The world is dark.. but light still exists. Praise God for tat. =)

Everyday in my work place I encounter people of all kinds of bad attitude, snobbish, arrogant, discriminative, rude, cruel, indifferent, demanding, selfish, ruthless, rich yet stingy etc etc etc. Many a times they turn my mood off. I guess seeing these kinds of people more and more I'll be a "cool" answering machine soon.

Despite all these darkness... I'm glad.. I do encounter very very nice people.. People who are genuine, sincere, persistent, hardworking, obedient (obey the vet's advice), caring, courteous, selfless, understanding, and many a times their kind words melt my heart, draw my eyes to tears.

I thank God for sending these angels to remind me that, no matter how dark the world is, there is still light shining thru. Jesus is the light of the world. How can I keep my eyes focused on the darkside?

From now on, I'll brush away the "dark" people, and remember the "light" people. And hence I'll be posting on the "light" people in my blog and forget about the "dark".

PRAISE GOD!!! =)

I missed the moments...

I missed the moments when i had the time to look around the place, decorate here and there... arrange this and that... undisturbed...
I missed the times of hugging the dogs n cats one by one... undisturbed...
I missed bringing my dogs for a long stroll in the field... without worries...
I missed the times when I could sit quietly and just read... undisturbed...
I missed the times when I could teach and train my dogs, one by one... undisturbed..

We're getting busier each day, and I lose my personal life at work more and more each day...
People (not animals) are driving me nuts...

telephone kept ringing (where's the operator?),
door bell kept ringing (where's the door man?),
people never stop talking (where's the answering machine?),
people never stop asking the same question again and again and you have to spend half an hour to teach them how to spell A-P-P-L-E... (where's the FAQ machine?)

The pressure is high. Had to entertain the super-attention-seeking people, had to watch, treat, inject, clean, and love the pets, had to had to had to had to... (where's the end of the list?)

I lost my personal time... Clients demand for our time, yet do not pay for it... not to mention any droplet of appreciation... they're ichiban at driving other people nuts... i pray tat i will not lose my character.

i'm exhausted, tired. Very very very exhausted. I need a break. A real, long break.

I missed the old times. I know that it's gone. But I will never giving up nor give in to the circumstance. There's got to be a change.

I'm seeking. Seeking for something.

An impossible God? (continued)

This is a continuation from my previous post.
--

Halfway through the afternoon, while I was teaching in the nurses’ training school, a message was sent that there was a car tat my front door. By the time I reached home, the car had gone, but there, on the verandah, was a large 22-pound parcel. I felt tears pricking my eyes. I could not open the parcel alone, so I sent for the orphanage children. Together we pulled off the packaging strings, carefully undoing each knot.

We unfolded the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly. Excitement was mounting. Some 40 pairs of eyes were focused on the large cardboard box. From the top, I lifted out brightly coloured, knitted jerseys. Eyes sparkled as I gave them out. Then there were the knitted bandages for the leprosy patients, and the children looked a little bored. Then came a box of mixed raisins and sultanas – that would make a batch of buns for the weekend.

Then, as I put my hand in again, I felt the… could it really be? I grasped it eagerly and pulled it out. Yes, a brand-new, rubber hot water bottle!

I cried. I had not asked God to send it; I had not truly believed that He could. Ruth was in the front row of the children. She rushed forward, crying out, “If God has sent the bottle, He must have sent the dolly too!”

Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the small, beautifully-dressed dolly. Her eyes shone! She had never doubted. Looking up at me, she asked, “Can I go over with you and give this dolly to that little girl, so she’ll know that Jesus really loves her?”

That parcel had been on the way for five whole months. Packed up by my former Sunday school class, whose leader had heard and obeyed God’s prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the equator. And one of the girls had put in a dolly for an African child – five months before – in answer to the believing prayer of a 10-year-old to bring it “that afternoon”.

--
Indeed, “before they call, I will answer!” (Isaiah 65:24). God is in the business of hearing, answering and even exceeding our prayers! We must get out of our rut of “business as usual” to engage in “unusual business” with God.

Pray, with faith, with no doubt.

An impossible God?

I read this, and found the same truth happened to me many a times. Too good not to share with you. here goes... ;-)

This inspiring story came through an email from Arnold Raubenheimer, a retired mission doctor and gynaecologist living in South Africa. This story was told to Arnold by another mission doctor serving in Africa:

One night, I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but in spite of all we could do, she died, leaving us with a tiny premature baby and a crying two-year-old daughter. We would have difficulty keeping the baby alive, as we had no incubator (there was no electricity to run an incubator), nor any special feeding facilities.

Although we lived on the equator, nights were often chilly, with treacherous drafts. One student midwife went for the box we had for such babies and the cotton wool the baby would be wrapped in. another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water bottle.

She came back shortly in distress to tell me that in filling the bottle, it had burst. Rubber perishes easily in tropical climates. “And it was our last hot water bottle!” she exclaimed.

There was no use crying over spilled milk, so is no use crying over burst water bottles. They do not grow on trees, and there are no drug stores down forest pathways.

