oDeTt AkA KiKi

Came across this interesting article…

http://searchcio.techtarget.com/news/article/0,289142,sid182_gci1307031,00.html?track=NL-964&ad=630855&asrc=EM_NLN_3354229&uid=6153450

Another Year Has Gone, How could this be?

It’s one day after new year, after the sleepless new year eve celebration yesterday, I still could not comprehend that one year has past… While blogging, I am reflecting on previous year’s achievement and regrets that I have done and not able to accomplish…

I am grateful for:

-          God’s love and He has been Provider to me

-          My family who has been supporting me in whatever I do, my daddy and mummy, my two lovely sisters, and my dearie brother in US.

-          For my dear dear who always survive my temper and crabbiness. You have been my soul mate, the angel and the joker in my life who provide happiness to me every second, Love ya…

-          For my dear church sisters and brothers, Lissa, Beckz, Sally( love ya always), and for Lau Koko who has been helping in SCC, and for the SCC children especially my preteen girls who have been wonderful….

-          For my colleagues in the office, who makes me wiser and always there to provide constructive feedback for improvement. Thanks to my Karaoke kakis, especially to Fern for being the nice cheerful friend and colleague, and for Sym for being the funny yet honest friend who always there to support and cheer me… Thanks to all the ‘brothers’ in the office who love cars and movies, thanks to my badminton kakis (you know who you are), who has been there to support me and giving me advise in techniques  for playing badminton and cope with my antics. Thanks guys!

-          For my buddies, Wendy and Gregy…lovely couple,  Wendy who has been my bestest girlfriend who stand by me during my ups and downs, stll remember those crazy time we had during college, and miss those time, thanks girls, you mean everything to me… to Nick and Mel, thanks for taking care of me, eventhough you guys are not here, I know if I need someone to talk to and to cry to, you will always there for me, and thanks for taking me around during my stay in London. Thanks to my Koko and brother Ben, who after so long still love me the way I am. I know sometimes I behave immaturely; you still love me as your sister…

-          To my diving kakis, especially my instructor, Richard, who has been teaching and imparting knowledge on diving to me, and to my diving buddies, we will be seeing each other during our DMT session! Looking forward to it!

Last but not least, to those people that has shared and contribute to the wonderful time in my life.. thanks to you all!

I hope that all of you will enjoy peace, love and joy in your daily lives..

God bless!

It feels good to be back..after all, what is the meaning of ‘Home sweet Home?

I miss my bed, my room, my car, nasi lemak, tom yam, warm weather, diving, office…ah…now I am back, I felt like it was just yesterday that I left Malaysia to go to Europe.

What a breathtaking trip, eventhough I am all alone, Thank God He fulfill my dream, nothing is a coincidence, considering am able to go travel on business trip. Praise Him…now,  He has completed half of my dream, to be able to backpack to Europe and travel to the other side of the world-next stop will be USA, to meet my brother.

After 2 weeks of traveling around, I found myself transforming again. I felt like I am renewing inside out. Felt like I’ve been ‘out of this world’ and back again. I kept on thinking about God when I am away, I miss church and the people… I miss my family and my dear…it’s like no place like home; but it also triggers me to be more independent and confidence.

There’s so much more that needs to be done, yet so little time. I am one year older now, yes, my birthday just passed. I ask God to give me the strength and willpower to go on and continue this journey.

It’s raining heavily outside, most of the people should be still in slumber at this time, but I can’t sleep. Maybe it’s the jet lag, or maybe it’s just me still not able to land my ‘feet on the ground’..

Thank God for His love for me. Without Him I am nothing…

Amen.

Is it good-for-nothing food or what?

Yesterday I had the chance to watch the latest PIXAR’s animation movie (please do not call them cartoon; it will be insult…ahem…!)… And it is amazing…

Did I tell you I like to review movies, and share what my thoughts on the movies?

