Posts
Monday, July 06, 2009
Saturday, July 04, 2009
Managing Discontent by Wayne Cordeiro
We had a really informal ALG session yesterday night, just sitting around eating rambutans and mangosteens. In between, we learnt about how we can handle discontent in our lives, with authentic examples from Agape's 16-year history. Matthew, Jeannie, Jasmine & I took turns to regale the newer ones with stories from the past, just so that we could all learn from how others handled discontentment, and do better for ourselves in the future.
In view of all this, I am at least partly grateful for preventive H1N1 precautions in school. I have to go earlier to school and because I want to see Jasmine off before she goes even earlier to school, I sometimes reach school at 6.35am when I'm only due at 7.10am. I mean the general office and staff room aren't even open yet! I took the cue from a Christian colleague and use the time to dedicate the day to God. I have about 10-15 minutes alone with God and also talking to fellow believers about work-related struggles. Then the staff room opens and I go in to switch on my super-slow laptop. During that five-minute wait, I proclaim to God that I intend to spend the day in His joy, and I try my best to look for His joy in all situations.
The key verse that we shared in ALG was "David encouraged himself in the Lord", probably in 1/2 Samuel/Kings. And this was when his own men wanted to kill him! I learnt that it is my responsibility for how much joy and discontentment there is in my life. I intend to complain less, as it will only result in grudges and bitterness. I will spend time in solitude with God daily, praying and reading His Word, to encourage myself in Him. And if faced with conflict, I will approach the person in nearest authority to resolve it, and not blab about it to people who can't do anything about it.
In view of all this, I am at least partly grateful for preventive H1N1 precautions in school. I have to go earlier to school and because I want to see Jasmine off before she goes even earlier to school, I sometimes reach school at 6.35am when I'm only due at 7.10am. I mean the general office and staff room aren't even open yet! I took the cue from a Christian colleague and use the time to dedicate the day to God. I have about 10-15 minutes alone with God and also talking to fellow believers about work-related struggles. Then the staff room opens and I go in to switch on my super-slow laptop. During that five-minute wait, I proclaim to God that I intend to spend the day in His joy, and I try my best to look for His joy in all situations.
The key verse that we shared in ALG was "David encouraged himself in the Lord", probably in 1/2 Samuel/Kings. And this was when his own men wanted to kill him! I learnt that it is my responsibility for how much joy and discontentment there is in my life. I intend to complain less, as it will only result in grudges and bitterness. I will spend time in solitude with God daily, praying and reading His Word, to encourage myself in Him. And if faced with conflict, I will approach the person in nearest authority to resolve it, and not blab about it to people who can't do anything about it.
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Irony
Here's a funny story in the Jun 19 issue of the New Sabah Times.
A supporter of Belgian football league champions Standard Liege was told by his factory employer to take down a banner he had put above his store as they felt it was "distracting". The employee refused and was then threatened with a fine. The workers' union then staged a 24-hour strike in protest at his treatment.
Here is the union spokeman's ironic statement:
He could well have been talking about the union itself.
A supporter of Belgian football league champions Standard Liege was told by his factory employer to take down a banner he had put above his store as they felt it was "distracting". The employee refused and was then threatened with a fine. The workers' union then staged a 24-hour strike in protest at his treatment.
Here is the union spokeman's ironic statement:
"It's a disproportionate and heavy-handed action relating to a minor incident."
He could well have been talking about the union itself.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
England in the 1500s
Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odour. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married.
Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, “Don't throw the baby out with the bath water.”
Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying, “It's raining cats and dogs.”
There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how four-poster canopy beds came into existence.
The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying, “Dirt poor.” The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entranceway. Hence the saying “a thresh hold.”
In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme, “Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old.”
Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could, bring home the bacon. They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and chew the fat.
Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.
Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the upper crust.
Lead cups were used to drink ale or whiskey. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a wake.
England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be, saved by the bell or was considered a dead ringer.
Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, “Don't throw the baby out with the bath water.”
Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying, “It's raining cats and dogs.”
There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house. This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how four-poster canopy beds came into existence.
The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying, “Dirt poor.” The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entranceway. Hence the saying “a thresh hold.”
In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme, “Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old.”
Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could, bring home the bacon. They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and chew the fat.
Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous.
Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the upper crust.
Lead cups were used to drink ale or whiskey. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a wake.
England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be, saved by the bell or was considered a dead ringer.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Saturday, June 06, 2009
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Monday, June 01, 2009
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