Ma-Ra-Na-Ta (Come to me Oh Lord Jesus)

“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7)

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

Straits Times on 13th Sept 2010,published the full content of the interview that Mr Lee Kuan Yew had with New York Times recently.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/et-cetera/Lee-Kuan-Yew-Man-who-made-Singapore/articleshow/6547901.cms?curpg=1

Coincidentally, last Sunday’s Straits Times also featuring Miss Lee Wei Ling (his daughter)’s fortnightly column, sharing her experience treating a brain- retarded child.

My thoughts after reading these articles:

• No matter how strong we think we are, we cannot avoid trials, pains and sufferings at some points in our lives, directly or indirectly through our loved ones. It is how we go through them that counts.

• At some points in our lives too, we would not be able to comfort ourselves, one has to find strength and solace in our faith in God.

• Power of Meditation (e.g. through mantra), even those who do not believe in God,can have the soothing and calming effect.Tranquillity will overtake our restless minds, pressures and worries. The mantra he used, Ma-Ra-Na-Ta, means “Come to me Oh Lord Jesus” or “ Come, O Lord” appears only once in the NewTestament(1Corinthians16:2)

( http://wccm.org/item.asp?recordid=welcome&pagestyle=default )

• There is a complete serene, no fear, no distress for those who found God even when they reached the end of their journey on earth as they know where are they going thereafter (Mr Lee mentioned Hon Sui Sen,ex-finance minister & wife of Ng Kok Song, chief investment officer of GIC who are both devoted Christians).

• You can’t choose how and when to leave this world. We are not in control over our destiny.
. Extraordinary efforts are required to put in if we desired to live well even our days are numbered and our physical conditions are against us.

•We have to face the reality that there is a limit to how far medical treatments can help. It’s better to let nature takes its course.

Organic vs Non-organic

“for everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving.” ( 1 Timothy 4:4)

Time Magazine’s 8th Sept 2010 issue comes with an interesting front cover story: The Real Cost of Organic Food. Cancer patients are specifically been advised to take such food to stay health. I personally am not sure as to how far they can help in their illnesses. The cost is just too high to consume such food on a longer term basis.

Grass-fed beef is lower in fat, and milk without chemicals is definitely good. Cattles that eat more grass have higher ratios of omega-3 fatty acids to Omega-6s. Corn-based feeding will result a huge drop in omega-3s (Evening primrose oil which has Omega-6 if taken on its own can have adverse effect if not countered with sufficient Omega -3). Cows raised in farms are dosed with antibiotics and growth-boasting hormones, leaving chemical residues in meat and milk. They are also given high-calorie food to fatten them up fast for slaughtering. Processed foods are high in fat and sugar, and salt. Chemical fertilisers are commonly used to increase the yields of the crops tremendously. That helped to bring cost of production down.

But the question is: can an ordinary family with tight budgets afford them. Recently I checked the shelves of Fairprice supermarket and got the prices of the following organic vegetables:

3 organic cucumbers - $3.35
2 large corns - $2.60
One packet of bok choy - $3.55

Their cost seemed to equate with exotic food items, generally about 3 times more than the non-organic vegetables. Besides the hefty prices one has to pay, there is also no way to evaluate the reliability of the certification, especially if they come from certain countries like China.

My motto is don’t go extreme and worry too much, enjoy what we eat, be thankful and ask God bless the food as we partake!

Daily routines- breaking new ground

“Thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress. (Psalm 4:1 King James Version)

“Sorrows of life have themselves been the source of life’s enlargement. We all need the iron in life to enlarge our character. The gold is simply a passing vision, whereas the iron is the true experience of life. The chain that is the common bond uniting us to others must be one of iron. God has enlarged you through the suffering of sorrow’s chain.” (George Matheson)

Having gone through pains in life, I have learnt to view testing time like menopause symptoms more positively. In the past, I would simply try to get rid of the trial and signed with relief when it was finally over. Now I pray for strength and wisdom to go through sufferings and trials. God always works through people and things around us.

