DAY:

HAHA - in the middle of Israel! who knew. Guess China's goods really are irresistable.

Petra - Day 2

2011-01-29T21:31:00.002+08:00

Some of the pictures this time are stills taken from my video-camera. But you can probably tell the difference between the quality of those shots and the others taken by Zhu Ping with his SLR.

One word that sums up Petra is: Majestic.

It was such a wonder walking through the entire range and being this tiny little figure beside the towering structures - and to think that they were all natural! The rocks also varied in colour - some of them had gorgeous streaks of red, orange and yellow on the rock surface caused by erosion. Even more amazing though are some of the man-made structures - these are completely carved out of the rocks!!

Bread from our Breakfast that was left on the windowstill to cool down before being served to us on a buffet! The Petra dust must have made it especially yummy though.

Gift Shop at Entrace to the Petra Gorge

Clothes on sale - its amazing how touristy that area is!

Petra Gorges

Ancient Edomite writing on the Rocky mountains of Petra. A lot of these places used to be inhabited by Bedouins who subsequently moved out by order of the Government because of a fire.

Ancient Egyptian influenced style palace in Petra

Family riding on the camels - reminds me of the 3 wise men seeking out the Messiah!

One of the horse guides - we were given an option to ride a horse or a horse carriage instead of walking through the Petra Gorge if we queued up and paid money!

Ancient Egyptian styled palace at Petra

Just a cool random picture that I had to throw in :)

I call this the fishphalant because it is both a fish and an elephant depending on the angle you look at it! I wonder if it's natural or if it is semi man-made. It's a fish if you look at it from the side. But from this angle you can see the elephant's trunk. Pretty neat, huh!

Treasury of Petra. A pot right at the top of this gigantic treasury is fabled to contain gold/riches beyond imagination.

Perspective. Yes we really are that tiny compared to the majestic Petra rocks that form the Gorge!

I love this one - it's supposed to be a fertility god - look at how it is depicted - the shape of a round belly!

Giant's URINAL! Imaging that. How huge must their splash be. >.<

One of the old Bedouin caves that finally got evacuated due to fire.

Guards at Petra

Panorama of the ancient amphitheatre at Petra - wonder what they used it for? Surely they didn't have the Olympics then?

Panorama of Petra

Jordan and Amman - Day 1

2011-01-29T10:51:00.003+08:00

These are some pictures that were taken by Zhu Ping Loh, a member of our Israel tour group. He had a wonderful Canon SLR that did the scenery justice! And he also had some very amazing photography and photoshop skills which brought out the panoramas even better. So kudos to him! :)

I've left the panoramas to the end.

Memorial of Moses's burial place at Mount Nebo

Sand Art sold at a shop

View from Mount Nebo that Moses would have seen

Some random shop

Monument on Mount Nebo

Some where along the way - this is what the 'countryside' in Jordan look like. Very deserted.

Along the route to the Hotel

A Gradual Discovery from an Unfortunate Event

2010-10-13T23:30:00.000+08:00

My laptop's motherboard recently gave out on me TWICE. The first time it happened, I freaked out because I had 3 assignments due in a row in 2 week's time. It took close to 2 weeks to get it repaired, and I only got it back after my assignments were done. A very generous church Elder heard about it and lent me his laptop of which I am VERY grateful for! But I did miss my laptop very much. After all, I was very used to all the customisations of my own laptop AND the speed at which it responded.

And then, less than 1 week after I got back my 'repaired' laptop back, the SAME thing happened as the first time round!!! Fuzzy black and white screen and no response. It was THREE days before my commercial law exam! Talk about freaking out. I think I *cried*.

Fortunately for me it was under warranty, and I sent it back for yet another week. This time, I had no laptop except Dad's ancient laptop with missing keys and unresponsive keys. I discovered something during this week.

I don't think I've ever had that much EXTRA time without my laptop! Especially at nights! I just sat at my white table looking forlornly at the big empty white space which my giant laptop usually filled and thinking, "what am I going to do now?" It was only 9pm - I saw only because with my laptop I don't usually get to bed until 12-1am! It then occurred to me how much time I actually SPEND on my laptop, and then makes me wonder how much time I've actually wasted on my laptop doing things that were not necessary! Like watching movies, going on facebook, surfing the internet - I don't even know WHAT I do that takes up at least 4 hours worth every night!!! Scary!

So during that week, I went back to journalling (something that kinda dropped out my priority list once my computer came into my life) and reading! I looooved looved looooved reading! But once my computer arrived, and then later facebook intruded into my life, I somehow didn't have too much time to read PHYSICAL BOOKS. It was all ebooks that I read!

I even discovered the fun of playing with eyeshadow. :) I learnt to cook. I did the laundry. I cleaned the house. I tidied my bedroom.

So many things that I can actually do without a laptop to entertain me. SHOCK isn't it. O.o

And I think more importantly, I had more time to spend with God in the morning since I didn't have a laptop to distract me -- and there really was nothing 'better' to do!

It was quite a shock actually, to find out how much I depended on my laptop. I was even lost in class without my typed lecture notes... :O

So now that I've got my laptop back -- and that's a very TENTATIVE statement as it's currently making this high-pitch whining noise that can't bode well for the health of this baby -- I'm determined to not let this thing rule my life. I don't really want to spend the rest of my nights staring at a screen!

And yes, that kind of does mean cutting down on facebook time I guess. :)

Back to old-school journalling IN A BOOK.

Back to reading proper books.

Back to doing things people without laptops do.

And if I'm cutting down on facebook, I guess you'll see a lot more of me now, dear blog.

Rhema of the Day

2010-10-12T09:39:00.001+08:00

"Shall the ax boast itself against him who chops with it? Or shall the saw exalt itself against him who saws with it? As if a rod could wield itself against those who lift it up, or as it a staff could lift it up, as if it were not wood! Therefore the Lord, the Lord of hosts, will send leanness among his fat ones; and under his glory He will kindle a burning like the burning of a fire." Isaiah 10:15-16

Give glory where glory is due. Realize that everything you are doing is because of the strength and capability God gave to you to do it!

Fashion Overdo

2009-07-29T18:55:00.006+08:00

Hi Everyone,

I'm giving my blog a fashion overdo just because I'm in the mood for it and because it's holidays and because it's my blog and I can do whatever I want with it. =D

I think it's an improvement from the previous looks but I'm still trying to improve it so put up with me. :) Don't worry. Holidays only last for so long, and unfortunately I've left changing my blog almost to the end of my hols so I won't change too much of it.

I must say that I've been learning lots of really interesting html stuff - learnt by trial and error of course - who knew it was this hard to write something up? ^^

Hopefully I'll master writing html one day and be able to come up with my own webpage design instead of having to scour the entire blogskins site for something I like that that actually worked and fit with my type of blog. THAT I promise you was a challenge fit for an initiation rite.

Anyways enough babbling... more later =)

Why Christianity? Ray Comfort says it all

2009-05-27T21:44:00.000+08:00

Why Christianity?
SOLVING LIFE’S MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION

THE CHOICE

Imagine I offered you a choice of four gifts:

• The original Mona Lisa

• The keys to a brand new Lamborghini

• A million dollars in cash

• A parachute

You can pick only one. Which would you choose? Before you decide, here’s some information that will help you to make the wisest choice: You have to jump 10,000 feet out of an airplane.

Does that help you to connect the dots? It should, because you need the parachute. It’s the only one of the four gifts that will help with your dilemma. The others may have some value, but they are useless when it comes to facing the law of gravity in a 10,000-foot fall. The knowledge that you will have to jump should produce a healthy fear in you—and that kind of fear is good because it can save your life. Remember that.

Now think of the four major religions:

• Hinduism

• Buddhism

• Islam

• Christianity

Which one should you choose? Before you decide, here’s some information that will help you determine which one is the wisest choice: All of humanity stands on the edge of eternity. We are all going to die. We will all have to pass through the door of death. It could happen to us in twenty years, or in six months,...or today. For most of humanity, death is a huge and terrifying plummet into the unknown. So what should we do?

Do you remember how it was your knowledge of the jump that produced that healthy fear, and that fear helped you to make the right choice? You know what the law of gravity can do to you. In the same way, we are going to look at another law, and hopefully your knowledge of what it can do to you will help you make the right choice, about life’s greatest issue. So, stay with me—-and remember to let fear work for you.

THE LEAP

After we die we have to face what is called "the law of sin and death."1 We know that Law as "The Ten Commandments."

So let’s look at that Law and see how you will do when you face it on Judgment Day. Have you loved God above all else? Is He first in your life? He should be. He’s given you your life and everything that is dear to you. Do you love Him with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength? That’s the requirement of the First Commandment. Or have you broken the Second Commandment by making a god in your mind that you’re comfortable with—-where you say, "My god is a loving and merciful god who would never send anyone to Hell"? That god does not exist; he’s a figment of the imagination. To create a god in your mind (your own image of God) is something the Bible calls "idolatry." Idolaters will not enter Heaven.

Have you ever used God’s name in vain, as a cuss word to express disgust? That’s called "blasphemy," and it’s very serious in God’s sight. This is breaking the Third Commandment, and the Bible says God will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.

Have you always honored your parents implicitly, and kept the Sabbath holy? If not, you have broken the Fourth and Fifth Commandments. Have you ever hated someone? The Bible says, "Whosoever hates his brother is a murderer."2

The Seventh is "You shall not commit adultery," but Jesus said, "Whosoever looks on a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart"3 (the Seventh Commandment includes sex before marriage). Have you ever looked with lust or had sex outside of marriage? If you have, you’ve violated that Commandment.

Have you ever lied? Ever stolen anything, regardless of value? If you have, then you’re a lying thief. The Bible tells us, "Lying lips are abomination to the Lord,"4 because He is a God of truth and holiness. Have you coveted (jealously desired) other people’s things? This is a violation of the Tenth Commandment.

LITTLE JESSICA

So that is God’s moral Law that we each will face. We will be without excuse when we stand before God because He gave us our conscience to know right from wrong. Each time we lie, steal, commit adultery, murder, and so on, we know that it’s wrong. So here is the crucial question. On Judgment Day, when God judges you, will you be found innocent or guilty of breaking this Law? Think before you answer. Will you go to Heaven or Hell? The Bible warns that all murderers, idolaters, liars, thieves, fornicators, and adulterers will end up in Hell.5 So where does that leave you?

Perhaps the thought of going to Hell doesn’t scare you, because you don’t believe in it. That’s like standing in the open door of a plane 10,000 feet off the ground and saying, "I don’t believe there will be any consequences if I jump without a parachute."

To say that there will be no consequences for breaking God’s Law is to say that God is unjust, that He is evil. This is why.

On February 24, 2005, a nine-year-old girl was reported missing from her home in Homosassa, Florida. Three weeks later, police discovered that she had been kidnapped, brutally raped, and then buried alive. Little Jessica Lunsford was found tied up, in a kneeling position, clutching a stuffed toy.

HOW DO YOU REACT?

How do you feel toward the man who murdered that helpless little girl in such an unspeakably cruel way? Are you angered? I hope so. I hope you are outraged. If you were completely indifferent to her fate, it would reveal something horrible about your character.

Do you think that God is indifferent to such acts of evil? You can bet your precious soul He is not. He is outraged by them.

The fury of Almighty God against evil is evidence of His goodness. If He wasn’t angered, He wouldn’t be good. We cannot separate God’s goodness from His anger. Again, if God is good by nature, He must be unspeakably angry at wickedness.

But His goodness is so great that His anger isn’t confined to the evils of rape and murder. Nothing is hidden from His pure and holy eyes. He is outraged by torture, terrorism, abortion, theft, lying, adultery, fornication, pedophilia, homosexuality, and blasphemy. He also sees our thought-life, and He will judge us for the hidden sins of the heart: for lust, hatred, rebellion, greed, unclean imaginations, ingratitude, selfishness, jealousy, pride, envy, deceit, etc. Jesus warned, "But I say to you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment"6 (emphasis added).

The Bible says that God’s wrath "abides" on each of us,7 and that every time we sin, we’re "storing up wrath"8 that will be revealed on Judgment Day. We are even told that we are "by nature the children of wrath"9 (emphasis added). Sinning against God comes naturally to us—and we naturally earn His anger by our sins.

INSTANT DEATH

Many people believe that because God is good, He will forgive everyone, and let all sinners into Heaven. But they misunderstand His goodness. When Moses once asked to see God’s glory, God told him that he couldn’t see Him and live. Moses would instantly die if he looked upon God. Consider this:

"[God] said, I will make all my goodness pass before you...And it shall come to pass, while my glory passes by, that I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and will cover you with my hand while I pass by."10

Notice that all of God’s glory was displayed in His "goodness." The goodness of God would have killed Moses instantly because of his personal sinfulness. The fire of God’s goodness would have consumed him, like a cup of water dropped onto the surface of the sun. The only way any of us can stand in the presence of God is to be pure in heart. Jesus said, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."11 But as we’ve seen by looking at the Law, not a single one of us is "pure in heart."

These are extremely fearful thoughts, because the God we are speaking about is nothing like the commonly accepted image. He is not a benevolent Father-figure, who is happily smiling upon sinful humanity.

In the midst of these frightening thoughts, remember to let fear work for you. The fear of God is the healthiest fear you can have. The Bible calls it "the beginning of wisdom."12

Again, your knowledge of God’s Law should help you to see that you have a life-threatening dilemma: a huge problem of God’s wrath (His justifiable anger) against your personal sins. The just penalty for sin—-breaking even one Law—-is death, and eternity in Hell. But you haven’t broken just one Law. Like the rest of us, you’ve no doubt broken all these laws, countless times each. What kind of anger do you think a judge is justified in having toward a criminal guilty of breaking the law thousands of times?

LET’S SEE

Let’s now look at those four major religions to see if they can help you with your predicament.

Hinduism

The religion of Hinduism says that if you’ve been bad, you may come back as a rat or some other animal.13 If you’ve been good, you might come back as a prince. But that’s like someone saying, "When you jump out of the plane, you’ll get sucked back in as another passenger. If you’ve been bad, you go down to the Economy Class; if you’ve been good, you go up to First Class." It’s an interesting concept, but it doesn’t deal with your real problem of having sinned against God and the reality of Hell.

Buddhism

Amazingly, the religion of Buddhism denies that God even exists. It teaches that life and death are sort of an illusion.14 That’s like standing at the door of the plane and saying, "I’m not really here, and there’s no such thing as the law of gravity, and no ground that I’m going to hit." That may temporarily help you deal with your fears, but it doesn’t square with reality. And it doesn’t deal with your real problem of having sinned against God and the reality of Hell.

Islam

Interestingly, Islam acknowledges the reality of sin and Hell, and the justice of God, but the hope it offers is that sinners can escape God’s justice if they do religious works. God will see these, and because of them, hopefully He will show mercy—-but they won’t know for sure.15 Each person’s works will be weighed on the Day of Judgment and it will then be decided who is saved and who is not-—based on whether they followed Islam, were sincere in repentance, and performed enough righteous deeds to outweigh their bad ones.

So Islam believes you can earn God’s mercy by your own efforts. That’s like jumping out of the plane, and believing that flapping your arms is going to counter the law of gravity and save you from a 10,000-foot drop.

And there’s something else to consider. The Law of God shows us that the best of us is nothing but a wicked criminal, standing guilty and condemned before the throne of a perfect and holy Judge. When that is understood, then our "righteous deeds" are actually seen as an attempt to bribe the Judge of the Universe. The Bible says that because of our guilt, anything we offer God for our justification (our acquittal from His courtroom) is an abomination to Him,16 and only adds to our crimes.

Islam, like the other religions, doesn’t solve your problem of having sinned against God and the reality of Hell.

Christianity

So why is Christianity different? Aren’t all religions the same? Let’s see. In Christianity, God Himself provided a "parachute" for us, and His Word says regarding the Savior, "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ."17 Just as a parachute solved your dilemma with the law of gravity and its consequences, so the Savior perfectly solves your dilemma with the Law of God and its consequences! It is the missing puzzle-piece that you need.

How did God solve our dilemma? He satisfied His wrath by becoming a human being and taking our punishment upon Himself. The Scriptures tell us that God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself. Christianity provides the only parachute to save us from the consequences of the Law we have transgressed.

BACK TO THE PLANE

To illustrate this more clearly, let’s go back to that plane for a moment. You are standing on the edge of a 10,000-foot drop. You have to jump. Your heart is thumping in your chest. Why? Because of fear. You know that the law of gravity will kill you when you jump.

Someone offers you the original Mona Lisa. You push it aside. Another person passes you the keys to a brand new Lamborghini. You let them drop to the floor.

Someone else tries to put a million dollars into your hands. You push the person’s hand away, and stand there in horror at your impending fate.

Suddenly, you hear a voice say, "Here’s a parachute!"

Which one of those four people is going to hold the most credibility in your eyes? It’s the one who held up the parachute! Again, it is your fear of the jump that turns you toward the good news of the parachute.

In the same way, knowledge of what God’s Law will do to you produces a fear that makes the news of a Savior unspeakably good news! It solves your predicament of God’s wrath. God loves you so much that He became a sinless human being in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. The Savior died an excruciating death on the cross, taking your punishment (the death penalty) upon Himself. The demands of eternal justice were satisfied the moment He cried, "It is finished!"

The lightning of God’s wrath was stopped and the thunder of His indignation was silenced at Calvary’s bloodied cross: "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us."18 We broke the Law, but He became a man to pay our penalty in His life’s blood.

Then He rose from the dead, defeating death. That means that God can now forgive every sin you have ever committed and commute your death sentence. If you repent and place your trust in Jesus, you can say with the apostle Paul:

"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death."19

So you no longer need to be tormented by the fear of death, and you don’t need to look any further for ways to deal with the dilemma of sin and God’s wrath.20 The Savior is God’s gift to you. The gospel is unspeakably good news for the entire, sinful human race!

God Himself can "justify" you. He can cleanse you, and give you the "righteousness" of Christ. He can make you pure in heart by washing away your sins. He can shelter you from His fierce wrath, in the Rock of Ages that He has cleft for you.21 Only Jesus can save you from death and Hell, something that you could never earn or deserve.22

DO IT TODAY

To receive the gift of eternal life, you must re¬pent of your sins (turn from them), and put on the Lord Jesus Christ as you would put on a parachute—-trusting in Him alone for your salvation. That means you forsake your own good works as a means of trying to please God (trying to bribe Him), and trust only in what Jesus has done for you. Simply throw yourself on the mercy of the Judge. The Bible says that He’s rich in mercy to all who call upon Him,23 so call upon Him right now. He will hear you if you approach Him with a humble and sorrowful heart.

Do it right now because you don’t know when you will take that leap through the door of death. Confess your sins to God, put your trust in Jesus to save you, and you will pass from death to life. You have God’s promise on it.24

Pray something like this:

"Dear God, today I turn away from all of my sins [name them] and I put my trust in Jesus Christ alone as my Lord and Savior. Please forgive me, change my heart, and grant me Your gift of everlasting life. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen."

Now have faith in God. He is absolutely trustworthy. Never doubt His promises. He is not a man that He should lie.

The sincerity of your prayer will be evidenced by your obedience to God’s will, so read His Word (the Bible) daily and obey what you read.25

Then go to www.livingwaters.com and click on "Save Yourself Some Pain." There you will find principles that will help you grow in your faith. You might like to get The Evidence Bible, which answers 100 of the most common questions about the Christian faith. Its informative commentary will help you to grow as a Christian.26Thank you for reading this.

NOTES

1. See Romans 8:2.

2. 1 John 3:15.

3. Matthew 5:27,28.

4. Proverbs 12:22.

5. See Revelation 21:8; 1 Corinthians 6:9,10.

6. Matthew 12:36.

7. See John 3:36.

8. See Romans 2:5.

9. See Ephesians 2:3.

10. Exodus 33:18,22 (emphasis added).

11. Matthew 5:8.

12. Psalm 111:10.

13. "Is it possible for a man to be reborn as a lower animal?" Maharshi: "Yes. It is possible, as illustrated by Jada Bharatathe scriptural anecdote of a royal sage having been reborn as a deer." .

14. "When you transcend your thinking mind in the realization of your own pure, timeless, ever-present awareness, then the illusion of time completely collapses, and you become utterly free of the samsaric cycle of time, change, impermanence, and suffering." .

15. "Then those whose balance (of good deeds) is heavy, they will be successful. But those whose balance is light, will be those who have lost their souls; in hell will they abide" (Surah 23:102,103).

16. See Proverbs 15:8.

17. See Romans 13:14.

18. Galatians 3:13.

19. Romans 8:2.

20. Beware of cults such as Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons. They masquerade as "Christian,' but they are rooted in self-righteousness (trying to do good works to earn salvation).

21. See 1 Corinthians 10:4.

22. "For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9).

23. "For the scripture says, Whosoever believes on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich to all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Romans 10:12,13).

24. "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life" (John 5:24).

25. "He that has my commandments, and keeps them, he it is that loves me: and he that loves me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him" (John 14:21).

