I don’t know if anyone could still remember Jeffery – my youngest brother whom I had one time taken him along to attend cell. He had been giving me continual headaches that I could even write up a book.

He called me on Friday evening – 21/7/2006 while I was still at work, “2-Jie, just to let you know only, arr. Stay calm, ‘k.” I was holding my breath, imagining something worst had had happened to one of my extended family members. “Nothing much, just that, I had a car accident lunch time today.”

I almost dropped my mobile when I heard that. “So, are you alright? And how damage is your car this time, huh?” My brother replied me, “That’s the thing I want to tell you. It’s similar to what I had at Jalan 222 but this time, the damage is 50% worse-lerr. I already kena nicely from Dad this afternoon.”

I was curious to know what sort of car he hit this time, and so I asked him again, “So, tell me. What did you bang this time?” And he replied me, “Toyota Unser.” I was taken aback but told him to go straight home after work and I would have a word with him later that night.

Well, the last (terrible) accident he had was in June 2005, where he hit a 4-Wheel Drive from the front. He was at fault, of course, and his car was towed to the PJ HQ police station to file-in a report prior to the Proton Service Center for re-fixing. It took about two months to get the whole car fully fixed and for that, the repair cost estimation was near to RM4k – insurance claim.

So this time, looked like his car is 50% much more terrible than before, I could by now pictured the damage of his Wira Aeroback.

Back home, it was a Q & A session between my brother and me. I questioned him if he had driven too fast at the turning point, and he denied. Ok, fine. I was shocked to know that the other driver was a 61-year old man and thank God he was all right.

I warned my brother again, “Yeap, you may drive fast if you want to, you can speed and can even cut queue, as long as you are considerate and alert and please do not get yourself into a mess. Please use your head, and consider other’s safety while on the road, k.”

Well, it had already been a week since my brother’s car was sent to the EON Service Center and he had got used to having no car to move around. And Dad had been firing him (’n me), “If you two give way and be courteous on the road, driving will be much smoother for you two ‘hoi fut thin hung’. Understand?” Mum had also been nagging at us and so is Grandma. (It was not me who had a car accident this time, but still…)

Well, life was not easy for the past one week (and for the coming two months). I would now have to fetch my brother to work every morning. Ok, deal – he starts work at 8:30am and his office is just somewhere in Section 13, PJ. But, the weirdo part is, my brother requires me to drop by at PJ Old Town for him to get his breakfast before fetching him to work (This, according to him, is his so-called daily routine every morning). Hence, we only leave the house at around 7:45am everyday and I would reach my workplace 10 minutes before 9.

The two of us now would have to share one car ‘though Dad ‘n Mum do not encourage me to let my brother drives mine (kinda risky also-lerr) Yet, we know the difficulties of having no car to go from one place to another. So, every night, we two would be sitting down, “negotiating” on who’s who to take the car the next morning, which day (be it weekdays or weekends) we need the car more, and from what time to what time will the car be at home. Either one would have to give in for the other, for sure.

When he gets to have the car during workdays, I would get him to drop me at Asia Jaya LRT. I would take the LRT till Kelana Jaya and from there I just need to take a feeder bus to my workplace. (To be frank, the two of us can’t just bother to wake up early, and this, the best solution). At 6 plus, I would follow a colleague who would drop me near Nanyang, and I would walk a distance away before taking the KTM Komuter home.

OK, it does sound troublesome and ‘inconvenient’ for some, but once in a while, one just got to know-how it feels like having to take public transport to work. Yeap, we may be packed like sardines, but hey, it is not constantly that we would have to rely on this mode of transportation, so why not just give it a try (when you wake up one morning and feel like not wanna to drive to work due to having to be stucked in the jam). I did that – leaving my car at home to take two Intrakota(s) and a KTM Komuter to ‘n fro from my local uni. on one particular morning weekly for one whole semester due to hard-to-grab parking spaces near my faculty.

Well, I do not know if my brother had learnt his lesson. He would, for the next two months or more, has no car to move around (and me occasionally).

Just the other day, he walked over to the EON Service Center (which is just few lots away from his office) and he came to know that the repair cost is estimated at RM8K. He even told me that he would now frequently ‘visit’ his car to check on the repair status and very soon, would he be able to drive his own car again.

My brother’s car is just 17-month old and he had now even thought of changing his car. Well, to me, whatever car he drives, if he does not change the manner he drives, he might even robbed his own precious life one day.

By all means, I just pray that my brother would drive safely on the road from now on. And on top of that, I hope my car would be in his safe hands when he is on the road, else I just could not picture both of us without cars at the same time….

