Monday, October 19, 2009
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Saturday, October 10, 2009
hands and feet ;)
we were inspired by some images off the net and decided to take some of our own ;)
Saturday, October 03, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
It's been awhile...
it's been awhile since i shared my thoughts on a movie i've watched. Perhaps it's because there hasn't been one worth mentioning (to be fair, there have been quite a few i've yet to get my hands on, so...).i had a friend over the house and we all sat down to watch this movie which i've only heard of every now and then over MTV when i happened to be channel surfing on ASTRO back in KL. i've seen the main actor in his previous movie but i must admit i didn't remember him very much for his acting.
So i was taking a 'risk' with this one. And truth be told, i like taking these 'risks' and go with my gut feeling cos' more often than not i end up pleasantly surprised at the discovery of a gem instead of what was perhaps previously conceived as a possible mess of a movie.
That's not to say however that i've not had my fair share of 'catastrophes' ;)
Anyway, this movie is a gem.
The first thing that i found very pleasantly surprising indeed was the fact that it had so many 'layers' to it. i mean for a movie titled 'Fighting' which essentially revolves around the underground street-fighting scene, you don't really expect much 'thought'.
But trust me, there's way more going on than meets the eye. And i'm not just talking about twists and turns (of which there are a couple)... but more so about the underlying themes of will, honour, love, friendship, trust, dignity and even good vs evil which permeate and intertwine the plot (and subplots) of the movie.
And tastefully at that.
It's far from your average fight-flick. In fact, it's far from your average movie. There's pretty good character development (something that seems to be a rarity across the board these days) and there's an attention to detail and style so much so that how the scenes are shot themselves speak clearly albeit subtly of the underlying messages the story is trying to put across.
Funny finding a creative gem in the midst of what was seemed like another average action-flick.
*vinod grins with satisfaction and delight at his 'find'*
Friday, September 11, 2009
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
i believe...
our lives are not measured by how much we've accomplished or achieved 'in His Name' but by how much we love and obey Him.
Monday, September 07, 2009
Sunday, September 06, 2009
Tuesday, September 01, 2009
Willingness?
What is the real test of willingness?
How can you tell, really, that you are willing?
i think many a time we can come to a place of taking the easy excuse of a way out and console ourselves with a self-proclamation of 'being willing'.
It's a 'dangerous' position to be in. And it's even worse when it's in the light of what God may be asking of us.
Here's an example (albeit perhaps exaggerated or over-simplified):
God asks you and i to give a sum of money to a cause (ultimately unto Him) which we're not 'used' to (although in actual fact with God there's really no such thing as 'used to') and instead of obeying in faith... our so called 'wisdom' kicks in and we reduce ourselves to giving what we're used to or worse still not giving anything at all with the excuse that "God is just testing my willingness to give".
Ridiculous?
But that's what you and i do more often than not don't we? And worse still, we have the cheek to advise others the same.
So the question then arises... how do we know if we're willing? And maybe even... can we ever 'know' that we are willing and just leave it at that?
Or is willingness manifested by action? Is willingness proved by an actual response?
Cos' our hearts are deceitful beyond measure and to just look into ourselves and feel our way through and come to the conclusion that we are willing in and of ourselves really doesn't cut it.
let's perhaps hit a little closer to home...
When God spoke to me and said (and i'm 'paraphrasing' and 'summarizing' here) that i got to serve Him 'full-time'... some people responded in exactly the manner i am referring to above (and usually if you think about it, it's the people that have really no clue themselves)... perhaps very well-intentioned, saying, "hey, you don't 'really' need to go into full-time ministry...God just wants to see if you're willing to...".
Huh?
i recollect the account of Abraham and Isaac.
Yes, God did eventually ask Abraham to stop and in that sense prevented Abraham from actually doing what He had asked him to but didn't Abraham obey and follow-through with action in faith in the first place.
Did Abraham after hearing God's command proclaim that he was actually willing but then sit back and do nothing?
