Blobdot

John 16:33 (NIV)

Train our love
that it may grow
slowly…deeply…steadily;
till our hearts will overflow
unrestrained and readily.

Discipline it, too,
dear God;
strength of steel
throughout the whole.
Teach us patience,
thoughtfulness,
tenderness, and
self-control.

Deepen it
throughout the years,
age and mellow it
until, time that finds us
old without,
within,
will find us
lovers still.

Father. Thank you again for all you have done in my life so far. Although I know that not all of it has been pleasant, I know that all of it has been Good. For you are Good, and nothing else.

I’m constantly reminded of life’s struggles, and of the toil that all of us on earth go through. I can’t wait for you to come again to take all this away, but at the same time, I know that you have put all these on earth to provide us with a constant reminder that all things come from you and that all things must come through you. As sinners, we constantly forget this and it is only through the struggle we are reminded of a great, powerful and al-mighty God.

So, my Lord, I thank you for the struggles. I only ask that you pull me through them, as you always have, shining your light when the darkest hour seems to strike, my chivalrous knight in steely armour and my rock in turbulent times.

Only you know what goes through my heart in these times about my family who are struggling at home. I have not been a good son. I feel guilty that I am enjoying myself. I feel guilty that I am able to earn money and they cannot. I feel helpless that I am unable to provide support, both monetarily and by my presence. Lord, how should I proceed? I pray on all these things and for your wisdom and guidance in your son’s most holy and precious name, amen.

So I said to Reine today that I’m a persistent kinda person whilst she’s the determined sort. I said that without thinking too much about it, but as I pondered that statement further, it left me to think about who I am.

I’m a worker, I’m a do-er. If things need to be done, I’ll get it done. I don’t think that takes determination, or at least, I don’t think determination is the key recipe. Persistence and patience is all that is required. I’ll grind the result out.

But a determined person goes out there and aims for the stars. She’ll get the things done even if they don’t need to be done, purely because she wants to. Maybe it’s the prove a point, maybe it’s for self benefit, maybe it’s just for the thrill of it, but in any case, I don’t think I’ve ever felt that kind of drive before.

Why do I work hard? Because I have to. Because I need to. Why do I need to? I don’t know. Not yet anyway. I’m sure the answer will come.

For now the only answer I have comes from the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30; Luke 19:12-28). Aside: I just found a link to an interesting discussion on the two bible passages. Will look at it when I have more time. God tells us to work hard and to use the gifts he’s given us for His glory. I hope I am doing that in my day to day life. I know I have much to improve on.

I still have a long journey to walk but I am confident that with Him holding me up and being my rock, I can lift my head high and walk with determination. Maybe that’s what I was lacking the past 25 years?

So this post is about 10 days late, but it’s given me time for self reflection to try and figure out my goals for this year.

Looking back at my post this time last year, I have to say that I am actually very proud of myself for 2010′s achievements.  OK, so I’m not the healthiest person on the planet nor have I mastered mandarin, but hey, I found something wayyy more exciting. I found Jesus! Hey dude, that’s COOL!

My resolution for this year is to continue that journey with God. Although it’s both exciting and strangely terrifying, I know it will be rewarding. I want to grow in faith, to learn what it really means to Trust the Lord and to give Him all that I can. All relationships take time to cultivate, including this one. But something I’ve learnt in all my relationships in the past, is that if I put the effort and work in, it’s totally do-able!

Let’s start by resolving to finish the One Year Bible by the time 2011 is up. I’ve made a good start so far (10 days in…) but let’s try to keep it up shall we, Hsiang?

Other resolutions? Well, I return back to London in less than 3 months’ time and begin a new stage of my career. It will be a huge challenge stepping  up to the role and taking on more responsibility. And it will be an even bigger challenge because I want to ensure my priorities in life don’t change. God is important and my resolution for this year is to ensure that the balance is maintained (or improved in His favour of course).

I want to try and continue my mandarin classes. It will take lots of discipline for me to sign up for those courses again, but hopefully I will look at this post and be reminded that it is is something I have to do.

Let’s try to be healthier too. Throw in a couple of gym sessions per month (I said month, not week, coz let’s be realistic about this).