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Last Friday, in line with our cell topic of the first characteristic of the Fruit of the Spirit, love, I shot out a semi icebreaker, asking everyone to name their favourite love story, be it a movie, book, musical etc. Here are the (somewhat surprising) results:

	Favorite of: Allan Plot: Story about brotherly love, of two brothers forced into War and having to take care of themselves. Love Category: Storge Conclusion: Macho man’s love story. Obviously there must be cool fight scenes as well in it and lots of blood and gore.
	Favorite of: Justin Plot: I think lots of dancing and cool hairstyles and tight pants Love Category: Eros I guess, with the tight pants Conclusion: Tight Pants, big hairstyle love story. Classic.
	Favorite of: Kah Heng Plot: Love stricken man falls in love with a singer, who dies. It’s a musical tragedy. Love Category: Eros Conclusion: It’s one of those like it or hate it movie. Of course, having Nicole Kidman does swing it to the ‘like it’ category.
	Favorite of: Johann Plot: One of the most touching story of a teacher’s love for music and his students as well as their love for him in return. Plot has a generic Sidney Poitier “To Sir With Love” formula. Love Category: Philia Conclusion: This story is quite a tearjerker; in a good way. Makes me appreciate my secondary teachers more, especially those we tormented daily.
	Favorite of: Thomas Plot: English professor inspires students to poetry and to seize the day. Another “To Sir with Love” formula movie. Very nice. Love Category: Philia Conclusion: Semi tragedy, semi Hollands Opus feeling. I think someone shot himself in the movie. For a while Carpe Diem was the buzzword due to this show.
	Favorite of: Jeremy Plot: Chow Yuen Fatt and Dodo cheng grew up together, he became rich, but still there was some love between them. Love Category: Probably Philia to Eros Conclusion: Ummm. Chow Yuen Fatt looks young huh? I was 2 years old when this came out…
	Favorite of: Eddy Plot: A busy executive learns his Dad has cancer and rushes over to his side, learning priority and life along the way Love Category: Storge Conclusion: It’s relevant even now, about how we sometimes need to give things up in our lives to learn what is important to us: namely family.
	Favorite of: Eileen Plot: Story about how a couple learns how to cope with tragedy and find solace in each other Love Category: Eros I guess Conclusion: Cowboy love stories have recently got a bad name, but I guess this one is OK =)
	Favorite of: Michelle Plot: A man returns from death to find his love, but she does not recognise him anymore Love Category: Eros Conclusion: Ghost Part Deux?
	Favorite of: Angie Plot: I remember there was a lot of running around and the couple only finally meeting at the end of the story. It was quite a touching love story but hey, I thought When Harry Met Sally was the definition of these kind of Love Stories (Called Meg Ryan Love Stories) Love Category: Eros Conclusion: Meg Ryan, what else can I say? She rocks.
	Favorite of: Sue Kheng Plot: Hilarious, but I remember it was very touching, especially showing how much a father would go through for the love of his children Love Category: Storge Conclusion: One of Robin Williams’ better comedies. Also, crossdressing wasn’t that common yet during that time, so it was a risky comedy I guess.
	Favorite of: Winston Plot: Memory loss, love and losing love. Very emosi, very korean. Love Category: Eros Conclusion: According to Winst, he chose this movie as his favourite movie because he had to watch it ’since there was nothing else to do in Bangladesh’. I guess it’s good.
	Favorite of: Alvin Plot: About two people who are a little overweight who help each other win back their old flames and in the process gets attracted to each other. It’s like a French Kiss + 300 KGs. Love Category: Philia. Somehow Eros seems plausible here as well. Conclusion: Michellin Love Story.
	Favorite of: Stevie Plot: Eponine loves Marius, Marius treats her like crap, she dies saving him and he doesn’t even realise it. Ah. The tragedy. Love Category: Philia to Eros Conclusion: Despite the 1100 pages, Les Mis still remains my favourite novel, and Eponine, my favourite tragedy character. Those who like dark stories where lovers get murdered, poisoned or get squashed will like this one. Recommended reading for years to come!!!

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Fruit of the Spirit : LOVE

Scripture Verses : 1 John 4:16, 1 Cor 13:13, 1 John 3:16 and John 15:9-10,12

As a kid, there were a few things I couldn’t really say without icking out. One of it, unfortunately was telling my parents I love them.

It just didn’t come out naturally, probably in a part I am so awed by this word love when we really mean it. How is it that we can say, “I love that movie!” so naturally but cannot muster a “I love you” to our parents?

It is , of course a touchy subject, love. The first thing when we think of love is either famous quotes like:

“You don’t marry someone you can live with - you marry the person who you cannot live without.”

“A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous.”

“I never knew how to worship until I knew how to love.”

“Better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all.”

One of my favourite quotes is taken from my favourite book, Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

“To love another person is to see the face of God.”

And also

“There is no greater feeling in this world than to love somebody and know that you are loved in return.”

Growing up, our association with Love usually stems from Hollywood’s depiction of Love. Famous Love Stories such as, as listed by the American Film Institute top 10:

1.Casablanca
Rick Blaine & Ilsa Lund

2.Gone with the Wind
Rhett Butler & Scarlett O’Hara

3.West Side Story
Tony & Maria (Romeo and Juliet)

4.Roman Holiday
Joe Bradley & Anya Smith

5.An Affair to Remember
Nickie Ferrante & Terry McKay

6.The Way We Were
Hubbell Gardner & Katie Morosky

7.Doctor Zhivago
Dr Yuri Zhivago & Lara Antipova

8.It’s a wonderful Life
George Bailey & Mary Hatch Bailey

9.Love Story
Oliver Barrett & Jennifer Cavalleri

10. City lights
Tramp & Blind Girl *this is a silent movie starring Charlie Chaplin*

I only know the story of Dr Zhivago, Casablanca and Gone with the Wind, and of all of them, I only watched GWTW, 4 times. I guess I’m not that into love story.

Some of the more comical “crushes” or infatuation?

