Archive for October, 2008

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Meet the Queen

30/10/2008
Meet the Queen.
No, not the Queen of England.
I mean THIS QUEEN
Meet the Termite Queen! No, we didnt get this from our land. Which is just as well!
But there are termites in many places here in Kota Kinabalu, so we are having our land treated.
This was dug out of the earth nearby hubby’s office as a demonstration of the skills of the pest control guy. Needless to say, he got hired! He comes by every two months now.
Part of his job is to spray around the house and also to fill up the tubes that run under the house into the ground.
After we laid the foundations of our house, we also put some tubes in. These tubes have holes in them. When anti-termite medication is squirted into these tubes, the medication seeps into the earth under the house.
In this way, we do not have to pay for expensive treatment. Nor do we need to make bore holes in the floor to pump medication in.
An idea from a friend who also built his house from scratch. Clever man!

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Chicken Surprise

27/10/2008

A couple go for a meal at a Chinese restaurant and order the “Chicken Surprise”. The waiter brings the meal, served in a lidded cast iron pot.

Just as the wife is about to serve herself, the lid of the pot rises slightly and she briefly sees two beady little eyes looking around before the lid slams back down.

“Good grief, did you see that?” she asks her husband.

He hasn’t, so she asks him to look in the pot. He reaches for it and again the lid rises, and he sees two little eyes looking around before it slams down.

Rather perturbed, he calls the waiter over, explains what is happening, and demands an explanation.

“Please sir,” says the waiter, “what you order?”

The husband replies, “Chicken Surprise.”

“Ah… so sorry,” says the waiter, “I bring you Peeking Duck”

N.B. When we were in Beijing and we asked for Peking Duck, we were told (a little indignantly) that it was now called Beijing Duck… but somehow it doesnt quite sound right!

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Acknowledging

20/10/2008
Trust in the Lord with all your heart

And lean not on your own understanding
In all your ways
Acknowledge Him
And He shall direct your paths
Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust – A primitive root; properly to hie for refuge; figuratively to trust, be confident or sure:—be bold, confident, secure, sure, put confidence, to hope.

Lord – the self-existent, eternal One

All – properly the whole – nothing left out!

Heart – the heart; the feelings, the will and the intellect; the centre of anything

Lean – to support one’s self; to lie, rely, rest (on, self), stay.

Understanding – knowledge, meaning, wisdom.

Ways – figuratively a course of life or mode of action

Acknowledge – A primitive root; to know; to properly to ascertain by seeing; used in a great variety of senses, figuratively, literally, euphemistically and inferentially, including observation, care, recognition; and causatively instruction, designation, punishment, etc, comprehend, consider, discern, discover, perceive, privy to, , have respect, skilful, shew, understand.

Direct – A primitive root; to be straight or even; figuratively to make right, pleasant, prosperous:—direct, fit, seem good, please, well, be esteem, go right, bring (look, make, take the) straight (way), be upright.

Paths – a well trodden road (literally or figuratively); manner.

When you are in a formal gathering or a dinner function, the Guests of Honour are always acknowledged by name.

When you have completed a drama, a book, an important task, you would acknowledge those who have played a part in helping you.

Acknowledging someone is crediting someone as having played an important role during the process, the journey, the event.

We are encouraged to

acknowledge GOD

in ALL our ways.

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Hanging Out Together

17/10/2008

Last night, about 30 youths crammed into our tiny living room to bid farewell to 2 of their friends going to Australia. It was nice to relax and have fun with them. Here’s a sample of what they did.

Played the guitar


More than one guitar!


Drummed together





The piano was going too


Chess & checkers!

Last night gave a freshness to Hebrews 10:24,25 “Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking to meet together… but exhorting one another….”

– One youth offered to give tutoring to another while waiting to leave for further studies.
– Another youth gave lessons on chess.
– Yet more gave lessons on guitaring and drumming.
– Some engaged in deep meaningful conversations as others filled up the authograph book…..

It was fun to watch this group!

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Parental Weapon #1

15/10/2008

I was about to reprimand him for something. I began with a strong phrase, asking if he had done something. I was ready to shoot.

He knew he was in the wrong.

He didn’t go on the defensive.

He didn’t sulk either.

Instead, he turned, looked at me, and then he did it –

He grinned.

He flashed his bright white teeth.

He showed his dimple.

And he replied with an apology and short explanation.

I learned that it is very hard to stay angry with someone who uses such weaponry with such devasting effect. Yes, anger is easily overwhelmed by a disarming smile. Especially when it is supported by gleaming teeth. Oh, and don’t forget the dimple.

Shucks.

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If I Were a Cat, I’d Purrrrr All Day Long!

12/10/2008
We were walking past shops in a single file as it was a narrow passageway. Suddenly my husband stopped – right in front of some flowers. Some roses to be exact. He leaned over them and fingered the yellow, pink, deep red and cream ones. The next thing I knew, I was walking out of the shop with some roses!

Last night was one of those rare occassions where he had come home very, very late because there was a job to rush. I was asleep by the time he got in. But yet, this morning, he got up as usual and we sent the children to school together.

And then this surprise………..
If I were a cat, I’d be purring all day long…..

“Husbands, love your wives just as Christ also loved the church….”
Eph 5:25a

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“I’ll Teach You to Steal, Drink, Lie Swear,” says Pastor

10/10/2008

I shall never forget my pastor taking me aside just after I had been converted and saying, “I am going to teach you to steal, to drink, to lie, and to swear.”
Sensing my astonishment, he quickly went on to add, “I want to teach you how to steal time out of every day to read something the book of Proverbs. And then I want to teach you how to drink from its clear, refreshing water, to lie on your bed at night and meditate on its great themes and to swear that by the grace of God you will put into practice its wonderful teaching.”

