The Miracle of “ My Rib – Bone Compatibility”.

I'm back after a blog sabbatical leave! Recently I receive a testimony from one of my colleagues at campus. I’m very encouraged to read the testimony. Recently, I have been receiving news about many that have fallen ill due to cancer and the timing of his testimony has reminded me that God still perform miracles and cares for us.

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My wife and I would like to acknowledge our Lord Jesus and His faithfulness in our lives in all the sequence of events over the past one and half years. May all praise honor and glory be accredited to our Lord Jesus.

Mid August 2008 began a series of symptoms that indicated my kidney function was nearing its end stage. This was due to a hereditary kidney condition which I was aware of for some twenty over years. I became very weak and often fell ill as my haemoglobin levels fell sharply with increased blood discharge and sharp back pains. Frequently I was on medical leave and even on work days, most of the afternoons, I was so weak that I had to come back home and rest. One morning while I was driving to work the pain was so unbearable that I stopped the car beside the highway and cried out to God in tears. “Lord Jesus, I’ve had enough of all this pain and suffering in my life. Enough is enough. I do not want to live like this anymore, just end my life in this world and take me home.” Unable to bear the agony of suffering, I was ready to leave this world. But in my heart I realized that my dear wife would be left alone and my heart struggled with that thought.

It was almost two months later that God spoke to us through one of His anointed servants “My beloved son, unable to bear the pain, you prayed to me to take your life. No my son, you belong to me. I will not let you down, …………” “Because he has set his love upon me, therefore I will deliver him, I will set him on high, because he has known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer Him.(Psalm 91:14,15).” We were much encouraged but we did not see an end to the pain and suffering in sight. With great difficulty, I managed my day to day life at work, house and church responsibilities. As I was going through much agony and pain physically, I always used to tell our Lord that I could not understand what the Bible says of Him that He is a God of love, mercy and grace who cares for His own. One day through one of His servants, the Lord spoke to us. “My son, in due time you will look back at your life and realize how good I have been in your life.” God is good, He is good all the time.

We crossed into the year 2009 with no change in our circumstances. But the Lord continued to send many of His servants to us to encourage us and instructing us to keep walking and that he will perform for us. One Saturday on 23 rd May 2009, my condition worsened and my wife admitted me that night at the Gleaneagles Hospital, Ampang because my nephrologist was there. After a week’s stay in the hospital, my doctor told me that I had no choice but to start on dialysis as the toxic levels in my blood were very high. Being on dialysis was another stress and torture. Every alternate day, Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 1 pm to 5pm I had to be at the dialysis centre of the hospital for my treatment. On these days I could only be at work in the morning and from noon onwards I had to be in the hospital. After each session, I go back home weak and tired. At work my bosses and colleagues extended their favor and support in many ways. I could sense and see the favor and grace of God at my work environment. During this seven month period, much of my job responsibilities were handled by my colleagues. All praise and glory to God for His favor and grace extended to me through my colleagues.

It was during this time, that the doctor said I will do very well and return to normal life if I had a kidney transplant done. So my wife asked the doctor whether she could be the donor and the doctor responded by saying that he could initiate the process of investigation on compatibility and see how it goes. Thus, began the process of investigation of almost six months. The first compatibility test was the blood grouping. I was group AB positive and my wife was group O positive. So, I was a universal recipient and she was a universal donor. The second compatibility test was HLA Typing test (Human Leukocyte Antigen). This test was very much a genetic match in which twins will have 6 out of 6 antigen match and siblings would have maybe 4 out of 6 antigen match. In our case we had 2 out of 6 antigen matches as husband and wife. The final test was tissue cross-match for which the results have to be negative at various temperatures. And this test was negative at all temperatures. Along with other screenings, the doctor finally decided that we could go ahead with the kidney transplant. All tests results were in our favor and anything else will be controlled by the anti-rejection medications. All praise and glory be to God for His mercy and favor towards us in this matter.

