Twenty-twentyOne

So how has your 2021 been?

Personally, it  has been rather challenging. The mco(s) has brought innumerable changes to our lives. Our lives grounded to a halt as we found ourselves embattled in one national covid crisis after another. Personally, I've lost a friend to covid, and my schoolmate has lost his wife. What does one say to those who remain.. Words seem too hollow.
Covid has also drastically  affected my real estate income. I only manage (to do) 

Epilogue - the Breakfast Club

Our breakfast haunt. 

So all good things do come to an end. What started almost 3 years ago when i invited a bunch of classmates to join me hiking at a hill (bkt wawasan) nearby to where i live has slowly disbanded.

It was a happy 1-2 yrs when we would get together twice (sometimes three) times a week to enjoy the forest, and then after chit chat over breakfast, catching up on each other. There was a palpable camaraderie even outside observers (hikers) would notice. They were even more surprised to know some of  our friendships go back 4-5 decades (to primary school).

I smile when i ponder the great memories we forged.
There was one incident one of the aunties (yes, call us  'uncles' too ) whose curiosity got the better of her, ventured to asked us" what do you all talk about ah? friends so long..? 

Do you talk about your wives ah? here the chabor like to talk (complain) about  their husbands." she remarked.

I chuckled at one of our banter reply. "No lah we don't talk about our wives, why should we talk about our wives(?!) ; when we come here, we forget about our wives, our work, everything .. we are like 'back in school' again, and enjoy those feelings of our carefree days.

What a super reply, and how true too!
Bukit Wawasan is a place we've come to forget about ourselves, our short comings and just enjoy our catefree school day friendships again.

It was a wonderful to reconnect the school friendships, and bond over some physical outdoor activity 

But alas, in a world that has become increasingly polarized in opinions (exacerbated by whatsapp  groupchats) , Breakfast Club (BC) too was not immune. "China vs US" , "Trump vs the world" , "Vaccine vs anti vaxxers" etc, the disagreements can be multiple and varied, and in the heat of an argument, our base-r instincts take over. (maybe it's all that free time mco forced upon us). 

So in the final analysis, whatsapp is really a double edge sword, thoughts transmitted in words, dueling arguments over  chat group really involves EVERYONE , even  those on the sidelines; the 'not so vocal' ones  get pulled in, get offended and go on to  create back channel gossips groups. Nevertheless in the end, cooler heads prevail and boundaries are respected, and a 'cautious peace' prevails.

Sometimes its just better not to go there (in the end it doesn't change anyone's view , and we hv only succeeded to offend another with ours ).

Nobody wins.

So while our whatsapp group still remains, to some degree it has lost its cohesiveness, the focus has  shifted, and the 'brotherhood' less than stellar.  The continual mcos too didn't help as the lockdowns took its toll on our hiking activity, and we lost the momentum.

Now one group has decided to hike at another location Bkt Kiara (closer to their homes, but too far for me ), and others too hv found their own different recreational activities as well. (badminton, walking, basketball) 

As for me, I'm back to enjoying my solo hikes again at bkt wawasan, just like when i first started, unhurried and flexible to my own timing and schedule. As always, i thoroughly enjoy the forest. 

And it's a great liberating feeling.

As i reflect, there is one thing we should all prepare ourselves to face and ie. change is a constant, inevitably it comes into our lives and we need to adapt ; our circumstances, friendships change, our relationships change (for some, spouses), our families change, our finances can change, and certainly our bodies / health are constantly changing as well.

Enjoy your good times NOW cos they may not always remain.  (And thankfully neither do the bad times last too.)

In the end, just enjoy your money ( you've earn it, the kids will find their own) enjoy yr sunny days while they are here.

Remember Andrew, over time nothing stays unchanged. 

The only constant i know is the unconditional LOVE  of God. And that alone tides us over any storm of life; his pleasure is always on us.

 
Take care n if you made it this far. Thks for reading. Ta. :) 

A few lost 'soles' n bits..

Today's haul mainly shoe soles and other rubbish 

If you ever had the opportunity to hike the forest, the first thing  you ll appreciate  is the pristine nature all around. The air is super fresh, and everything about the forest is noteworthy and admirable ( from the  dead /decaying flaura/ trees , to fresh shoots eagerly vying for the sunlight among the thick canopy of trees. Everything  has its place in the cycle of life in the forest.)

But soon you'll also notice the contribution of humans, plastic water  bottles, cigarette boxes, broken shoes, soles, and yes once  even baby pampers .. (Tras-h)

To keep the hiking enjoyable, some of us have taken the task of picking up this litter as we go all along the trail .

