Community service

The chronic weather for the past few weeks have kept me indoor. Now we are going to experience the ‘heat wave’ and I hope I don’t wrinkle up, like a dry leaf. This annoying phenomena is most exasperating because we cannot control it, like I do to the fan in my living room. I don’t think I am going to enjoy “the heat wave”. Another spectacle and alarming news to top up the heat wave is the swine flu. It looms formidable!
I am going gallivanting despite the redoubtable & passable swine flu and heat wave. Why? Well I can’t stay indoors for long as I get fidgety. My buddies are going to roll up their eye balls up & say “why la you…….” & I’ll pretend to be twitchy about it, besides I love gallivanting……..
Community service, the kids in the picture are at my place for English lessons. I guess you call it community service. These kids are very very excited about me being their English teacher – who wouldn’t be, I am a rare looking specimen – not the normal two legged ones that are rendering the same service in another block. I enjoy teaching these kids as I love kids, babies, (not when they howl) dogs & cats as long as they are cute & clean.
The kids in my block are truly amazing. Luxury is word that they may dream about, but one advantage they possess, surviving against the odds. Poverty can either develop or destroy a life. Given the right opportunity these kids will have a better lifestyle then the unfortunate and privileged ones. Rich kids take everything for granted and parents are forever pampering them (I am not saying all parents do that.) but I cannot help noticing that the contrast is vast between the kids in my church and the kids in my block, I can never blend them together and that is for sure.
The government on the other hand seem to have a low concept for the poor – just take a look at their Education system – there is no evidence of visible improvement in their system.

Down down down

Venture capital is down.
Consumer confidence is down.
Employment is down.
Auto industry is down.
Commercial real estate is down.
Foreign markets are down.
Down down down
Is anything going UP?
Some things are.
The opportunity to serve people in need is going up.
The opportunity to trust God when trusting isn't easy is going up.
The opportunity to build a faith that will last when the storms of life hit it is going up.
The opportunity to help our churches become communities where people actually get real with each other and love and support each other is going up. Don’t you agree? Certain truths remain unchanged, we know this for sure............like - God remains sovereign, The blood of Jesus is still more powerful than the stain of sin. Love still beats bigotry. Prayers still get answered. The Kingdom is still alive and well, and does not need to be bailed out by a stimulus package, isn’t that amazing? I am speechless when I think of it. The Bible is still the word of God.
Psychologist are interesting people, they write interesting stuff – they keep your brain ticking so that it doesn’t get rusty or dusty. So different from theologians, you know, some of them are so so drab!
Sometimes psychologist writers will ask their reader to do a hypothetical exercise, I enjoy doing it. I call it “intellectual thinking”. Have you heard of ‘helicopter people?’ conscious or unconsciously we want to take off fast like the helicopter, don’t know what the latest model the Russians have built, but Malaysian Air Forces are still using some outdated models that keep crashing somewhere.
This verse says we shouldn’t behave like ‘helicopter people?’ not my favourite verse either......... "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking in anything" (James 1:1-2).
Sometimes I can get caught up in the challenges of life, face financial needs that are always shifting. Leadership requirements keep going up. Emails can be happy; but sometimes cranky people write them. And send them to me. My own motives get messed up. I get anxious, and then feel guilty. My disability doesn’t make things better for me. My emotional tolerance clash with my intellectual cognisant , the list is endless, then Paul says "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all" (2 Cor. 4:17). His adjectives are particularly striking, since he likely wrote these words in chains, under oppression, awaiting execution. There wasn’t a helicopter waiting for him, you know.
Is it possible that in some way people actually need adversity, setbacks, maybe even something like trauma to reach the fullest level of development and growth?

When God has chosen ............

When God has chosen you to be HIS. You can be 100% sure that miracles are bound to be part of your lifestyle.
To those of you who aren’t christians, please bear with me as I share one of the many miracles in here and now..........I have to.......oh by the way, miracles aren’t meant to be comprehended, there isn’t any scientific method or inferences and definitely no theories. I feel that the christians of today’s world stress too much on hypothesis, neuroscience and epistemic relativism. No, I’m not saying that is bad, in fact we shouldn’t deprave our brains with such knowledge. In fact I was very very interested in such stuff and other unlisted stuffs as well. Still am.
Ok lets get on with the anecdote. I have now become very ‘set’ in my ways, that means I don’t like unexpected incidents or announcements at unexpected time. My blood will start to curdle. So when my weekly cleaner unsophisticatedly announced her resignation through sms, I was in a very unsophisticated aura. It took quite a while to calm down. Unbridle agitation will develop into some kind of epilepsy – no need to ask a doctor, I know that (all the reading taught me so)for sure. On the other hand friends will comment “ see, I told you so........your crazy idea of staying alone.........blab blab........ will probably give me an incurable epilepsy!!
My snug nest will be an inhabitance of all the creepiest crawlies (which I hate) if I don’t get a replacement quickly. Creepiest crawlies will give me a heartattack, due to sleepless nights. I am sure my Heavenly Father wouldn’t want me to depart from this planet in such a dishonourable manner. He doesn’t, we had a chat and lo........a replacement arrived at my doorstep today.
Unspeakable miracle. God Be Praised!!!
Going to bed now.