One Man's Opinion Too

Courage

2011-03-08T20:30:00.008+08:00

Courage is...
When doubts are all around, and say I'll still have faith.

Courage is...
Staring at defeat in the eye, and say I'll survive.

Courage is...
Not being afraid, when losing seems like the only option.

Courage is...
Saying, "If I survive I'll live, if not I'll just die... it's that simple"

Courage is...
Being able to say that I have just lost the biggest battle in life, but that all right,
I will live to fight another day...

Encouragement

2011-02-07T20:49:00.012+08:00

Someone said, "A word of encouragement during a failure is worth more than an hour of praise after success."

It has been more than a year since my last post...
Just could not gather enough strength to encourage myself to write...
Too many personal failures...

Life has been hard and the ride was bumpy.
There were certainly some good moments, but they were few and far between.
I fell many times, got up, grit my teeth and go at it again.
I was going around in circles...
It was I who needed the medicine that I dispensed...
Sometimes reading your own "encouraging word" may lift you up a little, but sometimes the words just fall flat...

Looking back, maybe I was putting on a front... and people around me didn't even have a clue what I was going through...
Nobody thought I needed encouragement... aah!

When things are looking down, one needs that extra push and inspiration,
what better way to show you really care than to encourage them...

Inspirational words that will lift you up and move you to do the things you need to do to live a more fullfilling life...

But looking back, all that is needed is just an encouraging word,
a loving word, a smile, a friendly nudge in the right direction...

Just look around you, see if there is one among your friends that needs encouragement today...
Just say, "Cheer up, I am here for you"
or to a family member, "Things will be better bro, "

I look up today, and say to my Father in Heaven,
and say, "thank you"... thank you for being there for me...

thank you ...

What's the point?

2010-01-02T09:38:00.003+08:00

A friend of mine just lamented, “Life is pointless”
Sometimes the frustration of not seeing the purpose in life is overwhelming .
Going around in a circle,
eat and drink and work…

Looking for more work to feed the family,
so that they can eat and drink
and so that the children can have an education.
Having got the education,
the children will work
so that they can eat and drink and what more???

“What is the point of all these?”

We go around looking and searching for
our life purpose or our purpose in life.
Are we living or just existing?

If we look within ourselves, will we find it?
If we look around us, is it there?

Why on earth am I here?

God put us here, ask God!
Yes that’s RIGHT!
ASK GOD!

Why don’t you ask Him today?

A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work.
This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?
Ecclesiastes 2:24-25

Post Script :
He has also given us the manual, it’s call the Bible.
Take it up, and read.
Still don’t understand the purpose of your life…
Talk to someone who talks to GOD daily…

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2009-12-11T21:38:00.004+08:00

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//|\\

PAUSE

2009-08-02T21:46:00.003+08:00

Life is going at such a frantic pace
I just want to opt out of this race
PAUSE
II

>
I want to just go slow
Cos' I have nothing to show
I don't need to look better
I just want to grow older
PAUSE
II

>
Hey, I look up the sky today
Looks like rain is coming our way
Good, the grass sure need watering
And the trees just another good drink
PAUSE
II

>
I just need to PAUSE & STOP
It's time I needed to take stock
God, would you give me a thorough check-up
To see the many things that I've neglected

PAUSE
II

Do not fast forward
Do not just rewind
press play or maybe slow motion
Better still, just PAUSE
II

Like a drop in the ocean , You’re SIGNIFICANT!

2009-07-11T12:13:00.007+08:00

Like a drop in the ocean…

It does not matter much…

Insignificant? I’ll say NOT!!!

You’re like a drop in the ocean,

You’re SIGNIFICANT!!!

If only we see, and measure to with minute accuracy,

Drop by drop, water soon fills up a whole glass

Ah… quenches my thirst…

Rain drop, and rain drops…

How severe a flood they would cause

if they just don’t stop

Drop by drop,

and again drops by drops,

turning a gentle stream into

ferocious mighty river

Pause!

Drop! Drop! Drop!

Forming a puddle,

forming a river

Like a drop,

what you do really matters

Say this, rap it with funk…

I am me, I’ve got value,

and GOD don’t make no junk!

Look into the mirror,

You wish you could look a little bit better…

But know this, GOD really loves you,

And that’s what really matters

Say this, rap it with funk…

I am me, I’ve got value,

and GOD don’t make no junk!

Like a drop in the ocean,

You’re SIGNIFICANT!

