Good Day, Beautiful People! [Bonne journée Beau! Buen día Bella!]
Hope you have a good start of your week.
UN Women Global Goodwill Ambassador, Emma Watson, conveyed her persuasive and poignant declaration during the #HeForShe Special Event, at United Nations Headquarters in New York on September 20, 2014. I must say her speech leave quite an impression on me.
This is not about woman right, is more about making a stand and commitment to stop all form violence against women and discrimination faced by women and girls. It is about basic human right. Justice is love in public. It is time to share this message with the men in our world to participate. Guys if you’re reading please sign up to show support of this movement.
Take action, visit: HeForShe.org http://www.heforshe.org/
Good day, Beautiful People! [Bonne journée Beau! Buen día Bella!]
Hope you are looking forward to your weekend adventure.
In life you meet all sort of people. The people that give me the best impression are ones who are generous. They are the people I like to hang out the most. They bring the best out of me. People who are generous are not just in money, in their time, in their words and in their effort to invest in others. Though observation, even in the cyber world like social media, blogging world people who are just takers, some are generous givers and the worst are cyber bullies. You see, who you’re inside will simply overflow to the outside world. Do yourself a favour don’t waste your precious time on cyber gossiping news or blogs. Sadly, even some believers like to do that and ask others to participate in their nastiness. It is not going to add value to your life. I live by this quote: If you didn’t see with your own eyes or hear it with your own ears, don’t think it with your small mind and spread it with your big mouth.
The Living Word says:
The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously; (Psalm 37:21 NIV)
The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor. (Proverbs 22:9 NIV)
A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. (Proverbs 11:25 NIV)
Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely, who conduct their affairs with justice. (Psalm 112:5 NIV)
They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be a blessing. (Psalm 37:26 NIV)
Characteristic of Generous People by Dr Samuel R. Chand
1. They are always joyful and happy
2. They are fulfilled, moved beyond significance
3. They are positive and optimistic about their seed
4. They are natural encouragers
5. They are always looking for opportunities
6. They are strategic, methodically moving toward their goals
7. They are non-transactional
8. They are not controlling
9. They sow into the idea, the not yet
10. They are always historical, the don’t forget where they come from
11. They are risk takers
12. They are trusting, everything moves at the speed of trust.
13. They are humble, everything they have belongs to God, they are stewards.
14. They are leaders
15. They lead generous givers, they bring other generous people with them
16. They have a vision to improve the now for a better then
17. They are externally focused
18. They are externally focused
19. They have a lifestyle of generosity
20. They are change makers, problem solvers
21. They are morally committed to a cause
Good Day, Beautiful People!
Hope you had a good weekend and ready for productive business, work, studies or daily routine. Sometime my mind is like a broken recorder, a tune keep repeating itself till another song has been replaced. This beautiful song Victory is written by Ben Hastings, Seth Simmons and Matt Sztyk for Easter celebration 2013 by Hillsong College. Weather you are waiting for your victory in silence, in the midst of battle fighting and believing for victory or celebrating your victory as you conquer your Goliath, this is the amazing song for you!
Victory Song VERSE 1: Born into the hands of sin Crippled by the shame within Broken heart and restless soul Lost out on the open road VERSE 2: Beaten on that bloody day On His back a world of pain Clinging to that cursed tree Jesus bled and died for me CHORUS: Victory Victory Conquered death Set me free Victory Victory Jesus alive in me VERSE 3: Three days on the stone gives way Ain’t nothing but an empty grave Gather all the sinners ’round Tell them what great love we’ve found BRIDGE: Lead me to the water deep In the gracious current I’ll sink I will rise dead to my sin Christ in me and I in him
Good Day, Beautiful People! [Bonjour, Beau!]
Is springtime in the Southern Hemisphere and we are loving it! Spring is a season of new hope, new beginning, the awakening of the earth, where nature starts to grow and bloom. In the manner of our Creator, meticulously painted a new magnificent masterpiece! Spring shows what God can do with a drab and dirty world. -Virgil A. Kraft
It’s spring fever…You don’t quite know what it is you so want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so! -Mark Twain
Spring has put a spirit of youth in everything. -William Shakespeare
The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day He created spring. -Bern Williams
The first blooms of spring always make my heart sing. -S. brown
Spring is the time when youth dreams and old age remembers. -Unknown
Spring unlocks the flowers to paint the laughing soil. -Bishop Reginald Heber
If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant. -Anne Bradstreet
Spring is nature’s way of saying, “Let’s Party!” -Robin Williams
Spring passes and one remembers one’s innocence.
Summer passes and one remembers one’s exuberance.