The above was attributed to Selwyn Hughes.
By the way, folks, I have added a chatbox on my left bar. Feel free to post there too. Blessings!

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Road Sense

08/10/2008

The lights changed. He pressed the accelerator to move forward. Speed picked up as he nursed the truck across the big junction. Just as he got to the other side of the road, it happened.

Three girls, about 18 years old each, ran across the road.

Two got across safely.

The third one stumbled. Right into the path of his truck.

Instinctively his hand flew to the horn and he pressed it loud and hard. He could feel fear rising up, charged with adrenaline. Would he miss hitting her or would the unbearable happen?

He screeched to a halt. He hadnt felt any impact.

He threw the door of his truck open and strode to the front.

There she lay, shaken but otherwise unhurt, still on the road.

Her friends came over to help her up.

As they strode to the other side of the road, avoiding other vehicles, he could not help the barrage of words that came out from his mouth. The tension poured out. His heart rate would not slow down until he had released his frustration, fear, anger and relief in different languages.

Then my side of the lights changed and I drove off, my heart rate up a little too, having witnessed a near fatality.

This is one such incident of many that I have seen these last few months. What sort of road sense do pedestrians have these days? We widen the roads but not everyone knows how to use the walkways, pedestrian crossings, overhead bridges….

This is Malaysia. The weather is hot and humid. They dont want to wait too long under the sun.

In their impatience they run, putting their lives, and those of other road users, at risk.

It is not enough to teach road sense to the drivers. Pedestrians need to learn too.

More importantly, this should be taught at home. I remember my parents doing it….

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When the Going Gets Tough

06/10/2008

I decided to read through 2 Corinthians. It’s the second of two letters that Paul the Apostle wrote to a church that had been swayed by false teachings.

But I am not going to touch on false teachings and doctrines. Rather, I noticed that in this epistle, Paul had spent a fair bit of time on his character and conduct. I felt I could learn from that. In my temerity, I decided that I would share with you what I discover!

So let’s start with Chapter 1.

Immediately I am arrested by these verses 3 to 5. NKJV puts it, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of all mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”

What a packed trilogy of verses!

Let’s go backwards. Looking at verse 5, it is obvious that we too will face difficulties and obstacles in our lives. None of us are immune. How often we have heard that phrase, “I know how you feel” and wonder if the speaker really knew. Well he/she won’t, unless they have walked that same path of suffering and difficulty. Only then can we appreciate v4. After we have walked that path, we need to remember to look back and see those who are still making that journey.

The only way we can make through this journey is if we learn to lean on this God of all mercies and Father of all comfort. We ourselves need to learn to draw comfort from God, so that we can learn to share that comfort with others.

I once read somewhere someone once said that we would never know that God is all we need until God is all we’ve got.

So when it seems that the going is tough, when it seems like even God isnt there anymore, don’t despair. He IS there. And one day, we’ll be able to say to someone else, “I know how you feel”.

Let’s walk that journey together.

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Six Ringgit and Twenty Sen

04/10/2008

This afternoon, I had about an hour to spare before I went to pick my son up. My daughter was with me, so we went for a Mother & Daughter time. We stopped at the local pisang goreng place (fried banana fritters) since it was tea time.

To my delight, my favourite fried chempedak was there. Yummy! After months of asking, finally I could savour it. Had two portions of it as daughter had her pisang goreng.

At a nearby table was my daughter’s vice-headmistress. My daughter greeted her and then continued our pleasant and fun time together.

A glance at my watch told me it was time to go. I thought it would be nice to offer to pay for the teacher as well. So I reached for my purse.

And as I did so, I felt my face going red…. I suddenly remembered that I only had TWO RINGGIT in my purse!

The waitress, seeing me pull out my purse, briskly walked over and started calculating.

My mind screamed with intelligent excuses and alternatives.

“OH NO! OH NO! OH NO!”

I stood up abruptly, propelled by anxiety and shame. Fixing my eyes on the proprietor of the shop, I found my legs striding over to the payment counter. There, I flung myself at his mercy.

OK, OK. Not as dramatic as that. More like I threw myself across the counter, face going more red and blabbed out “I have no money to pay!” in Hakka. I couldnt meet his eyes as I said “I am sooooo embarrassed”. So I covered my face.

I could feel so many eyes at my back…. especially my daughter’s!

Would he throw me out of the shop? Would he raise his voice in anger and let the whole world know? Would he insist loudly that I settle my bill before I left the shop? Will the teacher find out?

Thank God that the shop owner was a gentleman! He immediately spoke quietly and firmly that it was all right and that I could pay later. He knew who I was as I had at times dropped my daughter to buy her favourite pisang from him. Walking over to my table, he asked the waitress for the total, and told me I owed him RM6.20.

With utter relief, I stammered out my thanks and rushed my daughter out of the shop before he could change his mind!
This is what six ringgit and twenty sen looks like – the price I could have paid to avoid embarrassment! I console myself that this was good for humility!

Tomorrow I will settle my monetary debt. I owe him much more than that though. He was merciful and kind. He was also considerate. I feel so thankful over a small amount.

I am reminded of the greater price that has been settled on my account by Jesus.

Thankfulness fills my heart to overflowing.

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