Celebrate Ignorance

2009-06-26T00:25:00.007+08:00

CURIOSITY killed the CAT?
If the cat's name is BOREDOM... then YES!

And also if the cats' names are Doldrums, Dullness, Monotony, YAWN...

To some life sucks...
all because there is nothing new under the sun.
We have come so far... we seem to know all that is to know.
We have done so much... that there is nothing new to be done.
We are no longer finding life exciting or fun.

But mind you, there is so much that we have yet to KNOW and to ENJOY.

We need to have the humility to ACCEPT or maybe
CELEBRATE our IGNORANCE...

I don't mind being ignorant...

That is when I would want to KNOW and LEARN more.

CURIOSITY may just be the spark that ignites the desire to EXPLORE and LEARN.

Hey, it is good to be curious... you get to know and maybe find out first hand the answers for the questions you were asking...

Maybe a playful approach towards our mundane task would bring about novelty and get us interested again.

Look at things around you, look again, and again as if it's the first time you see it.
Maybe you will find something new that's interesting.

Look at the people around you, look again, and again as if it's the first time you see them.
Maybe there is something nice or novel that you will discover.

Look at your life as if you've just came back alive from being pronounced dead.
Be ALIVE again!

You won't die from being curious or ignorant.

Don't be STUPID, be IGNORANT!

Life is so GOOD that I don’t mind dying

2009-04-13T23:27:00.006+08:00

This is my post EASTER post…

I was having lunch today with Jenny & Daphne,
when Christina & her husband Larry joined us…

Christina has came to deliver the Omega Fish Oil that Jenny has ordered.

Larry is a very enterprising man…
Now he is now a wholesaler for Omega Fish Oil, Barley Green and Wheatgerm.

In other words, he sells health food supplements…
All these supplements help one live longer, gain youthfulness, etc…

I don’t usually take health food supplements…
(I do not have the discipline to pop pills everyday)

In the midst of our conversation, I said
I live naturally, I eat naturally, and it’s only natural that I die naturally.

This may sound morbid to you as a subject over lunch, but I really don’t mind dying.
Christina asked if it’s because life is too stressful/painful for me, that I don’t mind dying.
I reply" NO". So, I just said Life is so good, that I don’t mind dying.

If the life that God has given us in this temporal world is so good;

and because He has promised that He has gone to prepare a place for us, and will come back for us;

Life must be even better after death… that is eternal Life with GOD.

Jesus said “…I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

First, let's take a look at the word "life". In the Greek it is "Zoe" referring to the principle of life in the spirit and soul. Distinguished from "bios", which refers to duration, means, and manner of life.

So we find that the life (zoe) that Jesus referred to are the things of the spirit, the things which are not seen.

Not the things of the flesh or of the world which are seen.
Jesus here is talking about eternal life.
It is not about having good things on this earth, or in abundance, and prosperity in this world.

I have more than my fair share of a good life on earth…
It’s time to lay claim to the “zoe” that GOD has so given…

Do you want to die here and live eternally,

Are you prepared to die without claiming “zoe” that was given to you in abundance…

Response to the new cabinet lineup

2009-04-11T10:49:00.006+08:00

Have been hearing a lot of comments on the new cabinet line up the past few days...

So here is my two cents worth...

This is NOT my original idea...

Thanks to Mr Nice Guy...

Rukun Negara ... 1. Kepercayaan kepada Tuhan

Do you subscribe to this... do a deep search

“A nation without God's guidance is a nation without order. Happy are those who keep God's law!” Proverbs 29:18 (Today’s English Version)

In response to : The Malaysian Insider's report Najib chooses BN over Country

“A nation will prosper when its ruler is mature, and its leaders don't party too much.” Ecclesiastes. 10:17 (Contemporary English Version)

The Key word is PARTY... doesn't matters whether the political or the yam seng one... ha ha ha...

What about the PM and all the PM's men(and women alike)

“When there is moral rot within a nation, its government topples easily; but with honest, sensible leaders there is stability.” Proverbs 28:2 (The Living Bible)

I don't mind if...

“Leadership gains authority and respect when the voiceless poor are treated fairly.” Proverbs 29:14 (The Message Translation)

We wish that...

“When good people run things, everyone is glad.” Proverbs 29:2 (The Message Translation)

I always believe this should be our response...

Do we? Can we? Will we?

“Makes Jesus your Lord proud of you by being good citizens. Respect the authorities, whatever their level; they are God's emissaries for keeping order. It is God's will that by doing good, you might cure the ignorance of fools... Exercise your freedom by serving God, not by breaking the rules. Treat everyone you meet with dignity. Love your spiritual family. Revere God. Respect the government.” 1 Peter 2:13-17 (The Message Translation)

Our CALL to ACTION...

