After the worship practice, PG and I went for a drink to continue our fellowship. We had a lot of things to share, among which, the topic of giving money to church.
"Lately, my pastor has been talking about moving into a new place. So, we'll need to raise fund."
"But your church is not really expending. You need more workers, not a bigger building." I gave the comment based on my observation.
"That is also what I think."
"Money is always a sensitive issue in church..." Then I began to tell PG the story of a member of my church who had left her previous church due to a money-related reason. I concluded, "Anyway, when we give, it's between us and God. Let God deal with those who use our money later."
On the way back, he told me that the Sunday morning service at Berean AOG was in Chinese and that he would go with me that weekend. It was rather good news to me, for I had been surveying Chinese churches which were not too far from my house in Batu Pahat, hoping that one day Mum might be willing to follow me to a Sunday service.
When I reached home at midnight, Mum was still awake. I asked her if she would join me to the church service the next day. Again, she turned down my offer because she wanted to prepare a soup and a dessert in the morning. I was not discouraged. I had heard the testimony of a church member who had prayed for her husband for more than ten years before he accepted Jesus as his saviour. I claimed in Jesus' name that I did not have to wait so long to witness Mum opening her heart for God. I was to be patient with His perfect timing.
The next morning, PG and I were to Berean church. We received a warm reception from Pastor Tan and members. I had not withdrawn my salary from my bank account and there was very little money left in my wallet. So I kept aside an amount enough for the lunch I was planning to pay for PG and I later, and put the rest into the offering bag. Then Ps Tan announced that free lunch would be provided after the service. Finally God was the One who was going to pay for our meals!
Next, another minister went on stage and said, "Our church has been raising fund for the mission pledge. Until last week, the response from the Chinese service was quite disappointing and we're far from reaching the target. Today, I'm going to talk about giving to God."
I turned to PG, "I think God has purposely sent us here today."
The preacher said that "we can give without loving, but we can't love without giving" and "God is not interested in our money, but our giving hearts". I had heard that before. This time, God reinforced it in my mind.
The speaker Reverend Teo, the founder of Berean, was also sharing her testimony of how God had asked her to give all her twenty-years of savings for the church building fund for the first time, and several years later to give all her fixed deposits again to fill in the lacking amount of another fund. Each time, she cried for the money she was going to "lose" at first. But when she obeyed God, she felt peace and joy. And later not only she saw that God had transformed her "five loaves and two fishes" into greater things, God also rewarded her financially. If God asked her to give all her wealth for the third time, she would not cry anymore as she had seen the miracles.
I knew that sermon was tailor-made for me. Last month, during the altar call of a Sunday service at CLA, I stepped forward. The guest speaker's team member started praying for me. Through her spiritual discernment, God spoke to me to "let go of my worldly things". I was sure that it came from God, for I had been thinking of a sum of money that I had volunteered to lend to someone in deep debt in January.
I had learnt not to let earthly things be my idols. It was a struggle to me who had been so used to grab "my" belongings tightly, especially money. Slowly I realized that the looser my hands were, the happier my heart would be when I saw that others were blessed with what I had let go of, the more I would please God, and the more God would fill my hands again!
I was so touched by the Spirit of God that at the end of the sermon, I raised my hand to ask for a form to write down my contribution for the mission pledge. I promised Ps Tan that I would bring the money the next time I went there again, hopefully with Mum.
PG was surprised at my act, especially because I was not a member of Berean and that I was already giving my tithe and mission pledge to my church in Melaka. I explained to him that since we were all brothers and sisters in Christ, we should help one another regardless of our churches. God knew exactly how much I needed for the month and just wanted me to give my extra money to support others in need.
If I acknowledge God as the King of the Kings, I should honour Him by giving my best to Him. It is still a long learning process to me. But I sincerely thank God for teaching me by different ways to "let go of my worldly things" more and more.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Official Earth Hour With God again
Friday evening, when I was at home in Batu Pahat, I telephoned PG to tell him that I was planning to visit Berean AOG for the Sunday service, instead of following him to his church.
"I'm involved in the worship ministry. Tomorrow we're going to have a practice at 8.30pm. If you're free, you can sing with us. I'll pick you at 8.15pm."
"My family might be out for dinner tomorrow. I'll call you again to confirm."
Later, Mum was reading the newspaper when she came across an article on the earth hour.
"Many TV channels will take a break during that hour."
"Then we'll do something else."
"We can go to the field like we did before. But it'll also be dark if the street lights are switched off for the event."
"It only applies to non-essential lights and electrical appliances. For example, not watching TV for an hour won't affect our lives. But keeping the refrigerators off for one hour may cause our food to turn bad... If you can't watch your favorite channel, I have a suggestion for you. PG invites me to his church for a singing practice tomorrow evening. You can go with us."
Mum did not promise anything. The next day, we had a lot of activities together: morning walk, breakfast, watching a DVD and shopping. After going home from the shopping mall in the late afternoon, I was still overjoyed at our unexpected encounter with XM. When preparing the dinner, Mum decided not to join us for the worship practice because she needed a rest. I was not disappointed at all. I knew it had been quite a hectic day to her and I believed that God would find other occasions to touch her heart again.
In PG's car, I was thrilled at sharing the testimony with him. Upon arriving the church, PG said, "I hope you're not going to feel bored with the singing." He was referring to my comment earlier that the worship in his church Sunday service had been a bit too long to me.
"I'm going to make an effort tonight for God. I'm so happy for my mum and my cousin's wife. So I'm going to thank God by singing!"
I met a lady Vivian there. She also saw my excitement. I told her, "When I looked at others' singing in church, I used to admire their strong passions. Tonight, I really feel that I'm going to sing to God, to praise the Lord!"
"Yes! When we sing to God, it's a different feeling because He is so great!"
I raised my both hands. This time I focused on God and fully enjoyed singing praise to Him without thinking of looking at my watch. Lights were not off so that we were able to see the lyrics displayed on the screen. Nobody there mentioned the earth hour. However, we were doing something more meaningful by devoting more than one earth hour to God, weren't we?
"I'm involved in the worship ministry. Tomorrow we're going to have a practice at 8.30pm. If you're free, you can sing with us. I'll pick you at 8.15pm."
"My family might be out for dinner tomorrow. I'll call you again to confirm."
Later, Mum was reading the newspaper when she came across an article on the earth hour.
"Many TV channels will take a break during that hour."
"Then we'll do something else."
"We can go to the field like we did before. But it'll also be dark if the street lights are switched off for the event."
"It only applies to non-essential lights and electrical appliances. For example, not watching TV for an hour won't affect our lives. But keeping the refrigerators off for one hour may cause our food to turn bad... If you can't watch your favorite channel, I have a suggestion for you. PG invites me to his church for a singing practice tomorrow evening. You can go with us."
Mum did not promise anything. The next day, we had a lot of activities together: morning walk, breakfast, watching a DVD and shopping. After going home from the shopping mall in the late afternoon, I was still overjoyed at our unexpected encounter with XM. When preparing the dinner, Mum decided not to join us for the worship practice because she needed a rest. I was not disappointed at all. I knew it had been quite a hectic day to her and I believed that God would find other occasions to touch her heart again.
In PG's car, I was thrilled at sharing the testimony with him. Upon arriving the church, PG said, "I hope you're not going to feel bored with the singing." He was referring to my comment earlier that the worship in his church Sunday service had been a bit too long to me.
"I'm going to make an effort tonight for God. I'm so happy for my mum and my cousin's wife. So I'm going to thank God by singing!"
I met a lady Vivian there. She also saw my excitement. I told her, "When I looked at others' singing in church, I used to admire their strong passions. Tonight, I really feel that I'm going to sing to God, to praise the Lord!"
"Yes! When we sing to God, it's a different feeling because He is so great!"
I raised my both hands. This time I focused on God and fully enjoyed singing praise to Him without thinking of looking at my watch. Lights were not off so that we were able to see the lyrics displayed on the screen. Nobody there mentioned the earth hour. However, we were doing something more meaningful by devoting more than one earth hour to God, weren't we?
Sunday, March 29, 2009
An Unexpected Testimony
My cousin Max lent me a DVD of a health talk and asked me to recommend it to Mum. When I was back this weekend, we watched it together.
There are many ways to avoid hypertension, first of which is keeping a merry heart. Mum said, "It's much easier said than done."
I told her, "If you look at men, many things will upset you. If you focus on God and let Him handle your worries, you'll have a joyful heart."
Later, I invited Mum to a shopping mall near our house. We stepped into the Store's ladies department after going to a few shops. I was looking at clothes on promotion, when I saw Mum start talking to a lady with a girl behind. I approached them and realized that it was my cousin BT's wife XM with their daughter.
When XM was married to my cousin, my first impression on her appearance was that she was skinny. Once when we were at the same table in a restaurant for a family occasion, she told me that her waist measurement remained twenty-two inches even when her stomach was very full! As a teenager, my waist would not reach that measurement even after I had starved for three days!
She lived with the in-laws in Senggarang, so we hardly met. When my grandmother passed away, my family spent a couple of days there for the wake services and funeral. XM talked a lot to me despite our age gap. I felt closer to her than my aunt's daughters.
Sometimes I heard news about XM: her gain of weight, the birth of her first child, the death of the baby later, the birth of her following children, her conflict with my aunt, her great loss of weight, her moving out from the in-laws' house with her husband and children, etc. I saw her on very rare occasions. She was already a mother of two toddlers. Her bony frame stunned me but I never had an opportunity to chat with her like before.
One or two years ago, I saw her having a meal with her children in an eatery in the same shopping mall. I could not believe my eyes. She was a skeleton! I simply walked away but the sight of her physical condition remained in my mind.
