Sivin Kit’s Garden

Archive for December, 2007

I was amazed how Takeshi still managed to preach his pretty good sermon, after the whole car-got-filled-with-diesel episode. Thankfully, he still managed to arrive with Vicky, baby Caleb and Vicky’s parents safely. He’s been such a blessing to the church family. I thoroughly enjoyed his more contextual and cross-cultural insights as he was preaching and relating the Biblical texts to our current contexts.

Reading their interview reflecting on the arrival of baby Caleb into their lives was also a great blessing. First, they managed to start their pilgrimage as a couple – one from Japan and the other from Korea – with lots of historical and cultural backgrounds to deal with. Then let’s not forget, the whole experience of studying in Malaysia.

An extra surprise for us, was the opportunity for Takeshi to do his weekend practical with our church. Vicky also serves in any way possible mostly through music … she’s an amazing musician. But what blesses me most personally is their presence, their personalities and their persons. Walking together with them having some insights into their Christian and ministerial pilgrimage here in Malaysia, helps us to have a richer perspective in reflecting on our own. So, often, we have a tunnel vision of our own way of life and thinking. It’s good to pause and be jolted by the views of others. And in their case, it’s usuallyt keeping the main things the main thing which emerges in our conversations.

So, in many ways … Takeshi & Vicky adds so much to our ongoing “music making” in our lives, family and ministry here and now on earth. And the results are truly a foretaste of heaven.

“…. fall on your knees …”

As the year ends tonight, I’m wrapping it up with worship.

I am, you anxious one.

Don’t you sense me, ready to break
into being at your touch?
My murmurings surround you like shadowy wings.
Can’t you see me standing before you
cloaked in stillness?
Hasn’t my longing ripened in you
from the beginning
as fruit ripens on a branch?

I am the dream you are dreaming.
When you want to awaken, I am that wanting.
I grow strong in the beauty you behold.
And with the silence of stars I enfold
your cities made by time.

- Rainer Maria Rilke, 

Book of Hours: Love Poems to God

(via inward/outward)

 It’s the last day of the year 2007 or I prefer to see the day as a doorway to 2008. I noticed the Reviews for the whole year by the newspaper as well as various individuals.  It made me explore a little how the year went by.  In my view, I felt this was a pretty full year. Maybe I might do a post on every month if I have the energy.

I noticed the word  “Random” has been reoccurring a little more than it should.  The fact is the words key into this blog has surely been most “random” because I have not reentered my normal groove in terms of blogging yet.  Ideas pop all over the place when I’m driving.  But very often by the time I reach for the notebook, I’m zonked out.  Or after I try to put the kids to sleep, it lands up I’m asleep first.

While all this “randomness” is all over the place, I do sense God’s working in me and my surroundings is less than random and I kind of discern a kind of movement forward.  There are “stuff” I’m leaving behind or I’ve “trashed”.  There are others which are getting reorganized.  There’s a good outward uncluttering as well as  inward sorting out.  It’s not finished yet but it’s work in progress.  My eyes are a little more open too, to see the world as it really is, to admit who I really am, and to accept the often incongruence of how others portray themselves.  We’re all in this together.  Nothing to boast about.  Even though I confess, it’s a little “yucky” to observe how boasting is not limited to achievements but to so called failures too … after a while either kind of “boasting” as long as it’s for getting attention becomes a little to put it mildly, immature? unhelpful? sad?

What’s refreshing is when there’s genuine searching, humble admission of wrong, and a good general sense that we can do something about it.  Sure, it’s hard.  But staying the way we are is worse.

And in all this … God – Christ – the Spirit is somehow moving and grooving in our midst.  Doors are open a little for a way out. There are possibilities to “become” better than we really are and could be.  It takes risk … it’s scary … but it’s worth it. Few take those steps, but when they do … it’s a party!

Good news: Herald receives it new publishing permit!

Nice to get good news on Sunday … but this controversy could have been avoided right?

How To Make A Difficult Situation Impossible

Adventures In Missing The Point

Comparison Of Malay Language Translations Of Christian Scriptures

Above is the Bob series …

Gov’t backs down, Herald gets new permit

How can this be avoided next year?

Herald’s permit: Abdullah flip-flops again

Jeff’s take … I confess, I was tickled when I heard the permit was hand delivered

One thing for sure, I think the major “high” for Elysia is the arrival of her “di di” (little brother) She’s been consistently giving him the needed attention and showers him with love and kisses (sometimes a little too much).

I don’t know why but I like the picture above I managed to take while waiting for the traffic light to turn green.