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Chron. 7:14 (New International Version)

Hammer & Screw... You CAN be PERFECT!

2009-03-23T19:51:00.016+08:00

We always hear this...

Nobody's perfect...
Only GOD is perfect...
While we are still on earth, we are all not perfect...

Well, today I'll say YOU CAN BE PERFECT!

My perception of being perfect is like this...
When you need to get a nail into the wall,
a hammer is the perfect tool...

Then the hammer is PERFECT no matter how ulgy or stained it is.
It doesn't matter if it is a $2.00 hammer, old hammer or a $1,000/- state of the art NASA hammer.

On the other hand, if you use a screwdriver to whack it in,
it may work but that's just NOT perfect.

Need another example?

A philip head screwdriver is PERFECT when you need to fasten a cross head screw.
And now if you use a hammer, even though you may force the screw in, it's just NOT perfect!

Hey, let me tell you a story...

Malathi is a school teacher in a suburb...
She teaches Biology...
It is not every year that Malathi gets to be a class teacher for the better classes...

Sometimes she gets students who are from the poorer background...
students who are academically challenged...
and all the sorts that a normal teacher would just give up as hopeless...

Malathi would call the parents, talk and counsel them...
offers solutions that would not necessary be that from a teacher...

She goes beyond her normal call of duty,
so that her students who have no hope to do well academically,
would find a place to do well in society...
She has recommended many to vocational studies,
helped solved their problems at home, etc...

Just recently, Malathi shared this with me...

There was a boy in her class many years ago...
To protect his identity, let's call him Roy.

Roy has difficulty passing most of his subjects in class...
One day, Malathi took him aside...
she asked Roy what he wants to do, what does he wants to be when he finishes school...
Roy replied " I want to be a policeman"
Malathi said " Why don't you find out what does it takes to be a policeman. What are the subjects that you need to pass in order to be a policeman"
Roy went to the career counsellor, and came back with the information.
Malathi advised "Now just concentrate to pass these few subjects, forget about the rest."

Just recently, (a few years later) Malathi met Roy again...
This time it is police constable Roy...

Malathi, not just teach... she reaches out and INSPIRES her students...
I know of many other stories about Malathi that could be compiled into a book...

Malathi, YOU ARE PERFECT!
Just as what God has called you to be...

I believe if we just do what we are suppose to be doing...
doing it right...
doing what we are called to do...

then we can be PERFECT!

I salute you ... PERFECT mothers...
I salute you ... PERFECT fathers...
I salute you... PERFECT clerks, teachers, waiters, managers, pastors,
Most of all, I salute you... PERFECT children...
Just be who you are, and do right whatever it is you doing...

YOU are just PERFECT, my friends!

How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator? Reality Check

2009-03-18T06:04:00.000+08:00

You are a hunter in an African jungle.
But you don't kill animals...
One day, you caught an elephant. Now...
How do you put the elephant into a refrigerator? Answer : Easy, open the door, put elephant in, close the door.
It's a simple and uncomplicated way of solving a problem.

Then you caught a giraffe...
How do you put the giraffe into the refrigerator?

Since this is a well known riddle...
You would probably answer: Open the door, take the elephant out, put the giraffe in & close the door.

Sorry... You just can't do that
I don't think you can put the elephant into the refrigerator in the first place...
Life is not that simple... You just cannot fit the elephant into the refrigerator...
Now you've got a second problem... the giraffe...

OK... OK...
Let's move on...
There is an animal conference in the jungle. All the animals attend... except one.
Which animal does not attend?

The well known answer is : The giraffe... Ha! Ha! everybody knows that... The giraffe is in the refrigerator...

Think again... in the first place... you can't fit the elephant into the refrigerator...
Now what about the giraffe... It's much taller... and I don't really think it'll fit into the refrigerator either...
So you would probably have to let them go... (Remember you don't kill animals)

So, all the animals would be there... Ha! Ha! LOL!

Fourth question... No not the river with crocodiles...

Now fourth question...
During the conference, at tea break... did they have cold or hot drinks?

Think.... think....
and think again...

COLD? with ice...

HOT? ....

The answer... the answer is...

They have neither cold nor hot drinks...

THEY DID NOT HAVE A TEA BREAK!

What??? cut budget... you may say...

NO! NO!

WAKE UP...
Stop dreaming...