This time, in front of me was a pretty lady who looked younger than her age, and slender rather than thin. And XM was still as friendly as more than fifteen years ago!
Her family moved back to my uncle's house after my aunt had passed away last year. Her troubles did not end without the mother-in-law. But who had transformed her?
I had been told that one of my cousins recently had embraced the Christianity because of his wife. I was wondering if XM's husband was the one. So I directly asked her in front of Mum, "Have you accepted the Lord?"
"Yes. I'm a Christian."
"Me too!"
I think Mum was only interested in discussing issues of our two families. But I was more eager to listen to her testimony. So I excitedly interrupted them, "I'd like to find out how you've known Jesus!"
"You know, I'd been struggling with my family matters for years. I was very desperate. I lost weight to 27 kilos until I was dying. Then someone brought me to Jesus. At first I didn't know anything about Him but when I believed, I was really saved."
"Praise the Lord! Which church do you attend now?"
She gave me the name of the road. Then she went on, "My father-in-law is still mourning for his dead wife. And he is in deeper depression since his sons have become Christians. If I go to church, I must not let him know. I haven't been to church for one month because I don't want to upset him. Please don't tell my family what I've said to you."
Both Mum and I reassured her. I encouraged XM, "Now you've Jesus in you. If anything makes you sad, don't keep it to yourself. Just tell Jesus. He'll comfort you. If anyone bullies you, don't feel bitter. Just pray for them and ask God to bless them, then we don't carry any emotional burdens anymore." The message was conveyed to Mum as well.
"It's true! I've tried and it's worked!" XM did not hesitate to agree.
"I'll pray for you. If you have a chance to attend the Sunday service again and if I'm also around, maybe we can join you in your church. I'd like to bring my mum."
Mum said nothing to object.
XM was not sure when she could declare her faith in public again. She glanced at her watch and realized that she had to go. I took her cell phone number so that I could contact her later.
Mum said to her, "I'm very glad to see that you're well and pretty now. You can still earn a few more kilos!"
XM answered, "Actually I'll prefer to be slimmer."
I commented, "You're just nice like this."
She left with her daughter. Mum and I also headed towards the ground floor to buy grocery. I could not stop smiling when thinking of XM. Finally I told Mum, "Do you know that God has just answered my prayer? I'd been praying for occasions to share with you testimonies about Jesus. Had we stayed longer in other shops, we wouldn't have encountered XM. Don't you think God was the One who arranged that?"
Mum seemed to approve. Anyway, the fact that she had seen XM in a healthier state also added more joy to her already happy day.
"You saw how different she looks now? God has transformed her. God loves her; God also loves you."
For the first time, Mum repeated after me, "God loves me."
There are many ways to avoid hypertension, first of which is keeping a merry heart. Mum said, "It's much easier said than done."
I told her, "If you look at men, many things will upset you. If you focus on God and let Him handle your worries, you'll have a joyful heart."
Later, I invited Mum to a shopping mall near our house. We stepped into the Store's ladies department after going to a few shops. I was looking at clothes on promotion, when I saw Mum start talking to a lady with a girl behind. I approached them and realized that it was my cousin BT's wife XM with their daughter.
When XM was married to my cousin, my first impression on her appearance was that she was skinny. Once when we were at the same table in a restaurant for a family occasion, she told me that her waist measurement remained twenty-two inches even when her stomach was very full! As a teenager, my waist would not reach that measurement even after I had starved for three days!
She lived with the in-laws in Senggarang, so we hardly met. When my grandmother passed away, my family spent a couple of days there for the wake services and funeral. XM talked a lot to me despite our age gap. I felt closer to her than my aunt's daughters.
Sometimes I heard news about XM: her gain of weight, the birth of her first child, the death of the baby later, the birth of her following children, her conflict with my aunt, her great loss of weight, her moving out from the in-laws' house with her husband and children, etc. I saw her on very rare occasions. She was already a mother of two toddlers. Her bony frame stunned me but I never had an opportunity to chat with her like before.
One or two years ago, I saw her having a meal with her children in an eatery in the same shopping mall. I could not believe my eyes. She was a skeleton! I simply walked away but the sight of her physical condition remained in my mind.
This time, in front of me was a pretty lady who looked younger than her age, and slender rather than thin. And XM was still as friendly as more than fifteen years ago!
Her family moved back to my uncle's house after my aunt had passed away last year. Her troubles did not end without the mother-in-law. But who had transformed her?
I had been told that one of my cousins recently had embraced the Christianity because of his wife. I was wondering if XM's husband was the one. So I directly asked her in front of Mum, "Have you accepted the Lord?"
"Yes. I'm a Christian."
"Me too!"
I think Mum was only interested in discussing issues of our two families. But I was more eager to listen to her testimony. So I excitedly interrupted them, "I'd like to find out how you've known Jesus!"
"You know, I'd been struggling with my family matters for years. I was very desperate. I lost weight to 27 kilos until I was dying. Then someone brought me to Jesus. At first I didn't know anything about Him but when I believed, I was really saved."
"Praise the Lord! Which church do you attend now?"
She gave me the name of the road. Then she went on, "My father-in-law is still mourning for his dead wife. And he is in deeper depression since his sons have become Christians. If I go to church, I must not let him know. I haven't been to church for one month because I don't want to upset him. Please don't tell my family what I've said to you."
Both Mum and I reassured her. I encouraged XM, "Now you've Jesus in you. If anything makes you sad, don't keep it to yourself. Just tell Jesus. He'll comfort you. If anyone bullies you, don't feel bitter. Just pray for them and ask God to bless them, then we don't carry any emotional burdens anymore." The message was conveyed to Mum as well.
"It's true! I've tried and it's worked!" XM did not hesitate to agree.
"I'll pray for you. If you have a chance to attend the Sunday service again and if I'm also around, maybe we can join you in your church. I'd like to bring my mum."
Mum said nothing to object.
XM was not sure when she could declare her faith in public again. She glanced at her watch and realized that she had to go. I took her cell phone number so that I could contact her later.
Mum said to her, "I'm very glad to see that you're well and pretty now. You can still earn a few more kilos!"
XM answered, "Actually I'll prefer to be slimmer."
I commented, "You're just nice like this."
She left with her daughter. Mum and I also headed towards the ground floor to buy grocery. I could not stop smiling when thinking of XM. Finally I told Mum, "Do you know that God has just answered my prayer? I'd been praying for occasions to share with you testimonies about Jesus. Had we stayed longer in other shops, we wouldn't have encountered XM. Don't you think God was the One who arranged that?"
Mum seemed to approve. Anyway, the fact that she had seen XM in a healthier state also added more joy to her already happy day.
"You saw how different she looks now? God has transformed her. God loves her; God also loves you."
For the first time, Mum repeated after me, "God loves me."
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Concern For My Sanli Friends III
Again, YH replied to me very fast.
Below is his letter that I have translated into English:
---------------------------------------------------------------
1. Regarding the flood!
In the Bible, there are too many mistakes in the narration of the flood... Since I started reading the Bible, I've found the first and second chapters of the Bible completely contradictory... The order of the creation of men was completely upside down.
2. You said that giants and dinosaurs were not created by God.
Was this God Yahweh? If all things were created by God, it should have been many Gods...Then it is not proven that Yahweh was the one.
"Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”" (Genesis 1:26 NKJV)
The Genesis of the Bible gives two totally versions of the origin of all things in the heavens and on earth in the first and second chapters. This is because these two chapters come from different sources. In the first chapter, when God created all things within seven days, God was called Elohim. Whereas later in the second chapter, when God created Adam and Eve, only then God was called Yahweh. The distinction was quite obvious.
In Hebrew, "Elohim" is the plural noun of "Eloah" (One can check its definition in English dictionaries). This is to say, not one God created all things within seven days, but gods. So it should be translated as "some gods". "Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;"" The "Us" is here, so there is certainly not only one God. So different gods made different men in their images, according to their likeness. Yahweh created Adam in His image. Adam is only the Jews' ancestor, not all men's ancestor. If we want to glorify God, then we should glorify the one of our ancestors, not Yahweh of the Jews. Moreover, the god of our ancestors had created our ancestors several thousand years than Yahweh... In the same way, if we glorify the god of other people, we will let down our ancestors!!!
3. Does Yahweh want to give you wisdom?
"For it is written “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”" (1 Corinthians 1:19)
If God wants us to have the wisdom of God, which is different from the wisdom of men or of this world, then men and this world are disapproved by the wisdom of God, then God is foolish; If the wisdom of God can't be conformed to men and this world, then it can't be accepted.
As the wisdom of God can't be apprehended, then whether God loves you or not also can't be apprehended; Then men can only imagine, make hypothesis and keep convincing themselves that God loves them -- that is the so called "We must have confidence" -- They do not need to base on the always believing heart!
4. "Enlighten", a meaningful word...
Giving light to the wisdom -- is knowing good and evil a kind of wisdom? If yes, then Yahweh has done something wrong... "For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. (Genesis 3:5-6 NKJV).
I think I don't have to prove with the Bible verses. If we hope that Christians can enlighten men, then it will be difficult... Yahweh wants men to glorify Him... because the wise won't acknowledge Yahweh!
However, the Bible has a lot of good teachings which preach the good. If we read the Bible with a neutral attitude, take verses which preach the good and apply, that's good... If we believe and follow all, then we will produce extremist thinking! Discrimination, no tolerance, Destroying those who are different! We can use our human nature (good) to coordinate relationships and help others. But we can't take it as God's command!
At the beginning, I simply took it as a topic of study. Actually I could trace back the times of the Genesis!! However we simply accept the statement that Yahweh created all things, and forget that there were other Gods who also created things!!!! That is as if we consider those who have a beard are our fathers!!!!