The Christmas holiday break was kind of good. And I’m looking forward to the new year

It’s fascinating to reflect back on the different people I’ve met this last year and the different relationships which has evolved …

It’s encouraging to see more people learning to think for themselves, critical thinking can be rare on this part of the world.  And yet, it’s also sad to see how so many of us are stunted because our emotional capacities are less developed.  Somehow, this incongruence lands us up in many troubles which could have been avoided.  Oh! There will still be loads of troubles ahead but they’d likely be a different kind.

I’m going to begin clearing up some of my RSS feeds before the year ends.  Information overload.

Facebook isn’t such a craze anymore.  Part of the reason for me is I’m pretty happy with Picassa Web Albums backing up my photos.

Working on simplifying my life lately.  Noticed some re-energized focus.  I still think the arrival of baby Ewan sped (there is such a word right?) me on this track.  I was joking with a single friend the other night on how so many singles complain about no time, no energy, no this or that … okay, I’m sounding like an old man, but let’s face it folks … having three kids is no joke even with an amazing wife!

That felt good saying the last line.

I’m exploring some ideas for my blog series which seems to have been emerging. “Random Thoughts” is here to stay.  “Random Links” has been fun to point people away to better posts! I’ve retitled “Inspiration” to “Meditation” because I think that’s what I’ve actually been doing when I reflect on the various quotes or excerpts I read.  I’m wondering how to title some of the practices or steps I’ve taken through the years which has freed me to be more than I could be, as well as do more then I had imagined.  “Practicing steps”? “Simples Steps”?  “Random Steps”? “Third Ways”? “Baby Steps”?  I can;t make up my mind yet…

Nice to clear my Hipster PDA a while ago.  Feel lighter now. Ah yes the PDA stands for “Parietal Disgorgement Aid”.

I noticed I’ve refrained from giving people advice when they don’t ask for it, mostly because if I were in their shoes I might not have wanted to hear it anyway.  We tend to think we can sort out our own problems.  But then, I remember how many times I’ve avoided silly mistakes because I asked for opinions which I could bounce my own ideas on.  It’s been good. At times, life saving. Mostly, life enriching.

Novels? Nope … I don’t think I’ve really delved into them.  Lack patience I think.  Non-fiction? I like them in the movie or TV show format. Memoirs?  Yes … somehow, I’d be drawn to real life stories .. I think interest this cuts into my movie and TV show watching too.  Self-help?  I have been detoxed from this genre for years.  But I was refreshed to read some pretty good “common sense” stuff … so, it’s not totally hopeless.  Some redemptive elements there. Comics? I’ve been introducing Asterix to Gareth and Elysia. Suddenly, it dawned on me … maybe at the end of the day, everything I’ve learnt I’ve got it from Asterix! I think I’m beginning to see a little bit of the village in BLC No, I am not Cacophonix!

Steve Taylor has this great idea of emerging church postcards 07.  He’s looking for contributions with the following:

a) 1 photo of your emerging community this (07) year;
plus a few sentences in response to these 4 questions;
b) green – what has grown? what has potential into a new year?
c) yellow – what has encouraged you? given you joy?;
d) black – what has been a risk? what has been hard?
e) red – what words describe how you feel? what have you liked? what have you not liked?

Improvise like a Jazz Musician

I’ll pick four which jump at me …

“…You don’t play alone: Too many people think about the great Jazz geniuses as exemplars of individualism: free minds striving for greatness. Here’s what Mingus would do when a soloist thought too highly of his own genius — he’d direct the band to stop playing, leaving the soloist hanging without any backup, looking like a fool. Improvisation is as much about the relationships between people as it is about our own self-expression; work with the input of those around you instead of trying to stand out against it.

… Learn the rules so you can break them: It’s hard to explain what the difference between someone who doesn’t know the rules and someone who knows them and breaks them is — but we know it when we hear (or see) it.  Mingus learned to play in the highly structured environment of a classical ensemble; later, he studied the big band compositions of Duke Ellington.  There’s nothing sloppy or naive about his compositions, even when they break all the rules — Mingus knew the rules well enough to know why they had to be broken.

… Use common structures in creative ways: Some of the best Jazz is based on popular music (e.g. Coltrane’s “Favorite Things”), folk tunes, and blues songs.  These common structures give musicians an “anchor” that imposes limits to work against (see above) but also gives them a set of stock material to throw in when they run out of ideas and need to figure out what to do next. If you ever get a chance to witness a real jam session, you’ll hear snatches of dozens of popular songs that musicians rely on to express certain ideas, give themselves time to think, and even get a laugh.  Don’t be afraid to throw in a cliche or borrow someone else’s phrase when you’re improvising — you might breathe new life into it and find yourself changing it into something else entirely.

… When you make a mistake, keep playing: It’s not the mistakes that matter, it’s what you make out of them. It may well turn out that your “mistake” takes you in a whole new — and better — direction.”

