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PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE by RICK WARREN In the interview by Paul Bradshaw with Rick Warren, Rick said: People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were not made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him. One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body -- but not the end of me. I may live 60 to 100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity. We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense. Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one. The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort; God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy. We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character. This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer. I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop, back and forth. I don't believe that anymore. Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life. No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on. And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.. You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems: If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness, which is my problem, my issues, my pain. But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others. We discovered quickly that in spite of the prayers of hundreds of thousands of people, God was not going to heal Kay or make it easy for her - It has been very difficult for her, and yet God has strengthened her character, given her a ministry of helping other people, given her a testimony, drawn her closer to Him and to people. You have to learn to deal with both the good and the bad of life. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do. That's why we're called human beings, not human doings. Happy moments, PRAISE GOD. Difficult moments, SEEK GOD. Quiet moments, WORSHIP GOD. Painful moments, TRUST GOD. Every moment, THANK GOD. I HAVE A GOOD FEELING ;-)Do I mind going through those days where the lands were foreign (about 3 years in Singapore, 3 years in Malacca, 1 year in KL, 1 year in Brunei), everyone seemed like aliens to us again?
Being imperfect myself, appearance is no longer important but health is. A man does not tell a woman who doesn't even know how to take care of herself to nurse him, so start adopting a healthy lifestyle.
No doubt many 3rd & even some 2nd world countries have embraced the stronger feminine workforce & the concept of househusbands, how to tolerate a man who vent on his family when he has a bad day at work? Go to your cave & lock yourself up! But today, as the economy meltdowns, what should these jobless women do to survive? Since Cher is about 10 years old, I hope not to be offtrack from workforce again (5 years of history is enough) with long hands begging for bread at home.
If God permits, let this be an open-door for us (while the others closed on us). I believe I can manage it better this time. I have a very good feeling about it.  May God bless us this time that we'll make it till the end.KAREN & ERIC'S VALENTINE'S WEDDING
Since
Karen has moved to KK in the prime of our pre-teen age when we were primary
classmates, that's........ about 3 decades ago? I can't help laughing at how life can turn us upside down unpredictably & am wondering what tomorrow will bring us????? Anyway, Karen & Eric, my heartiest congratulations to you & may God continue to bless your marriage. BY LEE WEI LING (LEE KUAN YEW'S DAUGHTER) In 2007, in an end-of-year message to the staff of the National Neuroscience
Institute, I wrote: 'Whilst boom time in the public sector is never as booming
as in the private sector, let us not forget that boom time is eventually
followed by slump time. Slump time in the public sector is always less painful
compared to the private sector.' Slump time has arrived with a bang. While I worry about the poorer Singaporeans who will be hit hard, perhaps this recession has come at an opportune time for many of us. It will give us an incentive to reconsider our priorities in life. Decades of the good life have made us soft. The wealthy especially, but also the middle class in Singapore, have had it so good for so long, what they once considered luxuries, they now think of as necessities. A mobile phone, for instance, is now a statement about who you are, not just a piece of equipment for communication. Hence many people buy the latest model though their existing mobile phones are still in perfect working order. A Mercedes-Benz is no longer adequate as a status symbol. For millionaires who wish to show the world they have taste, a Ferrari or a Porsche is deemed more appropriate. The same attitude influences the choice of attire and accessories. I still find it hard to believe that there are people carrying handbags that cost more than thrice the monthly income of a bus driver, and many more times that of the foreign worker labouring in the hot sun, risking his life to construct luxury condominiums he will never have a chance to live in. The media encourages and amplifies this ostentatious consumption. Perhaps it is good to encourage people to spend more because this will prevent the recession from