Satan Caused The Economy Downturn

This is nothing short of a comedy, but don't get me wrong. They are still facts, just presented in a comedy style. *loL~*

Balance

Ah.. The art of life some might say. Sometimes wouldn't you just wish that your life is more balanced? Probably there's too much work, too much stress, too free, whatever. loL~

Anyway, I was amazed with what I saw in the video (below). In balance. It's hard to believe what you see, but there's no trick involved, just skill. After watching it, I find that it relates to life in a certain sense.

Many times things are very hard to balance, and if a sudden wave comes across your path, what you have been trying to balance might just crumble before your very eyes. However, don't let a setback keep you there. Pick up the pieces, persevere and start setting things right again.

When you make the effort to keep in balance, it will begin to mold your character, allowing you to stand strong in all circumstances, and start showing its quality in your everyday life. :)

You Have Our Attention, Lord

A prayer by Max Lucado - October 2008

Our friends lost their house
The co-worker lost her job
The couple next door lost their retirement
It seems that everyone is losing their footing

This scares us. This bailout with billions.
These rumblings of depression.
These headlines: ominous, thunderous -
"Going Broke!" "Going Down!" "Going Under!" "What's Next?"

What is next?

We're listening. And we're admitting: You were right.

You told us this would happen.
You shot straight about loving stuff and worshiping money.
Greed will break your heart, You warned.
Money will love you and leave you.
Don't put your hope in riches that are so uncertain.

You were right. Money is a fickle lover and we just got dumped.

We were wrong to spend what we didn't have.
Wrong to neglect prayer and ignore the poor.
Wrong to think we ever earned a dime. We didn't. You gave it.
And now, tell us Father, are You taking it?

We're listening. And we're praying.
Could you make something good out of this mess?

Of course You can. You always have.
You led slaves out of slavery,
Built temples out of ruins,
Turned stormy waves into a glassy pond and water into sweet wine.
This disorder awaits your order. So do we.

Through Christ,
Amen

Luke 18:7 NCV
God will always give what is right to His people who cry to Him night and day, and He will not be slow to answer them.

(via GodTube's newsletter)

Mom's Home!

There are still many things that I wish I got the time to pen down, but I should write about this one before anything else. :)

Yesterday was a happy day, because mom is finally discharged from hospital after 10 hospitalised days. Officially, she had been sick for 12 days. Here's the story.

Back when I first blogged about her admittance into hospital, the doctor initially suspected it to be a case of dengue fever. The symptoms that showed, including the blood test, apparently pointed the doctors to that suspicion. That night after she was warded, the doctor did a body checkup for her and another possible case was brought up: Urinary Tract Infection.

As the initial days went by, I was still worried because mom's appetite was not showing signs of betterment. Her status written on the board above her bed was "CRIB", which meant "Critically Rest In Bed". Then on Tuesday morning, she had a high fever of 39.7°C and the nurses needed to sponge her to bring her temperature down. From mom's account, the nurses even had to change water because the water became warm. :S

It was getting clear to the doctors by that time that it was neither a case of dengue fever nor urinary tract infection, but was organ inflammation. It was the left kidney, to be specific. Stones jammed up the tract and mom wasn't able to expel the fluid, and that was the primary cause of the condition. With that, Wednesday became the most worrisome day, as a possible operation was mentioned.

Describing the operation made me cringe. It involves injecting a tiny tube into her kidney to allow the fluid to flow out, in order that the swelling might go down. Loss of blood was anticipated and the doctors had to draw her blood again to test for compatibility, just in case.

The following day was utter relief as the doctors said that there was no need for the operation. I was so happy to the point of smiling cheek to cheek. Mom's health began getting back on track, and I was looking forward to her coming home soon.

TADA! Yesterday she was finally home! :D

Now, that's just one part of the story. Here is the other. :)

God once again, showed His love, healing powers, mercy and abundant grace. Throughout this entire ordeal, God's healing for my mom was apparent and I just couldn't give enough thanks to Him that mom did not have to go through the operation.

In my times of weaknesses, His strength held me up to allow me to fight on in keeping my job's deadline, while allowing me to still visit mom in the hospital. I was tempted to worry, but He showed and provided me comfort, assuring that my mom was being well taken care of by Him.

The reason? Because mom means more to God than to me. :)

God works for all good. I had never dared to share my faith openly in the family because of one reason; they did not force their belief on me, so I shouldn't too. However, during this time of distress when I saw everyone worrying, I was greatly encouraged by the Holy Spirit to share more about Jesus Christ our Savior to my family.

I may never know how much they receive into their hearts, but I'm assured the seeds are sown. The time for the seeds to grow is entirely in God's timetable, not mine.

God's love is so vast that we can never comprehend. His compassion is so deep that transcends all understanding. I will continue to pray that one day my family may all bask in the light of His everlasting love.

Romans 8:35,37-39
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ... No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

To my dearest siblings-in-Christ and friends, I thank all of you for your love for me and my family. You who prayed relentlessly over the days, you who interceded for us with God against the diseases, you who gave words of comfort and assurance, you who encouraged and provided strength through His Word, thank you. :)

STOP!

Don't mind me. A self reminder.

A Lesson From Naruto

If you know the background story of why Naruto is trying so hard to improve his skills to find Sasuke, you'll probably be able to appreciate this quote better.

Anyhow, I never expected myself to be inspired by a quote from an anime. loL~ It just happened, and it's my pleasure to share it with you.

(The "I" in context, is Naruto, and the "you" is of course, Sasuke.)

If I keep walking without ever stopping, I'll make it to you!

That's perseverance man! It sort of relates to anything that you are pursuing in life. Of course, I'm not saying that you should disregard God's wisdom in pursuing whatever those things might be. For if it's not the will of God, the door will never be open in the first place.

Revelation 3:7
What he opens, no one can close;
and what he closes, no one can open.

However, if God has prompted you in more ways than one, keep faith in Him!

Whatever it is, keep doing. However hard it is, keep walking! God never promises a smooth sailing life with no hardships, but He did promise that He _will be with you_ every step of the way.

Be encouraged in His love! :)

Blogging From Hospital

I'm now in Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Accident and Emergency department. Accompanied my mom here because she has been sick for three days (since Thursday) and is yet well.

Initially, it seems to be a case of food poisoning, which included symptoms like vomiting and diarrhea, dint exactly go away after a visit to the family doctor. She still isn't able to eat; if she does, she'll vomit. Her stomach is still feeling the pain, and the pain seems to be crawling upwards to her ribs (which I really don't understand why). Her giddiness is also the part that really worries the family; she can't walk as a result.

Not sure why but this episode seems to be a déjà vu case from last year. :|

For my end, I'm going to miss (both meanings if you know what I mean) practice and serving today at church, but mom's health is definitely a higher call for concern at present.

She's still in the observation ward at the moment, so I'm just waiting for them to call me in. Should I have the time later, I'll update again. If God permits, I may even go back and serve this evening and/or tomorrow morning. :)

To all readers (and lighters), please kindly help to pray for my mom that she'll have a speedy recovery. With God's faith, our prayers can move mountains. Amen. :)

Romans 8:31 (NLT)
If God is for us, who can ever be against us?