The best review I read described it as an “intellectual orgy“. This was not a typical Hollywood movie. Sure there was a standard mould to fill – love story, family feuds, character apathy, sex and more sex – but the movie went far deeper. Anne Hathaway’s excellent portray of a smart, strong-willed woman with Stage 1 Parkinson’s Disease is very quickly bringing her up towards the category of “serious acting”.

At times the movie felt a little bit like a Pfizer drug ad. But recent news reports suggest otherwise. Which leaves just a brilliant piece of writing with a deep and meaningful script.

It is interesting that director, Edward Zwick, chose to include so many explicit scenes in the movie, almost bordering on soft pr0n.

After you get over that point however, you are left with two extremely entertaining movie hours and many more spent in thought and deliberation.

So today I was sent a reminder by my domain hosts that my domain was up for renewal and I thought to myself “blimey, I still own a website!”

Alright, let’s try again.

So here I am now in HK and loving every minute of it! Sure, life is tough in a city which never sleeps and I’ve got all these ambitions to meet new people and live every moment to it’s fullest. I think I’ve been pretty successful so far.

It’s tiring, but fun.

Last night a friend took me to this really cool seafood restaurant which served cheese-baked lobster! Wow, amazing. It seriously melts in your mouth when it comes straight out the oven, cheese oozing down the side.

Then we went to causeway bay for dessert and drinks. Dessert was a bit of a disaster since we were still stuffed from salted-egg aubergines and silky steamed egg and tofu. But drinks was at this rather shady looking building. On the front entrance there is a large sign which reads “Members Only” and I stand in front of it thinking, wait a minute… how is she going to get in?! She’s not a member.

But we still end up drinking the night away and enjoying Mr. Ichiro’s over-dramatised cocktail making stunts. A mix between pure focus and slight constipation.

But end result? Great cocktails.

Yet another brilliant night out in Hong Kong.

Really good article on the current state of affairs relating to the Manchester United Supporters Trust.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/davidbond/2010/04/red_knights_continue_to_manoeu.html

How I wish I could be a Knight with £30m to invest in a football club.

I can’t believe how much ski equipment costs! After grilling Ash and Weng for advice and tips on various ski shops/brands/equipment, I finally decided to venture out to Covent Garden to browse the various stores.

Just a tip for those first-timers – this is fairly late on in the ski season and most shops have started to sell out their range and sizes! I struggled to find stock of the right sizes for me…

So I eventually ended up spending most of my money at Ellis Brigham. Okay, I know it’s not the cheapest, but they had such a fantastic range and such helpful staff members that I just decided to take the plunge. Plus I am really hoping that I will truly enjoy this sport and that the investment will be worthwhile.

Less than two weeks to go and I’m really excited!

I read two interesting quotes last night (both lifted directly from http://www.htb.org.uk/one-year-bible/2010). I just wanted to put them here to remind myself of them.

To be faithful means to use the gifts and abilities that God has given us. Joyce Meyer writes, ‘Many people are like that third servant (who said, ‘I was afraid’, Matthew 25). They hide their talents because they are afraid – afraid of responsibility; afraid of judgment; afraid of what people will think. They are afraid to step out; afraid they might fail; afraid of criticism; afraid of other people’s opinions; afraid of being misunderstood. They are afraid of the sacrifice and hard work involved.’ (The Everyday Life Bible Amplified Version, featuring Notes and Commentary by Joyce Meyer, p.1540.)

I can relate to Meyer’s quote and the servant in Matthew 25:14-30. I have fears in my own life of stepping up, and not trusting that I have been given the ability for a reason. Meyer’s quote is a reminder to me that there is no need to fear because He blessed us, and gave us all we need to equip ourselves.

Francis Collins, head of the Human Genome Project, led a team of over 2,000 scientists who collaborated to determine the 3 billion letters in the human genome – our own DNA instruction book. He says, ‘I cannot see how nature could have created itself. Only a supernatural force that is outside of space and time could have done that.’ (Collins, The Language of God).

As for Collins, I like the idea that science and theology can mix. Obviously his mapping of the Human Genome was a phenomenal step in our understanding of biology, and for a man of his stature to have such strong beliefs in an ultimate creator is somewhat reassuring to me.

Links:

http://www.htb.org.uk/one-year-bible/faithfulness

http://www.htb.org.uk/one-year-bible/living-hostile-world