Linus for Ms Othmar

Charlie Brown for The Little Red Haired Girl

Lucy for Schroeder

Sally for Linus Snoopy for French Poodle

Peppermint Patty for ‘Chuck’

“Nothing takes the taste out of peanut butter quite like unrequited love.” – Charlie Brown

But what is the definition that God has in terms of Love?

LOVE – Fruit of the Spirit

There are nine characteristics of the fruit of the spirit. Notice that the fruit here is SINGULAR, hence Paul wants us to know that without any of these characteristics, the fruit is incomplete.

Why is love listed as the first?

1 Jn 4:8

1 Co 13:13

It sets the foundation for all the other virtues to be based on.

I. THE DEFINITION OF “LOVE”

A. THE GREEKS HAD FOUR WORDS WHICH WE TRANSLATE “LOVE”…

1. EROS - carnal, sexual love

2. PHILIA - the love of close friendship

3. STORGE - the love of family relationships

4. AGAPE - that love which seeks only the highest good of others

a. It is this love that is Paul mentions in our text, and

defines in 1 Co 13:4-8a

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

b. Jesus uses the same word in Mt 5:43-48

You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[a] and hate your enemy.’ 44But I tell you: Love your enemies[b] and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect

Think of someone you DON’T love. And try to think of verse 44.

B. TAKING A CLOSER LOOK AT “AGAPE”…

1. “Agape has to do with the mind: it is not simply an emotion

which rise unbidden in our hearts; it is a principle by which

we deliberately live. Agape has supremely to do with the

will.” (William Barclay)

2. It is not an uncontrolled reaction of the heart, but a

concentrated exercise of the will

3. It is a caring love one which becomes involved with the need

of others

4. It is does not depend upon the one being loved having to earn

such love

5. It is not an exclusive love…

a. Expressed only to select few

b. But an all-embracing benevolence, shown toward all

C. THE PERFECT ILLUSTRATION OF “AGAPE”…

1. It begins with the God of love –

a. His love is a completely undeserved love - Ro 5:8

8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

b. His love is an inseparable love - Ro 8:35-39

35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or

famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;

we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”[a] 37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[b] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

c. Indeed, His love is a great love willing to save sinners!

- Ep 2:4-7

2. It finds its complete fulfillment in Christ

a. God’s love reaches its peak in His Son Jesus Christ - cf.

Ro 8:39

b. Jesus has fully demonstrated such love - Jn 15:13

13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

c. Therefore we come to know what love really is when we look

at Jesus Christ - cf. 1 Jn 3:16

16This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

In the bible, it shows us the manifestation of love (1 Cor 13:3-8)

II. LOVE IN THE LIFE OF THE CHRISTIAN

A. THE PLACE OF LOVE…

1. It is to be the “atmosphere” in which the Christian walks

- Ep 5:1-2

2. It is to be the “tie that binds” the “garment” the Christian

is to put on - Co 3:12-14

3. It is to be the “universal motive” for all that we do - 1 Co

16:14

4. It is to prevent our Christian liberty from turning into

destructive selfishness - Ga 5:13

5. It is to characterize our preaching and teaching of the truth

- Ep 4:15

B. THE DEMONSTRATION OF LOVE…

1. Demonstrating our love toward God

a. Improper demonstrations:

1) Some think we prove our love by shouting from the roof

top

2) Others, by putting it on a bumper sticker and honking if

they love Jesus

3) And others, think that whatever they do “in the name of

the Lord” will be pleasing to Him

– Yet consider Jesus’ words in Mt 7:21-23

b. Proper demonstration of love toward God:

1) Keeping His commandments - Jn 14:15,21,23-24; 15:10,14

2) Loving our brethren - 1 Jn 4:20-21

– Do we really love God? What is our attitude toward

keeping His commandments and loving the brethren?

2. Demonstrating our love toward man

a. Showing love toward those who are brethren in Christ

1) Love for one another is fundamental to the doctrine of

Christ - 1 Jn 3:11; Jn 13:34-35

2) We best demonstrate our love toward our brethren by…

a) Helping them when they are in physical need - 1 Jn 3:

16-18

b) Helping them when they are in spiritual need - 1 Pe

4:8; Ja 5:19-20

c) Loving God and keeping His commandments - 1 Jn 5:2

b. Showing love toward those who are not Christians

1) Love for others must go beyond loving those who love us

- cf. Lk 6:27-36

2) We demonstrate that we are truly the children of God

(and led by the Spirit) when out of love we:

a) Do good to them that hate us

b) Bless those that curse us

c) Pray for those that spitefully misuse us

d) Don’t resist them when they do evil to us

e) Do unto them as we would have them do unto us

f) Treat them as our Father in heaven treated us!

How have you seen God’s love demonstrated through other Christians?

1. Love Forgives

The Bible instructs us to “forgive as the Lord forgave you” (Col. 3:13). Jesus even said, “If you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matt. 6:14-15).

Why shouldn’t we carry a grudge throughout life and hate the people who harm us? Because hating them just brings greater injury to us. We will be bitter, angry people if we walk around with a chip on our shoulders. Unforgiveness binds us and causes our spirit to be negative and impure. God wants us to be free of that.

Let’s get rid of that bondage! Unforgiveness paralyses us and will greatly hinder our relationship with God. Christlike forgiveness is possible for us when we are connected to the one who invented forgiveness.