26. The Evidence Bible (Bridge-Logos Publishers) is available from your local bookstore or at www.livingwaters.com.

27. Additional booklets are available for a low price from www.livingwaters.com. It is also now available at very low cost on DVD.

Ray Comfort's Original Post

Modesty and the Downfall of Nations

2009-04-27T00:14:00.000+08:00

Caption from John Adams, Second President of USA

"From all that I have read of history and government, of human life and manners, I have drawn this conclusion, that the manner of women were the most infallible barometer to ascertain the degree of morality and virtue of a nation. The Jews, the Greeks, the Romans, the Swiss, the Dutch, all lost their public spirit and their republican forms of government when they lost the modesty and domestic virtues of their women."

Much to think about.

What if it's the end times?

2009-03-10T19:50:00.003+09:00

Save. That's what my Dad told us as a family at the dinner table today, over a dinner of pizza. hmmmm :)

"Recession is coming." The unemployment rate is currently as bad as 1992 (although I have no idea what happened in 1992). Well, except for my brother's birth, but other than that!

It could get worse, lots worse. And the scary thing is I don't know what is going to happen, how bad it's going to get or whether we'll still have food to eat!

None of us knows the future. And it's scary. Scary that one day we might wake up and find that the whole system of electronic money just vanished into thin air overnight. And now that I think about it, isn't that what the Bible foretold anyway? Before the second coming of Jesus Christ, the economic system of our world is going to crash so badly that what was once a properous, highly profitable country would just turn pear-shaped overnight. So much so that merchants with investments and money in it will all mourn and wail. That will probably be the most unforeseeable economic crash in the entire of history.

And what if it happens tonight?

What if tomorrow I wake up and we're all beggars?

What if tomorrow no food was to be had because the farmers decide to store the food for themselves?

What if I am totally starving, and here comes someone - someone who offers to allow me to buy food if only I renounce my faith in Christ and put a mark on my forehead or right hand which will enable me to buy and sell food?

What if my faith is not strong enough and I give in?

I would enjoy the things this world had to offer, live under someone who offered 'peace' (but who really is the Anti-Christ) and still die someday. And that day, I would face my Maker and would-be Saviour. Except that I had renounced his salvation so that I would be damned to hell forever.

God forbid. What if I stop the what if-fin and start working on strengthening my faith in God so that when it happens (and it will since it's all been foretold, and the Bible has yet to miss a prophecy) I will be ready for it. What if I perish? Then I perish on earth and pass on to heavenly glory. God forbid that I should give Him up because of ANYTHING.

What if the world crashes tonight and I starve?

What if even though someone offers me food if I would renounce Christ?

What if I don't renounce Christ?

What if he puts me to death? Or I at least lets me painfully starve to death?

Well then. Heaven!

George Carlin's message

2009-03-10T17:05:00.002+09:00

A Message by George Carlin:

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less.
We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor.
We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait.
We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes.
These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill.

It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete...

Remember, spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember, to say, 'I love you' to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

George Carlin

Ray Comfort on 60 Minutes

2009-03-06T17:41:00.004+09:00

Ray Comfort is on TV!

The 60 Minutes program did a documentary on Ray Comfort. Must see.

http://www.3news.co.nz/Video/60Minutes/tabid/371/articleID/93573/cat/46/Default.aspx#video

Bee or Milk from Nothing?

2009-03-02T11:39:00.002+09:00

That is essentially what atheists claim - that bees, milk, atoms, gases came from nothing- when they expound on the "theory" of evolution.

This video exposes the fallacy of such thinking.

The right thing

2008-12-23T17:32:00.000+09:00

Cowardice asks the question

Is it safe?

Experience asks the question

Is it politic?

Vanity asks the question

Is it popular?

But conscience asks the question

Is it right?

There comes a time when

We must take a position

That is neither safe

Nor political

Nor popular

But we must take it because

Our Conscience tells us

It is right.

-- Martin Luther King, Jnr. --

Busy days

2008-12-15T22:18:00.000+09:00

I've been having some pretty busy days lately. It's always the case during holidays because that's the time when I try to finish up unfinished projects! And I've got so many of them that I've started and never finished. Evangel College for one.

So this holidays, it's my aim to finish Evangel College. I've only got one more unit to do! Yay. Hopefully I'll be done by end of December 08.

Then, I'm going to be doing a teach-a-ton. My previous music teacher is going on a holiday, and is getting me to teach her students as well as help her daughter practice! Wow. I must say I'm pretty honoured by the choice, considering she is also in the business of having her own studio teachers below her (of which I am not one!). But she has asked me to teach instead of them! But I guess they must want a break too, well.... either that or they are also equally busy! haha. Knowing my teacher, it must be the latter. :) So I'm going to be working big time too! Awesome

Of course, there is the annual buzz of church activities that come with the Christmas season: the carolling, christmas plays, the family camp and of course, the watchnight service on the 31st of December.

That is only the outside activities! Combined with the regular home duties... that makes a crazy time.

But I must admit I enjoy it... I think I'd go nuts with nothing to do. lol. So I guess it is a good thing that being bored never materialises!

Or if it does, I just simply find things to do: read a book, write my journal, blog, facebook, email, cook, or try sewing! haha. Or start a new 'project'.... which I'm famous at doing ^_^

Anyway... I ought to start studying for the last business test this thursday... I'd hate to fail the last one and have to redo it! :S

More later. :)

Euthanasia upfront

2008-12-11T22:03:00.000+09:00

This documentary shows a man choosing to take his own life with the help of a doctor, and the support of his family. It is just so sad, that sometimes it is difficult to know what to say about the wrongs of euthanasia, especially when you see it upfront. But I suppose the fact still remains that killing (taking of a human life) is still sin before God, no matter the circumstances around it. It does not matter that you are suffering greatly or are depressed or that deciding to live will have a lot more "stress" and "pain" than dying. Sin is sin before God.

What I can say however, is that God gives grace to those who obey Him and follow His will.

Besides, life will definitely NOT be more stressful or painful than death if you choose to commit suicide. For the same reason that if you disobey God, you will end up in hell. And hell... well. hell on earth is NOTHING compared to the real thing. I know I'm saying this really ungracefully, but I can't think of any other way to put it that will still convey the same urgency and importance.

Here's the documentary:

Euthanasia debate reignited

Why most scientists believe the world is old

2008-12-05T23:16:00.001+09:00

This post is taken from a Creation Ministries December 2008 Newsletter by Dr Russell Humphreys, PH.D. He writes,

There is a little-known irony in the controversy between creationists and evolutionist about the age of the world. The majority of scienties- the evolutionsists- rely on a minority of the relevant data. Yet a minority of scientiest- the creationists- use the majority of the relevant data. Adding to the irony is the public's wrong impression that it is the other way around. Therefore, many ask: "If the evidence is so strongly for a young earth, why do most scientists believe otherwise?" The answer is simple: Most scientist believe the earth is old because they believe most other scientists believe the earth is old!

Going round in circles

They trust in what's called 'circular reasoning', not data. I once encountered such a clear example of this misplaced trust, that I made detailed notes immediately. It happened when I spoke with a young (in his early thirties, career-ambitious, and upwadly mobile) geochemist at sandia National Laboratories, where I then worked as a physicist. I presented him with one piece of evidence for a young world, the rapid accumulation of sodium in the ocean. It was ideal, since much of geochemistry deals with chemicals in the ocean.

I wanted to see how he explained prossible ways for sodium to get out of the sea fasdt enough to balance the rapid input of sodium to the sea. Creationist geologist Steve Austin and I wanted the information in order to complete a scientific paper on the topic. We went around and around the issue for an hour, but he finally admitted he knew of no way to remove sodium from the sea fast enough. That would mean the sea could not be billions of years old. Realizing that, he said, "Since we know from other sciences that the ocean is billion of years old, such a removal process must exist."

I questioned whether we 'know' that at all and started to mention some of the other evidence of a young world. He interrupted me, agreeing that he probably didn't know even one percent of such data, since the science journals he depended on had not pointed it out as being important. But he did not want to examine the evidence for himself, because, he said, "People I trust don't accept creation!"

Faith, not science

I asked him which people he was relying upon. His answer was, "I trust Stephen Jay Gould!" (At that time Gould, a paleontologist, was still alive and considered the world's most prominent evolutionist.) Thus the geochemist revealed his main reason for thinking the earth is old: "People I trust" i.e., scientific authorities, had declared it. I was surprised that he didn't see the logical inconsistency of his own position. He trusted Gould and other authorities but ignored hugely relevant data!

Perhaps the geochemist thought it so unlikely the earth is young that he wasn't going to waste time investigating the possibility himself. But if that were the case, then it shows another way the old-world myth perpetuates itself-- by intellectual inertia.

I remember haivng similar attitudes when I was a grad student in physics, while I was still an evolutionist. I was wondering about a seeming inconsistency in biological evolutionism. But, I told myself, surely the experts know the answer, and I've got my dissertation research to do. I had no idea that (a) the experts had no answer for it, and (b) the implications were extremely important, affecting my entire worldview.

Before I became a Christian, I resisted evidence for a recent creation because of its spiritual implications. The geochemist might also have been resisting such implications, and was merely using scientific authority as a convenient excuse.

The bottom line

Many scientists are not the independent seekers of truth the public imagines, so the public should not trust them blindly. For a variety of reasons, scientists depend on other scientists to be correct, even when themselves have some reason for doubt. Unfortunately, as most creationist scientists can tell you, the young geochemist's reaction is not at all exceptional. Many scientists, without serious questioning, trust the opinions of their own 'experts'. However, I'm happy to report that other, when presented with creationist data, have bcome very interested and have investigated it. Many have become creationists that way, as I did.

D. Russell Humphreys, Ph.D
Creation Ministries International

So you would come

2008-12-04T11:23:00.000+09:00

Amendment to abortion legislation in VIC must be stopped!

2008-10-06T16:53:00.001+08:00

That Australia should even come to the stage allowing abortion is totally tragic. But there's worse news. Abortion was only allowed in VIC for fetuses up to 22-23 weeks because after that, the fetus is legally a child 'capable of being born alive'. However, the VIC parliament is now planning to extend the time frame of abortion all the way until the birth of the baby!

If you have time, go to www.abortionno.org and have a look. It's an American website, but it brings out the horror of abortion- something that every woman should know. If they are going to stick to their "right to choose", they should at LEAST face up to what they are choosing! The site isn't just for women, but it for everyone. Christians or no. You MUST see what abortion is doing to our next generation... the millions of 'could have been'. There's all this talk on the injustice of the "stolen generation". And yes, it was unjust. But how much more the whole generation of babies wiped out merely because the parents finds it socially inconvenient to have one!

Parliament wants to talk law? Well, how about this: encouraging total wantonness and irresponsible behaviour goes against public policy. And that is what they will be encouraging if they allow women to abort babies simply because they find it too inconvenient to have a child. If they can't take care of the child, give it up for adoption! There are so many parents who would LOVE to have a child of their own but can't!

Justifying abortion by rape and women's health cases is just an excuse. The number of rape cases that resulted in abortion is 1%. Aborting the fetus because of health problems? 6%. the other 93% is ALL due to "social inconvenience"!

And then of course we come to rights. Women's rights to choose. yeah sure. Just make sure you know WHAT you are choosing. And then, how about the baby's rights? Don't THEY get a say too, while we're at it?

We've got to do something now. It's rather too late to act once the legislation has been amended.

Refuting abortion with the Bible

Atheist professor rendered speechless

2008-09-30T20:32:00.002+08:00

There was a professor of philosophy where who was a deeply committed atheist. His primary goal for one required class was to spend the entire semester attempting to prove that God couldn't exist. His students were always afraid to argue with Him because of his impeccable logic. For 20 years, he had taught this class and no one had ever had the courage to go against him. Sure, some had argued in class at times, but no one had ever 'really gone against him'

Nobody would go against him because he had a reputation. At the end of every semester, on the last day, he would say to his class of 300 sutdents, "Is there anyone here who believes in Jesus? Stand up!" In 20 years, no one had ever stood up. They knew what he was going to do next. He would say, "because anyone who does believe in God is a fool. If God existed, he could stop this piece of chalk from hitting the ground and breaking. Such a simple tast to prove that He is God, and yet He can't do it." And every year, he would drop the chalk onto the tile floor of the classroom and it would shatter into a hundred pieces. The students could do nothing but stop and stare. Most of the students were convinced that God couldn't exist. Certainly, a number of Christians had slipped through, but for 20 years, they had been too afraid to stand up.

Well, a few years ago, there was a freshman who happened to get enrolled in the class. He was a Christian, and had heard the stories about this professor. He had to take the class because it was one of the required classes for his major and he was afraid. But for 3 months that semester, he prayed every morning what the professor said or what the class thought. Nothing they said or did could ever shatter his faith, he hoped.

Finally teh day came. The professor said, "If there is anyone here who still believes in God, stand up!" The professor and the class of the 300 hundred people looked at him, shocked, as he stood up at the back of the classroom. The professor shouted, "You fool!! If God existed, he could keep this piece of chalk from breaking when it hit the ground!" He then proceeded to drop the chalk, but as he did, it slipped out of his fingers, off his shirt cuff, onto the pleats of his pants, down his leg, and off his shoe. As it hit the ground, it simply rolled away, unbroken.

The professor's jaw dropped as he stared at the chalk. He looked up at the young man and then ran out of the lecture hall. The young man who had stood up proceeded to walk to the front of the room and share his faith in Jesus Christ for teh next half hour. 300 students stayed and listened as he told of God's love for them and of His power through Jesus Christ.

-This is SAID to be a true story that happened in USC (University of Southern California). But it is circulated in the internet as being a 'legend'.-

Does God exist?

2008-09-30T20:29:00.000+08:00

Did God create everything that exists? Does evil exist? Did God create evil?

The University professor challenged his students with this question.

"Did God create everything that exists?"

A student bravely replied, "Yes he did!"

"God created everything?" The professor asked.

"Yes sir", the student replied.

The professor answered, "If God created everything, then God created evil, since evil exists, and according to the principal that our works define who we are, then God is evil."

The student became quiet before such an answer.

The professor, quite pleased with himself, boasted to the students that he had proven once more that God was a myth.

Another student raised his hand and said, "Can I ask you question, professor?"

"Of course", replied the professor.

The student stood up and asked, "Professor, does cold exist?"

"What kind of question is this? Of course it exists. Have you never been cold?"

The students snickered at the young man's question.

The young man replied, "In fact sir, cold does not exist.

According to the laws of physics, what we consider cold is in reality the absence of heat. Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-460? F) is the total absence of heat; all matter becomes inert and incapable of reaction at that temperature. Cold does not exist. We have created this word to describe how we feel if we have no heat."

The student continued, "Professor, does darkness exist?"

The professor responded, "Of course it does."

The student replied, "Once again you are wrong sir, darkness does not exist either.

Darkness is, in reality, the absence of light. Light we can study, but not darkness. In fact we can use Newton's prism to break white light into many colors and study the various wavelengths of each color. You cannot measure darkness. A simple ray of light can break into a world of darkness and illuminate it. How can you know how dark a certain space is? You measure the amount of light present. Isn't this correct? Darkness is a term used by man to describe what happens when there is no light present."

Finally the young man asked the professor, "Sir, does evil exist?"

Now uncertain, the professor responded, "Of course as I have already said. We see it everyday. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil.

To this the student replied, "Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light."

The professor sat down.

The young man's name -- Albert Einstein

Anne Frank Movie

2008-07-24T11:58:00.001+08:00

I found the whole movie of Anne Frank on Youtube. I hope I'm not violating any copyright laws by posting it here...

The Ultimate Gift

2008-07-24T11:53:00.002+08:00

I really enjoyed this show. It's funny, touching and has a good message. The acting especially by Abigail Breslin is amazing :D (And no, I'm not biased.)

Altogether a show worth watching to pass time.

Mighty to Save

2008-07-03T19:04:00.001+08:00

Mighty To Save -

Everyone needs compassion
Love that’s never failing
Let mercy fall on me
Everyone needs forgiveness
The kindness of a Saviour
The hope of nations

Saviour
He can move the mountains
My God is mighty to save
He is mighty to save
Forever
Author of salvation
He rose and conquered the grave
Jesus conquered the grave

So take me as You find me
All my fears and failures
Fill my life again
I give my life to follow
Everything I believe in
Now I surrender

Shine Your light and let the whole world see
We’re singing
For the glory of the risen King

Holy is the Lord

2008-07-03T19:02:00.000+08:00

Written by Chris Tomlin

Holy Is The Lord (Passion: Sacred Revolution DVD Version) - Chris Tomlin

God's everlasting love

2008-07-03T18:59:00.002+08:00

From The Wilds Music:

Before the stars were in the sky
Before the earth was ever framed
Long before time had begun
I knew your name

I had a plan for who you'd be
I would create you for My glory
you would be precious in My sight
You would be Mine

I have loved you with a everlasting love
Before you knew My name I sought you
I have bought you with My blood
throughout the centuries
through all of history
and through eternity above
I will love you with an everlasting love

there was a time you would not listen
and you chose to go astray
as your Father, as your Shepherd
I led you back into the way

when the storms are fierce I held you
in the shelter of My heart
I have kept you from all evil and all harm

for neither heights nor depths nor angels
nor things present nor thing to come
could ever separate
nothing can take away
My everlasting love

Everlasting Love - The Wilds Music

Lord keep my focus on You

2008-06-30T12:13:00.003+08:00

Sometimes I live my life
Just as You've planned
Other times I struggle to obey Your command
Choices I make each day
Determine if I obey and follow You
Trusting You, guide me I pray

Refrain:
Lord keep my focus on You each day
Oh, I am tempted to go my own way
Help me to trust in You
To live my life, to honour You
Lord keep my focus on You

Trials surround me, Lord
I cry in despair
I know You're with me
And You hear every prayer
Open my eyes to see
That You know what's best for me
Remember me, calm my fear
This is my plea

Calmly, I follow You sharing Your Word,
Praising You, Lord Jesus for Your love unreserved
Hide me to do Your will
To reach forth in darkness still
Your shining light, burning bright
Lord, I'm fulfilled

Lord, Keep My Focus on You - The Wilds Music

A state of complacency

2008-06-03T15:26:00.002+08:00

Maybe being sick during the exam week ain't such a bad thing after all. It forces me to rest, relax and not worry!

Here I am in the uni since 8:45am this morning, coming to study for my administrative law exam in 2 days time, and all I can do is check email, watch a movie (one night with the king-it's awesome if you haven't seen it before), listen to music and now, blog!! Wayyyyyyyy too complacent.

Must have been all the late nights from last week kicking in. Came down with a flu- nose won't stop running, and its RED from all the tissue-scrubbing. ^_^ Could pass for a clown, maybe

Sigh... back to bias... procedural fairness, unreasonableness, ultra vires and an exam practice paper.... -.-

The holiness of God

2008-05-23T12:27:00.004+08:00

A couple of days ago I found a "letter" which I wrote as a project some years back. I didn't even know stuff from so long ago still existed. I thought they'd all be thrown away during one of my mass room clearings. :) (It's amazing the kind of things still floating around somewhere in our house.)

Anyway, the letter was to be written to a friend telling him/her about the holiness of God.

The letter is dated 20th April 2001

Dear friend,

God's holiness is not simply the best we know: infinitely better. We know nothing like the divine holiness. It stands apart, unique, unapproachable, incomprehensible, and unattainable. The natural man is blind to it. He may fear God's power and admire his wisdom, but His holiness he cannot even imagine.

The holiness of God is incomprehensible. It is an awesome mystery, surrounding, and enfolding the universe. It can never be intellectually conceived. Only sensed and felt in the depths of the human spirit.

By,
Abigail Ong

When I read it again (it's so powerful to read stuff you wrote years ago), I was just amazed at what I was taught at the age of 11, and forgotten since. And it really is true. God is so holy that we cannot even begin to fathom the glory, and majesty of the I AM who sits and reigns on His throne as King forever and ever. The holy, unapproachable, perfect, Nonesuch. Before whom we will all have to bow and worship one day. And it will truly be a joy and honour to worship this holy God who despite his elevated status, humbled Himself, became Man, and substituted His holy, perfect, blameless, sinless Self in my place. He died for me- He paid for my sins so that I could one day meet Him in heaven and bow before His holiness. You see, it is because of His holiness that no one can meet Him. No one in sin can enter heaven to meet this holy God. But because the perfect, holy God became the world's scapegoat, we are holy and righteous too. And someday, after I die, I will meet Him face to face.

Do you have that same assurance? If you die in your sins, without accepting God's 'substitution' of His righteousness for yours, you will not be allowed into heaven. You will be punished for your sins. You will end up in hell.

Because God is holy.

