Leaving Heartprints

Help when help is needed

2011-10-21T09:29:00.002+08:00

Thanks Pam for sharing this.

The words might be hard to pick out. It goes,

"If you are unemployed and need an outfit clean for an interview, we will clean it for FREE"

Look at the World by John Rutter

2011-07-01T21:16:00.000+08:00

A Spectacular Doxology by John Rutter

The Power of Words

2011-04-28T15:22:00.002+08:00

I have seen an European version with completely different characters. This is one in English. A beautiful story to remember, learn and live by.

Riding on InspiringThots

2011-03-22T09:56:00.003+08:00

I know this will happen sometime and it might be a while before it comes to my notice. Finally a friend sent me this, which was given to her as an ecard. NetHugs and I bet several more websites now use the YouTube versions of these flash movies to inspire others. This is good.

http://nethugs.com/inspirational/into-each-life/

How beauty moves

2010-11-27T09:09:00.000+08:00

Came in the mail this morning from Gilbert.

The Quilt Holes

2010-11-14T09:25:00.002+08:00

Received with thanks from Ron, a long time friend I got to know via InspiringThots and InspiringWord.

“The Quilt Holes"

As I faced my Maker at the last judgment, I knelt before the Lord along with all the other souls.
Before each of us laid our lives like the squares of a quilt in many piles; an angel sat before each of us sewing our quilt squares together into a tapestry that is our life.
But as my angel took each piece of cloth off the pile, I noticed how ragged and empty each of my squares was. They were filled with giant holes. Each square was labeled with a part of my life that had been difficult, the challenges and temptations I was faced with in every day life. I saw hardships that I endured, which were the largest holes of all.

I glanced around me. Nobody else had such squares. Other than a tiny hole here and there, the other tapestries were filled with rich color and the bright hues of worldly fortune. I gazed upon my own life and was disheartened.

My angel was sewing the ragged pieces of cloth together, threadbare and empty, like binding air

Finally the time came when each life was to be displayed, held up to the light, the scrutiny of truth. The others rose; each in turn, holding up their tapestries. So filled their lives had been. My angel looked upon me and nodded for me to rise.

My gaze dropped to the ground in shame. I hadn't had all the earthly fortunes. I had love in my life and laughter. But there had also been trials of illness and wealth, and false accusations that took from me my world, as I knew it. I had to start over many times. I often struggled with the temptation to quit, only to somehow muster the strength to pick up and begin again. I spent many nights on my knees in prayer, asking for help and guidance in my life. I had often been held up to ridicule, which I endured painfully, each time offering it up to the Father in hopes that I would not melt within my skin beneath the judgmental gaze of those who unfairly judged me.

And now, I had to face the truth. My life was what it was, and I had to accept it for what it was.

I rose and slowly lifted the combined squares of my life to the light..

An awe-filled gasp filled the air. I gazed around at the others who stared at me with wide eyes.

Then, I looked upon the tapestry before me. Light flooded the many holes, creating an image, the face of Christ. Then our Lord stood before me, with warmth and love in His eyes. He said, 'Every time you gave over your life to Me, it became My life, My hardships, and My struggles.

Each point of light in your life is when you stepped aside and let Me shine through, until there was more of Me than there was of you.'

May all our quilts be threadbare and worn, allowing Christ to shine through!

MANY CHRISTIANS ARE NO LONGER FISHERS OF MEN, BUT KEEPERS OF THE AQUARIUM

2010-11-04T14:12:00.002+08:00

Got this from someone I got to years ago via InspiringThots. It came as an email and my response shortly afterward.

Hi S????a,

This wasn't in my blog, but yes I have read this before and good to read it again.

What do you think? I think Jesus is lost because of us. We who carry the banner of Christianity are confusing and even turning away those who aren't believers. Rare for a blind girl to ask a question like in the story. I supposed she only did so because prior events, which could go back a long way have prepared her for this.

Therefore we shouldn't expect people to ask if we are Jesus as that would be rare. What we must do is to participate in the many steps leading to that moment and we accept that we may not be there to witness it. After all, we live by faith. Events will eventually catch up with faith. What a pity if we never have sown seeds of faith!

Blessings,

Sing Cher

- Hide quoted text -

On Thu, Nov 4, 2010 at 1:44 PM, <> wrote:

Hello Sing Cher,
I think I may have read something similar to this on your blog but just in case I'm sending it to you. Enjoy.
God Bless,
S????a.

MANY CHRISTIANS ARE NO LONGER FISHERS OF MEN,
BUT KEEPERS OF THE AQUARIUM.

A few years ago a group of salesmen went to a regional sales convention in Chicago. They had
assured their wives that they would be home in plenty of time for Friday night's dinner. In their
rush, with tickets and briefcases, one of these salesmen inadvertently kicked over a table which
held a display of apples. Apples flew everywhere. Without stopping or looking back, they all
managed to reach the plane in time for their nearly missed boarding... ALL BUT ONE !!!
He paused, took a deep breath, and experienced a twinge of compassion for the girl whose
apple stand had been overturned.. He told his buddies to go on without him, waved good-bye,
told one of them to call his wife when they arrived at their home destination and explain his taking
a later flight. Then he returned to the terminal where the apples were all over the terminal floor.
He was glad he did.

The 16 year old girl was totally blind! She was softly crying, tears running down her cheeks
in frustration, and at the same time helplessly groping for her spilled produce as the crowd
swirled about her, no one stopping and no one to care for her plight.

The salesman knelt on the floor with her, gathered up the apples, put them back on the table
and helped organize her display. As he did this, he noticed that many of them had become
battered and bruised; these he set aside in another basket.

When he had finished, he pulled out his wallet and said to the girl, 'Here, please take this $40
for the damage we did. Are you okay?' She nodded through her tears. He continued on with,
'I hope we didn't spoil your day too badly.'

As the salesman started to walk away, the bewildered blind girl called out to him, 'Mister.......'
He paused and turned to look back into those blind eyes.She continued, 'Are you Jesus?'

He stopped in mid-stride, and he wondered. Then slowly he made his way to catch the later flight
with that question burning and bouncing about in his soul:
'Are you Jesus?'

Do people mistake you for Jesus? That's our Destiny, is it not? To be so much like Jesus that
people cannot tell the difference as we live and interact with a world that is blind to His love, life
and grace. If we claim to know Him, we should live, walk and act as He would. Knowing Him
is more than simply quoting Scripture and going to church. It's actually living the Word as life
unfolds day to day. You are the apple of His eye even though we, too, have been bruised by
a fall. He stopped what He was doing and picked you and me up on a hill called Calvary and
paid in full for our damaged fruit.

Please share this...

Sometimes we just take things for granted, when we really
need to be sharing what we know.....Thanks.

InspiringThots.net site is down

2010-10-08T22:54:00.000+08:00

I regret to inform you that InspiringThots.net has been down for a couple of days now. I am working to resolve this problem as quickly as possible and hope to get it up within the next 24 hours.

Meanwhile you can view all the Flash Movies in their YouTube equivalent at
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=TheHeartprints

I apologize for the inconvenience caused.

Taming Humming Birds

2010-09-19T13:08:00.000+08:00

Thanks Lorraine for sharing this with me. This is just simply awesome beautiful

Thirsting for and Seeking the Lord's Face (Psalm 63)

2010-07-08T08:09:00.000+08:00

Thanks Jeremy for sharing this.

我心切切渴慕你，乾旱疲乏無水之地。你是我一切，我心完全屬於你，只願更多與你相親。我要切切尋求你，乾旱疲乏無水之地。你是我一切，我心不住思念你，只願與你面對面。我要永永遠遠來愛你，我要永永遠遠渴慕你。你是我一切，我心不住思念你，只願與你面對面。你的愛最美，我心不住思念你，只願與你面對面。

The Push: Not easy, but the right thing to do

2010-07-04T10:22:00.002+08:00

No eagle chick would throw itself out of its nest. They had to be pushed. That was the right thing for the parents to do. We gotta to do the same for our kids.

Prayer: Does it makes a difference?

