A Friend In Need, Is A Friend Indeed

People rarely quit simply because of adversity, but rather because of the lack of encouragement during times of adversity.

2 Cor 7:5-6

5 For when we came into Macedonia, this body of ours had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn-conflicts on the outside, fears within. 6 But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus

GSync

Symbian 60 users, have you ever felt frustrated with the speed of your mobile phone device? Most of the time, the amount of SMS/MMS messages that are stored on our mobile phones actually take up precious memory space and even chalked up lots of processing power. However the issue is that many of these SMS/MMS messages contain important information and we would love to keep them for reference. Well, fret not! GSync by Psiloc is here to save the day!

GSync is an intelligent, convenient and unique way to backup all your SMS/MMS messages. GSync allows you to automatically archive all of your SMS/MMS messages on the Gmail™ account. The SMS/MMS messages appear as e-mails, are marked as read and labelled as SMS/MMS. Messages exchanged with the same people are grouped into threads. It even separates your sent and received messages very cleverly.

An example of a MMS message after being processed by GSync:

However, good things don't come free. The software comes with a 10 day trial period, after which it would cost SGD26.70 to activate it.

(PS: If you are thinking why my gmail interface look so cool, well you can leave me a comment and I will teach you how :D)

Big Bang!

It's time to Build A New Generation!

Baby For Sale On eBay!?!?!

Just read up on this in the news and I thought some people are just ridiculous.

BERLIN - GERMAN police are investigating a couple after they offered their eight-month-old son for sale on internet auction site eBay.

Renee Beck, a police spokesman in the Bavarian town of Krumbach west of Munich, said on Saturday the 23-year-old woman told them it was only a joke.

But he said police were nevertheless continuing their investigation and the baby was put in state custody.

'She says it was a joke,' he said. 'That's not yet clear. Detectives are investigating on suspicion of child trafficking.'

A number of people called authorities across Germany after seeing the offer on eBay that read: 'Baby - collection only. Offer my nearly new baby for sale because it cries too much. Male, 70 cm long.'

The opening bid was 1 euro ($1.57). There were no bidders during the two hours before the offer was removed, police said.

The mother was quoted in Bild newspaper saying: 'It was only a joke. I just wanted to see if someone would make an offer. They've taken my son to hospital and I've got to take psychiatric tests next week.' -- REUTERS

Visual To-Do List

As the saying goes, "A picture speaks a thousand words" and having camera phones so easily available, it can be a great idea to have a To-Do list that has its contents represented by photos instead of words. Furthermore, snapping a photo of a task that needs attention takes much less time than penning it down and it makes life much more interesting too, since people are visually oriented.

One way to implement a Visual To-Do List:

1. Create a To-Do folder within your phone.
2. Begin snapping tasks that need to be done (Packing your desk, an uncompleted project, toothpaste that is running out, etc).
3. Upon every snap, transfer it to the To-Do folder.
4. Have a look at the To-Do folder from time to time to ensure that tasks are completed.
5. Upon completion of every task, delete the photo.

Simple as that. This idea is not unique as there are people using it already. Do go try it and let me know if it works for you.

Being 'Right' and 'Wrong'

Peter came from a family where there was much conflicts and quarreling. Because of it, he was very troubled and tried various ways to try to solve this problem within his family. However, there was no result.

On the other hand, Peter have a friend, named Ryan. Ryan's family hardly quarrel and were always very understanding towards each other. Thus Peter decided to seek the advice of Ryan and he asked, " Ryan, tell me what is the secret behind your family? As compared to many others, you guys never seem to have much conflicts and would always seek to put yourselves in each other shoes. How did you all do it?" Ryan answered, "It is very simple. It is because your family possessed all the right attitudes while mine having all the wrong ones."

Upon hearing the reply, Peter got upset as he thought Ryan was trying to be sarcastic. Ryan quickly explained himself, "Don't get me wrong, I was not trying to be sarcastic. Let me give you an example. If there was a glass of water placed on the table by my wife and I accidentally spill it, I would quickly go to my wife and tell her that it was my fault and I am the person in the wrong. Upon hearing my apologies, my wife would also apologize immediately stating that she is in the wrong for placing the glass of water at a place where it was not easily seen thus causing the spillage. We have all the 'wrong' attitudes because we chose to admit our mistakes. However in your family, the problem lies in that everyone always thinks that they are 'right'. None of you would want to give in and apologize when something goes wrong. That is why there are always so many conflicts."

Bobby Lee Waihong would always say in Hokkien, "Saying sorry would not cause you to lose a part of your flesh...". True!

Communication

Communication is essential in every relationship. When one refuses to communicate, it is indirectly bringing death to that relationship.

An interesting story about relationships that lacked communication:

A man was elected to be a Minster of Parliament and was to give a speech before his constituency. Thus he spent a great deal of time in preparation for his speech. The faithful day came for the minister to deliver his speech and his entire family was there to support him.