Seems like we have a panacea for coughs

2008-05-12T15:26:00.001+08:00

This is really interesting! I shall try it the next time a cough comes along :D

NEW USE FOR VICKS VAPORUB
WOW! I was raised, and raised my kids with Vicks.
How come I never knew this? I can't wait for my next cough. Amazing! READ ITALL.
It works 100 percent of the time, although the scientists at the Canada Research
Council (who discovered it) aren't sure why. To stop night-time coughing in a
child (or an adult, as we found out personally), put Vicks Vaporub generously on
the bottom of the feet at bedtime and then cover with socks.
Even
persistent, heavy, deep coughing will stop in about five minutes, and stay
stopped for many, many hours of relief. This works 100 percent of the time and
is more effective in children than even very strong prescription cough
medicines. In addition, it is extremely soothing and comforting and they will
sleep soundly. I heard the head of The Canada Research Council describe these
findings by their scientists when they were investigating the effectiveness and
usage of prescription cough medicines in children as compared to alternative
therapies like acupressure. I just happened to tune in to a.m. Radio and picked
up this guy talking about why cough medicines in kids often do more harm than
good due to the chemical make-up of these strong drugs, so I listened. It was
found to be more effective than prescribed medicines for children at bedtime and
in addition to have a soothing and calming effect on sick children who then went
on to sleep soundly. My wife tried it on herself when she had a very deep
constant and persistent cough a few weeks ago and it worked 100 percent! She
said it felt like a warm blanket had enveloped her. The coughing stopped in a
few minutes, and believe me, this was a deep (incredibly annoying - every few
seconds!), uncontrollable cough, and she slept cough-free for hours every night
she used it. If you end up sick, try it yourself and you will be absolutely
amazed at the effect. Pass this on - especially to those with children or
grandchildren.

Ministry Gifts: Survey

2008-04-29T23:51:00.003+08:00

I just found this site that has a survey which you can find out your ministry gifts. It's a series of 4 surveys, each 33 questions long, but you get a report for each survey. It's pretty good! It is different from the Advanced Seminar's (IBLP) ministry quiz in that this one also takes into account how much you actually use your gifts. Which, if you think about it, is also a very important thing to take into account. After all, there is no point having a gifting if you don't use it!!

Try it yourself: Ministry Survey. It's is part of www.hymnsite.com

Anyway, I did it, and this is what I got:

By Score:

Instrumental Music
4
4
4
4
16

Writing
4
4
3
3
14

Artistry
4
3
3
4
14

Serving
3
3
3
3
12

Encouragement or Exhortation
4
3
2
3
12

Wisdom
3
3
3
2
11

Teaching
3
3
1
4
11

Missionary
3
3
2
3
11

Mercy
4
3
3
1
11

Leadership
4
2
3
2
11

Giving
3
3
3
2
11

Faith
3
3
3
2
11

Evangelist
3
2
2
4
11

Vocal Music
3
4
1
2
10

Pastor/Shepherd
2
3
2
3
10

Knowledge
3
2
2
2
09

Discernment of Spirits
3
3
1
2
09

Administration
3
2
3
1
09

Prayer or Intercession
1
2
2
2
07

Miracles
2
2
2
1
07

Hospitality
2
2
2
1
07

Tongues
3
3
0
0
06

Speaking
0
2
1
2
05

Healing
2
1
2
0
05

Dreams
2
1
1
1
05

Craftsmanship
2
1
1
1
05

Apostle
2
1
2
0
05

Visions
2
1
1
0
04

Marrying
3
1
0
0
04

Helping
1
1
1
0
03

Celibacy
0
1
0
2
03

Prophecy
1
0
0
1
02

Interpretation of Tongues
1
0
0
1
02

Principle over compromise

2008-04-29T16:04:00.003+08:00

Now this is what I call inspiring. These people are heroes in the student world of would-be-lawyers. Not only did they have the gumption to go out there and stick to their principles, they actually ended up winning third place in an international competition! Not bad at all.

What Champs!!

-Article taken from The Trumpet of Liberty-

Patrick Henry College
Winter 2001

Principle Over Compromise at
National Competition

In January, eight Patrick Henry College students
and President Mike Farris traveled to the University of Texas at Arlington to
compete in the American Collegiate Moot Court Association's second annual
tournament (January 18-19). Thirty-eight teams made up of undergraduate students from 18 colleges and universities were tested in their ability to argue a mock case before the United States Supreme Court. The PHC team did an outstanding job on two levels.

In the preliminary rounds, PHC's teams compiled a composite record of six wins and two losses. Two of those teams-Jane Grisham (freshman-IL) and Claire Verschoof (senior-MI); Kyle Pousson (freshman-VA) and Sarah Adell (freshman-NC)-advanced to the quarterfinals as the result of perfect records in the preliminary rounds.

Pousson and Adell advanced to the semi-final round, where they lost to the team from Howard Payne University (which eventually won the tournament), but took home the third place trophy. Adell was awarded the sixth place speaker trophy for her total speaker points, which ranked her near the top of the 79 individual competitors.

It is important to note that the vast majority of the participants in the tournament were seniors. The team that defeated Pousson and Adell were both seniors who have already achieved admittance to prestigious law schools for this coming fall. The general consensus at the tournament was that it was a remarkable achievement for two freshmen to rank third in the nation.

However, PHC's ability to understand and argue the law with persuasion was only one of the challenges. There was a second, more subtle test that was in many ways far more important.

The assigned case had two issues. One issue concerned the law of search and seizure. The second issue concerned homosexual rights. All teams were required to switch back and forth representing each side of the case in alternating rounds. The PHC teams had no moral dilemma concerning the search and seizure issue. It was also quite acceptable for them to argue for the state's position on the homosexual rights question. But they were also assigned to argue for the homosexual men on that same issue.

Fortunately, the mock case was written in such a way that it gave the PHC team an alternative argument that few other colleges anticipated. They were able to argue that the issue of homosexual rights had been settled by the state court, and it was a violation of the principle of federalism for the U.S. Supreme Court to review that portion of the case. They were able to present their assigned position by simply arguing for federalism and totally avoided any argument that would advance homosexual rights.

However, one judge in the semi-final round kept questioning Pousson to try to get him to argue in favor of homosexual rights. He politely stuck to his federalism argument and refused to present a theory that is morally offensive (not to mention legally invalid).

"There is little doubt that their loss in the semi-finals was, at least in part, attributable to this judge's view that we should have argued in favor of homosexual rights," Dr. Farris said.

Even though Dr. Farris had coached the team and had encouraged them to take this position, he left the ultimate decision up to the members of the team whether they would "role play" as requested or stand for principle even in a mock trial situation. Each of the eight students steadfastly stood for principle in each of their rounds.

After the tournament, Dr. Farris told the team that it was far better to be disappointed than to be ashamed. "Although a third place finish is nothing to be ashamed of, I was far more proud of receiving that third place trophy with honor than I would have been with a first place trophy with compromise," he said.

The other four members of the team were Tim Doozan (sophomore-FL) and Danny Davis (sophomore-GA); Galen Thorp (sophomore-Netherlands Antilles [Galen's parents are missionaries]) and Daniel Chapin (freshman-OR). Doozan and Davis won the 22-team intramural tournament at PHC. Chapin and Thorp placed second at the PHC qualifying tournament.

The tournament director expressed his amazement at the strong showing made by this new college, and predicted that other schools will have quite a challenge to face next year. "It was an incredible learning experience," said Sarah Adell. "We're all fired up to go back next year and win."

2 whole months!

2008-04-28T21:10:00.003+08:00

Oh dear... I'm dismayed to find that it's been 2 whole months since I've posted on my blog!! It was definitely a good idea to do away with the other 3. ^^

I've just been too busy... and even now, I shouldn't even be here. I've got three assignments due next week, none of them finished (not even 10% done) and here I am- but ok... excuses, excuses.

Uni's been going well this year. It hasn't been so much of a struggle with the legalese anymore since I've had a whole year of acclimatization last year. ^^ So that means that instead of having to read a passage 5 times through before understanding it, I only have to read it thrice. Sometimes twice. Not bad, huh?

Even Charles Dickens wasn't so hard to understand. If I didn't understand a sentence, why- just skip it! Unfortunately though, if I did that with my textbooks, they'd be reduced to about 10% of their original size, and fit only to be used as fire fuel (or maybe car fuel, now that prices have inflated so dramatically)

Anyway... where was I? Oh yes... my studies.

Everything is ok so far and hopefully I will last out another 1 month and 1 week. After that it'll be a 7 week HOLIDAY for me! WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!! And I seriously need it. Pimples have been popping up out of nowhere... I'm serious!! My poor vanity >.<

Anyhow, I better get on with my readings. I've about 13 cases and 2 chapters to read. :P Enough bludging.

Disclaimer

2008-02-26T17:30:00.002+09:00

The timing for the month of february is all wrong okay? I just completed transcribing everything onto this blog so now they are all stuck in the month of february, and I can't be bothered to shift them. So my 2 year's ago easter post is in feb 2008! lol. I'm sorry about that.

But from now on it should be posted according to the date I write. ;)

A Wife's Duty

2008-02-26T17:03:00.002+09:00

“May I please have your advice?” pleaded a young wife and mother, after she had given Rita a full account of all her troubles. Rita smiled and replied,

“My dear girl, there was once a time, when I was in a similar situation. I was full of worries and burdens that I didn’t want. I wanted to be free, to have my time, and to do what I wanted to do. But in the end, it didn’t work because I was loaded with responsibility. I had to take care of my Husband and 3 children -cooking for them, cleaning after them, watching them, besides keeping the house. I didn’t have time to do anything I enjoyed because I grew exhausted after that. And then, I couldn’t take it anymore, I ran away to my mother’s house. After pouring out the whole story, she gave me a piece of advice for which I am and will be eternally grateful. It has helped me so much that that I can now say, that my life was changed for the better thereafter.”

At these words, the young mother’s face brightened, and she eagerly exclaimed,

“What? What is this counsel that has helped you so much? Pray, tell me, tell me what your mother said.”

Rita sank back into chair, and closed her eyes. The scene came back all too clear, both of them in front of the fire, with her mother reclining on the easy rocking chair, and she, herself on the stool, at her mother’s feet. Rita sighed, and began softly, while the mother listened, absorbed ……

‘“In order to have a successful marriage, dear Rita, both husband and wife have to yield the right to hobbies. The husband has to yield his hobbies if it is an intrusion on more important priorities. The Scriptural command for the husband to yield this right is found in Ephesians 5:25.
“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;” Ephesians 5:25
The husband is to lay down his life for his wife in the same way that Christ laid down His life for the Church –His Bride.

But the wife also has a charge. She is to yield her rights to hobbies, or anything that would interfere with responsibility stated in Titus 2.
“The aged women likewise, that [they be] in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, [To be] discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.” Titus 2:3-5
This is an example given of a godly woman. She is wise. She is discreet and chaste. She cares. She is also obedient to her husband. Her responsibility is to be the managers of the home, that God’s Word would not be blasphemed.

Now, if and hobby becomes a consuming focus, requires too much time, effort, money, loyalty, and distracts a spouse from his of her responsibility, it should be put aside, in view of completing the more important priorities.”’

Rita ended her recital there, but the words did not stop there. It hung in the thickening air. For a moment, there was complete silence; both the ladies were in deep reverie. Suddenly, the clock was heard chiming 5 o’clock. It broke the silence, and brought the 2 ladies back into reality. Rita was the first to recover, and she could see the effect her mother’s words had on the girl. Tears were coursing down her face, as the young mother penitently acknowledged, “Oh, I have been so careless in the responsibility that God has given to me. I have loved my own liberty too much, and have not yielded my rights. It is truly my own fault that I have suffered so much misery.” Then, with a glance at her fashionable outfit, she said with a tone of determination and resolution, “God give me the grace, I shall give up my vanity. I shall endeavour to be like the woman in Titus 2:3-5, and I haven’t reached that goal yet, before God calls me home, I shall die attempting it.” With a voice full of gratitude, she turned to Rita and said, “How can I ever thank you mother, (for mother I shall now call you, since I lost my own when I was little) for sharing with me those words which have pointed me in the right way?” She gathered the old wrinkled hands in her own, and said, “I have to go soon if I am to keep my resolution, for it’s five o’ clock, and my husband will be back in an hour’s time. But before I go, let me ask you for the remainder of your story.”

“Dear daughter of my heart, there is not much left to tell, but that I went back home a changed woman. From that day on, I purposed to be that woman in Titus 2:3-5 (caring, wise, discreet, and a good manager of the house, that God’s Word be not blasphemed,” replied Rita.

“And so you have been, and always shall be, I imagine!” declared the ‘daughter’. Rita smiled, but shook her head, and responded,

“I was once young, and a wife and mother, but in time all three gifts of the Lord has either been taken or flown away. I am now old and widowed, and of my 3 sons, 2 fell in battle, while the youngest is happily married in a foreign land, only to visit me irregularly. No, dear girl, I still have much to learn, and so do all of us. But make Titus 2:3-5 your goal, and you shall do well.”

Obedience= A shave off the rocky coast of Tasmania

2008-02-26T17:02:00.001+09:00

Obedience= A Close Shave

On a rocky coast off Tasmania in Bass Strait, the pup waited eagerly for the return of its mother. It was playing with several other pups in the shallow water nearby. Happily splashing and squealing in play, it did not notice the sudden commotion amongst the elders of its colony. Mothers beckoned to their young in anxiety. Hearing his mother call, the pup responded and left. The others, reluctant to leave their sport, wilfully continued to play, refusing to heed the call of their parents. In their enthusiasm, the pups which ignored their mother’s call, failed to notice a 15 foot White Pointer heading in their direction. When they did, it was too late. Safe on the rocky outcrop, by the side of his mother, the pup watched in horror as the enormous shark lunged from beneath and ripped open the soft bellies of his fellow playmates, turning the sea crimson.

For the fur seal pup, instant obedience means life and death. For them, failure to respond to the call of its mother may result in death. Because it is so important, the mother teaches its pup instant obedience from the early days of its life. Since the pup is necessarily left alone for a short period of time while to mother hunts for food, it must learn to stay within the safe zones of the Island and not wander off by its self.

Several months before this incident, the pup had been exploring the Island together with his mother, learning how to catch his own meal. He had spent a long time searching for food, and had not found anything yet. He was getting hungry. Nuzzling at the rocky bottom of the sea bed, he disclosed a white transparent material which looked much like the squid which his mother often brought to him. Delighted at his find, he was just going to swallow it whole when a sharp call from his mother stopped him. Swimming over, his mother gently flicked at the white squid with her tail. The act tossed it up, revealing a plastic bag, carelessly thrown into the water by a negligent human. If the pup had ignored the command of his mother, and swallowed the plastic bag thinking it was a squid, he would have died of suffocation.

SWISH! The pup turned around to where his mother had been a moment ago to find her gone! He looked up in confusion to find the mother chasing a school of mackerel. Excited and ready to help, he swam up, pursuing the fish, while keeping his eyes on his mother. While he knew he didn’t have to help, he went the extra mile by assisting his mother.

For the fur seal pup, obedience meant going the extra mile whenever it could. The pup could simply have waited for the food brought to him! But he willingly went the extra mile to help his mother procure the day’s meal.

She was just about to grab a fish when she made a sharp turn to the right and fled. Puzzled by his mother’s sudden flee, he nevertheless obeyed the silent command, knowing that it was expected of him to follow. Didn’t his mother know that he hadn’t eaten anything yet? He was hungry, and he had been just about to catch his first meal! But the pup didn’t complain. Instead, he followed his mother as she weaved her way around the coral, keeping to the shadowy area as she made her way back to the Island. At one point, a massive shadow appeared above them. It was an orca, commonly known as the killer whale. It was searching for food, and the school of mackerel had attracted it, just as it had attracted the pup and its mother. The pup finally understood. His mother had known! She had sensed trouble coming, and had saved both of their lives. Immediate action had to be taken, and it left no time for explanation.

You see, for the fur seal pup, obedience meant doing what was expected of it, without being told. There wasn’t time for explanations. A fur seal pup has to trust its mother and obey it, even though it didn’t understand the actions of its parent.

Tired and hungry, the 2 seals swam up the shore and returned home. Although he had spent the whole day searching for food, and hadn’t found any, the pup did not complain. He was glad to be safe and alive, and he expressed his contentment by crawling to his mother’s side and nestling her, thanking her by barking a series of “oinks”. OINK! OINK! OINK! For him, even though there was no fish or squid that day, there was always the warm milk of his mother to feed him. He was content to be satisfied with that.

The pup demonstrated obedience by having a cheerful attitude despite his weariness and hunger. He did not complain, but thanked his mother instead for saving his life and for teaching him how to fish.

Cabin Boy (part 1)

2008-02-26T17:01:00.002+09:00

Chapter 1

Captain Harry Stowe strolled along the harbour surveying the landscape with more than his usual exuberant step. Workmen clamoured to be heard above the din of the harbour side, always busy with fresh cargo to be exported, as well as exotic spices to be hauled away. The marketing stalls at the side produced an intensity of noise no less than the workmen. The stall owners could be heard bartering their goods, usually those provided by the ocean, with the women folk of the nearby village, who held ever penny they had with a tight fist. At the price agreed, they carefully counted the coins and handed them over, with a slight smile at their expertise of procuring their day’s meal at a good bargain. Whereupon on the leave of the ladies, the stall owner would dance a little jig for joy at his superior business abilities, having gotten more than what he had hoped for. It was not a bad scene, since both parties were satisfied with the outcome.

Captain Stowe had a particular gait uncommon among the men of his class. Merchants and workmen need only to hear the vigorous and purposeful stride along the wharf before lifting their heads in greeting to the indefatigable Captain. Yes, Captain Stowe was respected all along the harbour and surrounding villages for an honest and upright name. Those who knew him testified of his uprightness and generosity. While it was true that he demanded much from everyone- including himself, Captain Stowe, always the first at a troubled scene, ready to lend a spacious hand to those less fortunate than he, established his good name by compassion. His deep blue eyes were often found twinkling in amusement at the delight of the village children who had just received a penny from ‘the fun man’; his home often the sanctuary of the sick or injured, and his energies drained frequently in search of jobs for the unemployed. Having established his character, let us move on to his uncommon cause of gaiety today.

The object of Captain Stowe’s excessive animation became apparent as he hurried down the steps and paused along the footpath. Out in the distance, half blanketed by the light mist lay a beautiful little steamer which gleamed in the morning light. Freshly painted and refurbished, the gay vessel fairly sparkled. The Captain was astonished at the change worked in so few days. It was bought from an old skipper, who was wroth to part with his treasure. Only with the extraction of a promise to cherish the craft all its days would the skipper begin to consider selling it. Already, the Captain found it no hard task to keep his promise. The name ‘Lady Mabel’ beckoned to the Captain. Quickening his steps, the Captain closed the distance between the boat and him.

A shout of, “Captain’s here!”, greeted him as he appeared on the gangway.

“How’s it all going, my lads?” inquired the Captain cheerily of his crew.

“Fine, sir,” replied the foreman, with the others nodding their heads in unison. It was then that the Captain noticed a youth slouching by the deck.

“Why, what have we here? A boy! Perhaps the son of one of you lads?”

“No, Captain. This here lad came early this mornin’ skulking ‘round here. Asked ‘im what ‘e wanted, and all I’s got is he wants to see the Capt’n.” responded the foreman with facial grimaces comical to see, as he smiled at the boy.

“Yes, boy, what can I do for you, son?” asked the Captain, motioning with his hand to signal to the lad to come forward.

A most unprepossessing boy appeared, with his dirty shock of red hair, grimy fingers and rags for clothes. Moreover, the black eyes glared defiance at the Captain was enough to put off anyone. Anyone, that is, except the Captain. What others detested in the boy only served heighten the sympathy of the Captain. He took of his coat and wrapped it around the shivering boy. Placing an arm around the boy’s shoulders, he prompted again,

“Well?”

“I want a job,” mumbled the youth sulkily. “And I don’t need this” said the ungrateful boy as he shook off the kind arm around his shoulders and returned the coat. “I’m tougher ‘an you all,” he sneered.

“Well, boy- by the way- you haven’t given me your name.”

“Jim Stebbler.”

Memories struggled to rise in the Captain’s mind. Jim Stebbler? Wasn’t he the thieving lout by the alleyway, the scum of the village, and the partaker of the worst possible company? He had never worked before, so why now? Was he up to more mischief? Jim saw the hesitancy in the Captain’s expressive face. Laughing loudly, in a tone which brooked ill for everyone there, he retaliated,

“You’re too good for Jim Stebbler, are ya?” Well, well, we’ll see. Me who’s always a-thievin’ in the alley and want honest work fer a change; me who’s avoided by everyone cause I stink, and as likely ter nick a few coins for a living; me who’s got no friends ter talk to, so that I welcome any who’d talk to a fella like me- yes, I’m too dirty for the likes of you!” He spat on the floor.

“Jim!”

He had turned away and was shuffling off when the Captain called his name. Reluctantly, he came back. The Captain thought long and hard. Everyone waited in silence and anticipation at the Captain for his decision. The all thought that the boy’s words had stung the pride of the Captain, and anxious to prove his justice and generosity, would be forced to accept the demands of the boy. But the truth couldn’t be further from that. In fact, he was thinking of his own past some years back, not unlike the sad spectacle before him, going his own way without father or mother, until a kind benefactor picked him up, and pointed him in the heavenly direction which made him into the man he was today. The remembrance stirred him. He had to do something for the lad, something to help him on his way. But what? Offer him a job aboard the ship, a brand new vessel, and his pride and joy? Slowly, the Captain’s furrowed brows smoothed out, and his clouded eyes cleared. Selfless blue eyes met defiant black eyes before he spoke.