2010-06-27T16:57:00.000+08:00

A beautiful allegory on how God strains to say yes when we pray taken from Philip Yancey's book on Prayer

Wear your seatbelts

2010-06-09T13:12:00.002+08:00

This is the new "wear your seatbelt" ad the UK is doing - started by some guy not hired to do it, but because the cause is important to him, he came up with this idea, and now it's being hailed across the world as a beautiful' commercial.

Morgan Freeman on Racism

2010-05-16T18:06:00.000+08:00

Can we rise above our race and religion? Don't imagine everyone doing it. You just make it a point to do it at your personal level and if necessary wait a lifetime for others to do the same. This is what we can do, and what governments and leaders cannot. Real leadership at the personal level making a difference.

Essay from a Child

2010-04-27T10:20:00.000+08:00

Got this in the email from a friend writing from Dubai. Here is a lesson for busy parents in denial.

ESSAY FROM A CHILD

A teacher from Primary School asks her students to write a essay about what they would like God to do for them...
At the end of the day while marking the essays, she read one that made her very emotional. Her husband, that had just walked in saw her crying and asked her: - What happened?

She answered - Read this. It's one of my students essays

Oh God, tonight I ask you something very special: Make me into a television. I want to take its place. Live like the TV in my house. Have my own special place, And have my family around ME. To be taken seriously when I talk.... I want to be the center of attention and be heard without interruptions or questions. I want to receive the same special care that the TV receives when it is not working. Have the company of my dad when he arrives home from work, even when he is tired.
And I want my mom to want me when she is sad and upset, instead of ignoring me... And... I want my brothers to fight to be with me... I want to feel that family just leaves everything aside, every now and then, just to spend some time with me. And last but not least make it that I can make them all happy and entertain them...

Lord I don't ask you for much... I just want to live like every TV

At that moment the husband said:- 'My God, poor kid. What horrible parents!

She looked up at him and said:- 'That essay is our son's!!!

Farewell to my Father

2010-04-18T23:16:00.000+08:00

My father was often uncomfortable and in pain when I visited him in ICU, but I don't ever remember him smiling so much too especially when my brother and sister were also present. He had been preparing to go for many years but no one knows when their day will come.

If he had lived with many regrets, he has found the secret of dying with none. Both my parents died well. All of us would want to go this way.

Phillips Craig & Dean "Nothing To Prove"

2010-04-14T16:52:00.000+08:00

As my father lies in ICU waiting for the end to arrive, I receive this from Pam. This is so beautiful and appropriate, I have to share it with all of you. We all need something like this sometime.

"Imagine"

2010-01-20T09:00:00.001+08:00

Got this in the email this morning. Gotta to share with all of you. As I watched this my thoughts strayed to the emails and newspapers I received yesterday. The rise of China, the decline of America....and Pam quoted this from Thomas Jefferson, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal"...this I am taught from young is erroneous but now I know eventually science which is always work in progress will not prove (it can't) but eventually agree this to be correct. I can't wait for it to be sooner. But this is not the point. It is Grace that trumps and triumphs over all of them. And Grace is available now.

Patrick Henry Hughes

2010-01-10T08:08:00.000+08:00

My friend in Seattle sent me this. I have seen a shorter version but this one is much better and in HQ too. These are the sort of things we celebrate. Now every child afflicted like Patrick Henry Hughes has such obvious gifts, but we must have faith that they have hidden gifts and are willing to put in the hard work to discover them.

It's Well With My Soul

2009-12-18T21:21:00.000+08:00

My wife posted this to her Facebook page and I am reproducing it here. A true and meaningful story, which far too many sufferers continue to miss the message. Can God who is good allow evil in this world?

Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity? Job 2:10

"God on the mountain" with Lynda Randle

2009-11-28T19:48:00.001+08:00

Brought to my attention by a friend and I am sure many of you will find it most encouraging.

Life is easy when you're up on the mountain
And you've got peace of mind like you've never known.
But then things change and you're down in the valley.
Don't lose faith for you're never alone.

For the God on the mountain is still God in the valley.
When things go wrong, He'll make it right.
And the God of the good times
is still God in the bad times.
The God of the day is still God in the night.

You talk of faith when you're up on the mountain.
Oh but the talk comes easy when life's at its best.
But it's down in the valley of trials and temptation
That's when faith is really put to the test.

For the God on the mountain is still God in the valley.
When things go wrong, He'll make it right.
And the God of the good times
is still God in the bad times.
The God of the day is still God in the night.

For the God on the mountain is still God in the valley.
When things go wrong, He'll make it right.
And the God of the good times
is still God in the bad times.

The God of the day is still God in the night.
The God of the day is still God in the night.

"God On The Mountain" words and music by Tracy G. Dartt

Don't laugh at me

2009-11-23T07:10:00.000+08:00

These children with their "deficits" make a contribution to us that is often unrecognized because it must be seen through the eyes of faith in God. Reminds me of a flash movie I produced here years back, "Hidden Blessings in a Unfair World"

This is about Forgiveness

2009-11-07T17:38:00.000+08:00

Found this on Pam's page in Facebook and I want to share it with all of you here. It is about Forgiveness.

Rich Son, Poor Son

2009-10-15T19:03:00.000+08:00

"Rich Son, Poor Son", I first saw this in a cinema theatre. Today I spotted it from one of my Facebook friends. I went to YouTube to look for it and here it is. This is a video about family values produced by our neighbour, Malaysia; sponsored by Petronas their national oil company.

Grandma's Hands

2009-09-06T07:15:00.002+08:00

Grandma, some ninety plus years, sat feebly on the patio bench. She didn't move, just sat with her head down staring at her hands.
When I sat down beside her she didn't acknowledge my presence and the longer I sat I wondered if she was OK.

Finally, not really wanting to disturb her but wanting to check on her at the same time, I asked her if she was OK. She raised her head and looked at me and smiled. 'Yes, I'm fine, thank you for asking,' she said in a clear voice strong.

'I didn't mean to disturb you, grandma, but you were just sitting here staring at your hands and I wanted to make sure you were OK,' I explained to her.

'Have you ever looked at your hands,' she asked. 'I mean really looked at your hands?'

I slowly opened my hands and stared down at them. I turned them over, palms up and then palms down. No, I guess I had never really looked at my hands as I tried to figure out the point she was making.

Grandma smiled and related this story:
'Stop and think for a moment about the hands you have, how they have served you well throughout your years. These hands, though wrinkled shriveled and weak have been the tools I have used all my life to reach out and grab and embrace life.

'They braced and caught my fall when as a toddler I crashed upon the floor..
They put food in my mouth and clothes on my back. As a child, my mother taught me to fold them in prayer. They tied my shoes and pulled on my boots. They held my husband and wiped my tears when he went off to war.

'They have been dirty, scraped and raw, swollen and bent. They were uneasy and clumsy when I tried to hold my newborn son. Decorated with my wedding band they showed the world that I was married and loved someone special . I, too, am someone special.

They wrote my letters to him and trembled and shook when I buried my parents and spouse.
'They have held my children and grandchildren, consoled neighbors, and shook in fists of anger when I didn't understand.

They have covered my face, combed my hair, and washed and cleansed the rest of my body. They have been sticky and wet, bent and broken, dried and raw. And to this day when not much of anything else of me works real well these hands hold me up, lay me down, and again continue to fold in prayer.

'These hands are the mark of where I've been and the ruggedness of life.

But more importantly it will be these hands that God will reach out and take when he leads me home. And with my hands He will lift me to His side and there I will use these hands to touch the face of God.'

I will never look at my hands the same again. . When my hands are hurt or sore or when I stroke the face of my children and husband I think of grandma.

Helen Keller through Anne Sullivan

2009-08-26T11:10:00.002+08:00

The world would not have had Helen Keller without Anne Sullivan. Here you see her explaining how she first started with helping Helen Keller communicate with the world. Anne Sullivan is much less well known, but she is no lesser than Helen Keller.

A good friend in Seattle brought this video to my attention. :-)

Judge Not.

2009-08-24T08:42:00.002+08:00

Got this poem quite a few times in my mail and it is a welcomed reminder each time. I think it is a good idea to put it up here too. It would be a much better world if we learn to judge less.

I was shocked, confused, bewildered
As I entered Heaven's door,
Not by the beauty of it all,
Nor the lights or its decor.

