John

Caught up with John at Borders Coffee Bean on Monday evening. It was really great chatting, sipping, gossiping with this chum once again. We talked an enormous deal about the church practices, a bit about our present lives, about his desire to engage in decentralized stakeholding as his investment portfolio in the long term. June was supposed to look for us when her lessons ended. I told her our venue, but was unaware that there are actually two Coffee Bean outlets at Borders! She waited at the incorrect venue, so John and I had to walk over to the other outlet. She lamented that she could not pull her stunt of surprising the both of us due to my geographical ignorance. :D

I could sense John's happiness in meeting June and I. Both of us were glad to see that he was doing well. We said our byes and I brought June to Fong Seng for a hearty prata meal. It was a hugely pleasant and rewarding day indeed. :-)

Goal! Fantastic movie!

Watched it with June on Sunday evening. This has to be one of the most delectable movies of the year. Power-packed, passion-filled and poignantly real, the film traces the life of a Mexican young man with an inextinguishable love for football, introducing him first as a Sunday-league soccer hobbyist cum second-class luckless American laborer dwelling in L.A. with his cynical dad. It then proceeds to unravel his astounding rise to the first-team of England's Newcastle United Football Club through a chain of sheer blessings.

Starring Kuno Becker as our young hero Santiago Munez, the movie embodies several noteworthy themes. Santiago's unwavering pursuit of one's DREAMS was the focal theme. I was moved by his pious belief in his own talent and potential to succeed in professional football, his commendable courage in burying his burdens and dad's skepticism about his ambitions, and distinctively his bravado in travelling across half the globe to England when the realization of his lofty aspirations was merely a 70/30 gamble - 30 in favor of him. In ways more than one, we are allowed to identify with young Santiago. Many of us had our fair share of dreams (not the sleeping types :-P) in our childhood and adolescent days. However, not that many of us have the desire and determination to transform our dreams into realities. Why so? This is because there is an intrinsic gulf between dreams and realities. Often, people hinder us in our attempts to bridge that gulf, akin to the antics of Santiago's dad in quelling his son's footballing passion. Circumstances stand in our way too, because we humans get discouraged and disillusioned when we discover that we are no longer in the driving seat. Nevertheless, Santiago illustrated the prowess of maintaining our self-belief in attaining our dreams.

The movie also emphasized the essence of TEAMWORK. Santiago was extremely gifted in ball control. He could dribble the ball across the length of the field effortlessly, turn opponents cheekily and shoot! Wham! Goooal! But he had a singular fault: he didn't see the need to pass the ball to his team-mates! When he was already playing for Newcastle, he was involved as a substitute in this league game against Fulham. Even though he blazed the field with his solo performance, and eventually won a penalty to which his team buddy converted, he could not flee from being singled out for reproach by his coach. "Learn to pass the ball!" This was his reward for his contributions to the victory. Santiago's unconscious self-absorption in gunning for personal glory is a mirror image of our lives. We often lose track of our priorities when we exalt ourselves and diminish others in our eyes. Like a football team, we don't operate alone in life. We are not independent of each other, and this is how God has created us to be - to engage others in fruitful fellowship. At our workplace, we need to establish rapport with our colleagues as we need each other's resources and support to help us to work better. At home, we treasure the ties with our parents and siblings to enhance the proximity within the family. At church (if you are a Christian), we fellowship with other believers to foster strong bonds that would attribute to our growth.

There were also scenes carrying ample warnings subtly issued to real-life footballers, against subscribing to temptations and vices in the river of viscous wealth. Alright. Enough of my tiresome rambling. The bottomline is - this movie is awesome and authentic. Go catch it if you have cash to spare. And even if you don't, borrow some, sit back, relax and revel in this masterpiece!!

