In remembrance - Cmdr. Amos Pee

It has been six years since our good friend and fellow Royal Ranger Councilman, Cmdr. Amos Pee, has returned to the Lord. Amos is always remembered for his generosity and his desire to help others who are in need. Being a no nonsense person, he is very well known for his "scumbag" quote.

We had good time together with Amos and his family - Phebe and David. The beautiful memories of sharing really good times in Taman Negara, Cameron Highlands and even Sibu Island trip. The times we shared together as close friends and commanders were fabulous.

He was known and loved for his generosity and any visitors to his home would have a struggle on their hands if they tried to leave before he'd fed them! Cmdr. Amos is a good cook and an expert in Chinese tea. His lamb chop is the best lamb chop I have ever tasted. His knowledge of the different Chinese tea blend is indeed amazing. I tell my friend that heaven needs a real good cook....that is why he has to go first.

I am constantly reminded of people that God brings along our path of life. Cmdr. Amos was one of them in my life. I learned the art of giving and blessing others from him.

Amos always desire to see his Royal Rangers outpost, Melaka #1, to strive to new heights in reaching, teaching and keeping children for Christ. He is a councilman who is very strict and there is no excuse when it comes to the life of a child. He always requests the commanders to give their very best so that every child that comes through Royal Rangers will be blessed. He will invest his time and money in the ministry and he is known to be one of the big time patch collectors in Royal Rangers.

On 7th April 2004, I have lost a good friend and a dedicated Royal Rangers Commander. He was such a special person; caring, dedicated, unselfish and sincere. The greatest tribute we can pay Cmdr. Amos is to pray that the seeds he sowed in so many through the years of generosity will result in a rich harvest in the years to come: that would be his lasting desire.

I miss him dearly. May the good Lord bless his soul and keep his family safe in HIS loving arm.

Quote on Racism

"Racism goes against the heart of God - He reaches out to every tribe, every nation, color, creed or race. Anyone who is racist, even if remotely held cultural bias, does not even begin to know God, let alone speaks in his behalf! " - Ps. Steven Teo

In Agreement.......

I completely agree to what YB Hannah Yeoh uttered in her Facebook posting - "time to stop building church building and focus on building the people where fire can't destroy". It is timely call for all of us - that we spend our resources (a.k.a. money and effort) in building lives rather than building a "cathedral".

Please don't get me wrong. I believe the opinion here is not to discourage the church on having their own premises but rather stress on where the focus point should be. Building should always be secondary compare to lives. It always fall back to the question of priority. When we start to put the church building above every thing else, then our focus has started to deviate in comparison to the great commission given by Jesus.

Our good Lord looks at the condition of our heart rather than the condition of our physical building. Remember, heaven only rejoices when one soul is brought to the kingdom of God and not when one Mega Church building structure is constructed or a new high tech sound system being deployed. I like what Tommy Tenney said in his book The God Chasers...."The burial of man’s glory is the birth of God’s glory"

Operation Year End Break....!!!!

This year end is going to be an awesome time for us as we will be starting our holiday from tomorrow evening onwards till year end. Looking forward for doing things outside of my day to day work. Here is some of the travel plan:

1. Balik Kampung (means back to hometown)



2. Youth Camp in SP.....the best camp of the year...maybe of the decade.....!!!!



3. Wedding in JB.......someone who is so dear to us getting married.....!!! Plus day trip to Singapore...yahoooo!!!



Expected to travel over 2000km in the next 11 days. It is really nice spending 11 days doing something that I love to do that is meeting people and building relationship.

A Christmas Creed

I believe in Jesus Christ and in the beauty of the gospel begun in Bethlehem.

I believe in the one whose spirit glorified a little town; and whose spirit still brings music to persons all over the world, in towns both large and small.

I believe in the one for whom the crowded inn could find no room, and I confess that my heart still sometimes wants to exclude Christ from my life today.

I believe in the one who the rulers of the earth ignored and the proud could never understand; whose life was among common people, whose welcome came from persons of hungry hearts.

I believe in the one who proclaimed the love of God to be invincible:

I believe in the one whose cradle was a mother's arms, whose modest home in Nazareth had love for its only wealth, who looked at persons and made them see what God's love saw in them, who by love brought sinners back to purity, and lifted human weakness up to meet the strength of God.

