A year ago

Exactly this time last year, I was on my way to Paris, the City of Lights.

Wow..how time flies. It’s difficult to forget such a beautiful city as that…

Get your Bibles out and start reading

Most of today’s content was copied and pasted from here (ESV’s blog post on Visualizing One-Year Bible Reading Plans)

It’s that ritualistic time of the year again. Time to hurry pick out a good Bible reading plan to kick-start in the year 2008. With so many options and variety of plans, it’s quite difficult to select one to stick with for the entire year. It matters. One year’s worth.

I found this blog last year and found the graphics useful (somewhat) in visualizing the depth, the load and the speed at which is required to cover the entire Bible in a year through its various methods. I thought I should share them with you as some of you endeavour to choose the perfect plan to begin on January 1, 2008.

Before I move on, let me just add that you will experience innumerous blessings when you sit and read the Bible everyday. God can speak through ways you’d never ever imagined when you read His word. Feed on it like food is to your soul. It’s not difficult to cover the Bible in a year. I’ve done it.. and I’ve experienced so much through it. Now I’d like you to take up that challenge with me for the year 2008. There are many plans out there to choose from – some a greater coverage than others. Here are some examples:

Plan 1: Through the Bible

Simple plan. Simple layout.

Reading from both Testaments simultaneously.

I’ve done this before. As you can see from the graph, there is much of the Old Testament to be covered within the year, therefore the load of the passage to read a day from the OT can be quite heavy in comparison to the NT.

But it’s simple.

Plan 2: M’Cheyne Reading Plan

 

I did this for the year 2007. Only one more day to go!!

It takes you through the New Testament and the Psalms twice and the Old Testament once in the year.

I loved it. It added a lot of variety to the day’s reading, so it doesn’t get too boring reading from the dry passages alone. It was also good to reminded constantly of the New Testament and the ever-uplifting Psalms regularly throughout the year.

The only reason why I’m not repeating this plan for the year 2008 is because I want to try something different and well, I was looking for a more concentrated reading a day in which I can easily ponder on that single passage a day rather than trying to think about 4 different passages which I’ve read that morning. It can sometimes get confusing reading 4 different stories at once. 

Nevertheless, great reading plan. I’d recommend this if you’re up for a slightly more challenging year. It may feel overwhelming when trying to catch up if you’ve missed out several days.

Plan 3: One Year Bible Plan

 

Slightly similar to the above, but this brings you through the OT and NT once, the Psalms twice and a little dose of Proverbs a day for the entire year.

Haven’t tried this, and I really like the fact that there is a proverb to think about everyday.

 

 

 
Plan 4: Daily Reading Bible

 

Also very very similar to the M’Cheyne Reading plan, which brings you through the NT and Psalms twice and the OT once in a year, but if you look carefully, you’d see that you will have three passages to read at a time, in comparison to the M’Cheyne where it’s four passages in a day, which means there are two OT passages and two NT passages to read in a day from M’Cheyne’s guide.

This has a more straightforward approach. The reading rate and bulk of OT and NT in a day will be somewhat similar and not lopsided like the Through the Bible Plan where the OT takes on a greater bulk than the NT in a day (we’re looking at the slant of the lines when we talk about bulk).

Plan 5: Chronological Reading Plan

 

This has caught my eye. Reading it as it was written… like a history book. According to the timeline of when the books were written. It truly helps when you’re trying to grasp when and what is going at that point in time of history. Extremely useful when reading of a prophet who existed the same time of the king which was written of in another passage. Great for comparison.

Looks really cool in that the psalm from which was written with that background story is inserted together with the background… to enhance the understanding of why the psalmist said what he said, given the circumstances he was in.

Plan 6: Victory Reading Plan

I don’t have a graphic explanation for this but I’ve read that this plan allows you to have a few days off the routine of reading to just ponder on the week’s passages and reflect on those which had some impact. I like the fact that there is some allowance of free days to just reread and rethink. I’m trying to get hold of it to view the details…but I can’t find it online. A kind guy is sending it to me just as I write this. But doubt I’ll receive it before January 1. Oh well.

There we go.

A whole selection of plans to choose from. The different methods of eating a pie, but still eating and finishing it nevertheless.
Let’s make it our new year’s resolution to read the entire Bible for the year 2008. It’s feasible. This is a resolution which you know you can complete for the year.

Completely

The secret of life is letting go
The secret of love is letting it show
In all that I do
In all that I say
Right here in this moment

The power of prayer is in a humble cry
The power of change is in giving my life
And laying it down
Down at Your feet
Right here in this moment

Take my heart
Take my soul
I surrender everything to your control
And let all that is within me lift up to You and say
I am Yours and Yours alone
Completely

This journey of life is a search for truth
This journey of faith is following You
Every step of the way
Through the joy and the pain
Right here in this moment

Right here, right now
And for the rest of my life
Hear me say

I am Yours and Yours alone
Completely

The secret of life is letting go
The secret of love is letting it show
In all that I do
In all that I say
Right here in this moment

The power of prayer is in a humble cry
The power of change is in giving my life
And laying it down
Down at Your feet
Right here in this moment

Take my heart
Take my soul
I surrender everything to your control
And let all that is within me lift up to You and say
I am Yours and Yours alone
Completely

This journey of life is a search for truth
This journey of faith is following You
Every step of the way
Through the joy and the pain
Right here in this moment

Right here, right now
And for the rest of my life
Hear me say

I am Yours and Yours alone
Completely

My Christmas gift

This is what a year has made me…

                           Christmas 2006                                                                     Christmas 2007

one word = FAT

Here’s another…

                          February 2007                                                                         December 2007

goodness! I look so bloated and edematous. this is absolutely no way 44 kilos. What have I done??