But it was the folks in Heaven
Who made me sputter and gasp--
The thieves, the liars, the sinners,
The alcoholics and the trash.

There stood the kid from seventh grade
Who swiped my lunch money twice.
Next to him was my old neighbour
Who never said anything nice.

Herb, who I always thought
Was rotting away in hell,
Was sitting pretty on cloud nine,
Looking incredibly well.

I nudged Jesus, 'What's the deal?
I would love to hear Your take.
How'd all these sinners get up here?
God must've made a mistake.

'And why's everyone so quiet,
So sombre - give me a clue.'
'Hush, child,' He said, 'they're all in shock.
No one thought they'd be seeing you.'

JUDGE NOT.

Remember...Just going to church doesn't make you a Christian
any more than standing in your garage makes you a car .

Every saint has a PAST....
Every sinner has a FUTURE!

Unofficial National Day Song

2009-07-26T11:30:00.000+08:00

Some people write to me, especially the Singaporeans who thought I am from state-side. Nope, I am like you, borned and bred in Singapore.

I like these dogs

2009-06-18T12:55:00.001+08:00

Watch this youtube video and I believe you will agree with me.

Christian the Lion

2009-05-24T14:43:00.002+08:00

This story is world famous but I like this version and I hope you do too. It takes more than a lifetime to learn what love is. Grace is the pathway to love, and I am not doing enough justice to it saying so either. Love has to put it technically as one who works with NaviMaps, surprising feedback loops.

62 years together, playing the piano

2009-05-23T10:47:00.002+08:00

90 year old couple, married for 62 years was at the Mayo Clinic. They saw the piano there and played this. What a celebration.

What is that? A sparrow

2009-05-07T13:19:00.002+08:00

I have seen this video before but decided to blog this after a childhood friend sent it to me. I don't want to spoil the story for you. Go ahead, view this video.

Perfection is being beautifully imperfect

2009-04-16T12:28:00.002+08:00

So well put in this TV advert by the social and family services ministry in Singapore.

Echoes of Amazing Grace

2009-03-15T13:45:00.006+08:00

My friend Sandra in Ontario just sent me this - Amazing Grace sung at the Coliseum in Rome.

...and Grace will lead me home.

I used to have the video below but the host has removed it. So here is the link to the Youtube version. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMVxzEueJ6A

Leonard Abess

2009-02-25T16:40:00.003+08:00

I excerpt this from President Obama's speech which this evening to the joint houses of Congress.

I think about Leonard Abess, the bank president from Miami who reportedly cashed out of his company, took a $60 million bonus, and gave it out to all 399 people who worked for him, plus another 72 who used to work for him. He didn’t tell anyone, but when the local newspaper found out, he simply said, ”I knew some of these people since I was 7 years old. I didn’t feel right getting the money myself.”

Leonard Abess has left more than heart prints. We have a very serious shortage of such people around. It seems that the shortage is even greater in the biggest enterprises.

Life is such that there is no way to find such people until they show themselves, but we hope to encourage and nuture more of such types. By blogging this, I am voting for it in a very small way. Many drops will make an ocean. So here is my drop. The good teachers, the film makers similar websites and story tellers are adding theirs.

Heartprints from the most unexpected quarters - Politicians

2009-02-16T13:26:00.004+08:00

With seemingly insurmoutable problems before the us, inspiration and call to faith have come from the most unexpected quarters - Politicians, often not more trusted than the used car salesperson. But this are not normal times, so for such times leaders emerge. Thank you Lorraine for bringing this two speeches to my attention.

I reproduce here the transcripts of Tony Blair and Barack Obama speeches with parts of their speeches made available on Youtube.

Tony Blair's speech

Transcript of Blair's speech

It is an honour to be here. A particular honour to be with you Mr. President. The world participated in the celebration of your election. Now the hard work begins. And now, also we should be as steadfast for you in the hard work as in the celebration. You don't need cheerleaders but partners; not spectators but supporters. The truest friends are those still around when the going is toughest. We offer you our friendship today. We will work with you to make your Presidency one that shapes our destiny to the credit of America and of the world. Mr President, we salute you and wish you well.

After 10 years as British Prime Minister, I decided to choose something easy. I became involved in the Middle East Peace Process.

There are many frustrations - that is evident. There is also one blessing. I spend much of my time in the Holy Land and in the Holy City. The other evening I climbed to the top of Notre Dame in Jerusalem. You look left and see the Garden of Gethsemane. You look right and see where the Last Supper was held. Straight ahead lies Golgotha. In the distance is where King David was crowned and still further where Abraham was laid to rest. And of coursein the centre of Jerusalem is the Al Aqsa Mosque, where according to theQur'an, the Prophet was transported to commune with the prophets of the past.

Rich in conflict, it is also sublime in history. The other month in Jericho, I visited the Mount of Temptation. I think they bring all the political leaders there. My guide - a Palestinian - was bemoaning the travails of his nation. Suddenly he stopped, looked heaven wards and said "Moses, Jesus, Mohammed: why did they all have to come here?"

It is a good place to reflect on religion: a source of so much inspiration; an excuse for so much evil.

Today, religion is under attack from without and from within. From within, it is corroded by extremists who use their faith as a means of excluding the other. I am what I am in opposition to you. If you do not believe as I believe, you are a lesser human being.

From without, religious faith is assailed by an increasingly aggressive secularism, which derides faith as contrary to reason and defines faith by conflict. Thus do the extreme believers and the aggressive non-believers come together in unholy alliance.

And yet, faith will not be so easily cast. For billions of people, faith motivates, galvanises, compels and inspires, not to exclude but to embrace; not to provoke conflict but to try to do good. This is faith in action. Youcan see it in countless local communities where those from churches,mosques, synagogues and temples, tend the sick, care for the afflicted,work long hours in bad conditions to bring hope to the despairing andsalvation to the lost. You can see it in the arousing of the world'sconscience to the plight of Africa.

There are a million good deeds done every day by people of faith. These are those for whom, in the parable of the sower, the seed fell on good soil andyielded sixty or a hundredfold.
What inspires such people?

Ritual or doctrine or the finer points of theology? No.

I remember my first spiritual awakening. I was ten years old. That day my father - at the young age of 40 - had suffered a serious stroke. His life hung in the balance. My mother, to keep some sense of normality in the crisis, sent me to school. My teacher knelt and prayed with me. Now my father was a militant atheist. Before we prayed, I thought I should confess this. "I'm afraid my father doesn't believe in God". I said. "That doesn't matter" my teacher replied "God believes in him. He loves him without demanding or needing love in return."

That is what inspires: the unconditional nature of God's love. A promise perpetually kept. A covenant never broken.

And in surrendering to God, we become instruments of that love.
Rabbi Hillel was once challenged by a pagan, who said: if you can recite the whole of the Torah standing on one leg, I will convert to being a Jew. Rabbi Hillel stood on one leg and said "That which is hateful to you, do it not unto your neighbour. That is the Torah. Everything else is commentary. Go and study it."

As the Qur'an states: "if anyone saves a person it will be as if he has saved the whole of humanity".

Faith is not discovered in acting according to ritual but acting according to God's will and God's will is love.

We might also talk of the Hindu "Living beyond the reach of I and mine" or the words of the Buddha "after practising enlightenment you must go back to practise compassion" or the Sikh scripture: "God's bounties are common to all. It is we who have created divisions."
Each faith has its beliefs. Each is different. Yet at a certain point each is in communion with the other.

Examine the impact of globalisation. Forget for a moment its rights and wrongs. Just look at its effects. Its characteristic is that it pushes the world together. It is not only an economic force. The consequence is social, even cultural.

The global community - "it takes a village" as someone once coined it - is upon us. Into it steps religious faith. If faith becomes the property of extremists, it will originate discord. But if, by contrast, different faiths can reach out to and have knowledge of one another, then instead of being reactionary, religious faith can be a force for progress.
The Foundation which bears my name and which I began less than a year ago is dedicated to achieving understanding, action and reconciliation between the different faiths for the common good. It is not about the faith that looks inward; but the faith that resolutely turns us towards each other.

Bringing the faith communities together fulfils an objective important to all of us, believers and non-believers.