 20 Questions to Help You Reflect the Past Year

I’ll give it a try and see what I get … I think very often while we seek to dig into more in depth reflective questions, it’s easy to forget the simple ones!

 14 Tips For Resolutions That Stick in the New Year

I know I’m on a more “self-help” mode with these links … but then, there is some good common sense here

New Year, New You: How to Travel the World with (or without) Kids in 2008

My favorite phrase in one scan …

“If the thought of going from Nintendo to no Nintendo sends you into a panic attack, consider for a moment what kids actually need to be fulfilled and happy.

You
Although it may not be easy to believe, particularly with teenagers, your kids really want you. What they lose in DVD releases on sabbatical, they make up for with pure, unfettered time with you. Your time away can easily create and strengthen bonds with your children that will last a lifetime—all it takes is a little time.”

10 Questions to Ask Yourself to Regain Your Work-Life Balance

Let’s start with the symptoms …

“You know you’re out of balance when…

1. Your mail sits unopened for a week and you pay your bills late
2. You think that the more plates you can spin, the more you can have it all
3. You keep declining invitations with friends
4. You can’t remember the last time you talked with your brother
5. You forget appointments and blow off commitments (like working out, eating healthy)
6. You stop writing your task lists for the week and fly by the seat of your pants
7. You haven’t synched your PDA in weeks
8. You don’t care if you’re not on track with your plan
9. You can’t remember what’s in your plan
10. You don’t answer your phone or you’re always on the phone”

Parents = Role Models

I’m quite excited to explore Faith Stepping Stones for BLC in 2008.

SimpleCarols Chord Charts & SimpleCarols On YouTube.

I’m keeping these for next year … Thanks Dan!

Faith and Politics

a little bit of spice  to add flavor to this tame random links series!

Top 10 Posts of 2007

I’ve always had difficulty finding my own top 10, but reading what others list out is fun…

 What is a fundamentalist?

Interesting how I’m re-looking at this as well.

Top Ten signs you are a fundamentalist Christian

I wonder what would be the top 10 signs for a fundamentalist secularist, or Buddhist, or businessman, or capitalist, or  … fill in the blanks!

Certainty

food for lunch?

“When we are certain we don’t feel the need to pay attention. Given that the world around us is always in flux, our certainty is an illusion.”

I’m doing a quick catching up before Boxing Day ends tonight.

Catholic Weekly in quandary over permit

Ouch … The Herald is one of my favorite source of input and inspiration!

Allah, Tuhan, God, Shang-Ti, Dio!

What word do you use for “God” in your mother tongue?

Is It Really Just About The Terminology?

This paragraph alone takes us beyond terminology

“Unfortunately the dear Minister may have overlooked the fact that there exists a very strong counter-cultural and anti-empire message in Christianity. Despite Christendom having being a party to the very same empires that her core message has taken a stand against many times in history; to our chagrin and shame; there had always been a self critique mechanism that existed within the Church’s polity and the raising up of reformers and prophetic voices throughout her history. Perhaps the Minister may be trying to add a new term of reference to the Internal Security Ministry – one of theological interpretation and doctrinal policing?”

Herald permit: Divide-and-rule rears its ugly head?Anil’s column in the Herald is one of the reason’s the weekly is my favorite …

“Four years ago, Christian Malaysians were overjoyed when Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi sent Christmas greetings to their various churches and congregations. It was an astute gesture that touched many Christians, and many of them voted in droves for the BN in the 2004 general election.

How times have changed.

Now, as we observe Christmas 2007, the mood in many churches is decidedly sombre. The Catholic Church has not yet received its new publication permit for its weekly Herald newspaper for the coming year, ostensibly because of its use of the term “Allah” to refer to God in its Malay-language section.

As a columnist for The Herald, I am deeply disappointed. The Herald’s use of the term “Allah” is nothing new; it has been using the word for years in its Bahasa Malaysia section. See the Aliran statement here.

In fact, “Christian Arabs of today have no other word for ‘God’ than ‘Allah’” (Wikipedia).

So why has this become an issue now?”

Do Malaysian Muslims understand what ‘Allah’ means?

This is where academics who write in ways we can understand come in handy …

“For a start, the word ‘Allah’ predates the revelation to the Prophet Muhammad and goes way back to the pre-Islamic era. Christians had been using the word long before there were any Muslims, in fact. Furthermore the word is Arabic, and is thus common to all the peoples, cultures and societies where Arabic – in all its dialects – is spoken, and is understood by millions of Arabic speakers to mean God, and little else. One could also add that as “Allah” is an Arabic word it therefore has more to do with the development and evolution of Arabic language and culture, and less to do with Islam. It is hard to understand how any religion can have a language to call its own, for languages emerge from a societal context and not a belief system. If one were to abide by the skewered logic of the Minister concerned, then presumably the language of Christianity (if it had one) would be Aramaic, or perhaps Latin.

