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Wanting to be the top dog
I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not welcome us. So when I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, spreading malicious nonsense about us. Not satisfied with that, he even refuses to welcome other believers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church. 3 John 1:9-10 One might understand “loves to be first” as meaning that Diotrephes wants to be at the top of the class. What John means is that he wants to be in control of everything—he wants to be the top dog—and so he cannot tolerate other people who…
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Think as you read, speak as you think, write as you speak
The first thing you learn is to speak in English. Then you learn to read in English. Finally you learn to write in English. When you first learn to speak in English you are struggling with words and sentence structure. But what you are actually doing is train your brain to learn the language. After a while (and I hope, by now) this comes naturally. This means your brain has grasped the language enough to learn as you start to read. Next comes reading. When you read “silently”, you are letting your brain say the sentences and paragraphs you are reading. This helps your brain to learn “good” English. So…
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Voluntary
I am sending him—who is my very heart—back to you. I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains for the gospel. But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do would not seem forced but would be voluntary. Philemon 1:12-14 I read Philemon chapter 1 during the week and this thought intrigued me. Paul sent Philemon’s runaway slave back to him, knowing that the law will put him to death unless Philemon intervenes. But he wants Philemon to do so voluntarily rather than take his consent for granted. Paul trusted…
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An unusual experience
Yesterday a friend texted me and asked if we could “call”—have an online chat. During his college Christian Fellowship meeting he found himself having difficulty expressing himself and even stammering. After the meeting, someone from the Fellowship spoke to him and shared with him how he is on a one-month fast from social media (meaning that he will refrain from using social media for a month). My friend has been struggling with his own use of social media. “Self-control” seems very much something that God wants to work with him over; it was something that has cropped up many times in conversation. As fate would have it, if you only…
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Re-use
Some time ago a charitable organisation asked me to help to see if I could resolve this computer’s problems. Ultimately it was a problem with the hard disk and since another person decided to donate a better computer to them I just helped them to set up that computer and they left the one that was not working with me. It was left lying around until recently when I figured that it is small enough to bring it anywhere with me and I might be able to use it with this group of children I am helping with their writing skills. So I installed a new system on an old…
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My rug
I bought this rug more than twenty years ago and it is now a little threadbare. When new I loved the vibrant colours and the unusual design—well, for a carpet, which commonly have Persian designs—was what attracted me in the first place. I like to be unconventional. A few years after I got the rug, I got a dog, and I couldn’t have a rug on the floor with a dog that sheds fur all over. And so I used it in a room in church where I had created a cosy atmosphere so young people can feel at home. At some point, the young people didn’t want the rug…
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Nga Choy Kai ala Michelle Yeoh
I recently read that Michelle Yeoh, the Oscar-winning Malaysian-born actress, enjoy a meal of Ipoh’s famous nga choy kai, or, literally, bean sprouts chicken. I decided to cook my own version of that meal, from the poached chicken thigh to the fragrant rice and the blanched bean sprouts. I even made the special chilli sauce that goes with the chicken. The chicken and the bean sprouts were seasoned with a light soy sauce and sesame oil. It was a simple and light lunch, but I loved it. Yum!
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Goodbye
Woke up this morning and she was in the garden. Some signs of vomiting around my porch. She struggled to come in to the house—weak, but looked OK. She deteriorated fast. I tried to lift her, to make her more comfortable, and hurt my back instead. Now two of us are struggling. I called the vet to make a house call but vet had not come in yet. A friend said he will come over with his car and help me bring her to the vet. I called another friend to come and help carry her. By the time they arrived, she had gone. (This happened 4 years ago. I’m…
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Don’t give up!
A few months ago, I decided that my frangipani tree had to go because all its leaves were infected by a fungus that was so thick that its yellow powder was all over my car. I cut off all the branches, leaving only the main structure and made sure that every attempt to grow was cut off immediately. It just wouldn’t die and kept on trying to grow and at some point, after several months, I relented and allowed it to grow back. While the fungus is not completely gone, it seems to be fairly sparse this time. These flowers are some of the first ones since.