I confess my ever-lasting need of God: The need of forgiveness for our selfishness and greed, the need of new life for empty souls, the need of love for hearts grown cold.

I believe in God who gives us the best of himself.

I believe in Jesus, the son of the living God, born in Bethlehem this night, for me and for the world.

A wise man will make more opportunity than he finds!!!

The story is told of a salesman whose company manufactured electric fans and air conditioning units sent him to Central Africa. Within days, he called his boss, saying, "Please bring me home. This is a total waste of company time and effort. Nobody uses fans and air conditioners here." The company brought him home. Six months later, they sent another salesman to the region.

This time, the salesman began to call in order after order. His supervisor asked, "How is that you are selling so many units where our previous man couldn't make a single sale?". The main replied, "I don't know. It's so hot here. Everybody could use a little cool air!"

Opportunity is nearly always related to one's perspective on a situation. The founders of the Southern Baptist Convention were honored with a plaque that was placed at the First Baptist Church of Augusta, Georgia where the Convention was first organized in 1845. The plaque recognizes this approach to opportunity in describing the founding fathers as: "Men who see the invisible, hear the inaudible, believe the incredible, and thing the unthinkable!". What a prelude to opportunity!!

Be Blessed.

A tribute to a great teacher.

On the journey of life, we meet many different characters of varying ilk. most we forget ... few we hardly remember and there are very few which we vividly remember... in fact we never forget them ... these are people who live their life like it should be lived ... simple,selfless and for others! It's just by mere association with them that we find our life full of color ... full of excitement and worth living!! They are the one who live something behind for us to cherish and appreciate.

This morning I received a sad news on the passing away of Madam Rani Thakur. Madam Rani was my English lecturer during my college days in Tafe Seremban. She well known for her unorthodox method of teaching where she puts a lot of emphasis in building relationship with her students. It is indeed effective. Madam Rani's class is always exciting where she shares her life stories and at the same time, teaching us to be strong and bold in our conquest for knowledge and to be somebody in the society. I remember Madam Rani well because of the love that she shared to her students. Many of us travel far away to come to Seremban to pursue our studies. In the midst of our loneliness, she will fill in the gap by providing a motherly care for her students. I was one of the many who received her care and concern and proud to be one of favorite student.

It is said that "A good teacher is like a candle - it consumes itself to light the way for other". How true is that statement when I reflect back all the things that Madam Rani has done for us. Madam Rani was more than a teacher to me . Apart from being a dedicated teacher (a rarity these days), she instilled a belief in each of her students, she always encouraged us to do well and achieve more in life!! It was really astonishing to see a person who taught only out of pure love for teaching!

I thank God for the opportunity to meet up with her two months ago in a cousin's wedding. It surprised me to know that I am related to her through my wife. We had a long chat and I still remember that she gave me a hug we depart. Never know that it was final good bye hug. Deep in my heart, Madam Rani will be always remembered and cherished for all the great things that she imparted into my life. I am blessed to have a great teacher like her.

Madam Rani will be dearly missed not only as a great teacher but also as a person who lived selflessly. May her soul rest in peace! I will miss you teacher.

Stop Complaining!!!

Complain will always bring us disfavor. It is better to be a model of self-reliance than an object of someone else pity. By complaining of past offenses, we open the door to new ones. If we are shrewd, we will never tell the world of our failures or defeats without showing how we overcame them.

One two-letter word holds volumes of meaning:

If I had his money, I could do big things.

If I hadn't gotten sick, I would have won the sales contest.

If my parents had loved me more, I wouldn't be so messed up.

If my children loved me more, I wouldn't be such a nervous wreck.

If we had a nickel for every time someone used an if clause to complain about his or her life, you could retire wealthy right now.

Complaints and excuses fill the lives of some people. Nothing is ever good enough. No one is ever loving enough. No meal is tasty enough. No report is clear enough. No benefit is adequate enough. No book or movie is entertaining enough. And rather than endure the least little disappointment, it seems to be the person's choice of therapy to whine loud and long.

The problem with complaining is that it does no good. Certainly a person has every right to go "on record" by disagreeing with personal opinions, policies, and such. But when overruled or outvoted, then the person need to be a bit more gracious and less vocal.

