An Interview with an Undertaker: Distortion of Life from Death

Before I go on, I would like to thank the people who have been reading this post and asking me questions. I really appreciate the feedback and discussion. I look forward to seeing you on my blog more often and discuss issues with me as I continue to post. I would also like to thank the undertaker for allowing me this interview and lastly, thank God for this to even happen. :)

From previous interviews, it is shared that we can find out from the Bible that death is certainly not a desirable outcome. It is a punishment from God due to man's evil doing. Having said that, the idea of heaven and hell is real and there is an afterlife whether we like it or not. In this final installment of the 4 part mini-series, it is explained that Death is certainly not supposed to be a natural process, contrary to what most people believe. In the end, we are presented with 2 choices through the interview of the undertaker at the end: To live or not to live. Everything I say from here on will be superfluous, so I will just leave it to the undertaker to do the talking. 

Distortion of Life from Death

Do you think Death is a natural process? Why?

Death is not a natural process but a consequence of an ungodly choice by man. God has given a stern warning, “But of the tree of of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die”. Genesis 2:17. Sin is disobedience to Him. When Adam disobeyed God and took the fruit of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, which God commanded not to, he sinned against God and as a consequence death resulted. The wages of sin is death. Rpmans 6:23.     

I can immediately see 3 things that Sin makes us do.

1.      Sin will cost us more than we want to pay. Taking the example of the Israelites after the Battle of Jericho. One amongst them named Achan, in disobedience took and hid some silver and gold under his tent. The silver and gold was supposed to have gone to God’s treasury and the rest of the spoils in Jericho was to be destroyed.  But Achan took  and kept for himself. The consequence of his sin was that his sons and daughters, his belongings including his animals were stoned and burnt. It was certainly more than he wanted to pay for his sins. A criminal may be sentenced to a long imprisonment or even be put to death for his sins. When he committed the crime surely he did not expect to be caught and be made to pay for his crime, a price that he would not be willing to pay.

2.      Sin will make you stay longer than you want to stay. The Israelites stayed forty more years going around in the wilderness because of their sins of not trusting God to lead them into the Promised Land. A drug addict gets stuck on his habit that he becomes enslaved to for many years and for many their lifetime; or an adulterer who thought that it was just going to be a one night stand developed a long term affair that destroys his entire family and trust of his loved ones. I have a friend who started flirting with a woman and then they started to have an affair and he lived more than twenty years in this sinful relationship and all these years of lying to his wife and family.

3.      Sin makes you go further than you want to go. For example, in the Bible we read that King David saw Bathsheba bathing and he lusted over her and took her to bed. Then when she became pregnant, he started to devise her husband’s death. Sex leads to murder and later we also read that there was chaos in his palace and household. I think we will be familiar with telling a lie, then cover it with more and more lies. This is what it means when I say sin makes us go further than we want to go.

And sin leads to death. So death is a fruit of our sins and was never intended to be natural. It only came upon mankind when sin came into the picture. But if we view death from the already fallen nature of man, then death does seem to be a natural conclusion to life.    

If you permit me, I would like to share some thoughts about how to avoid situations that might make us fall into sin. Let us visit the Garden of Eden.

In the Garden of Eden, God permits man to eat of any fruit except the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. His warning was that the day he eats of that forbidden fruit he shall surely die. But we noted that Adam and Eve were in the vicinity of that forbidden tree. In other words they were where they should not have been. Then we also noticed that there was Satan in the form of the serpent with them. They were in the wrong company. Then Satan started to talk with them. They were engaged in wrong talks with the wrong company. What happened?

Satan started to get their attention away from the great liberty and free life that God had lavished on them. He then focused on the one and only restriction and started to make them feel that God has shortchanged them. Satan lied to make them blind to God’s goodness and made them feel that God’s intentions for them were not good, that He did not want them to be like Him. To summarise, Satan blinded Man to God’s good will, then he planted the seeds of doubt that made them challenge God’s authority, and he robbed Man of life because he knew the penalty of breaking God’s law is Death.

No, Death was never meant to be a natural event in life. Unfortunately, Man chose death when he chose not to believe God. But we thank God that He did not just leave Man to die and be separated from Him forever. God sent His son Jesus to bear the death penalty on our behalf. As we have it now, our physical body will die, but we have eternal spiritual life with God when we believe and receive Jesus in our hearts.

“For God so loved the World that He gave His only Son that whosoever (you and me) believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life” John 3:16

Choose Life.

An Interview with an Undertaker: Destination after Death

Last week, I shared about life and death, and whether it is a tabooed topic too unsavory for the dinner table. After much thought, I realised that not many people talk the idea of Death to begin with and so explains the popularity of these articles as I post them up on fb. Besides, it is about Christianity.