The Minister’s remark not only demonstrated his shallow understanding of Muslim culture and the clear distinction between Arab ulture and Muslim theology, but it also demonstrated his own lack of understanding of the history of the Malays, who, like many non-Arabs, only converted to Islam much later from the 13th century onwards. Among the earliest pieces of evidence to indicate Islam’s arrival to the Malay archipelago are the stone inscriptions found in Malay states like Pahang where the idea of God is described in the sanskrit words ‘Dewata Mulia Raya’. As no Malay spoke or even understood Arabic then, it was natural for the earliest Malay-Muslims to continue using the Sanskrit-inspired language they spoke then. Surely this does not make them lesser Muslims as a result?”

May Allah open Johari’s eyes

I wonder how Johari will face his Christian friends, or Malaysian citizens who are Christians … or anyone who is more informed than him on this matter?

Why forbid that which God has enjoined?

Beautiful verse from the Quran.

PM warns about religious extremism

Hmm … but if I’m not mistaken the one’s making in my humble opinion extremist statements don’t seem to be heeding his advice.

Lim: PM’s X’mas Speech good but …

The “buts” seem to be overshadowing the “good” these days ..

Herald controversy – Is Abdullah leader of Malaysian moderates protecting middle ground against extremists?

The details of what Kit Siang had in mind in the earlier post.

A Christian tells Pak Lah the truth

So, what’s next? … for all of us …

A Flawed Democracy

This is serious stuff …

“Shame on you government of Malaysia; you are as guilty in the eyes of God as exactly as you accuse the Hindraf leaders. May the Lord God judge you appropriately on this action which you do unjustly and without the due process of natural justice.

You did not even bother to read their memorandum and now you accuse them of “becoming a danger to the Malaysian society and public interest.”

And you abuse the ISA meant for communists. Just tell me why? May we all continue to pray and ask for God’s Mercy on Malaysia!”

Why are Malaysians so restless these days?

Today has been a little more restful than usual though … but perhaps it will be short lived.

Thursday date for Subashini decision

That’s tomorrow, and it reminds me this season to remember those who are often not in our immediate circles of concern .. for those who are impatient .. here’s a good summary possible outcome:

” There are three likely possible outcomes from the Federal Court tomorrow:

1. The court may decide against Subashini on technical grounds – over the date of Subashini’s divorce petition which was within three months of her husband’s conversion date.

According to the law, the petition should be filed three months after the conversion date. Subashini argued that she was not aware of the date of her husband’s conversion. If so, the case will be thrown out and lawyers can choose to file her divorce petition again.

2. The court may decide against Subashini on substantive grounds – that the Syariah Court has jurisdiction and orders her to take her case there. This effectively rules that civil courts have no say in conversion cases especially after syariah proceedings have commenced.

3. The court may decide for Subashini – she will get remedy in civil courts, her husband may not proceed further in syariah courts and he has to go back to civil courts because their marriage was originally solemnised under civil law.

Whatever the Federal Court decision, it will be considered a landmark judgment.”

I couldn’t resist trying to capture the “ugly-duckling-turn-to-swan-by-Pastor Naomi” BLC Christmas Choir 2007 in action I was still trying to sing my tenor part behind the camera …. and felt a sense of satisfaction as we finished the song marking the climax of the practices as well as singing in a variety of venues. It was good to sing the songs in home ground.

It was a good Christmas eve worship gathering… one of the best I’ve participated in thus far.

Merry Christmas!

THE LORD will give you a sign.

Look, the young woman
is with child and shall bear a son,
and shall name him Immanuel.

Liberating God,
teach us
how to refuse the evil
and choose the good. Amen.

- Alive Now

(via Upper Room Daily Reflections)

I’d like to wish everyone a blessed Christmas this season. It’s been a wonderful season for me personally and as a family (especially with the arrival of baby Ewan whose smile brightens up my days!).

My prayer is that in times like today we will all be freed from our self-imposed or other inflicted prisons which make us a pretty lousy neighbor, friend and family member. May God liberate us to be the kind of people he has called us to be, to do what we are supposed to do, and share true freedom to all that this world here and now, will be deterred from becoming a living “hell”, but rather have a glimpse of “heaven”.

Allow me to share pleasant “greeting” or blessing from the New Testament … 2Thessalonians 1.2:

“Semoga Allah Bapa kita dan Tuhan Yesus Kristus mengurniai kamu berkat dan kesahteraan”

And if you are available tonight, join us at 8.30pm for a Christmas eve Worship gathering at Bangsar Lutheran Church.

Tomorrow there won’t be a service at BLC, I’m off to visit Christian Life Gospel Centre at 10.30am…:-)