Autumn passes and one remembers one’s reverence.
Winter passes and one remembers one’s perseverance.
-Yoko Ono
I am extremely thrilled to show you my crazy photos I took at this Flower Show presented by David Jones. This is beyond
Supercalafragilisticexpialidocious to me! Check it out, I am sure this will cheer you up even you have a bad day.
Good Day, Beautiful People!
There is always hope. The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.
-J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings)
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1Cor13:13.
Is amazing that author of A Wind In The House Of Islam, David Garrison travelled long distance to interview more than 1000 former Muslims who have come to faith in Jesus Christ. Is a great book to read as record more than 1000 former Muslim converted and become followers of Jesus Christ. He provides us some understanding of the marvellous work of Holy Spirit in that regions and account of Muslim movements to Christ. You will find this book encouraging, inspiring, challenging and informative.
Dr. Sasan Tavassoli of Pars Theological Centre called Garrison’s book, “The most important and exciting book on the world of Islam that I have ever read!”
Dr. Dudley Woodberry, Dean Emeritus of the Fuller Seminary School of Intercultural Studies said, “This book is the most comprehensive analysis of Muslim movements to Christ that has ever been done.”
Good Day, Beautiful People! The world is magnificent but broken and some area is really in a sorry mess. I know many of you are concern and praying. We as believers must unite and pray till we see answer.
My heart bleeds for the Christians that are suffering and dying there daily. Innocent children, mothers and fathers are diabolically killed just for their belief. Murders and genocide under our noses. It is time for the world leaders to unite and UN to rise up to nib this injustice in the bud. Besides, this evil is going on for too long! This is about humanity and basic human right. Seriously, a radical religion, cult, that encourage, promote and brainwash their followers to kill other innocent people [To them, we are all infedels.] has to be stopped! These lawless people who think they own the world, can do whatever they like and assume no one able to take them down. Where are the real, intelligent and heroic people, Jack Bauer kind of character, vigilantes, bounty hunters and Movie Expandable type of men when the need arise? Jokes aside, all the countries need to join force, send intelligent and strong troops to fight and win this war.
According to wikipedia:
“Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) or the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is a Sunni jihadist group in the Middle East. In its self-proclaimed status as a caliphate, it claims religious authority over all Muslims across the world and aspires to bring most of the Muslim-inhabited regions of the world under its political control beginning with Iraq, Syria and other territories in the Levant region which include Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Cyprus and part of southern Turkey. It has been designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, and has been described by the United Nations and Western and Middle Eastern media as a terrorist group. The United Nations and Amnesty International have accused the group of grave human rights abuses.
ISIS is the successor to Tanzim Qaidat al-Jihad fi Bilad al-Rafidayn—later commonly known as Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI)—formed by Abu Musab Al Zarqawi in 1999, which took part in the Iraqi insurgency against American-led forces and their Iraqi allies following the 2003 invasion of Iraq. During the 2003–2011 Iraq War, it joined other Sunni insurgent groups to form the Mujahideen Shura Council and consolidated further into the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI /ˈaɪsɪ/). At its height it enjoyed a significant presence in the Iraqi governorates of Al Anbar, Nineveh, Kirkuk, most of Salah ad Din, parts of Babil, Diyala and Baghdad, and claimed Baqubah as a capital city. However, the violent attempts by the Islamic State of Iraq to govern its territory led to a backlash from Sunni Iraqis and other insurgent groups circa 2008, which helped to propel the Awakening movement and a temporary decline in the group.
ISIS grew significantly under the leadership of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi gaining support in Iraq as a result of alleged economic and political discrimination against Iraqi Sunnis. Then, after entering the Syrian Civil War, it established a large presence in the Syrian governorates of Ar-Raqqah, Idlib, Deir ez-Zor and Aleppo. In June 2014, it had at least 4,000 fighters in its ranks in Iraq. It has claimed responsibility for attacks on government and military targets and for attacks that killed thousands of civilians. In August 2014, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed that the number of fighters in the group had increased to 50,000 in Syria and 30,000 in Iraq. ISIS had close links to al-Qaeda until February 2014 when, after an eight-month power struggle, al-Qaeda cut all ties with the group, reportedly for its brutality and “notorious intractability”.
ISIS’s original aim was to establish a caliphate in the Sunni-majority regions of Iraq, and following its involvement in the Syrian Civil War this expanded to include controlling Sunni-majority areas of Syria. A caliphate was proclaimed on 29 June 2014, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi—now known as Amir al-Mu’minin Caliph Ibrahim—was named as its caliph, and the group was renamed the Islamic State.