That very night before the minister's wife fell asleep, she began to think in her mind,"Well, today my husband gave a great speech and the entire audience was greatly motivated. However something seems to be wrong... What could it be? Ahhh! I know, he was pulling up his trousers all the time! His trousers must be too long for him!". She turned and look at the minister and realized that he was deeply asleep. Thus she decided that she will go and alter the trousers and not wake him up. The minister's wife took the trousers and began to cut off a portion of it. After which, she placed the trousers back to where she took it and went to bed.

At about 2am in the morning, the minister's daughter woke up. She started thinking, "Dad gave a wonderful speech today, but I just feel that something seems wrong. What could it be? Ahhhh! I know, I know! His trousers was too long for him! I remembered seeing him constantly pulling it up. I better do something about it." The daughter looked into her parents' room and realized that both her father and mother were asleep. She decided not to wake them up, she took the trousers and went ahead to alter it. With it, she cut off a portion and placed the trousers back. After which she went to bed.

At 4am, the minister woke up from his sleep. As he had to deliver another speech at 8am, the minister began to evaluate how he had performed the day before. He thought to himself, "Yesterday, I gave a good speech. The audience were excited and greatly motivated. But, something seems to be wrong. What could it be? Yes! I was pulling up my trousers constantly. It was too long for me! I better do something with it!". He looked at his wife and daughter and realized that they were fast asleep, thus the minister decided not to disrupt their rest. He took the trousers and cut off a portion of it and place it back to where it was originally placed.

At 6.30am, the entire family woke up and the minister began to dress up to go for his speech. By now, he realized that his trousers has become a pair of bermudas! However as time was crucial, there was no time for him to get a new pair, he went ahead with it. At 8am, the minister started delivering his speech and told the audience, "You must be thinking that I look funny, wearing a pair of ultra short trousers to give a speech.". He began to tell them what had happened throughout the night and he commented, "My family loves each other alot, however because we failed to communicate, this happened.".


Although this story is not a true one, but it does indeed reflect many of our relationships. We often love and care for the people around us, but we fail to communicate or express it out. Eventually, it led to many funny happenings and even misunderstandings. All these can be avoided, if only communication take place.

Part of loving is to communicate and to express it out. Start communicating today! :)

The Lee Family

My family portrait taken during Chinese New Year 2008

Catching Fish

"If you want to catch fish, you shouldn't cast your nets in the bath tub."

- Reinhard Bonnke

Welcome to Holland

A poem by Emily Kingsley, a parent of a special needs child.

"I am often asked to describe the experience
Of raising a child with a disability,
To help people, who have not shared that unique experience,
Understand it
And imagine how it would feel.
It's like this
When you're going to have a baby,
It's like planning a fabulous trip to Italy;
You buy a bunch of guidebooks and make your wonderful plans-
The Coliseum, Michelangelo's David, the gondolas in Venice-
You may even learn some handy phrases in Italian.
It's all very exciting.
After all the months of eager anticipation,
The day finally arrives.
You pack your bags and off you go
Several hours later, the plane lands,
The stewardess comes in and says
'Welcome to Holland'.
'HOLLAND!?' you say. 'What do you mean, Holland?
I signed up for Italy.
I'm supposed to be in Italy.
All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy'.
But there has been a change in the flight plan.
The important thing is
That they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place
Full of pestilence, famine and disease.
It's just a different place.
So, you must go out and buy new guidebooks.
And you must learn a whole new language.
And you will meet a whole new group of people
You would never have otherwise met.
It's just a different place.
It's slower paced than Italy;
Less flashy than Italy.
But after you've been there for a while
And catch your breath,
You look around and you begin to notice
That Holland has windmills;
Holland has tulips;
Holland even has Rembrandts.
But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy,
And they're all bragging about the wonderful time they had.
And for the rest of your life you will say
'Yes, that's where I was supposed to go;
That's what I had planned'.
The pain of that will never, ever go away,
Because the loss of that dream is a very significant loss.
But if you spend your life mourning the fact
That you didn't get to Italy,
You may never be free to enjoy
The very special, the very lovely things about Holland."

6 Years & Counting

6 years ago on the 28th of April, I stepped into City Harvest Church for the first time. From then on, I never look back. What an amazing 6 years of adventure with God, having known great people and my life changed totally. Awesome!

Indeed God's plans are always higher than our own. A plan to 'rescue' a close friend eventually led to salvation and a life changing experience. These 6 years, never a moment have I ceased to be in awe of God's call towards me into His family. Prior to knowing God, I was a person with no direction in life. Having failed in school, I didn't know of what I can expect in life. Temporal glory was all that filled my mind, thus I became a bartender and led a messed up life - living only for the moment.


Eventually after a few events, I came to church and little did I know that my life was about to change at that instance. There I met a tremendously powerful woman who became my cell group leader and her name is Marlin.



Under her leadership, I grew to know God and was really discipled in many areas of my attitude and character.


Without Marlin's persistence and love, I would not be doing what I am doing now. Thus, I am really appreciative of this mentor God has placed in my life.