Once the cycle of complaining begins, life only gets worse and worse. Think about it. To what lengths will we go to avoid spending time or work with someone who is a chronic complainer.

By all means, change the things you can to make your surrounding a better place. But when we can't do anything, then keep our complains to ourselves. Whining is worthless. Silence, on the other hand can be golden.

Smart but not so bright!

Intelligence can only bring us halfway to success. It is only one of the two sides of our ability. Strong character needs to be combined with it. The person without a good character will fail in achieving stature in his career, community and friendships.

In the spring of 1995, scandals were rocking the Ivy League universities. A Yale student, a month away from getting his diploma, was discovered to have forged his admittance transcripts. The college planned to not only to expel him but also to press larceny charges. Meanwhile at Harvard, the administration was rescinding an offer of admittance to a young woman who was discovered to have bludgeoned her mother to death with a candlestick five years previously. She had lied about this incident during her interview.

There is no doubt that both of these students were brilliant. The girl had an IQ of 150. The guy had been a mediocre student at his community college yet maintained a B average at Yale. Neither problem was a question of intelligence but of a character.

Similar character issues haunt the reputations of some of the most brilliant people who ever lived. Character related matters come to light about public figures on a regular basis - sex scandals, suicide, greed and the like.

We cannot allow ourselves to be deceived in a similar manner. You can have the IQ of a genius. You can be a straight "A" student and high achiever at work. But that's just half of the challenge. If you don't also strive to be a person with an impeccable reputation and a reputable character, then you're just plain wasting your superior intelligence.

Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration !!!

Thomas Edison was an well known inventor, scientist and businessman who developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb.

A story was told that one day Thomas Edison was invited as guest of the governor of North Carolina. As they talked together, the governor complimented Edison on his inventive genius.

"I am not a great inventor", said Edison. "But you have over a thousand patents to your credit, haven't you?" the governor asked.

"Yes, but about the only invention I can really claim as absolutely original is the phonograph", said Edison. "I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean," replied the governor.

In reply, Edison say, "Well, I guess I'm an awfully good sponge. I absorb ideas from every course I can, and put them to practical use. Then I improve them until they become of some value. The ideas which I use are mostly the ideas of other people who don't develop them themselves."

We do not necessarily need to do something original in our life in order to succeed. We only need to do something well.

So think about it......Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.

Have a great day ahead.

Etymology of Bless You.

Today, it is common for us to utter the word "God Bless You" or "Bless You" when someone sneeze. It does seem rather strange thing to say. You contort your face, expel mucus, and onlookers wish upon you a blessing from the big man. Very strange indeed!!! They always says curiosity kills the cat and that is what exactly I did. Did some search in the Internet on this topic. There are lots of explanations given for such a simple and often unquestioned practice.

The origin of the this tradition is not entirely clear. The are a number of reasons given. One involves the belief that a human's soul might escape through a sneeze. Saying "God bless you" wards off Satan while the soul is temporarily vulnerable.

Another reason given was base on old medical information. Once upon an unenlightened time, people believed that the heart stopped during a sneeze. A hearty "God bless you" set the ol' ticker back in motion. We know today that this just a myth. Thank God our heart does not stop when we sneeze. Can you imagine how times our heart would have stop when we inhale the hot spicy curry smell.

Interesting, but the most popular theory comes from the Middle Ages. During the bubonic plague, a sneeze was believed to be a sign of impending death. "God bless you" was "a way of commending his soul to the care of God." The phrase may have also come in handy to protect oneself if someone nearby sneezed.

Today, "bless you" is more a sign of good manners than a shield against death. If only folks were as courteous about other involuntary bodily functions

Be Blessed.

Humbleness

The Cost of Finishing the Race

Someone once said that life is like participating in a marathon race. Not just one competition but many as we journey through life.

Seasoned long-distance runners have learned to focus on endurance, not just speed. They pace themselves so that as they approach the finish line they can pull out all the stops. For dedicated long-distance runners, quitting isn't an option.

Despite some delays and disappointments along the way, they know they'd never be satisfied just sitting on the sidelines cheering for those who have paid the price to run the race. So if you're that kind of person - one who needs to attain your dream and desire - go for it to touch the finish line!

