The Power of Gossips

Gossips have been a hot topic early a few years. People hear it over and over again about the harm and injustice that it can bring. Yet, we still hear it on a day to day basis, sometimes even through our own mouth. The power of gossip is much greater than we think. It breaks relationships, trust; put people in hard situations, placing one in the situation that might not even be created without the slightest gossip. The more we practice it, the greater the power of gossip will grow. However, conscious or unconscious, a gossip is a gossip.

One last good lesson that I learned in Malaysia just before I came back is that we need to be frank to people. Be frank with LOVE. And we, the one who is listening, listen with an open heart. How important is this theory to avoid much misunderstanding and complication among friends, community and nations.

I also learned that even if people do not listen to our opinion and what we have to say, we cannot force our idea on them. It is of their choice to follow no matter how good we think our methods are, they are still greater thinker out there.
Let us come together and practice the power of encouragement instead of the power of gossip. See the difference that it brings to ourselves and those who are around us.

Our lips is a powerful weapon that may do much and also much harm. May we choose wisely which is it we want and may God continue to use our lips to be a blessing to Him and to others.

Festival of LOVE

It is this festival of LOVE again, VALENTINE day!!! This is a festival when lovers get more romantic than usual, it’s a festival where they are to spend a little more than usual on a very special meal and exchange a little gift from the heart.

I just read a story written by my friend Joash, a very touching and lovely story. His stories are one of the best original short stories that I enjoy reading very much. (highly recommended)

For those of my single friends out there, it’s a day for us to celebrate as well, don’t miss out this festival of love, for some, this is the day where new relationships begin, this is the day where girls get to feel special and guys to show their gentle side.

No, this is not a sad day for the singles, it is how you view it, who you spend it with, and how you treasure each friendship. If you’re feeling lonely at home, just find a couple of friends and hang out together. If you like a peaceful valentine’s day, just have a few friends over for a movie and some pizza.

Go out, invite the friends who you know are going to be alone, let them know that this festival of love is for all to share. Show love to them by buying them little gifts, some chocolates perhaps, and just go out and have a good meal together. We can make a difference, make each and everyone feel special because deep inside, we know that everyone are special in their own special way.

For those who have their special dates, enjoy yourselves, cherish the moments that you with each other.

We can all make a difference, living footprints on the sand, SHARE THE LOVE.

HAPPY VALENTINE DAY!!!

The Power of Giving

It is sometimes hard to explain to someone who have no experience of what you’re saying.

How do you explain to your rich friend the value of money? 1 Pound for them is just tips, 1 Pound to some is already a meal; 10 Pounds to them is a simple meal, 10 Pounds to some is few day’s allowance; 50 Pounds to them is daily outing pocket money, 50 Pounds to some we can throw a party for 20; 100 Pounds to them is preparation money to go for a fancy dinner, 100 Pounds to some is sponsoring a compassion kid for 5 months.

I once came across this incident where one of the adult asking for a free place to stay overnight for the kids in his church during a church outing. The people incharged of the accommodation looked at him in a way and said, “but its only RM12 per night, its so cheap, why so calculative?”. Yes, RM12 to some is nothing(might not be enough for their one meal), but think again, if you’re from a rural area, RM 12 is what you use to eat for your whole week. And that amount of money times by the number of kids you‘re bringing, it is a lot. (But long story short, thankfully, they had place to stay for free that night - we need more understanding people around.)

It is hard to explain to people who have never been through a day without food. Our worries are sometimes, what should I have for dinner, what dessert will be better? But to some poorer people, their father’s worries are “how am I going to put food on the table?”, “how am I going to tell my kids that we have nothing for dinner today”.

When you look at kids from different family background, you will be able to see how the value things. Some kids are from a rather rich family background, they are very picky of what they put into their mouth, they waste food like there’s oversupply of food everywhere they go. Look again, when you give a proper meal to a hungry poor kid, look at the joy on their face, look at the willingness of them to share what little they have with their family and friends around, look at the gratefulness on their faces.

We need not be extremely rich to give, but start giving, even with the little. Maybe to some rich people what you’re giving is nothing at all, but remember that it matters to those who are receiving. Don’t compare with your neighbor what you are giving, but give out of love, give because you care and give because it will make a difference.