I will make no apologies to explicitly include my religion, because afterall, I'm not here to gloss over things and make the topic look pretty. While other preachers choose to tell believers that when they believe in Jesus they go to Heaven(and most of the time people take Jesus for a mere pass to Heaven and the Spirit an emotional high); I choose to tell them about death and it being a consequence of man's rebellion against the Lord and precisely why they should not consider between heaven or hell in the first place, but rather God or self/death. For I need no eloquent wisdom nor the wisdom of the world to spread the Word of God. It's believe in the death of Jesus as your way to salvation or Death. As simple as that.

Without further ado, let me share what the undertaker has to say about what the afterlife really holds for us according to the Bible.

Destination after Death?

Is Death the end of all things? Is there an afterlife?

I guess to most people Death would be the end of all things, although I should say that all things don’t end except the one who dies. So maybe the spirit of the question is “does he die to all things?” In the physical aspect, I would believe so. But in the spiritual aspect, I personally do not know except what I am told in the Bible. And that physical death closes a chapter in this physical world while it opens a new one in the spiritual world. What might this spiritual realm be? The Bible tells us there is Heaven and Hell. So who goes where? The Bible again tells us that in God’s hands there is a Book of Life. Anyone whose name is not registered there will be sent to Hell and those whose names are written in it will go to Heaven. Does this sound cruel what God is doing? Actually not, man is given a free will to choose. By not choosing life he has chosen to remain in death. John 3: 18 and 19 tells us that those who believe Jesus is not condemned but those who do not believe are condemned already. The condemnation is that we reject the Light and choose to remain in darkness (sin). How do we choose life so that our names will be written in the Book of Life? John 3: 16 of the Bible tells us, “For God so loved the world He gave His only Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life” and in John 14:6 Jesus says,” I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; No man goes to the Father (God) but by me”. Is there an afterlife? Very much so, except that this afterlife can be an eternity of peace and joy in God’s presence or an eternity in Hell’s fire and suffering without God’s presence and in eternal separation from God.

During this very short lifespan on Earth, we have to make that important decision that will have an eternal consequence. I seriously urge everyone to seriously consider this carefully. Choose the only Way, the Truth and the Life, whom Jesus said He is.



Should Death be a mourning or celebration?

As I mentioned earlier, I believe all Death bring about a separation except the one death, that of Jesus that brings reconciliation. Death takes us away from our loved ones, or our loved ones from us and that makes us sad and gives us reason to grieve and mourn over our loss. It is very human to grieve and mourn over our loss of a loved one. I have seen some who actually throw such a huge celebration when their relative died because they inherit a huge estate and wealth. On the other hand I have also heard curses being hurled at the deceased because the only inheritance left to them is a huge debt. Whether to mourn or celebrate depends very much on several factors, like the ones just mentioned with regards to inheritance; or with regards to how close the deceased was with the surviving relatives. If their relationship had been good, they grieved the more and if not, lesser.


However, for those who have some religious bias or beliefs their reactions to death may differ. If they believe that their loved one who departed has gone to Heaven, there is much rejoicing and if not then there is apprehension, guilt and doubt.


I personally have grieved over the loss of my parents who were very dear to me, but I did not grieve hopelessly. I believe as Christians they have gone to be with a loving God. So while I was sad to have lost them I was actually glad they are now in a better place with Christ. To that, I celebrate.



Join me next week as I talk about the Distortion of Life from Death  and the Death that our sins have created.

An Interview with an Undertaker: Definition of Death

Last week, I introduced the background for my personal quest in this mini-series and introduced a christian undertaker and his Dealings with Death. Tonight I will be sharing about life and death, and whether it is a tabooed topic too unsavory for the dinner table.

Without further ado, here are the answers

Definition of Death

What are your personal views on life and death and its meaning?

There are 3 aspects of life that I would like to share about.

1)      Life is a trust. I believe that the life we have and all the things we have are entrusted to us by God. Our life is God’s gift to us. God trusts us with this life. What we do and how we live this life is our gift back to God. The question I ask myself often is will God be satisfied with His investment in me.

2)      Life is full of trials. I believe that God allow trials in our life to build our character and to refine us. An apt illustration will be that of the Silversmith. How does the silversmith know if the silver has been refined and pure? When he puts the ore to the fire, the dross and the impurities are burnt out and the silver will melt into a very shiny mass. When the silversmith looks at the silver, he can see his own image in it. Then he knows the silver is ready. When God is through with us by the trials He presents us, He will see His own image in us. That’s what it means when the Bible says we shall be like Him.