getting worse. I am not an economist, but wasn't that the root cause of the current crisis – Americans spending more than they could afford to? I am not a particularly spiritual person. I don't believe in the supernatural and I don't think I have a soul that will survive my death. But as I view the crass materialism around me, I am reminded of what my mother once told me: 'Suffering and deprivation is good for the soul.' My family is not poor, but we have been brought up to be frugal. My parents and I live in the same house that my paternal grandparents and their children moved into after World War II in 1945. It is a big house by today's standards, but it is simple - in fact, almost to the point of being shabby. Those who see it for the first time are astonished that Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew's home is so humble. But it is a comfortable house, a home we have got used to. Though it does look shabby compared to the new mansions on our street, we are not bothered by the comparison. Most of the world and much of Singapore will lament the economic downturn. We have been told to tighten our belts. There will undoubtedly be suffering, which we must try our best to ameliorate. But I personally think the hard times will hold a timely lesson for many Singaporeans, especially those born after 1970 who have never lived through difficult times. No matter how poor you are in Singapore, the authorities and social groups do try to ensure you have shelter and food. Nobody starves in Singapore. Many of those who are currently living in mansions and enjoying a luxurious lifestyle will probably still be able to do so, even if they might have to downgrade from wines costing $20,000 a bottle to $10,000 a bottle. They would hardly notice the difference. Being wealthy is not a sin. It cannot be in a capitalist market economy. Enjoying the fruits of one's own labour is one's prerogative and I have no right to chastise those who choose to live luxuriously. But if one is blinded by materialism, there would be no end to wanting and hankering. After the Ferrari, what next? An Aston Martin? After the Hermes Birkin handbag, what can one upgrade to? Neither an Aston Martin nor an Hermes Birkin can make us truly happy or contented. They are like dust, a fog obscuring the true meaning of life, and can be blown away in the twinkling of an eye. When the end approaches and we look back on our lives, will we regret the latest mobile phone or luxury car that we did not acquire? Or would we prefer to die at peace with ourselves, knowing that we have lived lives filled with love, friendship and goodwill, that we have helped some of our fellow voyagers along the way and that we have tried our best to leave this world a slightly better place than how we found it? We know which is the correct choice - and it is within our power to make that choice. In this new year, burdened as it is with the problems of the year that has just ended, let us again try to choose wisely. To a considerable degree, our happiness is within our own control, and we should not follow the herd blindly. The writer is director of the National Neuroscience Institute. REMEMBER MY NAME??Let's spend the next Valentine's Day together?? Few men have the patience to wait for the next 365 days (now left with 360 days) to dine at the fine dining candle-lit restaurants accompanied with luxurious gifts to impress the ladies. Most men would promise the moon & the stars to get their preys laid as soon as they fall for the traps. It's a victorious boost to the ego. Women? Being vulnerable to sweet-talks has been their nature. What our ears listen should be linked to our brains, instead of to our hearts. What a sweet 17, 27, 37 & even 47 year-old hear may vary as years go by. To me, they begin to sound more like poison. This has perhaps explained why I received few comments lately that I'm frigid. Well, it's their rights to believe whatever so! I don't have to discuss about it. Remember me by my name, not the universal dear, sweetheart, darling, honey, babe, etc.. Thank you. BE ON GUARDOne day, a plain-looking man came with a pretty-looking office lady to the LV store in Causeway Bay Hong Kong Island. He chose an LV bag worth HKD 65,000 for the office lady.
When it came time to pay, the man took out a cheque book and wrote out a cheque. The salesperson was hesitant because the couple hadn't shopped there before.
The man discerned what the salesperson was thinking and he said calmly: "I sense that you are concerned that this cheque may bounce, right? Today is Saturday and the banks are closed. Let me suggest that I leave the cheque and the handbag here. When the cheque clears on Monday, you can deliver the handbag to this lady. How about that?”
The salesperson was reassured and gladly accepted the suggestion. In addition, he waived the delivery charges. He promised that he would personally make sure that this gets done.
On Monday, the salesperson took the cheque to the bank. The cheque bounced! The irate salesperson called up the client, who told him: "What is the big deal? Neither you nor I have suffered any loss. Last Saturday night, I went to bed with that girl already! Oh, by the way, I thank you for your cooperation."
