Learn From Bamboo

From a mailing list.

One day I decided to quit...I quit my job, my relationship, my
spirituality... I wanted to quit my life. I went to
the woods to have one
last talk with God. "God", I said. "Can you give me
one good reason not to quit?" His answer surprised me...

"Look around", He said. "Do you see the fern and the bamboo?"
"Yes", I replied.

"When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I
took very good care of
them. I gave them light. I gave them water. The
fern quickly grew from the
earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor. Yet
nothing came from the
bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo. In
the second year the Fern
grew more vibrant and plentiful. And again, nothing
came from the bamboo
seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo." He said.

"In year three there was still nothing from the
bamboo seed. But I would
not quit. In year four, again, there was nothing
from the bamboo seed. I would not quit." He said.

"Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from
the earth. Compared to
the fern it was seemingly small and
insignificant...But just 6 months later
the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall. It had spent
the five years growing
roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what
it needed to survive. I would not give any of my creations a challenge it
could not handle." He said to me.

"Did you know, my child, that all this time you
have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots?"

"I would not quit on the bamboo. I will never quit on you."
"Don't compare yourself to others." He said. "The
bamboo had a different
purpose than the fern. Yet they both make the forest beautiful."
"Your time will come", God said to me. "You will rise high"

"How high should I rise?" I asked.
"How high will the bamboo rise?" He asked in return.
"As high as it can?" I questioned
"Yes." He said, "Give me glory by rising as high as you can."
I left the forest and bring back this story. I hope these words can help you
see that God will never give up on you. He will never give up on you.

Never regret a day in your life.
Good days give you happiness;
bad days give you experiences;
both are essential to life

Deep or Shallow

This is a page of content that makes me buy a book of Stormie Omartian.

5 good ways to tell if your walk with God is shallow:
1.If you follow the Lord for only what He can do for you, your walk with Him is shallow. If you love Him enough to ask Him what you can do for Him, then your relationship is growing deep.
2.If you only pray to God when things are tough or you need something, then your walk with Him is shallow. If you find yourself praying to Him many times a day just because you love to be in His presence then your relationship is growing deep.
3.If you get mad at God or disappointed in Him when He doesn't do what you want, then your walk with Him is shallow. If you can praise God no matter what is going on in your life, then your relationship with Him is growing deep.
4.If you love God only because of what He does, then your walk with Him is shallow. If you love and reverenve Him for who He is then your relationship is growing deep.
5.If you think you have to beg God or twist His arm to get Him to answer your prayers, then your walk with Him is shallow. If you believe that God wants to answer the prayers you pray inline with His will then your relationship with Him is growing deep.

Reading this 5 items just makes me realize how shallow my walk with Him was.
Heheh... the kind of book that really changes me ^_^.

I've Been Busy

I've just realized that I haven't updated my blog for almost 2 weeks..
That's a very longgg time.. :).

I've been very busy with my new role as Software Verfication Test team.
Yay... I'll be doing software verification test for our engineering team 3G application until end of this month.

I have been executing hundred of test cases everyday.. hehehe...
Start to enjoy the new role though it means I have to stay longer than usual.
Now I have access to 13 latest 3G handsets, datacard, all different SIM cards ^_^.

Sounds fun, but actually the job is quite tough... hehe I have to do all the handset testing within a very limited time. Changing SIM card, test video call, modem connection, and lots and lots of calculation hehe...

So... need to go back to work now. Happy working everyone.

Lunch and Dinner at Cafe Cartel

Today, my bible study group has lunch (and dinner) at Cafe Cartel to celebrate my belated birthday.

Three of us met at City Hall MRT around 3 pm. Emmy late for 45 minutes :) hehehhe..
We started our lunch at around 4 pm.
Well, I am the only person who already had my lunch at home because I don't know that my bible study group is going to treat me lunch. Ci Sylvi, Emmy and Sienny haven't had their lunch yet and they were starvinggg..

Hmm, I should be suspiciuos because actually it's very seldom that we had bible study 2 weeks in a row. Heheh anyway, thanks galsss for everything and thank God... ^_^.

What we had at Cafe Cartel?
1.One of the recommended chef starters consists of pop corn chicken, calamari, chicken nugget, cheese potato and fried crab nugget.
2.Beef pizza (4 piece - just nice)
3.Vanilla and Strawberry Ice cream (6 scoops) with strawberry, kiwi, peach and cherry
4.Free flow of ice water and bread.

After that we chat about the future business opportunity... hehehe... great.. can't wait till I can have my own business. Hopefully we can make our plan and dream to reality soon.

Our lunch end around 6 pm. I can't have my dinner anymore :).

Hehhe gals, thanks for the birthday present and birthday prayer and everything....

My bday present - Jesus Among Other Gods book by Ravi Zacharias.

Sunny Days

Sunny days keepin' the clouds away
I think we're coming to a clearing and a brighter day
So far away.
Still I think they say

The wait will make the heart grow stronger or fonder
I can't quite remember anyway

[CHORUS]
So if you're waitin' for love
Well it's a promise I'll keep
If you don't mind believing that it changes everything
Then time will never matter

Winter, Spring..is what love can truly bring
Ice turns to water, water flows to everything
You can lose your mind, maybe then your heart you'll find
I hope you won't give up what's movin' you inside

[CHORUS]

If the car won't start, when you turn the key
When the music comes on, all your cold, cold heart can do is skip a beat
It's a promise I'll keep

[CHORUS]
Sunny Days- (A cute song from Jars of Clay).