3)      Life is temporary. As you know I am in the funeral service. You often see tombstones with markings like “Freddie Choo, Born 1954-Died 2012”. Here, life is marked as “-“between the dates for birth and death. It’s just a short dash, and that’s how temporary life is here on Earth. We were born without anything and we will die without anything. It is so sad to see people amassing great wealth and trying to build great empires as if they are going to be here forever. Then when they are about 70 years or maybe 80 years old, they die, bringing with them nothing. All their labor has come to nothing, a striving for the wind. The terrifying thing that comes next is that he will have to face God to be judged. This brings me to the next part of the question, what my personal views of death and its meaning are.

To me Death is a separation. I feel that to better illustrate what I mean, I should try to explain of my belief what being human is.

What is Man? The common answer we often hear is that Man is made up of Body, Soul and Spirit. What really does this mean?

1)      Body – The human body has senses like sense of smell, taste, touch, hearing and sight. By these senses we get to know the world we are in.

2)      The Soul- The soul has faculties like emotions and the soul allow us to know who we are.

3)      The spirit- The spirit has a conscience that allows us to know who God is. In a certain sense, the spirit is like the heart of the soul, the part that connects us to God. Without the spirit we cannot connect with Him. It is this spirit that makes man searching for God, but unfortunately many went a looking at wrong places and turning to idols.

When physical death occurs, the soul (who we are) gets separated from the body. When spiritual death occurs the soul gets separated from God. That sounds so fatal does it not? Fortunately, there is such a thing as spiritual life, an eternal life. Scripture tells us that God who loved us so much gave His only Son, Jesus, who died for our sins and those who believe in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. Wow! While all of us know death to separate people from their loved ones and their God, there is one death that actually reconciles us to our God and our loved ones. And that was the death of Jesus on the cross. He rose again to conquer death and to break the power of sin.  Therefore, for those who trust God and accept His Son, when physical death occurs, their souls return to God to live this new spiritual triumphant eternal life.

Should Death be avoided and the topic of death be treated as a taboo?

No one can avoid death. Most, if not all people fear death but none can avoid it. There was a famous Hollywood actor and movie director who said, “I don’t fear death, I just don’t want to be there when it happens”. Death is not a probability but a certainty. “It is appointed unto Man once to die and then the judgment” Hebrews 9:27.  Because of our fear Death becomes a taboo, and so we do not want to talk about it. Not talking about it does not mean it will not come. It will come for sure. When? We do not know but we know it will indeed come knocking at the door; earlier for some and for others later. 

The sooner we acknowledge that death is real and death is certain, then we will learn to live our lives more meaningfully. I have heard it being suggested and I believe in it, that we should live our life as if this is our last day. Then we will truly want to do things that count, things that are meaningful. We would want to mend broken relationships and make things right. We want to smell the roses while they still bloom and say lovely words to our loved ones while we still may do so and while they may still hear us.

To live as if death will not come to us is to live in denial of the truth. When it does come, it will be such a shocking awakening.


Join me next week as I talk about the Destination of Death and what the afterlife really holds for us according to the Bible.

An Interview with an Undertaker: Dealing with Death

Hungry Ghost Festival just ended, and all the talk of Death and afterlife is somewhat still in the air. What more a time such as this to talk about death and the afterlife?

Death is something that people fear because they do not know what happens after a person dies. Is it the end all of life? People around me would know that not too long ago, my grandma passed away. The idea of death is still fresh in my memory. Then just a months, my archery teammate's grandma passed away too. Both are not saved. Neither is my friend himself. Uncannily, recently someone newly close to my heart has to do a project on the topic of unsung heros of this funeral trade and I decided to tag along to find out more behind the scenes and how these people view death and mourning.

Many things happened before she passed away that made family ties estranged, so when she passed away, I was left hanging with a lot of personal issues. Furthermore, my grandma is not saved, which makes things more heartbreaking for me, as I have the hope of heaven that she did not have, and I will never see her again. Hence, I found that though I'm more or less moving on in life and happily serving the Lord, my heart still wants to reconcile certain things, and I realised that I may not be the only one facing such an issue within my circle of friends. I have a lot of ambivalent feelings in my heart and I know that I am and will not be in the only one. So I hope this in the process of interviewing, collecting information and writing the article, I can find some solace and answers that I can share with everyone in the same plight.

Background of the undertaker:
The undertaker is a strong Christian whose family members are also Christians. He and his family often helps out in the church as much as he can. Being in this line for so long, even as much as to be a big boss, he certainly has contemplated on life and death, and has placed his faith and trust in God for the salvation of his family and himself. In my face to face chat with him to request for an email interview, the strong idea that I got was that death is a natural process and it is by no means a glorious thing to be profiting from the deaths of others, but he certainly does this as a personal mission to do what others dare not do and providing funeral services so that the families of the deceased can mourn properly.