“Those who sow sparingly will reap sparingly and those who sow generously will reap generously.”

Give while we are able, give while we can, give while people are still able to receive.

It is the same, hard to explain to someone who have never feel love the true meaning of love. I’m not talking about the fairy tale love at first sight, this love is where someone will come willingly to chat with you, someone randomly out of the blues treat you a meal, someone passing by smiling to you, someone that you see daily just asking you about your day, a steady handshake, a warm hug from your friends. Do these unto others for it makes a difference, a very big difference to some.

My friend once asked me, what is your dream. I simply answered that I want to be very rich. Why? People might view this answer as a selfish, greedy, without much aim answer. But i want it because I have seen what money can do, how life have changed, what difference we can make. We human do not need a lot for ourselves, having the basic necessities and perhaps a few good meals once in a while is more than enough. This is one of the reasons that we have to work smart and be rich, so that we will not say, “if only I had the money”. Money if handled carefully performs miracles so wonderful.

We are living in this world, not alone, but with the companions of millions, many that we are able to reach out to but still not know them. But think about this, how much joy is it when you can see the smile on others when you yourself are smiling. How precious is their laughter, how simple is their heart.

We ought to be thankful, learn to love, willing to give and expect nothing in return, for the treasures in heaven is much more valuable than what we have now. THE POWER OF GIVING IS GREAT. And it brings more joy to the giver than the receiver.

Why are we here?

It is good to share God’s word to people. I actually learn more when I prepare the notes then when I actually attend some other talks.

Was sharing about “why are we here?” with the youths during the youth fellowship. Some of the points were like we are here to worship; we are here to fulfill the great commission etc. When it comes to a point where I was preparing, “we are here on this earth to Glorify God”. Looking back, I have many times failed at doing this.

Thinking back about my school days, my results fluctuate according to years. When I was young, my results are sort of good, till I was in standard 3. Then, it went real bad till I’m in form 3. Starting from form 4, my results slowly catch up. Not good yet, but slowly improving.

According to my performance, no one would think that I’ll even go to UK to further my studies. Ulu Klang maybe, but not United Kingdom.

But people are stubborn in many ways. So many times I fall, learned my lesson but still fall again. How could it be “learned my lesson” when nothing actually change? For example, I just completed my A LEVELS. I did miserably in my first exam. Then I resit for it and got a rather average score but am glad about it. Then coming to the last exam, I spent much time with my computer, resulting 2 months of worries about my results and finally when it came out, it was acceptable, but much worse than the other two person taking the same course, same scholarship as me. Come to think about it, I did not actually glorify God in that sense.

The last part when I was sharing, I told them they we need to change. For this, we have to first “sanctify” ourselves and then set our goals right. To sanctify, I need to repent, pray, have PURPOSE IN MY HEART, and have faith. God has brought me this far, I believe that He will bring to pass all good things that He has started. Furthermore, in setting our goals, we used the S.M.A.R.T. way. This is what I learned in my motivational camp. Our goals have to be Specific, Measurable, Action-plan, Realistic, and Time conscious. But recalling one of Pastor Kong Hee’s sermon, we Christians have God in us. Therefore, we have to be S.M.A.R.T.E.R. We have to have Expectation management and also Revelation.

Going into the new chapter of my life, far away from my family, there ought to be many changes in the way I handle things. I need to now plan financially, it’s not like in KL where I just call home when I do not have enough money. Well, the journey has already begun since I’m already starting to pack. To make it interesting, I think my Offer letter is lost in mailing, therefore, my Visa is not done yet. I need to reschedule and delay the plane. Addition to that, I now fly alone, without my scholar mates. With heavy luggage, big airports, my first transit, I need to find my way to Newcastle. No doubt with my blur face, I have God with me.

Its no use to not practice what I preach. As my fellow youths are changing, setting their mind on the right things to do, I too need to change and start performing.