Here are the lists:

• Nothing in this world is too ‘little’ to do ‘great’ things… This is so true, because we don’t look at physical size, but how big is our dream…

• Imagine, even the least and most despised creatures on this earth has a dream, a role to play, it is up to us to decide whether we want to be a despised, or honoured for our contributions

• Shows that nothing is impossible in this world, of coz not for God; it might be impossible for a human mind to envisage… this shows that miracles can happen anywhere anytime…just put your trust on God and continue your voyage on…

• Do not swank or take pride of what you are good in…always be modest… humbleness is difficult, but through humility we can have the true thoughts to be successful, and always give credits to all the people that lend a hand to you directly or indirectly

• Do not despair if things don’t go right…facing challenges are a norm in this world…the saying ‘change is natural’…therefore how we take the opportunity to take the changes and make the most out of it.

• Always push yourselves to the limits and beyond…you are what ‘you’ are… therefore continue to press on on till you accomplish your goals…

• Love one another, Love yourselves, and the people around you, especially your family and friends. they will be the one who will stand up for you when you needed help the most…when everything in this world given up hope on you, always remember someone in this world, will always love you the way you are..

• last but not least, there will always be ‘someone’ out there that will appreciate you, and even thought there are no one, there is always God looking after you, loving you

It’s 3.00 am in the morning. What I am doing, not sleeping yet? I should be getting my ‘beauty’ sleep, but there was a sense of urgency to blog. Poor blog, I neglected it for almost half a year!!!

It’s me again… I am having the insomnia disease again, been going for almost half a year now. It is slowly killing me..lucky me that I have the radio accompanying me.  Everyday  I dwell in listening to the songs playing on the radio, I can memorize all the songs for karaoke…

Honestly, I am really ‘sick’. something wrong with me. Out of nowhere, I feel so ‘desperate’, it is like my ‘inner’ is calling for help, but no one can hear it. In the previous blog, I talked about being content. what is wrong? Ok…let me elaborate further.. lately I have been so stressed up, I don’t have time for ‘I’. It is calling for help, from far distance. So many messed up…life, relationship, work, friendship, financial, family, career, spiritual life, commitment, the list goes on. Everything seems to go on the wrong way. worst case now, I don’t know what I want, what to do. I always know my ‘purpose’, but it seems I lost it again. This time I don’t feel like ‘looking’ for it. I want to keep away from the world. From everything…I just want to be myself again.

I am surrounded by blur images of certain phases in my life, it’s like a rewind of a video…seems so scary, yet fascinating. what happened, decisions…circumstances..

I can’t concentrate and focus. I tend to sway away from certain things. People are so demanding. I am also demanding, but can I cope? Why ask me this question?  I really want to be the ‘ME’…as usual, where to find the ‘ME’.. aha…another serious issue, I think I am going through mid-life crisis. everyday I woke up feeling ‘old’. have I achieved what I want. What is it that we can get from this world? Lord, what is my purpose? Can you let me know your will?

I am ashamed of myself. I always advise people on how to react on certain things, but me myself can’t do it. This is what I called easy said than done. No wonder people always say that I just know how to ‘talk only!’.

Sigh…go to sleep…zzzzzzzzzzzzz…sleep. even when I am sleeping I dreamt of the things that I don’t want to think, but it keeps on coming back to me. I pray for peace, but I don’t get it, maybe this is the ‘way’ it is…I should escape, how I miss the sun and beach and the ocean…how I miss the yellow box fish…mandarin fish…but now I think all this doesn’t matter anymore…it has all been swept from my memories…

I really don’t know what to do…I miss ‘you’. but do you know? You never know…coz I won’t tell. did I tell you I am good in disguising, in pretending, in hiding everything? No worries, I will not stumble, I will be strong, give me sometime…it comes and goes…wait….the clock is ticking…and stops at this moment. when you are reading this blog, you will ‘understand’ more. Or confused…just like anyone else…you think you know me, you are wrong! Don’t underestimate me…don’t judge me…don’t tell me what to do…you never able to persuade me…

This is a blog post that really caught my attention and I think it is my (maybe ours!) responsibility to spread it. The more sensible people like you and me spreading this barbaric act of our local authorities, the higher chances we would be able to help these poor animals… I am really sad that all of us are grown ups and still there are people among us that can practise such a disgusting method in killing an animal…

Well people, read on, and let me know your thoughts…. Thanks

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RSC’s Letter On Barbaric Acts By Council Officers Published In The STAR 

The following is a letter RSC sent in to the STAR newspaper (the STAR) in response to Disgusted’s letter published in the STAR on Oct 2nd 2006. RSC’s letter below was publised by the STAR on Thursday, Oct 5, but was heavily edited. So RSC took the liberty to post the full letter here.

