of Spasms and Coolness

Went to GrooveTV hiphop competition last night.
Hiphop includes krumps, locking, breakdancing, rapping, and so on.

The opening scene was a bunch of teens doing krumps.
I never knew such a dance existed!
Looked like orangutan or neanderthals in spasms...
(you can youtube krump and judge for yourself)

But then the applause and cheers was unexpectedly loud when some of them manage to do some 'super-spasms'...
Now I wonder if its my definition of 'coolness' and taste getting further away from the next generation....

The dances were cool and creative overall,
cannot imagine myself doing any of those though.
Some were graceful, some looked constipated.
Of course there's the neanderthals in spasms,
and some are just cute! - kids doing hiphop with some adults moves...
and of course there's some which are just weird moves - totally not cool at all.
Told my friend that 'there sure is a lot of weird people out there' and she just laughed...LOL!

I might just go do some capoeira and maybe even breakdancing next time....
Just for the fun of it!
So that I've been there and done that!

Who is Jesus? 3

This is the person we worship…
He was not born in royalty or wealth.
He was born in a manger.
He was the son of a carpenter and was a carpenter himself.
He was even called a drunkard and glutton.
He was a friend to sinners.
He was radical in his teachings.
He taught us about God’s love and His kingdom.
He taught us to love one another.
He taught us to love and bless even our enemies.
He taught us to the way of life.
He healed the sick and the disabled.
He wept for his friend.
He raised the dead.
He washed even his disciples’ feet.
He was abandoned by his disciples at the time of his arrest and crucifixion.
He was crucified only after two to three years of his ministry.

So why do we worship him?
His ministry period only lasted two to three years.
His death was a death of criminals – tortured and crucified.
His disciples fled and denied him during his darkest hours.
His claims were outrageous which no other major religion founders dared to claim – one of which he claimed to be God.
(see previous post Who is Jesus? for other claims)

I've always been amazed at the differences of Jesus and other religion founders.
I've always think that the most important thing to know when stepping into a religion is the life of its founder - his life, teachings, claims, and deeds.

Fortunate Or Unfortunate?

Had a puncture last night when I was driving home.
Spent probably 30mins to an hour to change the tyre.

Well, one would think how unfortunate that this has happened..
But I'll tell them, it is definitely a fortunate thing.
If it were to puncture when I was driving more than 100km/hr,
down the two-lane (two-ways) highway to work next morning,
who knows what might happen?
I might not be writing here anymore.

But fortunately, it happened last night while I was only on a 60km/hr road.
So no big issues there.
Just slow down and find a place to park.

Its a wonder how a slight change of the way you think can affect your mood during and after the incident.
So whenever an 'unfortunate' incident happens to you,
stop and think again,
because you may find out that that incident may not be as unfortunate as you think...

What a Wonderful World 2

If you want to have a break from reading news regarding all the bad things that happens around the world, or if you are wondering if there's any good left in the world, read this:

Wonderful World from MSNBC

I've just found out that MSNBC has a frontpage on 'Wonderful World' in their World News section just below their 'terrorism' section.

Apparently there's still some love in the world...

浩劫中创造奇迹

这次的浩劫，
使世人团结起来帮助灾民。

我们也许不明白为何上帝要让这些灾难发生，
但通过报导我们可以知道世间仍然充满着爱。

我想也许其中一个原因，
是要让我们沉淀在心底的爱心，
对慈济的爱心重新燃烧起来，
使人们团结一心，
为灾民们创造一个又一个的奇迹吧！

Quotes by Mother Teresa

Each one of them is Jesus in disguise.

If you judge people, you have no time to love them.

Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.

If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one.

God doesn't require us to succeed; he only requires that you try.

Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired.

Let us touch the dying, the poor, the lonely and the unwanted according to the graces we have received and let us not be ashamed or slow to do the humble work.

(Quotes by Mother Teresa)

Who is Jesus? 2

The argument goes like this ...

"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God.' That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic - on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg - or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."
(Excerpt from Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis)

So is Jesus, the founder of the world's largest religion, having more than 2 billion believers in the 21st century, a lunatic, the devil from hell, or the Son of God?

Who is Jesus?

He was ...
Jew
Carpenter
Teacher
Prophet
Healer & Miracle-worker

He taught us to ...
Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, & strength.
Love your neighbour as yourself.

He claims to be ...
Sinless
Able to Forgive Sins
The Prophesied Messiah
The Light of the World
The Truth & the Way & the Life
The Only Way to God
The Bread of Life – the Giver of Life
The Only One who knows God the Father
The Resurrection & the Life
The Judge at the End of Days
Has All Authority on Heaven & on Earth
The Eternal Word
God the Son

Note: these claims can be easily found in the internet.

