开个小玩笑

Three persons passed away on the same day and found themselves in front of Heaven’s Gate. They were each asked about their occupation before being granted the permission to enter. The first guy replied saying that he was a doctor and has helped to save many lives and healed different diseases. The second guy mentioned that he was a teacher and has labored to mould the lives of the next generation, thereby helping to produce useful people for the society. Now, it was the third guy’s turn.

Suddenly, the Heaven’s Gate opened and God stepped out. With tears in His eyes, He hugged the third guy and said, “You don’t have to say a thing, my child. I know that you have worked hard all your life. Come on in.”

The third guy was an engineer.

Moral of story:
Engineers are known to be hardworking.

This joke was adapted from my boss’s database and his key point was that we need to be hardworking to be engineers. Hence, staying back in office till 10pm is just the tip of the iceberg. Frankly speaking, I really enjoyed this joke and therefore decided to put it in as an entry. =)

猫头鹰的智慧

I really cannot believe that I have actually switched my biological clock so instantly that I am awake for the whole night. Wah, thanks a lot to those who have been praying for me to adapt to the night shift. I must say that I have adapted pretty well. The only problem now is I think I may be very sleepy later during church service. Hmm, can pray for me again if you happen to see this post now? Thanks. =)

Okay, here is a picture which I have gotten from the net.

I am okay with working in the night shift but one setback is I will have more severe black eye rings than before.

暗恋史

在念理工学院的时候，我曾经暗恋过一位女生。暗恋很久，长达八年之久。其实如果她现在还单身的话，我想我应该会向她展开追求攻势吧。

可是话又说回来，如果当年的我并没有向她表白的话，八年后的我还会有这个勇气吗？一九九八年，十八岁的我认识了她。从那时起，就暗恋了她。三年后，我信主了。可是她并不是基督徒，所以我发现我不能跟她谈恋爱。从此虽然我们依然保持联络，但我还是一直没有跟她表白。

事隔八年了，今年就是第九个年头了。今天的我还有跟她联络。不知道她有了对象了没有。不管怎么样，我会为她祈祷， 希望她会有回到主身边的一天。这样的话，我们还能在天国见面。

经过这段暗恋史的我虽然今天依然是孤家寡人， 但我却学到了如果碰到喜欢的人时，就一定要跟她表白。不然人事亦非时，就后悔莫及了。不过在向她表白之前，我要先问一问我天父的批尊，因为说什么，主耶稣可是我未来内人的公公呢。

成长的过程中

In the process of growing up, we all face changes and different challenges. For me, I am not really a person who will resist changes all the way but I certainly need some time to get used to changes. Like what I have mentioned in a previous post: Stages in Life, there are various stages in our lives and I am now at the adult stage – the second last stage of life.

At the adult stage, there are new added responsibilities and in the beginning, I am not really used to it. For one, I am not really used to paying for everything which I hope to acquire. In the past, my parents will pay for me but now I will have to pay for something which I want to buy myself. On top of that, I have to pay for my parents too. That’s a change. Being an adult, you also need to bear all consequences for your action. Responsibilites is that essential element which put stress on you. This is simply because you are solely responsible for the tasks assigned to you. Hence, if you happen to mess things up, you will need to be prepared to answer it to your boss. A fact of life. Changes for me to adapt again.

Sometimes, children will hope that they will grow up soon as being adults have all the freedom which they like. They think that being a child has its own restrictions. Okay, that may be true in their context but having an adult’s freedom comes with responsibilities. (Does this remind you of Spiderman?) When you have endless tasks waiting for you in the office and endless bills to pay, the sight of the so called freedom eludes you. That’s a new challenge for you in life.

I think God plans for everyone to commence life as a baby so that through the years of growing up, we can gain some fundamental experiences which are required to prepare us for adulthood. We started off by depending on our parents for every single thing. Through the years we spend with our parents, it has shaped our mentality on how we relate to others and also how to guide our own children to adulthood. We make mistakes to learn. We may take the wrong paths but we are sure we will not let that happen to our own children. My dad, for example, has told me from young to get a good education so that I will not be like him who is illiterate.

The years of growing up is essential to prepare us to face issues in life. Even right at this moment, I am still learning new things everyday and gaining new experiences to share. Everyone will need to go through five different schools in life. Four from primary to university while the last one is the ‘Society University’ (社会大学). Getting four A*, 8 A1s or countless distinctions coupled with diploma of merit and First Class Honors degree will not get you anywhere in life. The key point is to ace and excel in the Society University.

Many did not even make it to a tertiary education but have excelled in the Society University alone. They have graduated from this life with the honors of remembrance by many. Therefore, in growing up, be ready to make mistakes to learn and to treat issues like treasures because they are free lessons for you to acquire that experience in life.