Have you ever seen the advertisement for Sunshine bread? The ad mentioned, " Everybody needs a little sunshine everyday." ^_^.

Hehe I think this is true, we don't really need a real sunshine but I think we need a light, encouragement in one way or another from other people. Well, no man is an island. Anyway we were created by God as a social creature.

Edith Wharton(American Novelist and short-story writer, 1862-1937) once said that
There are two ways of spreading light:
To be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.

So in this case, even when we don't have the light ourselves, we can still give a light to others. Hmm.. interesting.

Different Kind of Life

Did you notice that some people really go through a lot in life whereas others are not.

I know some people that went through so much trials, sickness, painfull experience.
But after went through this experience, most of them become a better person. Yeah, they said what doesn't kill you will make you stronger.
Honestly, I prefer smooth sailing in life ^_^ peaceful and calm. Unfortunally, my life is not that smooth anyway.. hehehehe..

When we go through some storm in life just remember that
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man:
but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able;
but will with the temptation also make a way to escape,
that ye may be able to bear it. (I Cor 10:13)

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,
who comforts us in all our troubles,
so that we can comfort those in any trouble
with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives,
so also through Christ our comfort overflows. (2 Cor 1:3-5)

Pressure is what makes a diamond.

Happy Birthday Sis

Just want to wish a happy birthday for Yanaaaa, my loveliest and best Sister ever..:).

Happy birthday to my wonderful sister
Who is also a special friend
Sending you warm and loving wishes
For today and always
Many happy returns of the day.

God bless you sis.

Antioxidants : What Are They and How to Get Them

Free radicals are the by-product of a normal and necessary event -- the burning of oxygen by your body's cells to produce energy.
These "by-product" molecules are missing an electron, and will attack any nearby molecule get it. If they take electrons from important components in your body, like DNA, protein or fat, they do damage to those cells and precipitate health problems.

Not only that, but in the course of these exchanges a chain reaction results and new free radicals are formed, compounding the problem.
Over time, the cumulative effects of free radicals can contribute to premature aging and diseases such as artery and heart disease, arthritis, cataracts and cancer.
Free radicals can also be caused by environmental factors such as pollution, smoking and ultraviolet light.

How Antioxidants Work
Antioxidants are a group of compounds that act as free radical scavengers, donating electrons and neutralizing free radicals, preventing their damage to other cells.
They convert free radicals to harmless waste products that get eliminated from your body before they can do damage; some may even repair previous damage.

Three vitamins appear to play an important role in helping neutralize free radicals.
They are:
Vitamin C
Vitamin E
Beta-Carotene

Each vitamin has a different job to do, so it is important to have a diet rich in all of them. And, since the long-term effects of taking antioxidant supplements are still unknown and their benefits are still not proven clinically, a healthy diet is the safest, surest way.

To do battle with the ever-present free radicals, eat plenty of the following foods every day.

Beta-carotene: This antioxidant is found in intensely colored green or orange and yellow fruits and vegetables, including carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, apricots, cantaloupe, mango, papaya, red bell pepper, spinach, kale, turnip greens and broccoli.
Vitamin C: Guava, papaya, red and green peppers, kiwi, orange and grapefruit juice, broccoli, cantaloupe, potatoes, tomatoes, bok choi, cabbage, strawberries, mustard and turnip greens and amaranth are great sources.
Vitamin E: Also known as tocopherol, it is found mostly in plants and is very concentrated in vegetable oils. Foods rich in vitamin E include corn oil, olive oil, peanut oil, sesame seed oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, almonds, wheat germ, nuts, seeds, olives and margarine made from the above.

So, make sure that your lunch or dinner contains any of the antioxidant-contains food everyday ^_^.
Click here for complete article.

Sleep Advice

For those who find trouble sleeping at night, this is a few sleep advice from my doctor:

1.Avoid caffeine within 6 hours of bedtime.
2.Avoid alcohol and smoking 1 to 2 hours before bedtime.
3.Exercise regularly. Get vigorous exercise in the late afternoon. However, strenuous exercise before sleep may actually impair your ability to sleep.
4.Don't nap.
5.Establish relaxing presleep rituals, like a warm bath or a few minutes of reading.
6.Go to bed only when you are sleep, and use your bed for sleeping only, not as an office or a place to watch TV.
7.Get up about the same time everyday, regardless of when you fall asleep.
8.If you are a bedtime "worrier", dedicate another time - perhaps 30 minutes after dinner to writing down problems and possible solutions.
9.If you cannot sleep, don't stay in bed fretting. After 10 or 15 minutes, go to another room and read or watch television until you feel sleepy.

By the way... just want to wish a happy birthday for my roomie, Yimmy....

True friendship is a blessing that dwells deep within the heart.
We don't know how it happens or where it gets its start.
But the happiness it brings you always seems to give a lift.
And you realize that true friendship... is a most precious gift.

May you have a blessed and special birthday ^_^.