Same goes to men who study to get knowledge, wisdom, gratitude and good behavior. We are hardly able to read the Bible with the moral of men, because there are too complicated chapters! Even the Book of Matthew and the Book of Luke give completely different accounts of Jesus' ancestral background... The story of the resurrection of Jesus in all the four Books are all different... Something funnier is that the authors of the four Books of Gospel had never seen Jesus!!!
There is much more... Those who have an "obstacle of the knowledge" (What they have known prevent them from learning new things) won't have a neutral attitude. If you can keep a neutral heart without bias... then you can learn from the Internet how the Christianity came... There is a light in each of our hearts... If our hearts understand, then we'll see the truth... That's the real enlightenment... We have the right understanding and opinion, we shouldn't be biased.
---------------------------------------------------------------
What a long letter with all kinds of his own interpretation based on the Hebrew Bible to comment on the Christian belief of the Creation of God, and findings from the Internet instead of the Christians.
As I was reading YH's great analysis, I could feel that God was pulling my cheeks to grin from ear to ear and reminding me,
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
But fools despise wisdom and instruction." (Proverbs 1:7 NKJV)
This time, I wrote in a simple way:
---------------------------------------------------------------
Hi, I think I don't have the same level of your wisdom, so I don't quite understand your arguments :P. But I think let's stop here because we don't reach any conclusion. Faith is a question of believing or not. I have my own experience that's why I believe in God. You might not have so you don't.
Anyway, I'm not interested in getting into this kind of philosophical debate. But I'll keep praying for your joy and peace.
God loves you even if you don't believe in Him.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Below is his letter that I have translated into English:
---------------------------------------------------------------
1. Regarding the flood!
In the Bible, there are too many mistakes in the narration of the flood... Since I started reading the Bible, I've found the first and second chapters of the Bible completely contradictory... The order of the creation of men was completely upside down.
2. You said that giants and dinosaurs were not created by God.
Was this God Yahweh? If all things were created by God, it should have been many Gods...Then it is not proven that Yahweh was the one.
"Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”" (Genesis 1:26 NKJV)
The Genesis of the Bible gives two totally versions of the origin of all things in the heavens and on earth in the first and second chapters. This is because these two chapters come from different sources. In the first chapter, when God created all things within seven days, God was called Elohim. Whereas later in the second chapter, when God created Adam and Eve, only then God was called Yahweh. The distinction was quite obvious.
In Hebrew, "Elohim" is the plural noun of "Eloah" (One can check its definition in English dictionaries). This is to say, not one God created all things within seven days, but gods. So it should be translated as "some gods". "Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;"" The "Us" is here, so there is certainly not only one God. So different gods made different men in their images, according to their likeness. Yahweh created Adam in His image. Adam is only the Jews' ancestor, not all men's ancestor. If we want to glorify God, then we should glorify the one of our ancestors, not Yahweh of the Jews. Moreover, the god of our ancestors had created our ancestors several thousand years than Yahweh... In the same way, if we glorify the god of other people, we will let down our ancestors!!!
3. Does Yahweh want to give you wisdom?
"For it is written “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”" (1 Corinthians 1:19)
If God wants us to have the wisdom of God, which is different from the wisdom of men or of this world, then men and this world are disapproved by the wisdom of God, then God is foolish; If the wisdom of God can't be conformed to men and this world, then it can't be accepted.
As the wisdom of God can't be apprehended, then whether God loves you or not also can't be apprehended; Then men can only imagine, make hypothesis and keep convincing themselves that God loves them -- that is the so called "We must have confidence" -- They do not need to base on the always believing heart!
4. "Enlighten", a meaningful word...
Giving light to the wisdom -- is knowing good and evil a kind of wisdom? If yes, then Yahweh has done something wrong... "For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. (Genesis 3:5-6 NKJV).
I think I don't have to prove with the Bible verses. If we hope that Christians can enlighten men, then it will be difficult... Yahweh wants men to glorify Him... because the wise won't acknowledge Yahweh!
However, the Bible has a lot of good teachings which preach the good. If we read the Bible with a neutral attitude, take verses which preach the good and apply, that's good... If we believe and follow all, then we will produce extremist thinking! Discrimination, no tolerance, Destroying those who are different! We can use our human nature (good) to coordinate relationships and help others. But we can't take it as God's command!
At the beginning, I simply took it as a topic of study. Actually I could trace back the times of the Genesis!! However we simply accept the statement that Yahweh created all things, and forget that there were other Gods who also created things!!!! That is as if we consider those who have a beard are our fathers!!!!
Same goes to men who study to get knowledge, wisdom, gratitude and good behavior. We are hardly able to read the Bible with the moral of men, because there are too complicated chapters! Even the Book of Matthew and the Book of Luke give completely different accounts of Jesus' ancestral background... The story of the resurrection of Jesus in all the four Books are all different... Something funnier is that the authors of the four Books of Gospel had never seen Jesus!!!
There is much more... Those who have an "obstacle of the knowledge" (What they have known prevent them from learning new things) won't have a neutral attitude. If you can keep a neutral heart without bias... then you can learn from the Internet how the Christianity came... There is a light in each of our hearts... If our hearts understand, then we'll see the truth... That's the real enlightenment... We have the right understanding and opinion, we shouldn't be biased.
---------------------------------------------------------------
What a long letter with all kinds of his own interpretation based on the Hebrew Bible to comment on the Christian belief of the Creation of God, and findings from the Internet instead of the Christians.
As I was reading YH's great analysis, I could feel that God was pulling my cheeks to grin from ear to ear and reminding me,
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
But fools despise wisdom and instruction." (Proverbs 1:7 NKJV)
This time, I wrote in a simple way:
---------------------------------------------------------------
Hi, I think I don't have the same level of your wisdom, so I don't quite understand your arguments :P. But I think let's stop here because we don't reach any conclusion. Faith is a question of believing or not. I have my own experience that's why I believe in God. You might not have so you don't.
Anyway, I'm not interested in getting into this kind of philosophical debate. But I'll keep praying for your joy and peace.
God loves you even if you don't believe in Him.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Friday, March 27, 2009
Concern For My Sanli Friends II
The next day, I received YH's reply. Several lines struck my eyes:
"After Lee Sah's correction, the right year of the flood was BC2389."
"God_Yahweh...The exact time of Genesis was about BC3846."
"Regarding the second question, I surely have found related information on giants...but very obviously...giants and dinosaurs...were definitely not created by God...and He doesn't know at all the record of dinosaurs having lived on this earth."
"The third question: There is another absurd thing...Does God give men wisdom?" It was followed by verses about God wanting to "destroy the wisdom of the wise" (1 Corinthians 1:19), and that our faith "might not rest on men's wisdom" (1 Corinthians 2:5)
YH was getting wrong again in his calculation. And he was contradictory even in his own conclusion, for the word "exact" is used to "emphasize that a number, amount, or piece of information is or should be completely correct in every detail", whereas the word "about" means "a little more or less than a particular number, amount, or size". How was it possible that both words stand each other in the same statement?
By the way, since I had been going to church and reading Christian literature, I had never heard any Christian leaders, authors or fellows giving the exact year of God's creation. On what grounds was my ex-classmate so sure of his findings? I was very curious.
As the daughter of a former journalist, I learnt to be careful when spreading information. Dad used to write current affairs on the newspaper. He never made any assumptions with information from the third parties.
Was I going to sent a group email again to argue with YH in front of other unbelievers?
I checked myself. Would it give glory to God? But if I ignored YH who had started the drama on God's creation, who would give him testimony of our Creator?
So I clicked at YH's personal email address instead of our Sanli group address.
The main content was the following:
---------------------------------------------------------------
Hi, I chose to reply you in private bcoz I don't wish to waste others' time to read and then delete our messages without even understanding what we're discussing.
2. You said that giants and dinosaurs were not created by God. Let me show you the verses : (Sorry, it's faster for me to search the English version)
"For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him." (Colossians 1:16 NKJV)
"You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being." (Revelation 4:11 NKJV)
So, even though the Bible never mentions "mosquito", God is still the one who created it.
3. When you showed me the verses about wisdom, did you notice that they were about the wisdom of men? Actually God wants us to have the wisdom of God, which is different from the wisdom of men or of this world.
"For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe." (1 Corinthians 1:21 NKJV)
"For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight." (1 Corinthians 3:19 NKJV)
YH, thanks for your sharing. I don't know how much you believe in Jesus. If you claim yourself a Christian, I welcome you to God's family and let's share the Gospel to our Sanli friends because that's Christ's command. If you have any doubts or questions on the Bible, you can ask other Christians to enlighten you.
Most of our Sanli friends don't know about the Bible. What you were sharing with them will lead them to believe the Gospel even less.
But if you are not a believer of Christ, I sincerely pray that God will open your heart.
"When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God." (1 Corinthians 2:1 NKJV)
In fact, myself, I also ask for wisdom from God every day to understand His Words. That's why I couldn't stay silent when I saw your emails. Please forgive me if I've offended you somewhere.
---------------------------------------------------------------
I forwarded my reply to PG to ask his opinion. He also showed his concern over the misinformation in YH's emails and gave me an encouraging response.
"I think I don't have any further opinion on what you replied to YH except this: "Well done"."
"After Lee Sah's correction, the right year of the flood was BC2389."
"God_Yahweh...The exact time of Genesis was about BC3846."
"Regarding the second question, I surely have found related information on giants...but very obviously...giants and dinosaurs...were definitely not created by God...and He doesn't know at all the record of dinosaurs having lived on this earth."
