Above all else

As I grow older, I find I like to tell more and more stories.  And then repeat them!  It's one of the signs of becoming an Uncle :P  One of my favourite stories that I like to share with my younger colleagues is about self-awareness regarding the importance of your place in the world. When I first started out in the workplace, my colleagues were all lawyers, my bosses were lawyers, the judges were lawyers and the opponents were lawyers.  I read all the news about lawyers, and I talked to my lawyer friends about the law all the time.  So I thought the world revolved around law and lawyers. I was wrong of course.  When I left the Legal Service to join the financial sector, I quickly realised that the law is only a tiny, tiny, tiny part of this world.  I thought the world revolved around lawyers, but really, it is the lawyers who revolve around the world, and the law is just one small satellite. With the financial crisis of 2008-2009, and the pr...

Well, this has certainly been a packed weekend.  Spent Saturday morning with some of my church friends walking the blocks around our bread distribution area, praying for our neighbours - those in need of friendship, in need of restoration of the family, in need of physical well-being, and quite often, in need of just being reminded that you're not alone, and someone cares. Even the strongest of us face uncertainty, sorrow and plain fear - whether you're a migrant worker hundreds of miles away from home, or someone struggling to care for an aged parent, or a mother looking after kids who all fall ill at once. I am reminded that even this little thing that we do, just to go out, sit, listen and pray a blessing, possesses so much value, and that I therefore need to be available to do this more often - not just with strangers, but with family, friends and colleagues. Saturday afternoon got a lot noisier, as we hosted a pre-Christmas kids party for Daniel and his friends...

Everyone wants their kids to do well, whether in school, or in some hobby or sport, because we want them to succeed in life in general.  And we know that the lessons they learn as they succeed or fail, help them to grow into the adults they will be. I don't know about you, but one of the most common things I say to my kids is "You can do it!".  When faced with a challenge - "You can do it!".  When faced with a setback - "You can bounce back!". When they achieve a milestone - "You did a great job!".  It particularly frustrates me when I perceive that they are not trying hard enough, or are giving up too easily, or simply don't believe that something can be done.  After all, it's one thing to fail, but quite a different thing not to give your best, or even to make the attempt, because of laziness or self-doubt. Many times, I have often said things along the lines of "Believe in yourself!  Spit in the face of difficulty!...

I am a Christian.  One of the things I am most proud about is the culture of "turn the other cheek" and not retaliating against provocation, that most of the church has been demonstrating.  Over the last couple of decades, an aggressive secularism has become mainstream.  Sneering at Christianity has become the norm in both traditional and social media.  It's cool to heckle and mock Christians, particularly in the light of some recent local news. There are two reasons for the above: first, Christianity is, by its inherent tenets, an outward looking faith i.e. it is not principally a means to self-realisation and fulfilment e.g. "inner peace".  Believers are called to called to look upward and outward, not upward and inward.  Acts 1:8 says "You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth ." Therefore the Christian faith inextricably involves witnessing to others. While God certainly is not deceiv...

So I went to a father-child camp last weekend with my boy.  We packed a tent, sleeping bags, mosquito repellent, mess tins, solid fuel and precious little experience as to how exactly to do this!  Before we left, I told my wife I'd never set up a tent before, and she looked at me funny and said, "Didn't you spend years and years in the army and reservist?"  To which I explained, "Army where got tent?  We just slump to the ground and fall asleep in the mud!" Thankfully, these modern tents turned out to be surprisingly easy to set up - 10 minutes and we were done!  But the less said about our mess tin dinner cooked over solid fuel stove, the better :P There were about 30+ Dads at the camp, together with their kids, ranging from around 7-15 years old by my guess.  Old Dads, young Dads, macho Dads, geek Dads, all kinds of Dads.  And of course, all manner of kids too - cool kids, nerd kids, Energizer-bunny kids, shy kids. In the eyes of the world,...

There is a law of the universe that what we sow, we reap. When we are students, if we put in study, we get... more study.  We strive to do well to get into better classes and schools to get more, tougher schoolwork.  I bet if you ask a teacher what to do with a high achieving student, the answer would be... more work to challenge that student. In our careers, if we put in work, we get... more work.  We strive to do well in the workplace to get the challenging, rewarding roles and assignments.  If you ask any manager worth his salt, he will tell you that, to the person who does his work faster and better than the others, he gives... more work to challenge that person. In physical exercise, if we put in more training, we get... more training.  We strive to run and jump faster and further so that we can run and jump even faster and further.  We run 5k so that we can run 10k.  We clock 7 mins/km so that we can get to 6 mins/km. These are all go...

I definitively became a Liverpool fan in 1986.  I'd already been watching football a couple of years before that, although football wasn't shown very much on TV in those days. But what really got me hooked were the Liverpool-Everton derbies, especially the FA Cup Final clash of 1986 and later, 1989, following the Hillsborough disaster.  The defeats that still irritate me to this day are the 1988 FA Cup final loss to Wimbledon, and the ridiculous FA Cup semi-final 4-3 loss to Crystal Palace in 1990, the same year Liverpool had actually beaten them 9-0 earlier in the season. The goal that really sticks in my head is the Kenny Dalglish goal against Chelsea to win the league in 1986.  The ball was dropping over his head, he had a defender draped all over him, but he took the ball on his chest and volleyed it sweetly into the corner. 4 years later, in 1990, Liverpool won its 18th league title.  While there have been some great highlights in between - the 2001 cup ...

Being surrounded by good people is a blessing.  As the Chinese proverb goes 近朱者赤，近墨者黑 (Get near to vermillion and you will be stained red, get near to ink and you will be stained black).  Last week, I wrote about how a friend taught me not to think too highly of my own ability.  So, while it is our duty to right that which is wrong, we do so not because we think we are better, but because we recognise our own failings. This week, I learned another lesson from my friends!  Another friend was facing problems with some transactions and immediately , even in the midst of a hectic working day, the community of friends jumped in to help out and offer expertise,  advice and assurance.  I am deeply thankful for being part of a genuine faith community which really endeavours to mirror who God is to us, not a far away friend, but "a very present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1), and lives out the exhortation that "Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good ...