MORE BARBARIC ACTS BY COUNCIL OFFICERS

God have Mercy on us all when that day comes.

Shoba

Posted on Remembering Sheena Campaign [http://www.remembersheena.blogspot.com/]

All of us suffers. All of us have adversity. All of us are hurt in one-way or another and at the most inconvenient time. The point is, do we let our suffering or adversity knocks us out. We are knocked out: when we keep on complaining about life’s injustices, when we recount the unhappy events in our mind over and over again, when we become bitter, when we seek revenge, when we are imprisoned by these events. Yes, we can be knocked down by adversity or suffering, but we have to bounce back and move on. We must never allow these events to chain us to the past. We have to develop the courage to spring up fighting again and again at life’s challenges. We can take up our cross and remain brave and still caring and thus add a fuller meaning to our life here on earth. That is a triumph of the spirit—a real success in life.
        All of us think of our suffering as unique and private. But what is most private is also most universal. People have been there and gone through the same suffering. What can we learn from them so that we are prepared? What must we plan ahead to understand? What can we do, to better prepare ourselves to handle the crisis?
        I think the following advance preparations are useful:
1.      Ask “What” instead of “Why”
2.      See what Jesus says about “Who is responsible for our suffering?”
3.      Learn from Jesus’ suffering.
4.      Call us to make that quantum leap in our faith.
5.      Accept the miracles at His time and in His way
6.      Equip us to help, comfort and counsel others

1.      Ask “What” instead of “Why”

When adversity or suffering strikes, it consists of two main events:

       (1) The cause–Why? And
       (2) our response.
    By instinct, most of us want to figure out the cause of our pain before we decide how to respond. The first question we naturally ask is “Why?” Why God? Why me? Why now? Why is this happening to me? Why am I being punished? Why does God allow this to happen to me? Why am I having such a difficult time? We ask the “why” over and over again. We will find that we can never get a satisfactory answer from our “Why” question. In fact if we go on and not change direction we will end up being angry and bitter with God, fate, whatever.
      At some point we have no choice but to change our focus and ask “What.” Now that the adversity, suffering, pain or hardship has occurred, what must I do? What can I learn from this experience? What did I learn from this experience that will help me to move forward? What are the hidden promises in this suffering? What are the buried treasured messages? What must I seek and find? What faith must I cultivate? When we refocus on the “what” of our response, we are more likely to find solutions to our problems.
      All of us react to suffering as something uninvited, undesirable and unwelcome. But every suffering or pain we experience is the kind that normally comes to anyone. Pain and suffering are part and parcel of living in the world and Christians are not exempted. But, when we turn to Jesus, Jesus promises that He will help us and He will work WITH us to turn the suffering and pain round for our good. The external circumstances (the pain, the suffering, the hardship or the adversity) may not change BUT our internal attitude and response to them will certainly change. As Christians, we are all challenged to discover the element of good in our suffering in order to promote our spiritual growth and to build our character. With our finite mind, we may not be able to see what possible “good” could ever come out from our suffering. But in His infinite wisdom, God promises to take “all things” including suffering, abuses, evil things, and turn them round for good as “in all things God works for good with those who love Him.” (Romans 8:28 TEV) God also promises that He will never leave us nor abandon us. He says, “I will never leave you; I will never abandon you.”(Hebrew 13:5 TEV) and “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20 NKJV) “I will never turn away anyone who comes to Me” (John 6:37 TEV) We have to learn to hear with our inner ears and hearts to these comforting phases of “I will.”  We can take God at His Word that He will help us, comfort us, strengthen us and support us through our adversity and suffering. 
       Yes, the way we respond to adversity or suffering will determine whether life’s most painful experiences bring bitterness, resentment and despair or become a source of blessing and hope, which makes us better, grateful people.

