R³

1.  I had a dream this morning
2.  I enjoyed the dream.
3.  However, that does not make it a good dream.

In the dream, I was so happy that even asked my friend who was inside, “Is this a dream?” Since only alert and fully awake people can pinch themselves and/or ask such questions, I took it to be reality.

The consequence? Extreme disappointment.

In fact, I wasn’t even sure which realm I had awakened into.

Sometimes, I’m not even sure which is the nightmare:

A bad dream that you can’t seem to wake up from,
or a good dream you can’t seem to stay asleep in. 

[This post was evoked/inspired by Shi You.]

Allow me to explain why - I was shopping around in Vivo city yesterday with the ULs when I heard someone calling out my name. It was none other then Shi You and apparently she just wanted to tell me that although she’s in Melbourne, she still reads my blog because she finds it inspiring and encouraged me to keep blogging.

It was a short conversation, perhaps at most about 2 minutes, but the words exchanged have made a big difference in my heart. People often have no idea how many times I felt like closing down this blog as I often thought that it wasn’t fulfilling its intended purpose: Impacting the lives of others. That small little encouragement from her helped to reassure me that it’s on the right path.

As I dwell on her words, it can only cause me to wonder how many times have God placed a person in my path for me to encourage? A simple phrase or a gentle assurance can have such an enormous impact on peoples’ life. Yet am I guilty of withholding such simple gestures from a discouraged soul? Probably. I suspect this is fundamentally a cultural flaw. We Singaporeans tend to be less vocal, withholding our praise and muting our personal opinions. No wonder Shirley needs to rally the hundreds of people who visit Eelee’s blog to tag and comment, in hope that a few souls will respond. Perhaps this is why thousands may complain about the 7% GST but only 5 would join the opposition parties. Ridiculous isn’t it?

As with all flaws, actions need to be taken. Problems can only be solved if we take ownership of them. If we have to change this culture; I have to change this culture. It starts with the power of one. I’m going to comment more, tag more, write more cards; in hope that I might encourage some. Join me. Change the culture!

Sometimes… to be less vocal is to be less biblical.

Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.
-Soren Kierkegaard, Danish philosopher (1813 - 1855)

Now I know why God didn’t…

…make me a canoeing ace.
I would have been so obsessed till I lose my eternity.

…give me a larger body build.
My fiery temper & my larger build would have made me a big bully.

…grow my caregroup bigger 3 years ago.
Pride would have gone into my head.

…placed me into my desired junior college of my choice.
I wouldn’t have been able to serve Him as effectively.

…made me an officer.
I learnt how to be a better boss in future while I am being subjected to a lousy one.

Thank God for being God. He saved myself from me.

Well, a few posts ago, I was talking about counting the temporal; matchsticks.

Just to keep us in perspective. The things we are doing must count in eternity, lest we labor in vain.

So, what counts in heaven?

The things that count for eternity are simply the things that can be counted in eternity: Human souls.

“Youth is not the world.”
- a certain man

The very thought of this sentence makes my blood boil. Somehow people always tend to underestimate the power of youths.

Thank goodness that our God is not a god of the superficial, he doesn’t look at size nor age. He looks at the heart. And He prefers a child-like heart to an adult one.

I know He wants us to mature as well. I cannot deny that He wants us to be equipped with an adult-like brain. Then again, if God is unlike man, who judges the outward appearances but instead looks at the hearts of men, what do you think He would value more? A child-like heart or an adult-like brain?

By the way, it seems like the former appears to be rarer.

Samuel heard the voice of God when he was 12-13 years old. David defeated Goliath when he was around 15-17 years old. Joseph hanged on to his dreams which he received in his childhood. Jesus taught in the temple courts when he was 12 years old. It seems like youths can do hell more then an entire army of men, be wiser then a bunch of old folks concerning the Word, and even hear God.

Youths are not powerful because they are young. They are powerful because our God is powerful and he chooses to work though them. Our God does not have a minimum age requirement. In fact, I suppose God will rather use the youth - they have softer hearts, more obedience and greater faith. Would you use wet clay or wait a while longer for the hardened clay to serve your pottery purposes? It is a no brainer question, for the youth at least… adults might have alternative forms of reasoning.

“Youths can be adults, but adults can never be youths.”
- Zachary Young

On the 21 of January 2007, I posted:

Adults have the hands to change the world,
Youths have the hearts to change the world.

Allow me to add on to it.

God can be the hands of the youths,
but He cannot be the hearts of the adults.

Looks like even my sleepy friend won’t help me with my escapes to the other reality anymore.

Some of my randomness before entering the stage of rapid eye movements.

We were told to believe in people.
Belief in people instills expectations.
Expectations are the setup for disappointment.

Go figure the last equation.

David did most…

not when he was a king,

but when he was a shepherd boy.

He sinned…

when he was a king, not a shepherd boy.

He killed Goliath…

not when he was a king,

but when he was a shepherd boy.

I guess…

it is better to be a shepherd boy sometimes.