“Jim, I offer you the position of cabin boy on my ship. Your duties would be to wait on me, help the cook serve the dishes and wait on others at the table, and tidy the deck every day. Also, your tasks will include scrubbing the cabins, toilets and bunk rooms every day. You may also have the position of valet to me. In return for your service, you will have food and lodging, and be paid a pound a week.”

At this, murmurs ran through the sailors. Cabin boys were never paid this much or even treated this well. Food and lodging coupled with a pound a week in the deal! And to be a valet of the master, why that was an honour to die for!

“Do you understand?” the Captain clarified.

“Yes.”

“Of course, however,” continued the Captain once the boy understood his responsibilities, “there are rules for the crew of my boat that you might as well be told of now. These are formed to ensure the safety and happiness of everyone on the ship. Whoever breaks the rules will be punished accordingly. The first rule is kindness. Kindness to everyone and everything is mandatory. The second is honesty. Every man has his share and no more. No stealing or deceitfulness on board this ship. It will not be tolerated. The third rule is orderliness and punctuality. Everyone on the ship has a schedule, that I expect to be followed so that the ship may be run smoothly. The 4th rule: no swearing or using of God’s name in vain. 5th: Respect for the people of different races and for the property of others. As cabin boy in a ship, you may expect much travelling to foreign lands, and meeting of people with cultures much different from yours. My men must learn to accept that and not mock those, for all are equal creatures in God’s sight. The 6th rule is diligence. Hard work always has its own rewards. The last rule is not a rule in the sense of the word, but an obligation that I expect to be minded. This last is that everyone on board ‘Lady Mabel’ has to drop work at 7pm at to attend the evening service held every day by the chaplain. Are all that I have mentioned clear to you, Jim?”

“Yes Captain.”

“Excellent. I think we would get one well enough. Welcome aboard the ‘Lady Mabel’!!” announced Captain Stowe.

Cheers met the boy as he climbed up the deck. Even though the men had their own doubts and reservation as to the wisdom of the Captain’s decision, they respected the Captain, and were sincerely glad for the boy. They pitied him, and prayed fervently that he too might find the saving power and love of the Lord Jesus Christ which will work a greater change in his life than in any other favourable circumstances put together.

Cabin Boy (part 2)

2008-02-26T17:01:00.001+09:00

The Rival Painters (part 1)

2008-02-26T17:00:00.000+09:00

The elegant room beckoned invitingly; beautiful landscape pictures adorned the walls, cosy divans lay scattered throughout the room, and the sun peeped out from behind the rich velvet curtains to bid its occupant good-day. But all was lost upon him. With bent head and clenched hands he paced, careless of time and hour, or of the alluring air of sumptuous luxury around him. So far lost was he in contemplation that a gentle knock on the door went unheeded. A second more insistent knock brought him back, however, and jerked his head up to reveal his countenance which had hitherto been hidden. A most singular face it was. It contained the power for good and bad, but the cruel look was strongest just now, for a bitter despair had fallen over the handsome face. The deep set eyes burned with a fiery hatred; the beautifully moulded forehead knitted in a dark frown; and the firm mouth set in a scowl. Upon the opening of the door, the face underwent an instant transformation. Not a trace of the bitter hatred and resentment remained. Indeed, he was all smiles and good humour, and the waiter who handed him the letter thought Monsieur Thylatte the “charmingest” man alive. The waiter would have been astounded however, if he could have seen the reappearance of the look after he left. It died away as he read the letter, only to be replaced by a grim smile with a grimmer significance to the offender.

“Well, Angelo, we will see who triumphs in the end- you or me.”

He laughed sardonically. Striding over to the mahogany desk littered with letters of critique, commendations and overtures of friendliness, he pushed them all impatiently aside and prepared the materials for a letter. He fingered the edge of the paper before him, his mind racing to form the needed words. He began to write.

The Rival Painters (part 2)

2008-02-26T16:59:00.000+09:00

The intertwined vines made the perfect frame and the sleepy sea a perfect backdrop. It was, however, a means only of highlighting the main figures in the picture- a pair of lovers. Hope, love, and life bloomed in their faces, both in the ardent glance of the boy, and in the passionate glow of the girl.

“The sea is unusually calm today, isn’t it, Gabriel? Even though it is generally tranquil, today, it is positively lethargic. I wonder if it’s a precursor of a storm. You know the saying that after the lull invariably come a storm; and by the look of things, it’s not going to be an ordinary storm, it’ll be a tempest.”

“Let’s hope we don’t get caught in it, whatever it is. But I’d like to stay for awhile; the weather is beautiful and refreshing it does one good after one’s been cooped up in a dark and dank old monastery, painting an abbot.”

A silvery laugh met this speech, but sobered up directly, as Viola replied, “I hope so too, but I have this sad premonition that something is about to happen, even though there isn’t a cloud in the sky. Nevertheless, let us tarry awhile for your sake, to dispel the pious pattering of the monk’s feet from your ears, and instead fill it with the sound of nature’s music. See there, the loveliest rose I ever saw; gaze awhile on it, and forget the damp and dark cell of the old hermit.”

“No there you err, Viola. The best music I could hear is your laugh, the brightest light, your smile, and the loveliest sight, you.”

“You are sentimental today, Gabriel.”

“How could I not be with you near me? Your living breath and touch are life and light to me. I live for you and you alone. Give the miser his treasure, and give me your smile, both are satisfied.”

“Do you really care so much for me, Gabriel?” She murmured, turning her head of golden curls away.

“I would die for you, Viola.”

“I was once told that by another man. Treacherous lover he was! He loved me only for my name and wealth. When my parents lost the fortune and died, he cast me off, and made himself happy with another, not caring a sou for my heart- the heart he left broken and trodden upon. He offered me false promises and broke them all. How can I be certain you do not do the same, Gabriel?” she returned bitterly.

“Look, at me Viola! Do you think I would lie to you? I mean what I say.” His eyes flashed, grieved that she had doubted his love for even a moment. Ashamed of her doubt, she replied contritely,

“Forgive me, Gabriel, and show me how I may atone.”

“I will. Viola, will you marry me, and be my dearest possession?”

“Yes, I will Gabriel. I love you too, and consent to pass my life with you.”

His heart overflowing to fullness, he gathered Viola in his arms. “When, Viola? When shall you make my dream come true?”

“Now, if you wish it, Gabriel.” She smiled at him; her eyes radiant through tears, tears of love. Together, arm in arm; they strolled through the arch, oblivious of the dark clouds gathering in the skies above, only sensible of their great joy.

The Adventures of Elitemeadow

2008-02-26T16:57:00.000+09:00

Hi people! I don't know why I chose this title for this story some 5 years back. I guess I was really impressed with the word 'elite' and so I decided to use it. :) I wrote this story on a suggestion between my cousin and me. We decided on 2 titles to choose from: The Rock and Beyond the Stars. I chose the latter, but changed the title (we sort of laxed the rules!) to elitemeadow. This story is about my toys, and the addition of a new member. You can read about my toys in my journal. There is one more thing I should mention before I leave you to enjoy the story: As I said in the beginning, I wrote this 5 years back, and my english was not what it is now, so please excuse the lapses in quality, grammer and punctuation! I am posting the story as it was then.

Chapter 1

“I know! Let’s go pick fruits and nuts in the forest, tomorrow morning. We can cook some for supper, and we could have a picnic there!” cried Miffy excitedly. “Yes, Let’s do” said Greenfy earnestly, who was anxious to please Miffy. He was promptly backed up by the others: “Pleasee? We’ve not had a picnic in ages,” and they all sat looking up at Tiger.
“Please Tiger, it would be so much fun to go berry picking again this summer. The berries are ripe, and Miffy makes such nice cakes and muffins with them. Besides,” he added, “If we don’t collect them soon, the Friskies will.” begged Greenfy. At this, the whole ‘family’ roared with laughter at the last few words. Everyone knew that the Friskies were Greenfy’s enemy, for they had taught Greenfy a lesson that he would not soon forget. “Hmm, I don’t know,” said Tiger looking amused, “ you might make a good snack for the bears, Greenfy. You look like a plum juicy little bunny!” Here, everyone except Greenfy started laughing again. “Oh, please don’t tease me. We’ll be good, truly” pleaded Greenfy. “
“Please?” cried everyone. “Oh, alright, I see that I’ve no choice. Only, you must promise me not to go into the Bears Territory. Theirs paws are very dangerous,” said Tiger seriously. “Oh we’ll keep out,” everyone promised.

“Good! Now, Miffy will prepare the picnic for tomorrow with Greenfy’s help. Spotty, come with me to see and set the boundaries for tomorrow. While we are away, Brown bear, guard the house, and let none of the others stray from the house. Jumbo will keep you company. If anything happens, send Jumbo to call me immediately,” instructed Tiger. At this the two cats bounded away to the forest to catch supper, and to set the boundaries for tomorrow.

Chapter 2

Miffy retired to the kitchen to prepare, but the rest stayed at the front lawn. Here, I will proceed to tell you a little bit about our friends.
Tiger is a beautiful white Siberian tiger with black stripes and blue eyes. As the oldest, she is the head of the ‘house’. Everyone in the family looks to her for leadership and comfort. She is a very strict but just disciplinarian, as you will find out later. She is Greenfy’s friend and comforter most of the times.
Jumbo is the next oldest. He looks somewhat like "Dumbo". The only difference between them, is that Jumbo is a mouse. “Dumbo” is an elephant. He is small in size compared to his big ears, which is his transport most of the time. He can fly. Although he is a very quiet family member, he is the most faithful. He obeys all orders almost instantly.
Although Brown bear is the third oldest, he is big for his age. Brown bear loves, and is attracted to honey like a bee. Brown bear eats a lot, which accounts for his size. He is therefore, being chosen as guard of the house. He too obeys orders without question.
The next in age is Spotty. He has both cheetah and leopard blood in his veins. He runs very fast as well as he climbs trees. He is another member who rarely shouts in the house. He is Miffy’s confidante and transport, because ‘he acts like a gentleman’ as Miffy would say. This makes Greenfy very jealous of Spotty. Right now, Tiger is teaching him how to hunt like an expert.
Greenfy is the ‘unlucky’ one who was always being teased by the others because of his size. He didn’t mine being teased by Tiger, but he got very hurt sometimes if the others, especially Miffy laughed at him. He used to be fat, but careful management of his diet by Tiger helped him reduce his ‘fat’. When he was hungry, which he always was, he would gobble down his share of food, to Miffy’s disgust.
Miffy is the youngest of this present group. She is regularly called: “The lady of the house”, because she had, in her bearing, both elegance and grace in speech and manner. Whenever anyone got hurt, or was in trouble, (which was very rare,) Miffy was the person to go to. She had a heart full of compassion for people. Yet, she was still a regular mischief loving little bunny. She got into more trouble than the others, including Greenfy. She was the best cook at the present, and a very good one she is too! She made very yummy muffins, cakes, sandwiches, and many other things fit to eat. She is the most spirited and excitable family member present.

Such is the little family who occupies the den of Elitemeadow.

Chapter 3

Now to return to the story: Miffy had gotten everything together without Greenfy’s help. She surveyed work, nicely decorated with flowers in the picnic basket with immense satisfaction. There was meat for Tiger and Spotty, with a little leftover for Brown bear if he wanted; water in abundance; honey in plenty; carrots and lettuce for Greenfy and herself; and last of all cheese for Jumbo. Thinking to herself: “We’ll have the fruits we pick as dessert,” she went out. She found her friends lying down, snoozing in the grass.
Sitting down on the grass, She said to herself, I’ll wait for Spotty.” 5 minutes passed, 10 minutes passed, but still no sign of them. Presently, she thought to herself: “ What’s keeping them? They’re usually not so long. I wonder what has happened to them?” Another 20 minutes passed. Suddenly, an idea occurred to her: “ I know! I’ll look for them myself! After all,” she reasoned, “I know my way around here.” Without thinking of the consequences of her action, she went into the house, took her water bottle, and was off before anyone woke up. She went off without even a word to anyone ……
~
Presently, the group on the grass woke up. They felt hungry, so they sent Greenfy in to ask Miffy for something to munch on. But, you can imagine their surprise when Greenfy came out a moment later, not only empty handed, but with a troubled look stammering: “I …I can’t find Miffy anywhere! She’s… she’s g…gone!” “ GONE!” Brown bear exclaimed:
“What do you mean?”
“Just what I said!”
“Are you sure she’s not hiding?”
“Yes, very sure. I even shouted for her.”
“Jumbo”
“Yes sir?”-
“Call and inform Tiger right away.”
“Yes s…”
“There’s no need. They are here,” intervened a voice from behind. The startled group spun around to face Tiger and Spotty. “What’s the matter? What are you crying for Greenfy?” demanded Tiger. “S…She’s dis…disappeared,” sobbed Greenfy. “WHAT? WHO? Tell me Brown bear,” commanded Tiger.
When Tiger finally learnt the truth, she was frustrated and angry. “Have you any clue where she’s gone?” growled Tiger. “No” came the nervous reply. “Bother Miffy, bother everything! Jumbo, fly ahead and keep a look out for Miffy. Meet us at the forest when dark.” At this, Jumbo flew away in haste. “ Now we’ll break up into two search parties. I’ll take one and Brown bear will take the other,” said Tiger much to the disappointment of Spotty. “Greenfy will come with me. We will search the east, near the river. Brown bear will take you Spotty to the west, the forest. You will search for her there. When the sky is dark, we’ll meet you there.”

At this, the group dispersed.

Chapter 4

Meanwhile, Miffy was wandering around in the forest, at the mercy of illusions. She was not used to it. “Where are they?” she would think to herself. Then just at that moment, she thought she saw Tiger’s stripes, and would rush toward it. Reaching there, it would disappear, or turn out to be rows of berries. Then again she would hear the rustling of the trees, and run towards it. Then she would find out it was the wind. Shortly after, she happened to see a little lane. After following it, it would end up now where. There were many of these sorts of illusions. But one thing remained the same: She was always disappointed.
Finally, she gave up and looked around her, and for the first time, a feeling of horror rose up in her. She didn’t recognize the place she was in.
In other words, she was lost ……
~
Tiger paced up and down. She and Greenfy had seared every nook and cranny of the east. But there was no sign of Miffy. The sky was growing darker and darker every minute. It would soon be night.
In the West, Spotty and Brown bear were tired and hungry. They wanted to go home. They, too, had searched almost every place they knew, but sadly, it was of no avail. They choose a place and sat down, waiting for Tiger and Greenfy. After awhile, they fell asleep.
~
Miffy wanted to cry. She wished she had not left home. She had no idea where she was, and the thought of spending a night alone in a cold unknown forest, sent shivers down her back. She sat down and cried in despair.
After awhile, when she regained her composure, she stood and looked around. The sky was dark now, but she was not worried about that now. It was what she heard. Something likes a cry in the still, silent air…

Chapter 5

Spotty woke up to hear Tiger talking to Brown bear, who woke up before him because he was less tired. Spotty who was anxious for his friend had searched more than Brown bear. He walked over to hear what Tiger had to say: “No, we didn’t find her either. She is not there.
“Couldn’t she have gone home? We could have missed her.”
“Hmm…not thought of that. Very unlikely, Brown bear, but it’s worth a try.”
Here, Tiger called Jumbo and explained to him their plan. Jumbo agreed to do it immediately although he was very tired. They sat down to await the news.

~
Miffy shivered as the cold wind blew. She walked towards the sound, as if mesmerized by it. Somehow, it expressed what she felt. Although she did not understand it, she somehow ‘understood the feeling’. It was a mournful sound coming nearer and nearer as she walked. A sudden rustling of leaves above her made her stand still. She thought of owls, eagles, lions, foxes, stoats and other animals, which hunted for rabbits at night. She was alone in a dark night. The sound was now right behind the bush that she was standing in front of. She slowly crept around, her heart beating with terror. What she saw made her heart turn in spite of herself. A huge female bear lay within a few feet from her. She gave a little jump and was about to turn around and run blindly, when a tiny movement caught her attention. She stared hard in the dark, at the bear. It appeared to be asleep. Nevertheless, she walked towards the bear silently. Just beside the mother bear, lay a little cub. But why stay in the open where danger was?
Then, the moonlight appeared just above the fir trees, and revealed the answer: The mother bear was dead. The cub was homeless, and lost, in a dark cold night.
Feeling sorry for the little bear, she walked confidently, yet quietly and slowly towards the cub, so that she would not frighten it. “It’s alright little bear. Come on, I won’t hurt you, I’ll take good care of you…” With soothing and comforting words, she gently drew the bear out. It was much bigger than she thought. Probably about a month old she thought. She carried it to a shady tree and sat down, with the bear in such a position, that it acted like a water bottle to Miffy.
Very soon, the moonlight shone on a little bunny with a bear cub in her arms, fast asleep beneath the starry sky ……

Chapter 6

Tiger was very worried. Jumbo came back to confirm that Miffy was not at home. She sighed: “I don’t know what to do. Shall we…”
Spotty meanwhile, was a little distance away from his friends. Far enough so that no one could see him, but also near enough so that he could hear them. He was pacing up and down, sniffing. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw ……Miffy’s water bottle! He gave a little cry, which caused the others to come running over, saying breathlessly: “Oh Spotty, what hap…” but they got no further, for the minute they saw the water bottle, they too, fell silent. Tiger was the first to recover saying: “SEARCH!” Everyone searched far and wide, but did not see anything, for Miffy had dropped the bottle when she heard the sound. They did not think of looking behind the bush.
Again, they gathered, but before anyone reported anything, Jumbo squeaked: “Look! Footprints!!! True enough, it was Miffy’s paw prints. It could be seen clearly against the mud background ……
~
Miffy awoke to the tickling of whiskers. It was Spotty’s. Everyone was so glad at finding her that they woke her up with all the hugging and crying tears of relieve. Spotty was the happiest. “Hush!! The cub’s asle…” but she did not finish it, for she saw the cub safely tucked away with Brown bear. There was great jubilation and relieve as they went home. A tired but contented group.
When they arrived safely back home, Tiger ordered everyone into bed at once. Tiger brought into Miffy’s room a little basket and blanket for the newcomer to sleep in.
Soon, everyone was asleep under the moonlit sky. All was still and silent.
~
At last, dawn came, and the joyful rays of the sun bathed the air. Miffy was the first to awake on this sunny day. Not because she was less tired than the other, no! But because the little cub had tried to wake her up by climbing on top of her face. It was then that Miffy remembered the events of the day before. She ran out to the kitchen to get some breakfast of the bear cub, when she saw the picnic basket just as she left it yesterday. “Oooh!! Picnic!” She exclaimed. “Not for you,” came a stern voice behind her. “Why, please?” She inquired as she spun around. “Because you …” came the reply. Tiger definitely said a lot more than that which no one knew, and will ever know. Later, however, everyone knew the outcome of the talk when Spotty called out: “Miffy!! Hurry up! We’re goin…” Tiger promptly quenched him by saying: “Let her alone. She is not coming. She will be taking care of the cub for the day, at home. Spotty was stunned, and so was Jumbo. “But, but…” they stammered, ‘you don’t intent to punish her this w…”
“NO BUTS!!!”
~
Miffy spent most of the morning thinking of the consequences of her action, and a name of the cub. She wasn’t even sure Tiger would let her keep it. She would ask, she decided, when Tiger came home.
She was tidying the house when a cry from the cub made her rush to the door in panic. She found Tiger carrying the cub away. “No, NOO!!!” She screamed. Tiger looked back but continued to walk away from her. “Please let me keep him, Please!” She cried as she ran to the room, and slammed the door. She spent the whole afternoon in the room crying bitterly, for she felt sorry for the cub that had no home. She couldn’t bear to part from the cub. Her affection for the cub had grown strong during the day.

Chapter 7

Just before the sun was about to set, Miffy received a knock on her bedroom door. Miffy opened the door, expecting it to be Tiger, but to her surprise, it was Spotty. She invited him in cordially, but without a word. Both sat on the floor at the end of the room, facing each other. Spotty was the first to speak: “Miffy, I’m sorry you didn’t come today. I’ll tell you about it. The nuts and grapes weren’t really ripe yet. It was just the berries.” Here, Spotty hesitated to go further, knowing that Miffy loved to pick berries the best of all the fruits. Miffy, knowing what was in his mind said: “Go on please,” trying to speak with dignity, but failing utterly. Spotty sighed with relieve and continued: “the berries were in abundance, especially the black berries, blue berries and the boysenberries. They were really lovely, together with the food you packed. Thanks.” “It’s alright,” replied Miffy with a quiver in her voice. For a while, they sat in silence, staring at each other, both feeling uncomfortable.
All of a sudden, Miffy burst out passionately: “I want to keep the cub! Oh, I want to keep him!!!” Spotty replied calmly, as if prepared for this. “Miffy, Tiger knows what to do with the cub. She will find him a good home.” “ NO!! This is a good home. I will take care of him, if you don’t want to. It’s not fair that get punished twice.” “No. Tiger knows what is best.’

