Personal and family – Page 13

Category: Personal and family

Personal reflections of 2011

4 January 2012 blogpastor 3 Comments

It did take me some time to read and reflect on my journal entries of 2011. I could have approached them from different angles. It could have been: what have I done in 2011- a question of doing. Or it could be what have I become – a question of being, of character, or self-understanding, of relationships. Or I could explore what God has done and said to me in 2011? I have opted on a little bit of all and what God has “been” to me.

2011 would be a year of restoration for me and the Lord has been my Shepherd and to use an updated metaphor, my Programmer. In January, I was still praying about whether to go into retreat in Chiangmai. In March I wrote, “He is active. He can update our software. Permission to adjust the program files in our system is needed. Lord, update my program”. Cannot believe I actually prayed this prayer and then forgot about it till now. In May I was still reluctant to go back into pastoring although I knew I had to.

June which was the period of retreat was so full of rich, insightful entries every day. This was where I saw Jesus being my Shepherd in a most sensitive, tender and powerful way. Only he can help us see light in His light, and change the desires of our heart so radically. I left the retreat center restored and enthusiastic about going back to pastoral work. He has actually updated my pastor software program files! Remarkable.

From July to September I was co-leading the CRMS Focused Leaders course for some pastors and doing my MTh modules. I have made some progress with my modules managing to complete 3 this year. Helpful stuff for pastors and Christian educators and lecturers. At the same time, in November, I was disappointed with one of those “I regret to inform you…..” letters from the Brash Trust to which I applied for a scholarship for my MTh.

October I returned to work in church. They were considerate and let me in gently: less preaching, welcome cake, kind encouraging words. Then it was a period of adjustment and updating on all that has happened while I was away. The months before I started work had provided a buffer for me to develop a rhythm of prayer and reflection and this was tested out from October to December. It was good for several weeks before I noticed a decreased desire and an increased assault of distractions. I picked up a new habit of “early to bed” and felt the higher energy level for some time, but this habit began to erode with time. Reflection helps me to be aware and to pray for God’s help.

2012 will be an interesting year. I continue with enthusiasm to see how God’s work in his church will unfold, like reading a mystery book. I look forward to deepening and enriching my newly established rhythm of prayer, work and reflection. It is always re-assuring to know that I am deeply loved and highly favored and greatly blessed in 2011 and will experience more of that this year!

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A tom yum Bangkok holiday

3 October 2011 blogpastor 4 Comments

Free and easy

Free and easy is not always free and easy. Especially when you do not have a plan and want to play by ear, but the host has a firm plan for every day. So it was that what we thought would be a no-fuss restful holiday(both for us and for the host, my wife’s sister, Baby Lee), became a tom yum Bangkok ten days jaunt. It was either a shopping mall or a hotel or a local market a day. We did not complain either. We were too out-of-breath thankful to be shown around the outskirts of Bangkok, the more local places of interest.

Interesting local markets

Chartuchak is the largest weekend market in the world, but thankfully, seeing a part is as good as seeing the whole. We were able to purchase some candles and scent essence and stuff and just enjoy the slow walk on less crowded Friday. Besides this, we went to two other local markets that were interesting but less frequented by tourists, one of which was more of a food paradise. A fourth local market visit was on the cards but we were weary and just rested instead.

Local and spicy and inexpensive

The local food in restaurants and markets were sedap and we tried a few new dishes we have never seen nor tasted before. Japanese food was relatively inexpensive so we had several rounds of that . There was also the buffets in the hotels that were a bargain when you consider what you pay for them in Singapore. However, our age showed in the mini portions we fed upon. Baby and Jack, Wen Por and Wen Mun were pleasant company and were warm, kind and generous in their hospitality with us.

Cultural shows and Rose Garden, Riverside

Baby brought us one evening to a show that blew our minds and won our ooohs and aahhs. The Siam Niramit is one show that impressed me with the kind of innovation that can lift the traditional show format to a superlative level. The stage and set and story left me stunned that the land of smiles is also capable of great artistic innovation and entertainment. If you are in downtown Bangkok, open your wallet, bite your tongue and go for this daily evening 8pm show.

We were blest by our host with a night at The Rose Garden, Riverside and after what I had seen earlier, the cultural show there was an anti-climax. It was good food and good rest and a good swim in the beautiful grounds next to the river that is the mother of the nation.

He satisfies us with good

The balance of rest, short local excursions, shopping, long breakfasts and chats with Baby, and even visit to her church and a good friend’s daughter who was hospitalized at a private hospital made this a most meaningful, pleasant and restful last fling of a holiday as I concluded my sabbatical and went back to work on 1st October. Like tom yum soup it hit my senses and perked me up. What can I say? He satisfies me with good, and renews my youth like an eagle’s(Psalm 103). Blessed be the name of the Lord.

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Personal and family

Almost two months into the sabbatical

23 May 2011 blogpastor 2 Comments

Listening to my body

Almost two months have passed. Physically, I have rested well. This April and May has been months when I listened closely to my body. Whenever I felt tired, I laid in bed and napped or slept. Most mornings I do not force myself to wake up. So it has been usually 8.30am or 9am when I have my breakfast. They say this is the best way to know how much sleep you need. My tentative conclusion is that I need about 8-9 hours of sleep each day.