I realised that because of the fact that he enthusiastically replied my questions seriously, his answers were  in no way deficient of content nor depth. Cutting out and editing on any words were difficult as it will not do him justice, so I will split up the interview into segments and do this posts in a 4 part series as follows:
1. Dealing with Death (This post)
2. Definition of Death
3. Destination after Death
4. Distortion of Life from Death

Without further ado, I bring you the first of the 4 part series of An Interview with an Undertaker.

Dealing with Death

Question: How have your religion and job influenced the way you view death?

I am a Christian. I believe what the Bible tells me. It says that when I believe in Jesus and accept Him as my Lord and Saviour, I will have eternal life when I die. As such, I do not fear death because when I die I go to Heaven. Why would I be fearful to go to Heaven? My job as a funeral director keeps me constantly reminded that death is so real. Everyday people die, people cry over them, and I hear stories of many things that were planned but not done because death cuts short his time to do so. This reality makes me sensitive to others, to treat them with love. To tell my family I love them and to do things that make people happy, things that count. Because I see death every day, it makes me treasure life the more, life of others and my own. I think it might be more appropriate if you asked me how I view life because of death. Yes, my life, how I live it and what I make it to be is my gift back to God and I hope He will not be disappointed investing in me. 

Join me next week as I talk about the Definition of Death and what it means to him and most probably to me too.

Self Versus God: Are our hearts really on God?

I just had a revelation, if not, reminder in a form of a big sized reasoning that I cannot ignore.

A commonly asked question is "Prove to me that God exist". My question to them is "You sure u wanna listen to my explanation? It's not going to be short like a snap nor is it going to be pleasing to ur ears." Humans have a finite form and therefore have finite mind and heart. How can we squeeze a infinite God that lived before time, and created time within time and our finite minds that is smaller than time? God does not need to prove his existence to us if we refuse to accept that he is bigger than us.

And to ask God to show his miracles like healing and uncommon signs to prove his glory and power or even satisfy our desire to be reaffirmed that he is real or just for the feel high is like asking a trained poodle to do stunts. God is no trained poodle, he will do miracles and heal as he pleases to and he will show his glory and power in his way and we must acknowledge it. In fact he has already shown his glory and power to us, in our being itself and in his son Jesus, the most innocent man who died the most horrifically humiliating and painful death for the sake of God's will which is to provide a way for our salvation through Jesus' death and resurrection.

This will indeed be mind boogling to people who have choosen from the start to ask for prove just for the sake of an intellectual debate and self-gratification that God doesn't exist. If we have our hearts full of ourselves, how can we have the space to let God in, let alone the people around us?

When we ask for his glory to be shown on earth? Is it for prove to the world that God is almighty or is it to prove to people that we are believing in the right thing and be proud(or even boostful about it)? When we ask for healing of people in general, is it for ourselves to get better or is it a cheap way to show people what God can do so that they can choose God?

Are our hearts really on God?

What I replied when a church leader asked me on fb msgs why I left church.

"I guess the most bugging thing is the constant demands for spiritual gifts without the understanding of who God is. He is a God who loves to shower his children with gifts yet we may not think of it as gifts and constantly push for what we want. God has all right to refuse our request because he knows what is suitable for us though we constantly "seek and ask" from God. The lack of understanding of who God is makes us selfish and treat God as an ATM.

People often forget that the man with the leprosy got healed for that fact that miracles were needed to show God's power over the fallen world. Furthermore we must not forget to be like the man and first approach God with a humble heart "Lord if you may, heal me." This shows that the man understands God's sovereignty so much that he recognise that God may or may not heal him because he is a sinner. Though many say that now we are no longer called sinners but victors in Christ, we must bear in mind that we still cannot be brazen in our request in front of the almighty God or we might end up taking him for granted.

Having stated my view, I feel that this lack of understanding leads the the issue of people unknowingly and/or brazenly treating God like an ATM or sorts. When people do not get what they prayed for, it is often brushed off as having little faith. The result is people becoming disillusioned and fall into becoming nominal Christians.

Even before I became a leader, I have tried to address this issue, but nothing seems to get across. Besides, I feel like over the years I have not been edified because I thought that I have been faithless in my request. Half maybe true, but the other half is because I realised that I did not see God for who he is and not what he can do for us. Also, my position as a leader made it worst cause I was more aware that I couldn't cause people to be "slain by the spirit" even though I prayed for them and I feel bad because they didn't get the spiritual gift they wanted such as "tongues" or something else. But I know that I have touched the lives of others through normal prayer because by God's grace, 1 or 2 youths to be leaders because they told me that they felt convicted by the spirit to be leaders after I "prophesied" over them being leaders without me realising it. & though I have not directly been told so, it is implied that I lack the faith when I ask for spiritual gifts. Having said that, I am pointing out the amount of flourish and emphasis the church put into this gifts that physically manifest themselves and have became short sighted for quick results that they many fail to recognise that God is in the driver's seat and not us. Again, this leads back to people becoming disillusioned with God or brazen in front of God.