“Indeed I do,” replied a solemn voice from behind. Miffy turned to see Tiger walking toward them. “Tiger, please don’t take him away, It’s not fair” she cried, making on last desperate attempt. “It’s not fair to punish me twice for yesterday!”

“I’m not punishing you twice Miffy, therefore…” Tiger stepped aside, and to the astonishment of Miffy, brown bear brought up a basket saying with a grin: “Open it.” Miffy opened it, but with a voice full of disappointment, she said: “Blueberries?” It was all she managed to say, for in looking in the basket harder, she saw a pair of black beady eyes peering out at her, from under the layer of blueberries. Squealing with laughter, she picked up the bear soaked from head to roe in blueberry sauce. When the others saw it, they too rolled over in laughter. They had planned to surprise Miffy by putting her favourite blueberries, and her beloved pet, in the picnic basket. The naughty bear however, had a plan of his own, and in trying to eat the blueberries, he squashed ¾ of them, and only managed to get ¼ in his mouth. Of course, he was covered in sticky berry juice.

Chapter 8

When the general excitement was over, Jumbo asked meekly: “What will you name it?” “Blue bear” was the somewhat subdued reply he got. Miffy smiled shyly as she said: “I treasure this precious gift from all of you, and I want to thank all of you for it!”
~
The next morning, the sun never rose as beautifully as it did now, as if expressing its joy at seeing such an unusually fine day.
A fine day it was indeed, as the little group gathered again once more on the lush grass in front of the house. They gathered together again on this beautiful summer morning, to celebrate the addition of one more member: Blue bear.

Feudalism

2008-02-26T16:56:00.002+09:00

Feudalism is a government system based on contracts that started during the 9th century, and lasted up to the 13th Century. It was mainly widespread in Western Europe, and it provided a relative order and security for the time being.
The origins of Feudalism can be traced back to the last days of the old Roman Empire in the 5th Century. Roman Nobles left their cities and moved to the country. There, they offered to protect the people living there in return for land and different services. Feudalism can also be traced back to the German Barbarians who invaded the Western Roman Empire. The fierce German fighters swore allegiance to their chieftains.

The highest authority in a feudal system is the King. The King was the one who owned all the land in his Kingdom (theoretically). Part of the land, he kept for his own use, and the remainder he would allocate to his high nobles, dukes, counts or earls. The land that he kept for himself is called the royal or crown land. In return for the land given to them, the high nobles would promise to provide a certain amount of knights for the King’s protection and use. It was not uncommon to find that the nobles themselves were often knights.
The knights were probably descendants of the Roman nobles or the German barbarians, but whatever it is, they were masters of the medieval warfare. People in various domains who needed security would perform different services for a knight in return for protection. The people were glad to call the knights “lords”.

After the King, the next in the chain of power are the high nobles. Then the noble aristocrats come next. These people owned huge amounts of land, and they had farmers working for them. They worked on the Manors, the estates belonging to the nobles. It ranged from a few hundred to several thousands of acres. In one Manor, there are several different types of people working inside. All of the people inside a Manor had specific duties. The nobility was to administer protection and justice, while the Clergy Men attended to the spiritual needs of all the people. The Freemen and the Farmers were the people who did the hardest labour.
Usually, the Freeman had the easier job than the Farmers. They worked as blacksmiths, millers, carpenters, etc. They had several more rights than the farmers. They were allowed to leave the manor whenever they liked, and they were often excused from working in the fields along with their fellow peasants, the farmers. Although the Freemen had greater privileges, their living conditions did not differ much from the farmers.
The farmers were the actual people who did manual labour in the fields, planting, harvesting, while also caring for the lord’s cattle. More commonly, however, the farmers are called serfs. While it is true that the serfs are the lowest in the chain of “power”, they differ greatly from slaves in 3 different aspects. Serfs are given the right to own property, while slaves are properties of their owners. Serfs could not be sold, but slaves can be put up in the auction house for bargain. Serfs can buy their own freedom, provided that the have the money; whereas, slaves would probably be whipped and scourged, and sent back to the fields to work under the scorching sun; if such an idea was ever mentioned.
The Freemen and the Farmers lived in continual poverty despite the much labour. For, as they had to use the mill and the bakery own by their lord, they had to pay “taxes”. These taxes took form in their production of their crops. Their cheese (for pasturing their cattle in the lord’s field), their flour and grain for using the mill and bakery served as taxes to pay the lord. These peasants lived on the verge of starvation continually.
They had but 2 major holidays in one year- Easter and Christmas. They were then invited to dine in their lord’s house for a feast. During Christmas, they had 2 weeks of vacation. Otherwise they had to work for at least 2-3 days a week, doing the lord’s work.

This is the basic structure of Feudalism in the 9th to the 13th Century. It was prevalent in Western Europe, but there were other countries that practiced it.

Home is where our hearts are

2008-02-26T16:56:00.001+09:00

People seek thrills, excitement and adventure, and those are precisely the reasons why activities such as bungee jumping and drag-racing are becoming increasingly popular. People looking for exotic elixirs, or whopping deals haunt the shopping mall. But sadly, society forgets, or rather, discards the idea of home being anything but dull and unexciting, unable to offer new and brilliant things to stir us out of our listlessness. This is not true at all. Home is a place of love, comfort, unity, shelter and refuge.

The modern day’s preconceived notion of home shines the spotlight on all the wrong places, and deliberately belittles the very attributes which make it a home. Home is not dull. If you were to pay my family a visit, you’d agree with that statement. Uproarious noises made at the farthest end, echo through the entire house! Children will play, you know, and whether an accident or mischief turned all wrong, spillage, mess and destruction are sure to occur. Since when were sofas made of boisterous-kids rip-free material? Kids especially love ‘tip-toey’ games, the sort that requires sneaking around parents etc. Unfortunately, they occasionally fail their missions, and crash into parents serving guests with hot coffee or tea! I think my mum might go so far to say that more adventures are to be found at home than elsewhere.

But even in a home where there are no children, adventure may still be found. The thrill of adventure comes from the fact that a rare opportunity is a rare find, each coming of it to be cherished. An everyday occurrence ceases to be an adventure. Old couples look forward to the arrival of their nieces and nephews if not children or grandchildren, because they do not get such a visit every day. The excitement of a visit for them is equivalent to the average adult’s thrill of standing on the verge of a cliff and being told to jump, with a safety rope attached to them. It is probably the most they can manage anyway, at the time of their lives. How can people call home boring? Either anticipating the rush of air the body plunges down, or eagerly awaiting the long dreamed of arrival of grandchildren and drinking in the deep pleasure the smiles and antics those kids bring- causes the familiar head pounding and blood racing sensation. It is no wonder grandparents sink back in exhaustion after a bout of ‘post-visit flu’.

Over-excitement wearies a young body, so how much more will it weary an older person? Home is meant to be a place of relaxation, of rest. No one can possibly rest in a home filled with noise from morning to night. The opposite indeed will happen: the family’s stress level rises. The ideal home is a quiet house, warm, comfortable and friendly. Did you know houses can be friendly? We can step into a house and immediately sense whether we are welcome. A bright, cheery and warm tint to the house enhances the hospitable reception given to a guest. On the other hand, unfriendly homes cause goose bumps to creep along the upper arm. The host/hostess may actually welcome us the best they can, but still, there is this feeling of antagonism about the house, a feeling undefined, but there. The house usually reflects on the owners, too. The furniture arrangement, the mix of colours, whether warm or cool, the layout of the house, and the tidiness, all contribute to defining the owners and the way they live. “See a bear in his own den before you judge of his conditions; come, live with me and you’ll know me.”

Another aspect of home that people take for granted is its comfort. Imagine coming home from work on a wet and blustery cold night, shivering from top to toe, and you turn round the street corner in expectation of seeing the warm glow of a little house with the pretty bit of shrubbery at the front, but instead see nothing, absolute desolation. Well I don’t know about you, but I would certainly value my home a lot more after spending that freezing night out in the streets cold, dirty and lonely. The value of the little dear, quiet nook near the chimney place, albeit so ‘boring’ would inflate sky-high …

There is always a certain sense of security about home, which can never really be done away with. It is our den- the place where we bathe, eat, sleep, and relax, and do the other nitty-gritty details which make it a home. One may stay in a fantastic resort, or indeed even a luxury hotel for 6 months, and yet I guarantee that at the end of those 6 months, the urge to go home will be strong as if you just finished work, weary and hungry. Why? For one thing, a resort, however fantastic it may be, does not have the same security as a home. You own the home. You know it inside out; you arranged the furniture, and everything in the house belongs to you, barring a robber’s den, which gives you a sense of comfort and security. Your home will be there. Its location will not change, and neither will its objects. However, in a resort, you only have what you brought, and even 6 months of familiarity with the place will not change the innate desire for home, the burning sensation which eventually drives you to pack your bags and leave for home.

However, the most important thing about the home is neither the furniture, nor the beauty of the garden, or even the warm fuzzy glow the hearth emits. No. The most valuable thing about home is the relationships you build in it. We share our home with family, children and relatives. To invite someone into a home is to offer protection and care. The host/hostess trusts the guest. To harm the family after partaking with them is treachery of the blackest kind. After a long day with strangers, we like to return home to dwell in the love, protection and care of our family, and have them fuss over us in concern. This sort of attention we can never have enough of. We desire to be close to the people we love, to share our security with them, to help them and care for them. That is what a home is ultimately made of- deeply forged relationships that will last, even beyond the structure of the house.

Home is where our heart is. Probably where our heart is, our future is too. Jesus knew this when He observed, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Our family is our treasure, and our heart naturally follows after what it longs for. Family is home. Home may seem dreary without all the alluring excitement of the outside world, but it is ultimately the best place to be. To be among family, friends, familiar objects, and have our own particular tastes and desires gratified in everyway- isn’t that what we all want? Even in our search for excitement and adventure? Realize the value of your home, for there is nothing quite like home.

How to bathe a baby

2008-02-26T16:55:00.002+09:00

This was written sometime back, so that explains the lapses in the quality of this instructional essay. :D Have fun reading!

Because bathing a baby is an important skill which women, and even men will need to master completely, therefore you will have to pay close attention. We will go through step by step. Proverbs 19:20 says, “Listen to counsel, and receive instruction, that you may be wise in your latter days.”

It is vital that the water in the tub is not too hot or not too cold. Test the water with your wrists to see if it’s the right temperature, before filling the tub. Add the amount of soap needed for the amount of water used, (they will usually tell you the amount at the back of the soap bottle). Then, fill the tub with water, so that the tub/sink is about half full. (You don’t want the water to overflow when you put the baby in.) You may like to “throw” in a few toys for the baby to play with, (if he is old enough). Once this is done. Place a dry towel over the changing mat. Lie out the baby’s clothes, and get the diaper ready. You are now set.

After undressing the baby, carry the child over one arm, keeping the other free. Hold the baby over the sink, and rub some soap on his hair. Be really careful NOT to get soap into his/her eyes. The wash it off carefully, making sure it doesn’t get into the baby’s face. Once the head is washed, slowly lower the baby into the water. You must always hold the baby, when he or she is young. Even when they are able to sit up, you must at least watch the child vigilantly.

Begin to rub the body, cleaning away as much dirt as possible. The baby may kick up a fuss at first, because he may not like the water; but after some time, he will get used to it. Be sure to wash under the armpits and under the folds of skin- especially in the neck and above the thighs. Clean the backside of the baby properly. You may let him/her play with the toys while cleaning. It might help to quieten the baby if he or she is crying. Let the baby play in the water a little while, but not too long. Because they lose body heat quickly in the water, and might catch a cold, therefore they shouldn’t be in the water for too long a time.

When you think it’s time for the baby to come out, carry him/her above the water to drip dry for a few seconds. Quickly carry him/her to the towel on the changing mat, and place the child on it. It will be a good idea to have some toys to distract him with. Toys that produce sound will be excellent, especially if the baby starts wailing. Wrap the baby. Dry the child. You must be quick. The diapers or nappy is the first article of clothing that must be put on. After that, put on the other clothing- shirt, pants, dress, rompers, etc. Brush the hair/ comb the hair into a neat and fitting style. Bingo! The baby is fresh, and is ready for adventure!

It is important to master the art of bathing a baby properly. The bath cleanses the baby from dirt, dust and grime, and keeps the baby fresh, happy, comfortable and healthy! By learning the right procedure, you reduce the risk of drowning the child. I hope you find the information useful. Have fun!

Movies vs Books

2008-02-26T16:55:00.001+09:00

Movies are certainly not ‘wrong’; depending on the type of movie, they can be ‘good’ too. In fact, watching movies is one of my favourite ways of whiling away free time. I especially enjoy musicals. ‘My Fair Lady’ and ‘Sound of Music’ are some of my all-time favourites. However, books are an infinitely better way to pass extra time.

Watching a show requires very little effort. The only exertion required is for me to remain awake and to keep breathing- no particular difficulty if the director of the film did a good job, and if my heart is yet strong. However, when I am reading, my eyes have to process the letters, form them into words and then, a sentence. My brain then does the job of unravelling the meaning of the sentences. It muses over the words, twisting them in an attempt to fit the sentence, especially if the words have multiple meanings. Books stimulate; movies promote indolence.

I have often tried ineffectually to shake myself out of a heavy stupor after having watched a long movie, however exciting it may be. I offer no explanation for this, as I do not know the cause of the lethargy. But I do know from experience that this is not the case with books. I am aroused; my mind races to solve the mystery of a novel, my blood rushes, and my heart pounds for the hero/heroine. I am forced to take a stand on a controversial topic and judge for myself; the book has done a good thing. It has stirred up my human body’s insatiable demand for more knowledge, added to its fund of data, and expanded its outlook. Reading also frees the imagination, exercising the mind, allowing it to run wild in a given sphere.

Reading develops the intellect. I remember having a reading session in the assembly hall before lessons began. At that time, I thought it was merely a ruse to keep hundreds of kids quiet; but now I’m not so sure. It was a quiet activity which also benefited us kids. Reading improved my English. Watching authors express themselves, seeing the choice of their vocabulary, and later understanding the reasons of that choice gave me versatility in the language. Writing becomes as natural as speaking to an avid reader, because he has observed the art of an experienced writer, and learned to use his imagination creatively. To him, writing is almost second nature. On the other hand, movies do not expand one’s imagination. Imagination is caged up instead of given free rein, and is left to become stale and dull. In a movie, everything is served in a golden platter. My intellect and my physical body are indulged- there is no thinking done. Solving a mystery requires only my lingering a little longer, whereas in a book, it is usually not possible to devour all its pages in one day, no matter how voracious the reader is. Watching a movie is an unhealthy and inactive activity compared to reading.

A book makes a perfect gift, a timeless present, and an elegant ornament to any home. A fine library is a treasure trove indeed! Each richly bound volume of stories or data will be useful in its turn, either whiling away the hours so pleasantly one never knows where it went, or filling up the gaps in one’s knowledge. Whichever it is, the book will surely be put to good use. I usually read of antiquated books, (like Grandma’s hidden diary or something along that line,) always associated with something precious. But I have yet to hear of an antiquated movie which has increased in value with time. Directors of ‘old’ movies are long forgotten, erased with the new and uprising generation of shows. But names of authors such as Dickens, Austen and Shakespeare ring throughout history, their works always appreciated, and their memory kept sacred. Movies can hardly put up a fight, can they?

A movie interspersed between times can be refreshing, but a book is the master of all trades and the jack of none. It is a companion in solitude, an ornament to the home, and a feast for the intellect. Hooray for books, and a cheer for their creators!!!

Wish not so much to live long as to live well

2008-02-26T16:54:00.001+09:00

“Wish not so much to live long as to live well.” Benjamin Franklin might have written this in regret of his long but traitorous life, for he did not grasp this concept well. Beginning as a humble but honest apprentice to a printer, he soon accumulated enough money to begin his own print business, and eventually served as President in the Executive Council of Pennsylvania. He began well. However, later on in his life, during the independence war, he worked as a double spy for both the American and British armies. Pretending to be a friend to both sides, he gathered their secrets and sold them to the other country. John Addams discovered this after the war, but dropped the case and released him scot-free because of the popularity he had with the American citizens. (This popularity began ever since he established his own print business, for Franklin both wrote and spoke well and soon won attention from the American world for his editorials, essays and commentaries. The fact that he rose to the position of Grand Master in a Freemason lodge after only 3 years of initiation, indicated his great fame.) Perhaps looking back in his life, he regretted this treacherous act which not only blackened his hereto spotless reputation, but also probably caused him a few sleepless nights, and thus wrote, “Wish not so much to live long as to live well”, to warn other youths from making the same mistake he made.

We all have many decisions to make in life, and we must beware of making the wrong choices, because every decision has its consequences. At the end of our lives, we may either look back with remorse or regret at our unproductive life, or we may look back with joy and contentment at our satisfied lives. It is better to live a short, fulfilled and happy life, than a long, dissipated and miserable one.

Methuselah, Noah’s grandfather lived long, the longest anyone on earth ever lived; but he did not live well. The Bible says that God saw “the wickedness of man [was] great in the earth, and [that] every imagination of the thoughts of his heart [was] only evil continually,” and that God repented of ever creating mankind. The Bible did not record exactly what Methuselah thought and did, but it did record that everyone else beside Noah and his family perished in the Great Flood. Because Methuselah did not make the right choice to follow Noah’s preaching to repent of his wickedness, he perished in the flood. (You can calculate this by adding the years of Methuselah’s age when he had a son named Lamech, Lamech’s age when he had Noah, and Noah’s age when the flood came. The years you get and the years recorded in the Bible are exact— 969.) In comparison to his grandfather, Noah lived a short life, but he lived well. Noah obeyed God, and was spared the catastrophe of the rest of his world. He also received an unprecedented blessing. Everyone born on the cleansed earth would come from him. He had the special privilege of being the ‘father’ of the nations.

Time never seems to do exactly as we wish. When we want it to stay, it moves at lightning speed, and when we want it to run, it walks. Have you ever found that time seems to fly by when you are occupied with something that you really enjoy? For example, in the morning when the alarm clock goes off, it seems that you’ve only just gone to bed 10 minutes ago, when in reality it has been 8 hours since you went to sleep! Or going out with friends, playing a game, etc—these all pass too soon. Think of one activity that you really enjoy doing. Would you rather live on earth for 2 hours doing that, or spend 12 years doing something you don’t like (chores, homework, errands, dentist visits)? I would pick the first. Why? Because even though it lasts only for a while, you are happy doing your favourite activity whereas you would not enjoy doing chores, homework, errands, or having your teeth drilled. In the same way, a short and happy life is like doing your favourite activity; while a long and tedious (maybe evil) life is drudgery.

Jesus only lived for 33 years on earth, yet because of his 33 years, all mankind can now be reconciled to the Father. He came to die the death we should have died, and take the scourges we should have had. Jesus took our sins upon the cross of Calvary, and paid for it all- with His life. Because of His life, we are now free to go to heaven (provided we make the right choice to believe and confess that He is Christ the Son of God, and that He died, was buried, and rose again by the power of the Father) and spend the rest of eternity with Him. He did that all in thirty-three years! Yes, He lived His short life to the maximum, and He lived it well. Jesus now sits at the right hand of the Father in heaven, because of what He did. So much cannot be said of King Henry the Eighth. With every material item he could ever want at his fingertips, he should have been happy. No. Instead, a more cantankerous, murderous and cruel king in the whole of England never ruled. He married 6 wives, 2 of whom he decapitated on fictitious grounds of treason because they did not bear him a son. As he grew older, the miserable king did not hesitate to kill anyone who crossed him. By the end of his life, Henry was a sad and lonely person, and he became terrified of getting ill. He lived for 56 years, (a ripe old age in the Tudor times), but by the time he died, everyone feared him and celebrated at his death.

However, not everyone will have to choose between a long and ‘bad’ life and a short but good life. There are people who live long and rich lives. God even promises longer days to those who fear the Lord, “The fear of the Lord prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.” When we live in obedience to God’s commands, not only will we have the inner satisfaction of having lived well, but we will even have longer lives. Wow! What a bonus and blessing!

Earthly blessings should not be our only motivation to live well. After death, each of us will have to give an account of our doings to God, and He will judge us according to what we have done. If we believed and accepted the path Jesus made for us to heaven, then we would be free to enter heaven. But if we didn’t, we will go to hell. If we did well on earth, God will say, “Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of the Lord.” But if we didn’t, He will cast us out into darkness where there are weeping and gnashing of teeth. It is added motivation to live well, isn’t it? No matter how long we get to live on earth, it is only a miniscule fraction of the time we will spend in either Heaven or Hell. We have the whole of eternity to reap the consequences of our acts on earth. We may enjoy ourselves on earth but not make the right decisions, and we will end up spending the rest of eternity reaping our desserts. On the other hand, living well, and obeying God on earth (even if it means persecution and pain) is far preferable to spending forever in hell. Our pain and persecution lasts for awhile on earth, but our not only does the Bible say our pain in hell is far, far worse than the most excruciating pain we’ve ever felt, but that it lasts forever. It never goes away.