2. See what Jesus says about “Who is responsible for our suffering?”
      The clearest insight into this question appears in Luke chapter 13 (NJB). Jesus was asked about two “current events” that prompted much local discussion. One was an act of political oppression, in which Pilate had killed members of a religious minority, while they were offering sacrifices to God; the other, a construction accident that killed eighteen people. Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than any others, that this should have happened to them? They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell, killing them all? Do you suppose that they were guiltier than all other people living in Jerusalem? They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did.”(v 2-5) Jesus did not fully answer the question most in their mind—the cause of the suffering. Jesus answers from above to the questions raised from below. His answer from above is about spiritual death. Physical death should alert us to our spiritual death and unless we repent we will spiritually perish like them. When we witness death, it is a call for repentance, a call for a radical change of our hearts, a call for us to turn to God, a call for conversion and a call to be reborn from above.
       Jesus does not explain, “Here’s why those two tragedies occurred.” But He makes one thing clear—they occurred not as a result of any specific wrongdoing of the victims. So no grieving relative need to stand around wondering what brought about calamities; Jesus makes it plain that the victims had done nothing unusual to deserve their fates. They were the same as other people. They were sinners but no worse than other people. But Jesus did not stop there. He uses both tragedies to point to the eternal truths relevant to everyone—“unless you repent you will all perish as they did.” Jesus implies that we “bystanders” of catastrophes have as much to learn from the events, as do the victims. A tragedy should alert us to make ourselves ready in case we are the next victims. Catastrophes thus join together victims and bystanders in a call to repentance, by abruptly reminding us of the brevity of life.
        But in verse 11 “there before Him was a woman who for eighteen years had been possessed by a spirit that crippled her” and Jesus healed her and declared that Satan had caused her the pain; ”this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan has held bound these eighteen years—was it not right to untie this bond on the Sabbath day?” (v 16)
        Sometimes our illness could be due to our sins, as mentioned by Jesus in His healing of the paralyzed man. “Then behold, men brought on a bed a man who was paralyzed, whom they sought to bring in and lay before Him. And when they could not find how they might bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down with his bed through the tiling into the midst before Jesus. When He saw their faith, He said to him, ‘Man, your sins are forgiven you.’"(Luke 5:18-20 NKJV)
       But Jesus makes it absolutely clear that often our suffering has nothing to do with our sin or our parents’ sin. Jesus’ disciples asked Him when they saw a man who was blind since birth: “’Teacher, whose sin caused him to be born blind? Was it his own or his parents’ sin?’ Jesus answered, ‘His blindness has nothing to do with his sin or his parents’ sin. He is blind so that God’s power might be seen at work in him.’” (John 9:2-3 TEV) Here, Jesus teaches His disciples that suffering is no longer tied to sin and punishment. This is a very radical and new concept because all through the Old Testament there is this connection between suffering and sin! And practically all of us still keep making that connection. The enormity of our human suffering is caused not only by physical and emotional pain, but also by our deep sense of guilt attached to the suffering. Jesus radically and definitely disconnected suffering from sin and guilt. He did this in His own person. He who was without sin suffered the most and so broke the fatal connection between suffering and sin.
        The best clue we have into how God feels about human pain is to look at Jesus’ response. He never gave an individual or a suffering person a speech about “accepting your lot in life,” or “taking the medicine that God has given you.” or “you must have done something to deserve this.” He seemed unusually sensitive to the groans of suffering people, and set about remedying them. And He used His supernatural powers to heal, never to punish. 

3. Learn from Jesus’ suffering?
      Jesus learned about hardship, rejection and betrayal. When Jesus first began His ministry, the people hooted, "Can anything good come from Nazareth?" Jesus’ neighbors once ran Him out of town and tried to kill Him. The leaders of the day proudly announced that not one authority or religious leader believed in Him. He was rejected, lonely, tired, hungry, personally assaulted by Satan and persecuted by powerful enemies. Yet, when He met people in pain, He was deeply moved with compassion. Not once did He say, "Endure your pain! Swallow your grief!" When Jesus’ friend Lazarus died, He wept. Very often, every time He was directly asked, He healed the pain. Sometimes He broke deep-rooted customs to do so, as when He healed a woman who had a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years on the Sabbath day or when he touched outcasts, ignoring their cries of "Unclean!" And Jesus suffers pain when He has an accuser slap His face, a whip lashed across His back, and an iron spike pound through muscle, tendon, and bone. The cross was a picture of torment and suffocation to death, stretching for hours in front of a jeering crowd. The pattern of Jesus’ response should convince us that God is not a God who enjoys seeing us suffer.
       Because of Jesus, God experiences, truly experiences, our human pain. Our tears become His tears. He suffers with us. He suffers for us. He shares our pain and suffering. He is our companion in suffering. We have not been left alone in our suffering. God understands our suffering and He will not allow it to be wasted. "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are–yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."(Hebrews 4:15-16 NKJV) We have a high priest who, having graduated from the school of suffering, understands us, "Since He Himself is weak in many ways, He is able to be gentle with those who are ignorant and make mistakes.”(Hebrews 5:2 TEV)
      Jesus elevated suffering, transformed it, gave it power, and considers the pain of each member of the human race His pain. So much so that when I alleviate the pain of my brother, or am compassionate with his life, Jesus considers this done to Him, “whenever you did this for one of the least important of these followers of Mine, you did it for Me!” (Matthew 25:40 TEV)

