Ego 1-0 JTan

JTan has a friend.
His name is Ego.
He's not a very good friend.

JTan admits.. today, he let Ego control him.
Bad, bad Ego.
And bad, bad JTan for allowing Ego to control him.

So what happened?

It all started with a missed turning.
First, JTan's lousy driving caused him to be on the wrong lane - wanted to take a right turn (which would've made our lives easier) but had to go straight since the traffic lights were green for straight and red for right.
Well, "It's alright," JTan thought, "there's another road which leads back to the road we wanna be on."
So everything settled? Mission accomplished? Back on the same road?
No. JTan just had to miss that particular "road which leads back to the road we wanna be on."
*tries to hide embarrassed face*

Well, "No worries," JTan thought again, "this road we're now on seems to be heading towards another road which will eventually lead us back to the road we wanna be on."
YM gave a good suggestion to make a U-turn.
But Ego came into play. Ego suggested that JTan was correct and had good reasons to believe he was right. Well, at that time, neither Ego nor JTan realised that Kampung Pandan is actually NOT Pandan Indah.
So did JTan take YM's advise? Obviously not.

After about 5 minutes, JTan finally realised his mistake.
*tries to hide embarrassed face again*
It's a bit too far to U-turn now. JTan was thinking hard, "Where in the world does this road leads to?" And after passing by the Rain Tree Club, he thought, "Hey, this road actually leads to another road which will also eventually lead us back to the road we wanna be on. Woohoo!"
He had a feeling that he was supposed to turn left. But took a right, he did instead. And once again, Ego told JTan that he's right. There's no need to call for help from others or ask them for advise. Moreover, JTan's sense of direction was supposed to be quite good. So he thought.

After another few minutes, MK called. At the same time, JTan kinda realised he made another judgement error once again.
*wah, really no face to hide this time*
MK suggested another route - which will lead back to "the road we wanna be on." - a way faster route but involves the toll.. a price to pay for letting Ego win.
AL made a brilliant request by asking HY to take the lead this time.
*paiseh.. JTan really, really has got no more face to hide*

In short, we got to our destination in time.
But we could've reached way earlier if JTan hadn't allowed Ego influence him.

So what has JTan learned today?

Maybe God was trying to teach him something today.

It is important to have a teachable heart.
When one is stubborn and self-centred, it's a bit difficult to have a heart that's humbled enough to be taught and corrected.
There should be less of ourselves and more of God.
May He help JTan to develop a humble and teachable heart, ever ready to admit his mistakes and be corrected.

Anyway, God is good.
We reached there in time, the rain stopped, we were all able to run, and 3 guys from our group won a medal each.
Hope everyone had fun :)


*edited*


A friend commented that there's another lesson that JTan can learn from this - should have listened to women's direction advise. I think JTan would hate to admit it, but the 2 ladies who were in his car ystday had better signs of direction than him.
*tries to hide face once again*
Aside from YM's earlier advise, JN was practically leading JTan through KL - and should I add that she's not from KL?

Epic fail.

JTan said that he would like to apologise to all guys if he has let you down.

Malaysia : Whose God?

When Will This End?

After the attack on an 11th place of worship?
After the breaking in of the office of the lawyers representing the Herald in the "Allah" issue?

Doubt it will end so soon.. the numbers of churches and other worship places being attacked are increasing, and those in authority are still trying to divert the attention somewhere else (Anwar, Dr. M's book, etc. .. gosh, do they really think it will work?)

I can't help but feel frustrated over all that's been happening

Does Hisham still thinks that everything is under control?
Well if things are going as they've exactly planned it to be, then yes, things are very much in their control... Did they cause all this? Did they initiate it? Were they the ones who stirred things up? Were they the ones giving the green light to all the attacks? I don't know... but it's funny to see how things like this always come to light each time that particular political party is in trouble. You be the judge.

How will all these end?

Giving in and drop the "Allah" case?
Trust me, this will not end it. It will be the one case that will lead to many more to come.
Plus are we going to take God's Name so lightly that we'll allow others to govern how we can call our Lord?

Some have called for fellow Christians to act lovingly and let them win. Will letting them win actually be an act of love? Have we lost the point here?.. it's not about winning or losing.. don't we realise the implications if they were to ban the word from being used by those of other religions?
It not only affects us Christians, even more so to our brothers and sisters in East Malaysia, but also affect other religions such as the Sikhs. Don't we love them too?
And where would this lead to?
If the case is won by the party who wants the word to be banned, this will be used as a precedent to other cases in the future, and will only lead to them banning more words, which is already happening by the way, thanks to the Church who have been keeping silent and allowing those in power to push them to a corner.

Somehow those in power have come to realised that there's one way to keep the Christians quiet and submissive - persecution. It has happened before.. and we have responded in the exact way that they wanted us to respond.. I hope and pray that history will not repeat itself.
I hope we do realise that slowly, the Christians are being pushed out of this country that we love.
Are we happy with that? Are we going to leave it alone? Are we going to be happy enough to leave the country and say, "if they want to have this country by themselves so much, just let them have it lah.." ?
We're here in Malaysia for a reason.. for a purpose.
When will we ever step up to be salt and light at this place where we are?
What will God say when He sees His children abandoning the place He has placed us in?



Lord, forgive us.
Allah, maafkanlah kami.

You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

Matthew 5:43-45

This passage came to mind at such a time as this.

Amid what has happened... Metro Tab is probably not the only church affected... I'm sure there're other churches suffering the same fate, but not reported...
Nevertheless, Christians are not called to bring war, but peace... just as Christ showed love even in the time of suffering, I believe Christians are called to do likewise as well.

Christ came to love
Christ came to die
Christ came to rise and live again
Christ came for all

How should our response be?
Be that like of Christ

Trying times ahead

Let us get down on our knees

2010

An end to a chapter leads to a beginning of a new chapter.
Likewise, the end of a year brings forth a new beginning of a new year.

So what is there in 2010 to look forward to?

New challenges and experiences? Most definitely.. can't run away from those every new year.

New hope? Yupz.. hope so.

New datelines? MORE datelines (or deadlines) sounds more like it.. *pengsan*

New holiday trips? Of course! lol..





More friends getting married? Probably not as much as this year, given that most of my friends are Chinese who have superstitious fears about getting married in the year of the Tiger.. Jason and Ruth are an exception.. :)

More importantly, 2010 promises us that the same God that has brought us through the thick and thin of 2009 will once again bring us through 2010..
Things may not be smooth sailing, but He has promise to walk by our side and be our strength and refuge at all times, be it good or bad.



But before we get to all those things to look forward for in 2010, it'll be good to look back at 2009 and see what are the things we can thank God for..


Among the many things I can thank God for..



UK-Greece trip





























































Apofasi (College CG Camp)
























New 2nd-Hand Ferrari














Random outings / reunions / birthdays / trips








































































































































(The above pics belong to various people)




Christmas!
























(Christmas pics belong to Sue Ann and Tabby)




And on a totally random note, the year apparently ended in a "Blue Moon"



Anyway...

May you have a good new year ahead

HAPPY 2010!