From the time I began dialysis treatment on 25th May 2009 until we were admitted for surgery on 13th Nov 2009, we had some doubts as to whether this was the path that our Lord wanted us to follow through in organ transplant. I was fervently praying for the Lord to heal and restore my kidneys and deep within my heart I did not want to put my dear wife through this ordeal of her having to donate her kidney to me. During this period, the Lord spoke to us through many of his anointed servants and His Word. “My ways for you are not according to your thoughts and plans.” It was then that I realized our Lord had a specific process of healing for us in which he wanted us to experience Him. “Both of you are praying for the same purpose and I the Lord will perform for you.” One of the servants who prayed for us had a vision. “You are going for the surgery in the operation theatre, the surgeons are working on you and the Lord’s hand is performing the miracle. You are walking out of the hospital, happy and healthy and going back to your work.” Here are some verses through which the Lord spoke to us. “For I will surely deliver you, and you shall not fall by the sword; but your life shall be as a prize to you, because you have put your trust in me” (Jeremiah 39:18) “No weapon formed against you shall prosper”.(Isaiah 54:17) “Then your light shall break forth like the morning, your healing shall spring forth speedily and your righteousness shall go before you, the glory of the lord shall be your rear guard.” (Isaiah 58:8)

With the Lord speaking to us through many of his servants and His word, His path became clearer to us. We put our trust in Him and our hearts were filled with calm and peace as we sensed His guiding hands. About two weeks before the surgery, the Lord dropped a thought in our hearts to pen a list of prayer items and mass e-mail it to all the praying people we knew and many servants of God. This spread like wildfire to wider and wider prayer networks around the globe to many praying people whom we did not even know. Until today we are receiving e-mails from people who prayed for us around the globe. Our church pastor and the congregation prayed for us for a few consecutive Sunday services. Our Lord cannot remain silent but rise to send His Word of healing especially when hundreds of his people unite hearts to pray. All praise and glory be to our prayer answering God.

Gleneagles Intan Hospital : From 13th Nov. 2009 ~ 21st Nov. 2009.

My wife and I were admitted as scheduled on Friday the 13th Nov. 2009. We went through the day with much anxiety. Some friends and family members came and prayed with us. On Saturday, 14th Nov. 2009, at 8.30am, my wife was wheeled out of the room to the operation theatre. As I watched her go, my heart struggled within and my body trembled with tears rolling down my eyes. I asked the Lord again, “Why does she have to go through all this because of me”. With many thoughts running through my mind, it was almost 11am when I was wheeled to the operation theatre. Unable to think anymore, I prayed the Lord’s Prayer and surrendered myself and all events to follow into the hands of our Lord. And a great calm and peace came upon me. Within a few seconds, I became unconscious. I regained consciousness late in the evening of the day in an isolated glass door room of the intensive care unit (ICU). With all sorts of monitoring equipment and drug administrative equipment hooked on to me, I could not move much but could just wave to the many friends, relatives and church members who stood behind the glass doors and waved at me. All the nurses in the ICU were very kind and cared for me very well. I thanked God for His favor upon me through them. I was in the ICU for about five days. Every day morning and evening the surgeon and my nephrologist would come and monitor my progress. They marveled at my progress. Out of the mouth of the surgeon came these words, “John, I am surprised at how fast you are progressing. I had my own fears. My part was to perform the surgery successfully but after that your body has to take over the function of the kidney. Your kidney started functioning immediately. God must love you both very much. Your wife is doing fine too.” His remarks stirred my heart to raise my hands and thank God for His healing touch. Every morning in the ICU, I thanked God for renewed strength and recovery and the Lord dropped one by one into my heart all the promises he has given me for the past few years. Tears of joy rolled out as I sensed his presence. The surgeon made sure that my wife was wheeled in a wheel chair every morning and brought near me so that we could share some moments together. These were wonderful moments the Lord provided us through the favor of doctors and nurses.

On Wednesday evening 18th Nov.2009, (5th day in ICU), I was sent to the ward. My wife had already been sent to the ward on Monday evening 16th Nov.2009, (3rd day in ICU). In the ward, again we saw the favor of God. We were placed in independent rooms next to each other. All praise and glory be to our Lord. We were in the ward from Wednesday evening to Saturday. On Saturday afternoon, we were both discharged. That was exactly eight days from Friday (13th Nov.2009) to Saturday (21st Nov.2009). We are now resting and recovering at home with regular check-ups with the doctor. The promise of Isaiah 58:8, “Your healing shall spring forth speedily.” was literally fulfilled. My Hindu neighbor, who saw me leave home for admission to hospital and then saw me eight days later at home said, “John, so fast you are back home. You both don’t look like you have been through a major surgery”. All praise, honor and glory be to our Lord Jesus.

