A conversation i overheard between some colleagues at office talking with regards to 'celebrating Good Friday' has inspired me to write an entry about Good Friday.

One of them took the time to explain to the other that it is not entirely accurate to say that Christians 'celebrate' Good Friday since it is the day where we commemorate the crucifixion of Christ. It would be quite chilling and dark to be celebrating the torture and crucifixion of a person or a God isn't it? Though yes, we celebrate the idea that Christ has came to save us and have given us a way of salvation from Sin and eternal damnation.

The colleague brought up the point that Good Friday is a stark reminder of what actually holds Christianity together. The Christian faith is nonsense and invalid if ever this event is proven false and that Christ was not crucified or had not died and risen on the third day.

So we can say that Good Friday is to commemorate an event which is the most critical landmark of the history of Christianity.

While writing this, i stumbled upon a pastor's blog entry of 10 random facts about Easter which i thought was really interesting! Especially how cool Spy Wednesday sounded! This is probably my first time hearing about Spy Wednesday. (taken from http://www.revelife.com/772353340/10-facts-about-easter/)

1) It's likely that Holy Week observances have been going on since the first anniversary of Christ's death and resurrection. However, the first writings of such practices don't appear until the fourth century.

2) Holy Week only precedes Easter Sunday but does not include Easter. Holy Week consists of Palm Sunday, Spy Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. The Sunday that Christ rose from the dead marks the beginning of a whole other week.

3) Maundy Thursday is the day that Jesus washed his disciples feet and had His last supper with them. The word maundy comes from the Latin word mandatum which means "commandment." This is because Jesus told His disciples, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another." (John 13:34) 

4) Spy Wednesday is not often referenced, but it gets its name because it's the day that Judas conspired with the chief priests to arrest Jesus.

5) Good Friday is also known as Holy Friday, Great Friday, Black Friday, or Easter Friday. It's unusual to call the day that Christ was crucified "good," but it is good in the sense that Christ's death paid the penalty for our sins, and all who believe in Him will be saved! Really the word "good" in this sense is just another word for "holy." Why we decided to start calling it "Good Friday" instead of "Holy Friday," no one really knows.

6) Holy Saturday is also called Easter Eve or Black Saturday. It simply commemorates the day that Jesus's body laid in the tomb. Catholic traditions believe this is the day that Jesus "descended into hell" as recognized in the Apostle's creed. But there is no textual basis for this claim.

7) Easter is always the first Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon, which is the full moon on or after March 21. This is why Easter, often considered an April holiday, is sometimes in March. This year's Paschal Full Moon is on March 27 which means Easter Sunday falls on March 31.

8) The first recording of a Holy Week observance was made by Egeria, a Gallic woman, who visited the Holy Land in the 380s. She talks about a gathering on the Mount of Olives carrying palm and olive branches, and the bishop "is led in the same manner as the Lord once was led."

9) Some have tried to suggest that the word Easter has pagan origins, derived from Eostre (also spelledOstara), the goddess of the dawn, or Eastre, the goddess of spring. Eostre also means "the month of opening." However, Easter's name is most likely connected with the word oster which means "to rise."

10) The Easter egg has been a topic of debate. Some say it's derived from references to pagan fertility rituals. Both the rabbit and the egg symbolized fertility, so put the two together in an egg-laying Easter bunny and you have ultimate fertility! However, the Easter egg has more of a Lenten origin. In Medieval Europe, Christians would abstain from eating eggs and meat during Lent. So not to waste eggs during that time, they were preserved by making them hard-boiled and given as gifts to children and servants on Easter. Christians in the Middle East and in Greece would paint them bright red to symbolize the blood of Christ. Opening the shell of the egg represented the open tomb on the day of His resurrection.

Really cool stuff =)

I stumbled over this video of Dr. Ravi Zacharias on the Four questions that you must answer in life.
It turned out that Dr. Ravi was in Singapore and talking in NUS in 2007!

I enjoy very much how he bring things into perspective and making all the logical connections to the arguments he makes.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=docqRqcHmK4)

May Christ be ever so compassionate to keep touching our hearts, keep engaging our mind and keep the spiritual alive to tell us that there is more to life than what we live or think of it.

Birthday celebrations are synonymous with having a scrumptious dinner with family and friends, sharing delightful cakes and receiving luxurious gifts. If Birthday celebrations were benchmarked by my previous statement, then my birthday for the year 2012 is considered tragic. Yet, to me, this has to be one of the most meaningful birthdays I had.

On Friday night, 28th Dec 2012, my Grandma suffered from a heart attack. She was found in her room, lying on her bed with vomitus overflowing from her mouth and nose. She was pronounced dead at the hospital on 29th Dec 2012, 12:06am. Everything happened so quickly, it felt surreal. We had to drop everything and focus on organizing the wake and the cremation.