But as someone of faith, this is not enough. I believe restoring religious faith to its rightful place, as the guide to our world and its future, is itself of the essence. The 21st Century will be poorer in spirit, meaner in ambition, less disciplined in conscience, if it is not under the guardianship of faith in God.

I do not mean by this to blur the correct distinction between the realms of religious and political authority. In Britain we are especially mindful of this. I recall giving an address to the country at a time of crisis. I wanted to end my words with "God bless the British people". This caused complete consternation. Emergency meetings were convened. The system was aghast. Finally, as I sat trying to defend my words, a senior civil servantsaid, with utter distain: "Really, Prime Minister, this is not America you know."

Neither do I decry the work of humanists, who give gladly of themselves for others and who can often shame the avowedly religious. Those who do God's work are God's people.

I only say that there are limits to humanism and beyond those limits God and only God can work. The phrase "fear of God" conjures up the vengeful God of parts of the Old Testament. But "fear of God" means really obedience to God; humility before God; acceptance through God that there is somethingbigger, better and more important than you. It is that humbling of man'svanity, that stirring of conscience through God's prompting, thatrecognition of our limitations, that faith alone can bestow.

We can perform acts of mercy, but only God can lend them dignity. We can forgive, but only God forgives completely in the full knowledge of our sin.

And only through God comes grace; and it is God's grace that is unique.

John Newton, who had been that most obnoxious of things, a slave-trader, wrote the hymn "Amazing Grace".
"Twas Grace that taught my heart to fear. And Grace, my fears relieved."

It is through faith, by the Grace of God, that we have the courage to live as we should and die as we must.

When I was Prime Minister I had cause often to reflect on leadership. Courage in leadership is not simply about having the nerve to take difficult decisions or even in doing the right thing since oftentimes God alone knows what the right thing is.

It is to be in our natural state - which is one of nagging doubt, imperfect knowledge, and uncertain prediction - and to be prepared nonetheless to puton the mantle of responsibility and to stand up in full view of the world,to step out when others step back, to assume the loneliness of the finaldecision-maker, not sure of success but unsure of it.
And it is in that "not knowing" that the courage lies.

And when in that state, our courage fails, our faith can support it, lift it up, keep it from stumbling.

As you begin your leadership of this great country, Mr President, you are fortunate, as is your nation, that you have already shown in your life, courage in abundance. But should it ever be tested, I hope your faith can sustain you. And your family. The public eye is not always the most congenial.

I was reminded of this, as I waited in London in the snow to fly to America and made the mistake of reading a British newspaper. It was the very conservative Daily Telegraph. A few days ago I gave an interview in which I remarked how much cleverer my wife was than me. The Telegraph has a famous letters page. In it was a letter from a correspondent that read something like: "Dear Sir, with reference to your headline 'Blair admits wife more intelligent than him', I fail to see why this is news. Most of us haveknown this for a long time." As a PS perhaps: "the bar, however, has notbeen set high".

I finish where I began: in the Holy Land, at Mount Nebo in Jordan, where Moses gazed on the Promised Land. There is a chapel there, built by pilgrims in the 4th Century. The sermon was preached by an American, who spent his life as an airline pilot and then, after his wife's death, took holy orders. His words are the words of a Christian but they speak to all those of faith, who want God's grace to guide their life.

He said this:
"While here on earth, we need to make a vital decision ... whether to be mere spectators, or movers and shakers for the Kingdom of God... whether to stay among the curious, or take up a cross. And this means: no standing on the sidelines ... We're either in the game or we're not. I sometimes ask myself the question: If I were to die today, what would my life have stood for... The answer can't be an impulsive one, and we all need to count the cost before we give an answer. Because to be able to say yes to one thing, means to say no to many others. But we must also remember, that the greatest danger is not impulsiveness, but inaction."
It is fitting at this extraordinary moment in your country's history that we hear that call to action; and we pray that in acting we do God's work and follow God's will.

And by the way, God bless you all.

Barack Obama's Speech

Transcript of Obama's speech

Good morning. I want to thank the Co-Chairs of this breakfast,Representatives Heath Shuler and Vernon Ehlers. I'd also like tothank Tony Blair for coming today, as well as our Vice President, JoeBiden, members of my Cabinet, members of Congress, clergy, friends,and dignitaries from across the world.

Michelle and I are honored to join you in prayer this morning. I knowthis breakfast has a long history in Washington, and faith has alwaysbeen a guiding force in our family's life, so we feel very much athome and look forward to keeping this tradition alive during our timehere.

It's a tradition that I'm told actually began many years ago in thecity of Seattle. It was the height of the Great Depression, and most people found themselves out of work. Many fell into poverty. Some lost everything.

The leaders of the community did all that they could for those whowere suffering in their midst. And then they decided to do somethingmore: they prayed. It didn't matter what party or religiousaffiliation to which they belonged. They simply gathered one morningas brothers and sisters to share a meal and talk with God.

These breakfasts soon sprouted up throughout Seattle, and quicklyspread to cities and towns across America, eventually making theirway to Washington. A short time after President Eisenhower asked agroup of Senators if he could join their prayer breakfast, it becamea national event. And today, as I see presidents and dignitaries herefrom every corner of the globe, it strikes me that this is one of therare occasions that still brings much of the world together in a moment of peace and goodwill.

I raise this history because far too often, we have seen faithwielded as a tool to divide us from one another-as an excuse forprejudice and intolerance. Wars have been waged. Innocents have beenslaughtered. For centuries, entire religions have been persecuted,all in the name of perceived righteousness.

There is no doubt that the very nature of faith means that some ofour beliefs will never be the same. We read from different texts. Wefollow different edicts. We subscribe to different accounts of how wecame to be here and where we're going next-and some subscribe to nofaith at all.

But no matter what we choose to believe, let us remember that thereis no religion whose central tenet is hate. There is no God whocondones taking the life of an innocent human being. This much weknow.

We know too that whatever our differences, there is one law thatbinds all great religions together. Jesus told us to "love thyneighbor as thyself." The Torah commands, "That which is hateful toyou, do not do to your fellow." In Islam, there is a hadith thatreads "None of you truly believes until he wishes for his brotherwhat he wishes for himself." And the same is true for Buddhists andHindus; for followers of Confucius and for humanists. It is, ofcourse, the Golden Rule-the call to love one another; to understandone another; to treat with dignity and respect those with whom weshare a brief moment on this Earth.

It is an ancient rule; a simple rule; but also one of the mostchallenging. For it asks each of us to take some measure ofresponsibility for the well-being of people we may not know orworship with or agree with on every issue. Sometimes, it asks us toreconcile with bitter enemies or resolve ancient hatreds. And thatrequires a living, breathing, active faith. It requires us not onlyto believe, but to do-to give something of ourselves for the benefitof others and the betterment of our world.

In this way, the particular faith that motivates each of us canpromote a greater good for all of us. Instead of driving us apart,our varied beliefs can bring us together to feed the hungry andcomfort the afflicted; to make peace where there is strife andrebuild what has broken; to lift up those who have fallen on hardtimes. This is not only our call as people of faith, but our duty ascitizens of America, and it will be the purpose of the White HouseOffice of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships that I'mannouncing later today.

The goal of this office will not be to favor one religious group overanother-or even religious groups over secular groups. It will simplybe to work on behalf of those organizations that want to work onbehalf of our communities, and to do so without blurring the linethat our founders wisely drew between church and state. This work isimportant, because whether it's a secular group advising familiesfacing foreclosure or faith-based groups providing job-training tothose who need work, few are closer to what's happening on ourstreets and in our neighborhoods than these organizations. People trust them. Communities rely on them. And we will help them.

We will also reach out to leaders and scholars around the world tofoster a more productive and peaceful dialogue on faith. I don'texpect divisions to disappear overnight, nor do I believe thatlong-held views and conflicts will suddenly vanish. But I do believethat if we can talk to one another openly and honestly, then perhapsold rifts will start to mend and new partnerships will begin toemerge. In a world that grows smaller by the day, perhaps we canbegin to crowd out the destructive forces of zealotry and make roomfor the healing power of understanding.

This is my hope. This is my prayer.

