Year End reflection 2008

I like ending the year. It's because I always look forward to the new year. I have accomplished much and there is much to look forward to. The next church camp will be fabulous. The next candlelight service will be great. I know so.

But it is not so much as measuring success as enjoying life as God lays it out. 2008 has been hard times. But life has always been about making the most out of situations. We all have our battles to fight.

I have little to add to my enjoyment of this year. The primary thought being that I will strive and thrive in the next year.

I leave you with the best Christmas message I've read this year. (From the biblioblog Experimental Theology)

New Year Resolutions 2008

1. Work hard musically. I have the resources, I now have the time. No reason it cannot work. It would be exciting because I really want to do certain thrilling stuff.
2. Reform the praise and worship. It is good now, but lacking the punch. Time for some zest.
3. Reading habit reboot. Enough said. Ultimate aim : Book Club

As for this blog, I'm not sure if anybody is still reading. But I aim to contribute more often. I also aim to finish my project at presbyterianonebody, onespirit and one faith.

WoW32: Human Interaction is just Self-Fulfilling prophecy

Why do some people find a group of people negative, and some others find the same group of people positive? I believe we pretty much read into people's actions whatever we have originally preconceived.

This is the famous story of the Lost Axe:

A man who lost his axe suspected his neighbour's son of stealing it. To him, as he observed the boy, the way the lad walked, the expression on his face, the manner of his speech - in fact everything about his appearance and behaviour betrayed that he had stolen the axe.

Not long afterwards the man found his axe while digging in his cellar. When he saw his neighbour's son again, nothing about the boy's behaviour nor appearance seemed to suggest that he had stolen the axe.

Source in Original Text!

On Knowing

There are many times I hate to say that I don't know. It is a necessary by-product of hard work in academic research and honesty in character building. I'm glad for this quote (Joshbot):

"As someone who is an expert in a tiny "portion of the elephant," and applies this expertise to the public at large, I think you make some accurate points. For my job it's important to understand that there are things I know, things I think I know (with varying degrees of certainty), and things I don't know. One of the main sources of tension comes from being honest about not knowing. The majority of people do not want to know how much is unknown about their particular problem, and sharing this truth with them generally results in anxiety. Personally, I think inducing some anxiety is better than being fraudulent."

Thinking about death

One of the key points about Christianity is the being and act of Jesus. This refers to his identity and his ministry. And the must blatant truth about Jesus' mission is to die.

WoW31: Death is a life transforming concept.

In thinking about this, I remembered a Chinese quote:
人固有一死，或重于泰山，或轻于鸿毛，用之所趋异也
汉代司马迁的《报任安书》，也称《报任少卿书》

Death comes to all, but not all deaths have the same value. It depends on its use. Knowing this makes us live even more purposefully. At the same time, it puts matters on earth in perspective.

One recommendation

There are very few web comics that is truly good and consistently relevant. Boy on a stick and snake is a wonderful comic about religion, science, philosophy and social critic. I especially like the opposing comment from the 2 main character. And it is always worth a quote or a food for thought.

Enjoy this one:
Boy: Are snakes religious?
Snake: Yes
Boy: What do you believe?
Snake: We believe we are right.

The world of Biblioblogs

That's my main obsession for now. If you want to know my current reads, try out some in this list:

50 top bibloblog

FFoB6: John and Jack

Did you know that Jack is actually derivative from John? So is the name Shane. It is apparently a common mistake to confuse Jon, which is the short form of Jonathan (God's gift), with John. The meaning of John is "God is gracious". And the meaning of Zechariah is "God has remembered". I think they are both good names. :)

Fear of Indoctrination

I can sympathize with the atheist view that children are being indoctrinated by the church and parents into a bogus faith.

Consider me surprised to read about this: Children are borne believers of God. That is a response on this article.

Well, let's hope more research is done on this fascinating discovery.

Life happens

It is somewhat ironic that despite me telling myself that I will get back on track with this blog, a week has passed until the next entry. This just goes to show the difficulty of planning my life these days.

I would like this blog to be a mental note to myself.

The first thing that I MUST record is a important scene from the movie, The Bucket List, which I surely will screen the next youth camp.

Two questions:
1. Have you found joy in your life?
2. Has your life brought joy to others?