20181101_Perth Revisited with SUSIE! "Muddled-Headed & Confused?"AMaZing GraCe!

24/10/18-1/11/18 Perth Revisited with Susie!

Oh what A surprise on Day1 to find out my niece is into such a extreme sport! Kite surfing! Wooh! Amazing "Grace"!

Saw many Kite surfers on Day2! Fly Fly Fly!

My dream...alas guess that back may now break if I would proceed :)

Love flying! and saw this gliders on the way to the wheat fields!

Another dream......Fly Again!

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Reflections:

Relationships are fragile and easily broken.

It can happen to best friends. Good Friends. Bad Friends.

It can also happen to our loved ones who lived Under One Roof.

Sometimes, we take each other for granted. And we forget some words hurt.

Consciously or unconsciously - words can be damning or  misinterpretated! For eg, "MUddled-Headed? ConFused?" LOL...

So best we remember Phil 4:6 to meditate and speak only things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, good report, virtue or praiseworthy! Many cannot take criticisms or stuff they would not like to hear.  So many a times, truth hurts.  

And many a times, familiarity in family can breed contempt! Fault findings become a norm and tense relationship arising from 'unclarified misunderstandings' stood in the way.  That is the devil's best occupation- came to divide, conquer and make hell loose!

No way!

Because Jesus my Lord offered the beauty of HIS Amazing Grace!  A song which I sang to my sister in this Perth trip.  Amazing grace because she finally managed to get a new passport and visa to fly to Perth to visit our cousin.  Her last trip was 18 years back! Just we need a passport and a visa to fly to Australia, I reminded my sister that we are citizens of a heavenly country.  Though Perth is nice (short of the horrible flies that came early this year! Yaks! Thanks to the "Samurai Hat" that kept them away!), those who are eligible for the 'visa' can apply to a better heavenly place ! The only qualification for eligibility ?" We have sinned.  We are sinners." Admit that.  Believe on Jesus who died for our sins and rose again on the third day.  Confess with our mouth.  Faith.  Only belief.  As Simple as A-B-C.  There! We can "SCOOT " off ...Gotten your VISA??

And so yes- Amazing grace because there was forgiveness in action in this trip! What a faithful God we serve! And though I lost my favorite Korean hat and Gerry lost her bag in the cab in this trip, I will never forget His Faithfulness.  Gerry's vomiting at York was a Romans 8:28.  Because of her "merlion" - we chose not to walk the Bruce Rock Trail.  And so we were "saved" in time for the last filling up of the petrol at 5:30pm that evening (this is York, PERTH!)....else...an over nite stay would be awaiting for us! Ha ha ha.

A recent Quote received:

" Sometimes it is good for us to act blind and ignore one another's shortcomings, in order to keep peace and be happy!

No matter how many times the teeth bite the tongue, they still stay together in one mouth.  That's the spirit of FORGIVENESS.

Even though the eyes don't see each other, they see things together, blink simultaneously and cry together. That's UNITY.

1. Alone I can "SAY" but together we can "TALK"

2. Alone I can "ENJOY" but together we can "CELEBRATE"

3. Alone I can "SMILE" but together we can "LAUGH"

That's the BEAUTY of Human Relations.

We are nothing without each other.

STAY CONNECTED.

(& that to me is the importance of FAMILY! United We stand)

The razor blade is sharp but can't cut a tree;

the axe is strong but can't cut the hair!

So the moral of the story is that everyone is important according to his or her own unique purpose....never look down on anyone unless you are admiring their shoes!👀

AMAZING GRACE INDEED!

20180911-Sky Mirror (Bagan Datuk)..another REFLECTION!

11/9/2018 : Sky Mirror @ Bagan Datuk, Sitiawan, West Malaysia

We travelled to KL and met the rest of the group on 8/9/2018 to begin our tour to Taiping - Lumut- Sitiawan- Bagan Datuk. 4D3N.  Pretty memorable journey!