We must not take our days on earth for granted. Besides the fact that we never know when we will die, we only have a specific time on earth to fulfil our purpose on earth, so we should not waste our days. We want to hear the welcome words, “Well done, good and faithful servant” when we meet God face to face. We want to please God with our doings on earth. That can be accomplished by living well but not necessarily by living long. That is what’s important- living well. “Wish not so much to live long as to live well.”

Did she write thrillers?!

2008-02-26T16:53:00.000+09:00

Everyone in the literary world knows Louisa May Alcott. Just mention her name, and someone is bound to say, “Oh yeah! I really enjoyed ‘Little Women’ and ‘Good Wives’!” Perhaps some might even have heard about ‘Little Men’ and her other lesser known works such as ‘Jo’s Boys’, ‘Eight Cousins’ or ‘Under the Lilacs’. But if I mention her thrillers, I get blank stares; underneath which they are probably thinking, “Thrillers? This girl must have gotten her facts wrong! Alcott never wrote any thrillers!”

In fact, I have a complete volume of her known thrillers right under my nose as I write this. Like her fictional character Jo, Alcott felt ashamed of her sensational output, because the materials of her stories- bloodlust, hatred and revenge, were not good food for the young minds who devoured them. So Alcott concealed her authorship under numerous pseudonyms. Her most popular pseudonym is A. M. Barnard. Not until after her death did her traitorous journals give away the secret. However, when letters from her publishers were found, the suspicions turned into convictions. Several editors and literary ‘big shots’ set about compiling all her thrillers, and substituted the mysterious A. M. Barnard with the unmasked L. M. Alcott. Recently published with her name, the stories found more popularity than they previously did. Alcott’s thrillers are published in several volumes. The one I have is titled Unmasked (to signify the discovery of Alcott’s authorship); it contains all of her known thrillers in one book. However, smaller volumes are sold with only a few choice stories in them. I chanced on one of these in the library, and loved the stories so much I decided to buy the whole volume!

The success of her thrillers is due to the exquisite touch she gives each character, imbuing them with the power of pent up emotion, mystery, rivalry and intrigue occurring in exotic backdrops, which adds to tension without being disgusting, gross or scary.

High-voltage emotion is evident in the following passage from ‘Pauline’s Passion and Punishment’: “To and fro, like a wild creature in its cage, paced that handsome woman, with bent head, locked hands, and restless steps…”
I was absolutely hooked from the moment I set eyes on that passage. These very words beckoned and lured me along the rest of the story, as it did the readers so long ago. It is agreed by the researchers that The Rival Painters in Little Women which won Jo March the $100 dollars cheque was really an undercover name for this thriller. Alcott did really win prize money for this story. Alcott wrote storied much like these ones to help support her family. The ‘blood and thunder’ stories which appeared in the side columns of the evening papers of the time were hugely enjoyed by the society, but to no one knew who to give credit to.

Her use of powerful, speaking verbs and adjectives, and her elimination of excess verbiage, (indeed, one would be hard pressed to find a single sentence which could be removed without detracting from the plot), empower her writing, giving it visual life and strength. See her use of adjectives in, “On the strong white arms, folded underneath her head, appeared dark bruises— self-inflicted doubtless— a quantity of curling, auburn hair streamed about her, tangled and neglected; her lips were closely shut, and wearily drooping lids half hid the strangest eyes I ever saw.” and also in this passage, “Bending over the sleeper was a woman robed in barbaric splendour.” One can almost imagine the mysteriously pitiful image the former sentence creates, and, in contrast, the woman so extravagantly dressed as to be almost barbaric.

Another ‘popularity-boost’ of her stories is her penchant for complete yet suspenseful endings. The reader wants to know what happened after, except that they will have to imagine the ending themselves. This is how Pauline’s Passion and Punishment ended:

“So swift and sure had been the act it left no time for help. A rush, a plunge, a pause, and then two figures stood where four had been—a man and woman staring dumbly at each other, appalled at the dread silence that made high noon more ghostly than the deepest night. And with that moment of impotent horror, remorse, and woe, Pauline’s long punishment began.”

That’s it; the story ends there. It keeps the reader in suspense. What is going to happen now? And of course there is nothing more to read. It leaves the reader with a sense of completeness, yet anticipation which eases off gradually, remaining long enough to stir interest in the rest of her other stories.

In her thrillers, Alcott delves into the realm of magnetism and drug usage several times. She was well qualified to do so, as she worked as a nurse during the American Civil War, and had ample opportunity to observe the effect that drugs had on people. She was also well versed with the soothing and soporific effect Magnetism had on maniacs. She applied most of this knowledge in her stories, giving her characters an air of authority in these areas. In ‘A Marble Woman’, the heroine resorts to taking opium to help school her conduct to the enforced restraint and quiet exacted by man she loves. He only discovered this after she ran out of opium and took an overdose of laudanum in its place.

“Stooping, he whispered gently yet urgently, ‘Cecil, wake up, it is time.’ But there was no sign of waking, and nothing stirred by the faint flutter of her breath. He raised her, brushed the damp hair from her forehead, and cried in a voice tremulous with fear, ‘My darling, speak to me!’ But she lay mute and motionless… [The Doctor] asked, ‘Do you keep laudanum in this house? “I’ve had some that I’ve had a long time. I’ll get it for you.” And Yorke was gone in spite of Victorine’s offer of assistance. But he returned with a fresh anxiety, for the little flask was empty.”

'A Pair of Eyes’ opens up a totally new world to the reader, as it did to its main character.

“One day I resolved to bear it no longer, and hurried away to an old friend whose skill and discretion I had entire faith. He was out, and while I waited I took up a book that lay among the medical works upon his table. I read a page, then a chapter, turning leaf after leaf with a rapid hand, devouring paragraph after paragraph with an eager eye. An hour passed, still I read on, Dr. L— did not come, but I did not think of that, and when I laid down the book, I no longer needed him, for in that hour I had discovered a new world, had seen the diagnosis of my symptoms set forth in unmistakable terms, and found the key to the mystery in the one word— Magnetism.”

Doesn’t she write magnificently! I wish I could write as well as her. She weaves her plots with so much skill that one is inevitably drawn into the web of conspiracies, as a fly is drawn to light. With dialogues which reveal the depth of passion, with dark heroes and heroines playing a deep game, either bent on revenge or on gaining the hand of their beloved, triumphing over their rivals—the ‘blood-and-thunder’ tales are a ‘must get’ for any Alcott fan! Phone the nearest bookstore and order a volume immediately- you’ll love it.

The Pain Killer

2008-02-26T16:52:00.000+09:00

Chop, chop, chop... the almost mechanic and rhythmic sound from the chopping knife resounded in the kitchen. The mother dreamily smiled to herself. She gleefully anticipated the delight on her child's face when she finds out that they are going to have her favourite for dinner- Spaghetti Bolognaise. Her five year old had always gone into whoops over it, and the mother couldn't wait! She glanced over at the clock on the wall and read, "five o'clock." Anytime soon and her husband would be back. The feeling warmed her heart.

Suddenly however, the rhythmic beat paused, and silence filled the air. A pungent smell had reached her sensitive nose, and her hurried around to the boiling pot, worried that her sauce had gone bad. But no, the sauce bubbled nicely- and ohhhh!- smelt lovelier than ever. (If a sauce can smell lovely.)

She stood in a puzzled state- where on earth was that horrid burnt smell coming from?

"Ashleigh! Ashleigh honey- are you alright?" A bright gurgle of laughter reassured her, and she continued her chopping. However, the smell would not go away. Instead, it intensified. Piqued and annoyed, the mother set her knife down, and her nose to the work. Hurrying through the corridor, she checked the sitting room- it looked fine, and the smell was not coming from there. The bedrooms looked fine too. She came to Ashleigh's room. Everything looked fine- everything except that Ashleigh wasn't there.

"Ashleigh? Ashleigh?" When no reply came back, the alarmed mother rushed to the only room left unchecked- the laundry. The smell got worse.

What a sight met the poor mother's eyes as she opened the door. There Ashleigh sat on the floor grinning from ear to ear (well, what was left of it) with a iron in one hand.

While playing, she had happened on the iron in the laundry- which the mother had left on. She tried to grasp it- at the wrong end- and found that she couldn't pick it up easily. Her hand couldn't fit across the flat of the iron. So she was about to shift her grasp when she caught sight of her palm, swelling and reddening. Interested, she stuck her other hand to the iron and pulled away. The same thing happened. Wow- she was really intrigued. What was this machine that caused her to change colour and become big? Suddenly, she had an idea. Her dad had promised to take her to the fancy restaurant with mommy when she grew 'bigger'.

"Ah ha! He won't recognise me when he comes home! I'm going to be big!" So thinking, she applied the hot iron to the remaining parts of her body.

True enough, her dad did NOT recognise his sunny little Ashleigh some 10 minutes later when he returned from work. In fact, he stepped into a kitchen to find the bolognaise sauce boiling over on the floor, and no sign of his wife. His heart dropped.

"Dear? The sauce..." but he got no further, for he was arrested by wailing sirens and lights drawing up his driveway.

"What the?" It was an ambulance, and the emergency team was already rushing up the steps and banging on the door. He stood rooted to the spot, unable to move. What had been happening? A lightning figure rushed to the door and opened it. "

"Hurry, Hurry"- the figure sobbed-"she's over here." It was his wife, he realized some 10 seconds later. But he didn't have time. In fact, since he stepped through the door of his home, time became an obsolete factor.

In the next 3 hours, he saw his little girl wheeled into the emergency unit, and anxiously pored over by the doctors. He saw the 3rd degree burns his darling had inflicted on herself. How had she done it? Why didn't she stop at the first sting of pain? Was she mad? He saw his wife bearing with heroic fortitude through it all, through the surgery and examination. He watched the door of the operating room shut, and waited an everlasting time for it to open again. How funny- time seems to be playing tricks- it was too short before, and now it's too long. He saw the white-washed door of the room where his sunshine lay, finally open; a figure clothed in white walked out. An angel? No, it couldn't be. Angels never wore puffy green caps like this person did.

"Hello? Are you the parents of Ashleigh?" The doctor.

He saw the mouth of the doctor open and close, making noises. But not sense.

"I regret to inform you that Ashleigh has Seper, a disease that plays havoc with the nervous system, causing insensitivity to pain. In other words, when Ashleigh put the hot iron on herself, she felt no pain. She has the pain killer, Cepa."

~

They never got to eat that Bolognaise.

The absurd and comic

2008-02-26T16:51:00.000+09:00

(So that I am not plagiarising, this is from Freedom and Fulfillment by Joel Feinburg, published by Princeton University Press in 1992. This excerpt is taken from the last Chapter, 'The absurd and the comic', page 336.)

A man enters an elegant bakery shop on Fifth Avenue and makes a special order, with down payments, of a multitier frosted cake baked in the shape of the letter S. The skeptical baker complains that the ordered cake is too big, and that its awkward shape will require that a specially made tin plate be ordered, at considerable cost.

"Don't worry," says the customer, "I'm in no hurry, and I don't care about the expense."

A week later on the appointed day, he returns to pick up the cake, but he is disappointed with what he finds. The S is a script S. He had failed to mention that he wanted a capital S. The following week he returns again, but once more changes his order. Now he wants a German gothic S. It takes a month to make and bake the case, but alas, it is an italic S- all wrong. But the customer's patience is inexhaustible. He gladly pays the expenses of a German medieval historian to consult on the exact shade of pink frosting lead to further delays and false starts, but six months after the original roder was made a satisfactory cake is produced. The customer, beside himself with delight, writes a check for $23,479.21. The equally delighted store owner thanks him warmly and asks,

"Can you transport it yourself or should I box it here and have it delivered to your address?"

"Oh, don't bother wrapping it," says the customer, "I'll eat it here."

Zany Thoughts, Sayings and Proverbs

2008-02-26T16:43:00.005+09:00

Do the best when you can, while you can. You will never know when your chance will be taken away.

The best chance you have for impacting others and making a use of your life is now.

There is no better time than now.

The hardest obstacle is always the second to the last.

Life is a joy in itself.

You will never appreciate the true value of friendship until you have no friends left.

If there was a limitation to the amount of friendship one can give, making new friends is stealing from another's heart.

Thank goodness we have 'Rs' or we have have fiends, not friends.

From Rob:

"I read somewhere that 77 per cent of all the mentally ill live
in poverty. Actually, I'm more intrigued by the 23 per cent who
are apparently doing quite well for themselves." - Jerry Garcia

"Last night as I lay in bed looking at the stars I thought,
'Where the hell is the ceiling?'" - Chris Unger

"Don't be humble. You're not that great."
- Golda Meir

"Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus
handicapped." - Elbert Hubbard

"They say hard work never hurt anybody, but I figure why take
the chance." - Ronald Reagan

"Facts are stupid things."
- Ronald Reagan (attempting to quote John Adams, who said "Facts are stubborn things.")

"...quemadmodum gladius neminem occidit, occidentis telum est."
- (Lucius Annaeus) Seneca "the Younger" (ca. 4 BC-65 AD),

"A gentleman never insults anyone unintentionally."
- Oscar Wilde, in conversation

"Space isn't remote at all. It's only an hour's drive away if
your car could go straight upwards."
- Sir Fred Hoyle, "London Observer," 1979

"A writer is somebody for whom writing is more difficult than it
is for other people."
- Thomas Mann, "Essays of Three Decades," 1947

"I would like to take you seriously but to do so would affront
your intelligence." - William F. Buckley, Jr.

"Death is just nature's way of telling you, 'Hey, you're not
alive anymore.'" - Bull Shannon

Proverbs:

Oneliners and Proverbs

Words

"He that hath knowledge spareth his words: [and] a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit. Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: [and] he that shutteth his lips [is esteemed] a man of understanding. " Proverbs 17:27-28

Speech is silver, but silence is golden

Silence us wise if we are foolish, but foolish if we are wise

Silence is a woman's best garment

Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can shatter my soul.

Friendship

"A man [that hath] friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend [that] sticketh closer than a brother." Proverbs 18:24

So many people will walk in and out of your life, but those who leave foot prints are true friends.
Friends are chocolate chips in the cookie of life!
Friends are like puzzle pieces, if one goes away, that special piece can never be replaced and that puzzle will never be whole again

Friendship is a golden chain, the links are friends so dear, and like a rare and precious jewel It's treasured more each year.

Smile

"A merry heart doeth good [like] a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones."

Proverbs 17:22

You don't stop laughing because you grow old, you grow old because you stop laughing. 'Michael Pritchard'

Smile! It increases your face value.

Smile.... it makes others wonder what you're thinking.

Determination

Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss you will land among the stars. 'Les Brown'

Snowflakes are one of natures most fragile things, but just look what they can do when they stick together. 'Vista M. Kelly'

Striving for excellence motivates you; striving for perfection is demoralising. 'Harriet Braiker'

For my Mother on Mothers' Day

2008-02-26T16:42:00.000+09:00

Haha... I wrote this on the spur of a moment, for entry to win a 100 points in a survey website. Have fun reading it! :)

Dear Mother,

Mothers' Day is coming up,
So I sat down to pen a thought or two
I scratched my head but couldn't think
Oh, what am I to do?

It's not because I don't love you
Indeed you know it isn't true!
I love you so, but you know me-
When it's writing, I haven't got a hue!

So I went to the store
To look for a poem- just for you, dear Mother!
I found one (thank God!)
And in it was written: Don't bother!

So please, my darling Mother,
Accept my apologies on this auspicious day
But I was told not to bother
to write you this letter

And since I try to be
The best son you ever had
I'll be obedient
And not make you so sad

Oh yes, dear Mother!
Before I bid you adieu,
I thought I had better read you
The last little bit of the card

I'd nearly forgotten the one last bit
The part just below "Don't bother"
Below that was written:
"Just tell her you love her!"

I love you mother!

Sincerely,
Hueless Duh

A New Creation

2008-02-26T16:40:00.001+09:00

Wearily, she sank into the chair. Office life was hardly what she expected it to be.

She had once been an enthusiatic worker. But that was because she had just been freed from the bondage of addiction. Smiling, Marnie remembered the day she stepped outside the old brick wall.

~

A new creation- that was all she could remember of the Director's farewell speech. She was too excited at the prospect of a fresh start to her life to pay much attention to the speeches. However, as she stood outside the dear old building surveying the home that had been hers for a happy 2 years, the phrase came back to her. A new creation. Marnie drank in the smell of the pine cones, and her mouth trembled. Never had she been so grateful and so indebted to anyone as she was to Christ. He died in her place. She should have died on the Cross for all her sins. But Jesus did that. Because He loved her so much. He took her sorrows on Himself, and gave her peace in return. A new creation.

The next morning, eager to make a new beginning and fresh start, she had pondered her options for work.

"Any job that keeps me away from my old friends," she thought. "Of course," she corrected herself, "it has to be respectable and well paid."

However, the bosses of the big companies looked at her application with open suspicion.

"You've been an alcoholic, a drug addict and a heavy smoker before, eh? Harumph."

And before she could explain how Christ had set her free from the addiction to narcotine and alcohol, they had tossed her carefully filled out application form aside and ushered her to the grand mahogany doors.

So much for the big companies, she thought. Bull-dog determination, she reminded herself. Employers want people who are responsible and determined. And initiative.

Going into the nearest internet cafe, she searched for all the medium sized companies that might possibly want an assistant.

Impossible, she was told. Just why accepting her was impossible, she didn't know. Her funds were running out. She needed to know. Mustering up her courage, she banged on the CEO's door. Why? she asked. Why? The manager looked at her compassionately but firmly.

"Sorry ma'am, but we can't afford to hire anyone with a background like yours anymore. You all come in taking advantage of us, and then make away with the cash box for more cigarettes and beer. Thank you but no thanks." Sniffed at again.

She nearly walked into the van parked outside in despair. Oh why had she been so foolish? She should have been the one to sniff at them. Those mean ol' folks. She'd show them. She had been top in her class up till Grade 9. She had always been top of everything, until she'd mixed with the wrong friends. Trying the first cigarette didn't seem harmful. It was fun, and cool to be part of the gang. But look at where that first cigarette led her! Her life was in ruins. No one wanted to accept her.

Tears of remorse sprang to her eyes. It was all her fault. God, you are supposed to set me free. But it seems that I am still in bondage. "SOME SORT OF GOD YOU ARE!" She angrily thought. You aren't even listening- Oh... was it all a lie? That day when she thought she had a new start? Oh... if only...

A gentle voice broke into her swirling thoughts.

"Are you alright, ma'am?"

Startled, Marnie glanced up, then blushed. She had unconciously spoken her rebellious words aloud. She was about to murmur some concilatory words when she saw that the man was concerned.

She sighed. "Are you a Christian, Sir?"

He smiled. "Wouldn't ask whether you were all right if I wasn't, wouldn I?"

Well, no, she thought.

The nice man led her to a seat by the park. None of them said anything. Marnie was beginning to feel that perhaps this wasn't such a good idea.

"Now. Tell me how I may help you."

Giving in, Marnie told him everything. Later that night, Marnie marvelled. She, Marnie had told a perfect stranger everything!

Marnie told the man her sinful history, her salvation, and her excitement to start a new life, a life that GOD promised. She forced His name out. It came out somewhere between a spit and a choke. She also told him of her numerous attempts to find her job, and of her current jobless position. Then she told him all that she had been thinking before he had interrupted her. The man listened quietly. When Marnie finished her recital. The man sat in deep thought.

"Is that all you can do? Keep silent?" Marnie thought crossly. As if the man read her thoughts, he looked up and smiled. He had been praying.

"Well?" Marnie snapped. "You said you could help me."

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Marnie felt sorry. This man was only trying to be helpful, and she had to say such a horrid thing. She started to sob. Not quiet tears, but deep gut-wrenching sobs. The man let her cry.

As soon as she quietened, he said, "Marnie, that day you accepted Christ into your life you allowed Him to die in your place. Jesus took all your sins, sorrows and troubles upon Himself, and covered you with His righteousness. You truly were a new creation. But Marnie," and here he paused,

"even though God forgave your sins, and washed them away with His Blood, the consequences of your sins are still there. God will help you through it, but He cannot take it away. The consequences are there as a lesson and as a warning to never go back. In your case, Marnie, you abused the body God gave you. This sinful act triggered consequences. Some of those are failing grades, poor health, and your current jobless position. These are consequences of your sins, Marnie. But that is not the end. Jesus will help you if you ask Him. He already did, Marnie, by sending me across your path. You shouldn't feel sorry for yourself. Sorry people never get anywhere. They sit and mope around, missing all the wonderful opportunities that pass by. View the consequence as a lesson, and learn from it. Never go back to taking drugs, drinking or smoking."