No.
It's evident that in Abraham's mind, he really was going to sacrifice Isaac. He prepared the stuff, took his son up the mountain and was even to the point of plunging the dagger in.
That is the evidence of willingness in my opinion... actually following-through with action.
i think we can presumptuously take 'willingness' too far and forget that it is seen only through action. Nobody in the Word of God was given the title 'willing' without doing anything.
Imagine if Jesus had been only 'willing', as we often define it, to go to the cross to die for our sins!
Thanks be to God that His willingness was seen by His fulfillment of what was demanded.
Not doing anything about it simply is synonymous to UNWILLINGNESS.
Let's make no mistake about it.
How can you tell, really, that you are willing?
i think many a time we can come to a place of taking the easy excuse of a way out and console ourselves with a self-proclamation of 'being willing'.
It's a 'dangerous' position to be in. And it's even worse when it's in the light of what God may be asking of us.
Here's an example (albeit perhaps exaggerated or over-simplified):
God asks you and i to give a sum of money to a cause (ultimately unto Him) which we're not 'used' to (although in actual fact with God there's really no such thing as 'used to') and instead of obeying in faith... our so called 'wisdom' kicks in and we reduce ourselves to giving what we're used to or worse still not giving anything at all with the excuse that "God is just testing my willingness to give".
Ridiculous?
But that's what you and i do more often than not don't we? And worse still, we have the cheek to advise others the same.
So the question then arises... how do we know if we're willing? And maybe even... can we ever 'know' that we are willing and just leave it at that?
Or is willingness manifested by action? Is willingness proved by an actual response?
Cos' our hearts are deceitful beyond measure and to just look into ourselves and feel our way through and come to the conclusion that we are willing in and of ourselves really doesn't cut it.
let's perhaps hit a little closer to home...
When God spoke to me and said (and i'm 'paraphrasing' and 'summarizing' here) that i got to serve Him 'full-time'... some people responded in exactly the manner i am referring to above (and usually if you think about it, it's the people that have really no clue themselves)... perhaps very well-intentioned, saying, "hey, you don't 'really' need to go into full-time ministry...God just wants to see if you're willing to...".
Huh?
i recollect the account of Abraham and Isaac.
Yes, God did eventually ask Abraham to stop and in that sense prevented Abraham from actually doing what He had asked him to but didn't Abraham obey and follow-through with action in faith in the first place.
Did Abraham after hearing God's command proclaim that he was actually willing but then sit back and do nothing?
No.
It's evident that in Abraham's mind, he really was going to sacrifice Isaac. He prepared the stuff, took his son up the mountain and was even to the point of plunging the dagger in.
That is the evidence of willingness in my opinion... actually following-through with action.
i think we can presumptuously take 'willingness' too far and forget that it is seen only through action. Nobody in the Word of God was given the title 'willing' without doing anything.
Imagine if Jesus had been only 'willing', as we often define it, to go to the cross to die for our sins!
Thanks be to God that His willingness was seen by His fulfillment of what was demanded.
Not doing anything about it simply is synonymous to UNWILLINGNESS.
Let's make no mistake about it.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
the past 3 months... a retrospective synopsis?
So i have been on a 'hiatus' for the past 3 months or so and needless to say a lot has happened since.
A lot.
Perhaps putting it in a somewhat simplified and not necessarily comprehensive list will help ;)
i've never been very good at saying things in a few words but i sure will give it a go (cos' frankly some of these things will probably take up an entire blog entry or more to expound themselves... and even then it won't do them justice).
And in no particular order...
1. God spoke and 'shattered' the preconceived ideas i had of how i was going to serve Him and function for His Kingdom - i'm going into full time ministry.