I believe this good is possible because my faith teaches me that allis possible, but I also believe because of what I have seen and whatI have lived.

I was not raised in a particularly religious household. I had afather who was born a Muslim but became an atheist, grandparents whowere non-practicing Methodists and Baptists, and a mother who wasskeptical of organized religion, even as she was the kindest, mostspiritual person I've ever known. She was the one who taught me as achild to love, and to understand, and to do unto others as I wouldwant done.

I didn't become a Christian until many years later, when I moved tothe South Side of Chicago after college. It happened not because ofindoctrination or a sudden revelation, but because I spent monthafter month working with church folks who simply wanted to helpneighbors who were down on their luck-no matter what they lookedlike, or where they came from, or who they prayed to. It was on thosestreets, in those neighborhoods, that I first heard God's spiritbeckon me. It was there that I felt called to a higher purpose-His purpose.

In different ways and different forms, it is that spirit and sense ofpurpose that drew friends and neighbors to that first prayerbreakfast in Seattle all those years ago, during another trying timefor our nation. It is what led friends and neighbors from so manyfaiths and nations here today. We come to break bread and give thanksand seek guidance, but also to rededicate ourselves to the mission oflove and service that lies at the heart of all humanity. As St.Augustine once said, "Pray as though everything depended on God. Workas though everything depended on you."

So let us pray together on this February morning, but let us alsowork together in all the days and months ahead. For it is onlythrough common struggle and common effort, as brothers and sisters,that we fulfill our highest purpose as beloved children of God. I askyou to join me in that effort, and I also ask that you pray for me,for my family, and for the continued perfection of our union. Thankyou.

Stay with me for the sun to burst through!

2009-01-29T14:25:00.004+08:00

My Singaporean friend with UNIFEM in NY, whom I got to know through InspiringThots sent us this video today. She had attached the video file but I managed to locate a Youtube version of it which I am sharing here.

In these times of darkening skies for many, threatening rain or is already pouring for some, this has left a heartprint for me.

Especially meaningful to me is that this is in Chinese. See the video below.

Rev. Lowery Inauguration benediction

2009-01-21T13:11:00.002+08:00

This is in InspiringThots.net blog because Rev. Lowery has left many heartprints with his benediction.

A black pastor delivered the benediction at the inauguration ceremony of the 44th President of the United States. My thoughts were that long ago the white man came to make them slaves and the black man ended up embracing his God. What a God he is, that could reach beyond the cruelty and inhumanity of the enslavers. This same God who turned the captain of a slave ship to write the hymn "Amazing Grace".

This is a religion who was "evolved" from law to grace. Like Islam, it has Jewish roots. Now in these tmultuous times, where is the grace in Islam? It must be there also isn't it even if it does not have a sacrificial lamb like Jesus Christ in Christianity to atone for our sins.

Below the transcript of Rev. Lowery.

Transcript courtesy Federal News Service

God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, thou who has brought us thus far along the way, thou who has by thy might led us into the light, keep us forever in the path, we pray, lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met thee, lest our hearts, drunk with the
wine of the world, we forget thee. Shadowed beneath thy hand may we forever stand -- true to thee, O God, and true to our native land.

We truly give thanks for the glorious experience we've shared this day. We pray now, O Lord, for your blessing upon thy servant, Barack Obama, the 44th president of these United States,
his family and his administration. He has come to this high office at a low moment in the national and, indeed, the global fiscal climate. But because we know you got the whole world in your hand, we pray for not only our nation, but for the community of nations. Our faith does not shrink, though pressed by the flood of mortal ills.

For we know that, Lord, you're able and you're willing to work through faithful leadership to restore stability, mend our brokenness, heal our wounds and deliver us from the exploitation of the poor or the least of these and from favoritism toward the rich, the elite of these.

We thank you for the empowering of thy servant, our 44th president, to inspire our nation to believe that, yes, we can work together to achieve a more perfect union. And while we have sown the seeds of greed -- the wind of greed and corruption, and even as we reap the whirlwind of social and economic disruption, we seek forgiveness and we come in a spirit of unity and solidarity to commit our support to our president by our willingness to make sacrifices, to respect your creation, to turn to each other and not on each other.

And now, Lord, in the complex arena of human relations, help us to make choices on the side of love, not hate; on the side of inclusion, not exclusion; tolerance, not intolerance.

And as we leave this mountaintop, help us to hold on to the spirit of fellowship and the oneness of our family. Let us take that power back to our homes, our workplaces, our churches, our temples, our mosques, or wherever we seek your will.

Bless President Barack, First Lady Michelle. Look over our little, angelic Sasha and Malia.

We go now to walk together, children, pledging that we won't get weary in the difficult days ahead. We know you will not leave us alone, with your hands of power and your heart of love.

Help us then, now, Lord, to work for that day when nation shall not lift up sword against nation, when tanks will be beaten into tractors, when every man and every woman shall sit under his or her own vine and fig tree, and none shall be afraid; when justice will roll down like waters and righteousness as a mighty stream.

Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get back, when brown can stick around -- (laughter) -- when yellow will be mellow -- (laughter) -- when
the red man can get ahead, man -- (laughter) -- and when white will embrace what is right.

Let all those who do justice and love mercy say amen.

AUDIENCE: Amen!

REV. LOWERY: Say amen --

AUDIENCE: Amen!

REV. LOWERY: -- and amen.

AUDIENCE: Amen! (Cheers, applause.)

Heartprints from my wife, Daisy

2009-01-16T11:07:00.003+08:00

I woke up this morning, turn on my PC and saw an email Daisy left me. You know after having been married for so many years, how most couples talk to each other. No, we have not given up on the nice little things, we still have them but by and large we have grown beyond them - "We give presents without the gift wraps" How many of you still keep your gift wrap anyway?

So here they are, some songs I used to play over and over again on my way to college so many years ago. Songs that forms part of me and continue to shape me till this day. She found them on Youtube and as I was already asleep by then, she emailed them to me EXACTLY as they appears here with a subject line "found this... love it" so I must get to them right away.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFVy5P5SNbE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEMtUoHme7g&feature=PlayList&p=5574D4C527F6BBC6&playnext=1&index=23

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7N1D0isNqPg&feature=PlayList&p=5574D4C527F6BBC6&playnext=1&index=22

My favorite? The second song.

Two Babies in a Manger

2008-12-18T11:57:00.002+08:00

This story, author unknown was in my inbox when I got back this morning. It is from my friend Ron from state side. Here it is...

In 1994, two Americans answered an invitation from the Russian Department of Education to teach morals and ethics (based on biblical principles) in the public schools. They were invited to teach at prisons, businesses, the fire and police departments and a large orphanage. About 100 boys and girls who had been abandoned, abused, and left in the care of a government-run program were in the orphanage. They relate the following story in their own words:

It was nearing the holiday season, 1994, time for our orphans to hear, for the first time, the traditional story of Christmas. We told them about Mary and Joseph arriving in Bethlehem. Finding no room in the inn, the couple went to a stable, where the baby Jesus was born and placed in a manger.

Throughout the story, the children and orphanage staff sat in amazement as they listened. Some sat on the edges of their stools, trying to grasp every word. Completing the story, we gave the children three small pieces of cardboard to make a crude manger. Each child was given a small paper square, cut from yellow napkins I had brought with me. No colored paper was available in the city.

Following instructions, the children tore the paper and carefully laid strips in the manger for straw. Small squares of flannel, cut from a worn-out nightgown an American lady was throwing away as she left Russia, were used for the baby's blanket. A doll-like baby was cut from tan felt we had brought from the United States.

The orphans were busy assembling their manger as I walked among them to see if they needed any help. All went well until I got to one table where little Misha sat. He looked to be about 6 years old and had finished his project. As I looked at the little boy's manger, I was startled to see not one, but two babies in the manger. Quickly, I called for the translator to ask the lad why there were two babies in the manger. Crossing his arms in front of him and looking at this completed manger scene, the child began to repeat the story very seriously.