"The third question: There is another absurd thing...Does God give men wisdom?" It was followed by verses about God wanting to "destroy the wisdom of the wise" (1 Corinthians 1:19), and that our faith "might not rest on men's wisdom" (1 Corinthians 2:5)
YH was getting wrong again in his calculation. And he was contradictory even in his own conclusion, for the word "exact" is used to "emphasize that a number, amount, or piece of information is or should be completely correct in every detail", whereas the word "about" means "a little more or less than a particular number, amount, or size". How was it possible that both words stand each other in the same statement?
By the way, since I had been going to church and reading Christian literature, I had never heard any Christian leaders, authors or fellows giving the exact year of God's creation. On what grounds was my ex-classmate so sure of his findings? I was very curious.
As the daughter of a former journalist, I learnt to be careful when spreading information. Dad used to write current affairs on the newspaper. He never made any assumptions with information from the third parties.
Was I going to sent a group email again to argue with YH in front of other unbelievers?
I checked myself. Would it give glory to God? But if I ignored YH who had started the drama on God's creation, who would give him testimony of our Creator?
So I clicked at YH's personal email address instead of our Sanli group address.
The main content was the following:
---------------------------------------------------------------
Hi, I chose to reply you in private bcoz I don't wish to waste others' time to read and then delete our messages without even understanding what we're discussing.
2. You said that giants and dinosaurs were not created by God. Let me show you the verses : (Sorry, it's faster for me to search the English version)
"For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him." (Colossians 1:16 NKJV)
"You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being." (Revelation 4:11 NKJV)
So, even though the Bible never mentions "mosquito", God is still the one who created it.
3. When you showed me the verses about wisdom, did you notice that they were about the wisdom of men? Actually God wants us to have the wisdom of God, which is different from the wisdom of men or of this world.
"For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe." (1 Corinthians 1:21 NKJV)
"For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight." (1 Corinthians 3:19 NKJV)
YH, thanks for your sharing. I don't know how much you believe in Jesus. If you claim yourself a Christian, I welcome you to God's family and let's share the Gospel to our Sanli friends because that's Christ's command. If you have any doubts or questions on the Bible, you can ask other Christians to enlighten you.
Most of our Sanli friends don't know about the Bible. What you were sharing with them will lead them to believe the Gospel even less.
But if you are not a believer of Christ, I sincerely pray that God will open your heart.
"When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God." (1 Corinthians 2:1 NKJV)
In fact, myself, I also ask for wisdom from God every day to understand His Words. That's why I couldn't stay silent when I saw your emails. Please forgive me if I've offended you somewhere.
---------------------------------------------------------------
I forwarded my reply to PG to ask his opinion. He also showed his concern over the misinformation in YH's emails and gave me an encouraging response.
"I think I don't have any further opinion on what you replied to YH except this: "Well done"."
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Concern For My Sanli Friends I
"Sanli" is what we call our former class "Senior Middle Three Science" during the final year at the Chinese High School in Batu Pahat in 1994.
Many of our ex-classmates still gather once awhile and sometimes send group emails.
These two years, YH is often accompanied by an Indonesian girl when going out for tea with us. His friend never participates in our conversations probably due to the language barrier.
One evening, where there were only few of us sitting at a mamak stall, I finally made my first step to chat with her and was glad to learn that she was a Christian. Since then, I was expecting YH to know God through his girlfriend. But I never asked him about his faith. The only thing I noticed was that next to his MSN identity he had put the following personal message "The Almighty God with a self-editing, self-directing, self-acting circus..."
In the middle of March, he sent a group email with the title "The master book of all books". He was forwarding the address of a website in Chinese where someone had lodged a complaint stating that the Bible contains sex and violence and is not suitable for those under eighteen years old.
As I took it as a joke, I did not respond.
Twelve days later, there was another email from YH with the title "Actually God has never seen dinosaurs" and an attachment of a table showing the chronology from Adam to Abraham.
Below it, there were these paragraphs:
"After God had created the world, He brought floodwaters, killed all the lives and only allowed Noah's family to survive. However, God's power was probably limited, for He missed two persons, Methuselah and Lamech who both miraculously lived another hundred more years without others' knowledge. And it was later recorded in the Bible..."
"...In BC3746, when God started to create men, not only He created them in His image, it is believed that He had also referred to the Chinese, Babylonians, Egyptians, Indians, etc."
This time, I felt compelled to comment on the nonsense by sending a group email as well.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Sorry to disturb all of you, I'm not sure if any of you has really taken the trouble to look at the table in YH's previous mail. However, I'd like to point out some mistakes. I don't know where he got the version and table from but all the other versions that I know do not back up the number.
"Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters came on the earth." (Genesis 7:6 NKJV) (not 402 years old as shown in the table) So, Noah's father Lamech and grandfather Methuselah had died before the flood arrived.
The Bible never mentions the word "dinosaur", but "giant". So please don't mislead Sanli unbelievers with information based on your own interpretation.
If anyone has anything encouraging to share, welcome. Please don't share things without verifying the source, esp when it comes to God's Words.
"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him." (James 1:5 NKJV)
---------------------------------------------------------------
Many of our ex-classmates still gather once awhile and sometimes send group emails.
These two years, YH is often accompanied by an Indonesian girl when going out for tea with us. His friend never participates in our conversations probably due to the language barrier.
One evening, where there were only few of us sitting at a mamak stall, I finally made my first step to chat with her and was glad to learn that she was a Christian. Since then, I was expecting YH to know God through his girlfriend. But I never asked him about his faith. The only thing I noticed was that next to his MSN identity he had put the following personal message "The Almighty God with a self-editing, self-directing, self-acting circus..."
In the middle of March, he sent a group email with the title "The master book of all books". He was forwarding the address of a website in Chinese where someone had lodged a complaint stating that the Bible contains sex and violence and is not suitable for those under eighteen years old.
As I took it as a joke, I did not respond.
Twelve days later, there was another email from YH with the title "Actually God has never seen dinosaurs" and an attachment of a table showing the chronology from Adam to Abraham.
Below it, there were these paragraphs:
"After God had created the world, He brought floodwaters, killed all the lives and only allowed Noah's family to survive. However, God's power was probably limited, for He missed two persons, Methuselah and Lamech who both miraculously lived another hundred more years without others' knowledge. And it was later recorded in the Bible..."
"...In BC3746, when God started to create men, not only He created them in His image, it is believed that He had also referred to the Chinese, Babylonians, Egyptians, Indians, etc."
This time, I felt compelled to comment on the nonsense by sending a group email as well.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Sorry to disturb all of you, I'm not sure if any of you has really taken the trouble to look at the table in YH's previous mail. However, I'd like to point out some mistakes. I don't know where he got the version and table from but all the other versions that I know do not back up the number.
"Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters came on the earth." (Genesis 7:6 NKJV) (not 402 years old as shown in the table) So, Noah's father Lamech and grandfather Methuselah had died before the flood arrived.
The Bible never mentions the word "dinosaur", but "giant". So please don't mislead Sanli unbelievers with information based on your own interpretation.
If anyone has anything encouraging to share, welcome. Please don't share things without verifying the source, esp when it comes to God's Words.
"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him." (James 1:5 NKJV)
---------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Blessed Are The Maids
I was clearing rubbish in one of the guest rooms when I saw a folded paper box in the dustbin. I took it out and discovered an unfamiliar writing on the paper which was actually a page torn from the calendar near the kitchen.
"Katanya manusia diciptakan sama, mengapa derajat dibeda karena harta."
It was in Indonesian, so I knew immediately who the writer was. I did not understand two of the words there, though I could guess the global meaning. After checking the BM-English dictionary, I found the meaning of "dibeda". And after consulting a student who associated "derajat" with "darjat", I got the translation for that whole sentence.
"It is said that men are created to be equal, why are our ranks different because of wealth."
I was reading a book in the living room when I heard noise from my next door. My neighbour was scolding her maid again. I used to act as a busybody by eavesdropping until the angry voice disappeared after at least twenty minutes.
The next day, I might tell my newly-wedded colleague SS about my compassion for the maid. At first SS did not quite agree with my opinion that maids should be given freedom to talk to other people. Once, as she was complaining about the inappropriate behavior of her superior and her sister-in-law, I said, "When you don't want to complain to your husband about his sister, at least you have me or your own mother and siblings to listen to your complaints anytime. But many maids in Malaysia have nobody to whom they can release their tension of work and feelings of loneliness in this foreign land." SS could finally put herself in a maid's shoes.
This week, the non-stop scolding could be heard again when I was watching the television. I still leaned on the side gate with my ears flapping. I imagined that the maid must be asking the same question in her heart "Katanya manusia diciptakan sama, mengapa derajat dibeda karena harta?".
Instead of just shaking my head, I stretched out my hand and prayed for her and her employer so that both of them would be kind and forgiving to each other. Later, the Spirit of God reminded me about Jesus' teaching on a mountainside.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:3-10 NKJV)
That was the answer.
"Katanya manusia diciptakan sama, mengapa derajat dibeda karena harta."
It was in Indonesian, so I knew immediately who the writer was. I did not understand two of the words there, though I could guess the global meaning. After checking the BM-English dictionary, I found the meaning of "dibeda". And after consulting a student who associated "derajat" with "darjat", I got the translation for that whole sentence.
"It is said that men are created to be equal, why are our ranks different because of wealth."
I was reading a book in the living room when I heard noise from my next door. My neighbour was scolding her maid again. I used to act as a busybody by eavesdropping until the angry voice disappeared after at least twenty minutes.