This story reveals the nature of the sub-prime mortgage crisis. When people have high hopes for huge future returns, they lower their guard about the potential risks. This pretty girl thought that the HKD 65,000 LV bag was going to come home on Monday, and so she lowered her guard. Therefore, she believed that her investment in the ONE NIGHT STAND was worth it even though it was based upon huge and highly uncertain risks.
Investment companies are great with packaging high return (but high risk) deals. Greedy people fall into such traps! The Chinese stock speculators are like this pretty woman. As such, they deserve to lose money. Without greedy people like these, how are people going to make money from the stock market? As for the media and the stock analysts, they often play the role of the LV salesperson. A SINGLE MOM'S DILEMMA What has got into me? Some man claimed that I have misjudged him when he completely ignored Cher in our communication. Have I?? I don't think so. Even as a friend, he should always bear in mind that I'm a mother! Maybe all this man wants from me is "business", so I offered him my non-monetary moral support for his career.Yet I didn't know how to respond when suddenly another man made his "reappearance" on my birthday. I couldn't quite recall how I pissed him off for quite some time ago & I'm still not sure what brought him back knocking on my net-door again. I couldn't resist to accept his apologies. But his rather caring concerns for Cher has made me very uneasy. Is this a tactic to woo a mother's heart? Isn't this what I required from the earlier man? HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY TO ME & VALENTINE'S TO YOUDespite the fact that I have no boyfriend, no
 , no close buddies to celebrate with...... I'm blessed with surprises from whom I have never expected to hear from again after a long while, birthday texts & calls mostly from net friends, few local girlfriends & gifts from my mom & loving sis. Thank you very much & I love you all. To me, my birthday also brings a special message. Let this day be a fun love-filled day for all.  Happy Valentine's Day
to all TALKING ABOUT WEDDING PICTURES  JV is getting married by end of this year, so we had some chats about his wedding plans recently. Wedding pictures were one of the subjects. He wanted to see mine so I snapped some from my photo album with my humble digital camera. It was kept intactly in my guestroom's wardrobe ~ waiting for termites to eat it up (better not, otherwise, I would have to spend on pest control treatment) & I still hang the frames in my living room's wall so that I can cheat some men that "I AM married, stay away from me!" (Nay, I am only cheating myself but they do save me alot on time & efforts explaining my divorce.)
Couples spend hundreds to thousands of $ on wedding pictures these days depending on their budgets. Alex said I should have dumped mine long ago, but I told him that I keep them to admire myself in the pictures which were taken more than a decade ago. (yaya.... I know how thick my skin is!! LOL) Didn't they say a bride's smile is the most beautiful in her wedding gown? At least I have put on mine, most likely the one & only in my lifetime.
The colors have faded. The memories were no longer the fondest. The background scenes remain but the couple in the pictures were no longer meet eyes to eyes. The dreams then differed from now. The marriage is broken. But it's okay, the vow has never been made. This marriage was never been blessed as a sacrement in the witness of God.
What difference does it make?? It comes easily as it goes! SHOO AWAY FLIESIf a woman tells a man that she thinks he's just another "fly", a pest, she would surely succeed in "crushing" him in her bare hands with one cruel smack.
Save all those fake & humiliating sweet-talking for other ignorant women. I don't buy them anymore. Remember Michael Bolton's song: "how can we be lovers if we can't be friends?" That's the problem, we can't even click as friends when all a fly does is "bugging". Pardon me for putting up my shield. A selfish single mom has to do what she has to do to protect her child & her own dignity.