For such a young boy, who had only heard the Christmas story once, he related the happenings accurately...until he came to the part where Mary put the baby Jesus in the manger. Then Misha started to ad-lib. He made up his own ending to the story as he said, "And when Maria laid the baby in the manger, Jesus looked at me and asked me if I had a place to stay. I told him I have no mamma and I have no papa, so I don't have any place to stay. Then Jesus told me I could stay with him. But I told him I couldn't, because I didn't have a gift to give him like everybody else did. But I wanted to stay with Jesus so much, so I thought about what I had that maybe I could use for a gift. I thought maybe if I kept him warm, that would be a good gift.

So I asked Jesus, "If I keep you warm, will that be a good enough gift?"

And Jesus told me, "If you keep me warm, that will be the best gift anybody ever gave me."

"So I got into the manger, and then Jesus looked at me and he told me I could stay with him...for always."

As little Misha finished his story, his eyes brimmed full of tears that splashed down his little cheeks. Putting his hand over his face, his head dropped to the table and his shoulders shook as he sobbed and sobbed.

The little orphan had found someone who would never abandon nor abuse him, someone who would stay with him...FOR ALWAYS.

I've learned that it's not what you have in your life, but who you have in your life that counts.

Author Unknown

A friend emailed me

2008-11-21T11:14:00.002+08:00

What is the big deal? Friends email each other all the time. It is a big deal because it is one of those less common emails sent with heartprints.

Here it is, and in response I sent her the same message as a flash movie I have produced sometime back.
(http://inspiringthots.net/movie/reason-season.php)

-------- Original Message --------
I send this on with the love of Jesus in gratefulness for the blessing you are in my life.
Love Sue

I am sending this to you to see how many actually read their e-mail. Your response will be interesting. Pay attention to what you read.
After you have finished reading it, you will know the reason it was sent to you.
Here goes:

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.
When you know which one it is, you will know what to do for that person. When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed.
They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support,
To aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend and they are.
They are there for the reason you need them to be. Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time,
This person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.
Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away.
Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, their work is done.
The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.

Some people come into your life for a SEASON, because your turn has come to share, grow or learn.
They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.
They may teach you something you have never done.
They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it, it is real. But only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons,
Things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.
Your job is to accept the lesson,
Love the person and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant

/Thank you for being a part of my life,/
/Whether you were a reason, a season or a lifetime./

The Bridge

2008-11-02T12:24:00.002+08:00

A good friend from Seattle sent me this short movie this morning. Because it left a heartprint on me, I want to pass it on to the rest of you.

Not Leaving Heartprints

2008-10-30T12:19:00.002+08:00

I am afraid that if we have the encourage to be real, then the following story, though might be fiction could very well be non-fiction. Life as we know it is not like the sun will always rise in the East. There are lots of exceptions to the ideals we believe in. For our life-spans here, good do not always triumph over evil and neither is justice always served.

You need to bring with you faith when you read this story. You need to believe that even as this story ends, a most unhappy ending, the truth is that it has not ended yet. It is just not yet complete and there is no consensus among us breathing mortals on how it will really end.

In the end good will triumph over evil but not necessarily in our lifetimes.

So here is the story of someone who seems to have triumphed without leaving heartprints. Again, I have this story here only to make this blog real to life as lived by the majority of us.

Toward the end of Sunday service, the Minister asked,

'How many of you have forgiven your enemies?

' 80% held up their hands.

The Minister then repeated his question. All responded this time, except one small elderly lady. 'Mrs. Neely?';

'Are you not willing to forgive your enemies?' I don't have any.' She replied, smiling sweetly.

'Mrs. Neely, that is very unusual. How old are you?' 'Ninety-eight.' she replied.

'Oh, Mrs. Neely, would you please come down in front & tell us all how a person can live ninety-eight years & not have an enemy in the world?'

The little sweetheart of a lady tottered down the aisle, faced the congregation, and said:

"I outlived the bitches!"

I almost wanted to boldface the last line, but why should I? I know by faith that is a losing line!

The most important part of your body

2008-10-01T10:03:00.003+08:00

Here is a story my friend Lorraine in Canada sent me recently.

My mother used to ask me what the most important part of the body is.
Through the years I would take a guess at what I thought was the correct
Answer.

When I was younger, I thought sound was very important to us as humans,
so I said, 'My ears, Mommy.'

She said, 'No. Many people are deaf. But you keep thinking about it and
I will ask you again soon.'

Several years passed before she asked me again. Since making my first
attempt, I had contemplated the correct answer.

So this time I told her, 'Mommy, sight is very important to everybody,
so it must be our eyes.'

She looked at me and told me, 'You are learning fast, but the answer is
not correct because there are many people who are blind.'

Stumped again, I continued my quest for knowledge and over the years,

Mother asked me a couple more times and always her answer was, 'No. But
you are getting smarter every year, my child.'

Then one year, my grandfather died. Everybody was hurt. Everybody was
crying. Even my father cried.

I remember that especially because it was only the second time I saw him
cry.

My Mom looked at me when it was our turn to say our final good-bye to my
Grandfather. She asked me, 'Do you know the most important body part yet, my dear?'
I was shocked when she asked me this now. I always thought this was a
game between her and me.

She saw the confusion on my face and told me, 'This question is very
important. It shows that you have really lived in your life. For every
body part you gave me in the past, I have told you were wrong and I have
given you an example why.

But today is the day you need to learn this important lesson.'
She looked down at me as only a mother can. I saw her eyes well up with
tears. She said, 'My dear, the most important body part is your
shoulder.'

I asked, 'Is it because it holds up my head?'

She replied, 'No, it is because it can hold the head of a friend or a
loved one when they cry. Everybody needs a shoulder to cry on sometime
in life, my dear. I only hope that you have enough love and friends that
you will always have a shoulder to cry on when you need it.'

Then and there I knew the most important body part is not a selfish one.
It is made for others and not for yourself. It is sympathetic to the
pain of others.

People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did . But
people will NEVER forget how you made them feel.

Good friends are like stars...You don't always see them, but you always
know they are there.

You know because you have often left heartprints on each other before.

Use your imagination to leave heartprints.

2008-09-25T13:57:00.004+08:00

This story has been circulated on the Internet for sometime. It is now made into a film snippet. It shows that you don't need money to help others. You can do as well, may be better with some imagination and creativity.

What is your gift? Everyone has something to offer.

HISTORIA DE UN LETRERO (THE STORY OF A SIGN)

Learning to leave Hearprints through the years

2008-09-24T20:08:00.002+08:00

I've learned that I like my teacher because she cries when wesings "Silent Night".
Age 5

I've learned that our dog doesn't want to eat my broccoli either.
Age 7

I've learned that when I wave to people in the country, they stop what they are doing and wave back.
Age 9

I've learned that just when I get my room the way I like it, Mom makes me clean it up again.
Age 12

I've learned that if you want to cheer yourself up, you shouldtry cheering someone else up.
Age 14

I've learned that although it's hard to admit it, I'm secretlyglad my parents are strict with me.
Age 15

I've learned that silent company is often more healing than words of advice.
Age 24

I've learned that brushing my child's hair is one of life's great pleasures.
Age 26

I've learned that wherever I go, the world's worst drivers have followed me there.
Age 29

I've learned that if someone says something unkind about me, I must live so that no one will believe it.
Age 30

I've learned that there are people who love you dearly but just don't know how to show it.
Age 42

I've learned that you can make some one's day by simply sending them a little note.
Age 44

I've learned that the greater a person's sense of guilt, the greater his or her need to cast blame on others.
Age 46

I've learned that children and grandparents are natural allies.
Age 47

I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.
Age 48

I've learned that singing "Amazing Grace" can lift my spirits for hours.
Age 49

I've learned that motel mattresses are better on the side awayfrom the phone.
Age 50

I've learned that you can tell a lot about a man by the way hehandles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.
Age 51

I've learned that keeping a vegetable garden is worth a medicine cabinet full of pills.
Age 52

I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you miss them terribly after they die.
Age 53

I've learned that making a living is not the same thing as making a life.
Age 58

I've learned that if you want to do something positive for your children, work to improve your marriage.
Age 61

I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.
Age 62

I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catchers mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back.
Age 64

I've learned that if you pursue happiness, it will elude you. But if you focus on your family, the needs of others, your work, meeting new people, and doing the very best you can, happiness will find you.
Age 65

I've learned that whenever I decide something with kindness, I usually make the right decision.
Age 66

I've learned that everyone can use a prayer.
Age 72

I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one.
Age 82

I've learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love that human touch-holding hands, a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back.
Age 90

I've learned that I still have a lot to learn.
Age 92

I've learned that you should pass this one on to someone you care about. Sometimes they just need a little something to make them smile.