There is no such thing as a conference in the jungle...
You are not a hunter in Africa...

Ring!!! Ring!!!

The alarm clock sounded!
I woke up...
got out of bed...
and wrote this in the blog!!!

Freedom vs Well Fed

2009-03-09T17:35:00.000+08:00

Tiger in the Wild
vs Tiger in the Zoo.

"It's so unfair, why must they have a quota system" says Jeremy."Are we not just as deserving?After all we fulfill all the other criteria, just that we are not Malay"

This happened about a year and a half ago...
that was when I came up with to this explanation to my love ones.

Imagine a tiger in the zoo...
Well fed... No need to hunt...
Well taken care of... No worries...
All that seem well may NOT be all well...

It becomes dependent...
It loses its predatory instinct... unable to hunt...
It grows complacent... unable to compete...

Worse still ... it is caged...
It loses it's FREEDOM!!!

That is how I see it...
Don't be bitter, just because they are given all the privileges...
Do feel pity for them, for they have became like animals kept in cages in a zoo.

For us man, apart from food and shelter...
it is the FREEDOM to think...
it is the FREEDOM to profess our faith...
that separates us from being just a human being(a biological entity) to being a civilised man.

Even God has given us the FREEDOM to choose whether to believe in Him...

To enjoy these "privileges", our Malay friends have to give up this FREEDOM!
What a pity... What a pity...
In getting what seems to be their "rightful" benefits
they would have to give up their rights to choose to believe in whatever they feel is RIGHT!

So next time, think of them as being the victims...
They did not make us less... but make us MORE...

We have inadvertently became better,
more diligent, more competitive,
more capable, more resilient,
We have became stronger...
in spite of the disadvantages being heap on us.

Reach out to them, our Malay friends...
many do not know that they have been victimised...by their political & feudal masters...
LOVE them... as GOD has love them...

I LOVE my Malay friends..., do you?

No More Economic Crisis

2009-02-19T00:23:00.000+08:00

Just about everywhere you turn...
the subject today is ECONOMIC CRISIS.

I've heard enough of this and is sick and tired of hearing it from
...the church pulpit...
...the coffee shop table...
...when long time friends meets...
...at sales and annual conferences...
...in the office...
...in the news...
...even my wife...

Enough is enough...

We gotta stop harping about it...
(I am not suggesting denial)

Seriously...did it affect you...really badly?

Are you going hungry(starving...?)

Are you driven to a point that you're sleeping in the streets?

Are your selling off your only house... yet?

Do you or your children have to stop school...?

Are you selling all the clothes including the one you have on your back...?

If you are a Malaysian... living in KL & PJ...
I don't think many have come to that point... yet.

Then can we stop spreading a gloomy tone when we talk...

Let spread a POSITIVE NOTE...

When you meet up with friends...
Start with saying ... (If you can)

I am alive and healthy...

Jobs still a plenty in Malaysia,
(that's why we have overseas expats working in the restaurants, factories, etc...)
If you're unable to find a job, then your are the problem, not the economy.

Heard Barack Obama said this today...
"I am not saying today is the end of the Economic Crisis,
but today is the beginning of the end of the Economic Crisis."

Yeah, let's put an END to the Economic Crisis...
by starting to Focus on what we still HAVE...
by starting to Do what we still CAN...
by starting to Say, HEY! It's not really that bad...

If you are alive, it's not the end...
If you have a live, then live it today...
If you seek to live, then making a living would not be a problem...
If you want to live, then breathe... (yes, suck in the air and breathe)

Yes, take a deep breath, and look at LIFE and shout out,
HEY! I am still alive...

LIFE ... HAPPY & WELL IN TIME

2009-02-13T23:59:00.000+08:00

Happy Valentine's Day

Not that I celebrate it, (Oh No!)
Just for all of you romantics out there.
But seriously, I BELIEVE IN LOVE.
After all GOD is LOVE;
I believe in GOD, therefore I believe in LOVE.

That's just starters, not really what I am going to write today.

Just met a friend during lunch yesterday afternoon.
He just got news from the doctor that there's growth in his back.
Scary, isn't it, especially for him, being a cancer survivor.

I once heard Chuck Swindoll says,
... It's not how many Days you have in your Life,
but how much Life you have in your Day that really matters.

So today I am rattling off a series of my Life's prespective...

I often say to my LOVE ones, especially my wife
... It doesn't matter whether I Live Long,
but what really concerns me is that I Live Right.