Biggest Hypocrite Award

MONEY, MONEY, MONEY

Some reflection on what I’ve learned from Soaring the Eagle Camp.
Well, this is not the title of this activity, but it certainly have to do with it. We are given a situation. You have a beautiful wife, 2 pretty daughters and 1 extremely handsome boy. However, they like shopping and you can’t bare not to give them any money when they ask from you. So one day, you borrowed RM 3000 from Ah Loong (loan shark), and have to pay back in two weeks time.
Then the payment day came. You went to the bank only to find your balance is not enough to pay back. Then immediately after that, you received a phone call from the Ah Loong saying that he’ll be in your house with his gang in 15 minutes time and you are warned that things might not be pretty if you do not have the money with you.
Then you looked around, you saw an old man, dropped an envelope on the ground after taking some money from the ATM nearby. You wanted to call out to him but he went on a bike and went off before you can call out to him. You went and pick up the form only to find that there is exactly RM3000 in it. There is no name and no address and no numbers on the envelope. There was no way to trace back the old man.

Each team is to put up a sketch showing that whether you will take the money or not in the end.

(what our team acted was that if he did not take the money, the wife and daughters will be raped, and the son’s fingers will be chopped off one by one. But if he took the money, they will continue to have one happy family)

Lesson learned is that YOUR VALUED PRINCIPLES WILL CRUMBLE UNDER PRESSURE. There were so much talking about integrity from the starting of the camp, only to decide in the end that we will take the money when we’re in desperate measures.

On the other hand, we have to look at this in all directions. We always think of our own consequences, well being of those who are involved, how would people view us of the decisions we make. But have we wondered what God’s view is? Might it be a test of your faith? We all know that God will not test us more than what we can take.

If we take the money, it will be contradicting to what we have learned, preached, and practice all the days of our life. We don’t talk about paying back for what we have done wrong, if all sins can be paid in monetary form, there won’t be the need of grace and cries for forgiveness. If we can just pay back for what we have done wrong, then it is a clear ticket for sinning and paying back later. In that case, it is ok to kill, and then justify yourself that you can repay for what you have done wrong.

We need not justify our actions. If we took the money, our faith is very much broken. It is the same as when we take bribe to feed our family. This is non-halal money. A sin is a sin, you don’t justify it with excuses and the fruits that you can get out of that one little sin.

Yes, of course we have to live with the consequences of the wives being rape and the son beheaded. It will not be easy, but if you give in and say it is ok to take the money, then those that you thought, those you are with will all together lose faith and turn away from the God of justice, God of truth, God of love, God that they trust the God that you have been teaching, learning and believing all these while. Till the end of days, when you see God face to face and when he asked you about why did you denied your faith at that moment, are you going to stand in front of Him and justify yourself?

If we look in-depth into the situation, if we are trying to justify our actions with the people in the quran and the bible or any other religious teaching, they did so and then asked for forgiveness and repented, of course they are forgiven and their sins are washed away. But how many other believers will you cause to stumble? Are we teaching them that it is alright to sin first when we are desperate and then come and repent later?

Why teach all the right things and not practice it ultimately. We can clearly see that living by faith, people will prosper. But we also see those who are persecuted, whose families are tortured, those who loose every earthly thing that they ever valued.

If we can pay back our sins, then what is the use of the millions good thing that we are teaching about?

It is a hard decision “reality vs godliness”

Who are we serving? Who are we living for in the end? For ourselves, for those we care for, for our friends or for God?

When the end of days come, it will not be easy, many will give in and stumble. I know it is easier said than done, but in the end, will I continue to stand for what I believe in or will I do wrong and justify myself later? I cannot guarantee that I will stand firm but by the grace of God, I shall stand by His side and fight for Him, living a godly life.


About the sketch, after much consideration and thoughts, I somehow got a revelation from a friend with good explanation that we should not have taken the money.
If we put the light of God into the picture, think of who we are ultimately serving, look at the end picture, knowing that right is right and wrong is wrong.

This is very debatable and are we looking from earthly view, “ we’re doing for the benefit of many” of are we looking from God’s point of view?

* We know that it is not a blessing from God when we see the money because God will not cause someone to loose something for your gain.

I failed big time, failed to stand for what I’ve believed in so far. Failed to live in faith. If this is an award giving ceremony, I shall be getting the “biggest hypocrite” award. I solute Assurl, a muslim in my class that stands for what is right in the eye of God. He is among the odds but did not give in; he did not justify himself and is viewed as a guy who made the wrong decision. But in the end, who are those who made the wrong decision?

Our principles that are set based on the word of God. How far are we willing to stand up for it? NO COMPROMISING, JUST DO IT.