Initially, I would have thought that this funeral was going to be just a draggy and indifferent affair. I visualized that I could sit through the entire procession passively, wasting my new year away. Since i stayed with her my whole life, I couldn’t have been surprised at anything other than maybe hearing some story of how she was appreciated for helping her church occasionally anyway. I was wrong. Her church friends just kept pouring in. It was inevitable that her friends kept speaking about how passionate and blessed my grandma was; cooking, loving and showing hospitality to people around her. They kept going on how she would be the first to turn up or to be the first to volunteer. How she would be so diligent in her bible study classes and choir classes even when she was illiterate. All of her friends kept sharing about how ardent she was and how she persisted to request for her church to pray for her family each time there was an opportunity. Above all, i only found out that my grandmother would go out to evangelise to people with a pastor and the pastor would recount the amazing stories of how God has worked through those efforts with miracles. In the end, she did help bring people to Christ.

It seemed like I got to truly know my grandma so much more within those 4 days as compared to the entire 27 years I have lived with her.

I wept uncontrollably during the cremation when I recalled how she was always so appreciative to any help she received, how she could smile even when she was in pain and discomfort, how she could give when she didn’t have much.

What more of a birthday present can one receive than memories of a generous heart, inspiration of an evangelistic life and a warm smile behind a weary body?

She has definitely inspired my family and my fiancée to look at life in a different way.

God has been so kind to my grandma and my family on my birthday.

I am so grateful.

Ah mah, Gam xia. (Thank you, Grandma)

I am eternally thankful and grateful for all of the people who turned up and appreciated my grandmother.

I thank God also for the opportunities that he has gave my family to love her through all the food that was provided, the gifts that we could give her, for allowing my auntie and her family from Malaysia and US to be present for the wake and also for how everything just fell into place. My grandma would have been extremely contented and happy with the way it happened.

http://www.heavenaddress.com/LEE-SIU-ENG/429345/

Sometimes, it is rather annoying that we lose sight on the hope in life just because of things that should not matter that much.

Life will definitely be beautiful.

Because, God is beautiful.

It definitely has been a crazy week.

God blessed us and grant us good weather for my company activity.

However, the work front really didn't go as well as i hoped it did.

You win some, you lose some.

Think, there is definitely more to life than just feeling sucky with work.

Maybe, the KPI that we have in life is not how well you can do your work(though that is definitely very important) but instead it is the reflection that i did on saturday with cell.

"Are you a more loving person than what you were last year?"

"Are you kinder than what you were last year?"

"Do you love God more than last year?"

Those, are defintely more important things to work on.

So what if you work well, it wouldn't add up to much when you go to the grave.

I think back on how video games go. It is easy to hit the 'reset' button and attempt at a particular difficult level without much of an opportunity cost other than a little lost time. Life, however, does not entitle to you such liberties. Time will be lost, opportunities will be gone, people will suffer and life will continue. Here is the truth guys, there is just no such thing called the 'reset' button. There is only the 'forgiveness' button, the 'grace' button, the 'OMG i am so lucky' time that comes occasionally. Even then, we ought not to bank on such moments.

Sometimes, a catastrophe may turn out for the better of you. It is usually the time where we want to press the reset button, where we are given the opportunity to learn great deep life lessons. Our reaction and thinking pattern that results from that situation would probably gives insight on who we really are and what we are capable of. It may be scary, it may be sad, it may just turn out that you have turned into a incompetent hypocrite. You may not like it, you may love it. But one thing is for sure, you have to be aware of it or you are the same as the man who goes to the mirror and forgets how he looks like after he looks away. Maybe, just maybe, that those who look for their reflection frequently is not narcisstic/vain, but in actual fact, they just don't recall how they look like or who they are.

Which brings me.

Do you like what you see in the mirror?

There are some of us thats ugly.

There are some of us thats balding.

There are some of us that reminds ourselves about the dirt in our life.

There are some of us that hides behind that facade.

There are some of us that just can't be bothered anymore.

So what do you see in the mirror?

Though you are ugly, balding, dirty, hypocritical and indifferent, Know or not, someone out there loves you for who you are.

Though you are definitely the awkward one with that abnomality in your look that acts out of the blue and laughs at the most absurd things.

Guess what, maybe, someone wired you that way and still loves you for being that awkward turtle.

I have made an observation.

It may be obvious to some (as like how some people berate self-help books), however, i am still going to point it out, that the things we do when we are alone is probably things that we have placed as our idol.

So, for example, if you are alone and then you start to fantasize or start to read pornographic materials, you probably have a lust issue.
I realize the 2 major problems we have around us is the the addiction to Entertainment (Which explains the incessant usage of SmartPhones) and Lust(Which is when people turn to fantasies and porn). We may not realize it but these are having a big problem with our lives.

Firstly, it sets unrealistic expectations in life. This has been encouraged by the nuances of movies, dramas, reading material, news media and even pornography. You can't really help it if you don't have a proper filter in your mind(The ability to correctly discern what is wrong or right). Even if you do have a proper, sometimes the nuances are so tough to catch that it impacts you unconsciously. Things like, the top priority of your future partner is that she/he must be crazily attractive before even considering her/his character. Or that you must have a partner that is sexually compatible with you before you should consider of which this may have been over-rated and that sex is JUST A PART of marriage. Whats more, if you and your partner never had sex before, it will definitely be pretty good anyway since there is no benchmark that is set if you never experienced or had high expectation of it.

