First post of 2014

Before the first day draws to a close, I just want to note down a few things on my mind.  Random and not in any order... but here goes:

- This year I want to walk closer to God.  With God all things are possible.  Without God, even the simplest of tasks can seem difficult.  I want to walk and talk in line with His will.

- I realise that the best way to win a Christian girl's heart is also through the Word of God.  Give her encouragement, support and reminders of God's Word, God's love.  With God being in the centre of your life, it is easier to carry this through the making God being the centre of your relationship in the future.

- Had a great lunch time at Viva Brazil today.  Table of 10 people, all expected to pay £20 per person for the buffet (that was the New Year Day price last year, including a dessert).  Turns out it was only the standard £14 per person (not dessert) AND we got 25% off after I discussed with manager about a special email I got two weeks ago from them.  Praise the Lord!

- I have a sore throat. Must sleep more!  Goodnight!

Run up to Christmas

I just realised that in the run up to Christmas I'm gonna be quite busy with frequent activities to go to.  Prior to my driving instructor check test (like an audit) which took place on the 29th of November, I could not really think about Christmas and the season we are about to embark on.  Thank God the check test went very well and I not only passed the check test but improved my overall driving instructor grading as well!!  :)  With that over, I can now focus on the next few weeks as we countdown to Christmas.  Lots of activities to take part in and I am very thankful for my friends and family whom I can share these special moments with.

To start things off I went to the Christmas Show at Destiny Church in Shawlands last night with Mum, Rebecca and my cousin Mankit.  The show was a really good production by the members of the church and the title was "Home for Christmas".  It was a good performance put on to show the different things that we as people put up with in the world, how we often put on a facade in hope of wanting to be accepted by those around us.  How we can make ourselves fake by pretending we're something we're not.  How we put on nice clothes to make ourselves look good.  But at the end of the night, after we go out and see friends and return home, we close the door and we remove the clothes, the make up, the smiles on our face, and we return to the "real you".  That is very often very different from the "you" that others might see.  Why is there need for that?  Are we always so hungry for acceptance that we have to be fake?  It is a struggle and sometimes it is very difficult to keep up.  Because at the end of the day, you will be found out.  The real you will surface, through our anger, our temper, our lies even, our attitude, our words.  We shock ourselves and those around us.  But God loves us for who we are.  No matter who we are, where we are from, no matter what you have done, God accepts us and wants to have a relationship with us.  It doesn't take much to be close to God or get to know Him.  We just need to have an open heart to receive this love He has for us.  His love is like no other love the world can give us.  We don't have to "work" to gain His favour, or dress nicely for Him, or speak "proper English".  Just be who you are with God and let His love fulfil you.  At the end of the play, the characters who were once in a argument and fight with each other learnt to accept one another, learnt to forgive one another because they learnt the true meaning of Christmas: and that was Jesus coming to the world to become our Saviour and He was sent by God, because God loved us (mankind) so much!!  I hope that more people will get to realise this truth this Christmas, and that Chistmas is not just about presents and parties as the characters in the play had assumed.

That was a nice start to kick off the Christmas feeling for me.  Tomorrow evening I will be going to watch a Cineworld Unlimited card advanced preview of "The Life of Pi 3D".  Tuesday evening there will be a Korean movie event happening at the Art School.  Wednesday I'll be meeting my oldest (longest) friend Bobby for "End of Watch" movie as it will be Orange Wednesday  ;)  Saturday after work I'll be joining in for a birthday dinner and some drinks.  Then Sunday will be church then weekly badminton.  Really happy playing badminton with the group in the past couple of months.  Have given me another activity to do besides going to the gym so it works my body in a different way.  Yep, still sweat lots when playing but it's all good!!  ;)

The following week, the last week before Christmas I will have even more exciting activities to look forward to!  Another visit to Viva Brazil, my first time at a Masquerade ceilidh/ ball, and possibly going to see "The Hobbit" on the Orange Wednesday.  Whoo-hoo!!  Bet there are more unplanned stuff happening as well in which I will be attending.  Just really thankful for friends and family whom I can spend this special time with and whom I can share God's love with also.  Awesome!

God bless y'all!

The summer of love

I will be attending FOUR weddings this summer.  Well, ok, not all are weddings, but wedding celebrations for sure!!  Last night was Lloyd and Miriam's wedding thanksgiving dinner.  Most of the folk from Cantonese congregation and some of English congregation were invited.  Mainly folk who knows the Lee family well and have seen Lloyd grow up.  I remember Lloyd was a year older than me and although were were in the same Bible class I always looked up to him.  He was intelligent, fit, played football, rugby with his school and could play the piano and guitar.  His younger brother, Wayne, also followed his great example.  Lloyd left Glasgow after high school to study in Manchester and since then I only saw him at special occasions like Christmas / New Year / Easter time when he came up to Glasgow to visit his family and the church.  Last week he got married to Miriam whom he met whilst down in Manchester.  He was engaged for sixteen months.  It was very nice to hear Lloyd share how he organised a treasure hunt to lure Miriam into a park to propose to her.  Such a nice story and indeed a story they will live to tell their children and grandchildren.