2. Love Compels

People hunger to be loved. Many live in shame and guilt or have endured tremendous rejection. Deep down inside they just want to be cared for and loved. They sometimes try to receive love in inappropriate ways, but when they see God’s pure, unhesitant, compassionate, and merciful love for them, they are drawn to it. Thus we must let Christ’s love flow through us. People will wonder how we can love so; it is because Jesus loves them through us.

3. Love is Resilient

We must attach no conditions to our love. No matter how people treat us, we must keep on loving, forgiving, and praying for them. We must not hold grudges, refuse to “get over it” or attach conditions before we choose to forgive someone. We may be shocked, dazed or overwhelmed for a time, but we regain our strength because we are attached to the one who supplies abundant love. People will fail us and we will fail people, but if we decide to keep score, no one will win. In this world people often “write off” people who have let them down or disappointed them. But God’s love bounces back.

4. Love Understands

We can choose to see through angry, bitter, hateful people’s actions and beyond their words to understand that they are likely wounded and trying to protect themselves. If we could go back to the incident that began their angry actions, we would likely see tremendous pain and hurt. God’s love understands why they are choosing to act in destructive ways.

When we choose to love hurting, hateful people in spite of their behaviour, anger or rejection, our love often melts their fear of further pain. The process may take a while, but when we love them with God’s love they will see that we are different. They will wonder what makes us respond to them differently and why we don’t reject them like everyone else does. Our love for them can truly change their lives and can “cover a multitude of sins.”

For me the greatest love story still remains Les Miserables. Strangely not the relationship between Marius Pontmercy and Cossette, but the unrequited love that Eponine has for Marius.

Eponine, as revealed later by Victor Hugo, was the embodiment of his masterpiece, Les Miserables, simply meaning, The Underdogs. In the book, she develops a love for the student Marius. So much so, she sacrifices her own happiness by introducing him to Cossette, who was her rival when younger. Eponine was by no means perfect, or beautiful, but she was a street kid who saved the young couple’s lives many times. The ultimate sacrifice was when she took a bullet meant for Marius in the dark alleys of Paris. He did not even realize it and she died alone. Only later, he found out that she died, and he did little in terms of mourning over her. The musical has somewhat made Marius more caring of Eponine than the original character.

Eponine’s story can almost be put parallel to the story of Jesus’ love for us.

“No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” – John 15:13

When the time came, Jesus laid his life down for us who did not deserve it. He gave it freely, but not in vain. He loves us not because of who we are, but because of who he is.

As Christ has demonstrated His love, how much more do we need to demonstrate it to our brethrens and to the world?

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My Company must be ‘crazy’ for organizing seminars after seminars for us lately. And for each seminar/ course/ trainings, be it a common one or for the management level, my name, naturally, would never fail to appear in the name list. *S-I-G-H*

I did query my HR if I in fact, really got to be ‘there’. Not that I do not realize my Company’s continuous effort in getting us well-trained and motivated, but are these courses/ seminars really worthwhile and useful? 

OK, so we are possibly to be exposed to this and this concepts, strategies, or applications, but are we (or how sure are we), being the employees, going to put ‘em into practice at our workplace? I doubt so. Maybe fair enough, for the first few days after having to attend the seminar, and for sure, we would be back to our old ‘working style’ days after. So, what these seminars are conducted for…. 

Over the years in my current Company, I had been attending all sorts of seminars/ courses – some I find ‘em unrelated to my job scope. Hence, I doubt anyone would get motivated just by attending a one-day seminar/ motivation talk. How much could we absorb or get brainwashed, I wonder…. 

I once attended a one-day seminar (weekday) on GST with my Export Manager at Hilton Hotel, PJ. Well, the following day, I had totally forgotten what I had learnt there. Worst still, I could not even figure out what I had scribbled in my notes. And the course was not cheap either, RM 350 per person. See, I should not have been chosen to attend, and instead to get someone who is interested since getting me there is like throwing water into the sea. (I just do not feel like attending seminars/ courses… boring.) 

Some seminars/ courses are unexciting that I could just doze off. But for some, the trainers are smart enough to tackle the topic well, and get the whole audience participate along. 

So, whenever we have a 2-day course (Saturday 1pm – 7pm and Sunday 9am – 5pm), I would go for the back seat. Yeap, sitting right at the back so as for the trainer(s) not to have notice my presence. Well, I intend to keep a low profile, you see and hey, aren’t those sitting in front are the ones the trainer should be paying attention at… 

And for such courses, I would always end up being one of those outstanding fella’. Firstly, because I (usually) turn up late on Sundays (OK, the most recent one, I was an hour late! Wah Lau Weh..) Secondly, I would be the one answering nearly all questions posed by the trainer, when it is towards interval time or just to finish the sessions early. Sometimes, we even pakat to ‘mess around’ with the trainer, it depends…. 

OK, I will be attending another 2-day training course this weekend (again). There would be about 25 of us and this time, most are from the Top Management and from the Warehouse as well. Just hope that I would benefit from the course and will not feel bored. Now, what’s the training about? Think I better ask my HR for a course outline; else I would be drop-dead there. And since it would be held at Eastin Hotel, PJ, hee, I might as well go for the food there (aside from knowledge/ guidelines). Yeap, just picture this – high tea/ buffet in two days straight, and in between two-hour tea break all FOC. Wow!

 

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One thing I have in common with my brother – we tend to speed when we are driving alone. Unsurprisingly, we would have to send our car for repair/ service every month or two. 