4. Suffering calls us to make that quantum leap in our faith.
     No one wants suffering
        No one likes suffering
        No one seeks suffering
        No one enjoys suffering
        No one looks forward to suffering
     we do not welcome suffering and pain. Neither did Jesus want suffering. He prayed, ”My Father, if it is possible, take this cup of suffering from Me! Yet not what I want, but what You want.” (Matthew 26:39 TEV) “In great anguish He prayed even more fervently; His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.”(Luke 22:44 TEV) In His suffering, “An angel from heaven appeared to Him and strengthened Him.”(Luke 22:43 TEV) So too, we need faith, family and friends to be ministering angels to us. We also need Jesus to strengthen us in our suffering.
       When I am overtaken by sickness or adversity I must seek whatever remedies the world affords me. But, will I be tempting God’s divine providence, if I don’t do my best to find a solution? Doesn’t my best mean that I must not be lazy or apathetic or slovenly in my attempts? Thus, I must act and do whatever I can—use my intelligence, experience, consult doctors, family, friends, Internet, experts, prayers and whatever God has put within my reach—and then calmly endure and patiently await the outcome. If God sees fit to cure my sickness or to overcome my adversity I will thank Him joyfully. But if, on the other hand, He permits the sickness or the adversity to persist, I need to vigorously steel and battle myself to surrender to His will for me. Meanwhile, I must still maintain that faith and sing praises to the Lord and rejoice always in His kindness. In another word, pray fervently for the grace to act as Mother Teresa advises: “Accept whatever He gives—and give whatever He takes with a big smile.” (A Gift for God, 46) I have to believe that God will guide my life. I have to believe that joy can come amidst my suffering just as crushed grapes can produce delicious wine. I have to believe that God is preparing me to “bear much fruit” (John 15:2 TEV). Such an attitude is vital for my long term health and well being.
       Suffering is God’s megaphone calling us to Him, calling us to make that quantum leap in our faith and trust in Him. For how do we know the “God of all comfort” if our faith has not been tested by the trials of suffering and pain? St Peter tells us, “Be glad about this, even though it may now be necessary for you to be sad for a while because of the many kinds of trials you suffer. Their purpose is to prove that your faith is genuine. Even gold, which can be destroyed, is tested by fire; and so your faith, which is much more precious than gold, must also be tested, so that it may endure. Then you will receive praise and glory and honor on the Day when Jesus Christ is revealed.”(1 Peter 1:6-7 TEV) Jesus reminds us that, “not one sparrow falls to the ground without your Father’s consent” and “you are worth much more than many sparrows!” (Matthew 10:29,31 TEV) We know that we are “children of God” (1 John 3:1 TEV), and that God is “always ready to help (us) in times of trouble” (Psalms 46:1 TEV), and nothing can come into our lives unless He allows it. We have to believe that with all our heart, and look about expectantly for what God is doing—in us or through us.    
        One reason why God allows us to have trials and adversity is for us to discover and learn for ourselves, through our own personal experience, "how very great is His power at work in us who believe." (Ephesians 1:19 TEV)        
        God allows suffering as one of the ways He grabs our attention to truly and fully turn to Him. We are therefore encouraged to continue to seek His comfort, His support and His strength. We are also encouraged not to view the present situation as one, which should only be endured until relief comes. We know that in our world, we learn to mature and grow through difficult, challenging and painful experiences. So, we have to face our suffering and we have to befriend our suffering. We have to patiently live through our suffering. We have to let our suffering bear fruit in our hearts.
       God allows suffering to be a means of discipline through which faith, love, patience and grace may be cultivated in our lives. When we pray and let Jesus live near our hurts, we will learn how He uses our suffering to mould and draw us closer to Him. We can be sure that God in His divine purpose desires to bring about in us the greatest good because He loves us.
       The great secret in life is that suffering can become a source of new hope and new life. We know: no hardened ground can bear fruit if it is not broken up by the plough; no grain can become bread if it is not ground and baked; and no rough diamond can be transformed to its true brilliance if it is not cut and polished. So, in like manner, if our hearts are hard like stone, it will not bear fruit; but our lives can be fruitful if our hearts are opened up and softened through suffering. Our hearts are then renewed to help others.