On a second note, in Genesis we read that God made Eve out of the rib-bone taken from Adam. As early as in the creation stage, God had already made the wife “rib-bone compatible” with the husband. “And the two shall become one………..” “What God has joined together, let no man put asunder……….”. Now our marriage relationship has taken on a new dimension. Even to the extent of compatibility in the sharing of organs, God has united us in compatibility. An awesome God the creator, who ordained marriage, has also planned all finite details in our lives.
Here, I must really thank God for uniting me with a wonderful and caring wife who has exemplified sacrificial love towards her husband by putting herself on the platform to give me the gift of life. May God honor and bless her.

In Dec. 2009, the Lord has given us another word. “I give you new beginnings.” What a personal and wonderful Lord God whom we serve. All praise, honor and glory of this account of our lives be accredited to our Lord Jesus alone. Amen.

Submitted By: Mr. & Mrs. John Steven Navamany.
Johnsteven@uniten.edu.my

A Simple Prayer

Author Unknown, Source Unknown

My son Gilbert was eight years old and had been in Cub Scouts only a short time. During one of his meetings he was handed a sheet of paper, a block of wood and four tires and told to return home and give all to "dad."

That was not an easy task for Gilbert to do. Dad was not receptive to doing things with his son. But Gilbert tried.

Dad read the paper and scoffed at the idea of making a pine wood derby car with his young, eager son. The block of wood remained untouched as the weeks passed.

Finally, mom stepped in to see if I could figure this all out. The project began.

Having no carpentry skills, I decided it would be best if I simply read the directions and let Gilbert do the work. And he did. I read aloud the measurements, the rules of what we could do and what we couldn't do.

Within days his block of wood was turning into a pinewood derby car. A little lopsided, but looking great (at least through the eyes of mom).

Gilbert had not seen any of the other kids cars and was feeling pretty proud of his "Blue Lightning," the pride that comes with knowing you did something on your own.

Then the big night came. With his blue pinewood derby in his hand and pride in his heart we headed to the big race.

Once there my little one's pride turned to humility. Gilbert's car was obviously the only car made entirely on his own. All the other cars were a father-son partnership, with cool paint jobs and sleek body styles made for speed.

A few of the boys giggled as they looked at Gilbert's, lopsided, wobbly, unattractive vehicle. To add to the humility Gilbert was the only boy without a man at his side. A couple of the boys who were from single parent homes at least had an uncle or grandfather by their side, Gilbert had "mom."

As the race began it was done in elimination fashion. You kept racing as long as you were the winner. One by one the cars raced down the finely sanded ramp.


Finally it was between Gilbert and the sleekest, fastest looking car there. As the last race was about to begin, my wide eyed, shy eight year old ask if they could stop the race for a minute, because he wanted to pray. The race stopped.

Gilbert hit his knees clutching his funny looking block of wood between his hands. With a wrinkled brow he set to converse with his Father.

He prayed in earnest for a very long minute and a half. Then he stood, smile on his face and announced, "Okay, I am ready."

As the crowd cheered, a boy named Tommy stood with his father as their car sped down the ramp. Gilbert stood with his Father within his heart and watched his block of wood wobble down the ramp with surprisingly great speed and rushed over the finish line a fraction of a second before Tommy's car.

Gilbert leaped into the air with a loud "Thank you" as the crowd roared in approval.

The Scout Master came up to Gilbert with microphone in hand and asked the obvious question, "So you prayed to win, huh, Gilbert?"

To which my young son answered, "Oh, no sir. That wouldn't be fair to ask God to help you beat someone else. I just asked Him to make it so I don't cry when I lose."

Children seem to have a wisdom far beyond us. Gilbert didn't ask God to win the race, he didn't ask God to fix the outcome, Gilbert asked God to give him strength in the outcome.

When Gilbert first saw the other cars he didn't cry out to God, "No fair, they had a fathers help."

No, he went to his Father for strength.

Perhaps we spend too much of our prayer time asking God to rig the race, to make us number one, or too much time asking God to remove us from the struggle, when we should be seeking God's strength to get through the struggle.