Day 1 (8/9/2018) : Taiping Lake was just a quick peep.  The Ann Tong coffee mill was so so.  But the best part was the visit to the Khay Hor Charcoal Factory where we learnt so much about the mangrove trees used to make into charcoal! And also the boating trip at Kuala Sepetang where we saw the eagles feeding on chicken bits and the visit to the dwindling village of less than 50 (where 5 star toilets were and zero electricity on site, dependent on generators!).  Saw the king crab and puffer fish!  And the Kuala Sepetang guide was only about 16-18?

years old!

 So heavy this tree trunk for charcoal! Unbelievable!
Pretty systematic forestation work by the Agriculture Dept of Malaysia!

Some old artifacts...down memory lane at the An Tong Coffee 

 Kuala Sepetang...eagles and puffer fish ...

And the HIGHLIGHT Of the DAY

1 was the FABULOUS dinner at SITIWAN! YUM YUM ..CHEAP TOO!

A must -go foodie place!

and what a Karoke nite after the good food:)

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Day 2 (9/9/2018) : Sitiawan - a place of Kong Piang! Yummy...and Pangkor Island here we come.  We took the ferry from the Marina side instead of Lumut. 

But Breaky was a real surprise! At this restaurant Chai Chin - Another MUST _GO (76, Taman Aman Muhibbah, Jalan Haji Mohd Ali, 32000 Sitiawan Perak)- their famous FISH HEAD! My first time feasting on such a big fish head:)

And their Famous Sitiawan KONG PIANG! Big thanks to BOBO who went all the way out to get this for us for our supper at the Bei King Hotel and also the frozen ones to bring home!

At Pangkor Island

 
At 384 Kampong China, 32000 Sitiawan- another seafood restaurant.
Drank the cheaper "Wine' made by coconut flowers via distillation process!

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Day 3 (10/9/2018) : Lumut/ Sky Mirror Homestay :

Went to this end of Lumut....

and then journeyed to Sky Mirror which was about 1.5 hours from Lumut....

Highlight of this Bagan Datuk place?

1. We went back to days of old where we stayed in dorms! 5 to a room!

2.  Witnessed a beautiful sunset!

3. Saw the "Blue Tears" at the boat out at night! Amazing Living organism that glows in blue upon scooping up from the sea bed!

Day 4 : Sky Mirror !

This was definitely an interesting experience.  Once we set off from the village by boat, we arrived in the middle of nowhere half an hour later!  We had to hopped down from the boat and the water was about knee deep.

We moved around picking clams and seashells...while waiting for the tide to recede till the sand bed appeared.

Then the professional "team" engaged by us to take all the mirror photos plunged into action! The area of the 'reflection' was actually only a small puddle of water.  The photographer had to lied flat on his tummy to photoshoot for all of us.  With another young guide, we were directed to the various poses! LOL!

[For RM300 per pax - 1 night stay, 1 BK, 2 L and 1 D...plus the Professional photographers and assistant...not so bad...]

And once again food....

Another REFLECTION? 

According to our Malaysian friends, there are two of such sky mirror places,  This one we went to @ Bagan Datuk is not dependent on the moon dates of Day 1 and Day 15 of the lunar calendar.  We can have this sky mirror outing all the time. But not for the one at Kuala Selangor - which is only about 1 hour from KL.

This Sky Mirror place reminded me of:

1. Looking Down to our heart : 

• Proverbs 27:19 " As in water the face is reflected as a face, so a person's heart reflects the person" 
• Out of the mouth the heart speaks.  May we keep a pure heart always so that we can see Him.  

2. Looking Around us :

• James 1 : 22 " But be doers of the word, and not hearers only , deceiving yourselves.  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror...
• NATO? No action, talk only? May the Lord stirs us into action in these end days, to be a good reflection of who He is through us to those around us.

3. Looking Up to Him :

• Rev 20:11 : "Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it.  Earth and sky fled from his presence and there was no place for them...another book was opened, which is the book of life.  The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.."
• What we do on earth, it looked as if a backup copy is also in the process of being done up in heaven.  Better to have our name written in the book of life then to be thrown into the lake of fire, isn't it? And we had better be His good children while on earth!