Teacher Preachers in Schools

I stumbled upon a couple of intriguing reports and letters in the local papers admonishing school teachers who contemplated religious evangelism on their students. One writer expressed his acrimony about a teacher who had been profusely communicating Christianity to his friend's daughter on MSN Messenger. Another voiced his exasperation on discovering that his son's form teacher had attempted to preach to the class. The unanimous sentiment that I've gathered from the articles is that Singapore parents are vehemently against teachers breaching the boundaries of imparting knowledge and secular values to their children. They feel that sharing of religious beliefs by an educator is tantamount to a form of emotional manipulation of the young ones, with psychological affliction as the ultimate consequence.

As a Christian, I opine that it is an obligation as well as a prerogative of a believer to share the Almighty Savior with people who have yet to relish a relationship with the Lord Jesus. There are two perspectives to the issue really. On one hand, Philippians 1:18, But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice. Yes, and I will continue to rejoice. tells us that the end justifies the means in the context of outreaching. We have to comprehend with the Lord's expectations of His disciples before we dissect this verse. Matthew 28:19-20 highlights the fundamental objective of a living Christian, which is to proliferate the realm and rule of the Lord in the world. Any addition to the Heavenly Kingdom is a reason to rejoice, regardless of the storyboard charted.

On the other hand, we have to be conscious that it is essential to approach evangelism with subtle sense and sensitivity. There is a time and place for the sharing of our primary beliefs. For a believer to be instrumental in leading a non-believer to take that step of faith, the believer has to first be envisaged as exhibiting godly character. And godliness does not merely entail ocean-deep knowledge of the Bible or incessant professing of "I love Jesus and He loves me in return!" to others. Godliness is a tangible derivative of the chemical reaction between three elements: acceptance, generosity and love. If we are able to demonstrate these three traits innately to non-believers, they would reciprocate with their trust in us and be more willing to confide. This, I believe, surmounts any form of verbal evangelism. After all, God elects His people and we have to trust that He knows His job.

Bernard the Grouch

I had a terribly lousy day today. I cannot describe the feeling, but it certainly isn't one of those Fridays when I enjoyed a peaceful close to the workweek. Almost everything was darned right from sunrise. I don't know what's bugging me, but it's probably one of my days of severe mood swings. Somehow ... let's hope that tomorrow would see the recouping of the sense of tranquility that is so imperative to me.

Blues crush Reds

Breakthrough: Frank Lampard wheeling away after scoring the penalty.











What can I say, man? Chelsea was extraordinary in the match. Even though Liverpool had enjoyed a brief spell of domineering attack early on, they were no match for the steel-willed champions. Perhaps Chelsea were expected to win, but to holistically shatter the Anfield boys with a comprehensive 4-1 triumph like this was never the rules. For the Reds, this defeat could amount to a demoralizing dent in their league ambitions. For the Blues, this victory only highlights their omnipotence and insatiable lust for more trophies to vindicate themselves of a barren, meaningless existence of 50 years. Well done, Chelsea!

Bali Terrors - Reloaded

Once again, the panic buttons have been triggered for the beautiful and bountiful isle of Bali. Famed and fabulous as a bohemian resort where fervent holiday-makers indulge in cold beer, humungous loads of fun amidst the villas and the clear blue waters, this once-serene island has been transformed into a nightmarish breeding ground for the masters of chaotic terrors!



I had been proven wrong. Many of us had been proven wrong too. I had extrapolated that the terrorists would not pull their stunt on Bali again, since they had done it once. But the heartwrenching news of the 30-over lives that were eradicated by the suicide bombings last night and the rising toll of wounded (surpassed 100) have ultimately illustrated an important point: we have to persist in putting up a stubborn resistance to the forces of evil, and never to concede any ground for them to thrive on their flabbergasting works.

Even as Singaporeans, we cannot assume that with our highly educated and rational population, such attempts of mass destruction would be absent from our midst. Remember the London bombings? Radicals will always be waiting for the optimal opportunity to strike. The crux of it all is to elevate our awareness and exercise caution at all times, wherever we are.