5. Accept the miracles At His time and in His way
      After we have developed that faith in Jesus, we must learn to accept the fact that He will work His miracles at His pace and time and in His way. The story of Lazarus (John 11:1-44 NJB) demonstrated this very clearly.
      Lazarus was sick and “the sisters sent this message to Jesus, ’Lord, the man you love is ill’” (John 11:3). The implication is that they wanted Jesus to heal him. Jesus heard their prayer and delayed answering. “Yet when he heard that he was ill He stayed where He was for two more days” (John 11:6). Lazarus, Mary and Martha are the people whom Jesus loves and stay with often, still adversity happened to them. Bad things do happen even to those whom Jesus loves! Three times in this chapter we are told that Jesus loves Lazarus. (John 11:3,5,36) Why does He allow Mary and Martha or us to suffer? Sometime there is a greater purpose to suffering than for God to end our suffering. Suffering develops our faith in Him. 
        Why does Jesus delay? One reason for His delay is for us to come to have complete faith in Him. Jesus’ delay in answering our prayers is never due to indifference or an inability to act. His delays and His Ways can be confusing because the process God uses to accomplish His will can go against our human logic and common sense. His delay has as its purpose the development of our trust in Him and for our good.
      Lazarus was dead for four days. For four days Mary and Martha were in agony and in hopeless and helpless grief over the death of their loved one, Lazarus. Why does Jesus allow such grief to the people He loves? Jesus did not enjoy in the least seeing His loved ones suffer. In fact, “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). But Jesus’ focus was on the big picture and the purpose of God that would be accomplished. It took one day to travel to where Jesus was to inform Him that Lazarus was sick. By the time Jesus was informed Lazarus was already dead. Jesus knew that God would be glorified to a far greater extent by the resurrection of Lazarus. Jesus knew that His disciples, as well as Mary and Martha, would experience quantum leap in faith because He resurrected Lazarus.
      What reasons do we need before we will develop a deep faith in Jesus? Do we believe intellectually, based on what the Bible says that God has the power to answer our prayer but lack the personal faith to believe that God will exercise it now on our behalf? Before Jesus could work His miracle, He has to challenge Martha to demonstrate her faith through sheer obedience to His command to “take away the stone” (John 11:39). Had Martha argued and not removed the stone, there would have been no miracle of the resurrection of Lazarus. What are the stones Jesus commands us to remove? Jesus commands us:
        to remove the stones of doubt
        to remove the stones of rage
        to remove the stones of fear
        to remove the stones of unforgiveness
        to remove the stones of unkindness
        to remove the stones of hypocrisy
        to remove the stones of nagging tongue
        to remove the stones of revenge
        to remove the stones of envy
        to remove the stones of pride
        to remove the stones of iniquity
        to remove the stones of jealousy
        to remove the stones of selfishness
        to remove the stones of self-pity,
before He will work His miracles on us. The story of Lazarus is a story of faith and the necessity of placing that faith in Jesus for the miracle to happen.