如果

如果时光可以倒流，
你会做什么呢？

是否尝试禰补悔恨，
挽救一些人生错误的决定？
还是尝试换个人生，
一个充满充实精彩的人生？

不想若干年后回首时，
心里涌起一股无奈，后悔莫及的感慨，
才发现其实人生可以过得更充实，更精彩。

常常我们会在人生路上迷失方向，
一直追求荣华富贵，满足我们强烈的虚荣心，
以致在人生的东奔西跑中抛离了我们人生伴侣在后头，
忽略了亲人的温馨依赖，情人的爱恋幸福，朋友的挚诚信任。

God on the Cross

I could never myself believe in God, if it were not for the cross. The only God I believe in is the One Nietzche ridiculed as ‘God on the cross’. In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it? I have entered many Buddhist temples in different Asian countries and stood respectfully before the statue of the Buddha, his legs crossed, arms folded, eyes closed, the ghost of a smile playing round his mouth, a remote look on his face, detached from the agonies of the world. But each time after a while I have had to turn away. And in imagination I have turned instead to that lonely, twisted, tortured figure on the cross, nails through hands and feet, back lacerated, limbs wrenched, brow bleeding from thorn-pricks, mouth dry and intolerably thirsty, plunged in God-forsaken darkness. That is the God for me! He laid aside his immunity to pain. He entered our world of flesh and blood, tears and death. He suffered for us. Our sufferings become more manageable in the light of his. There is still a question mark against human suffering, but over it we boldly stamp another mark, the cross which symbolizes divine suffering. “The cross of Christ … is God’s only self-justification in such a world’ as ours.

(excerpt from “The Cross of Christ” by John Stott)

小孩与天堂

无辜的小孩，为何会遭受到天灾？
他们是多么的天真可爱，单纯无辜...
难道这是他们前世的罪孽吗？
我们可能永远也不会明白上帝让天灾发生的因由，
但是上帝已给在灾难中失去小孩的父母应许与安慰...

耶稣却叫他们来，说：“让小孩子到我这里来，不要禁止他们；因为在神国的正是这样的人。我实在告诉你们，凡要承受神国的，若不像小孩子，断不能进去。” （路加福音 18：16-17）

“我实在告诉你们，你们若不回转，变成小孩子的样式，断不得进天国。所以，凡自己谦卑像这小孩子的，他在天国里就是最大的。”
（马太福音 18：3-4）

乞丐老人与穷寡妇

(Photo from CNETNews.com.cn)

读了这篇新闻感到实在惭愧！ （新闻在此）
乞丐老人可以为灾民捐出他的所有，我们呢？

读后便记起耶稣对于穷寡妇的评赞...
财主们和穷寡妇同时向圣殿银库做出捐款，
财主们捐了许多，穷寡妇只捐了少许。

耶稣叫门徒来，说；“我实在告诉你们，这穷寡妇投入库里的，比众人所投的更多。因为，他们都是自己有馀，拿出来投在里头：但这寡妇是自己不足，把他一切养生的都投上了。” （马可12：43-44）

怕鬼？

好多朋友们都说怕鬼，
不敢看鬼戏，听鬼故事，
鬼，真的这么可怕吗？

鬼不外是一个没身体的灵魂而已。
我们人具备完整的身体灵魂为何要怕这些孤魂野鬼？

但是，
如果说所谓的鬼是指邪灵恶魔的话，
那我们人就有惧怕的理由了。
简单说，对于这些“鬼”，
人可说几乎是任由宰割，毫无办法了。

我们在主里的弟兄姐妹们，
可没有任何理由惧怕，
因为我们已经接受主住在我们心里，
而我们也活在主里。
每一个活在主里的弟兄们，
都有着用主名驱魔的权柄，
这只是我们信心大小的问题。

如果没什么信心，
也不要紧，不必害怕，
因为主在我们心里，
鬼必不敢侵犯。

凡认耶稣为神儿子的，神就住在他里面，他也住在神里面。
（約翰一書 4：15）

十元，一元

如果我们知道捐十元，
只有一元会到灾民的手中，
我们还是一定要捐，
因为如果因此而不捐的话，
他们将连一元也不会得到。

活在幸福中的我们，
别忘记灾难中的同胞们。

Tracy: where can i donate money to da victims in china?

me: thru church // otherwise https://www.redcross.org.au/Donations/onlineDonations.asp

Tracy: Ok, done

me: u donated?

Tracy: yes // from my own wages // feel great // hahaha

me: haha // yeah
(Windows Live Messenger Chat Dialog)

Deep Gladness, Deep Hunger

"...The kind of work God usually calls you to is the kind of work (a) that you need most to do and (b) the world most needs to have done. If you really get a kick out of your work, you've presumably met requirement (a), but if your work is writing TV deodorant commercials, the chances are you've missed requirement (b). On the other hand, if your work is being a doctor in a leper colony, you have probably met (b), but if most of the time you're bored and depressed by it, the chances are you haven't only bypassed (a) but probably aren't helping your patients much either....The piece God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet."
(Frederick Buechner, Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC)

Let us find our deep gladness in what we do everyday to meet the world's deep hunger..
In whatever we do, we do it for God's glory.
Let us be happy with our work we do everyday,
so we can be a blessing to others.

We may not be the ones who are in the action field of disasters and poverties,
but we can still make a difference in what we do everyday.