Though I began with walking and jogging at the Chinese Garden, my preferred form of exercise and recreation is still trekking. So I have revived my Saturday trek with friends, and above that, during the weekdays I try to trek once or twice at Bukit Timah Hill or MacRitchie. Such treks are gentle on the knees and on the heart. The air is great and the forest sounds and sights perk me up. Over the several weeks, I have been gradually trimming down and firming up.

Outside enrichment

The AGST MTh(Ed) modules were fun and the subjects and readings, lectures and interactions have been fruitful learning experiences for me. Forcing myself to research, reflect and write my papers have also been pleasantly smooth riding, despite my early anxiety.

Helping out as a facilitator once a month with the Focused Leaders Network (Church Resource Ministry Singapore) together with James Creasman, Bishop Moses Tay, and Rev. Walter Lim has been enjoyable. This is a platform for me to journey with pastors, in this instance, pastors from the Foursquare denomination in Singapore.

Spiritual refreshment

More time also meant more time for meditation, reading, reflection, prayer and journaling, and listening to sermons with my wife, mostly Paul White and Andrew Wommack. This last month I have been slowly nourishing my soul on Psalms 42 and taking time to pour out my heart or be quiet before Him.

Visiting churches as a layman is so nice, so nice. To be free from having to preach or minister and to fuss over program or people problems is like one prolonged sigh of relief. It was plain good, a cosy and relaxing change. It was pure indulgence: like peering into the horizon with sunglasses, and sipping watermelon juice at a beach, as white clouds quietly tiptoed by. And then being able to indulge my spiritual palate in different church services and sermons, like a wandering charismatic, has become a prolonged epicurean feast I hope I do not become addicted to.

Anxiety squashed by word

Even as the days passed, colourful as they were, with a Kuala Lumpur jaunt and a chest thumping week of witnessing the Singapore election, anxiety about whether the days were productively spent bugged me for a while. For a Singaporean, even resting and restoration is an objective to strain for. So as the days passed quickly you wondered if God will get everything done that I wanted Him to get done in me. Mercifully, some peace prevailed after the Lord gave me a status update, “Enjoy each day as a gift and trust Me to accomplish in you all that needs to be accomplished by the end of the sabbatical”. That is so assuring and going forward, I will rest on that word.

Google reader

Recently, I have also learned how to use the Google Reader. Transferred all the blogs and websites I usually read from my blogroll and Favourites and moved them all there for efficient access and pleasure. This has been available for some time, but I am usually a late adopter when it comes to such things. I am still not on Twitter.

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Personal and family AGST, CRMS, Focused Leaders Network, mentoring, sabbatical, Singapore local churches, trekking

Found in Perth: my maternal great grandfather

7 November 2010 blogpastor 4 Comments

Aunty in Perth

We took the train and she picked us up in her new Toyota. Yes even the retired widow can afford to buy a brand new car. Eat your heart out, Singaporeans. It was nice to visit her in her modest but clean and tidy home with a well maintained backyard garden. We chatted over coffee. This was the aunty who went forth with her nursing qualifications and worked overseas in England, Kuching, Brunei, and Australia. She stayed in Australia because she fell in love and married a Caucasian Australian.

Roots in black and white

She showed us her photo album and I struck oil. A black and white photo caught my attention. “Who’s this?” “Its my grandfather and your great grandfather.” “Do you know anything about him?” I queried eagerly at the prospect of fitting in another piece of my ancestry. Of course I know my spiritual ancestry but I find it interesting to fill up the blanks in my past. “No I know nothing about him.” Sayang. There is a picture, and a list of names written on the back of some envelope. That’s all. Below is the picture and the names of the great grand uncles and aunties, some of whom are in Singapore, in Kuching and who knows where else. Maybe by typing their names somebody may stumble on this post, and make contact, and I’ll get more information !

Standing Left: Joseph >Henry; Patric; Anna; Arthur >Lydia; Phylis; Bery

Second from Left: John >Philip; Ida; Mabel; Ada; James; Harry; Lily; Florence > all my siblings and cousins.

Third from Left: Andrew> Dot; Thomas.

Fourth from Left: Julia > Chan; Tay > Chan -Maud; Helen; Cecilia; Dolly; Tay-Henrietta; Hilda; James.

Fifth from Left: Mary > Lily Chee; Thambb(?)

Sixth from Left: Allen > Meg; Paul; Winni; Sysl; Amy; Rose; David; Lily; Augusta; Michael; Morgan; Henrietta.

Seventh from Left: Sammule (Samuel?) > Soong —: Lawrence.

Eighth from Left: Charles > Josephine; James; Min; Kit; Rosalind; Soon Siang.

Seated from Left: Great grandfather

Seated second from Left: Henrey (the towkay, I surmise by his posture)

Seated third from Left: the great grand stepmother.

I also found out their surname in Mandarin, which I cannot read (see right).

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Chinese surname confusion

23 August 2010 blogpastor 4 Comments

When I asked Alan Hiu from Kuching, Sarawak, about his unusual surname, he explained that different dialect groups would pronounce it differently. “What about my surname?”, and I wrote the Chinese strokes for Chee in the air. He gave me a lesson on it: the Hockchiew (my father’s dialect) would call it “Hee”; the Cantonese would call it “Hui”; and the Hokkien would call it “Kho”. So how did I end up with Chee. My surname is Chee because it was transliterated according to sound by civil servant, and Hee became Chee. If they had gone by my mother tongue, my name would have been Kenny Kho or Koh.

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Personal and family