Not that we do not know what road safety is, and of course, we know the price we have to pay whenever we send our car to the workshop. At times, we just have to cut those slow-driving cars in front or beat the going to-be-red traffic light. We just refuse to let other cars to cut us at the front and will not give in to others (yeah, kiasu-lorr.) The road is like our racing track when we are driving alone – with no one in the car, and we are just used to attending calls or busy replying sms(es) while driving. (Possibly too much Daytona and F1 Car Racing games when we were in school, I guess) Or rather we two are just impatient and kiasu while on the road. 

Well, probably I should say, my driving is much more senseless than my brother’s. Yeap, the aggressive and wacky ones – ever since I knocked over a dog while driving home one night. 

I still remember the whole incident that night. Well, I was, probably, am driving tremendously fast as I was not able to brake on time when a white-fur dog coming from nowhere just crossed in front of me, and I had in fact drove past the dog pitifully. I had earlier flashed my headlights forewarning the dog, but the helpless creature just continued to cross over. (I know I should have honked the dog, but it was night time and I was in a residential neighborhood) 

Well, I stopped a little farther and tried looking at the wounded dog from my car’s rear mirror. I dare not get down from my car, as I was also astounded. Furthermore, I am frightened of dogs/ cats and so, getting down to give aid the wounded dog is just out of the question. 

The “accident” took place in a housing area and trust someone out there would surely come out and give aid to the wounded dog. It was just 10 something at night, and for sure, not everyone had gone to sleep. Besides, the dog was wearing a collar, and trust its owner must be looking for it too. 

I then headed straight home. As soon as I got down from my car, I hurriedly grabbed a rag wetted with water and began to clean my car’s front part. My brother who saw what I did, quickly dashed out and asked if I had had hit a dog. He even joked with me if I needed help to clean the ‘bloodstain’ since my car is also red! 

Soon, my siblings found out my misdeed. Big Sis, who happened to stay for the night that day had terrified me even more, “You know what, Na. You are gonna have bad nightmares for next few weeks. You would feel at fault for murdering a dog, Na.”

Small Sis advised me to make apology to the wounded dog. “2-Jie, you just gotta write down in a piece of paper 1000x or more that you are sorry to the dog you have just killed if you wanna feel better.”

Well, my brother said to me, “No matter how fast I drive, I would never go to the extend of bang-ing a dog. What-ler you. You better go vegetarian for the rest of your life. Fancy having to kill an innocent creature who did no harm to you.” 

Mum found out later and was happy to see me safe home. Mum knew I felt sorry and am still in fright, just that my siblings kept making fun of me. 

That night, I was unable to sleep. Every time I tried to close my eyes, I could visualize the happening and had kept thinking about the wounded dog. Did it managed to survive? Did someone come for its rescue? Is it still whining in pain? Is it safe now in its owner’s care? 

I had a closet time with God throughout the night and the very next morning, I drove back to the spot and well, I could not find the wounded dog (nor its remains). Most likely the dog did survived! Yeap, maybe…. 

I went to work as usual that morning. At work, my colleagues saw me looking very pale and knew I have not slept well the night before. They asked if I had fallen sick and I replied them in a low tone, “I think…. I think, only arr…. I have killed a dog last night. You see, I was driving way too fast, and all of a sudden a dog from nowhere just crossed over me, I can’t brake on time, and … you know… I drove over the dog lerr.” 

My colleagues were all looking at me in disbelief. Wow, so this was what happened to me last night. How cruel I could be! One of them added on, “I could tell you, one thing, Michelle. Any animal that got hit by any vehicle will not survive long. It would surely dies a few days later, and see, I told you before, not to drive so fast!” 

Now, I got even more scared, and to think I had had had killed a dog. Wow, I would not have struck my wins that easily just by spinning “Wheel of Fortune” or by hitting the ‘One Million Dollar Chance of A Lifetime” push button, would I? 

From then on, I got paranoid each time any dogs come near me. Worst still, when entering houses with 2 – 3 dogs freely moving around. I was too scared to even give them a pat, whispering to them, “Hey Doggy, I have just killed your buddy.” 

Soon I got over it, but was just too devastated to share this horrible incident with my friends, and had kept this to myself. 

And unexpectedly, in less than three weeks time, I had again hit another dog while driving alone at night. Phew! History strike twice! And there I was, trembling in fear again. This time, I did not let my siblings know, as I came home late midnight that day and all had gone to bed since the next day is a working day. I called up my guy friend, who suggested me to make a police report. Well, he had not hit any dogs while on the road, and probably he was just trying to make me feel better. After all, I have not heard anyone reporting to the police for knocking a dog/ cat on the road, have you? 

Well, we should use discouraging situations to draw closer to God, as 

In Psalm 27:4, “One thing have desired of the Lord, that I will seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord, All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple.”    

Proverbs 29:25 “The fear of man brings a snare, But whoever trust in the Lord shall be safe.”   

Proverbs 18:10 “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe.” 

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Psalm 48:14 “For this is God, Our God forever and ever; He will be our guide Even to death.” 

P/S: Angie’s recent article on ‘Puppy ‘n Us’ had provoked me to reveal my true episode with those creatures call d-o-g-s. Am trying to be extra careful while on the road nowadays….

 

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This is a special, separate meeting for men & women. Encourage your cell members to bring their friends, family members, colleagues, etc. to join us. There will be a fun time of icebreaker, game and special presentation.