男人女人 2

那人说：“这是我骨中的骨，肉中的肉，可以称他为女人，因为他是从男人身上取出来的。” 因此，人要离开父母，与妻子连合，二人成为一体。
（创世纪 2:23-24)

男人爱女人就应该像爱自己一样，
因为女人本是男人的骨中的骨，肉中的肉。
上帝造人造了一双，
这就是为什么人会感觉孤单寂寞。

男人女人

耶和华神说；“那人[男人亚当]独居不好，我要为他造一个配偶[女人夏娃]帮助他。” (创世纪 2:18)

“每一个成功的男人背后都有一个女人。”
我想这句话不是没有根据的吧！

The Long Silence

At the end of time, billions of people were scattered on a great plain before God's throne. Most shrank back from the brilliant light before them. But some groups near the front talked heatedly, not with cringing shame, but with belligerence.

"Can God judge us? How can He know about suffering? " snapped a pert young brunette. She ripped open a sleeve to reveal a tattooed number from a Nazi concentration camp. "We endured terror...beatings...torture...death!" In another group an African American boy lowered his collar. "What about this?" he demanded showing an ugly rope burn. "Lynched, for no crime but being black". In another crowd, a pregnant school girl with sullen eyes, "Why should I suffer? "she murmured, "It wasn't my fault".

Far across the plain there were hundreds of such groups. Each had a complaint against God for the evil and suffering He permitted in His world. How lucky God was to live in heaven where all was sweetness and light, where there was no weeping or fear, no hunger or hatred. What did God know of all that man had been forced to endure in this world? For God lives a pretty sheltered life, they said.

So each of these groups sent forth their leader, chosen because he had suffered the most. A Jew, an African American, a person from Hiroshima, a horribly deformed arthritic, a thalidomide child. In the centre of the plain they consulted with each other. At last they were ready to present their case. It was rather clever.

Before God could be qualified to judge, he must endure what they had endured. Their decision was that God should be sentenced to live on earth as a man!

Let him be born a Jew. Let the legitimacy of his birth be doubted. Give him a work so difficult that even his family will think him out of his mind when he tries to do it. Let him be betrayed by his closest friends. Let him face false charges, be tried by a prejudiced jury and convicted by a cowardly judge. Let him be tortured.

At last let him see what it is like to be terribly alone. Then let him die. Let him die so that there can be no doubt that he died. Let there be a great host of witnesses to verify it.

As each leader announced his portion of the sentence, loud murmurs of approval went up from the throng of people assembled. When the last had finished pronouncing sentence, there was a long silence. No-one uttered another word. No-one moved. For suddenly all knew that God had already served his sentence.

(Playlet by Anonymous)

Mission

I believe that everybody has a mission in life...

Some people feel responsible for...
the hunting of whales,
the poverty in the world,
the saving of endangered pandas,
the needy children in poor countries,
the depleting resources our planet has,
the increasing pollution in our environment,
the excessive lumbering operations in our forest,
the peacekeeping operations in countries in chaos,

the physics of nature and all things,
the exploration of the cosmos and universe,
the exploration in the deep waters,
the search for more renewable resources,
the search for cancer cures,
and many more...

Let us complete the responsibility and mission God has set in our hearts...
We need to take care of our planet that God has given us...

God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." (Genesis 1:28)

The Beatitudes

Click to enlarge photo.

I made this to be my desktop background a few years back in my uni years.
If anybody's wondering, the grass is the property of UWA.

Compassion Day 2008

1 Day... 1500 Children...

Can we do it?
Change 1 life at a time...

Compassion Day is Thursday 15 May.

This Filipino girl (photo beside) is one of the many compassion-sponsored children.

For those who are in Perth, the local station to tune in on that day is 98.5 Sonshine FM.

Consciousness

I know who I am.
I am unique.
I am not you.
I am me.
I can think.
I can sense.
I can feel.
I can love.

I think the conscious mind is an amazing creation.
Some say it is actually our soul or spirit.
I may actually agree with them.

It links our body parts together.
So we can feel what our hands are feeling.
Some may argue that it is just the brain at work.
But at the end of the day the brain is just a bunch of cells and nerves.
What pulls them together,
must have to be our amazing conscious mind...

Dreams

When we dream,
the dreamworld seems to be very physical and real.
Most of the time we forget that it is only a dream and not reality.
A friend tells me she cries in her sleep sometimes,
because she dreamt of something sad,
though she couldn't remember the dream,
but the pain is so real that she still cried for a while after she's awakes...

No wonder Wes Craven can think of films such as 'A Nightmare on Elm Street'.

Would we be in fact living in the 'dreamworld' of a much higher conscious?
A world created by this superior conscious,
like how our conscious constructs a dreamworld for us when we dream?

The Mind

Ever wonder how amazing it is that we can imagine things?
Building up images in our minds;
either from memories of old,
fantasies way beyond our capabilities,
or dreams where we can fly or do amazing things...

Now if we can 'build' images with our minds,
it must be pretty easy for God to bring the universe into being with His mind.

I wonder if building the universe and our earth for God is like us imagining stuff...
After all, we are made in God's image and I suppose the workings of our mind in some way would be similar...

Note: The mind here is not the physical brain but our inner conscious or self.