My argument may be weak and you may or may not agree with me but I feel that since I would be a rebel in church and would confuse the minds of the young ones if I continue to serve as a leader, I should quit. Also, as I did not feel fed in PLMC and get the necessary edification and/or exhortation, but get it from another church, I should move to pastures that are able to feed me and help me to grow healthly. I have talked to various leaders from church and from my NIE Bible study group and have prayed for years to come to this decision. Regardless, my family church will still be PLMC and I will still pray for the people as I do with other people.

Sorry for this long reply, but this is my long story in a capsule form. HAHA... Hope it didn't make you stunned and satisfy your curiosity."

Respect and honour authority as well as those who serve you.

It's sad how stuck up and demanding this nation as become.

Recently, as I was tweeting around, I saw that someone commented on how Dr Ng Eng Hen got jeered up for coming to the air-show late. & the person was LOL-ing about it. Hmm... ... He is the Guest-Of-Honour right? But no applause? There was a link tagged to the tweet that directed me to another website, a forum and I read on about it. It seems that it was another person talking about the air show and how the audience barged their way in before the arriving of the Guest-Of-Honour. Smells like unreasonable Singaporean behaviour to me. The person later on added that it is seems that Singaporeans to not respect their ministers like they use to especially after GE2011.

This is not the first and only of it's kind. Almost in a rampage, the Singaporeans are demanding more and respecting less. More low cost housing, more higher paying jobs, more explanations to policies (reasonable enough, but not reasonable when you keep asking for it though it has already been explained countless times), more housing upgrading, more this more that... ... Hey, I'm not happy too that my salary is being deducted into CPF where the money goes to God knows where, but at least I try to respect those who are working hard to keeps things going in the nation and leading this bunch of demanding people. & I do not deny that I can be quite a demanding brat myself.

Whatever it is, it's clear that Singaporeans lack respect of any sort, especially now after GE2011, it seems like they are taking ministers for granted. & that's very worrying for ourselves and for our future generations. The Bible did tell us to honour those around us and honour our authority figures.

"... render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” ~Luke 20:25~
Though,this was said in respect to paying taxes, I believe that includes respect and honouring those who are in charge and not short changing them of what they deserve. I heard of the jest that out ministers of becoming corrupt and they do not deserve our respect. Ok... ... Fair enough... ... But did you think our level of corruption can much the corruption of the Roman Empire? If there is corruption, do you think you still can tweet about what just happened? Or even be keyboard warriors, complaining about policy over policy on your blogs, tweets, fb and what not. Most importantly, how do you expect your children to respect you if you do not respect others?

As said in my other blog post, it's pointless complaining about the government and doing nothing about the people and situation around you yourselves. & talking about complaining, stop complaining about maid's wages going higher. They do all the jobs you do not want to do and some of you even mistreat them and verbal abuse them. Hands up, how many of you with maids have complained before that your maid has not done a good job in something? I'm guilty once or twice and I'm still trying my best to gave her credit when due and thank her for her hard work or for small favours for me like sewing my torn sleeve or alter my jeans. Enough said, thank your domestic helpers and dun abuse them.

Oh and I must not forget this. Recently, there was a murder case of a maid in Woodlands and her body was found in the water tank at the top of the HDB. People are complaining to the Town Council and demanded an explanation from them at first. Then, they demand compensation. Ok you think it's all, after they found the murderer, instead of blaming the murderer, they want Town Council to take the blame and the word is, sack everyone in the office. Pardon me? Did I hear correctly? I dun see how the Town Council should be overturned because of this. True it's their fault for not checking daily, but checking water tanks daily is ridiculous and needs manpower. True it's their fault for hiring that Indian worker who murdered the maid, but then if all that's so, then how about we screen every single Indian worker and rule out the possibility of them commiting a crime, only to find out that all of them are potential murderers and dun hire Indian workers anymore shall we and start doing manual chores and labour yourselves. Singaporeans, dun be ridiculously unreasonable. The town council have tried their best to do their job over the years and just cause of this, you demand the office to be overturned? Just cause you are more aware of your rights after the GE2011 and you have more power in your voice does not mean you can abuse it. It then makes you no better than the people whom you are complaining about (the government). On a side note, I do empathise with the people of that block in Woodlands having to go through such trauma and my deep condolences to that poor maid. You are in my prayers.

By the way, all of us are potential murderers because our hearts are filled with evil, concordantly, all of us have the potential to be corrupt when even great power and responsibility. So don't complaint. Respect people and give credit when due and honour your authority figures(that includes appreciating what they have done for us) and you will find that life is a whole lot simpler. & of course be a good role model for the future of Singapore.