Time : 8.30pm
Topic : Sex in the City?
Speakers : Revs. Ronnie & Lisa Chin
Venues : Kairos Hall (men) & Parousia (women)
Attires : White/ blue (men) & white/pink/red (women)

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I don’t know if anyone out there began to feel ‘uninterested’ with his or her current job like me. I have been attached to my present company for exactly three (3) years and at times, I do ask over myself if it is time for me to make a move and venture into other field. And whenever I list down all the pro- and con- towards my decision, looks like there are more negative statements and I would then put off my so-called plan.

Whether we are the bosses or the recruits, we do come across challenges and mood swing at work. And it depends on how we look at ‘em in a diverse angle. The key to motivate ourselves perhaps is to instill get-up-and-go and enthusiasm into every one of us in the workplace.

I recently came across a book review that provides a straightforward principle in the form of a story and is definitely an interesting read. Written by Blanchard & Bowles, it tells the story of a woman manager who is set up for failure by being sent from head office to take operations in a regional factory with dismal performance. In startling contrast to the rest of the company, she finds that the Finishing Department is impeccable. She befriends the Native American man (i.e. Red Indian) who runs the department, and he agrees to teach her his grandfather’s philosophy, by which he runs the Finishing Department. He teaches her, she introduces the changes into the rest of the factory, productivity improves, and the plant is saved, and with is the jobs of everyone who works there. This philosophy is Gung Ho, and it consists of three (3) principles, which are modeled after observations of nature.

1. The Spirit of the Squirrel

The first principle was revealed by watching squirrels running, again and again, to a feeder, stuffing their cheeks with sunflower seeds, and taking them back to the forest. Well, so why are the squirrels working so hard? It’s because they are motivated. But what motivates them? OK, if they do not store up food for winter they will die. And the squirrels are working hard because their work is worthwhile.

The Spirit of the Squirrel : Worthwhile Work

The Spirit of the Squirrel can be instilled in people, by focusing on how their job fits into the big picture, how it is crucial and adds value, and not minimally on units produces, Everyone must be committed to the same clearly understood objective, just like the squirrels are committed to gathering seeds to survive for winter. Understanding that their work is worthwhile gives employees self-esteem, which is one of the most influential human emotions.

2. The Way of the Beaver

The second principle was demonstrated by watching beavers repairing their dam, which had been damaged by a flood. Each beaver swam back and forth with branches, and anchored them to the dam. There is no boss beaver telling the other beavers what size of branch to bring or where to put it. Each beaver decides for itself how it will contribute the getting the dam repaired. If they want to work at one end, that’s fine. If they want to bring small branches, that great! They work out their own best judgement.

The Way of the Beaver : In Control of Achieving the Goal

The Way of the Beaver is applied to people by giving them control over how the objective is achieved. The role of the leader is to establish the framework through setting the key objectives and values. Take for an example, we define the playing field, and the rules of the game, and we decide who plays what position. Then we have to get off the field and let the players move the ball. The players have to know that as long as they follow the rules, they can go anywhere within the lines. They have to know that as long as the ball is in play, we will keep off the field. Production expectations should be within reach, but challenging, demanding peoples best. It is demeaning to expect far less than people are capable of producing, they want to do fair work for fair pay.

3. The Gift of the Goose

The final principle was observed in a flock of geese, flying south for the winter. As the geese flew by in their V formation, they were honking way at each other. When they landed on the pond, they would honk up a storm. And when they took off – honking again. Now, what were they honking about? They were cheering at each other on – and those were happy enthusiastic, cheering honks.

The Gift of the Goose : Cheering Others On

The Gift of the Goose is given to people by complimenting and celebrating on an ongoing basis, and not just the big wins, but as well the small ones too. We cannot overdo congratulations, if they are true congratulations. And it is not just the head goose that cheers. All the geese are involved – cheering each other on to accomplish their mutual objective. Well, we too could cheer each other on bringing enthusiasm to the work.

Well, do put into practice these three (3) simple principles, in order, in our Organization for performance and efficiency progress. This book provides us a comprehensible, step-by-step outline for instituting these ideas, which will ensure Gung Ho employees who are committed to success.

NB: Gung Ho => enthusiasm, excitement, fired up, spirited, energetic

 

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Famous Last Words

The top 10 lists of famous last words, as listed in American Film Institute..well ok, some of it, I put it in for old times sake, but the number 1 is real!

10. “So this is how a courtroom looks like!” – Lt Daniel Kaffee after winning the case and looking around the courtroom, A few Good Men, 1992

9. “I know.” – Han Solo when Princess Leia blurts out that she loves him as he was lowered into the cryogenic chamber, Empire Strikes Back, 1980

8. “This is Ripley, last survivor of the Nostromo, signing off.” – Ellen Ripley, Alien, 1979

7. “Oh, no, it wasn’t the airplanes. ‘Twas Beauty killed the Beast.” –Carl Denham, King Kong, 1933

6. “Eliza? Where the devil are my slippers?” – Professor Henry Higgins, My Fair Lady, 1964

5. “Well, I’m back.” – Sam Gamgee, Lord of the Rings, 2004

4. “I will be right here.” – ET touching the kid’s forehead as he said farewell, in ET, Extra Terrestrial, 1982

3. “…Tara!…Home. I’ll go home, and I’ll think of some way to get him back! After all, tomorrow is another day!” – Scarlett O’Hara, after being delivered by line 1), defiantly being as stubborn as ever, Gone with the Wind, 1939

2. “Here’s looking at you, kid.” — Rick Blaine, Casablanca, 1942

And the number one most famous last words of all time:

1. “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” – Rhett Butler, tired of selfish Scarlett O’Hara let her have it at the end of the movie called Gone with the Wind in 1939. Frankly, a lot of viewers felt the same way about how the story would end after 6 hours in the cinema.