I don't need "flies" buzzing annoyingly around me. Let peace bestow upon me, thank you. BY WARREN BUFFET "We begin this New Year with dampened enthusiasm and dented optimism. Our happiness is diluted and our peace is threatened by the financial illness that has infected our families, organizations and nations. Everyone is desperate to find a remedy that will cure their financial illness and help them recover their financial health. They expect the financial experts to provide them with remedies, forgetting the fact that it is these experts who created this financial mess. Every new year, I adopt a couple of old maxims as my beacons to guide my future. This self-prescribed therapy has ensured that with each passing year, I grow wiser and not older. This year, I invite you to tap into the financial wisdom of our elders along with me, and become financially wiser. Hard work: All hard work brings profit; but mere talk leads only to poverty. Laziness: A sleeping lobster is carried away by the water current. Earnings: Never depend on a single source of income. Spending: If you buy things you don't need, you'll soon sell things you need. Savings: Don't save what is left after spending; Spend what is left after saving. Accounting: It's no use carrying an umbrella, if your shoes are leaking. Auditing: Beware of little expenses; a small leak can sink a large ship. Risk-taking: Never test the depth of the river with both feet. Investment: Don't put all your eggs in one basket. I'm certain that those who have already been practicing these principles remain financially healthy. I'm equally confident that those who resolve to start practicing these principles will quickly regain their financial health. Let us become wiser and lead a happy, healthy, prosperous and peaceful life." I AM A KEPT WOMAN! ;-)
But the LORD kept me moving. (Gen 28:15) At times, I've wanted to lash out at those whom I felt had done me wrong, But the LORD kept my mouth shut.. (Psa. 13) Sometimes, I think the money just isn't enough, But GOD has helped me to keep the lights on, the water on, the car paid, the house paid, etc.., (Matt. 6:25 -34) When I thought I would fall, HE kept me up. When I thought I was weak, HE kept me strong! (I Pet. 5:7, Matt. 11:28-30) I could go on and on and on, but I'm sure you hear me! I'm blessed to be 'kept..'
BLOODY TEST
I GOT IT FINALLY Finally I received my road tax cash rebate of RM625 today!!! It seems like only yesterday that I was complaining last year waiting for this moment to claim mine when the rebate was just launched. How time flies..........APPLE SAYS CHER SAYSApple told her mom that she wishes for her to get a life companion & remarry (yes, she's also like my case ~ a single mom) in case she grows up & leaves her mom alone. Whereas Cher said this out loud next to my dad (her grandpa) to me one night, 'Why this "so&so" always texts you as "my dear" huh?? Mom!! You CANNOT remarry okay??' This tells me how much I mean to her, no doubt she sounds a little too possessive. Whenever I recall her always bringing me a cup of water everytime I cough without me asking for it, I know, she's my girl! She's one of the reasons of my existence on this planet.
Apple said, she wishes her mom would bring her a baby brother or sister. I was dreadful at the thought. I don't want another baby, all those morning sicknesses, baby colics & cries, etc etc. Don't get me wrong. I love children, especially girls. I'm blessed not to go through labour pain (yeah, my gynae denied me the chance to suffer the pain & cheated me to have C-section). Besides Cher already has a step-sister. In case anything happens to their dad & Sophie's mom, I would love us to be Sophie's next kins.
I want my freedom back. I miss those days roaming around like a free spirit. Even if that means I'm going to drop dead in the street alone one day or simply rot away in my apartment. I believe my then body doesn't mean anything to me anymore but my soul would be free eternally. STRICTLY BUSINESS??Today I have seen it clearer, some people....... going anyway they could to prosper. I don't like to tarnish their hopes. Time is bad. I admire their hardwork, to coax or even to con. They are making some efforts, at least. I can play along with them, pulling them, at the same time motivating myself to be back on the right track. I can't stand a man who does nothing but lazes around & talks nonsense. I can die of hunger & boredom for that influence. Sorry, pal. THE REUNION The festive mood is still lingering in the air ~ the gamblers are still enjoying the thrills on the table for hours & hours.... (probably extend to Chap Goh May) Some even see evils in the game. It's not about the religion, neither the tradition. It's an opportunity to gather everyone around ~ the reunion. It's harmony & fun. Olds & youngs are no barriers. The mercifuls play to lose money to the needy. The jokers crack laughter to cheer up the crowd. This is one BIG blessed family. Thank God. |
We
still keep in touch from time to time. The last time I visited her in KK,
I was with Cheryl & my ex & she was single. Today, I'm back to
singlehood & she has finally got married.
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