I do not deny that if everyone in Singapore were to be good role models and the kids acquire good behaviour, it will make my life as a teacher better. But of course, I too must do what I preach and be a good role model to the young lives around me.

With reference to my previous post

After a watershed event in Singapore, it's time to get our act together.
Because as cheesy as it may seem, "Together, we make a difference".

After a watershed event in Singapore, it's time to get our act together.

I'm sorry that I have to say this but seriously Singapore, stop whining about the elections and it's results and get down to doing what we are supposed to do to contribute to the betterment of the entire Singapore.

It's not the end of the our life that PAP is still the ruling party, Mr Chiam See Tong is no longer in Parliament, George Yeo is no longer in cabinet and Tin Pei Ling is now supposed to take care of my GRC. How about doing something for once to change the ugly scenes around you? To those around me, you know that I have something against what Nicole Seah said about the foreign workers in Singapore, and how it sounded like what Hitler would say to the Germans in Pre-WWII. Major moral land mine stepped on. If you think about it, many of us are not native to Singapore either, so what is up with the double standard? These people are only humans too, like our forefathers, they have come to Singapore to try to find a better life for themselves and possibly their children too. They did something about their lives and despite the derogatory comments coming for us.(yes I admit that I contribute to this ugliness sometimes too, & I'm only a human in flesh still in the process of being perfected by God) & the point? They did something to change their lives & try to strive for betterment. If you cannot stand something, some whining and start doing something to change it.

Need an example to get started? If you find that the government is not doing enough for the needy and elderly, and keep complaining about it, how about you take sometime of your job and comfortable lives to get down and dirty at the old folks home and homes for the disabled. You may say "oh I tithe every week with extra offerings to the church." or "I donate 50% of the salary to a charitable organisation every month", fair enough; but if everyone is donating money & nobody(honest) is there to collect it, use it to by the necessities and distribute it to the homes and centres or even feed the food bought for the physically disabled, what's the point of actually giving donations. In case if you did not know, the nurses in the homes and centers are hired Filipinos and PRCs. So your money can buy laborers and helpers in domestics and charitable organisations, but you don't want them to stay here. So how?

Need another example? One NSP member said that if elected, they will set up a patrol unit to help patrol the area and help keep the place safe, since these place seems unsafe. I guess that person have not lived in that area in his life before. My dad told me that there used to be a group of people helping to patrol the Marine Parade area and they disintegrated over time and disappeared not too long ago. The highly possible reason my dad could give is that people have no time for these kind of communal things anymore and they believed that the police was doing a fine job. So why not let the police do what they do best and concentrate on their own lives, earning their own money and doing their own things. So why then is this place now considered unsafe? The police are not doing a good job? Ok if the police are not doing a good job, why not organise yourselves once more to guard yourselves against danger? Why do we have to wait for the opposition to come in before any real change takes place? Why wait when you can do something about it now? After all, you are in responsible for your own safety, not the police nor the voluntary patrol vigilantes.

**Sorry if I seem to be only aiming at NSP, because I have only listened to them due to the fact that they were contesting for the area I live in, Marine Parade GRC. If any NSP members, wannabe members and supporters see this article, please do not take offence but rather take it as an advise to which it can pull you through. Too be honest I don't support any party, I only support the people whom I think it's worthy of support & recognition. If you want me to take a stand, I say "I'm pro-God/ I support the Kingdom of Heaven". **

So the point, start whining and start getting your act together. There may be things that you can change, so why not make that little difference

On an ending note, to the leaders of Singapore (MPs are what not) you better fulfill what you promised to the people in your talks to Singapore, be it opposition or ruling party in government. Do not forget why you were elected into your position; use it and not abuse it. Lives and resources are in your hands, your conscience will haunt you if you abuse it; if you do not have a conscience, the people will haunt you. I guess, if you are truly capable, we do not need to wait 5 years from now to see the results and repent, not talking cock in parliament nor feet stomping or even insincere apologies can save you from the power of the people, unless you are 88 years old and have build this nation up from slums & kampong to HDB & condos, with a team that is already passed on, don't think you can get away with what you say.(though some may argue that even so, if you continue talking like a God, when you are not, you really should retire early and chill).

So back to the title of this article, after a watershed event in Singpore called the General Elections 2011, it's time to stop whining and get our act together.

Last night, I dreamt of possibilities

Last night, I dreamt of possibilities;
Today, I dwell in possibilities.
I'm no longer afraid of the future,
Because I know God is there guiding me.



An Emily Dickinson ("I dwell in possibility") inspired short poem.

How can this feel this wrong?

How can anyone be touched by the Spirit without the Word of God? Isn't the Spirit the Word of God and the Word of God the Spirit?