It was nice celebrating together with them and with over one hundred people in the Pollokshaws Burgh Hall.  There was a great atmosphere of celebration, happiness and joy.  Through the event many aunties came up to me to compliment me on how handsome I am.  Many mentioned that it was soon Cat's wedding coming up (middle of July!) and then followed it with asking when it was my turn.  Some asked if I had a girlfriend and didn't seem to believe when I told them or my mum told them I was still single.  Mum even asked them back, "Do you know of any Christian girls to recommend?"  Haha!!  Ah well, if only eh.  These occasions are very special and very joyful, for the majority.  However, we should probably be mindful of those who are not yet attached and who may be sad / worried / confused about it all.  If any of you are on this boat, take heart, stand up proud, don't waver, but stand strong and continue ploughing on.  If you feel you are lacking in any areas, learn to look for ways to improve yourself.  Sometimes, "being yourself" is not enough.  Always look to improve yourself and better yourself.  Not only will you do yourself good, but you will also benefit your future partner, whomever they may be.  For now, I thank the aunties for their compliments and I thank God for any compliments given to me.  And of course, thank my parents for their good genes ;)

So why is this the summer of love?  Well, there will be so many wedding celebrations to attend:

1) Lloyd and Miriam's wedding thanksgiving
2) Teng Cheng and Sin Hung wedding - 1st July
3) Ian and Leanne's wedding - 7th July
4) Cat and Nick's wedding - 16th July
5) Cat and Nick's Singapore banquet - 4th August

Wow!!  Will be suited and booted (and kilted!) so many times in the space of a month!  Haha!! Lights... camera... action!!

Lesson of the Day: Look out for the lonely hearts at weddings

Passions

Been having one of those reflective moments just now.

Was thinking about how short life is, how we shouldn't waste our short time on the Earth.

It got me thinking about using the time wisely and pursing our passion(s) in life.

I was thinking about the passions in my life.  And my one deepest passion.  The one thing I think about every day.  Upon waking up.  Just before sleeping.  The one thing that even keeps me awake at night sometimes, for thinking so much about it.  The one thing I search about on Google and YouTube.  The one thing I receive daily emails about.  The one thing that is constantly rolling out of my tongue/ mouth.

I think about it whilst working.  I think about it whilst sitting here.  I think about it whilst eating.

How do I pursue this passion?  Have I left it too late?  Am I too old for this?

Lesson of the Day: "If you have ever felt such tremendous enthusiasm and desire for something that you would gladly spend all your waking hours working on it, that you would happily do without pay, then you have found your passion." -- Sharon Cook & Graciela Sholander

Meet and Greet

I have no idea why it still feels so chilly when it reaches evening time.  We have reached the end of April already and the weather should be improving day by day.  The daylight has improved for sure, as we are seeing daylight much earlier in the mornings and for longer periods of the day.  However, the temperature still seems unstable.  Ah well!!

So in the past week I've managed to get to bed by 10PM most nights.  Not every night I must confess.  Sunday night and Monday managed 10PM.  Monday morning I felt amazing with eight hours of sleep and noticed that I didn't yawn at all throughout the day until about 2PM!  And that was even after workout first thing in the morning as well.  Sleep is so under-rated!  Tuesday night I think I managed 10:30PM.  Wednesday I went Go-karting with a bunch of fellow driving instructors.  It was Scotkart at Clydebank and it was so much fun!  Got home not very late, about 9:50PM I think, but it was too close to bed time and it was impossible to 'switch off' just like that so I went to bed just after 11PM.  It went downhill from there basically cos Thursday night I came home pretty late and ended up missing the gym on Friday morning.  Not to fret, as I made it back up yesterday morning doing circuit style exercises for 45mins and then getting home for breakfast before starting work.  All in all, I do totally feel the benefits of my sleeping plan of 10PM-6AM.  I want to try it again this coming week although I have a pretty busy week of work ahead of me, with the latest finish of 8PM in the west end one evening.  I don't like finishing so late as it usually means I cannot get to bed on time especially after I eat a little something once I get home.  Ah well, we'll see what happens eh.

I think I'll sign up for the Men's Conference 2012 at Destiny Church on the 16th of June.  The conference runs from 9AM that Saturday morning and ends in the evening time.  I would imagine it would be a whole day event for Christian brothers studying the Word of God together, having fellowship and praying together.  Guess I'll make new friends there as well.  One thing I've realised about myself recently is that I need to expand in my circle of friends.  Due to the 'isolated' nature of my job as a driving instructor, where I have no colleagues per se, where I am 'on my own' most of the time, it does limit my time of socialising and communicating with others.  And by the time my working day is over I retire back at home where I just see my mum and sister.  There is not much chance to really hang out with friends.  Sundays are the times when I get a break from work, and I get to see brothers and sisters in church.  However, the time spent is short and sometimes I feel there is not enough time to build quality friendships.  So I'm seeking the Lord's direction as to what to do.  As I grow older it is important to maintain an open mind and an open heart to get to know other people, to branch out and accept others and be accepted.  I must not be a hermit nor so inward looking.