Gilbert's simple prayer spoke volumes to those present that night. He never doubted that God would indeed answer his request. He didn't pray to win, thus hurt someone else, he prayed that God supply the grace to lose with dignity.

Gilbert, by his stopping the race to speak to his Father also showed the crowd that he wasn't there without a "dad," but his Father was most definitely there with him. Yes, Gilbert walked away a winner that night, with his Father at his side.

I'm Yours(ukulele)

one of my young learned friends send me this clip thru msn...check it out & its quite hillarious...

The Monkey and the Fish Part 1

The book starts off by calling the church to become a different kind of movement, known for its compassion rather than condemnations.

One of the example of how we can use creative forms, methods and practices for sharing the gospel with the new generation is found in James Choung Story at http://youtube.com





As you read the book, you will discover that the third culture is not a trend or a new thing but the heart of God...in fact God is third culture.

Third culture is not only about geography or skin color or languauge. For the third culture people, home is wherever Jesus is. Third culture is the bearing of pain to love those who are not like you.

Piano Stairs

One of my staff sent me this video clip...a great example of Fun Theory......

The Monkey and the Fish

I went for a seminar last month and one of the speakers was Dave Gibbons. He was really interesting to listen to as he talked about the third culture church. During the break I bought his book called "The Monkey and the Fish".

My other half just reminded me that I haven't been blogging for a while. I am having a blogger's mental block! Today I found this book in my cupboard and was browsing through the book. The book is based on an Eastern Parable. Suddenly I thought I could blog a review of this book as I read it..(I'm a slow reader...so if you are really interested, better buy the book yourself!)

"A typhoon stranded a monkey on an island. In a protected place on the shore, while waiting for the raging waters to recede, he spotted a fish swimming against the current. It seemed to the monkey that the fish was struggling and needed assistance. Being of kind heart, the monkey resolved to help the fish.

A tree leaned precariously over the spot where the fish seemed to be struggling. At considerable risk to himself, the monkey moved far out on a limb, reached down, and snatched the fish from the waters. Scurrying back to safety of his shelter, he carefully laid the fish on dry ground. For a few moments, the fish showed excitement but soon settled into peaceful rest."

Translation? The fish died!
Relevance to the 21st Century church? Everything!

....that was the beginning of the Preface...pg 17 out of 218 pages.

Embracing Imperfections

A story by a girl.

"When I was a little girl, my mom liked to make breakfast food for dinner every now and then.

And I remember one night in particular when she had made breakfast after a long, hard day at work. On that evening so long ago, my mom placed a plate of eggs, sausage, and extremely burned toast in front of my dad.

I remember waiting to see if anyone noticed! Yet all my dad did was reach for his toast, smile at my mom, and ask me how my day was at school. I don't remember what I told him that night, but I do remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that toast and eat every bite!

When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my mom apologize to my dad for burning the toast. And I'll never forget what he said: 'Baby, I love burned toast.'

Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him if He really liked his toast burned. He wrapped me in his arms and said, 'Debbie, your Momma put in a hard day at work today and she's real tired. And besides-a little burnt toast never hurt anyone!'

You know, life is full of imperfect things.....and imperfect people. I'm not the best housekeeper or cook.'

What I've learned over the years is that learning to accept each other's faults - and choosing to celebrate each other's differences - is one of the most important keys to creating a healthy, growing, and lasting relationship.

And that's my prayer for you today. That you will learn to take the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of your life and lay them at the feet of GOD.

Because in the end, He's the only One who will be able to give you a relationship where burnt toast isn't a deal-breaker!

We could extend this to any relationship in fact - as understanding is the base of any relationship, be it a husband-wife or parent-child or friendship!! "

"Don't put the key to your happiness in someone else's pocket but into your own." See through God's eyes and feel through God's heart And you will appreciate the value of every soul including yourself.

Beauty of Mathematics

Here is an interesting and lovely way to look at the beauty of mathematics, and of God, the sum of all wonders.