It looks like there isn't a need for sermons anymore. Corporate mass worship with altar calls and a whole day of praying but no sermons. Most of all, those that crave to hear more of the Word are labelled or scorned as "thinkers" and not "worshipers".
From legalistic rules to following every single step in the Word without understanding to throwing away the need for the word of God in sermons. Sad. How did the pendulum swing this hard? I'm too tired mentally and physically to even bother about it anymore.

Lord give me the strength to immerse in your word and your true spirit and help me be more sensitive to what is truly right. Most of all show me what is really means to worship you...

Seriously, how can this feel this wrong, so wrong? Am I a heretic in my community? Or am I too much of a thinker that it "stifles" my journey with God? Is it wrong to even want to read the Bible and pray that he will reveal his will to me but not necessarily expecting him to make me feel any sort of physical signs? Am I being a Pharisee when I want to worship him with my heart and not with tongues?

I just want to worship the Lord in Spirit and in Truth. Not necessarily with emotions and amidst physical signs, unless God really calls for it.

& no, I don't go for fancy sermons. I go for the real word of God.

My God is greater, My God is overall

I'm sleepy and tired, mentally, spiritually and physically. BUT I have to say this. MY GOD REIGNS!

Today, I realised how fallen the world is and how we need GOD even more. And I saw a few things over twitter and fb that made me realise even more how Godless this world is and how much Christians struggle more in terms of spirituality sinfu we are more aware of the sinful world and our sinful flesh.

Most importantly, I realised how easily I freaked out over ghost stories and what not. I am truly weak and I need to realise that God is still king. With all my heart.

Digital Story - These Four Walls

The following was what I posted up on my academic group's discussion board. This is reposted over here, about 4 weeks after the post on the discussion board. & I was the only one... ... whao... ... I think I just spoiled the market.

This is the video I have selected. I do not know if this is considered a digital story or what, but I find myself being very attracted to this video that I just had to talk about it.

These Four Walls:







The words that appear in the beginning of the video:
"I once
had a dream

where my world
was bigger than
these four walls. "

This "story" is about a white pinwheel growing out of its pot and going around places and exploring, most of the time by itself. In my opinion, it "does" the things that people do not dare to do, like "eating" ice-cream and "riding" on a carousel alone and even taking a train by itself. So it does not just go beyond the four walls of its house but also going moving beyond the mental walls that prevent one from seeing the world outside and experiencing it.

To be honest, I'm very biased towards this video because firstly I love this group of youtubers(WongFu Productions), and secondly, I simply love this video because it is so inspirational and the music and visuals are fantastic. So I find it difficult to find anything to change about this video.

But as a fan(pun not intended), I find that the description is not enough and find myself wanting more of the description to supplement the video. I feel that if there was more explanation(even in the director's comment video) or description given, it will make the video more poignant. However at the same time, I feel that the part of the beauty of this video is in the fact that it does not say a lot and the directors themselves leave things up for interpretation. Also as a literature student, I guess that is how I am taught to look at text: to see an entity with a voice for a certain purpose for existence and style. So I feel that changing any bit of a text, will change the text's identity, style and purpose, and it will be a different thing altogether.

Last but not lest, this video definitely did educate me a bit about getting out of my comfort zone and inspired me to do things out of my comfort zone. Such inspiration includes pushing me to be the the first person to post something on blackboard when there is no time limit or marks given, something I would not normally do or have the gall to do.(hey, don't blame me, it's just the way I was socialised into, you know the Singaporean Culture right?).

I hope you all get inspired by the video too. Cheers and God Bless.

University names can make us go NUTS.

Last night while I was brushing my teeth, I ROFL-ed so hard I nearly swallowed the toothpaste foam. I heard on Parliament Tonight that the new university will be called Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD). Pronounce SUTD & you will laugh along too.

While my dad & I were laughing together, he reminded me of the older name of NTU. He said Nanyang Technological University(NTU) used to be Nanyang University of Technology of Singapore(NUTS). We ROFL-ed even more. As if NUT was not enough, the adding of Singapore behind the name made it NUTS. My mum overheard us and added thereafter saying that SUTD sounds like STD when said wrongly or fast enough. My friend noted it too when I twitted it. My parents and I had ball (pun intended or not, up to u) of a time laughing at the university names.

Come to think of it, only NUS has a more appropriate name change, Malaya(n)? University, MU became NUS. I heard Singapore Management University, SMU nearly became SUM(which says a lot about the university specialising in business).

Honestly, I would rather NTU be called Nan Da if this was the case. I would rather sound cheena than crazy.