I decided to break new ground in my daily routines about fortnightly ago. Doing new things, see new places, can revive one’s spirit and renew one’s enthusiasm for life. Now I start my morning everyday (except weekend), if I am well, doing qigong with a group of senior citizens at a nearby community club which is five minutes’ walk away and also through the internet(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7hVL4WU6_c&NR=1 )in the privacy of my home. I have also just commenced my taichi class(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sWjoMKq5kQ). I will also try to do 30-minute brisk walking at the nearby park.

My symptoms have not go away totally but are now more manageable, unlike in the past, they almost totally paralysed my daily activities. Qigong is very easy to learn on your own,doing just part One(18 steps) which takes about 20 minutes is sufficient for me (book: The theory and practice of Taiji qigong by Chris Jarmey, available from library), but not taichi which involves precise foot-work, so joining a class is a must. Yesterday I have also consulted my Chinese physician at Thong Chai Medical Institution, hopefully the Chinese herbs she prescribed will also helped.

Mad about English!

Looks like one.......


I am going down pressing my head up......


Children made in China!

Yes, I WILL.....!!!

Have a careful suicide....

I won't promise.....

Sorry, I can't treasure the used one....

I'm NOT going to pay to trim my foot!

Thank you for your corporation!

The key to existence is pushing!

DATA BREAKER ???!!!

So what do I press??!!!

Laws Newton forgot to state

Some Important Laws Which Newton Forgot to State

LAW OF QUEUE: If you change queues, the one you have left will start to move faster than the one you are in now.

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LAW OF TELEPHONE: When you dial a wrong number, you never get an engaged tone.

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LAW OF MECHANICAL REPAIR : After your hands become coated with grease, your nose will begin to itch.

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LAW OF THE WORKSHOP: Any tool, when dropped, will roll to the least accessible corner.

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LAW OF THE ALIBI: If you tell the boss you were late for work because you had a flat tire, the next morning you will have a flat tire.

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BATH THEOREM: When the body is immersed in water, the telephone rings.

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LAW OF ENCOUNTERS: The probability of meeting someone you know increases when you are with someone you don't want to be seen with.

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LAW OF THE RESULT: When you try to prove to someone that a machine won't work, it will!

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THEATRE RULE: People with the seats at the furthest from the aisle arrive last.

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LAW OF COFFEE: As soon as you sit down for a cup of hot coffee, your boss will ask you to do something which will last until the coffee is cold.

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“ Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children.” (Proverbs 17:6)

Straits Times’ editorial column on 1st Sept 2010 wrote a comment on the issue that more children failed to settled varsity loans taken out from their parents’ CPF accounts. The default rate is about 5% currently. The government thinks this rate is high, so it has decided against allowing such scheme be extended to overseas education.

Personally, I am against this scheme. It seems to me that the CPF board is allowing too many different kind of schemes that have different objectives so much so that it has drifted away from its original goal, i.e. to ensure its members have sufficient retirement income when they retired.

We all know that whatever reasons given for not repaying loans by these children are merely excuses and cannot stand up to any scrutiny. In fact, the repayment plan only comes in 2 years later after graduation and it is in the form of instalments.

Tuition fee loan is a better option as it put the children in direct responsibility in paying back. However, most parents are also ended up acting as guarantors(if they qualified) for the loans. For parents who really do not have the means of financing their children’s tertiary education through personal savings but have funds in the CPF accounts, I guess they would rather choose the CPF option than having to face the risk of banks comes after them as the guarantors. Default in repaying the CPF funds is therefore perceived as not so serious. Surely the government will be more compassionate and understanding than the banks.

We as parents are to be blame for bringing up children that are self-centred. With fewer children, we are in a better position to provide financial resources to indulge our children. The children are no more required to make self-sacrifices. I was somehow saddened when my daughter remarked the other day that the younger generation here should follow the Japanese youths who are not concerned with their country’s economic growth (according to a newspaper survey in Japan). Today more young people are not prepared to marry and bring up children because of the sacrifices one has to make.