Marnie nodded.

The man continued, "For several weeks now, I have been looking for an assistant. Her duties will be to type out all my documents, letters and contracts. Perhaps you'll do. Would you like to work for me? I must warn you that it is a very small company, however, and I can only offer you a small salary that will just cover your expenses and leave you with a tidy amount to save."

"Oh- THANK YOU, Mr...Mr... err."

"-Gershwin, Ian Gershwin."

"I cannot thank you enough, Mr Gershwin! I don't care if it is a small company or if the salary is small. I'm just so grateful!" Marnie beamed.

Marnie was an enthusiatic worker, ready to prove her gratitude to Mr Gershwin. She tried her best. She was kept very busy.

"For such a small company, they sure have a large amount of letters and contracts to write!" Marnie thought.

Sometimes, however, Marnie had to work late into the night to finish typing up all the documents. The tables took the longest. The figures had to be typed up painstakingly and then calculated. There were rows and rows of them!

Wearily, she sank into the chair. Office life was hardly what she expected it to be. She had once been an enthusiastic worker. But that was because she had just been freed from the bondage of addiction. Smiling, Marnie remembered the day she stepped outside the old brick wall...

Betsie: faithful love

2008-02-26T16:39:00.002+09:00

There were three schedules. The first lasted for five sun-ups, the second and third schedules for one sun-up each, subsequent upon the fifth sun-up. After that, it began at the first schedule all over again. It was all quite simple, really.

For five suns-ups, I escorted him to a tall ‘house’ of invisible walls. The only parts that weren’t see-through were the sticks that held the ‘house’ together. I left him here each morning, waiting for the sun to set before making my way back there to walk him home again. We were a part of each other, inseparable and complete.

On the sixth sun, we spent the day together. “Bonding-day,” he called it, except that it wasn’t strictly accurate because we were already bonded, like the hand to the arm. We did anything we pleased: cuddle, shop, sleep-in till the sun was at its peak in the sky, and stroll to the park for more fun and exercise. It was OUR day. I remember the first time he taught me Frisbee in the park. I was so mesmerized by the orbiting orange saucer that too late I remembered to catch it. I jumped to catch it, but it crashed landed right on my nose! At that time I was in agony, but now I laugh when I remember how quickly I forgot the pain at his soothing caresses and kisses. Indeed, my quick capitulation made him suspect me of purposely missing the Frisbee to get his attention. We stayed there till the sun made the illusion trees long, and then went home.

The third schedule is like the 2nd, only we do not sleep-in. While the sun is yet young, we make our way to a tower-like house with a tree at the top. After that, we set out for the park.

I have always lived my life thus. Today shouldn’t have been any different. It is the last sun-up of the rounds.

We strolled to town, his black head towering over my highlighted one, and our steps in perfect synchrony. He looked dashing in his suit and tie. I wore my usual colours: brown, black and white. Our destination, a grandiose shelter of stones stood out like a rose among foliage in the middle of town. Someone had erected a dazzling-yellow, barren tree with two branches (one on either side of the trunk) on its ‘head’. I waited outside this structure for him, resting under the shady gum tree, dreaming happy dreams.

Two hours passed. People started pouring out like ants escaping a flooded chamber. He was always one of the first to leave. 30 seconds passed, and I looked up, expecting to see the familiar black boots. But no. There were many perfectly polished black boots, but none of them his. Something akin to panic filled me, but then a happy thought struck me. Maybe he was stuck in the crowd, thus the delay. So I waited for a minute, 5 minutes. 15 minutes passed, and he didn’t appear. This had never happened before. Half an hour later, when I was nearly frantic with worry, I heard his genial chatter above me. However, instead of the shiny black boots I anticipated, I beheld pointy, mountain-like ones that rested on a spike at one end. I leapt to my feet in horror. What happened to him? It is only when I looked up that I saw the actual owner of the outrageous red spikes wasn’t him, but a tall woman, fashionably dressed. He was standing beside her.

I began to scold him, but realized he wasn’t paying me the least attention. Instead, it was fixed on the foreigner who walked on a perpetual hill. Trying to retrieve his attention, I grabbed his hand and dragged him towards the gate, away from the lady. He continued speaking to her over his shoulder, even though my yanking forced him to move a few steps away.

“I gotta go, but it was really nice meeting you, Helen. Maybe we could meet up for lunch tomorrow? Yes? Is twelve o’clock okay with you? Great…!” he was saying. When I finally got him to myself, he became absorbed and withdrawn, unlike his usual genial self.

“What on earth possessed you to pull me away so rudely like that? I was talking! You need to learn patience,” he snapped at me, irritated. I wanted to scream at him,

“Patience?! Do you even have a hue how long you kept me waiting?!” At the park, his Frisbee throws lacked his usual energetic enthusiasm, and not all my antics could snap him out of his unwonted lethargy.

The next morning, he dressed more carefully than usual, matching his suit and tie with his shiny black boots. He usually reserved this attire for the third schedule day— it didn’t seem like a good sign to me. If he were indolent yesterday, nothing but hyper-activeness would describe him today. Because I couldn’t keep up with his large strides, gone was the rhythmic sync that characterized us as the ultimate couple. And for the first time in his life, he forgot to kiss me goodbye before walking into the invisible walls. He dashed in and left me standing on the steps stunned.

The following months were nightmares. Each day saw him excited and listless by turns. He became moody, subjected to swings. He also took to going out early and returning home late, never bringing me along to any of these trips. In fact, he locked me in the house so that I couldn’t go after him. As if things couldn’t get worse, he forgot all about our ‘bonding-days’, waking up unnaturally early to “meet her” and coming home owlishly late, so exhausted he just dropped like a brick into bed. Once, when I petulantly reminded him of ‘bonding-day’, he responded impatiently,

“Another time, Betsie,” and tore off again. I never saw him till dark, and it made me miserable. He is my sunshine. Without him, it is as if daylight had never been.

One night, he emerged from the transparent walls early, coming home to shower, change and groom himself before tearing off again. I stayed up, waiting for him. Close to the divide between night and day, I heard the gate creak open. He entered the house smiling, a soft light in his eyes.

“I’m getting married, Betsie,” he announced. I gaped in incredulity. Apprehension swiftly entailed shock.

“You can’t do that to me! What about me? Where am I to go?” I pleaded. In his sanguine frame of mind, he didn’t listen to any of my cries. Enraged at his stupidity and faithlessness, I demanded,

“What about our six years of love? Are you throwing that away for a fling with an outsider?” He roared at me and stormed out of the house in a rage. That act told me everything. In the years we’ve been together, he never rebuffed me like that.

What arts the woman worked on him I do not know, but whatever it was, it separated our bond of love ruthlessly. It was as if the foreigner ripped into his heart, tore any vestige of me out of it, and pasted herself all over its walls. Over the next couple of months, I became a burden so heavy that he tossed me away without the least compunction.

It was not long after, that I watched him enter a resplendent white car, seat himself beside the smiling foreigner, and signal the chauffeur to drive off. He leaves me, and everything we ever shared. He drives away without turning back to wave me, or the home we shared, goodbye. He abandoned me to the mercy of relatives and neighbours.

~

It is ten years now. I am no longer the young Alsatian I was. My once glorious highlighted hair has fallen out in some places, and my eyesight is failing. Though my physic has changed, yet my heart remains constant. I am waiting. Waiting for the gate to creak open… waiting for a figure to pause under the white arc… waiting for him to stretch his arms to me... He will come, and when he does, I shall leap to welcome him home to me with all my faithful doggy heart.

A Pianist Backstage

2008-02-26T16:36:00.000+09:00

The atmosphere was a bubble of water threatening to spill out of the cup rim, held back only by surface tension. You could have cut the blanket of tension with a scissors and heard the rebounding snap in the concert hall. Parents and teachers from all over Australia filled the interminable rows of plush chairs, eager for a night of music and excitement. Five teenagers– obviously competitors- were lined up by the right wall. They looked… ready. I didn’t feel so ready. My hands were dry, but only because I kept rubbing the sweat off on my pants. When I saw one of the kids by the wall nervously lick his suddenly parched lips, I didn’t feel so bad.

“Attention, everyone.” Six amplifiers jumped simultaneously.

“The finals for the National Young Pianists Competition will begin in 5 minutes. Would all competitors please make their way to the door on the right and line themselves up according to their competitor’s number. Also, could you please ensure your mobile phones are all switched off.”

There was a muffled scuffle as everyone scrambled for their seats and their phones, as if no one dared break the glass of silence in the hall. I glanced nervously at my parents who gave me a reassuring smile and made my way to the end of the short queue of musicians. The smothered sound of the speakers found us backstage. We could hear every word.

“Thank you for coming to the final round of the National Young Pianists Competition. Tonight, we are honoured to have Dr Carl Krammer, Mrs Jillian Below and Mr Ping Sin Lee as our adjudicators. Would you please join me in thanking them.” Applause.

“Our first competitor for this evening will be performing for us Gymnopedie 2 by Erik Satie...” The first competitor disappeared through the heavy crimson curtains.

Six others went after him. They were fantastic! Most of them played their pieces without mistakes. I became anxious. It would be my turn next.

The amplifiers rumbled my name and piece: Gordon Zhao playing Sonata Pathétique by Beethoven.

The attendant motioned to me to step through the curtains. “Good luck,” she whispered. This is it, I told myself. Taking a trembling breath, and gluing a smile on my face, I disappeared through the velvet curtains like the others before me. The glare of the stage lights surrounded me so that it made it difficult to walk straight. It looked to me as if I was walking on light! I hoped I wouldn’t do something stupid. The dazzling light itself was enough to make me walk off the stage in a daze.

My piano teacher’s words filled my ears. “Smile, and do your best, Gordie. Give a smart bow to acknowledge your audience.” Obeying her inaudible prompt, I smiled and bowed. I dared not look at Mum and Dad.

My hands started watering. A layer of sheen covered my palms. I rested my hands on my lap, trying not to seem as if I was crumbling to bits inside. Then, I remembered my teacher’s advice.

“Even if you are afraid, Gordie, (she calls me by my nickname) DON’T show it. If you can’t show your real confidence, fake it. Everyone else is nervous, and everyone else has worked as hard as you. The difference between the winners and the losers is that the winners don’t succumb to their fear. You just go up there and astound everyone with your self-possession.”

I slid my palms on my pants like how an airplane takes off: horizontally and then gradually up. I didn’t want anyone to suspect I was sweating in anxiety. I rested the tips of my fingers on the beautiful white and black keys and took a deep breath.

“Get into the music. Feel the music inside you.” My teacher’s voice played in my head. “If you can’t feel the music, you won’t be able to convey the music to your audience. You are a storyteller, Gordie. You have to figure out how to tell the story of Beethoven’s Sonata Pathétique to your audience in a way that will captivate them. But first, you must know the story inside out so that it can flow through your fingertips.” My teacher had drilled it into me. I knew how to do it. I could do it.

With a sudden bang of the opening chord, I let myself loose. A loud, solemn chord filled the hall and reverberated in it. It dared to break barriers: sound barriers, language barriers, even culture barriers. I was proud of my music. It was telling a story to anyone who will listen with their heart. This is the story of Beethoven and his life. His sorrowful, mournful and loveless life. A story of his many rages and rejected loves. A story of his frustration at being deaf. But most of all, I was testifying of his genius. From the first to the last strain in the piece, I felt the wordless pathos of his life flow through my arms, tingle in my fingers, and pass right through the black and white keys into the vibrating strings. Inspirational magic released into air and captivated the audience, just as it had when Beethoven first wrote it centuries ago.

“Gordie! Never do that again!” Whenever I end a piece, those words by my teacher always surfaces. When I abruptly ended a long piece by slapping my hands on my lap and sagging my shoulders in relief, the piano trembled at her wrath. “What you just did is like a storyteller who reached the end of his story and ruined the ending. That is a bad storyteller. Your music tells a story. You must NEVER ever break it off like that again even if you are tired. Often, the last passage of your piece- like the ending of a book- will stay with the listener forever. You may not remember all the animals Gingerbread Man met on his way to the river, but you remember what happened to him at the end.”
I waited until the last energetic chord vanished like a wisp of smoke before moving. I slowly landed my hands on my lap again, but this time like a helicopter landing on a launch pad. A volcanic applause erupted in the congregation. Mum and Dad forgot to clap and started waving and jumping in the air instead. I smiled to them and bowed smartly to the audience, remembering my teacher’s admonition to thank the audience for listening. I descended the stairs and made my way to my parents.

Mum squeezed my hand. “You did well, dear. You did really well. I am very proud of you.”

Even though my turn was over, my heart still kept beating with the exhilaration of the experience. I did it! I did not lose my balance bowing, fall off the chair playing or do any other stupid thing. Then, the familiar blare resounded above me.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming our adjudicator Dr Carl Krammer.” More applause.

“Thank you everyone for coming. It was a treat to listen to all those talented young pianists from all over Australia. Everyone played very well tonight, and it is a great pity that only three of you can win. Everyone played well enough to win first place, so if you don’t win tonight, please don’t feel bad. You all have got potential- so keep trying. Well, that’s enough rambling from me. Let’s get on with the awards."

The exhilaration was wearing off. My heart beat eractically in my chest. It made me pant. Even though I wasn't playing anymore, but fingers sprouted sweat again. The concert hall seemed to condense to half its size.

"Third place goes to… Miranda Polanski for playing Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata so beautifully. You projected the melody clearly and beautifully. Well Done! "

So. I didn't win third. Well, maybe I have hope to place 2nd or 1st. I started choking. Did someone turned off the oxygen supply in the hall?

"Second place… is awarded to Emmie-Rose Dewar for capturing the romantic dream of Liszt’s Liebestraum. It is a very difficult piece, and you mastered the technique skillfully and musically. Now to get down to what you’ve all been waiting for. First place."

My heart drilled in my chest. It felt like my heart was about to break into half. The drill was going to break through at the other end soon. My breath came in ragged puffs that I try manfully to hide. Mum and Dad doesn't seem to notice. I think they are just as anxious as I am.

My teacher’s voice sounded in my ear again. “Winning isn’t everything, Gordie. It doesn’t matter if you don’t win. What matters is that you’ve tried your best and given it a shot. Don’t be disappointed. A true winner starts from a good loser. When you don’t give up and keep trying, you are a winner. Remember that.”

“Many of you played Beethoven tonight. But no one captured him as masterfully and as passionately as this person. I think everyone in this room felt Beethoven’s character in the piece. His rage, grief and hurt. The essence of Beethoven was brought to life, ladies and gentlemen, by the splendid young pianist… Aidan Prue."

A loud cheer exploded at the back of the hall as a freckled shrimp of a youth sauntered up.

Falling... My mountain cliff crumbled and I plunged back into reality. I didn't win. The Judges must have not like the way I told my story. Maybe they didn't agree with the way I chose to portray Beethoven. Perhaps they thought he didn't have THAT tempestuous a life. Aidan certainly played Beethoven rather mildly. Maybe.... perhaps... what if....

I was too busy trying to curb my disappointment to notice the commotion up the front at the Judges thrones.

I was about to exit the hall when the loud speakers boomed again.

“Excuse me ladies and gentlemen, there’s been a mistake in the winner. I accidentally read the wrong name off the charts.” Everyone milling around in the hall froze. Me, I was waiting for the straining bubble of water to burst and spill over the cup.

“The actual winner of the National Young Pianists Competition is Gordan Zhao, competitor number eight.” The bubble burst.

The Truth about christmas

2008-02-26T16:34:00.000+09:00

People around the world celebrate Christmas. Many associate Christmas with presents, turkeys, winter, santa clause, decorations and holiday. But what is Christmas really about?

In order to give you a better picture, I need to bring you back in time to the beginning of the earth, some 6000 years ago. Created in perfection, Adam and Eve were free to do anything, eat anything, except of the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A pretty simple instruction by God: not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But alas! It was not obeyed. Eve took the fruit, ate it, and gave some to Adam, who also ate. From that moment, sin entered into the world, together with its partner, death.

Sinful people cannot see God, because the holiness of God will kill them instantly. Thus, man was doomed to spend eternity in hell, because of their sins. You and I are destinied to hell as punishment for our sins (lying, stealing, dishonouring of parents and sabbath, etc.). However, because God loves us so much, and unwilling that any should perish for eternity in hell, God provided a way. Around 2000 years ago, God became man. He sent His Son as a substitute in each individual's place. This holy and blameless Son took our sins upon himself, and ransomed us with His life. His life was exchanged with ours on that cross. Because of this, we are now free to enter heaven, if we accept and acknowledge the Son as our Saviour. We can spend the rest of eternity in heaven face to face with God. Death no longer is a wall to be feared, but a gateway to 'utopia'.

"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed." Romans 19:9-11

So back to the topic now, what is Christmas? Santa Claus, christmas trees, presents, roast turkeys and holidays do not mean Christmas. Real christmas celebrates the birth of this Saviour, Jesus Christ. He came to earth as a babe, and we commemorate this gift of God by celebrating Christmas.

The Scientist's Creation

2008-02-26T16:30:00.000+09:00

Originally Posted by atiguhya padma
<'we once believed that God was so great that he created the world, now we believe he is even greater than that; he created a world that could create itself'.>That's merely a belief. There is nothing scientific about that statement. If a world could create itself, who needs God?

Ah... the real wonder though is that God CREATED the world (meaning making something out of nothing- where one could make something out of something but not anything out of nothing) in such a way that it could take care of itself. (reproduction, decomposition, sanitation, etc.) See how even He created instinct in animals, which men marvel at, but refuse to acknowledge the Maker or it all! The Irony!

If I admired an invention of a scientist, could I then say, " Oh! I've never heard of such a scientist before, therefore He couldn't have made this splendid invention" Neither could I claim, "This scientist couldn't have done it" or say, "If you say that the scientist did really make it, then prove it to me. Let me see him at work with it myself." I could also choose to find fault with the machine and say "oh look! there is a fault of operation here... it's all wrong. the manual's wrong. this scientist is a liar!"

How could I presume to say that I, ME and MYSELF should get the honour of watching the scientist at work? How could I claim that since I've never come across of such a scientist before, that one doesn't exist? It is MY fault that I didn't know him before and not the scientist's! Yet all in all, the invention is still there for itself to prove in reality that it was made by the unknown scientist, (whether I choose to believe it or not) and that the scientist really does exist!

You see, it is the same with mankind today and God, He is the Scientist who created the universe out of nothing. He was the scientist's whose invention has lasted thousands of years old, millions of days old. He was the One who caused His work to reproduce after it's own kind and dispose after itself. He is the I AM who made the beauty of the looming majestic mountains that we so admire, and the fragile breath of the lily. It was Himself, indeed who gave us ungrateful wretches life and breath.

Yet after all this, mankind starts to say, "where is such a God, the scientist?" I have never heard of Him, myself! I have never seen Him. He doesn't exist!" They start to say "I've found a fault in the manual- God's Word. He's a liar!" Man has started to doubt the Creator and His Word, even while the creation is still before them! They've put holes in the testimony of the creation where none was before, and spread lies to everyone around... lies that in this world could have been sued after.....

The creation of the Maker is BEFORE your very eyes, oh blinded people! Tear off the prejudice, cast the lies away and see and hear for yourself the fresh Truth! God is the only God, The Great I AM who made the world Himself. He is the 'Scientist' who you so scornfully reject and despise.

Look on the world and see for yourself!!

The Waltz

2008-02-26T16:28:00.000+09:00

A Waltz is a graceful ballroom dance in simple triple time which originated in Europe in 18th Century, and became popular in the 19th Century. It first became popular in Vienna and later spread to Europe.

When the Waltz first came out, many aristrocrats were hesitant to dance it because of its flamboyant and spirited movements. (That was compared to the previous dances they had then. These days, the Waltz is incomparable to such dances as the Tango.)

Waltz comes from a german word walzen, meaning to roll, turn or glide. The Waltz is to be danced in as light and lively a manner as possible.

Johann Strauss Jr is called "The Waltz King" because he wrote many waltzes. Perhaps his most famous one is "The Blue Danube". Chopin also wrote many Waltzes but in a totally different style to the 'classical waltz'. Some of them are reelingly fast (Minute Waltz) while others are slower and melancholy in mood.

For an example of how to dance a Waltz, follow this link: Waltz Steps

A letter to the Global Church

2008-02-26T16:24:00.001+09:00

Dear friends,

This past week has been filled with much sorrow. Many of you have heard by now of our devastating loss here in an event that took place in Malatya, a Turkish province 300 miles northeast of Antioch, the city where believers were first called Christians (Acts 11:26).
On Wednesday morning, April 18, 2007, 46 year old German missionary and father of three Tilman Geske prepared to go to his office, kissing his wife goodbye taking a moment to hug his son and give him the priceless memory, “Goodbye, son. I love you.”

Tilman rented an office space from Zirve Publishing where he was preparing notes for the new Turkish Study Bible. Zirve was also the location of the Malatya Evangelist Church office. A ministry of the church, Zirve prints and distributes Christian literature to Malatya and nearby cities in Eastern Turkey. In another area of town, 35 year old Pastor Necati Aydin, father of two, said goodbye to his wife, leaving for the office as well. They had a morning Bible Study and prayer meeting that some other believers in town would also be attending. Ugur Yuksel likewise made his way to the Bible study.