6. Equip us to Help, Comfort and Counsel others
        If we want to be used by God, if we want to be “fully qualified and equipped to do every kind of good deed” (2 Timothy 3:17 TEV), we will have to travel the road of suffering at some point in our life. For how can anyone lead others out of the jungle if he has never been there? St Paul tells us that; “God helps us in all our troubles, so that we are able to help others who have all kinds of troubles, using the same help that we ourselves have received from God. Just as we have a share in Christ’s many sufferings, so also through Christ we share in God’s great help.”(2 Corinthians 1:4-5 TEV) “(God) comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.”(2 Corinthians 1:4-5 NIV) “He supports us in every hardship, so that we are able to come to the support of others, in every hardship of theirs because of the encouragement that we ourselves receive from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow into our lives; so too does the encouragement we receive through Christ.” (2 Corinthians 1:4-5 NJB)
        As Christians, we have been helped, comforted and supported by Jesus in our suffering. We are, therefore, called or challenged to make visible Jesus’ love for all suffering humanity, by helping, supporting, comforting and being patiently present to all suffering individuals who come our way. Indeed, we need to be ministering angels to one another, to give one another comfort, consolation, courage and strength to move on in life and not be locked in the prison of our past suffering, trial, pain and/or hardship.
        However, in helping or comforting others, we must not forget what Mother Teresa says, “Don’t give in to discouragement. No more must you do so when you try to settle a marriage crisis or convert a sinner and don’t succeed. If you are discouraged, it is a sign of pride because it shows you trust in your own powers. Never bother about people’s opinions. Be humble and you will never be disturbed. It is very difficult in practice because we all want to see the result of our work. Leave it to Jesus.” (Contemplative at the Heart of the World, 107)

10 steps to enjoying each other better…

1. Be realistic about each other.
Don’t try to turn your partner into something he or she is not. Let’s face it, guys-there’s only 1 Pamela Anderson in the world, and even she has had her implants removed! Give your gal a break and understand that her physical appearance is NOT going to change overnight with the help of a few facials! Or treatments. And ladies, Brad Pitt has already been taken, so you’re going to have to do with what your guy is like! Chill out, love each other for what u are. There is more to your partner than what meets the eye.

2. Always talk things out.
Now guys, I know this is not your favourite pastime or mode of resolving issues, but u know what? This works with the gals. Don’t make assumptions about each other’s feelings. Learn to express yourself better so that your partner understands what you’re angry about, or hurt about, or even happy about! When u stops talking to each other from the heart, it’s the beginning of the end.

3. Do stuff together.
Make an effort to do things together. Do some sports or involve you in some shared activities; something both of u enjoys or is interested in. It could be as simple as watching movies together, or jus strolling hand-in-hand down Orchard Road. Watch soccer with him once in a while though the green patch on TV puts u to sleep in 3 seconds. And guys, do give in if your gal asks for another day at window-shopping, rather than suggest that she go out with her girlfriends for "that sort of activities" instead. If you’re spending more time with your friends rather than with your partner, it’s a warning sign that you’re drifting apart!!!

4. Meet each other halfway.
If he agrees to throw out that rotten T-shirt with the "The Rock" print, u shouldn’t kick up much of a fuss if he asks u to keep your room tidy. There’s got to be a little giving and taking in a relationship, so learn to meet each other halfway.

5.Show your love
Buy her flowers or candy or perfume every now and then, even if u have been together for 5years. It’s wonderful to continue showing someone that u care for him or her. Cook him a special meal; paint him a Valentine’s Day card. Knit him mini-socks he can’t wear (like for decoration purposes =>), buy him a packet of milk for breakfast, or pack his wardrobe for him…so he knows u can still be romantic and loving despite having been together for quite a while.

6. Respect each other.
Stop making jokes about her hair or skin, or whatever it is u love to laugh at. Ask yourself if she thinks if its funny. And if he has an inferiority complex about his height, stop ogling at tall guys and make him feel worse! Love is about respecting each other’s feelings and being sensitive to each other at all times.

7. Bury the past.
Stop bringing up the past. Gals. Don’t bring up the happy things about u and your ex to your guy, it would jus make him jealous or unhappy. And guys, don’t talk about the happy times that u had with your ex or mention about her in your every other sentence as it would make your gal feel un-happy and she might think that u saying all this because u are going to get back with your ex or not interested in her anymore. 8. Sit on your jealousy.
All of us go thru’ spells of insecurity at the beginning of the relationship, but don’t translate that insecurity into jealousy. If you’re going to go through your partner’s mail and cupboard, and eavesdropping on conversations, u know something is wrong - with u!!! Jealousy is like a poison that slowly spreads thru’ the relationship before finally killing it. Trust your partner; love has to have trust in it.