The number one pick was controversial at that time because it was believe it was the first time a cuss word was used in Hollywood. Victor Flemming, the director had 3 choices: take the scene out, pay a $5000 fine, or change it to “I don’t give a care.” He paid the $5000 and the rest was history. Gone With the Wind lapped up 8 Oscars for that year, including the best supporting actress in Hattie McDaniel, playing Mammy, one of the first black winners of Oscars. Vivien Leigh claimed immortality when she also won the best actress as the vivacious Scarlett O’Hara, one of the biggest brats in Hollywood history.

Now imagine, Jesus made it to that list. What did he have to say?

Read Matthew 28:16-20

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:16-20

It’s not a funny line, or a controversial line, or frankly, my dear, not even a line someone would come out of the movie remembering.

It was a straightup commandment to go and do stuff. He didn’t say, “OK, guys, I’m flying off, so don’t forget me, ok, I love you all, peace.” In his last words, he said what was always in his heart, why, in the first place he came to become man: his compassion for the lost, his assurance for his disciples, and the mission for all of us. I don’t think Jesus was an unemotional guy; he was emotional in many ways, but he was also incredibly focused. Of course, you may say, if you are the God of the universe, it’s easy being focused, but remember, Jesus stripped himself of his glory (emptied himself) and became truly human. (Phil 2:5-8).

So when the parting words came, he could have easily opted to go out with a bang, delivering a funny keynote like:

1) So this is how earth looks like! –Jesus, Looking around at the ascension

2) I know – Jesus, when Peter tells him he loves him.

3) This is Jesus, saviour of the world, signing off

4) Well, I’ll be back

5) Heaven! I’m going home! I’ll be back soon, after all, tomorrow is another day!

6) Here’s looking at you, kids – Jesus to his disciples

7) Frankly, my dears, you know I really really care.

Instead, it was:

“I am with you always, to the very end of the age” – Jesus, ascension, 0 AD

He gives an assuring pat on the back of his disciples and starts them off with another mission. Directors love one liners that define characters or situations, so I guess, in many ways, directors won’t really mind the last words of Jesus: while not likely to make Hollywood’s funniest one liners, it definitely serves as a strong hook for a sequel. And in many ways, we are His sequels.

We can break these last words down

1. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me – Assurance and the reminder of his sovereignty and power. Imagine to those who doubted, without this initial reminder that he is Jesus, son of God, who conquered death, they’ll be thinking, how does he manage to fly like that? Instead of concentrating on what he had to say. This jolts them into, hey, it’s Jesus, our boss talking here.
2. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations. Main task. Make disciples. What’s a disciple? It’s not someone who follows blindly, but who learns. It could mean, learner. Jesus says ‘go’, he didn’t say, let’s set up a home church/home cell and depend on our marketing folks to bring the people in. Build the best mousetrap and everyone will come right? He wanted his disciples to realize that it was a proactive part on their end to work, to go out, to bring in the people.
3. ..baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. This is a subtask to make disciples, to baptize. Before you ask, hey, I’m not a pastor, does that give me the right to baptize? Without going too much in depth, suffice, baptism is a very very important event administered by authoritative bodies, because it’s a covenant between a person and God. The church represents God’s authority, and authority granted by the church can only be taken as authoritative water baptism. However, this does not stop us from praying for the Holy Spirit for our friends, family.
4. teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. Not something. Everything. Not the convenient ones, like, thou shalt not kill, but we overgloss, hey, let’s forget that inconvenient commandment to not lust in your heart, since we’re nothing but mammals right?
5. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age – And here’s the final cruncher…this guy that says he has all authority in heaven and earth ends it with, I am with you always, forever. Why didn’t Jesus say, “Hey, all of you guys are authoritative over heaven and earth, ok? Cheers, delegation done, I’m off to my spa to get rid of these wounds.” It’s very clear where the authority lies. Not in us, but in God. We are but commissioners, we are the vehicles, we ain’t the passenger. The authority is with us. But it’s not us. We’re not there yet. The truth is, literally, with great powers come great responsibility and we can’t handle the truth. (Woo hoo, two movie lines in one sentence, combo strike!)

I must say, this is one of those weeks that I really followed the cell notes pretty closely. We had a good time, just reminiscing back what were the last words, or profound words that stuck to us by our friends, our family. Thanks for sharing, all.

So how can we honor the commission? Our church has mission trips set up all over Asia with subsidy to join. We also have community projects happening, and ministries to serve in. There is no excuse not to serve in anything…even ushering or traffic control are vital ministries and can be served without too much overhead of time and resources. And above all, remember to be testaments for God, and not be so involve in our own little world as to forget that “there are bigger things happening here than me and you.” (Very quickly, where is this quote from???).

So frankly, my dears, we should give a …. Care.

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A case study I had recently came across and just wanna share with all. 