“All right,” I said. “Put the baby as near the fire as you safely can, and sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from drafts. Your job is to keep the baby warm.”

The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers with any of the orphanage children who chose to gather with me. I gave the youngsters various suggestions of things to pray about and told them about the tiny baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby warm enough, mentioning the hot water bottle. The baby could easily die if it got chills. I also told them about the two-year-old sister, crying because her mother had died.

During the prayer time, one 10-year-old girl, Ruth, prayed with the usual blunt conciseness of our African children. “Please, God,” she prayed, “send us a water bottle. It’ll be no good tomorrow, God, as the baby will be dead, so please send it this afternoon.”

While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added by way of a corollary, “And while You are about it, would You please send a dolly for the little girl so she’ll know that You really love her?”

As often with children’s prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I honestly say, “Amen?” I just did not believe that God could do this. Oh, yes, I know that He can do everything. The Bible says so. But there are limits, aren’t there? The only way God could answer this particular prayer would be by sending me a parcel from the homeland. I had been in Africa for almost four years at the time, and I had never ever received a parcel from home. Anyway, if anyone did send me a parcel, who would put in a hot water bottle? I lived on the equator!

-to be continued…-

Bamboo farmer - let us not lose heart

Oh... I've never know about bamboo's childhood story... i'm enlightened.

May 13, 2009
Lessons from the Bamboo Farmer
Sharon Jaynes
Today's Truth

Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap a harvest if we do not grow weary" (Galatians 6:9 NASB).

Friend To Friend

For years, I told people that I was in labor for 23 hours. However, the truth is more like 23 years. Being a mother has been the most fulfilling, frustrating, exciting, exhausting, mind-boggling, hair-raising thrilling tiring, stimulating, soul-stirring, delightful, difficult, consuming, laborious, uplifting, inspiring, challenging, captivating, and rewarding job I've ever had. Did I mention difficult? I should have gotten a clue when I was told that having a child begins with a word called "labor."

I've had times when I felt like throwing up my hands in frustrations and saying, "I quit!" Is what I'm doing making any difference to anyone? I want result! Show me results! Then I think about the bamboo tree.

When the Chinese plant bamboo, first they plant the seeds, then water, and fertilize them. The first year, nothing happens. The second year they continue to water and fertilize the seeds, and still nothing happens. The farmer continues this process for a third and fourth year with no visual results. Then sometime during the fifth year, in a period of approximately six weeks, the Chinese bamboo grows ninety feet.

Did the bamboo grow ninety feet in six weeks or did it grow ninety feet in five years? The obvious answer is that it grew ninety feet in five years. If the grower hadn't applied water and fertilizer every year, there would be no bamboo.

It is the same way with raising children. We pour into their lives. We plant seeds of character, pull weeds with discipline, water with prayer, and fertilize with encouraging words. Then one day, if we are persistent and consistent, we will see beautiful results.
If you are in the midst of raising your children, or even a parent of grown children waiting to see the results, I want to encourage you to press on. Don't give up! Keep praying! Keep encouraging! Keep loving! And one day, when you least expect it, your child will one day "rise up and call you blessed."

Let's Pray

Dear Lord, sometimes I get really tired and frustrated as a mom. When I grow discouraged, will You help me to keep the goal before me...to raise a child who is a man or woman after God's own heart? Help me to remember that You, as my heavenly parent, never give up on me. Even when You don't see the results that You desire, You continue to love, nurture and teach me. Thank You for being my example of persistent and consistent love.

In Jesus' Name,
Amen.

For once... (and i hope for coming days too)...

For once.. Malaysia proves herself that the Law and Constitution still rules. We are still, at least for now.. a democratic nation! I'm happy. Happy.