The next day, I might tell my newly-wedded colleague SS about my compassion for the maid. At first SS did not quite agree with my opinion that maids should be given freedom to talk to other people. Once, as she was complaining about the inappropriate behavior of her superior and her sister-in-law, I said, "When you don't want to complain to your husband about his sister, at least you have me or your own mother and siblings to listen to your complaints anytime. But many maids in Malaysia have nobody to whom they can release their tension of work and feelings of loneliness in this foreign land." SS could finally put herself in a maid's shoes.
This week, the non-stop scolding could be heard again when I was watching the television. I still leaned on the side gate with my ears flapping. I imagined that the maid must be asking the same question in her heart "Katanya manusia diciptakan sama, mengapa derajat dibeda karena harta?".
Instead of just shaking my head, I stretched out my hand and prayed for her and her employer so that both of them would be kind and forgiving to each other. Later, the Spirit of God reminded me about Jesus' teaching on a mountainside.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:3-10 NKJV)
That was the answer.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Earth Hour With God
Are you going to turn off your lights and electrical appliances for one hour from 8.30pm to 9.30pm on 28 March?
The TV channel NTV7 has been urging Malaysians to go green on that day to raise awareness towards the need to take action on climate change.
Are you going to light candles? Then you are still going to burn unnecessary energy.
Going to bed during that hour? Then you are going to wake up earlier the next morning, and switch on lights earlier to start your day. Then you will spend what you will have saved the previous night.
What am I going to do then? Honestly, I might not even have a chance to support the event this coming weekend, because I will be back to Batu Pahat and nobody in my house will be bothered to save electricity by not switching on lights, especially at night.
But I made a beautiful mistake by devoting an hour on earth to my Heavenly Father a week earlier...
Last Saturday I was invited by my former colleague Saratha to her house who was celebrating her Baha'i New Year. While I was driving back, I suddenly remembered the earth hour but I thought it was on that day. I looked at my watch. I could still make it if I wanted to. But, what was I going to do in the dark?
An idea flashed into my mind. I would take this occasion to speak to God who created the lights (Genesis 1:14) and who turns my darkness into light (Psalm 18:28).
When I reached home, it was around 8.20pm. I took my time to settle all my things before switching off all the lights in the living room and my bedroom. It was slightly over half past eight. Finally, I sat quietly next to my bed near the window where the street lights and probably moonlight were still shining.
For the first time, I thanked God for the earth where I was living, for Malaysia where I was born, grew up, and was living now and for my country leaders. Then I also included my family members, my friends, my colleagues, my students, my church, my house, my job, my missions, etc in my prayer.
I was no longer wearing my watch, so I could not see the time. When a message tone was ringing from my mobile phone that I had forgotten to switch off, only did I realize that it was already 9.40pm.
I checked the inbox. The short message was from an unknown source.
"Life so boring? You wish to be happy & enjoy life? Type ON JOY to 32100."
It really made me smile, especially one hour after I had talked to my loving heavenly Father who had been making my life exciting. My joy in Jesus Christ is constant even when my mobile phone has neither battery nor credit.
I am going to spend more and more earth hours with God. Anybody joining me?
The TV channel NTV7 has been urging Malaysians to go green on that day to raise awareness towards the need to take action on climate change.
Are you going to light candles? Then you are still going to burn unnecessary energy.
Going to bed during that hour? Then you are going to wake up earlier the next morning, and switch on lights earlier to start your day. Then you will spend what you will have saved the previous night.
What am I going to do then? Honestly, I might not even have a chance to support the event this coming weekend, because I will be back to Batu Pahat and nobody in my house will be bothered to save electricity by not switching on lights, especially at night.
But I made a beautiful mistake by devoting an hour on earth to my Heavenly Father a week earlier...
Last Saturday I was invited by my former colleague Saratha to her house who was celebrating her Baha'i New Year. While I was driving back, I suddenly remembered the earth hour but I thought it was on that day. I looked at my watch. I could still make it if I wanted to. But, what was I going to do in the dark?
An idea flashed into my mind. I would take this occasion to speak to God who created the lights (Genesis 1:14) and who turns my darkness into light (Psalm 18:28).
When I reached home, it was around 8.20pm. I took my time to settle all my things before switching off all the lights in the living room and my bedroom. It was slightly over half past eight. Finally, I sat quietly next to my bed near the window where the street lights and probably moonlight were still shining.
For the first time, I thanked God for the earth where I was living, for Malaysia where I was born, grew up, and was living now and for my country leaders. Then I also included my family members, my friends, my colleagues, my students, my church, my house, my job, my missions, etc in my prayer.
I was no longer wearing my watch, so I could not see the time. When a message tone was ringing from my mobile phone that I had forgotten to switch off, only did I realize that it was already 9.40pm.
I checked the inbox. The short message was from an unknown source.
"Life so boring? You wish to be happy & enjoy life? Type ON JOY to 32100."
It really made me smile, especially one hour after I had talked to my loving heavenly Father who had been making my life exciting. My joy in Jesus Christ is constant even when my mobile phone has neither battery nor credit.
I am going to spend more and more earth hours with God. Anybody joining me?
Monday, March 23, 2009
Never Bored With My Nephew And Niece V
My visitors were leaving on Tuesday.
I had to send them to the bus station on my way to work.
Zer Nin looked lovely a baju kurung that a colleague had passed to me.
I had insisted that she put on the two-piece traditional Malay dress to draw attention later in the express bus and give a surprise to my brother Seng who was going to pick them at the terminal in Batu Pahat.
It was only over half past seven in the morning, but my nephew and niece looked much more dynamic than many of my students when I saw them in class at eight thirty...
In the car, Zer Yih kept quizzing me. He had learnt all those questions from his friends. Sometimes, it was a question of paying attention to all the words.
"How many numbers are there in the English alphabet?"
"None."
"Why?"
"Because there are only letters, not numbers."
Bingo!
"Correct. If E,T leave the alphabet, how many letters are there left?"
"Should be twenty-four but I know you're going to say 'wrong'. There must be a trick somewhere but I have no idea. Come on, tell me the answer."
"Twenty-one."
"Why?"
"Because ET leaves with UFO!"
Have you got it? OK, here is another one.
"Why is a penguin's stomach white?"
This time, I simply gave up trying.
"Because its hands are too short to reach and clean other parts of its body except for the stomach!"
Not only God's thoughts are higher than my thoughts (Isaiah 55:9), sometimes even children's are also higher than mine.
I had to send them to the bus station on my way to work.
Zer Nin looked lovely a baju kurung that a colleague had passed to me.
I had insisted that she put on the two-piece traditional Malay dress to draw attention later in the express bus and give a surprise to my brother Seng who was going to pick them at the terminal in Batu Pahat.
It was only over half past seven in the morning, but my nephew and niece looked much more dynamic than many of my students when I saw them in class at eight thirty...
In the car, Zer Yih kept quizzing me. He had learnt all those questions from his friends. Sometimes, it was a question of paying attention to all the words.
"How many numbers are there in the English alphabet?"
"None."
"Why?"
"Because there are only letters, not numbers."
Bingo!
"Correct. If E,T leave the alphabet, how many letters are there left?"
"Should be twenty-four but I know you're going to say 'wrong'. There must be a trick somewhere but I have no idea. Come on, tell me the answer."
"Twenty-one."
"Why?"
"Because ET leaves with UFO!"
Have you got it? OK, here is another one.
"Why is a penguin's stomach white?"
This time, I simply gave up trying.
"Because its hands are too short to reach and clean other parts of its body except for the stomach!"
Not only God's thoughts are higher than my thoughts (Isaiah 55:9), sometimes even children's are also higher than mine.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Never Bored With My Nephew And Niece IV
I bought three packets of atta flour at a reduced price a few years back without even knowing what it was normally used for. Only after that I found out it was the main ingredient for a chapati. Since, I started to make my own chapati with a recipe and my whole family loved this healthy Indian bread.
When I was alone in Melaka, the flour was always stored and untouched in my fridge. When my nephew and niece came to my place, they were almost sure that one of the activities would be having homemade chapati for breakfast or dinner. And they looked forward to it.
On Monday morning, I woke up early to stir the flour with salt and water. I kneaded the dough and left it in a covered pot. Then I called upon my excited assistants to assign them tasks, one of which was to beat eggs. The problem was that whatever the brother was doing, the sister was also eager to have a hand in. So I gave both a chance to participate. When it was Zer Ning's turn to beat eggs,
I passed a rolling pin to Zer Yih.
Zer Nin very soon wanted to join her brother. I explained to her that since rolling the dough into thin round pancakes required lot of force,
Zer Yih would be a more suitable person. I suggested that she cut designs out of a pancake with a round-edged knife.
She happily accepted the offer.
I also heat a frying pan to cook baked beans, eggs and chapatis one after another. When I went off to prepare dishes, Zer Yih would take my shift to keep a look on the bread.
Their mathematician father must be relieved that the children had inherited good genes from him.
I was busy cooking and turning the chapatis until they puffed up when Zer Nin said to me, "Big Aunt, this cross is for you because you're a believer of Jesus."
"Thanks, but how about you? Do you believe in Jesus?"
"We don't."
"Why? Don't you go to Sunday school? Don't you believe what your teachers tell you about Jesus?"
"Every time my teacher tells me that Jesus did a magic on five loaves and two fishes to feed five hundred people." She was refering to one of the miracles that the Lord had performed (Matthew 14:13-21).
"Five thousand men," I corrected her, wondering if three or four digits made any difference to a seven-year-old girl like her. "Do you believe that?"
"Yes!" She gave me a convinced smile.
"Then you believe in Jesus."
Next, I asked ten-year-old Zer Yih, "Do you remember what you did once when your dad's car was stuck in the flood? You prayed to Jesus and your dad could start the engine again. He told me the story."