Ideology and beliefs
ISIS is a Sunni extremist group that follows al-Qaeda’s hard-line ideology and adheres to global jihadist principles.[104][105] Like al-Qaeda and many other modern-day jihadist groups, ISIS emerged from the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood, the world’s first Islamist group dating back to the late 1920s in Egypt.[106] ISIS follows an extreme anti-Western interpretation of Islam, promotes religious violence and regards those who do not agree with its interpretations as infidels or apostates. Concurrently, ISIS—now IS—aims to establish a Salafist-orientated Islamist state in Iraq, Syria and other parts of the Levant.
ISIS’s ideology originates in the branch of modern Islam that aims to return to the early days of Islam, rejecting later “innovations” in the religion which it believes corrupt its original spirit. It condemns later caliphates and the Ottoman empire for deviating from what it calls pure Islam and hence has been attempting to establish its own caliphate.[107] However, some Sunni commentators, including Salafi and jihadi muftis such as Adnan al-Aroor and Abu Basir al-Tartusi, say that ISIS and related terrorist groups are not Sunnis, but modern-day Kharijites—Muslims who have stepped outside the mainstream of Islam—serving an imperial anti-Islamic agenda. Other critics of ISIS’s brand of Sunni Islam include Salafists Saleh Al-Fawzan, who claims that Western forces are behind ISIS, and Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi. Salafists such as ISIS believe that only a legitimate authority can undertake the leadership of jihad, and that the first priority over other areas of combat, such as fighting non-Muslim countries, is the purification of Islamic society. For example, when it comes to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, since ISIS regards the Palestinian Sunni group Hamas as apostates who have no legitimate authority to lead jihad, it regards fighting Hamas as the first step toward confrontation with Israel.”
Imagine those people are your loved ones. What will your response be? Be mindful, be prayful! NB: This is not about religions. I have nothing against muslims or and any other beliefs. I have nice and good muslims friends who don’t go around killing people. Most religions teach you to do good, not evil!
In the South, we are celebrating Father’s Day, first Sunday in September, Spring. We honour and celebrate the men in our world, natural father, spiritual father and Heavenly Father for how they love and shape us. I feel and pray for people who suffer the loss their dads through death or separated due to unforeseen circumstance or choose to remain absent in their lives. Pray for kids that lost their dads, have confident in God, their Heavenly Dad loves them and He deploys angels minister to them, watch over them, protect them and ensure they are safe from any harm cause by evil device. Pray that spiritual Dads will continue to stand in the gap for the spiritual children in their sphere.
The nostalgic side of me pops up especially on special occasion, I can’t help myself but think of my Dad and miss him daily. My Dad had promoted to eternity since 4th March 2004. [My prayer and hope is that he chose grace again before he walked into infinity. I stand in the hope and believe I’ll see you on the other side of eternality.] To the world, you are one nice person who work hard for your family. To us, you are the world.
My Dad, William Soh BT, was born 26th August 1941. Life was never easy and straight forward for him. His Dad died in Second World War. His Mom could not cope financially with three kids. Dad was the youngest and smallest child. Consequently, she gave my Dad up to a distance relative for adoption. Dad was kind, funny at times, generous, strongwill, determined, resilient, strong, serious and industrious man. He worked diligently in the day and persevering studied night classes to upgrade himself for better qualification. He worked his way up to the top of his profession as a Marine Engineer with PSA and SJSY. Looking back, vaguely that at one stage, he was given a great position in a huge company with lots of overseas assignment. He started to make decent money to provide for us. For few years, we hardly see him. He came back home for a short break bought us gifts and flew back to work. It did put a strain in term of long distance relationship between Dad and Mom and us, kids. What a huge sacrifice to ensure our family could move forward to a better standard of living and lifestyle. He missed family and our growing up moments and milestones. Eventually, he gave up the overseas work and chose to take a pay cut and work locally. Dad loved to contribute to community and grassroots level of volunteer serving. He never stop learning new things. He was learning computer course and studying to be Chinese Physician after he retired. He loved different cuisine, attempted to do french cooking and cooked for us special treats when he had free time and when he retired.
My favourite memories was Dad and Mom to bring us out to the parks, beach, movies, zoo and to the islands to visit grandparents (my mom’s parents) during our school holiday and weekend that Dad was available.
