Stop, To Care

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Stop, To Care
I have been so busy lately I think I have been neglecting what has been happening around me. Was bathing this morning and was thinking about Nguyen who was hanged 2 days ago for trafficking 400 grams of heroin into Singapore in 2002. I was just reading about him on the internet; he was just 25 years old and was trying to pay off debts owed by his twin brother, who has borrowed to help defend himself against drugs and violent offences charges three years previously.

I was struggling with how I should feel about this whole matter. On one hand, I agree that laws have to be enforced and precedences should not be set. But on the other hand, I felt deeply for Nguyen who was literally "hanged" for helping his brother. Although an exception was made to allow limited physical contact between Nguyen to hold hands with his mother and brother before he was hung, I was saddened to hear that his mother's request to hug him before he was hung was rejected. Imagine a mother's anguish when she has to see her son die but yet could not hug him before he "goes". Maybe there is a reason for it since Channelnewsasia mentioned that "such encounters can be traumatic and are likely to destabilise the prisoners and their family members". Now that he is gone, I felt sad... delayed response.

Somehow, I did not feel so much for him before he was hang. In fact, I remember receiving a request from our fellow professionals from Australia to appeal to the president of Singapore for clemency in my previous workplace. I remember not feeling much then and thought: "law is law and no precedence should be set".

Sometimes, we are so engrossed with our routine that we do not "STOP, to care" but "STOP TO CARE".

Back in Service
I have missed 2 cell groups and 1 service so far and was starting to feel distanced from God, so I made a decision to wake up early to attend the 1st service today so I can go help out at my volunteers' book fair in the afternoon. Brought my sister along with me also to service.

As always, the sermon just always seems to be so relevant to the struggle I was facing. Today's sermon was on "Identity Theft"; how our identity has sometimes been stolen (and distorted) by the mirror, making us believe that we are always not good, focusing on our looks. Sounds cliche but then thinking back, our inferiority complex sometimes have such a great impact on our lives; just like how I always feel "not good enough" and not liked by others have hindered the way I interacted with others...

I think the message was that:

• God created people in his own image
• Adam and Eve was created and despite being naked, they both felt no shame (Genesis 2:25)
• Then came along the serpent which incited Eve to eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. She also brought some for Adam to eat
• Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves

We are "enough" in the eyes of God but always not "enough" for ourslves... Like what the sermon shared about being accepted, secure and significant in Christ, something good to always remind ourselves:

"The more you reaffirm who you are in Christ, the more your behavior will begin to reflect your true identity!" (From Victory Over the Darkness, by Dr. Neil Anderson) From: http://www.ficm.org/whoami.htm

Artist: Hillsong United
Song Title: Jesus the same

There's a light in the darkness that shines
Giving hope to all the world
Hope to all the world
And there's a door that's been opened to all
Into a new and living way
A new and living way

Praise the name of Jesus
Perfect Redeemer, Star of the Morning
Yesterday, today and forever
Jesus the Same...

There's a fire that burns in our hearts
To see the lost return
To the Father
And it's a passion that's not of our own
We have seen it in the Son
In the face of the Son

Wonderful Councillor
Mighty God, Eternal Father
Prince of Peace

Not Another Estranged Relationship!
In a previous post, I mentioned that I left a comment on a friend's blog about estranged relationships and this friend soon commented back on my blog.

When I saw the comment, I had the feeling that this friend might be upset by my comment and could have felt that I am not understanding. Anyway, to cut a long story short, I apologized to this friend and explained how I valued the friendship and had shared the story to share lesson; I am also struggling with an estranged relationship. I did not want things to sour because of a comment I have made. Anyway, glad I cleared the air, turned out that I was being too sensitive. Phew! We later still came out and did some christmas shopping :)

Christmas Joy is Back
My last 2 Christmases has not been good and I am sincerely hoping that this year's one will be enjoyable because I just love Christmas; it's my favourite time of the year. Was starting to feel a little Christmas cheer because of all the Christmas pipe-in music around the malls, all the fun going shopping around for gifts and had also received an advanced Christmas gift from my friend and his partner. :)

In fact, I was such a joyous evening and I treated myself to a BIG BIG american burger hahaha, especially so after a whole day of hard work at the book fair... yummy!

CA Burger @ Changing Appetites

Had also bought myself a Christmas gift, the Andy Lau's "Wait till you are older" VCD.

2nd Day @ Volunteers' Book Fair
Things didn't go very well today. Early in the morning, it seems that the volunteers have to wait around for half an hour before the gate was open and "business" was also bad today, so much so most volunteers were sticking around doing nothing much.

But anyway, I did feel good at the end when some volunteers actually asked about continuing on as regular volunteers as I went round taking group photos for the volunteers. Some of the them felt a sense of achievement and seemed to have fun volunteering; that to me is an achievement. Later on in the day, I also witness how a volunteer helped an elderly man carry 2 full bags of books to an nearby bus-stop and how a poly lecturer brought his family down to also help pack up for the day; he himself moving boxes of books.