Author Unknown, but leave me a note if you do. Thanks.

Thank you and Good Bye Doreen

2008-09-19T09:36:00.004+08:00

I never plan or expect to have this blog entry. This is for Doreen, a Singaporean teacher here in Dubai who is leaving for home after a brief stay at the international school my two girls are attending.

It was Monday, September 15, the girls first day of school. We were quite late in joining the school. The school term has started a couple of weeks before. As expected, things were not starting on the right foot. I was somewhat anxious if the girls would be able to fit in.

We arrived very early that morning - an hour before school began. As I tried to find my way to the girls' classrooms, a young lady walked up to me to introduce hereself and asked if she could help us. Completely disoriented, I was grateful for the kind offer.

So we started chatting as she walked us to the right rooms for each girl. I learned that she has been here only two weeks before. I imagined she must be disoriented and may be coping with culture shock herself. She explained the school to me, provided my first map and compass. Well this is just my shorthand way of explaining what she has done for us.

I met Doreen again two days later. I wanted to tell her about a mid-autumn gathering at the Singapore consul general villa that evening. She thanked me but told me that she would not be able to attend because she is flying home on Saturday. She has resigned. My heart sank. I have watched her from a distance looking out for the kids, directing them to the right places and I will always remember her smiling and patting my younger girl on her head and showing her the way to me.

Thank you Doreen for being so kind and caring. Thank you very much for the map and compass you gave me. Thank you for leaving heartprints in our lives.

Bon Voyage and all the best to you back in Singapore.

At the edge of the Cliff

2008-08-27T11:01:00.004+08:00

A friend from the UN in NY sent me this about 11 hours ago. I think this is a wonderful way to look at life when you are at the edge of the cliff.

When God leads you to the edge of the cliff, trust Him fully and let go, only 1 of 2 things will happen, either He'll catch you when you fall, or He'll teach you how to fly!

Because we are not home yet

2008-08-24T07:21:00.004+08:00

This morning trying to encourage someone from the other side of the world, I sent her this. I have received this story, usually the longer version. I am glad for this shorter one and finally to know where it probably came from.

Early in the last century an old missionary couple who had been working in Africa for many years returned to America to retire. With no pension and broken in health, they were discouraged, and somewhat fearful of the future.

They happened to be booked on the same ship as Teddy Roosevelt, who was returning from a big-game hunting expedition. They watched the passengers trying to glimpse the great man, the crew fussing over him. At the dock in New York a band was waiting to greet the president…but the missionary couple slipped off the ship unnoticed.

That night the man's spirit broke. He said to his wife, "I can't take this; God is not treating us fairly." His wife suggested he go in the bedroom and tell the Lord.

A short time later he came out with a face completely changed. His wife asked, "Dear, what happened?"

"The Lord settled it with me," he said. "I told him how bitter I was that the president should receive this tremendous homecoming, when no one met us as we returned home. And when I finished, it seemed as though the Lord put His hand on my shoulder and simply said, 'But you're not home yet!'" *

And now I can share what went before the story to my friend.

Hi ,

It is not practical to go into the details here, also what I have been through might not be directly relevant to you. What is common with all who suffer is this - We experience some kind of loss. What I have discovered and here again, it could be different from person to person is that through suffering we might find the Lord in ways that just isn't possible any other way.

You come out of this with a deeply personal relationship with him that you struggle to find to words to explain. When you are still in there, it is like fire. When you come out of it, you realize it is worth it.

We suffer, become depressed because we are not home yet and especially so when we thought we are already home. Let me explain briefly from a story I have received several times. (i.e., the story you just read above)

* From "My Time With God" by Donald McCullough.

Going beyond Heartprints - Do something

2008-08-15T20:40:00.002+08:00

A friend, Hussien Jinnah emaild this to me today. This is beyond heartprints. After you have acquired the good habit of leaving heartprints, you will eventually get to doing things like this old man had.

The Bridge Builder
An old man, going a lone highway,
Came at the evening, cold and gray,
To a chasm, vast and deep and wide,
Through which was flowing a sullen tide.
The old man crossed in the twilight dim;
The sullen stream had no fears for him;
But he turned when safe on the other side
And built a bridge to span the tide.

"Old man," said a fellow pilgrim near,
"You are wasting strength with building here;
Your journey will end with the ending day;
You never again must pass this way;
You have crossed the chasm, deep and wide -
Why build you the bridge at the eventide?"

The builder lifted his old gray head;
"Good friend, in the path I have come," he said,
"There followeth after me today
A youth whose feet must pass this way.
This chasm that has been naught to me
To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be.
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;
Good friend, I am building the bridge for him."

Will Allen Dromgoole

What inspired such a story?

2008-08-12T19:05:00.003+08:00

I want to share this story with all of you because I have been receiving this in the email several times over the years. Each time I read it, I feel like I am doing so for the first time.

If the title "Carl's story" is completely unfamiliar to you then you should read and be reminded of it.

Carl's Story

Carl was a quiet man. He didn't talk much. He would always greet you with a big smile and a firm handshake. Even after living in our neighborhood for over 50 years, no one could really say they knew him very well.

Before his retirement, he took the bus to work each morning. The lone sight of him walking down the street often worried us. He had a slight limp from a bullet wound received in WWII. Watching him, we worried that although he had survived WWII, he may not make it through our changing uptown neighborhood with its ever-increasing random violence, gangs, and drug activity.

When he saw the flyer at our local church asking for volunteers for caring for the gardens behind the minister's residence, he responded in his characteristically unassuming manner. Without fanfare, he just signed up. He was well into his 87th year when the very thing we had always feared finally happened.

He was just finishing his watering for the day when three gang members approached him. Ignoring their attempt to intimidate him, he simply asked, 'Would you like a drink from the hose?'

The tallest and toughest-looking of the three said, 'Yeah, sure,' with a malevolent little smile. As Carl offered the hose to him, the other two grabbed Carl's arm, throwing him down. As the hose snaked crazily over the ground, dousing everything in its way, Carl's assailants stole his retirement watch and his wallet, and then fled.

Carl tried to get himself up, but he had been thrown down on his bad leg. He lay there trying to gather himself as the minister came running to help him. Although the minister had witnessed the attack from his window, he couldn't get there fast enough to stop it. 'Carl, are you okay? Are you hurt?' the minister kept asking as he helped Carl to his feet. Carl just passed a hand over his brow and sighed, shaking his head. 'Just some punk kids. I hope they'll wise-up someday.'

His wet clothes clung to his slight frame as he bent to pick up the hose. He adjusted the nozzle again and started to water. Confused and a little concerned, the minister asked, 'Carl, what are you doing?' 'I've got to finish my watering. It's been very dry lately,' came the calm reply. Satisfying himself that Carl really was all right, the minister could only marvel. Carl was a man from a different time and place.

A few weeks later the three returned. Just as before their threat was unchallenged. Carl again offered them a drink from his hose. This time they didn't rob him. They wrenched the hose from his hand and drenched him head to foot in the icy water. When they had finished their humiliation of him, they sauntered off down the street, throwing catcalls and curses, falling over one another laughing at the hilarity of what they had just done. Carl just watched them. Then he turned toward the warmth giving sun, picked up his hose, and went on with his watering.

The summer was quickly fading into fall Carl was doing some tilling when he was startled by the sudden approach of someone behind him. He stumbled and fell into some evergreen branches. As he struggled to regain his footing, he turned to see the tall leader of his summer tormentors reaching down for him. He braced himself for the expected attack. 'Don't worry old man, I'm not gonna hurt you this time.' The young man spoke softly, still offering the tattooed and scarred hand to Carl. As he helped Carl get up, the man pulled a crumpled bag from his pocket and handed it to Carl. 'What's this?' Carl asked.