1 x 8 + 1 = 9

12 x 8 + 2 = 98

123 x 8 + 3 = 987

1234 x 8 + 4 = 9876

12345 x 8 + 5 = 987 65

123456 x 8 + 6 = 987654

1234567 x 8 + 7 = 9876543

12345678 x 8 + 8 = 98765432

123456789 x 8 + 9 = 987654321

1 x 9 + 2 = 11

2 x 9 + 3 = 21

23 x 9 + 4 = 211

234 x 9 + 5 = 2111

2345 x 9 + 6 = 21111

23456 x 9 + 7 = 211111

234567 x 9 + 8 = 2111111

2345678 x 9 + 9 = 21111111

23456789 x 9 +10= 211111111

9 x 9 + 7 = 88

98 x 9 + 6 = 888

987 x 9 + 5 = 8888

9876 x 9 + 4 = 88888

98765 x 9 + 3 = 888888

987654 x 9 + 2 = 8888888

9876543 x 9 + 1 = 88888888

98765432 x 9 + 0 = 888888888

Brilliant, isn’t it?

And look at this symmetry:

1 x 1 = 1

11 x 11 = 121

111 x 111 = 12321

1111 x 1111 = 1234321

11111 x 11111 = 123454321

111111 x 111111 = 12345654321

1111111 x 1111111 = 1234567654321

11111111 x 11111111 =

123456787654321

111111111 x 111111111 =

12345678987654321

101%
From a strictly mathematical viewpoint:
What Equals 100%?

What does it mean to give MORE than 100%?

Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%?
We have all been in situations where someone wants you to
GIVE OVER 100%

How about ACHIEVING 101%?

What equals 100% in life?

Here’s a little mathematical formula that might help
Answer these questions:

If:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Is represented as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.

But:

A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E
1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%

THEN, look how far the love of
God will take you:

L-O-V-E-O-F-G-O-D
12+15+22+5+15+6+7+15+4 = 101%

Therefore, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that:

While Hard Work and Knowledge will get you close,

and Attitude will get you there,

It’s the Love of God that will put you over the top!

-Author unknown

The Father of a Teenager

Legend has it that one day Peter passed by a blind man and healed him.

He later saw a demon-possessed man and set him free.

Then he saw a man crying, and asked about his problem.
The man said he was a father of a teenager.

All Peter could do was sit down and weep with him.

Dog And Cat

I just realized that while children are dogs -- loyal and affectionate -- teenagers are cats.

It's so easy to be a dog owner. You feed it, train it, boss it around. It puts its head on your knee and gazes at you as if you were a Rembrandt painting. It bounds indoors with enthusiasm when you call it.

Then around age 13, your adoring little puppy turns into a big old cat. When you tell it to come inside, it looks amazed, as if wondering who died and made you emperor. Instead of dogging your doorsteps, it disappears. You won't see it again until it gets hungry -- then it pauses on its sprint through the kitchen long enough to turn its nose up at whatever you're serving.

When you reach out to ruffle its head, in that old affectionate gesture, it twists away from you, then gives you a blank stare, as if trying to remember where it has seen you before.

You, not realizing that the dog is now a cat, think something must be desperately wrong with it. It seems so antisocial, so distant, sort of depressed. It won't go on family outings.

Since you're the one who raised it, taught it to fetch and stay and sit on command, you assume that you did something wrong. Flooded with guilt and fear, you redouble your efforts to make your pet behave.

Only now you're dealing with a cat, so everything that worked before now produces the opposite of the desired result. Call it, and it runs away. Tell it to sit, and it jumps on the counter. The more you go toward it, wringing your hands, the more it moves away.

Instead of continuing to act like a dog owner, you can learn to behave like a cat owner. Put a dish of food near the door, and let it come to you. But remember that a cat needs your help and your affection too. Sit still, and it will come, seeking that warm, comforting lap it has not entirely forgotten. Be there to open the door for it.

One day your grown-up child will walk into the kitchen, give you a big kiss and say, "You've been on your feet all day. Let me get those dishes for you."

Then you'll realize your cat is a dog again.

-Author & source unknown-

Parenting

"Father, what is sex sin?"

My father turned to look at me, as he always did when answering a question, but to my surprise he said nothing. At last he stood up, lifted his traveling case from the rack over our heads, and set it on the floor.

"Will you carry it off the train, Corrie?" he said. I stood up and tugged at it. It was crammed with the watches and spare parts he had purchased that morning.