"There was another experience. I lost something but couldn't find it. After I prayed to Jesus, I got it back very fast."
"So you also believe in Jesus."
When their mother also came to help with the rolling, Zer Yih carved on a pancake as a momento of his trip here.
Of course, the souvenir was later sent into his mouth.
My chapati did not have to multiply by miracle that morning, for they were just enough to feed five ladies and a boy!
When I was alone in Melaka, the flour was always stored and untouched in my fridge. When my nephew and niece came to my place, they were almost sure that one of the activities would be having homemade chapati for breakfast or dinner. And they looked forward to it.
On Monday morning, I woke up early to stir the flour with salt and water. I kneaded the dough and left it in a covered pot. Then I called upon my excited assistants to assign them tasks, one of which was to beat eggs. The problem was that whatever the brother was doing, the sister was also eager to have a hand in. So I gave both a chance to participate. When it was Zer Ning's turn to beat eggs,
I passed a rolling pin to Zer Yih.
Zer Nin very soon wanted to join her brother. I explained to her that since rolling the dough into thin round pancakes required lot of force,
Zer Yih would be a more suitable person. I suggested that she cut designs out of a pancake with a round-edged knife.
She happily accepted the offer.
I also heat a frying pan to cook baked beans, eggs and chapatis one after another. When I went off to prepare dishes, Zer Yih would take my shift to keep a look on the bread.
Their mathematician father must be relieved that the children had inherited good genes from him.
I was busy cooking and turning the chapatis until they puffed up when Zer Nin said to me, "Big Aunt, this cross is for you because you're a believer of Jesus."
"Thanks, but how about you? Do you believe in Jesus?"
"We don't."
"Why? Don't you go to Sunday school? Don't you believe what your teachers tell you about Jesus?"
"Every time my teacher tells me that Jesus did a magic on five loaves and two fishes to feed five hundred people." She was refering to one of the miracles that the Lord had performed (Matthew 14:13-21).
"Five thousand men," I corrected her, wondering if three or four digits made any difference to a seven-year-old girl like her. "Do you believe that?"
"Yes!" She gave me a convinced smile.
"Then you believe in Jesus."
Next, I asked ten-year-old Zer Yih, "Do you remember what you did once when your dad's car was stuck in the flood? You prayed to Jesus and your dad could start the engine again. He told me the story."
"There was another experience. I lost something but couldn't find it. After I prayed to Jesus, I got it back very fast."
"So you also believe in Jesus."
When their mother also came to help with the rolling, Zer Yih carved on a pancake as a momento of his trip here.
Of course, the souvenir was later sent into his mouth.
My chapati did not have to multiply by miracle that morning, for they were just enough to feed five ladies and a boy!
Friday, March 20, 2009
Never Bored With My Nephew And Niece III
When you begin to consider that pushing in a trolley in the hypermarket
is a routine rather than fun;
When you begin to feel embarrassed
to volunteer to be a participant
in an animal show in the zoo,
welcome to the boring adulthood!
is a routine rather than fun;
When you begin to feel embarrassed
to volunteer to be a participant
in an animal show in the zoo,
welcome to the boring adulthood!
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Never Bored With My Nephew And Niece II
When you were small, were you only interested in watching a cartoon,
or were you also enthusiastic about solving a magic cube,
spinning the "che ling" (Chinese yo-yo),
beating your chess rival,
fitting together pieces of a jigsaw,
doing housework,
or even farming?
or were you also enthusiastic about solving a magic cube,
spinning the "che ling" (Chinese yo-yo),
beating your chess rival,
fitting together pieces of a jigsaw,
doing housework,
or even farming?
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Never Bored With My Nephew And Niece I
My brother Leong was going to fly to China for a short course. He would not be around during the one-week school holidays. My sister-in-law Li Chia would still like to take their children for vacation but she was not brave enough to drive a long distance. So she brought them, together with their maid, and invited Mum to come to Melaka by bus.
Their departure time was 8.15am. Based on my experience with the express bus, their journey from Batu Pahat to Melaka would take two hours. My prediction was accurate, for I did not have to wait long at the Sentral bus terminal before seeing the bus with the familiar motif of orchid approaching the place to drop the passengers.
There my visitors arrived!
When I saw my nephew and niece's expressive faces behind the window glass,
I knew that my following days with their presence were not going to be the quiet ones...
Zer Yih grimaced as usual when I wanted to take a picture of him.
While Zer Nin's toothy grin was hilarious with a new hole in her teeth!
Actually the her foretooth had started moving several days before the trip. While she was bending towards the front seat to chat with her brother in the bus, the driver braked. Her mouth accidentally knocked the back of the chair which caused the tooth so mobile that only little effort was needed by her mother to pull it out completely. Thank God the pain and bleeding were minor.
We had to cross the bridge leading to the parking of Tesco hypermarket to get my car. The children were excited to view the busy roads from several meters high.
I had prayed for good weather despite this rainy season. If the rain still fell, I would just leave them in the shopping malls. As God was blessing us with a sunny morning, I decided to drive them to the Jonker Street for a walk and lunch. Mum and Li Chia bought local specialities, namely palm sugar, salted vegetables and a few types of cookies.
When the sun was hitting our heads more and more, we entered a restaurant to have some cendol (red bean grated ice and sweeties made with glutinous rice).
Our table was near a staircase where household objects of Mum's childhood days were displayed. My sister-in-law taught the children to learn those antiquities which were also unknown to my generation.
The adults were still keen to shop but the bored children began to make noise.
Zer Yih impatiently asked when we were going back to my place while Zer Nin complained about her stomach pain. So, we decided to take our lunch though we did not feel hungry. We had to queue up in front of a famous chicken rice restaurant before having our seats.
Once we were savouring delicious food and drink again, the children calmed down. They must have been run out of energy, which caused their restlessness.
After lunch, the children were attracted by a stall in the same street where a skilled craftsman was making all kinds of decorative items with metal strings.
we also walked past a shop in a lane from which Mum and Li Chia had bought shoes during one of their previous visits in Melaka.
The little ones were impressed by the size of a pair of giant wooden sandals but they were totally ignorant of the kungfu legend Bruce Lee.
Thank God they were not initiated to any martial arts. They were already hyperactive enough!
At Tun Tan Cheng Lock Street where my car was parked, I noticed the Chinese name of an eatery "Dagu" which meant "big aunt". I told my nephew and niece, "I'm going to sell wonton noodles here later!" and excitedly posed in front of the plate.
A few steps further, Zer Yih suddenly raised his voice, "Small aunt's shop is there!" He had discovered a plate Xiaogu" in front of another restaurant.
Ping, you can also sell nyonya food in Melaka!
Their departure time was 8.15am. Based on my experience with the express bus, their journey from Batu Pahat to Melaka would take two hours. My prediction was accurate, for I did not have to wait long at the Sentral bus terminal before seeing the bus with the familiar motif of orchid approaching the place to drop the passengers.
There my visitors arrived!
When I saw my nephew and niece's expressive faces behind the window glass,
I knew that my following days with their presence were not going to be the quiet ones...
Zer Yih grimaced as usual when I wanted to take a picture of him.
While Zer Nin's toothy grin was hilarious with a new hole in her teeth!
Actually the her foretooth had started moving several days before the trip. While she was bending towards the front seat to chat with her brother in the bus, the driver braked. Her mouth accidentally knocked the back of the chair which caused the tooth so mobile that only little effort was needed by her mother to pull it out completely. Thank God the pain and bleeding were minor.
We had to cross the bridge leading to the parking of Tesco hypermarket to get my car. The children were excited to view the busy roads from several meters high.
I had prayed for good weather despite this rainy season. If the rain still fell, I would just leave them in the shopping malls. As God was blessing us with a sunny morning, I decided to drive them to the Jonker Street for a walk and lunch. Mum and Li Chia bought local specialities, namely palm sugar, salted vegetables and a few types of cookies.
When the sun was hitting our heads more and more, we entered a restaurant to have some cendol (red bean grated ice and sweeties made with glutinous rice).
Our table was near a staircase where household objects of Mum's childhood days were displayed. My sister-in-law taught the children to learn those antiquities which were also unknown to my generation.
The adults were still keen to shop but the bored children began to make noise.
Zer Yih impatiently asked when we were going back to my place while Zer Nin complained about her stomach pain. So, we decided to take our lunch though we did not feel hungry. We had to queue up in front of a famous chicken rice restaurant before having our seats.
Once we were savouring delicious food and drink again, the children calmed down. They must have been run out of energy, which caused their restlessness.
After lunch, the children were attracted by a stall in the same street where a skilled craftsman was making all kinds of decorative items with metal strings.
we also walked past a shop in a lane from which Mum and Li Chia had bought shoes during one of their previous visits in Melaka.
The little ones were impressed by the size of a pair of giant wooden sandals but they were totally ignorant of the kungfu legend Bruce Lee.
Thank God they were not initiated to any martial arts. They were already hyperactive enough!
At Tun Tan Cheng Lock Street where my car was parked, I noticed the Chinese name of an eatery "Dagu" which meant "big aunt". I told my nephew and niece, "I'm going to sell wonton noodles here later!" and excitedly posed in front of the plate.
A few steps further, Zer Yih suddenly raised his voice, "Small aunt's shop is there!" He had discovered a plate Xiaogu" in front of another restaurant.
Ping, you can also sell nyonya food in Melaka!
Thursday, March 12, 2009
From Classmate To Brother In Christ
Besides Ah Mark, another ex-classmate of mine who has been receptive to the Gospel is PG who used to sit behind me in class. Since teenage years, I have always known him as an emotional person. Any jokes will make him laugh his head off while any bad news will also make his face sombre.