... Don't know when the world would end,
don't really need to know,
don't really need to find out,
because this world ends when YOU DIE. (GAME OVER)

... Live Today like there is no Tomorrow,
for Tomorrow may never come...
Live right Today for Tomorrow,
for Tomorrow may last forever...
Live responsibly Today for Tomorrow,
for you need to wake up and be on the go at it again...
Live well today for tomorrow,
for Tomorrow would be a better day...

So just LIVE & LET LIVE...
Celebrate LIFE...
Whatever the situation,
I wish you be HAPPY and WELL in TIME!!

When the going gets TOUGH, JUST QUIT

2009-01-29T02:31:00.000+08:00

Jeremy, my son just reminded me that I have not been writing anything on this blog.
It was getting TOUGH to avoid comments like this, because nowadays people expect blogs to be updated almost everyday.
So I'll just have to QUIT avoiding, and as a result here is this.

We hear this often enough...
when the going gets TOUGH, the TOUGH gets going...

Well today I'll say ... when the going gets TOUGH, JUST QUIT.
There is always something to gain when you QUIT.

When smoking is getting TOUGH on your health & your wallet ...
QUIT smoking, and you'll gain a healthier lifestyle, respect, etc...

Seriously, sometimes there is no point banging our head, hurting ourselves just to keep going at something when the going gets TOUGH.
We need to QUIT struggling and know that it's not a sign of weakness.
QUITTING may just save us from all the troubles...

Remember, Thomas Edison, the inventor...
(If you don't please google and find out)
School was TOUGH for him, and his behaviour was TOUGH for the teacher...
So Tom just QUIT, (his mom pulled him out and began to home schooled him)
The rest is history as we know it today...

Simon Peter QUIT as a fisherman, and became a fisher of man...

Elisha QUIT being a farmer and became a prophet after Elijah...

Paul QUIT hounding the Christians, and became a Evangelist/Missionary etc...

My friend Grace was writing a script the other day.
She had a lot of other things at work that demands her attention too...
It was TOUGH for Grace to complete the script in time.
Grace did something to save the day...
She QUIT writing, and call in another scriptwriter to complete it.
And in the end, the project gets going.

There are many examples of people I know who gain because they QUIT when the going gets TOUGH...
Penang was a TOUGH place for Alfred and his the creative video/film business,
he plod on for 3 years... that was TOUGH... Alfred was a TOUGH guy anyway...
Finally Alfred did the right thing, he QUIT and got his family down to KL...
With jobs a plenty in KL, providing for the family is no longer a worry...

Hey, there is much to gain when you know when to QUIT...

Life is TOUGH enough, go easy on yourself...
Know when to QUIT...

I See BETTER when my Eyesight got WORSE

2009-01-16T05:19:00.000+08:00

I have an eye problem. I can't remember what the doctor called it.
There is a spot in my retina, and it really impairs my vision on the left eye.
This has been happening since 2003. (Doctor said because of work stress)
It comes and goes, but the last time it stayed since November 2007.
This really irritates me as my work and daily life revolves around seeing things CLEARLY.
I have to accept that my eyesight has gotten WORSE...

I now see things in a blurry world...
I can't write properly because I can't see well...(Not that I have good handwriting anyway)
I can't do a lot things well, that I once take pride in doing.
Fixing a tiny screw became a real challenge, ... arrrrrrrgh....

I need to see BETTER, I want to see BETTER...

When my eyesight got WORSE…

I can't see if my wife has wrinkles; HEY that's BETTER

I need to learn to go slow, (enjoy life???); HEY that's BETTER

I can’t see a lot of imperfections in life; HEY that’s BETTER

I began to ask for help even with fixing a screw, and people do help;

I see that people do want to help; HEY that’s BETTER

I learn to see from my HEART and not my EYES…

There are a lot of things that I now SEE BETTER when my eyesight got worse…

Pause, take it slow, learn to overlook the imperfection in others…

Pause, take it easy, learn to ask for help from others…

Pause, take a rest, you need it…

Tell me what you see without your eyes…

I Started A Blog

2009-01-11T06:20:00.000+08:00

I started a blog, which started the whole world reading,
But I didn't see that the blog was about me, oh no.

I started to write, which started the whole world laughing,
Oh, if I'd only seen that the blog was about me.

I looked at the screen, running my thoughts inside my head,
And I fell off my chair, hurting my bum from things that I'd said.

Till I finally typed, which started the whole world thinking,
Oh, they could then see that it's about you and me.

(Sing to the tune of I started A Joke)