At this time of journaling, the following is a heart warming testimony by this pilot who managed to take off  in time to avoid the runway which 'rolled like the curtain' due to the earthquake that hit Palu.  All 140 passengers on board were safe .

https://news.sky.com/story/pilots-tribute-to-wing-man-air-controller-who-died-after-helping-jet-escape-indonesia-quake-11514036

Indeed life is so fragile.  Moments before the tsunami came, many were still at the beach preparing for party.  Ready to meet your Maker anytime? If you hear His Voice today, (like the pilot who heard God to expedite the flight out on that fateful day), harden not your heart. Choose to migrate to the heavenly place above and not the fiery place beneath ....

20180901-Kulai : My horse called "PLEASE BE TRUE"

1/9/2018 : At Kulai Rideout Horse, with my horse called "Please Be True" :)

Background to this trip

At the encouragement of our niece J who loves horses, we decided to accompany her to this Kulai Rideout on 1/9/18.  It was only about 45 min drive from Skudai JB.  Very near to the Pulai mountain.  

The resort was run by a couple from Australia and the place was pretty nice.  Though the food was on the slightly expensive side.  My niece decided to stay over for the night for more rides whereas we only did the trail ride which was about 1.5 hours (RM180 /pax)

Perhaps this was my second attempt to ride a horse.  Think the first one was in Canada in 1996.  I am not a fond lover of horses.  Why? Simply because they are huge and rather intimidating.  So afraid they will gallop away in a frenzy or even give me a kick with their strong hind legs or even throw me off from their saddle!

Nevertheless, I took the challenge to ride on one that day, begging them to give me the tamest of the tame horse! LOL.

So came my horse whose name was "Please Be True". Umm..how on earth did the owner give them such weird names!  John's horse was called "Superforce"- originally intended for me but they decided to swop.  Thank God they did cos Superforce was rather stubborn!

Reflections

1. About Horses & Our trust
Little Red Dot is a land scarce country.  The only place that we can find horses is at the Green Fairways.  We used to host horse betting at the Bukit Timah Turf city but that one is long closed.

Horses are big animals and they are not easy to upkeep as they need the space.  So it is in Malaysia that one can find more riding places.

The one at Kulai has only about 30 horses.  And as I reflected, I cannot imagine in 1 Kings 4:26 that King Solomon had 40,000 stalls of horses for his chariots and 12,000 horsemen! What a huge  contrast!

And back in those olden times, chariots were liken to today's cars.  And Soloman had 1,400 of them! And all over from Egypt and beyond,  people were bringing horses to Solomon.  Horses - associated with strength and power!

Ever wondered how the term Horsepower came about? :)
Well, this term was adopted in the late 18th century by a Scottish engineer Jame Watt to compare the output of steam engines with the power of draft horses.  Today we understand HP to the the unit measurement of power- the rate at which work is done.  For eg, the electrical HP is about 745 Watts.  The mechanical HP is 33,000 ft pounds per min.  In our car , the power of an engine produce is called HP too.  

Well, who gives the horse its might? Hmm. John's horse was called SuperForce - fast and swift as it should be?
Whatever, it is not in the might of such horses we trust.  
Ps 20:7 "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God"

2. About the Horse Rider and Our trust

It was interesting that I rode on this horse called "Please be True"
WHAT A NAME@!

At Kulai Rideout, all the horses were old horses (above 20 years)  But they were once champion jumpers or competitive racing horses in their prime of life.  Mine was a jumper.  The lifespan of a horse is only 25-30 years.  

As I reflected on the bible, it is not so much about the horses afterall.  But their riders.
In Rev 6 - we were introduced to the 4 different horses when the 4th of the 7th seal was opened. White (Conquest), Red (War), Black (Famine) & Pale ( Death)
These riders showed us the challenges in the future.  Kind of scary.

But it is the white horse rider in Rev 19 that brought us HOPE.
v11 "I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called FAITHFUL AND TRUE.  With justice he judges and makes war.....on his robe and on his thigh he has his name written :

KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS

Final Reflection

• Me -My horse "Please Be True".