There is this particular character who is a regular feature here, always armed with a big trash bag, and quietly goes about picking up the litter. He is not really a hiker in a true sense of definition but he has become  such a familiar figure even the forest rangers recognize his contribution and  he is left alone to 'do his thing' (collecting other ppl trash) even as he ventures into the restricted areas (beautiful  waterfalls) of the forest. Maybe that's also his self acclaimed  'license' to trespass,..
Interestingly, if you ever had opportunity to be with him, you'll soon find he has a default mode swearing at the litterbugs. Yes, even as he is picking up (trash), you'll sense under his breath he is cursing at them. Once i heard his tirade in Cantonese,  ".. these motherf%&$rs in their own house they will keep it so clean, but here throw everything everywhere..", niamah..

Hmn.. well true dat.

Regrettably, there is a palpable disdain about him, ( he gripes not just at  litterbugs, but at every possible  injustice in life,.. government, people, race, etc etc).

I have another friend, a classmate who, not long after i introduced him to hiking  at bkt wawasan,  on his own initiative began picking up  litter even as he went  on his weekly hikes. No one told him to do that. I could tell he appreciated this gem of a natural refuge in the city,  that he would do his little bit to keep it pristine.

At the end of the hike, he'd proudly showed off the rubbish he picked up and proceeds to put it in its proper place. An effort of love fueled by a desire to keep the forest beautiful. No swearing necessary.

The attitude could not be more contrasting. Both labor to keep the forest clean.

The former in his daily clean up of the forest somehow transfers his unhappiness against  them.

The other however focuses on the beauty and pleasure of its surroundings (and desires on keeping it that way)

As for me, I'm a little bit of both. While i love the forest and take ownership of it  (keeping it free of rubbish), at times i find myself appalled  (and yes cussing) at the careless and inconsiderate manner of the hikers.


In any case, I've have since learned not to allow negative  thoughts to veer towards the offender, but  rather focus on making forest beautiful .

The negative energy is unnecessary.

In life, (as well as at bkt wawasan) , I'm reminded the most  important thing is to keep our hearts free of  bitterness even as we go about with the business of living.

A small, but NOT insignificant difference.


Heb 12:15
See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.

In the book of Hebrews, apostle Paul warned  some about falling short (losing focus) of the grace of God  (Jesus, what his sacrifice means for us..)


It's easy to become bitter at life, (or at  anything else)  esp when there are  
seemingly legitimate reasons to gripe at the unfairness of it and/or (any) situation that confronts us.

But the  moment we lose sight of the beauty of  'what God has done for us thru his Son' ,.. bitterness  invariably show up in our thoughts and speech.
Do not allow it to take root in our hearts .


This is a favorite chorus i cherish.

"To behold the beauty, the beauty of the Lord, to inquire of his temple (his presence), the temple of the Lord" .

Keep beholding the beauty of the Lord Jesus

From the song "One thing have I desired"

The WC story (water closet)

 

I know it's not considered 'polite' to post pictures of yr fav WC on ig 🙄, but there it was, all "lit up". 

I had to stop, ponder for a sec.(what's going on here?!) 

Then i realised, a ray of sunlight had come thru the lil window, illuminated exactly the inside of the commode.🤔 ( like it had 'concealed lighting' underneath the rims)

I had to stand back in awe and marvel at the moment. 

I think there must be some moral of this story here  :

Perhaps, "sitting" at yr lowest moments, light can STILL shine in ( 🤔or something like that lah 🔆)

Don't give in, don't give up.

#hope #fighting.

My dear friend michelle gives it the perfect punch line,.. even in your most sh*tty moments, the Light shines!

Bravo! 

Ikan Pecah Periuk (triple tail)

 

The truth about this video is, i didn't catch this big fish. 
We spotted this fish flopping on the surface some 200m away. At  that distance we weren't even sure if it was a fish.
But we decided to investigate. As our lil boat (a 3 person catamaran) drew closer, i could see it was indeed a fish,  flopping on its side  on the surface, and it was big.

The  bow man (front) readies himself with the makeshift gaff (a pole w a hook on one end); the motor was cut and we glided quietly toward it. At the right time, he takes a stab and surprisingly.. misses (!), he quickly recovers and  passes the gaff to the  back as the boat continues to glide over it.
The stern man (back) then readies himself as soon as the fish appear, he takes a firm stab and makes  good contact with the fish  BUT UNBELIEVABLY even as  he pulled up, he loses grip of the gaff, and  i could see  the fish flopping away, ( with the gaff in its side).

Now we've lost both the fish and the gaff.

As i pondered the comedic irony of this whole episode, the boat seem to turn cos suddenly the fish (and gaff) appeared on the starboard ( my side) and near enough too. Without any hesitancy, i reached over and grab it.

The very moment my hand made contact with the gaff, the quiet voice of God boomed inside of me.. "just like that, the blessings of God will fall, without your effort,  without you even knowing what's going on behind the scenes, my blessings  will land on your lap."

I stood up and hauled the fish in, .. stunned at the preciseness and timing of God's revelation.
(up till this point, God hadn't even entered my mind!)