9. Keep your commitments to each other.
If your partner is standing u up all the time and canceling dates and breaking promises, u needs to talk! If you’re in a relationship, make your partner your priority and don’t disappoint them if u can help it. It’s really terrible when someone promises to take u to dinner, and then calls to cancel it. Don’t make promises u can’t keep. If your partner starts to feel that he/she is not important enough to u, u may jus lose him/her.

10. Be honest.
Honesty is not scowling at how awful she looks first thing in the morning, or telling him that he has the biceps of a fly~! When we say, "be honest", we mean expressing your feelings clearly, not being bitingly cruel. When you’re hurt, say so, and when you’re angry, tell him/her, w/o getting hysterical. If u can’t be honest with your partner, whom can u be honest with? ? Love is also about honesty, and a relationship where no honesty exists probably! Why isn’t worth it!

Thank God for those
wonderful years spent with you. It’s a blessing that I will cherish forever. May
you rest in peace…

Praise be to the God and father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, the father of compassion and the God of all comfort . 2 Corinthians 1:3, 4 

“Peace I leave with you,            

    My peace I give you”

                    -Jesus-

Have you ever felt the pain of losing something so dear to you? Have you ever regret not having enough time to do things? Do you always want a chance to make up to those things that you have missed? And you wanted to return to the time and not taking things for granted?

I start to realize something about the theory of the ‘value’ of existence, and the meaning of not taking things for granted. So I felt compelled to blog this so in the future, when I reminiscence about what happened, I will always remember the day when my ‘little angel’ left me.

Yesterday, I realize something about losing someone very dearly to you, close to you, and when that person was near you, you never pay attention or care whether that person ‘exist’. The one person I am talking about was an ‘angel’ God has given me for all my life, my little angel…

Now I understand the meaning of taking things for granted. All my life I was blessed with understanding parents who respect and support what ever decisions I made, and the ‘blessings’ of having so many siblings that I never actually appreciate during my entire life. For me, it is a total chaos. I never understand why but I still remember those times I had when I was young; I used to quarrel with my siblings, especially my sister. We always compared each other, and I always felt I am the ‘winner’. I never wanted to put an effort make up to them, always trying my way to win, win and win. At the end, I never actually played the role to become a big sister, a role model to my siblings.

It is not that we do not have good relationship with each other; it is just that I think I never spend enough time to understand them, to build a relationship with them. For me I guess most of the time I spent were with my social life people, maybe my colleagues or friends. But never with my siblings..

God has been good to me without me knowing. When I was in trouble, I know that my family will always be there to support me. When I needed anything, financially or emotional support I know there will be ‘my little angel’ who will always listen to my babbles, or my stories of how my friend betrayed me, or even worst the pressure release machine. I never thought how important this little angel to me until yesterday when he left for good. I mean, not that he will ever return but for a certain period he will not be by my side. I felt I am too selfish and not in the position to even talk about it.

I still remember the days when I was in trouble, he was there to accompany me, to listen to me and help me. There are times where all my friends are too busy to entertain me, he was there to go out and accompany me to shop, or having some drinks at the mamak stalls, cracking useless jokes..and also the time where I needed a driver to the nearest LRT station; times when I quarreled with my bf and cried because I cannot take the pressure and he was there to comfort me and give me advise. He was there when I needed someone to help me with copying songs to a  CD, or I needed a new song that I can’t find; or to help me convert those videos I’ve taken via the DV cam when I have no time to do it. For me to be able to list down all those small little things that the little angel did for me will take me lots of time.

The only reason why I felt contemplated is because, I can’t remember what I have ever done for my little angel.

For the first time in my life, I regret that I never have time to understand this ‘little angel’. Now he is gone, I can’t stop thinking how much I miss the ‘little angel’ of mine.

Thank God He blessed me with another ‘angel’ my life. I know there is a difference between these 2 angels because the little angel has been with me all my life. I pray for blessings and protection for this ‘little angel’ and I thank God for the little angel, and the time we had together. Good-bye my little angel; take care…and always remember that you are the angel that will always be close to my heart.