I recalled a Singaporean couple who were in the early 60s joined our tour group to Gold Coast in 2006. They confided to us that they had spent all their savings to educate their two children (both are sons) but failed to receive any financial support from any of them. The husband got a job in Papua New Guinea for an Australian company but had to station in Darwin while the wife stayed behind in Singapore. Everyone in the tour group was so busy buying gifts for their loved ones except this couple who bought none. Their relationships with their children must be very strained and bitter.

I used to think that making me financially independent of my children is a good idea. It may be a rational one, but not a reasonable one. I am giving a wrong signal to my children that they do not need to fulfil their moral obligations. So do not say ‘never mind’ to your children for not supporting you just because you are financially comfortable. Better make loud and clear your displeasure when they failed their filial piety duties.

Wife Vs husband

"An old hillbilly farmer had a wife who nagged him unmercifully from morning till night. She was always complaining about something. The only time he got any relief was when he was out plowing with his old mule. He tried to plow a lot. One day, when he was out plowing, his wife brought him lunch in the field. He drove the old mule into the shade, sat down on a stump, and began to eat his lunch. Immediately, his wife began nagging him again. Complain, nag, complain, nag - it just went on and on. All of a sudden, the old mule lashed out with both hind feet, caught her smack in the back of the head. It killed her dead on the spot.

At the funeral several days later, the minister noticed something rather odd. When a woman mourner approach the old farmer, he would listen for a minute, then nod his head in agreement; but when a man mourner approached him, he would listen for a minute, then shake his head in disagreement. This was so consistent that the minister decided to ask the old farmer about it. So after the funeral, the minister spoke to the old farmer, and asked him why he nodded his head and agreed with the women, but always shook his head and disagreed with all the men.The old farmer said, 'Well, the women would come up and say something about how nice my wife looked, or how pretty her dress was, so I'd nod my head in agreement.''And what about the men?' the minister asked.‘They wanted to know if the mule was for sale.’"

Teacher's Day

" Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants." (Deuteronomy 32:2)

Yesterday was Teacher’s Day. Under today’s Straits Times Home section, there was this full page publication of selected students’ short appreciation messages to their teachers sponsored by the Ministry of Education. It costs at least $8k to do a full page colour newspaper advertisement. This is an entirely new concept (like what we have for Valentine’s Day) but I think it is a very bold and worthwhile initiative, as dedicated teachers are hard to come by and we must appreciate and recognise their efforts. I am sure our teachers here woke up yesterday morning eagerly combed through the newspaper to find out whether their names were mentioned by their students.

I always have very high regard on teaching as a profession. It is such an honourable job that touches lives of many though it is not easy to be a dedicated teacher. When I graduated, the ministry had very rigid criteria for selecting candidates for interviews. For graduates, you must major in at least 2 teaching subjects. If you are above certain age, don’t even try, and if you already working elsewhere in another government body, also don’t try as your employer would not release you. Private sector experience also would not be taken into account. I failed at 2 of these criteria. If not for that, I might have ended up as a teacher myself.

Our students here are very fortunate to have the best teachers in this region. Yet some of the parents and students are ungrateful. My experience with the education system in Malaysia was disastrous. I could only recalled some of my Chinese primary school teachers who were generally more dedicated than my secondary and pre-u teachers. May be this has to do with the Chinese values as strict disciplines were imposed on both teachers and the students in Chinese-sream schools. My youngest sister in Malaysia told me that nowadays it is harder to get into the Chinese-stream schools than the national schools. Regret to say, I also remember some undedicated teachers especially my pre-U teachers who hardly showed up in the classrooms (busy with other `assignments’ instead of teaching). Precious time was spent on copying notes from the blackboard (by the way these notes were grossly outdated to be relevant). In the end we had to self-study on our own most of the time. It is amazing that somehow I, a kampong girl, still managed to study up to tertiary level.