So, what's the secret to enduring the race of life? Never lost sight of where you heading too. You'll only endure the pain when you've something to look forward to. Winning will cost you in terms of pressure, criticism, loneliness and sacrifice. Although we are exposed to opposition and criticism along the way, it will strengthen our character and we won't crack.

Success comes only when you're committed and have the passion to cross the finish line. So the question is: can you endure the race? When the pressure is on will you, my race is too important to stop?“ If your answer is yes, get your eyes on the ultimate goal of life, "run to win," and you're sure to cross the finish line!

When The Wall Gives Way

We can only hide our lack of integrity for so long. Eventually we'll experience failure, and whatever influence we've temporarily gained will be swept away. Hurricane Katrina taught us that. When the storm came, the river embankments in New Orleans broke and the city went under.

Integrity is like a wall - erected one brick at a time. That's why it's crucial to take care of the little things. A lot of us don't understand that. We think we can do whatever we want when it comes to small things; we believe so long as we don't have any major lapses we're doing well. But that's not the way it works. Webster's New International Dictionary describes integrity as adherence to moral and ethical principles, soundness of character, and honesty. Ethical principles are not flexible.

A little white lie is still a lie. Theft is still theft, whether it's one dollar or one million. The truth is, if you can't be trusted at all points you probably can't be trusted at any point. Each time you break a moral principle you create a crack in the wall of your character, and when times get tough it becomes harder to act with integrity - not easier.

Character isn't created in a crisis; it just comes to light. Everything you've done in the past, including the things you've neglected to do, comes to a head when you're under pressure.

Someone writes, "Integrity commits itself to character over personal gain, people over things, service over power, discipline over impulse, commitment over convenience, and the long view over the immediate."

Be Blessed.

10 Factors for Self Boost

1. Never speak negatively about self.

It is crucial that we do not speak negatively about ourselves as we tend to believe what we say more than what everybody else is saying.

2. Be ambitious, but advance in small steps.

No mountain can be conquered in one go.

3. Take time to celebrate each and every positive step we make.

This is one of the best ways in which we refuel our energy, motivation, and self-confidence.

4. Exercise our talents by focusing on our strengths, not our weaknesses.

We must find out what we like to do and that we do well, then we must do it over and over. The corollary being that we should not spend all our time trying to do something we are not good at.

5. Don't compare self to others.

Comparison invites condemnation, not recognition and appreciation. Instead, compete against absolute standards and give your best.

6. Learn to fail with grace.

It is OK to fail as long as we have given ourselves all the chance to succeed and we have learned the lessons. And above all, we should never see a failure as the end of the road. On the contrary, each failure will take us one step closer to success, if we manage to learn the lessons from it. Also, we must learn the secret of staying at peace with ourselves regardless of the situation we are in, we must learn to handle success with humbleness and failure with inner strength.

7. Focus on potential, not limitations.

We all have far more potential than we think and we can increase our realized potential any time we choose. Potential-unlocking is not age-related.

8. Have the courage to be different.

To develop a high self-factor requires us to be completely and fully ourselves. This means that we have to take a chance on not being like everyone else as we are all different and all have different talents, gifts, and abilities. We need to determine our own worth: we should not let others do it for us.

9. Be open to feedback and criticism.

Don't let others take control of us by putting their problems off on us. The sooner we realize that no matter what we do will probably never get the affirmation we desire from certain persons, the better. We must learn to become self-validating persons. Of course, it is perfectly OK to look for outside validation as long as we do not derive our sense of worth from it.

10. Keep our flaws in perspective.

We all have flaws and what we may regard, as flaws in our eyes might well be perceived as great assets in the eyes of others.We should certainly recognize our faults and weaknesses, but people with a high self-factor get their eyes off the one imperfection and look at everything in perspective.

Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia

We are ONE COUNTRY, ONE BANGSA – BANGSA MALAYSIA and nothing will break the bonds of love between us.

“SAYA ANAK BANGSA MALAYSIA”

Check out more at http://bangmalaysia.wordpress.com/2009/09/14/160909-launch-of-the-saya-anak-bangsa-malaysia-initiative/

Interesting facts about tongue....!!!!

Last Friday, I published an article on the importance of controlling our tongue which has the power to build people up or tear them down. Today, I want to share with you some interesting facts about our tongue. Here it goes:

- The tongue is the strongest muscle in our body and it is the only muscle that is connected at only one end.