Charles Plumb was a U.S. Navy jet pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into rival hands. He was captured and spent 6 years in a communist Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal and now lectures on lessons learned from that experience. 

One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at another table came up and said, “You’re Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!” 

“How in the world did you know that?” asked Plumb. 

“I packed your parachute,” the man replied. Plumb gasped in surprise and gratefulness. 

The man pumped his hand and said, “I guess it worked!” Plumb assured him, “It sure did. If your chute hadn’t work, I wouldn’t be here today.” 

Plumb couldn’t sleep that night, thinking about that man. Plumb says, “I kept wondering what he might have looked like in a Navy uniform: a white hat, a bib in the back, and bell-bottom trousers. I wonder how many times I might have seen him and not even said, ‘Good Morning, How are you?’ or anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot and he was just a sailor.” 

Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor had spent on a long wooden table in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands each time the fate of someone he didn’t know. 

Now, Plumb asks his audience, “Who’s packing your parachute?” Everyone had someone who provides what they need to make it through the day, Plumb also points out that he needed many kinds of parachutes when his plane was shot down over rival territory – he needed his physical parachute, his mental parachute, his emotional parachute, and his spiritual parachute. He called on all these supports before reaching safety. 

Well, sometimes in the everyday challenges that life gives us, we somehow miss what is in fact significant. We may fail to say hello, please, or even thank you, congratulate our friends on something wonderful that has happened to them, give a compliment, or just do something nice for no reason to our colleagues to keep our affiliation going. 

As all of us go through this week, this month, this year, do recognize people who pack your parachute. God’s one of them, for sure. Well, for those who had been constantly reading pieces of my writing, I thank you for your part in packing my parachute!!! And I do hope you too will begin appreciating those who have helped pack yours! 

Well, just be the best that we can be today and every other day. After all, there are no limits except the ones we put on ourselves.

-Michelle Tay-

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OK, so I had of late posted an article-cum-picture on durians and many had came to identify a range of durians available in Balik Pulau, Penang.

I had gone to experience myself the Eat-All-You-Can Crazy Durian Buffet held in Armada Hotel, PJ with my siblings on Saturday.

Just two days before, I got to know my brother had reserved me a ticket and had even requested me to take leave since the buffet would start off at 10:30am till 4pm. Well, I work on all Saturday and he doubt I could make it on time.

Taking leave on a Saturday just to attend the Durian Buffet is totally out of mind and for sure, my Lady Boss would not approve. Hence, I assured my brother he would see me at the venue by 1:15pm as I would by all means, to step out from my workplace at sharp 1pm.

Ok, by God’s grace, I did it! (Amen)

So there I was at Armada Hotel’s open car park area to enjoy durians for lunch…. (I forgo my breakfast that morning) There were in total five booths set up with basketful of durians and the huge crowd would be standing surrounding these booths eating as the hotel crew opens the durians for them.

I walked around and yet, I could not find any D24 durians, and had decided to question one of the crew there. The crew replied me, “Cik, apa durian you ingat ada kat sini? Cuma bayar RM10 seorang tau. Kalau nak makan bagus, manalah dapat ‘ngan 10 ringgit?” I turned to my brother but he was quick to response me, “Come on, I didn’t know-lerrr”

OK, come what may, I began my feast – durian eating. Barely after the 2nd durian I took, I was already unable to take any. However, I can’t lose out that easily as I just got to at least make use of the value of my RM10. I just have to take as much as I could, ‘though the treat came from my brother, and not from my own pocket.

Well, my Small Sis was there since 11am and is still eating when I came. But, I warned her, yeap her RM10 worth would decrease its value if she were to take MC on Monday.

I tried roti jala with durian, and it’s simply marvelous. I was walking with my brother when we bumped into a stall serving bubur durian. Well, I had earlier told my siblings that I would try out all bit by bit, not considering if I like it or not. And so I have to take the bubur durian with my brother. And….it’s yukk - never have I took something like that before – thick yellow-creamy durian (with seeds) paste! Imagine me putting ‘em inside my mouth and finished up that entire bowl!

I was at the buffet for almost two hours and all I see, everyone there were busy eating and eating, as if they have not eaten for years. They kept on popping the durian flesh into their mouth one after another, and seeing them gave me a second thought. What if these durians turn up into extremely large real-life giant chasing us in return…and what if these hundreds of people here had had enough of durians and at a sudden all of them just collapse onto the ground.

For me, I could hardly eat much and am extremely selective when it comes to food (if there a hurricane, I would be blown off faraway to nowhere) and in fact, after the durian-eating panorama, I would now not get in contact with durians for the time being. Yeap, no durians from now on. I surrendered….

I remember few years back, my brother and I followed a friend back to his hometown in Tanjung Sepat. The two of us cycled around the whole neighborhood one afternoon by ourselves and we stopped at the jetty, hoping to see the fishermen’s back. We were standing at the bridge for hours under the hot sun and as the boats forthcoming nearer to us; we began to feel over-excited. We saw these fishermen’s sorting out their catch of the day and it took them almost an hour to clear out their catches from the boat inside. These fishes, to me look more like a heap of clear-cut rubbish dump, that I had stopped eating fishes since then. Not only that, we even ventured to have a closer look on how fishballs are produced, and yeap, no more fishballs in my eating dictionary after that.

Perhaps I just need some time to totally put out of my mind of those unexpected encounter I should not have stumbled upon. But durians? Nah…

 

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