Education Against Trolls

Yes I plan to do that... Recent events have led me to do something I consider by my own standards, drastic: a public blogging article and if I have time on my hands, a video of Education Against Trolls (EAT). I have came to realised that I have been feeding a troll on my fb... Yes my dear friends who know me well enough, you know who is it. I wonder if he knows that he is trolling. So yes, I'm gonna do my research and article now.

Coming Soon... ...

AKAN DATANG

Reflections

What stops me from knowing God and even lettings him into my life to deal with my pain is the guilt and shame that I have. Sometimes, I am even aware that I am avoiding God because letting him deal with it would mean confronting the situation. Having said that, there are alot of things in my life that I need to be freed from and alot of hurt and pain; so it's really not an easy thing just thinking about it.

To make things easier for me, God knowing how indecisive and inconfident I am has helped me deal with decisions and situations. And God being God has been patienty waiting at the opportune moment for me to deal with all this issues in my life. One things for sure, I'm glad that he is always there for me and is someone I can always talk to regardless of situations.

Happy Lunar New Year! But... ... Do I need to worry about the pagan practices?

It's the year of the Metal Rabbit! Happy Lunar New Year everyone! To everyone in the world be it Chinese, Malays, Koreans, Japs, Indians, Viets, Indons, English, French, etc...!*PEACE*

So here I am on the computer during Lunar New Year(or Chinese New Year or CNY in short in Singapore, the land of abbreviations) and I feel like a complete loser because I'm on the COMPUTER at HOME on CNY HOLIDAY! But still, I did have a quality conversation with my mum about the Bible and find out a few things about my own family.

1st: MY BROTHER ACTUALLY BELIEVES THAT LILITH IS REAL! WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CHRISTIAN UPBRINGING?! And to think he is a literature student. He cannot identify that Genesis is not really in chronological order and he converted to another religion. *pause here* What religion is it? Catholicism. BUT I THOUGHT IT'S THE SAME?! No it's not. While Catholics believe that apart from Jesus, there is other ways to talk to God, such as Mary and the Pope. How do I know it's wrong? Jesus said "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the father except through me"(John 14:6) and fundamentally, Christians believe that. NOW THAT IS THE DIFFERENCE! For my brother to overlook this truth and believe in everything and doubting the Bible, his corruption is more serious than I though. I must seriously pray for him, this debate can go on and on but if I continue, the point will be lost.

*Note: The book of Genesis was written by Moses, inspired or some say dictated by God to crash the other creation myths circulating amongst the Jews that undermined the sovereignty of God.*

2nd: My mom was pre-occupied with the fact that she ate food offered to pagan gods during the time my grandma was alive; though she says that she is not bothered, I can sense the need to validate herself and the worry in the undertones of her words. To clear things up, I told her that what happens is the heart and the spirit of wanting to please God, furthermore, she really did wanted to show the graciousness of God through her living of her life in the past before she got jaded with/by my relatives. I remember my youth director telling me that it is fine to go through the Buddhist rituals because I am respecting my grandma and her last wish which is what the Lord our God wants us to do: Honour our parents(or grandparents for that matter). As long as we do not believe that the rituals or the breaking of it will have any effect on us and that God is still the Lord with Jesus as the only Saviour/way to God, I'm still a Child of God. But of course if you do not do go through the pagan practices, it's even better, devoted your time and mind to the Lord through other ways.

So that's about it, I only believe in the aspect of Feng Shui being a good practical way to optimise the space in the room will keeping it save and wholly practical in functionally of arrangements and economical.

Without further ado, Adieu! Shalom, may the peace and blessings of the Lord be with you.

After 1 month and an eternity

On a day like this 1 month ago, my grandma passed away. Well, I can't say for sure that she is in a better place, because according to my believe, she is in hell for all eternity for not believing in God. That's my reality that I know and it's hurting me to know that I couldn't do much when she was alive. oh well, she is gone now and she now haunts my dreams, literally. This blog post is to commemorate her death anniversary for one month.

The reality of heaven and hell for all eternity has hit me within one month and it has made me realise how much I really want my family and friends to be saved. I want to see them in heaven. (As I'm typing this, my niece is somewhere dancing while I play Jai Ho on the mac for her to dance to. Ironically, "Jai Ho" means "long live" in Hindi) I have not much to say now except that I should now help the living and not brood over the dead. And that means taking care of my family and do what a disciple of God should do (preach the good news).

I can't say much about my grandma because I really didn't talk to her during her last days due to a family feud. Details shall not be revealed for the sake of privacy and propriety. Nonetheless, before the family feud, I enjoyed being with my grandma. She was the only grandparent I knew. and yes I really got nothing more constructive to say, and I better sign off now before I get bitchy over my relatives and say or even think like a Christian shouldn't.

Grandma if you can see this, I'm sorry, know that I still love you.

Signing off,
Your beloved Granddaughter.