Above all else

In the midst of my hectic work schedule and turbulent financial markets, my wife often reminds me of the importance of travelling light. It's funny how, the more you have of something, the more important that thing becomes to you. David Eddings, in his Belgariad series (which started as one of my favourite book series but unfortunately descends into farce towards the tail end, but I digress), writes about Murgo gold - a kind of red gold purveyed by the bad guys of the series. The gold has a spell cast on it, so that the more red gold you have, the more you need it, until you are enslaved by it. It's a bit of a coarse allegory, but the point is all the clearer for it. I think the same thing can probably be said about most material things - money, car, house, career. The more money you have, the more you need, the more measures you take to protect it, to invest it, until the fact of having money itself becomes a problem. Which FD has the highest yield? Which stock or unit trust i

As you know, my wife's grandfather and my grandmother passed away recently. My wife was feeling a little gloomy one day when she happened to walk outside her parents' house where her grandfather used to stay, and she saw this amazing rainbow right on top of the house, in the middle of a bright and sunny day! Thank you Jesus, for your close comfort. Therefore, "we do not grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope." 1 Thess 4:13

If you are a regular reader (yes, all 3 of you), you will have noticed that I haven't updated this website for 3 weeks! It's been absolutely hectic at work with full-year results and board meetings coming up, and this all comes on the back of ECA (not Extra-Curricular Activity, but Especially Critical Activity!) like the upcoming office volunteer event which the office fellowship is spearheading, and a nascent church cell which I am learning to lead, and more importantly, love. 2 Corinthians 4:7-11 says: "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be re

Not because of what we've done, or who we are, but because of who He is, and what He has done for us, who are merely fading flowers, and vapours on the wind. And so He tells me who I truly, truly am - simply His. His love always amazes, always abounds, always is.

The past week has been an eventful one. My grandmother and my wife’s grandfather were both admitted to hospital on 29 June 08 Sunday afternoon, and both of them passed away a few days later – my grandmother on Wednesday evening and my wife’s grandfather on Thursday morning. They were 84 and 90 respectively. My grandmother brought me up when I was a kid, up until and through primary school. She would faithfully turn up during my recess time with prawn mee and chicken wings, both of which I loved! I stayed in her 4-room Bedok North flat at Block 82, along with my uncle and his wife, two other aunties and my parents. She was strict with me and my brother when it was required, either locking us into the storeroom or expelling us of the front door while we wailed and held on to the sofa legs! Unfortunately, none of the kids could really speak Teochew well, and her favourite story of my growing years was about the time when she told me to wait next to the “zha bou” (girl) after school, and I