"It's too heavy," I said.

"Yes," he said. "And it would be a pretty poor father who would ask his little girl to carry such a load. It's the same way, Corrie, with knowledge. Some knowledge is too heavy for children. When you are older and stronger you can bear it. For now you must trust me to carry it for you."

And I was satisfied. More than satisfied -- wonderfully at peace. There were answers to this and all my hard questions -- but now I was content to leave them in my father's keeping.

-Corrie ten Boom, The Hiding Place.-

Nothing Is Too Big For God

Two men went fishing. One man was an experienced fisherman, the other wasn't. Every time the experienced fisherman caught a big fish, he put it in his ice chest to keep it fresh. Whenever the inexperienced fisherman caught a big fish, he threw it back.

The experienced fisherman watched this go on all day and finally got tired of seeing this man waste good fish. "Why do you keep throwing back all the big fish you catch?" he asked. The inexperienced fisherman replied, "I only have a small frying pan."

Sometimes, like that fisherman, we throw back the big plans, the big dreams, the big jobs and the big opportunities that God gives us. Our faith is too small. We laugh at that fisherman who didn't figure out that all he needed was a bigger frying pan; yet how ready are we to increase the size of our faith?

Whether it's a problem or a possibility, God will never give you anything bigger than you can handle. That means we can confidently walk into anything God brings our way.

You can do all things through Christ (Philippians 4:13). Nothing is too big for God.

" Stop telling God you've got big problems. Tell your problems you've got a big God!"

Author: Unknown

God knows......

It was 9.01 pm last Sunday that I received an sms from one of my learned friends… "hi thr..pl keep gary in prayer as he has been missing since morning."

I never thought that I would be attending the funeral of one of my young learned friends so soon. I was looking forward to graduation celebrations and weddings to come.

On Thursday last week, my young learned friend, Gary Leon Robert was laid to rest in the Nilai Memorial Park. Looking at the large crowd that came for the Wake and the funeral service, he has touched many lives from all walks of life.

It's been a difficult time for many for us (including myself) who knew Gary. Most of us or if not all of us are still trying very hard to grapple with the loss of our dear friend.

Last week during my devotion time, I came across a passage in in Daniel 2:17-23.

It starts off by stating about how our problems and fears seem less serious in the day time when we're active and busy. Then when darkness falls and the lights go out, our fears and worries become larger.

Yes, it so true. Quite often before I sleep, I would think about Gary. But I am reminded in the devotion that "we should not forget that we serve a God who never sleeps and is sovereign over our affairs both day and night. We should take comfort that God uses these times of darkness to teach us invaluable lessons we might never learn in the light. He desires to teach us things about Himself that we will only learn in the dark - when we are holding tightly to Him and He has our undivided attention.

During these times, we will be losers if we resist Him and what He is trying to teach us. He wants to share His secrets with us. "He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells within Him" (2:22)

One of the biggest mistake we can make is to be angry with God because of things that happen. Or don't happen. "Woe to Him who quarrels with His Maker". Instead let us allow God to use these dark times to give you "the treasure of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name" Isaiah 45:3"


That was the extract from one of my devotion this week which I felt was very appropriate for all of us during this time when we have lost a dear friend.

I will miss Gary and we all will for the long time to come. Why? Because he has deposited some part of his life in us. As we go through our daily life, we will have little things reminding us of Gary.

His picture on the LRT train will there for a year at least.

Gary Leon Robert was many things. He was courageous. He was intelligent. He had a great smile. He was immensely talented. He was great company, and he was as good, and as true a friend as any person could hope for.

I was privileged to know him, and to call him my friend.

Check this out!

Saw this self made video clip of a friend's nine year old son.

A timely reminder…

When I was studying in NZ, frequently I used to study in the library. Being not the bright one, I needed to spend a lot of time revising and the best place was in my Engineering library. Not only I had studies on my mind, some times the worry of money and been away from home doesn’t really help in giving me a peace of mind.

I still remember one day in the library, looking out the window at the lawn, I saw some birds picking out worms from the grass. Somehow I was drawn to the verse in the bible that even as God take cares of the birds, He will also take care of our needs. When our minds are troubled, it’s such a relief to be reminded of this. Even till this day, I can still remember that particular day.

