t long last, I finally bought my dream keyboard ~ the [url=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000A1EH2/coolcatalystc-20]Yamaha EZ-150.[/url] It’s really a cool piece of equipment with 61 notes and guide lamps to help newbies learn the 100 songs in its database. I haven’t fully explored all its features but it has all the capabilities that will keep me happy for a long while. The portable grand function makes it sound like an authentic piano. I love the sustained effect which I use to make Canon sound ‘dreamier’.

Now I’m finally able to play the nice worship songs in chords and I believe it is starting to sound a little like what I hear in church. It’s amazing what practicing a couple of hours a day can do to you and having Mel Reeves’ DVD as my personal keyboard tutor helps tremendously.

One thing he said was that I should not be afraid to experiment. Music is subjective, as long as it sounds good, then it is good. That was very liberating to me. Before that my fingers were quite frozen because I was scared to make mistakes for fear of assasinating the song. But with the confidence given to me by the gentle and skillful keyboard guru, my music is becoming sweeter and sweeter to my ears…

Aaah… it is such a rewarding and fulfilling endeavour. Maybe it was a blessing that my parents did not force me to learn the piano when I was young. I might have hated taking the piano lessons and thus, be denied the pleasure of making sweet music as an adult.

Some things are truly worth waiting for.

Would you hire a reformed hacker as your IT security specialist? Does the hacker’s illustrious past give him credence as a security expert? This [url=http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/tip/0,289483,sid14_gci946215,00.html]article[/url] by Ira Winkler, CISSP expounds on this subject in a delightful and enlightening manner. I especially liked the way he ended his article: “Would you want Hannibal Lechter to operate on you? He’s probably a great surgeon, but he might be tempted to grab a kidney for a quick snack.”

On the subject of criminals, our nation has been plagued with a long spate of brutal violence against women and young girls. This month, two 10 year old girls have been raped and murdered in the space of two weeks. And late last year, [url=http://www.bringcannyhome.com/]Canny Ong[/url] was found brutally raped, murdered and burnt beyond recognition.

Should sexual offenders and murderers such as these be allowed to roam freely in society after they have served time? The security guard who pleaded guilty for raping one of the 10 year old girl was sentenced to a 20 year jail term and 24 cane strokes. This is the maximum sentence for such crimes. He would be 67 years old upon his release. He might be too old then to assault other young girls, but what if he was 27 at the time of conviction? The maximum jail term of 20 years would see him walking out at the age of 47, free to mix and mingle in society.

Is it too risky to offer second chances to criminals with such a perverted nature? And what about the rest of us who are civilized citizens but harbouring sinful thoughts and perverted habits in our private lives? Are we any better than the average rapist? If we should slip and fall into sin, do we deserve 2nd chances?

Yes, it is hard to equate a normal person with a sick sexual offender, but as the Chinese proverb goes:

Sow a thought, reap an act
Sow an act, reap a habit
Sow a habit, reap a character
Sow a character, reap a destiny

The convicted rapist acted on the seeds of lustful thoughts and now is reaping his destiny in the local jail. Does he deserve a second chance? As hard as it is to say this, I think he does, if he demonstrates genuine repentance. I also think he should be also kept under supervision and not be allowed to roam in complete freedom upon his release.

Our nation needs our prayers. This trend of violence and disregard towards women and the value of their lives is the work of the evil one. Christians, let’s take our stand together and intercede on behalf of our land. Above all, to guard our hearts and minds against sowing unfruitful thoughts in our minds that will lead to a terrible destiny.

“My child, I am so proud of you,”

“Why is that, Father?”

“I am proud of the tears you shed.”

“I cry easily when my heart is open to Your ministrations and healing. You know, no one else can touch my heart quite like You do.”

“Yes, I am pleased when you turn to me with tears of joy, hurt, anger and sadness. Such openess and honesty are treasures to Me. But no, that’s not the reason why I am proud of you. You see, the tears you shed today is for your aunt who is yet to know Me and who needs My healing grace.