None of these three men knew that what awaited them at the Bible study was the ultimate testing and application of their faith, which would conclude with their entrance into glory to receive their crown of righteousness from Christ and honor from all the saints awaiting them in the Lord’s presence.

On the other side of town, ten young men all under 20 years old put into place final arrangements for their ultimate act of faith, living out their love for Allah and hatred of infidels who they felt undermined Islam.

On Resurrection Sunday, five of these men had been to a by-invitation-only evangelistic service that Pastor Necati and his men had arranged at a hotel conference room in the city. The men were known to the believers as “seekers.” No one knows what happened in the hearts of those men as they listened to the gospel. Were they touched by the Holy Spirit? Were they convicted of sin? Did they hear the gospel in their heart of hearts? Today we only have the beginning of their story.

These young men, one of whom is the son of a mayor in the Province of Malatya, are part of a tarikat, or a group of “faithful believers” in Islam. Tarikat membership is highly respected here; it’s like a fraternity membership. In fact, it is said that no one can get into public office without membership in a tarikat. These young men all lived in the same dorm, all preparing for university entrance exams.

The young men got guns, breadknives, ropes and towels ready for their final act of service to Allah. They knew there would be a lot of blood. They arrived in time for the Bible Study, around 10 o’clock.

They arrived, and apparently the Bible Study began. Reportedly, after Necati read a chapter from the Bible the assault began. The boys tied Ugur, Necati, and Tilman’s hands and feet to chairs and as they videoed their work on their cellphones, they tortured our brothers for almost three hours*

[Details of the torture--

*Tilman was stabbed 156 times, Necati 99 times and Ugur’s stabs were too numerous to count. They were disemboweled, and their intestines sliced up in front of their eyes. They were emasculated and watched as those body parts were destroyed. Fingers were chopped off, their noses and mouths and anuses were sliced open. Possibly the worst part was watching as their brothers were likewise tortured. Finally, their throats were sliced from ear to ear, heads practically decapitated.]

He phoned the police, and the nearest officer arrived in about five minutes. He pounded on the door, “Police, open up!” Initially the officer thought it was a domestic disturbance. At that point they heard another snarl and a gurgling moan. The police understood that sound as human suffering, prepared the clip in his gun and tried over and over again to burst through the door. One of the frightened assailants unlocked the door for the policeman, who entered to find a grisly scene.

Tilman and Necati had been slaughtered, practically decapitated with their necks slit from ear to ear. Ugur’s throat was likewise slit and he was barely alive.

Three assailants in front of the policeman dropped their weapons.

Meanwhile Gokhan heard a sound of yelling in the street. Someone had fallen from their third story office. Running down, he found a man on the ground, whom he later recognized, named Emre Gunaydin. He had massive head trauma and, strangely, was snarling. He had tried to climb down the drainpipe to escape, and losing his balance had plummeted to the ground. It seems that he was the main leader of the attackers. Another assailant was found hiding on a lower balcony.

To untangle the web we need to back up six years. In April 2001, the National Security Council of Turkey (Milli Guvenlik Kurulu) began to consider evangelical Christians as a threat to national security, on equal footing as Al Quaida and PKK terrorism. Statements made in the press by political leaders, columnists and commentators have fueled a hatred against missionaries who they claim bribe young people to change their religion.

After that decision in 2001, attacks and threats on churches, pastors and Christians began. Bombings, physical attacks, verbal and written abuse are only some of the ways Christians are being targetted. Most significant is the use of media propaganda.

From December 2005, after having a long meeting regarding the Christian threat, the wife of Former Prime Minister Ecevit, historian Ilber Ortayli, Professor Hasan Unsal, Politician Ahmet Tan and writer/propogandist Aytunc Altindal, each in their own profession began a campaign to bring the public’s attention to the looming threat of Christians who sought to “buy their children’s souls”. Hidden cameras in churches have taken church service footage and used it sensationally to promote fear and antagonism toward Christianity.

In an official televised response from Ankara, the Interior Minister of Turkey smirked as he spoke of the attacks on our brothers. Amid public outrage and protests against the event and in favor of freedom of religion and freedom of thought, media and official comments ring with the same message, “We hope you have learned your lesson. We do not want Christians here.”

It appears that this was an organized attack initiated by an unknown adult tarikat leader. As in the Hrant Dink murder in January 2007, and a Catholic priest Andrea Santoro in February 2006, minors are being used to commit religious murders because public sympathy for youth is strong and they face lower penalties than an adult convicted of the same crime. Even the parents of these children are in favor of the acts. The mother of the 16 year old boy who killed the Catholic priest Andrea Santoro looked at the cameras as her son was going to prison and said, “he will serve time for Allah.”

The young men involved in the killing are currently in custody. Today news reported that they would be tried as terrorists, so their age would not affect the strict penalty. Assailant Emre Gunaydin is still in intensive care. The investigation centers around him and his contacts and they say will fall apart if he does not recover.

The Church in Turkey responded in a way that honored God as hundreds of believers and dozens of pastors flew in as fast as they could to stand by the small church of Malatya and encourage the believers, take care of legal issues, and represent Christians to the media.
When Susanne Tilman expressed her wish to bury her husband in Malatya, the Governor tried to stop it, and when he realized he could not stop it, a rumor was spread that “it is a sin to dig a grave for a Christian.” In the end, in an undertaking that should be remembered in Christian history forever, the men from the church in Adana (near Tarsus), grabbed shovels and dug a grave for their slain brother in an un-tended hundred year old Armenian graveyard.

Ugur was buried by his family in an Alevi Muslim ceremony in his hometown of Elazig, his believing fiance watching from the shadows as his family and friends refused to accept in death the faith Ugur had so long professed and died for.

Necati’s funeral took place in his hometown of Izmir, the city where he came to faith. The darkness does not understand the light. Though the churches expressed their forgiveness for the event, Christians were not to be trusted. Before they would load the coffin onto the plane from Malatya, it went through two separate xray exams to make sure it was not loaded with explosives. This is not a usual procedure for Muslim coffins.

Necati’s funeral was a beautiful event. Like a glimpse of heaven, thousands of Turkish Christians and missionaries came to show their love for Christ, and their honor for this man chosen to die for Christ. Necati’s wife Shemsa told the world, “His death was full of meaning, because he died for Christ and he lived for Christ… Necati was a gift from God. I feel honored that he was in my life, I feel crowned with honor. I want to be worthy of that honor.”

Boldly the believers took their stand at Necati’s funeral, facing the risks of being seen publicly and likewise becoming targets. As expected, the anti-terror police attended and videotaped everyone attending the funeral for their future use. The service took place outside at Buca Baptist church, and he was buried in a small Christian graveyard in the outskirts of Izmir.
Two assistant Governors of Izmir were there solemnly watching the event from the front row. Dozens of news agencies were there documenting the events with live news and photographs. Who knows the impact the funeral had on those watching? This is the beginning of their story as well. Pray for them.

In an act that hit front pages in the largest newspapers in Turkey, Susanne Tilman in a television interview expressed her forgiveness. She did not want revenge, she told reporters. “Oh God, forgive them for they know not what they do,” she said, wholeheartedly agreeing with the words of Christ on Calvary (Luke 23:34).

In a country where blood-for-blood revenge is as normal as breathing, many many reports have come to the attention of the church of how this comment of Susanne Tilman has changed lives. One columnist wrote of her comment, “She said in one sentence what 1000 missionaries in 1000 years could never do.”

The missionaries in Malatya will most likely move out, as their families and children have become publicly identified as targets to the hostile city. The remaining 10 believers are in hiding. What will happen to this church, this light in the darkness? Most likely it will go underground. Pray for wisdom, that Turkish brothers from other cities will go to lead the leaderless church. Should we not be concerned for that great city of Malatya, a city that does not know what it is doing? (Jonah 4:11)

When our Pastor Fikret Bocek went with a brother to give a statement to the Security Directorate on Monday they were ushered into the Anti-Terror Department. On the wall was a huge chart covering the whole wall listing all the terrorist cells in Izmir, categorized. In one prominent column were listed all the evangelical churches in Izmir. The darkness does not understand the light. “These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also.” (Acts 17:6)

Please pray for the Church in Turkey. “Don’t pray against persecution, pray for perseverence,” urges Pastor Fikret Bocek.

The Church is better having lost our brothers; the fruit in our lives, the renewed faith, the burning desire to spread the gospel to quench more darkness in Malatya …all these are not to be regretted. Pray that we stand strong against external opposition and especially pray that we stand strong against internal struggles with sin, our true debilitating weakness.

This we know. Christ Jesus was there when our brothers were giving their lives for Him. He was there, like He was when Stephen was being stoned in the sight of Saul of Tarsus.

Someday the video of the deaths of our brothers may reveal more to us about the strength that we know Christ gave them to endure their last cross, about the peace the Spirit of God endowed them with to suffer for their beloved Savior. But we know He did not leave their side. We know their minds were full of Scripture strengthening them to endure, as darkness tried to subdue the unsubduable Light of the Gospel. We know, in whatever way they were able, with a look or a word, they encouraged one another to stand strong. We know they knew they would soon be with Christ.

We don’t know the details. We don’t know the kind of justice that will or will not be served on this earth.

But we pray-- and urge you to pray-- that someday at least one of those five boys will come to faith because of the testimony in death of Tilman Geske, who gave his life as a missionary to his beloved Turks, and the testimonies in death of Necati Aydin and Ugur Yuksel, the first martyrs for Christ out of the Turkish Church.

Reported by Darlene N. Bocek (24 April 2007)

The Metronome

2008-02-26T16:12:00.003+09:00

Muahaha... the Teacher's most evil and torturous apparatus is coming to get you! You watch intently as your teacher produces a triangular looking instrument from a box. You wonder at it at first, and gape with admiration akin to awe as it actually starts to produce noise!But not for long; for like many of the other students in front of you, you soon come to view this particular teacher's torture tool with disgust and hate rather than admiration and wonder. This evil apparatus is known in your music teacher's terminology as the Metronome.

The metronome is really called Maelzel's metronome, and sometimes abbreviated mm in your score. This insrument is designed to ~~torture students like you and me~~ help students keep a steady tempo, and feel the undercurrent of the beat right through the piece they are working on. It also allows composers and performers all over the world to have a standard speed reference point. Can you imagine the level of chaotic if everyone had their own timing system?

Here's how a conversation with Mozart and Beethoven would have gone:

Mozart: "Hey, dude! I've decided to change the speed of Rondo Alla Turka to mm=160 per crotchet beat."

Mozart demonstrates to Beethoven.
Beethoven: "What??! Nonsense, Mo, That sounds like mm=60!"

However, with the invention of the metronome, Mozart's mm=160 per crotchet beat would be Beethoven's mm=160 per crotchet beat. (By the way, Beethoven was the first well-known composer to indicate the Metronome beat in his score.)

Well, now that you know WHY the metronome was invented, I guess it's only fair to explain to you HOW it works! I remember sitting (as a little girl) at the piano, waiting centuries for the everlasting bell to chime amidst all the tick tocking of the metronome, and missing it with it finally did chime. It is not too hard to understand once you get the hang of it. :)

The Metronome marking that you see in your score (mm= whatever, per something beat- the note value is usually drawn out than stated) is actually 'whatever' many 'something' beats in a minute! For example, if you had a mm=160 per crotchet beat, it would mean that the metronome would beat for 160 crotchet beats a minute! Pretty cool eh? I wonder how Maelzel contrived to do that!

The speed can be adjusted by sliding the weight on the pendulum so that the top of the weight is in direct sync with the particular speed number on either side of it.

The bell (the one I was waiting for as a little girl) is to indicate the beginning of each bar. The chime should sound on the first beat of every bar. Each subsequent beat is sounded with a 'tick tock'. You can set this by pulling the side piece to show the required number of beats in a bar.

This metronome here indicates mm=160 in a piece with 3/4 time:

And closer up:

this is how the setting for the bell in 3/4 time should look like:

There are different types of metronome today. We have the triangular, pyramid shaped ones, as well as electronic ones. These are the manual ones, those that you have to wind up.

This picture of a digital metronome was taken from wikipedia:

Are high taxes on cigarettes fair?

2008-02-26T16:11:00.001+09:00

The high taxes that the Government imposes on cigarettes are definitely fair for the cigarette companies. It is absolutely cruel and immoral to produce something that is not only cancerous, bad tasting, and poisonous (to unborn children), but also addictive! Not only do the smokers lose control of themselves, but the addiction carries on to their progeny!

Teenagers who first try cigarettes by invitations from friends do not think in the long run. Kids just look at the immediate consequences, and not the long-term consequences of their actions. If a cigarette was offered to you when you were 12, you most probably wouldn't have thought of the cancerous and polluting effect of smoking on your body, or of the consequences of the addictive narcotine in the cigarette. You would have considered the addictive ingredient, yes, but not the EFFECTS of it. However, even if you did think of that, it would have been drowned out by what would have been the strongest influence: your friend, holding our his/her cigarette box, the rest of your circle of friends witnessing this exchange. You would have wanted their acceptance. They were your friends. If you said no, you would have offended the friend who offered you his/her cigarette, and have been deserted, branded as a conservative, chicken-hearted, scaredy-cat. So, you say, "Yes."

That "yes" would have cost you a day of gagging, followed by your anxiety of your parent's reaction, and then days and days of frustration at your helplessness, extreme highs and lows, etc. And then, one day, (if you are a woman) when you have found the love of your life, and are happily married and expecting a child, tragedy strikes. Your child (if not miscarried) is born with defects caused by the drugs in your cigarette. Imagine your grief, your sorrow!

Perhaps this seems far away to you because it never happened to you or to anyone close to you. But then, put yourself in others' shoes. Countless number of women who lost their child bcause of the cigarettes they smoke, (powerless to stop), and the countless number of deformed babies born each year, (through no fault of theirs)!

I put it to you, do you think high taxes is too much to ask from the cigarette companies, who thrive from the destruction of their 'clients'? Who, simply to keep business up, mix an addictive in the cigarette, knowing that it is very, very hard for anyone to quit smoking once they start? No, it is the least that the government should do to "punish" these companies! After all, the cigarette companies are merely giving back to the government some of their ill-gained wealth, so that the government can distribute that money to the rehabilitation centres, who assist the desperate heavy smokers to stop smoking.

High taxes on cigarettes are fair because they take from the greedy 'with-no-thought-for-his-neighour's-suffering' companies and compensate the ones whom the companies derive their wealth from: the suffering, and desperate clients.

Etudes

2008-02-26T16:10:00.000+09:00

The Etude is also known as a Study. The Etude is a piece designed to teach a particular technique. It may also be that they were written solely to strengthen students' stamina.

Some techniques can include:

1. Running beautiful scales

2. Running in octaves

3. Running in thirds

4. Playing in staccato

5. Playing with a dominant left hand

6. Stretching

7. Speed

8. Rhythm

Chopin wrote many Etudes for the piano. So did Czerny.

Refuting Abortion with the Bible

2008-02-26T16:05:00.002+09:00

1. The life in the womb is not human because it is not fully developed.

“For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise thee; for I am fearfully [and] wonderfully made: marvellous [are] thy works; and [that] my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, [and] curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all [my members] were written, [which] in continuance were fashioned, when [as yet there was] none of them.” Psalm 139:13-16

2. The human tissue produced in the woman is the property of the one who produces it.

“For every beast of the forest [is] mine, [and] the cattle upon a thousand hills.” Psalm 50:10

3. The life in the womb is really part of the woman and the woman has the right to do as she wills with her body.

“All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew [it] unto you.” John 16:15

4. In abortion, no one is hurt since the fetus is not a person.

“Your eyes saw me when I was only a fetus. Every day of my life was recorded in your book before one of them had taken place.” Psalm 139: 16

5. Rape is a condition that justifies abortion.

“Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but [rather] give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance [is] mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” Romans 12:19

6. To restrict a woman's right to choose is to deny her rights as a woman.

“I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.” Titus 5:14

7. There are too many people in the world.

“And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” Genesis 1:28 “And you, be ye fruitful, and multiply; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multiply therein.” Genesis 9:7

8. Abortion is legal, therefore, it is okay.

“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think [of himself] more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. “ Romans 12:2-3

9. We don't know exactly when the fetus becomes human in the womb, so we can abort it.

"Speak up for people who cannot speak for themselves. Protect the rights of all who are helpless.” Proverbs 31:8

10. If the baby is deformed, it would be a mercy to it to end its life.

“But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?....” Job 2:10 “Lo, children [are] an heritage of the LORD: [and] the fruit of the womb [is his] reward.” Psalm 127:3

The Pianoforte

2008-02-26T16:02:00.002+09:00

The piano has probably risen to the title of 'most popular instrument of our day'. Millions of children all around the world learn the piano, some for leisure, others to pursue a career. Whatever their motivation to learn, the piano is a versatile instrument, suiting the needs of one and all.

The pianoforte is named for its ability to produce a varying range of tones, from soft (piano) to loud (forte). First built in the 1709 by Cristofori, the early wooden pianoforte contained little over 5 octaves, with strings stretched over a board. This basic model continued to be under construction until the 1750s. Quite a long period of inactivity followed this, and it was only 63 years later that people exerted some of their creative juices to perfect the piano.

The first grand piano came out in 1772. It was created by a John Broadwood. Here's a picture of one of Broadwood's pianos, taken from this site.

Then, a year after the grand piano came out, the sustaining pedal was introduced. This allowed the performer to sustain notes without having to hold the notes down. Each key is attached to a hammer, which hit the particular string which was played. Each string has a damper, which rests on the string when the key is not played. This prevents the string from vibrating when other keys are being played. However, when the sustaining pedal is pressed, the damper lifts off from all the strings, allowing them to vibrate and resound until either the vibration of the strings slows and comes to a halt, or until the performer releases the pedal. This invention brought about a new period. Composers and performers played around with the pedal, using it to mix and enhance the sounds of the piano. Musical works took a new turn with the rise of the sustaining pedal.

In 1829, the pianoforte, heretofore made of wood, changed for the better into its first iron frame. However, it would only be in 1870 that the pianoforte would be fitted with its first full cast iron frame.

By the 1860s, the pianos were much like the ones we have today, with felt covering the hammers, the hitting action of the hammer to the strings, and of course, the sustaining pedal. However the instrument did not have the full range of tones that we have today. In fact, the pianoforte was so soft, that the orchestra had to have more than one pianist (and piano) in order for it to be heard! Liszt supposedly needed 5 pianos!

Would you believe it? Up till now, the only pianos available were grand pianos. So if you lived in those days, you could be playing a grand piano in your own home, instead of the small upright you have now! What a special priviledge those people had! However, Von Hubbard did not think so. He felt that the grand piano was too big to fit in people's living rooms, so guess what- in 1870, out came the early version of the upright piano that we have today! Grrr.... blame it all on Von Hubbard!

The modern piano includes 88 keys, the lowest note being an A three notes and three octaves down from middle C; the highest note is a C, four octaves above middle C. It comes complete with 3 pedals: an una corda on the left, a damper (which is a piece of felt cloth inserted between the hammer and strings to mute the sound) in the middle, and the sustaining pedal on the right. The pianoforte even comes with different colours! I have a beautiful one and a half year old Upright Kawai K60 (yes- blame it on Von Hubbard!) It is ebony in colour, and is 132cm long. As well as being the tallest upright pianoforte model currently, it also produces the most beautiful richly mellow tone in the world. I love my piano!

Here's a picture of its keyboard. Maybe in the near future, I will upload some of the functions of the piano, (like the damper and the sustaining pedal), as well as a whole picture of my pianoforte. :)

Is the death penalty an effective crime deterrant?

2008-02-26T16:01:00.000+09:00

The death penalty is a very effective crime deterrant. Recently, the Singapore government exercised the death penalty to Van Tuong Nguyen for bringing drugs into Singapore. I am sure those who were contemplating bringing drugs into Asia (especially into Singapore) at the time of Van Nguyen's trial gave second thought to the consequences of drug tafficking, and decided in the end that their lives were too valuable to risk being caught trafficking drugs.

The purpose of the death penalty is to warn others bent upon the same road. Some heed the warnings, and some don't. The death penalty is especially effective as a crime deterrent for children. Children are easily impressed, and examples of harsh penalties are very effective for teaching them. The law without visual reinforcement is like a parent who threatens but never fulfills his/her word. The child will soon learn to disregard the parent and break all rules. It is the same in the world. If the death penalty is punishment for breaking a certain law, and a person breaks that law, the death penalty MUST be imposed. Children will see that the law means business, and will hereafter tread more conscientiously.

Of course, there will always be the few odd people who rebel and dare to put their lives in danger by committing acts they know to be punishable by death. But these will be far and few if the death penalty is strictly adhered to. The death penalty is a powerful and effective crime deterrant, the highest form of punishment man can apply.