Over the years I have had many sort of reminders from God but never had to do with birds until recently. Now I am no more a student but a dad with a growing teenager son and a daughter who is fast approaching her teens. I must say that these are challenging times. Being a dad with a teenager is no easy task. We will never know whether our parenting skills are on the right path until they have all grown up….which could be too late if we found out that parenting skills could be better.

Recently I have been praying that God will help us weather the storm as we ride it through with our son. Though we are still in the storm but God is amazing because He brought the “third” generations sunbirds back in my garden again. Watching the young birds grow has been fun and enriching.


Last Saturday when I looked out my glass doors, guess what I saw? One of the young ones was hanging out of the nest for its dear life. Quickly I tried to dislodge its leg. It’s amazing how a simple nest could be so sturdy and it was really difficult to dislodge its leg. After a while I managed to do it and popped it back in the nest.


Watching these birds I was reminded that even if our children are in trouble but because of our relationship with God, He will always be there to rescue them and if our family foundation is strong, our children will not be easily lost to the world.

Throughout the day, the sunbird parents were trying to coaxed its young ones to take its maiden flight. The mother bird would be picking out the materials from the nest making the nest unsafe hoping that the young ones will take off.

Sometimes we too will have to make unpopular decisions which to our best knowledge the decision and more often than not, it will definitely caused anxiety to our children.

The father bird would be feeding its young ones from a distance so that the young ones would have to stretch its neck out to take the food.

But as parents, we too must slowly learn to let go as our teens grow up and will one day leave to lead a life of their own.

Behind a Smile

Do you ever wonder what people are feeling when they smile?


Do they smile because they're happy or do they smile because they want people to believe they're happy?



Maybe they smile because they want you to smile and be happy.


A smile can touch a person's life in ways you can never imagine.

It's infectious and can cause a chain reaction.

It can be memorable to someone you pass on the street or the mall or driving... and it only takes a split second to smile and forget, yet... to someone that needed it, it can last a lifetime.

Maybe we should smile more often.


Author: Delilah B.

HOW TO CALL THE POLICE WHEN YOU'RE OLD AND DON'T MOVE FAST ANYMORE.

George Phillips of Meridian, Mississippi, was going up to bed, when his
wife told him that he'd left the light on in the garden shed, which she
could see from the bedroom window. George opened the back door to go
turn off the light, but saw that there were people in the shed stealing
things.

He phoned the police, who asked 'Is someone in your house?' He said
'No.' Then they said 'All patrols were busy. You should lock your doors
and an officer will be along when one is available.'

George said, 'Okay.' He hung up the phone and counted to 30. Then he phoned the police again.
'Hello, I just called you a few seconds ago because there were people stealing things from my shed. Well, you don't have to worry about them now because I just shot them.' and he hung up.
Within five minutes, six Police Cars, a SWAT Team, a Helicopter, two Fire Trucks, a Paramedic, and an Ambulance showed up at the Phillips' residence, and caught the burglars red-handed. One of the Policemen said to George, 'I thought you said that you'd shot them!'
George said, 'I thought you said there was nobody available!'

(True Story) I LOVE IT! Don't mess with old people....

Time Of Reflections

Another year has passed and here’s 2009. I was just in church this morning attending our sunrise service at 6.30am listening to various testimonies of different ones. Some shared about God’s blessing in their lives and others on the storms of life they faced during the year 2008. All had a common thought that God is a God who cares and will never let us down.

As for me I have been really pondering of the things that have happened in my life through 2008. At first it was difficult to re-collect as time really flew by. In my camera bag are tones of recorded video tapes waiting to be down loaded…don’t know when that will happen.

But sitting there in church today, I was reminded of the difficult and hostile environment at work, enduring the character assassinations, numerous deadlines & initiatives by the company, the times where I wanted to really drop every thing and move on.

Yet the important lesson I learned was a lesson learned at management team building at Sungkai. At the retreat we learned a song called “Bila Diriku Disayangi”….the few Malay songs I know. It’s through this song that I begin to treasure the love God has for me. Because of His love I am able to move forward amidst difficult moments and am able to come under the covering of His wings.

It is truly this fact that “I am loved by God” that helped me weather the storm that I am in. Besides difficult moments I have made good friends with my colleagues, helping and encouraging each other through the hard moments. Personally I have grown much closer to my staff and this has helped us achieve way above what was expected.