Remember last Saturday at the Prayer Conference when the intercessors were annointed with the spirit of trevail? I’ve set them apart to be able to labour in intercession for long hours for the people and the work which they have a burden for. I also desire to see all of My children to have such a burden and compassion for such things and to pray for these things. Today, I see that in you.”

“Father, I must admit, that I don’t often shed tears for others. Having that deep compassion for my aunt certainly helps a lot in praying passionately for her. I must thank You for softening my heart. I really need more of that compassion daily because my prayers are mostly self-centered in nature. But of course, You already know that.”

“Yes, I know all about you, dearest one.”

“And yet, You still love me so! That always never cease to amaze me… I love you, Father.”

“And You are the [url=http://www.biblegateway.com/cgi-bin/bible?passage=PS+17:8&language=english&version=NIV&showfn=on&showxref=on]apple of My eye, safe in the shadow of My wings[/url].”

Quote of the [url=http://www.leaderu.com/cyber/books/bounds/powc01-7.html#RTFToC4]day[/url]:

Let us often look at Brainerd in the woods of America pouring out his very soul before God for the perishing heathen without whose salvation nothing could make him happy. Prayer — secret fervent believing prayer — lies at the root of all personal godliness. A competent knowledge of the language where a missionary lives, a mild and winning temper, a heart given up to God in closet religion — these, these are the attainments which, more than all knowledge, or all other gifts, will fit us to become the instruments of God in the great work of human redemption.
~ Carrey’s Brotherhood, Serampore

Boy, am I beat! Just came back from visiting my friend’s houses and collected some red packets. It’s a good incentive to remain unmarried as long as one can ;)

This year, I received loads of Chinese New Year (CNY) greetings via sms which made my day. One was from a friend I haven’t heard in ages. Thanks a zillion, everyone!

Since 4 years ago, me and my best buddy, Flo, have established a tradition where we would visit a few friends’ houses on the first day of CNY. In year 2001, she introduced us to her friend Ben who was responsible for starting this ‘tradition’. This is because visiting his home provides a predictable chain of events – the reason behind every true-blue tradition.

First, we would be wondering around the neighbourhood trying to figure out where his house was located. Our only ‘landmark’ was this lovely swing in his garden, which didn’t help matters because it was hardly viewable from the main road anyway. Then, we would greet his dad and mom, and then settle down for lunch.

Every year, they would serve this special dish featuring a fruit called ‘Buah Keluas’ which looks like a round snail with a hard shell. One would have to dig out the black innards with a spoon, and let me tell ya that it ain’t a pretty sight. I’ve never seen this ‘fruit’ anywhere else and it seems that it is getting harder to obtain it these days. I would always ask Uncle where’s the ’shell dish’ and he would point it out and we would look respectfully at it but not daring to eat it. Having said that, I would always encouraged new friends who join us in our annual expedition to Ben’s abode to try this rare fruit. It’s going to be extinct soon, so one should try it at least once in their lives. By the way, Ben doesn’t fancy eating it either ;)

The dishes are always the same, and there will always be the mutton curry cooked by his aunt who is a curry expert. One of her tips for ward off the flies was to put some lime slices all around the table. It worked last year but this year, the flies seemed immune to it.

Ben’s cousin who is an accomplished saxophonist (or so he claims) would be around and dominating conversations, and Ben would always shake his head at the cousin’s antics.

After lunch, Ben’s father would show us his antique motorcyle which was manufactured in the 1940’s. Then we would all adjourn to the lovely swing which is shaded by a small tree and take photos there.

The other home visitations are pretty standard fare compared to our annual trip to Ben’s house. We only see him once a year but every year that we meet, it seemed like hardly any time has passed in between. It’s always good to meet an old friend. And it’s always great to establish nice traditions whenever one can. Traditions like this makes every Chinese New Year something to look forward to.