Secondly, it made us ungrateful. With instant gratification, we take a lot of things for granted. Do you think the chicken on your plate grows within a day? The water that comes out from our tap, the transport that we take , etc etc. The other day, i was out with a friend and as he shared about his life, we was just plain disgruntled with everything! However, if we think about it, the fact that you are able to read this means you are really blessed! It means you have an education, you have electricity, you have a computer and with all of that, you are probably part of the top 30% income bracket in the world.

Media don't really show the gloomy part of the world since that would not sell. But the actual fact is, the world is broken. We do have a massive income disparity and it is really saddening that we are just not thankful with what we have. And on top of that, we still have the audacity to be disgruntled, complain and be ungrateful.

There is more to life than competing with your peers to impress each other.

There are people waiting for you to care. waiting for you to love.

and who knows, to them, your love may very well mean the world to them.

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot,
Nothing is going to get better. It's not.”
― Dr. Seuss, The Lorax

i don't know why, but i am just bloody tired lately.

Wonder. why.

Beautiful Wedding.

A Worship leader that had his heart centered on God.
A Hokkien Song that tugged at the heart.
Ended with a song that was earnest and sincere.

Congratulations to Charles and Li Feng.

Thanks for sharing God to all your audience.

English Lyrics of Hold My Hand:

Hold my hand, Oh my Lord Please do not leave me
I still have to travel down this road
I need your companionship
Hold my hand, Oh my Lord Please do not leave me
Sometimes I would be afraid, and Sometimes I do not know which path to take
Sometimes it is as though I cannot hear your voice
Hold my hand, please be my companion
Make my steps firm and steady I come to your door,
and hear your voice Telling me: "Come to me, my child"

You satisfy my soul
And I stand amazed at the blessings I've known
And still to this day, the mercies you show
Make it clear to see that you love me

And you give each breath I breath
You color the skies with beautiful leaves
You've proven that you will provide for my needs
The way you fill me Lord, how could I ask for more

And I'm satisfied, satisfied
I've been cared for so faithfully
But Lord hear my plea

May it be that you're satisfied with me
And you give me grace without end
And you have forever removed all my sin
And now the makers of heaven and earth call me friend
And from the joy that brings, oh how my spirit sings

I'm satisfied, I'm satisfied
I've been cared for so faithfully, yeah
But Lord hear my plea
May it be that you're satisfied with me, yeah
Yeah

Good Lord, hear my plea
May it be that you're satisfied
Are you satisfied?
Please say
You're satisfied with me

Amen.

After a wee bit more than 2 years, i am changing job.
It was not a pleasant lesson to find out that actually, experience is so much more important than your Certificates/Degrees.
As one of my friend told me, a degree just proves to your potential employer that you have the basic ability to think, write and present. 
Experience however proves that you can work. I am pretty excited to start on this new job!

This interim period has not been easy to me as of late.

Speaking of Unity,

Sometimes, i really wonder how people can think so largely of themselves that it does seem like they think they know EVERYTHING and they are always RIGHT.
I also wonder why some people just think that the authorities are against them and wished them the worst.
I also wonder why sometimes people can be so full of themselves that they can put themselves ahead of the team or the community. 
Is it right that we hold our ego and say everyone is wrong?
Nobody said it is easy.

We must also know that in the end, we are the pieces of a jigsaw of a bigger picture. It is very important that we always see the Big Picture. 
It certainly won't make a person useful when a group of people is building and instead of finding the pieces, the person only criticizes the picture.
If you can't change the picture, join the force and help your group in building the puzzle!

Why do you get so worked up and try to cripple your own team? In the end, look at your end point. 
I have to say, you are just too small for the world to revolve around you.
And i am also too small for the world to revolve around me.

It is utterly foolish and surprising that you can mock what you are part of like you do not belong there.
Listen and look at yourself. Pull yourself together. Work towards a common goal.

It tears me inside out to witness and hear all these. I still love the person. But i really hate what the person is doing. I detest it. Shame on you.

And thats to you how you should be as Christians.
You have to love all people and hate all the sin.

Keep Calm and Continue. 

But He has overcome the world. So take heart, keep on, fight the good fight, pray continuously, and do not grow weary. There is nothing better than giving up everything and stepping into a passionate love relationship with God, the God of the universe who made galaxies, leaves, laughter, and me and you.
==========
Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God (Chan, Francis)

This picture has probably summed up the past 5 days.

It has been long awaited for such an Leadership Training Camp.
This is the beginning and it certainly will not be an end.

Though my body and mind is tired, my spirit has been very much energized.

Proud of those officers, primers and boys.

As best coaches would say:
Celebrate the success now. Now, this success is the past, lets look to the future and build on it.