A reminder to myself on whom my allegiance goes to?
Can I remain faithful and true to my King of kings and Lord of Lords right to the end? Will I remain steadfast?

• or The Horse Rider called "Faithful and True"

A reminder to myself of who that horse rider will always be.  The character of God never changes.  We may straddle off course once in a while.  But He remains the same Faithful and True.

2 Tim 2 exhorts us to be strong in the grace that is in Jesus Christ, to endure hardship like a good soldier, to compete like an athlete and be the hardworking farmer.

I want to be that horse, to be true , towards the end.  

And I want to remember ALWAYS the horse rider called Faithful and True.

V11 Here is a trustworthy saying:

If we died with him, we will also live with him;

if we endure, we will also reign with him.

If we disown him, he will also disown us;

if we we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.

PLEASE BE TRUE! PLEASE BE TRUE! PLEASE BE TRUE!

AMEN!

20180821- Lion City's Head hunting by another "Pride" -A King Uzziah reflection of Pride

2/8/2018 Quote by ESM in uniquely Lion City "Salaries is not our starting point in looking for ministers. CHARACTER, MOTIVATION, COMMITTMENT, SELFLESSNESS, practical abilities, competence and proven performance are the main attributes we look for.   The first Four attributes are veto factors.  When we look at abilities, competence and performance are REFLECTED in a PERSON's COMPENSATION"

"From people who earn ONLY S$500,000 a year, whose capacity is S$500,000 a year? So when I LOOK for ministers, ANYONE who wants to be paid more than half a million, I WON'T TAKE him.  You are going to end up with very MEDIOCRE people, who CAN'T even earn a million dollars outside to be our minister"

"I am telling you the ministers are NOT PAID ENOUGH, and down the road we are going to get a problem with getting people to join the Government, because CIVIL SERVANTS now EARN MORE THAN MINISTERS.  Are you aware of that??"

.... Musings.....
I am now very aware that our nation Singapura is being head hunted by another PRIDE alright :(
Our self worth unfortunately is degraded to our value in 'working compensation"?
Mediocre - this term has now gotten a new relative meaning?
Civil servants are now a reverse of civil masters?

So when did the devil became the devil? 

“It was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind . . . As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you” C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity).

I am reminded of this Prov 21 "The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD as the rivers of waters: he turns it withersoever he will.  Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord ponders the heart.  To do justice and judgement is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.  An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin......The robbery of the wicked shall destroy them, because they refuse to do judgement....Whosoever stops his ears at the cry of the poor, he shall also cry himself and not be heard....Proud and haughty scorner is his name , who deals in proud wrath.....He covets greedily all day long, but the righteous gives and spares not"

King Uzziah was such a king.  He began well like his father.  But he was cut off later with a very sad epitaph " He was a leper" to his name.  Sorry and sad case of a leader. Imagine him taking the throne at age 16 and ruled for 52 years!

May the Lord help us not to fall behind as a beloved Lion City , sinning to another pride of a Sin City.  Help us Lord.

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Question: "Who was King Uzziah in the Bible?" (from Gotquestions)

Answer: King Uzziah in the Bible was one of the good kings of Judah. His father was King Amaziah, and his mother was a woman named Jecoliah, from Jerusalem. Uzziah was the father of King Jotham. Ministering during Uzziah’s reign were the prophets Hosea, Isaiah, Amos, and Jonah. The kings in the northern kingdom of Israel during his time were Jeroboam II, Zechariah, Shallum, Menahem, Pekahiah, Pekah, and Hoshea. Uzziah is also called Azariah in 2 Kings 14:21.

King Uzziah was sixteen years old when he began to reign, and he reigned for 52 years in Judah from approximately 790 to 739 BC. He “did what was right in the eyes of the Lord” as his father Amaziah had done (2 Chronicles 26:4). King Uzziah sought the Lord “during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God.” This Zechariah is most likely a godly prophet to whom Uzziah listened. As long as Uzziah made a point to seek God, God made him prosperous (2 Chronicles 26:5). Unfortunately, after Zechariah died, Uzziah made some mistakes later in his life.