Last year before my departure to France, PG happened to be back to Batu Pahat for the weekend. When I asked him for a lift to Selangor and a one-night accommodation, he kindly granted the service to me and came to pick me at my house.
After I got into his car, I told him, "I've started my own blog recently. When you're free, welcome to visit it. I'll give you the website address."
"It's good that you're using your language talent. You have a brilliant writing style since school times."
"Thanks, I just want to record my life and testify my Christian faith."
Surprisingly, PG also had his own testimony. He was in a bookshop when he came across a book about Jesus' crucifixion for our sins. Touched by God's grace, he could not control his tears there and then. As none of his family members was a believer of Christ, PG just kept that experience to himself.
Since small, I had been hearing that Jesus died on the cross but that did not arouse my curiosity to read the Bible or Christian books to find out more. Even though I claimed to be a Christian, I did not truly understand how His shedding of blood was related to me and my life, let alone shedding my tears for His sacrifice.
It was in May. I had been attending a Christian foundational course and had made up my mind to attend the church service more regularly. Having seen my breakthrough in my relationship with God as well as with my surroundings, I also encouraged PG to find a church in the city, where he was based, which would help him grow spiritually. What a joy to welcome an ex-classmate to be my brother in Christ!
Jesus promises that "For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." (Matthew 7:8) True enough. PG's Christian colleague in Petaling Jaya brought him to a local church where he was given a bilingual Bible by the pastor. He was also exposed to the related literature by other believers. When he went back to Johor once a month, he would still drive half an hour from his house to a church in Batu Pahat to attend the Sunday service alone. In my case, I had hardly made this effort and many of my Sunday mornings in Batu Pahat used to be spent reading the newspaper on the sofa. I might have excelled more than PG in studies in the past but he always beats me in terms of discipline since our younger days.
Later last year, he resigned from his company and found a job in the home town in order to be more present with his parents. So, I have more occasions to meet him in Batu Pahat. If I extend my stay to Sunday afternoon, I will contact him to go to church together in the morning. Then we will go for a drink to continue our fellowship. We have a lot to exchange concerning our dealings with unbelievers in our respective families, our understandings of a Bible verse or a sermon etc.
PG was not really my close friend in class. But thanks to Jesus' blood, we are now closer than ever in God's family.
Last year before my departure to France, PG happened to be back to Batu Pahat for the weekend. When I asked him for a lift to Selangor and a one-night accommodation, he kindly granted the service to me and came to pick me at my house.
After I got into his car, I told him, "I've started my own blog recently. When you're free, welcome to visit it. I'll give you the website address."
"It's good that you're using your language talent. You have a brilliant writing style since school times."
"Thanks, I just want to record my life and testify my Christian faith."
Surprisingly, PG also had his own testimony. He was in a bookshop when he came across a book about Jesus' crucifixion for our sins. Touched by God's grace, he could not control his tears there and then. As none of his family members was a believer of Christ, PG just kept that experience to himself.
Since small, I had been hearing that Jesus died on the cross but that did not arouse my curiosity to read the Bible or Christian books to find out more. Even though I claimed to be a Christian, I did not truly understand how His shedding of blood was related to me and my life, let alone shedding my tears for His sacrifice.
It was in May. I had been attending a Christian foundational course and had made up my mind to attend the church service more regularly. Having seen my breakthrough in my relationship with God as well as with my surroundings, I also encouraged PG to find a church in the city, where he was based, which would help him grow spiritually. What a joy to welcome an ex-classmate to be my brother in Christ!
Jesus promises that "For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." (Matthew 7:8) True enough. PG's Christian colleague in Petaling Jaya brought him to a local church where he was given a bilingual Bible by the pastor. He was also exposed to the related literature by other believers. When he went back to Johor once a month, he would still drive half an hour from his house to a church in Batu Pahat to attend the Sunday service alone. In my case, I had hardly made this effort and many of my Sunday mornings in Batu Pahat used to be spent reading the newspaper on the sofa. I might have excelled more than PG in studies in the past but he always beats me in terms of discipline since our younger days.
Later last year, he resigned from his company and found a job in the home town in order to be more present with his parents. So, I have more occasions to meet him in Batu Pahat. If I extend my stay to Sunday afternoon, I will contact him to go to church together in the morning. Then we will go for a drink to continue our fellowship. We have a lot to exchange concerning our dealings with unbelievers in our respective families, our understandings of a Bible verse or a sermon etc.
PG was not really my close friend in class. But thanks to Jesus' blood, we are now closer than ever in God's family.
Monday, March 2, 2009
A Father's Love
We cheerfully received Ah Ban's wedding dinner invitation card during the Chinese New Year. Nobody expected that one month later, we would be gathered on the event date to offer our condolences to Ah Ban because of the sudden death of his mother two days preceding his wedding ceremony.
Although the dinner was cancelled, many of us still went back to Batu Pahat to give him some moral supports. I went to the Funeral Home with Jack and Loke. Some of other friends were already there or came later. We occupied at least two tables.
One of them was Ah Mark. We were ex-classmates as early as at the age of five! I realized that only when we were in the same class again in the secondary school. I had recognized his face in an old picture of the graduation ceremony of the first of the two kindergartens that I had attended. It was later confirmed by him.
The last two years in the secondary school, our permanent seats in class were very close to each other. Thus, we had a lot of fun chatting and joking. After I had gone overseas for further studies, we did not keep in touch. Through other ex-classmates, I learnt that he was the first among us to get married. When I came back on holidays, he was not in the group of bachelor friends who would ask me out for a tea. Occasionally I still saw him with his buddies at the Mamak stalls near his house. Then we would have a very short conversation.
Since I had come back to Malaysia, I faithfully attend our Chinese New Year gatherings which usually include a lunch at the restaurant. Last year, the funniest characters of the class turned up to make the venue a theatre. Besides the special menu, beer was ordered to make the fellows high. Once the alchoohol had been poured out from the bottles to the stomach, those comedians talked even more nonsense. I found back Ah Mark of the secondary school!
This time, during Ah Ban's mother's wake service, everybody looked steady. When Ah Mark saw me, he moved to sit near me. His round face and childlike smile were by no means convincing proof of his status as a father of two.
At first, I asked about the family business he had been doing since years. He seemed to be physically and mentally tired of the routine but it was the way to sustain his comfortable life.
"If you're satisfied with a simple life, then you won't need much money. Health is more important. You see, once we die, we can't do anything with money anymore." I showed where Ah Ban's mother was lying.
"It's true."
"Don't worry about the future. God will provide, if you trust in Him."
"You're a Christian now?" When he heard the word "God", that was his reaction.
"I've been a Christian for years."
"Oh, I see. My two children have been attending children school run by a church. My son still worships our god at home whereas my daughter doesn't want to follow anymore. When I look at what they learn about the Christianity, the teachings are actually good..."
"I am not surprised at your daughter's behavior. Christianity is all about relationships. Just think of the cross: The vertical is our relationship with God while the horizontal is our relationship with man. If you are interested, I'm going to tell you what I've understood."
"Go ahead."
"God is our Father in Heaven. To maintain a relationship with Him, we need the communication. We speak to Him through our prayers and He speaks to us through the Bible. When you speak to your children, you want them to listen. Same goes to God. He also expects us to listen to Him by reading and obeying His Words. For example, you can ask your father for a lot of things and he will do for you. When he asks you to stop smoking, whether to listen or not is still up to you. But a good relationship requires the two-way communication. We need to listen and speak to each other... Are you following?"
"Yes, continue."
"In the Bible, Jesus tells us to love our neighbours like ourselves. But because we don't listen to Him, that's why there are wars and conflicts. Do you agree?"
"You're right."
"Regarding the worship of your god, the Bible tells us that there is only one God who created man in His image. So He doesn't want us to turn to other gods. That's the simple reason."
"Ok."
"If you read Genesis, the first book of the Bible, you'll learn about the creation of the world. Would you like to know the story?"
"Yes."
So, I summarized the first three chapters of Genesis, focusing on how Adam and Eve's disobedience had led to death. Then I gave a short account of Jesus' first coming to give eternal life and His second coming to judge the world.
"So you believe that Jesus will come again?"
"I personally take it seriously. If you don't believe it, it'll just sound like a fairy tale. All depends on here." I pointed at my head.
I also briefly explained the notion of the trinity, "There are three persons in one God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. I don't know much about the Holy Spirit. My understanding is that if God were alone, He would not know what love is. Because He has a Son, relationship exists and that's why He can love us and expect us to do likewise. Now you've got your own children, it should be easy for you to understand, right?... Sorry, maybe I've talked too much..."
"No, no. It's OK."
"Ah Mark, I have to emphasize again that I can share with you much more of what I've learnt about Christianity, but whether you'll believe or not is still your free will."
I thank God for giving me the opportunity to tell the good news of eternal life at a place which was related to grief and death. I had never expected to discuss a serious topic like that with Ah Mark. Honestly, he was among the last persons in my list of ex-classmates to whom I would have thought of even mentioning the word "God".
Out of his fatherly love, Ah Mark wants the Christianity to influence his children for the better. How much more our Father God.
Although the dinner was cancelled, many of us still went back to Batu Pahat to give him some moral supports. I went to the Funeral Home with Jack and Loke. Some of other friends were already there or came later. We occupied at least two tables.
One of them was Ah Mark. We were ex-classmates as early as at the age of five! I realized that only when we were in the same class again in the secondary school. I had recognized his face in an old picture of the graduation ceremony of the first of the two kindergartens that I had attended. It was later confirmed by him.
