Swimming

Few days back... my mind was really 'flooded' with many many things... things tat i really need to 'unload' from my brain... =P

So... after work and after dialing in from home for a tele-conference.. I went for a swim at the pool at my apartment... (i tend to think more clearly when I'm at the pool.... maybe I'm a person who loves water... so... swimming is therapeutic for me).

It was about 830pm when I went for the swim.. the pool was rather quiet at that time.. most people were having dinner I supposed.

I swam a few laps... non-stop... surprisingly... I still have the stamina though I have stopped swimming(due to lazyness) for 1-2 months... and maybe I have too much in my mind that I was oblivious of the tiredness of my body....

Swimming a few laps.. then stopped at the pool side to rest.. then continued again.. in total.. I swam 12 laps on that night. My usual routine was only 8-10 laps. To many routine swimmers.. this might seems little, but it's an achievement for me.. hehehe...

After the swim... as usual... I rested at the side of the pool... and just starring to the front where the tennis court is... then... i look around to see many kids came to swim while their parents sat at the bench watching them swim. What a nice and relax thing to do after dinner.... I felt the peace in me... I felt better... many things still on my mind.. but somehow.. I felt better. =P

The next day... after coming back from work.. I went for another swim before dialling in from home for another tele-conference.

This time.. the swimming wasn't to help me have a clear mind.. but this is more for exercise and to lose some fats..hehehe...

I remember starting on my keeping fit program early this year... I started off well by swimming and going to gym regularly and keeping an eye on my food intake. But.. somewhere along the way... I swayed away.. I started to eat more than I supposed to... and the frequency of exercise routine seems lesses and lesser... I lost the battle to lazyness and perserverance I supposed. =)

But the swim the day before which was with the intention of having a clear mind after the swim re-started my swimming routine... so... to continue with this momentum.. I decided to go on with it.

And this morning... I woke up and went for a swim as well! Today I didn't car pool as usual with my mates (so I have ample time to swim before I go to work and reach office later than my usual time), cuz 2nite we're having team dinner at Jogoya(shall blog about it..hehe)!!! It's Japanese Buffet dinner... so.. it's makan time again!!! But I'm not gonna 'control' my food intake 2nite.. hehehe... I'm juz gonna enjoy myself cuz Japanese food has been one of my favourite! hehehe...

Today's weather is juz so so so nice... while driving to work this morning... I felt so nice... partly cuz of the morning swim which was very refreshing.. partly oso due to the nice weather... the cool air.. the breeze... the drizzle...

My mood is juz so good today.. hehehe.. relaxing mood.

But I know... deep inside my mind... I'm still thinking about 2moro... the decision I gonna make for 2moro...

So.. let's see what happens 2moro.. =P

Abundance...

Lately... there's quite alot of happenings... there's so much to blog about.. but I dun have enough time to blog ALL about it... hahaha...

Juz a short post b4 I get bz with another work related tele-conference... =P

I was juz thinking for a title for this blog.. and the word 'abundance' juz pop into my mind.

Abundance of what?

• Blessings
  
• Favour from God
• Job openings
  
• Good close friends

Many many more... alot of things on my mind now... my mind is basically 'flooded' now... hehe... I need to offload some of it here.... wait till my next blog... soon.. hopefully... =)

Lessons in Life

A friend send me this... really caught my attention... so... post it here...

The Turtles
A turtle family decided to go on a picnic. The turtles, being naturally slow about things, took seven years to prepare for their outing. Finally the turtle family left home looking for a suitable place. During the second year of their journey they found a place ideal for them at last!

For about six months they cleaned the area, unpacked the picnic basket, and completed the arrangements. Then they discovered they had forgotten the salt. A picnic without salt would be a disaster, they all agreed. After a lengthy discussion, the youngest turtle was chosen to retrieve the salt from home. Although he was the fastest of the slow moving turtles, the little turtle whined, cried, and wobbled in his shell. He agreed to go on one condition: that no one would eat until he returned. The family consented and the little turtle left.

Three years passed and the little turtle had not returned. Five years...six years... then on the seventh year of his absence, the oldest turtle could no longer contain his hunger. He announced that he was going to eat and begun to unwrap a sandwich.

At that point the little turtle suddenly popped out from behind a tree shouting, 'See! I knew you wouldn't wait. Now I am not going to go get the salt.'
[Some of us waste our time waiting for people to live up to our expectations. We are so concerned about what others are doing that we don't do anything ourselves.]


The Frogs
A farmer came into town and asked the owner of a restaurant if he could use a million frog legs. The restaurant owner was shocked and asked the man where he could get so many frog legs! The farmer replied, 'There is a pond near my house that is full of frogs - millions of them. They all croak all night long and they are about to make me crazy!' So the restaurant owner and the farmer made an agreement that the farmer would deliver frogs to the restaurant, five hundred at a time for the next several weeks.