King Uzziah in the Bible is shown as a wonderfully intelligent and innovative king, under whom the state of Judah prospered (2 Chronicles 26:6–15). He was used by God to defeat the Philistines and Arabs (verse 7), he built fortified towers and strengthened the armies of Judah (verses 9 and 14), and he commissioned skilled men to create devices that could shoot arrows and large stones at enemies from the city walls (verse 15). He also built up the land, and the Bible says he “loved the soil” (verse 10). The Ammonites paid tribute to King Uzziah, and his fame spread all over the ancient world, as far as the border of Egypt (verses 8 and 15).

Unfortunately, King Uzziah’s fame and strength led him to become proud, and this led to his downfall (2 Chronicles 26:16). He committed an unfaithful act by entering the temple of God to burn incense on the altar. Burning incense on the altar was something only the priests could do. By attempting to do this himself, Uzziah was basically saying he was above following the Law. It was not a humble thing to do. Eighty courageous priests, led by Azariah, tried to stop the king: “It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord. That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful; and you will not be honored by the Lord God” (2 Chronicles 26:18). Uzziah became angry with the priests who dared confront him. But, “while he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the Lord’s temple, leprosy broke out on his forehead” (verse 19). Uzziah ran from the temple in fear, because God had struck him (verse 20). From that day to the day of his death, King Uzziah was a leper. He lived in a separate palace and was not allowed to enter the temple of the Lord. His son, Jotham, governed the people in his place.

King Uzziah is also mentioned in the book of Matthew as one of the ancestors of Joseph, Jesus’ legal father (Matthew 1:8–9).

20180701-TioMAN! Matt 17:27 Go to Sea, cast a hook : Rod & Reel vs Net

Rod & Reel!

In previous blog, I had a little laugh over the 'net' to catch the 7 kois in a small pond in June 2018.  On 28/6/18, a group of 7 of us went to Tioman for some snorkel, trek and fishing at sea!

It was for many of us , a FIRST experience at rod fishing at sea. Thanks a an avid angler friend who organised this trip for us. His surname was Tio. And boy , what a passionate Man he was into fishing!  He brought along 3 fishing rods and 2 ring reels.  He was indeed the "TIOMAN" man in this trip!

What I learnt:-

• The bait is important - we used cut sotong
• The fishing line hooks - size and colours matter too
• The purpose of the weight at the fishing line!
• Why that weight needs to land at the sea bed (which could be more than 20 feet down under) - the fishes swim at the sea bed mainly..
• The release and tightening of the reel - taut line to feel the catch.
• How to tease the fish by pulling the line on and off
• The importance of reeling in fast before the fish gets away
• How to remove the hook from the fish
• How to balance oneself in a rolling moving boat at sea!

When I first observed YN remove the hook from the fish above, I immediately remembered Jesus replying to Peter in Capernaum regarding paying tribute. 

Jesus honoured tax paying.  But what is more amazing is the way the money was collected via casting a hook into the sea!

Our fishing trip was only half a day. We had to sail to the deeper part of the ocean.  And it took some of us much waiting to get a fish to bait! John had the best catch of 8 and some of us even zero at the end of the day!

So what was amazing was that Jesus told Peter to take up the fish that FIRST come up and opened his mouth! And they shall find the a piece of money! Take and pay tribute!

Reflections

What is the image that comes to mind when you think of fishing?

Some may come up with an angler with a rod and reel while others may envision a group of fishermen with a big casting net over the sea.

I am blessed to be able to appreciate the catching of fish by both methods in this month of June. 

However, whatever the method is - the same goes for evangelism in the catching of men.  Apollos watered. Paul planted.  It is still the LORD who gave the increase.

Never had to eat 14 fish at one go at the restaurant . Tucking into our own catch.  Not a cheap catch - spending RM70 per pax for the half day fishing trip.  The restaurant charged us RM35 per kilo for doing the cooking.  We had about 2.5kg worth of catch that day .  All in 18 fish. But it was worth the experience of fishing!

Here's our catch ! 2 types of cooking : 

Ginger steam and assam fish!

Yummy!