Earlier in the week ( back in PJ) , this fishing trip was made possible bcos i had closed on a house, and it happened the same manner. Me, and a few competing agents (with  their buyers), were chasing hard after  the deal, (at one point i thot i may hv lost it) , but in the end it  just 'fell' into my lap.

And this whole fish story simply underscored the miracle again.

Later i found out the name of this fish, the locals call it "ikan pecah periuk". (break the pot fish )

It was a "breakthrough" fish. 😄

Jesus said to Peter, ".. just throw the net the other side."

Peter did so, but reluctantly . . ( he didn't know that Jesus had already summoned the  'net breaking, boat sinking' payload of fish .. it was coming in).

It's coming.

Keep the faith! 

OUR breakthroughs ARE coming.

BQN 1917

 

So my son got his brand new car today, and he insisted on coming over to take his mum out for a ride; and officially making her his 'first' passenger.

(though he'll nvr admit to that. haha ) 

But I think that's kinda special. 🥰

am i getting old and sentimental?.. actually I'm quite proud to see that_ 😬

Good job Bryan! 

Theology of glory vs Theology of the Cross

This post by tullian tchividjian. 

Any version of Christianity that makes the focus of the Christian faith the life of the Christian is what Martin Luther called a “theology of glory”—not God’s glory, but ours.

A theology of glory is all about us and what we do. It’s about me and my performance, my obedience, my faithfulness, my potential, my strength, my improvement, and so on. Its main message is our need to do more, try harder, get better, and climb higher.

A theology of glory has no room for Christian failure and weakness. It may give lip service to Jesus hanging on a cross for us, but its emphasis is you and me climbing a ladder for Him. 

The opposite of a theology of glory is what Luther called a “theology of the cross.” A theology of the cross readily acknowledges that we are weak and weary, bad and broken. We admit that while our love for Jesus will continue to fall short, Jesus' love for us will never fall short. A theology of the cross embraces the beautiful truth that because of what Jesus has accomplished for us, there is nothing we can do—or fail to do—that will ever tempt God to leave us or forsake us. Because of Jesus, God’s love for us, approval of us, and commitment to us does not ride on our resolve for Jesus but rather on Jesus’ resolve for us. It is, after all, His faithfulness that is great, not ours.

Jesus’ words from the cross, “It is finished!” (John 19:30) mean we are set free from the impossible burden of having to work our way into God’s love and acceptance. This liberates us to admit our faults and failures, our sins and struggles, without fear of rejection. The good news of Christianity rings true when we finally disclose that we are weak and we need help, that we fail, that we’re not as put-together as we want people to think we are. That’s when the rushing wind of God’s amazing grace blows through and reminds us…

Because Jesus was strong for us, we’re free to be weak;

Because Jesus was extraordinary, we’re free to be ordinary;

Because Jesus succeeded for us, we’re free to fail;

Because Jesus won for us, we’re free to lose.

- Tullian Tchividjian

The Octopus story

I made some new friends when I was in Langkawi. At the beach bar, they were telling me ( with some level of enthusiasm) about a movie called "My Octopus Teacher". I didn't think further about it till one evening, bored with the monotony of the mco, I searched it out on Netflix.

It was a documentary.

A remarkable tale of a filmmaker who lost his mojo, finding solace in the sea, ends up making 'friends' w an octopus in the underwater world. Everyday, he would keep diving into the kelp ocean just to keep familiarity with this sea creature. 
Soon he begins to draw  life lessons in his observations and  relationship with it. The octopus at first suspicious of this 'alien' man, slowly begins to warm to his presence and even responds in curiosity.

After awhile, it became an obsession.

So it must have been horrifying that he would witness a shark attack on his octopus friend.
The ending was a surprise (which I shall not spoil it for you).

The most astounding scene in my mind was that one scene of the octopus resting in his chest, in total  relaxation and trust. (almost like a house pet this wild sea creature).

To me the documentary "Octopus My Teacher is an allegory of the gospel. Many thousands years ago (2021!), God dived into our world, to begin a relationship to humans that was as unlikely and as unthinkable as a man making friends w a sea octopus. (both of different worlds)

Just as the man kept diving into the sea to keep looking for his 'friend', God also keeps  looking for us.

The scars of life ( it lost one tentacle result of the shark attack), are all too familiar. We suffer trauma, loss, pain, disappointments,  etc etc, but we too will survive and be restored to wholeness.

Our human experience is not too different from the octopus.

In the end, the enduring image of a wild sea creature resting ( in total trust) at the chest of an 'alien' man, it depicts where God wants us to be.

Resting in total trust of a God who will be there for us.

If you ever do watch this remarkable documentary, the 'continuity of life' is what the Creator of life had in mind.

We have hope, a reason to believe and the courage to continue.

Because we have a loving God.