The first week, the farmer returned to the restaurant looking rather sheepish, with two scrawny little frogs. The restaurant owner said, 'Well... where are all the frogs?' The farmer said, 'I was mistaken. There were only these two frogs in the pond. But they sure were making a lot of noise!'
[ Next time you hear somebody criticizing or making fun of you, remember, it's probably just a couple of noisy frogs. Also remember that problems always seem bigger in the dark. Have you ever laid in your bed at night worrying about things which seem almost overwhelming like a million frogs croaking? Chances are pretty good that when the morning comes, and you take a closer look, you'll wonder what all the fuss was about.]


The Pretty Lady
Once upon a time a big monk and a little monk were traveling together. They came to the bank of a river and found the bridge was damaged. They had to wade across the river. There was a pretty lady who was stuck at the damaged bridge and couldn't cross the river.

The big monk offered to carry her across the river on his back. The lady accepted. The little monk was shocked by the move of the big monk. 'How can big brother carry a lady when we are supposed to avoid all intimacy with females?' thought the little monk. But he kept quiet. The big monk carried the lady across the river and the small monk followed unhappily. When they crossed the river, the big monk let the lady down and they parted ways with her.

All along the way for several miles, the little monk was very unhappy with the act of the big monk. He was making up all kinds of acussations about big monk in his head. This got him madder and madder. But he still kept quiet. And the big monk had no inclination to explain his situation. Finally, at a rest point many hours later, the little monk could not stand it any further, he burst out angrily at the big monk. 'How can you claim yourself a devout monk, when you seize the first opportunity to touch a female, especially when she is very pretty? All your teachings to me make you a big hypocrite The big monk looked surprised and said, 'I had put down the pretty lady at the river bank many hours ago, how come you are still carrying her along?'
[This very old Chinese Zen story reflects the thinking of many people today. We encounter many unpleasant things in our life, they irritate us and they make us angry. Sometimes, they cause us a lot of hurt, sometimes they cause us to be bitter or jealous .. But like the little monk, we are not willing to let them go away.We keep on carrying the baggage of the 'pretty lady' with us. We let them keep on coming back to hurt us, make us angry, make us bitter and cause us a lot of agony.Why? Simply because we are not willing to put down or let go of the baggage of the 'pretty lady'. We should let go of the pretty lady immediately after crossing the river, that is after the unpleasant event is over.This will immediately remove all our agonies.There is no need to be further h urt by the unpleasant event after it is over.]

Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life.

BIG DAY!!!

Yes!! This is the day!!!

8th August 2008. Start of Beijing Olympics 2008! The day has come.

For me... it's a SIGNIFICANT day as well!!! I've been waiting for it....

Anxious... Excited... Waiting...

230pm - FINAL INTERVIEW!!!

It's 915am now... and I still have meetings to attend... work to be done prior to the 4-hr Interview session. But.. I'm EXCITED!!! =P

A day of blessings

They called me!!! The technical position I went for interview some time back...the HR called to offer me the job!!!

On the other hand... the final interview of permanent position at current co is scheduled to be on this Friday!!!

Cell leader cooked nice soup for supper at cell 2nite... yum yum!!! Delicious and even more tasty cuz it's "ai xin"(love) soup.... hehehe...

Updated after office hours:
I really thank God for His favour... the many people He has placed in my life, in area of my work, church work, friendship & family.

Today was a very very busy day at work, with many issues to handle(some problems which was due to some mistakes before job were handed over to me, and since I'm currently handling the region, I need to settle it), with meetings, training process etc... Add on with the EE clinic matters which needs to be ironed out... plus ex-colleague calling me for assistance... It's indeed a looooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng day.

But... I was very HIGH & POSITIVE in midst of such a busy day!!! I'm not sure how i did it or what caused such good mood in midst of anxieties due to the upcoming interview tomorrow afternoon and EE clinic OJT tomorrow nite... but I'm sure God's favour and strength played a BIG part in this!!!

God is indeed my STRENGTH!!!

08-08-08

This is the day where China will be making history... cuz it marks the start of Beijing Olympics 2008! I shall write abt the Olymmpics after this week... not now.. not now.... =P

But, this is oso a very significant day to me... in terms of my career.

Friday, 8 August 2008
230pm-6pm ~ INTERVIEW!!!

So much to do now.. current role is getting really bz... lots of changes coming my way cuz of the outsourcing activities... meetings... on boarding sessions... work... KT sessions with potential new team... test after several KT sessions...