Question is, who are we living for and do we practice what we preach. May it be the smallest decisions in our life, may we do everything for the glory of our Lord.

Filled with conviction, I hope its not too late to change our mind set on “what grounds are we standing for?”, and “how far can we go on carrying the light of Christ with us.”

Am I trying to be super spiritual? No, I’m just a little girl trying my best to follow my God, trying to make the right decisions based on the right source.

What we decide on can see how much we really love God and how close we are to Him.

*Thanks JIT for laying down the right foundation for this case. My coming here is not such a waste and buat kacau after all, and thanks to the facilitator who show us the reality of the world out there.

Malaysian Youth Prayer Gathering

Its amazing to see that people of small places having big vision for the greater tomorrow of the nation.

The effort put in by the youths, making the posters, designing the T-shirts, making badges for fund raising, organizing the whole event, looking forward for the day where we can come together from different parts of Malaysia to pray for the betterment of the country, this is really amazing and exciting.

For those who wish to come together to pray for Malaysia, are all welcome. It’ll be held in KLUANG, 19th July, 8am till 8pm.

For more info, check it out at the MYPG page.

Nightmare

Waking up from a nightmare, can’t sleep back, but it is still early.

It caught me thinking, what do we do when we know that everyone around us are doing the things that are not right? Weird = being the add one out from the norm. Being the weird one around, how do we make a change? Of cause it will be easier to follow the flow. For certain things, I would actually follow the flow. But what about the things that you know it is bad. Bad. Bad.
Well, since everyone is doing the same thing, it doesn’t make it right. But after compromising, it might fall into the gray spot. But sometimes, we just know that we can’t compromise. If we start, it will trigger the start of a big down fall.
No character? Sometimes we just have to make our stand.
Logical thinking, counting the pros and cons, it is certainly more worth it to stand with the majority. But as all CBA(cost-benefit analysis), we have to start putting shadow pricing. What is the price of losing a big group of your friends? What is the price of standing up for what you think is right? What is the price of the difference that you might make in the future?
Many times in life we compromise too much. Knowing that what we do is wrong, but not wrong in society. Knowing that what our friends are doing is wrong, but we can’t change them. Knowing that we have to do and not doing it. But KNOWING and DOING is different!!!
Of cause in all cases that we seem to be the odd one out, seem to be the only one believing in what we believe, seem to be fighting alone. WE ARE NOT ALONE.
It will not be easy for us the stand up and make a difference. But we will not be alone doing it. We might be the minority, but at least we know that we are doing the right thing.

Perseverance is important. The start might be difficult. But we must persevere so that we might be mature and complete.

How is this related with my dream? I just can’t forget the last scene, everyone looking at me like I’m a total weirdo. Its not easy to have people looking at us like that but we have to do what we have to do. The cost in the short run might be very taxing but do we not see what the long run benefit would be?

Confucius: Quotes on Making a DifferenceTo put the world right in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life; we must first set our hearts right.

A better painting

A better painting

Life, choices,
The world is still turning,
People come, people go,
Are we here by chance?

What about the road not taken?
Is there more to what we see?
What is the probability of things in life?
Can we explain every move by calculation?

Who said that we can’t walk on water?
Who said that dogs can’t fly?
Who determine our actions?
Can all things be justified?

What will the world be if we learn to care?
What will the world be if we learn to give?

Is this world a cycle?
Are all things predicable?
What mystery is left if we know the future?
Where is the excitement if everything goes well?

Life is journey,
We might not be able to determine where to start,
But we can certainly determine where we end,
And how we end.
It’s a new chapter that yet to be explored.
Mystery, fantasy, destiny awaits.
Making sure that the world is moving together,
Everyone moving together,
Learn to help and care.
Won’t there be a better tomorrow?


*Life is more than me, me, and me. If we learn to spread the joy and happiness, it will be a more colorful world. Putting color and smile into people’s life, won’t our life be more meaningful? “Being thin is not a compliment”, as we eat our life through, think of those who never even tasted chocolate. There is not much purpose in life if the other end of the world can’t even get their necessary needs. Who are we to enjoy life when there is still suffering? Learn to give as we learn to care. We are more blessed for we know that we are able to bless others. Can we put color into people’s life as our own life is painted?