So the lesson which I've (re)learnt in the past week is that, it is ok to go up to talk to people.  I have got to be less shy.  Wednesday I had the opportunity to meet other driving instructors, some of whom I have never met.  At first it was a bit daunting, the idea of meeting and racing with other instructors whom I didn't know.  But it only takes the first line, "Hi, I'm Gordon!" followed by offering your hand for a handshake, and the rest seems to flow.  By the end of the night we all broke the ice and everyone seemed very friendly and we had a great laugh.  Saturday night, we had an evangelistic event in church.  There were many new faces there, especially from Mandarin service.  I managed to speak to one Mandarin dude whilst we were still setting up.  Due to English limitations the conversation was quite short.  Just before the event began I plucked up the courage to greet three younger people: Anson, Alison and her sister Elaine.  It was to my shame that it was the first time I ever spoken to Alison as she has been in EM for around six months I think, and I hadn't ever spoken to her or the friend she comes with.  But talking to them yesterday was totally fine and not as scary as it might seem.  Tonight, at Destiny Church I managed to talk to a lady called Linda after the service.  We had a good conversation about how nice Destiny Church is with how it is managed, the work it does locally and globally and how it has changed so many lives.  I felt very refreshed and encouraged tonight and well rested.  Although Destiny Church in the southside it not very local, but it is definitely worth the travel down to worship with so many others.  Looking forward to attending Destiny Church services more frequently.


Lesson of the Day: Take the leap and greet people.  It is not so scary!!

Sleep

Fifteen minutes until I head to bed.  For the coming week I will try to sleep for eight hours each night.  To get up at 6AM for the gym would mean I need to get to bed for 10PM.  I might not fall asleep right away but at least I will be resting7: my eyes and I will be away from the temptations of Facebook, Whatsapp, Youtube, Draw Something and WORDS with Friends.  Haha!

Sleep is very important for everybody, especially for those who work out.  Sleep allows the body to repairs it's muscle tissues which were damaged during exercise and lets the body restore it's energy, before the next bout!  For too long I've neglected my sleep and averaged about 6-7 hours of sleep per night.  There were some nights I was still up around 2AM which mean only four hours of sleep left before getting up for the gym.  Hence I missed a few training sessions due to this.  No good.

Instead, if I do a trial of sleeping 10PM-6AM each night, I hope to see/ feel better energy levels as well as improvement to my physique as the body is allowed to recharge properly.  That would mean a typical weekday would pan out as follows:

10PM-6AM Sleep
6AM-10AM Gym, breakfast, prep lunch
10AM-7:30PM Work
7:30PM-10PM Dinner and wind down
10PM-6AM Sleep.... and the cycle continues so on and so forth!

I think it won't be too difficult for the first few days, at least until Friday.  However, on Saturday there will be a church event going on which is posted as 7PM-9:30PM.  I doubt I'll get to bed for 10PM, but then again, if I don't need to get up at 6AM on Sunday morning I should be ok.  Will still aim for eight hours of quality sleep.  Ok, time is now 21:55hrs to be exact.  Gotta go now.  Goodnight y'all!

An encouraging email received...

"Everyone makes mistakes, everyone has a past. We have to forgive
ourselves, because Jesus is our redeemer and lifter of our head. Don’t
carry the pasts in ourselves and learn to love ourselves. Don’t define
ourselves by our pasts. As Paul said, we have to forget the things
behind and pursue the things in front. When we spend time with God, we
can soak in His unconditional love, accept His forgiveness, and
receive His grace. When we truly repent, the guilt will be gone from
us, as Jesus’s blood have cleanses us from sins. That’s why we thank
Jesus for dying on the cross for us because there is our forgiveness,
and we don’t have to punish ourselves. He has done that for you.

God accepts us unconditionally, all the judgement, all the anger, all the
wrath of God has been poured on Jesus Christ. We have to change our
mind about ourselves. When we love ourselves, we can say that “I’m
blessed because of God”. If we don’t love ourselves, we will say
things that slander ourselves and also slandering God ie “I’m not good
enough”. The devil always try to make us think negatively about ourselves
and put us down or hate ourselves. But God said, no! Learn to love
yourself as I (God) have loved you, soak My unconditional love. 

We need to love ourselves, and hence we can love others and give
compliments to others, as well as confidence in our everyday life. God
wants us to praise Him and feel blessed by His grace, and change into
the man He intended us to be." - copy and pasted with slight editing by myself.

A very timely email received this evening.  May you all be blessed by this also :)

Lesson of the Day: Don't give up, as God never gives up!