My fondest childhood memory was as a family, Dad, Mom and I went to church together. It was a small traditional church. In my flashback, I reminisce that I skip and prance down the aisle trying to choose a seating area at one of the solid mahogony pews. Dad was actively involved in serving as a choir member and as an usher. Dad always suit up, Sunday Best clothes when we headed to church Sunday morning regardless rain or shine. Oh, how we love Sundays! One day, we came back from church he was really upset. He told Mom “From now onward we are not going to church!” I could not remember the reason. I had asked Mom on various occasion she could not tell me the reason Dad got so offended. Mom has a shocking memory. All she said was it happened ages ago, so could not recollect the incident. As a young child, 3 or 4 years old, I didn’t know what was happening. I just knew my happy Sunday morning routine was squashed. Dad was not the same ever. He seemed more aloof, strict, discplinery then approachable. He also has some bad company who influenced him in alcohol and smoking. So thankful, he gave up smoking for us and reduced his alcohol intake later part of his life. I felt that I regained some part of my Dad back.
My Dad taught me to live life to the fullest. Despite of bad breaks, poverty and lousy situation you can rise above that, never give up, never stop learning new things, continual education, be generous to charities and be a contributor to society.
I made a promise myself never be so offended that I cannot forgive, let go and move on. The truth is people will disappoint, betray and offend us from time to time. I’m sure dad was not the only one that walked away from church and God due to offense. Sadly, we like to equated people especially leaders to God’s nature and behaviour.
Our Heavenly Dad is way more loving, caring, bigger, stronger, protective than any natural and spiritual dads can ever be. He loves us that much to give us His only son, Jesus and the freedom to choose whether to accept His love. Well knowing we may not love Him back at all. How deep is Heavenly Dad’s love! How vast is His love!
Good Day, Beautiful People!
I recently went to see the movie God’s not dead. God’s Not Dead is a 2014 Christian drama film directed by Harold Cronk, and stars Kevin Sorbo, Shane Harper, David A. R. White and Dean Cain. The film was released to theaters on March 21, 2014, by Pure Flix Entertainment. I know in the States it was released early 2014. In the South, we just have that showing on the big screen. Forget about all the aweful reviews critics give for this movie. Any good christian’s movie will be hated by the world critics full stop! Show me one world critic that mention any good review for any christian’s movie. That itself will be a miracle. Just do yourself a favour, go and watch with your loved ones, family and friends. If you’re brave enough to invite unbelievers for this movie. Get the dvd, if you miss it. On the whole, this is a light, clean, fun, drama, feel good movie with no violence, no sexual references, no foul language and not much offensive behaviour.
Love the plot, the debates between the professor and the first year freshman. How brave is the muslim girl that stand up for her new faith, being thrown out of her home and disowned by her father. Of course, the Duck Dynasty fans will be happy to see them. I was informed they’re great, down to earth and successful reality show in US. One of my favourite moment is the feature Newsboys’ concert and the theme song, God’s not dead. I’m not going to give away the plot too much in case you have not see the movie yet. The reality of life is full of up and down, it is not bias. It does not care if you are a believer or atheist. You can choose to face challenges by yourself or believe there is a God out there to watch over you when you are thown into situation bigger than you can handle.
At last I found one fair and good review of this movie. http://www.pluggedin.com/videos/2014/q3/gods-not-dead.aspx
Well, if you’re atheist, happen to stumble on this blog, have some respect, simply move on and have a nice life. I’m not interested in your opinions or start a debate with you.
Honestly, love to hear from you, my followers, if you’ve seen this movie. Give me some feedback.
Below is the movie trailer:
Wow! I’m so humbled and honoured to be nominated for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award by http://denisethorntonxo.wordpress.com that is now moved to http://bloggerneecy.com. Thank you, Beautiful! Visit her, you will find her postings inspiring, informative, refreshing and encouraging. Love the fact that she gives a voice to the voiceless.
The rules are as following:
1. Thank and link the amazing person who nominated you.
2. List the rules and display the award.
3. Share 7 facts about you.
4. Nominate 15 other amazing blogs and comment on their posts to let them know that they have been nominated.
5. Optional: Display the award logo on your blog and follow the blogger who nominated you.
7 Facts about me:
1. Love Jesus. Not into religion, have a relationship with my Creator (God).
2. Fond of roaming around art galleries. Adore the great old master artists masterpieces.
3. I am also a bit of “photoholic” and “chocoholic”.
4. Enjoy good company with good music, wine and slow food. Love organic food and healthy goodies.
5. Love People. Enjoy people of different culture. Passionate to speak life into someone situation. It delights me to connect people to their heart destiny or their purpose in life.
6. I am passionate about my day job as a manager.
7. I am also an emerging fine art painter, aka closet painter stepping out.
The reasons I chose this blogs because I love real, encouraging, stimulating, stirring, uplifting and inspirational writing. Hope you enjoy visiting their sites as much as I do. That completes the requirements! Thank you and congratulations to the Nominees!
Mon Ange 