So what is in stored for the year 2009?....Frankly I don’t know but one thing I know for sure it that God still loves me and will take care of my needs. As pastor shared this morning, three resolutions would be:-
A positive attitude in life regardless of our circumstances
A positive attitude towards the church
A positive attitude towards one another.

A Happy & Blessed New Year To All

Something to Think About

Author: Unknown

Did you know....

Beethoven was told by his music teacher that as a composer, he was hopeless.

Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper because he had "no good ideas".

Thomas Edison was told by his teacher that he was too stupid to learn anything.

Albert Einstein was four yrs old before he spoke. He stuttered until he was nine. He was advised to drop out of high school and was told by his teachers that he would never amount to much.

Henry Ford's first 2 automobile businesses failed.

Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team!

William H. Macy's store failed 7 times before it caught on.

Stephen Spielburg dropped out of high school as a sophomore. He was persuaded to come back and was placed in a learning disabled class. He lasted a month.

Ray Krok failed as a real estate salesperson before discovering the idea for McDonald's.

Understanding Engineers

Two engineering students were walking across the campus when one said, "Where did you get such a great bike?"

The second engineer replied, "Well, I was walking along yesterday minding my own business when a beautiful woman rode up on this bike.

She threw the bike to the ground, took off all her clothes and said,"Take what you want."

The second engineer nodded approvingly, "Good choice; the clothes probably wouldn't have fit."


To the optimist, the glass is half full. To the pessimist, the glass is half empty. To the engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be.






A priest, a doctor and an engineer were waiting one morning for a particularly slow group of golfers. The engineer fumed, "What's with these people? We've been waiting for 15 minutes!

The doctor chimed in, "I don't know, but I've never seen such ineptitude!"

The priest said, "Hey, here comes the green keeper.Let's have a word with him."

"Hi George, what's the matter with that group ahead of us? They're rather slow, aren't they?"

The green keeper replied, "Oh, yes, that's a group of blind fire-fighters. They lost their sight saving our clubhouse from a fire last year, so we always let them play for free anytime."

The group was silent for a moment. Then the priest said, "That's so sad. I think I will say a special prayer for them tonight."

The doctor said, "Good idea. And I'm going to contact my ophthalmologist friend and see if there is anything he can do for them."

The engineer said, "Why can't they play at night?"

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A man in a hot air balloon realized he was lost. He reduced altitude and spotted a woman below. He descended a bit more and shouted, "Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don't know where I am."

The woman below replied, "You are in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground. You are between 40 and 41 degrees north latitude and between 59 and 60 degrees west longitude."

"You must be an engineer," said the balloonist. "I am," replied the woman, "How did you know?"

"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is, technically correct, but I have no idea what to make of your information, and the fact is I am still lost.
Frankly, you've not been much help so far."

The woman below responded, "You must be in Management."

"I am," replied the balloonist, "but how did you know?"

"Well," said the woman, "you don't know where you are or where you are going. You have risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise, which you have no idea how to keep, and you expect people beneath you to solve your problems. The fact is you are in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, it's my fault."

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What is the difference between Mechanical Engineers and Civil Engineers?
Mechanical Engineers build weapons. Civil Engineers build targets.

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Normal people believe that if it isn't broken,don't fix it.
Engineers believe that if it isn't broken, it doesn't have enough features yet.

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One day, an engineer was crossing a road when a frog called out to him and said, "If you kiss me, I'll turn into a beautiful princess".He bent over, picked up the frog and put it in his pocket.

The frog spoke up again and said, "If you kiss me and turn me back into a beautiful princess, I will stay with you for one week." The engineer took the frog out of his pocket, smiled at it and returned it to the pocket.

The frog then cried out, "If you kiss me and turn me back into a princess, I'll stay with you and do ANYTHING you want." Again the engineer took the frog out, smiled at it and put it back into his pocket.

Finally, the frog asked, "What is the matter? I've told you I'm a beautiful princess, I'll stay with you for a week and do anything you want. Why won't you kiss me?"

The engineer said, "Look. I'm an engineer. I don't have time for a girlfriend, but a talking frog, now that's cool."