步入第二夜

Going into the second day of night shift tonight, I found out this morning that I am disorientated with my dates. Yes, I was telling my colleague that I would be working tomorrow which in actually fact is today because the time when I was telling her was 0515 hrs. “Oh yah hor, today! Haha.” She told me that even after I woke up from my sleep at home, it is still 22 Jan 07 (today).

Overall, the toughest night which was last night had gone. I was doing well the whole night, staying quite alert and refreshed till 0645 hrs this morning when I started to feel the tiredness overtaking me. From 0645 to 0800, I felt the sleepiest. Hope to perform better tonight by staying alert all the way.

Slept from morning till 1600 hrs. Woke up to have a light dinner and now preparing to get back to work which commences at 1920 hrs.

Pls continue to pray for me to be able to adapt well to the night shift and also to continue to be holy for the Lord because He is holy (Lev 19:2).

新家的第一夜

Tonight, I will be working in my first night shift in my new office. New section, new working shift, new office, new phone, new chair, new cubicle with new table but only my computer is the same one from previous office. Then again, my computer is relatively new too since it does not have some of the software at first for my job.

A new beginning after my confirmation for my job, I really give thanks to God for granting me this job. In everything, give thanks to Him (1 Thes 5:18). Everything means that even when I am struggling in areas of purity, financial security, life and death, I am to give thanks to Him. Maybe because everything that can happen to me has been approved and granted the permission by Him.

I am struggling in the area of purity for the past thirteen years and counting. This is so true that I am still struggling today. I lent my laptop to a brother for his FYP because I did not want to log on to those websites ever again. However to stay in touch on my emails, I still have to use my sister’s laptop. Logging on to the net always causes me to sin in this area. Why can’t I just be obedient to Him for once?

This year, I am sincerely preparing my heart to be baptized. The heart condition is truly what God sees. Hence, I hope to dedicate all areas of my life to Him, submitting to His will for me and living out my life by His word so as to be truly filled with the spirit (Eph 5:18).

Working in the night shift will be a great test for me. This is simply because there will be no one at home when I come back from work. This will be a great temptation for me to fall in the area of purity. I sincerely urge any believers of Christ to pray for me at least for these following three months that I will be able to win this battle which belongs to God. In addition, I will be missing from church services and cell meetings due to my work. No matter what, I do pray that I can continue to go in the direction where God wants me to go.

感谢上帝!

Rocky Boat

Singapore is an island. We are surrounded by sea and so traveling in a boat to go to other islands around us is one type of transportation which we can use. For me, I have traveled on a boat before and if the sea seems to be having rough waves, the boat will be rocky.

What happens if you are on a rocky boat? You will need to anchor your boat on something that is firm and to grip on it as your foundation. Then in that case, your boat will not be rocky and it is ready to face the storms and waves in the sea. If you do not want to find the foundation to grip on, your boat will not only be rocky but it will start to follow where the storms and waves lead. Soon it will lose its direction.

Take note.

You cannot control the coming of the storms and rough waves but you have the freedom to decide if you want to anchor your boat on something firm.

In the Graveyard Hours...

I will be proceeding to the night shift starting next Sunday, 21 Jan 07. Pls pray for me to be able to adapt well to the new working hours and also to be able to sleep well during those hours which I am required to sleep. Becoming a night owl or night kitty cat soon. Owl is wise while cat has nine lives. Anyway, here's my working schedule till Feb 07. =)

Deception

I will like to write a post on deception. What is deception? Deception is the act of deceiving. It is simply the act of bluffing or lying about something. There was a movie called, “Liar, liar”. I am sure all of us can identify with the man in that movie. When it comes to a stage when he can’t lie anymore, life becomes difficult for him.

Just how serious is saying a lie or believing in a lie? I used to think it is okay to say a lie once in a while but I am still annoyed when someone lied to me. Sometimes, I termed some lies as white lies, which means that they are not serious lies. However, now I think the term, “white lies” is a big lie by itself. I strongly believe that lies or deception is a very serious problem. This is simply because my enemy is a father of all lies!

In other words, every lie which I say comes from my enemy. If I want to live by my Father’s truth but yet still carry on lying, then am I following my Father or my enemy instead? Thinking back on this, lies accomplish the motive of deception which destroys the fellowship with my Father.

The enemy has deceived every unbeliever in my midst (2 Cor 4:4). He has also not let the believers have a chance to go scot-free because he is still doing all he can to continue to deceive them through temptation. The guilty pair came in being because of deception. Hence, let us be strong and abide strictly to what our Father has said in His word.

Before you want to say a lie next time, do think twice. If you claim to know the Truth, the Way and the Life, why are you now trying to bluff your way through?