EE clinic OJT starting this Friday too!!!

Lots are happening this week itself!!!

I know I'm tensed... anxious... but I didn't know I was this stressed out... I've found out only lately when I woke up in the morning with dreams about my interview... then i realised, this is really getting into me man!!!

God's word is reassurring... I need to turn back to Him... and not based on my own understanding...

Proverbs 3: 5-6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Philippians 4: 6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Quiet...

Waiting for the Lord

by TGIF

"Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." Psalm 27:14

Hearing and doing God's will are two important steps that often get confused as one step. However, these are two distinct processes. When we hear God's voice, this is only 50 percent of the process. The next important step is to know when to move. It is one thing to hear; it is another to know when to act.

There was a time when the Lord showed me I was to write. This was a major change in my life from what I was doing. As I began to write, I attempted to find a publisher for my work. This became a real frustration. I encountered many false starts, and many well-intentioned people wanted to assist but their efforts resulted in further delays.

Finally, my wife asked me, "Os, have you completed the book you are working on?" "No," I replied.
"When you complete the book, God will provide a publisher if He has called you to write. You need to complete the book."

A few months later I was in discussions with a publisher about my work. They were going to be in my city and wanted to meet with me. The day we met they offered me a contract on my book. It also was the exact day that I had completed the book. I thought back to the words my wife had said.

Corrie ten Boom was a prisoner in the German Holocaust who lost her sister in the concentration camps. She tells a story about her father taking her on trains. She always wanted to get the ticket from her father ahead of time. He never gave her the ticket until she was about to get onto the train.

God is always on time. He is never late, and He is seldom early. Ask God for the wisdom to discern His will and His timing for the events in your life.

My Thoughts vs. God's Word

I was feeling kinda tired... exhausted... demotivated... worried... anxious... doubtful... fearful... u name it.. I got it...

But... the following really encouraged me and made my day!

by Proverbs 31
"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."
John 10:10 (NKJV)

Do you ever question if you are good enough? I do. Do you dwell more on what's wrong with you than what's right with you? I do that a lot too.

One day, I realized my thoughts were being provoked by the enemy. For a long time, I didn't even recognize Satan for who he was. My negative thoughts just sounded like my own voice.

The Bible warns us of a slithering serpent who deceived Adam and Eve filling their heads with lies that separated them from God’s truths. They chose to believe the lies. Jesus, too, was tempted by this liar. He was ready though. He knew the Word of God and that was the only weapon He needed to defeat the evil one.

I find great comfort knowing I have the same weapon Jesus had. I have God's Word available to me.

When I compared my negative thoughts to God's Word, I was amazed at the differences:

My thoughts tell me to give up.God's Word tells me to be committed. Matthew 5:33-37

My thoughts tell me “I need it now!”God's Word tells me to exercise self-control. Galatians 5:23

My thoughts tell me I deserve to come first, be selfish.God's Word tells me to have humility and put others first. Philippians 2:3-4

My thoughts tell to get mad and hold a grudge.God's Word says forgive as many times as it takes. Matthew 18:21-22

My thoughts tell me to seek revenge.God's Word tells me to be a peacemaker. Romans 12:18-19

My thoughts tell me to take all the credit.God's Word tells me to glorify Jesus Christ. John 17:5

My thoughts tell me I need to look good on the outside and no one will notice the ugly inside. God's Word tells me to be pure on the inside and the outside won't even matter. Proverbs 31:30

My thoughts tell me I'm ugly. God's Word tells me I'm wonderfully made. Psalm 139:14

My thoughts tell me I'm all alone and no one understands me. God's Word tells me He will never leave me He knows the plans and He has for me. Deuteronomy 31:6, Jeremiah 29:11

My thoughts tell me that I'm just not good enough. God's Word tells me that I'm His gift to the world and that I was created in His image. Psalm 127:3, Genesis 1:26

I’ve learned that lies must be replaced with Words that are true. That way, when Satan’s lies slither back into my head, I can defeat the enemy.

I admit this has been a challenge for me. I'm so thankful that I have friends to remind me of my true identity, and I was brave enough to seek counseling when I needed help. Anxiety and depression were not always my fault. I was open to receive medical attention from a professional in my area. My family, especially my husband, stood beside me even when I was miserable to be around. When I felt like quitting, I never did.

I don't want to waste time believing lies about myself that aren't true. That only keeps me from fulfilling my God-given purpose. I challenge you to evaluate your thoughts. Renew your mind with the Word of God. Do not allow the enemy to separate you from the love of God and the life that was meant for you.

Dear Lord, Fill me with Your Word so that I can live in freedom. In Jesus' Name, Amen.