Court rules Nizar is Perak MB; BN to appeal (Update 10)
KUALA LUMPUR: Barisan Nasional will appeal the High Court ruling on Monday that declared Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin as the rightful Perak Mentri Besar, and not Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir.
The appeal would be filed on Tuesday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said.
In the meantime, he urged the people of Perak to remain calm while "the situation is resolved."
Pakatan Rakyat is however adamant that there is no "situation."
“This is a great day for the rakyat (people) because the Law and the Constitution are the true winners,” Nizar said in a statement.
“It is a historic day for all who love democracy and it will be remembered for years and years to come. Its positive effects for revitalising parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy is tremendous,” he said.
He said that everyone from both sides of the political divide would benefit from this ruling “because an independent judiciary is absolutely essential for the well-being of any country and its people.”
Nizar said that all previous decisions made by the Dr Zambry administration would be subject to review but not invalidated except for the tumultous May 7 sitting.
He also suspended the state legal adviser with immediate effect.
Nizar said that once he arrived in Ipoh, he would meet with his Pakatan exco at 11pm and a press conference could be expected after that.
Earlier, Zambry said he would apply for a stay pending appeal. This was immediately rejected by the court.
The court also ordered Zambry and the six executive councillors he had appointed to vacate their office.
An aide to Dr Zambry told the media that Perak Barisan Nasional will respect the court order and will vacate their offices at the state secretariat building immediately.
He added that Dr Zambry is on his way to Kuala Lumpur from Ipoh. Dr Zambry could not be reached for comment at press time.
Dr Zambry's private secretary Khairul Azwan Harun then asked the media to vacate the office, saying that their presence was "scaring off the staff."
By 5:30pm, several truckloads of Federal Reserve Unit personnel and police had arrived at the state secretariat building in Ipoh.
“Our presence is to maintain law and order,” said Perak CPO Deputy Comm Datuk Zulkifli Abdullah.
“We will not allow any illegal assembly or procession by either party,” he said.
Nizar left the KL courtroom saying he would seek an audience with the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah, to get his consent to dissolve the Assembly and call for fresh state elections.
He would make his request for the audience at a state function at the Istana Kuala Kangsar Tuesday morning.
In his ruling Monday, Justice Abdul Aziz Abd Rahim said that a new mentri besar could not be appointed as the office had not been vacated.
He said a mentri besar can only be dismissed by a vote of no confidence, and upheld the Stephen Kalong Ningkan ruling.
He noted that the Perak State Legislative Assembly had not held a vote of no confidence.
In 1966, Sarawak Chief Minister Datuk Stephen Kalong Ningkan was ousted when the state governor showed him a letter of no confidence issued by 21 out of 42 legislators and asked Ningkan to resign.
Ningkan refused, saying the letters were not tantamount to a vote of no confidence in the state legislative assembly. He was sacked by the governor but eventually reinstated by the Borneo High Court, which saw the necessity of a formal vote of no confidence.

i CANT stand it!

it's ok to be ignorant. Sometimes, it's even ok to be stupid.

To be ignorant, and insisting that you're correct when you don't have the facts makes people wonder of the level of your intelligence.

But to be ignorant, even after being supplied with the facts, even after being repeatedly informed by the professionals and still insisting that you're correct is INTOLERABLE@! Indescribable!

"are you sure? are you sure" with the annoying look, duh!! I need to hide away from these people.

the outcome...

I did get lost. First.. on my way to bukit bintang, I somehow landed in an absolute jungle - ampang. I could find no direction to bukit bintang. And signboards... were useless. All I could see was, Ampang Jaya, Pekan Ampang, pandan jaya (where's tat??!) . Hey... where's tat signboard to lead me out of this jungle?!! I was very demotivated, having trapped in my little vehicle, in the midst of a JAM.... one wrong turn, and i was stuck in the same place for half an hour.

Forget the torment, thank God all of a sudden I decided to make an illegal right turning - had all the cars honking and yelling (abit exaggerated here just to express my feelings) having to make way for this little vehicle crossing the double lanes. Anyway, then I decided to park my car and go home. No, not for ting's wedding. So I went to look for some good samaritans - and I found a couple!! They were so nice.. even drew a map to get me out of this jungle.

Praise God, I finally got out. Then i headed on to bukit bintang... and all of a sudden, Times Square was on my right. Cars and people were everywhere. Gosh.. I just got myself landed in another jungle!!! I know some of you locals reading this now may say - rusa masuk kampung. well tat's exactly the feeling i had then. It's not tat i've not been to bukit bintang, on foots I could find my way almost to every part of bkt bintang. with a driver, the roads in bkt bintang seemed to be so well organized, in order.

But tat's not the case when I was behind the wheels. Having decided few hours ago tat I would take this challenge on my own (rejecting an offer to drive me) I decided to depend on the map in my hand, and the signboards. Heck, all signboards there are useless!! And honestly, a GPS then would be so darn helpful. Anyway, i followed the road signs to jalan bukit bintang, jalan imbi.. and after a few rounds i realized tat i'd never get out of this maize. So i called my fren - who led me out of the maize amidst the jams in 45 minutes, phew!! I had wanted to turn back to jalan tun razak soOOOooo many times, but my fren was patient, kept assuring me, "you're almost there.. almost there.." when in fact I reached the destination in 30 minutes.

Not because i was far from the destination, but because of the JAMS. And I realized one thing - it's all one way street in bukit bintang!!! Wat a nightmare!!! I missed a few turnings, and i had to repeat the jam cycle once again. Oh, not forgetting I did alot of illegal turnings. Oh, cameras, please don't spot me!!

THank God, I finally arrived.

Bukit Bintang - one day I'm gonna conquer you! HARRRGGGHHH!!!!

And the way back home - it's another haul.

my boy friend is getting married...

Myboyfriend is getting married.. but the bride is not me. haha...

He's holding his wedding dinner tonite... and this is the first time i'm driving to that area, somewhere near Bukit bintang.

Spent few hours on the net trying to get a GPS map.. sadly found zero. But nevertheless... i did find a simple map relating from my home to tat restaurant.. well.. hopefully it's easy to find. Many a times the map seem easy... but truly, it's not as easy as I thought.

Keep tonite in my prayers!

Congratulations ting! hmm.. dun think he'll be reading this blog anyway. It's just an announcement to my readers out there. ;-)