The last two years in the secondary school, our permanent seats in class were very close to each other. Thus, we had a lot of fun chatting and joking. After I had gone overseas for further studies, we did not keep in touch. Through other ex-classmates, I learnt that he was the first among us to get married. When I came back on holidays, he was not in the group of bachelor friends who would ask me out for a tea. Occasionally I still saw him with his buddies at the Mamak stalls near his house. Then we would have a very short conversation.
Since I had come back to Malaysia, I faithfully attend our Chinese New Year gatherings which usually include a lunch at the restaurant. Last year, the funniest characters of the class turned up to make the venue a theatre. Besides the special menu, beer was ordered to make the fellows high. Once the alchoohol had been poured out from the bottles to the stomach, those comedians talked even more nonsense. I found back Ah Mark of the secondary school!
This time, during Ah Ban's mother's wake service, everybody looked steady. When Ah Mark saw me, he moved to sit near me. His round face and childlike smile were by no means convincing proof of his status as a father of two.
At first, I asked about the family business he had been doing since years. He seemed to be physically and mentally tired of the routine but it was the way to sustain his comfortable life.
"If you're satisfied with a simple life, then you won't need much money. Health is more important. You see, once we die, we can't do anything with money anymore." I showed where Ah Ban's mother was lying.
"It's true."
"Don't worry about the future. God will provide, if you trust in Him."
"You're a Christian now?" When he heard the word "God", that was his reaction.
"I've been a Christian for years."
"Oh, I see. My two children have been attending children school run by a church. My son still worships our god at home whereas my daughter doesn't want to follow anymore. When I look at what they learn about the Christianity, the teachings are actually good..."
"I am not surprised at your daughter's behavior. Christianity is all about relationships. Just think of the cross: The vertical is our relationship with God while the horizontal is our relationship with man. If you are interested, I'm going to tell you what I've understood."
"Go ahead."
"God is our Father in Heaven. To maintain a relationship with Him, we need the communication. We speak to Him through our prayers and He speaks to us through the Bible. When you speak to your children, you want them to listen. Same goes to God. He also expects us to listen to Him by reading and obeying His Words. For example, you can ask your father for a lot of things and he will do for you. When he asks you to stop smoking, whether to listen or not is still up to you. But a good relationship requires the two-way communication. We need to listen and speak to each other... Are you following?"
"Yes, continue."
"In the Bible, Jesus tells us to love our neighbours like ourselves. But because we don't listen to Him, that's why there are wars and conflicts. Do you agree?"
"You're right."
"Regarding the worship of your god, the Bible tells us that there is only one God who created man in His image. So He doesn't want us to turn to other gods. That's the simple reason."
"Ok."
"If you read Genesis, the first book of the Bible, you'll learn about the creation of the world. Would you like to know the story?"
"Yes."
So, I summarized the first three chapters of Genesis, focusing on how Adam and Eve's disobedience had led to death. Then I gave a short account of Jesus' first coming to give eternal life and His second coming to judge the world.
"So you believe that Jesus will come again?"
"I personally take it seriously. If you don't believe it, it'll just sound like a fairy tale. All depends on here." I pointed at my head.
I also briefly explained the notion of the trinity, "There are three persons in one God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. I don't know much about the Holy Spirit. My understanding is that if God were alone, He would not know what love is. Because He has a Son, relationship exists and that's why He can love us and expect us to do likewise. Now you've got your own children, it should be easy for you to understand, right?... Sorry, maybe I've talked too much..."
"No, no. It's OK."
"Ah Mark, I have to emphasize again that I can share with you much more of what I've learnt about Christianity, but whether you'll believe or not is still your free will."
I thank God for giving me the opportunity to tell the good news of eternal life at a place which was related to grief and death. I had never expected to discuss a serious topic like that with Ah Mark. Honestly, he was among the last persons in my list of ex-classmates to whom I would have thought of even mentioning the word "God".
Out of his fatherly love, Ah Mark wants the Christianity to influence his children for the better. How much more our Father God.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Morning Walk With Mum
I was planning my weekend in Batu Pahat. As I was going to attend Ah Ban's wedding dinner on Saturday and be one of the "brothers" to fetch his bride in the morning, I thought I would bring Mum out either for dinner
or/and for a stroll at the park in town on Friday night like I did last year.
Thursday morning, Ah Ban's mother suddenly passed away and thus his wedding was postponed.
Since I would reach Batu Pahat quite late on Friday, I preferred to carry out my usual activity with Mum on Saturday mornings. That was to go to the Lotus Lake. When my third brother Leong's family is free on Sunday mornings, they also bring Mum there before breakfast.
We both got up at 6am. Mum picked her clothes, consulting me about her choice. Even though it was only a morning walk, Mum never neglected her attire as she knew she was going to meet a few acquaintances in that public place. After Dad's passing, she realized that nice clothes were to be displayed on the body, not to be kept in the cupboard because tomorrow was so unpredictable that we might not have a chance to wear them anymore.
We left home half an hour later. It was still dark but the parking was already full. We managed to slip our car between two vehicles at the roadside.
Before the exercise, we always went to two fruit and vegetable stalls, one in front of the main entrance and the other near the side entrance. She was the customer who spent the longest time choosing guavas, papayas, bananas, passion fruits or leafy vegetables packed in plastic bags. Sometimes I really admired her patience for that. But I still nagged her when she was checking every single packet of celery in the hypermarket!
She only gained her mood to walk around the lake after I had put all the fresh food into the car. The sky had also brightened.
This lake was a former tin mine. When I was small, it was famous with its lotus plants which provided excellent fodder to numerous species of fishes there. Dad used to take pictures and write articles on this popular spot for his newspaper. Ironically, he was rarely willing to join us there for a morning walk, thinking that it would be a waste of time and a delay in his daily reading. Only during his last days that we obliged him to go there to do some exercise in the fresh air. But he was not able to enjoy the beautiful scenery anymore.
Despite the surrounding cemented path and trees,
the lake had lost its charm without the lotus plants which had all been removed by the town council many years ago. Now It looked rather dull with its murky water.
Nonetheless, this lake still attracted the crowd especially on weekends. People came here for all sorts of activities: jogging, walking, dating, badminton, aerobics, martial arts, etc.
There were also some newly built facilities for adults
as well as children.
We chatted while walking around the lake for several rounds before Mum felt tired. Then we would find a bench to sit on and rest for awhile.
We often met my primary school principal, one of my secondary school teachers or Mum's friends. They were either alone or in couple, none with their children. Mum must be proud when one of them enviously called me her bodyguard.
I thank God that Mum is still around for me to be her bodyguard.
I thank God that my job enables me to see her frequently.
I thank God that I can give Mum more love that I used to keep only for Dad.
I thank God that the older Mum gets, the younger she looks.
I thank God that I have realized at my age that the time I spend with Mum gives her more smiles than the money I put into her hands.
I thank God that I listen to Mum more, and argue with her less.
I thank God who teaches me to honour Mum in the present, not when she is gone.
How long have you not gone for a walk with your mother?
or/and for a stroll at the park in town on Friday night like I did last year.
Thursday morning, Ah Ban's mother suddenly passed away and thus his wedding was postponed.
Since I would reach Batu Pahat quite late on Friday, I preferred to carry out my usual activity with Mum on Saturday mornings. That was to go to the Lotus Lake. When my third brother Leong's family is free on Sunday mornings, they also bring Mum there before breakfast.
We both got up at 6am. Mum picked her clothes, consulting me about her choice. Even though it was only a morning walk, Mum never neglected her attire as she knew she was going to meet a few acquaintances in that public place. After Dad's passing, she realized that nice clothes were to be displayed on the body, not to be kept in the cupboard because tomorrow was so unpredictable that we might not have a chance to wear them anymore.
We left home half an hour later. It was still dark but the parking was already full. We managed to slip our car between two vehicles at the roadside.
Before the exercise, we always went to two fruit and vegetable stalls, one in front of the main entrance and the other near the side entrance. She was the customer who spent the longest time choosing guavas, papayas, bananas, passion fruits or leafy vegetables packed in plastic bags. Sometimes I really admired her patience for that. But I still nagged her when she was checking every single packet of celery in the hypermarket!
She only gained her mood to walk around the lake after I had put all the fresh food into the car. The sky had also brightened.
This lake was a former tin mine. When I was small, it was famous with its lotus plants which provided excellent fodder to numerous species of fishes there. Dad used to take pictures and write articles on this popular spot for his newspaper. Ironically, he was rarely willing to join us there for a morning walk, thinking that it would be a waste of time and a delay in his daily reading. Only during his last days that we obliged him to go there to do some exercise in the fresh air. But he was not able to enjoy the beautiful scenery anymore.
Despite the surrounding cemented path and trees,
the lake had lost its charm without the lotus plants which had all been removed by the town council many years ago. Now It looked rather dull with its murky water.
Nonetheless, this lake still attracted the crowd especially on weekends. People came here for all sorts of activities: jogging, walking, dating, badminton, aerobics, martial arts, etc.
There were also some newly built facilities for adults
as well as children.
We chatted while walking around the lake for several rounds before Mum felt tired. Then we would find a bench to sit on and rest for awhile.
We often met my primary school principal, one of my secondary school teachers or Mum's friends. They were either alone or in couple, none with their children. Mum must be proud when one of them enviously called me her bodyguard.
I thank God that Mum is still around for me to be her bodyguard.
I thank God that my job enables me to see her frequently.
I thank God that I can give Mum more love that I used to keep only for Dad.
I thank God that the older Mum gets, the younger she looks.
I thank God that I have realized at my age that the time I spend with Mum gives her more smiles than the money I put into her hands.
I thank God that I listen to Mum more, and argue with her less.
I thank God who teaches me to honour Mum in the present, not when she is gone.
How long have you not gone for a walk with your mother?
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