Remember what I [url=http://www.coolcatalyst.com/comments.php?id=P102_0_1_0_C]said[/url] about overseas missions not being my cuppa tea? Well, I really beg to differ now from my original opinion.

As the prayer secretary for the team, my responsibilities include finding more facts about this country and compiling a list of items for intercession. The more I know about this land and its people, the more I felt a passion and a zeal to make a difference in their lives. In our mission preparation handbook, there was this quote which convicted me deeply:

“No one deserves to hear the gospel twice when there are millions out there in the 10/40 window who have not even had the chance to hear it once in their lifetime.”

I feel such an abundance of joy preparing for this mission trip – it was not a burden at all. I am starting to wonder if this is but the first step in God’s calling for mission service upon my life. I strongly suspect that He has something major to do with this drastic change in my heart. Time will tell. As I remain faithful in the Lord, His plans will become clearer and clearer. I just need to move one step at a time for He gives me [url=http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0736900128/coolcatalystc-20]Just Enough Light for the Step I’m on[/url].

To all fellow Chinese, a blessed Chinese New Year to ya!

It has been a very harrowing day at work. With the dark and stormy clouds looming in my office, there was this weird network problem which suddenly came up and it was difficult to find out the reason why and fix it. Everything I tried came to naught and my boss was getting more and more irrate and scary.

All I could do was cry out to the Lord as I kept trying different configurations, one after another. At the 11th hour (figuratively speaking, that is!), it was solved and I found out the reason why. All glory be to God!

As I was frantically trying to troubleshoot the problem, I felt Jesus close to me and holding my hand, guiding me. I knew in my heart that He would never fail me nor forsake me. Even if the problem was solved or not, I knew that He allowed for a reason. I may not see why now, but I know that He can be trusted.

He is worthy to be praised :)

A wonderful presentation and tool to explain God in Chinese characters to your Chinese friends this Chinese New Year:

[url=http://www.wbschool.org/chinesecharacters.htm]Ancient Chinese: Language of God?[/url]

The following quote from [url=http://www.gardendigest.com/weed.htm]Tan Chade Meng[/url] captured my attention today. Truth be known, I never thought much about grass. When I was young, the Korean grass around the house used to prick my small feet whenever I ran around the garden barefoot and happy.

Instead of grass, I would look for the wildflowers that grew in among them and marvel at their beauty and unique features. I used to take delight in teasing the ‘pokok semalu’ (shy flower) whose petals shrink whenever they are touched. It never ceases to amaze me how beautiful those flowers are – uncared by a human gardener but dearly loved and clothed by the heavenly Gardener. No two flowers are exactly alike but each are equally strong to grow beautifully despite the harsh conditions they are in.

Many happy childhood hours were spent pondering about the mysteries of life there in my garden. It was there that I grew in awe of my Creator who leaves His handprint in every seemingly insignificant wildflower…

When I have the time to take a walk, I would often take the time to admire the grass.

- Tan Chade Meng

… there’s a new devil.

That’s what our Senior Pastor said the past week. Thanks to the 14 days of fast and prayer, there has been a spiritual revival in my life. I’m out of my comfort zone and complacency, and have a renewed passion and zeal for the things of God and for His people.

This brings about a new level of growth, and therefore, a new devil, too. And I feel it right now at my work place. Something’s brewing in the office and it’s not good. However, a good thing that sparked out of this is that we, the Christians at the office are united in prayer now.

Lord, we really need to see a breakthrough in our workplace. You’ve placed us here for a purpose. Help us fulfill our destiny here. Let Your presence fill this place. We really need You…

During this 14 days of fast and prayer, my folks have been supportive of my spiritual endeavors. Dad, knowing that I would come home hungry after fasting for breakfast and lunch, would prepare a delicious meal way in advance for me. Now he is starting to be more understanding even when I make bloopers.

Will it last? I hope so. But knowing how humans are, there will be times of peace and times of war. Just need to enjoy the good times when they roll and take the bad times with the grace of God.

In the mean time, I’m gonna enjoy these nice moments with my dad :)