- Like fingerprint, every single tongue on earth has its own individual tongue print.

- There are over 10,000 taste buds on the surface of our tongue, giving you the ability to taste the difference between, sweet, sour, salty and bitter. The salt and sweet taste buds are at the tip of the tongue, bitter at the base, and sour along the sides.

- The average weight of the adult male tongue is 70 grams, for a female, 60 grams. The tongue is 60-74% percent water, 16-18% protein, 15-24% fat!

- Close to 50% of the bacteria in the mouth lives on the surface of our tongue.

- 85% of the population can curl their tongue into a tube.

- Tongue piercing is an ancient cultural practice that dates back before recorded history.

- A blue whales tongue is the length of an elephant.

- The world’s longest tongue belongs to a woman, which is 9.3 cm long from the tip of her lips when extended.

Glory in the highest!!!!!!

I realize that I have not updated ViveAlive for almost two weeks. Been busy with cousin's wedding in Banting during the Merdeka holiday and on return to home, have to be warded in the hospital.

I simply want to glorify God.....in the midst of the storm of life, HE remains faithful and HIS peace surpass all understanding. HE faithfully leads me through the valley of the shadow of death and continue to remind me of HIS goodness and mercy that last for eternity. I see HIS hand in every aspect of my needs. My Jehovah cares!!!!

To all my friends and readers, thank you for praying for me. Received tones of smses and calls from near and far. Special thanks to those who took the trouble to visit me and be a pillar of encouragement during my six days ordeal. I know it is a risk to visit but you still take the courage to visit. I appreciate it very much. My stay in the hospital would be boring without you guys. Of course, special thanks to my lovely wife, for being there..."In sickness and in health".

All glory to My Jesus.

Be Blessed.

Knowing Yourself

It's important that you can evaluate your own self. Why? Because others will treat you according to how you treat yourself! This is not pride, it's just healthy self-esteem. When you have it, it affects every area of your life. Truth be told, it determines how far you'll go in life.

Stop and ask yourself today, "How do I really feel about myself?" Before you answer read these ten principles. Better yet, keep them before you daily.

(1) Never think or speak negatively about yourself;

(2) Know your strengths and learn to encourage yourself, for much of the time nobody else will.

(3) Don't compare yourself to anybody else. You're unique, one of a kind, an original. So don't settle for being a copy.

(4) Focus on your potential, not your limitations.

(5) Find what you like to do, do well, and strive to do it with excellence.

(6) Have the courage to be different.

(7) Learn to handle criticism. Let it develop you instead of discourage you.

(8) Determine your own worth instead of letting others do it for you. They'll short-change you!

(9) Keep your shortcomings in perspective - you're still a work in progress.

(10) Focus daily on your greatest source of confidence.

So start looking at yourself today and know that you worth more than what you think you are.

Quality of Medical Service

Recently I have been observing that the medical services in some of the clinics are getting worse. Many of the medical practitioners are just focusing on making money and little emphasis is given on value for life. A classic example happen last Thursday night at one of the well known clinics near our place.....named after one of the neighboring country.

I took my wife to this clinic as she was having having sore throat, mild fever and cough. After registering my wife, I sat down and make some observation on the other patients. I notice that every patient who walks into the doctor's room comes out from the doctor's room within 70 to 80 seconds. As my wife's name was called in, she too had had the sane short encounter with the doctor. I was wondering what kind of prognosis can a doctor give within that short period of time.

My wife was also annoyed with the kind of diagnosis that the doctor has carried out to determine her exact condition. In fact, the doctor was not even concern with hygiene. The doctor was using an Ear Thermometer without using the hygienic probe covers.

Looks like some of the doctors are not following the Code of Medical Ethics crafted by The Malaysian Medical Association. It is good for commoners like us to understand the code of medical practice which suppose to give guidelines for our doctors. Check it out at the following link : http://www.mma.org.my/Portals/0/pdf/MMA_ethicscode.pdf

Having said all this, I still believe there are a lot of good doctors out there who cares for the needs of their patient. So good doctors, thank you so much.......to the others whom I am taling about earlier, you can start by watching the movie "Patch Adams".