2. Became a new father.
3. Miraculously reconciled with my father - all glory to God!
4. Spent good quality time with dear loved ones.
5. Took up the challenge of learning up guitar (acoustic but hopefully 'graduating' to electric soon).
6. Started equipping myself in the area of 'Systematic Theology'.
7. Learnt some 'classic' recipes from grandma.
8. Ate to my heart's (well actually stomach's) content.
9. To my utter pleasure and privilege, got reintegrated into the 'life' of ACTS.
10. Geared up to get going with all that God has in store... and return as soon as He would want me to.
There you have it... 3 months in a nutshell.
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
My wedding anniversary gift from my dear wife ;)
YEAH! A 50mm f1.8 lens for my camera! She knows me soooo well =D
here are two of the first shots i took with it ;)
here are two of the first shots i took with it ;)
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
YES!
i am so proud and thankful to be the husband to my wife and the father to my newborn son ;)
To God be all the glory!
Sunday, June 07, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
finally evidence of 'intelligent' life forms...
The Ministry of Education has finally put a stop to the ridiculousness of students taking more than 10 subjects for SPM.
Now, i didn't sit for SPM (so perhaps i have relinquished my right to give an opinion on the issue...still).
But i have been very aware of the trend our SPM has been taking with more and more students taking more and more subjects.
Frankly, i think it's silly and depicts the depravity of our education system to sieve out deserving and 'bright' students.
Quantity can never make up for quality. And perhaps even more so in the case of students choosing all kinds of subjects just to make up the number they're aiming for (20 subjects?? like hello!).. it only proves how directionless, distracted and disillusioned our emerging generation of 'bright' minds are.
This does not in any way diminish the 'value' of the accomplishment. 20 A1 is a big deal. But then the more important question is why 20 subjects in the first place? The other bigger question is are our exams therefore 'tough' enough?
i mean, the fact that it's even possible for quite a number of students to take more than the necessary subjects and ace all of them ...somehow brings our examinations credibility into question doesn't it?
No foreign country is gonna take results like 20A1s seriously (at least in my opinion). It raises a lot of questions with regards to the 'standard' of our exams as well as the motivation of our students.
i haven't even touched the whole area of education being more than just 'scoring' in exams yet.
What kind of community do we want to raise up?
People who have read a lot about life but know nothing about it?
People who have 'know' a lot about art but can't really appreciate it?
People who just can't communicate nor socialise with others?
People who can't understand the value of teamwork nor leadership?
perhaps... it's a good thing to put a cap on the number of subjects... but better still, if it translates to higher quality education and therefore examinations.
But then again, what would i know....
i didn't sit for SPM kan? ;)
Now, i didn't sit for SPM (so perhaps i have relinquished my right to give an opinion on the issue...still).
But i have been very aware of the trend our SPM has been taking with more and more students taking more and more subjects.
Frankly, i think it's silly and depicts the depravity of our education system to sieve out deserving and 'bright' students.
Quantity can never make up for quality. And perhaps even more so in the case of students choosing all kinds of subjects just to make up the number they're aiming for (20 subjects?? like hello!).. it only proves how directionless, distracted and disillusioned our emerging generation of 'bright' minds are.
This does not in any way diminish the 'value' of the accomplishment. 20 A1 is a big deal. But then the more important question is why 20 subjects in the first place? The other bigger question is are our exams therefore 'tough' enough?
i mean, the fact that it's even possible for quite a number of students to take more than the necessary subjects and ace all of them ...somehow brings our examinations credibility into question doesn't it?
No foreign country is gonna take results like 20A1s seriously (at least in my opinion). It raises a lot of questions with regards to the 'standard' of our exams as well as the motivation of our students.
i haven't even touched the whole area of education being more than just 'scoring' in exams yet.
What kind of community do we want to raise up?
People who have read a lot about life but know nothing about it?
People who have 'know' a lot about art but can't really appreciate it?
People who just can't communicate nor socialise with others?
People who can't understand the value of teamwork nor leadership?
perhaps... it's a good thing to put a cap on the number of subjects... but better still, if it translates to higher quality education and therefore examinations.
But then again, what would i know....
i didn't sit for SPM kan? ;)
Sunday, May 24, 2009
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