'It's your stuff,' the man explained. 'It's your stuff back. Even the money in your wallet.' 'I don't understand,' Carl said. 'Why would you help me now?' The man shifted his feet, seeming embarrassed and ill at ease. 'I learned something from you,' he said. 'I ran with that gang and hurt people like you we picked you because you were old and we knew we could do it But every time we came and did something to you, instead of yelling and fighting back, you tried to give us a drink.

You didn't hate us for hating you. You kept showing love against our hate.' He stopped for a moment. 'I couldn't sleep after we stole your stuff, so here it is back.' He paused for another awkward moment, not knowing what more there was to say. 'That bag's my way of saying thanks for straightening me out, I guess.' And with that, he walked off down the street.

Carl looked down at the sack in his hands and gingerly opened it. He took out his retirement watch and put it back on his wrist. Opening his wallet, he checked for his wedding photo. He gazed for a moment at the young bride that still smiled back at him from all those years ago.

He died one cold day after Christmas that winter. Many people attended his funeral in spite of the weather.

In particular the minister noticed a tall young man that he didn't know sitting quietly in a distant corner of the church. The minister spoke of Carl's garden as a lesson in life. In a voice made thick with unshed tears, he said, 'Do your best and make your garden as beautiful as you can. We will never forget Carl and his garden.'

The following spring another flyer went up. It read: 'Person needed to care for Carl's garden.' The flyer went unnoticed by the busy parishioners until one day when a knock was heard at the minister's office door. Opening the door, the minister saw a pair of scarred and tattooed hands holding the flyer. 'I believe this is my job, if you'll have me,' the young man said. The minister recognized him as the same young man who had returned the stolen watch and wallet to Carl.

He knew that Carl's kindness had turned this man's life around. As the minister handed him the keys to the garden shed, he said, 'Yes, go take care of Carl's garden and honor him.'

The man went to work and, over the next several years, he tended the flowers and vegetables just as Carl had done. During that time, he went to college, got married, and became a prominent member of the community. But he never forgot his promise to Carl's memory and kept the garden as beautiful as he thought Carl would have kept it. One day he approached the new minister and told him that he couldn't care for the garden any longer. He explained with a shy and happy smile, 'My wife just had a baby boy last night, and she's bringing him home on Saturday.' 'Well, congratulations!' said the minister, as he was handed the garden shed keys. 'That's wonderful! What's the baby's name?' 'Carl,' he replied.

2008-08-09T15:19:00.003+08:00

This came from a colleague I got to know more than ten years ago. She is still there with the same investment bank. I am so impressed with it that it must have a place here. This is a daily devotional reading from the RBC ministries for 08.08.08, the opening day of the Beijing Olympics.

1 Corinthians 13

Love

1If I speak in the tongues[a] of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames,[b] but have not love, I gain nothing.

4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Love never fails. —1 Corinthians 13:8

As the Olympic Games open in Beijing, my thoughts go back to Eric Liddell, a former champion immortalized for his surprising gold medal victory in the 400 meters during the 1924 Games in Paris. A year after his triumph, Liddell went to China, where he spent the last 20 years of his life as a missionary teacher and rural pastor. There he ran the greatest race of his life against opponents we all know—difficult circumstances, war, uncertainty, and disease.

Crowded into a Japanese internment camp with 1,500 other people, Eric lived out the words he had paraphrased from 1 Corinthians 13:6-8— “Love is never glad when others go wrong. Love finds no pleasure in injustice, but rejoices in the truth. Love is always slow to expose, it knows how to be silent. Love is always eager to believe the best about a person. Love is full of hope, full of patient endurance; love never fails.”

Eric served the others in camp, whether carrying water for the elderly or refereeing games for the teens. When he died of a brain tumor in February 1945, one internee described him as a man “who lived better than he preached.”

In life’s most difficult race, Eric Liddell crossed the finish line victorious through love. — David C. McCasland

O for a love that knows no end,

A love that is strong and pure,

Reaching afar to both foe and friend,

So deep it will always endure. —R. De Haan

Love enables us to walk fearlessly, to run confidently, and to live victoriously.

1 Corinthian 13 is very special to me. It represents at least of couple of firsts. I first read it from a free copy of the Living Bible New Testament when I was eleven. It was also among the earliest flash movies I produced for the website.

I first cam across the story of Eric Liddell in the famous movie, "The Chariots of Fire". Ever since, I have often heard its theme music. Each time it is played, I will picture Eric and the other running at the edge of the beach as it was depicted in the movie.

I went to look up for additional resources on Eric Liddell and discovered that there is an Eric Liddell Centre. I would encourage you to visit.

All I Have Left is What I Gave Away

2008-08-07T20:52:00.000+08:00

Once You Give It Away…
"All I Have Left is What I Gave Away"

The author wishes to remain anonymous Edited by Shmuel Greenbaum. Printed with Permission of http://www.PartnersInKindness.org

This is a lesson from one of my nursing home residents:

Mrs. C. was an artist and a cigarette smoker. She came to live at the nursing home after a match that she thought was out resulted in a fire that burned down her apartment. She lost everything that was in her home.

After she settled in to the nursing home she spoke of her loss. "All I have left," she said, "is what I gave away."

She was philosophical about it, for as a young child her father taught her a saying she used and shared with us: "What is, is and what isn't, isn't." That helped her move on in life.

As her friends heard of what happened, they brought pieces of her artwork that she had give them before the fire back to her, to decorate her new room. It became her new home until she passed away a few years later.

An excellent if unofficial National Day Song

2008-08-05T09:23:00.002+08:00

A friend from China, a member of the underground church, sent me the above. He wasn't the first one to point it out to me, but he was the one who left a strong impression on me. See below.

刚刚从网上看到了 www.youtube.com/watch?v=2O67SyJiyzY 我必须说，我为所有的新加坡人感到高兴，因为同样环境下的菲律宾，同样是战后的几十年时间里，小小的新加坡在没有自然资源可用的条件下，却发展成为了亚洲的顶级富国，而菲律宾却没有，我们中国更没有。

尽管从网上我也知道，有人把新加坡叫做"李家王朝"，但我宁愿这样的王朝尽快在中国大陆出现。

相比大陆人而言，新加坡人的每一位华人应该感谢他的政府，感谢李光耀。

当然，李光耀和他的国民更应该感谢上帝 - 同样是华人，有了主的救赎，才能获得幸福，就如同生活在香港，澳门的中国人一样。

原主与我们同在

Love Courageously

2008-06-01T09:09:00.000+08:00

A visitor to the Flash Movie, "Love Courageously" left me this comment and quesion.

this poem is really great, esp. i come across it when i am confused about whether i need to love or not .i am hesitate to love because of past hurt.
and i can only understand part of it,could you please kindly offer some explanation about it
thanks, the Father be with you

Here is my reply to that person.

Hi,

The words of this particular flash movie came from CS Lewis book, "The Four Loves". Well, if you can get whole of the book, you will understand everything the author wants to share. You can also find out more about the book by going to Amazon.com to read reviews and synposis.

Even God gets hurt because he loves us. So to imitate Christ is not to seek to be hurt but to know that you will be. We are all selfish and we will be hurt when love is not reciprocated. We are incapable of love that doesn't end in misery unless our love is from God. A good example of this would be from the life and work of Mother Teresa. She encourages us to love until it hurts and beyond that there is no more hurt, only love.

To love without drawing from God's love is "foolhardy" but very common. Somehow we find a practical balance somewhere between giving and receiving but that is shortchanging ourselves from what God plan for us to enjoy. Each of us must begin somewhere, so start with where you are at. Just don't forget who is the author of love. If you believe in him he will teach you along the way. Websites like mine are only messengers for him.

Sichuan Earthquake

2008-06-01T06:36:00.000+08:00

A friend sent me this as part of a powerpoint. Left a very strong impression on many people I forwarded it to.

This baby, after being buried over 24 hours, miraculously, was rescued unscratched. He is about 3-4 months old, and his mother kneeled down, pinned her head and hands on the ground to shielded him from the falling concrete, and milked him. His mother did not make it out. A rescue worker found his mom’s cell phone in his wrapper. It had a text message left by his mother:

“Dear child, if you survive, please remember, Mom loves you forever…”