However, things did not just end here. God continued to bring in even more wonderful people into my life. During October 2005, I was transferred to E369 to come under my current leader and zone supervisor, Ming Jin. I must say that this is one of the greatest thing that happened to my life. Under him, I learnt many things and grew tremendously as a person in terms of confidence and also my relationship with God. One of the most significant thing that really touched my heart was on the day before I reembarked on my studies, Ming Jin dropped me a call personally and encouraged me to study hard and do well. It really meant alot to me and till now I still keep it in my heart as a motivation to do well.



In MJ Zone, I got to know another powerful woman who also made a huge difference in my life. Her words are always full of love and encouragement. She is none other than Darryl, Ming Jin's wife. Just by spending a lunch break or even a short conversation with her is enough to inspire me to believe that I have the ability to attempt any impossible task and take on the world with boldness. Having been in her cell group for a mere 6 months brought about so much impact into my life and I must say it was such an enjoyable time learning under her.



Apart from this powerful couple, God gave me great friends that I know I can rely on in this wonderful family. Every week, I would look forward to meeting them and spending time serving God together.

The goodness of my heavenly Father did not end here too, I was also given the privilege of leading a wonderful bunch of God-loving people, N363.



Beyond just relationship and character-wise, I am also blessed beyond description in my school results and I must say God turns things around. Initially I thought that I am a failure in studies and would never even get a basic diploma , but because of His grace I am now even given an opportunity to do a fast tracked degree next year.

In conclusion, it would take me an infinite amount of space to jot down how thankful I am to God for the second chance to life and I know I can never be grateful enough for the wondrous things that He has done for me and to the people that came into my life. 6 years have passed, and I know I can look forward to an even glorious 6 years ahead.

Happy Mother's Day

Today is Mother's Day and I would like to take the opportunity to salute all the mothers all around the world.

My mother is a very strong and special woman who has made an amazing impact in my life. Her love and grace for me is so great that it overlooks all my weaknesses and failures. In order to see me succeed in life, she underwent much hardship and I would really want to appreciate her for that. Anything God does through me in this lifetime, I see it as her reward; for all the seeds she sowed with her life and heart.

Recently I heard something very interesting and I made a little amendment to it. It is said that there are 3 critical issues in our life that we cannot afford to procrastinate in doing them, as follows:-

1. Believing in the Lord Jesus Christ and accepting Him as your Saviour.
2. Being filial and honor your parents.
3. Be successful.

Point 1 is exceptionally crucial but I would want to emphasize on the other 2 points on this Mother's Day. It is very important that we as children not forget the hardwork and love that our parents sowed into our lives and it is only justifiable that we be filial and honor them at every possible instances. Time just passes us by unknowingly. A true fact is, there is just a limited amount of times that we can express our love towards our parents while they are still alive. By procrastinating, time is ticking away fast. Therefore, let's seize the moment!

Linking the last point to the 2nd, my opinion is that being filial also means that everyone of us have the responsibility to be successful while our parents are still alive. It is because, for everything that they have done and gave to us, it is to see us be happy and successful in the things that we do. Furthermore when one succeeds in life, then he will have greater capabilities in taking care of his parents. Thus, working and studying hard is not just about ourselves but really part of repaying the effort our parents have sown in us.

To end, something interesting that I found:

THE IMAGES OF MOTHER

At 4 years old we say: "My Mummy can do anything!"
At 8 years old: "My Mum knows a lot! A whole lot!"
At 12 years old: "My Mother doesn't really know quite everything."
At 14 years old: "Naturally, Mother doesn't know that, either."
At 16 years old: "Mother? She's hopelessly old-fashioned."
At 18 years old: "That old woman? She's way out of date!"
At 25 years old: "Well, she might know a little bit about it."
At 35 years old: "Before we decide, let's get Mum's opinion."
At 45 years old: "Wonder what Mum would have thought about it?"
At 65 years old: "I wish I could talk it over with Mum."

[Author Unknown]

"But Who You Say That I Am?"

Recently I came across this verse in the Bible and began to start meditating and thinking about it.

Matt 16:13-15 (NKJV)
13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, "Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" 14 So they said, "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

Jesus over here was asking His disciples about who the people think He is and the reply that they gave differed. Some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, etc. Isn't this very true? In modern context, to some Jesus is their Savior, to some Jesus is someone who they look for in times of need and to some, Jesus is just one of the gods among the many gods in the various religion.

Continuing on with the story,

Matt 16:15-16 (NKJV)
15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 16 Simon Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Jesus' question back to the disciples is what He is constantly asking us. Instead of listening to the opinions of others, He is us asking point blank - who is He to us individually. Like Peter, we need to be able to identify Him as the Christ, Son of the living God. With the correct identification, the next question that should come up to us should be this:

Matt 27:22 (NKJV)
22 Pilate said to them, "What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?"

After establishing the fact that Jesus is King in our lives, what are we going to do with Jesus? To some, they still place Jesus in the same league as their worldly issues. To some, they remain indifferent.

However, my suggestion is to treat Him like a King irregardless of situation.