What a great way to start the new year. sigh…

Merry Christmas

Found this really cool picture awhile back. Had waited until Christmas day to post it up.
Let’s take this moment to remember the real reason behind what we’re celebrating today…

O come let us adore Him
O come let us adore Him
O come let us adore Him
Christ the Lord

Slept, but can’t sleep

This is so not nice…not being able to sleep. Y’know, I might as well start a trend of writing and posting at 3am in the mornings. Well, I did sleep some 2 hours earlier on, but now I’m up and can’t fall back to sleep. Early morning awakenings and insomnia are part of the DSM criteria to diagnose depression. Sigh.
Shall not dwell on the can’t-sleep-part tonight. Had been wanting to post this video up for quite some time now. Really moving presentation. I shed a few tears. (well, it could be because I’m so emotional lately!)

It’s quite a long video, but it’s worth it. This is the extend of love a father can go just for his son’s happiness. Amazing.

44 kilograms

Just wanted to share something ridiculous which I experienced at the Kampung Angkat stay last weekend. I stood on the weighing scale some of my colleagues had used to weigh the villagers, just to see how heavy I was… and I got this absurd number.

44kgs.

Yes! A whooping 44 kilograms, or 97 pounds or 6.9stones. It’s extremely nonsensical that that was how much I weigh, even with my running shoes on!! Believe me, it is.

Yup. This revealed that we had used a completely inaccurate scale to weigh our villagers. They were all recorded WAAAAYY lighter than they actually are. Imagine all the overweight people who missed the mark of being overweight but were instead labelled as normal?

Oh well… I guess that would have made some ladies quite happy.

Insomnia Day 2

I really don’t like this. It’s 1:42am… and I’m wide awake. So awake I believe I could be up the entire night without much effort. I suppose in some ways this is a good thing. It’s good preparation for the very near future on call nights where I have to be awake until 5am… delivering babies.

I need sleep… but can’t do anything about it. My sleep cycle just won’t begin. Argh!! I feel really foolish staying up like this.

Help!

Clocking out now at 3:00am. Release me from this agony.
(Friend, if you’re reading this, thanks for listening to me in the middle of the night. Really appreciate it)

A real world with real problems

It appears I’m not the only one who seem to have lost the essence of feeling the joy of Christmas in the core of the heart because of the whirlwind of troubles which distracts us from coming and adoring Christ the King. I read my dear friend’s blog this morning, in some ways, comforted that I’m not the only miserable one this Christmas (I know it sounds crazy that I am comforted that someone else is ’suffering’ too. Although, my friend, I’m not ecstatic that both of us are going through difficult times! But was also just reminded that Peter said to rejoice in the face of suffering. [1 Peter 1:6, 1 Peter 4:13] Easy to say, hard to do, I know.. ).

Then I got ready for my devotional time… and what I read had encouraged me, and I thought I should share it, so my friend may be encouraged, and whoever out there who’s also probably not having the best Christmas this year (you know who you are, I know there are many others too), may find this comforting. Here’s what I read this morning…

Archbishop William Temple once put it this way: "Let us at all costs avoid the temptation to make our Christmas worship a withdrawal from the stress and sorrow of life into a realm of unreal beauty.  It was into the real world that Christ came, into the city where there was no room for him, and into a country where Herod, the murderer of innocents was king. Christ comes to us, not to shield us from the harshness of the world but to give us the courage and strength to bear it; not to snatch us away by some miracle from the conflict of life, but to give us peace - His peace- by which we may be calmly steadfast while the conflict rages, and be able to bring to the torn world the healing that is peace."

I encourage you to read a sermon which also quoted the passage above.

So often when I don’t feel that happiness and peace which I think I should have at Christmas time, I’d feel guilty because I should not feel this way. Christmas is all about love, joy and peace. Then I try to do all kinds of things hoping to eliminate that guilt and bring out that non-existent joy…and I fail, because I can’t create a joyful and peaceful feeling which is not there, I can’t make myself feel all warm and Christmasy inside when all I can think of is the troubles around me.

But now, I don’t have to. Christ did not come into a world when it was peaceful and joyful. He came in the moment when people thought that God was silent and they were suffering tremendously under Herod the great. He came into a world of darkness which desperately needed a Saviour. There’s no need to pretend that all is well and make Christmas look like a time when it’s problem-free.

He came into a real world with many real problems that we might experience real peace in Him.

Christmas is not a retreat from reality but an advance into it alongside the Prince of Peace.

Insomnia

From the Latin insomnus. In = no, somnus = sleep. No sleep. Inability to sleep.

It’s 1:00am according to my laptop’s clock. Really wide awake. Not a tinge of sleepiness. All the gears and wheels in my head are spinning as though they had forgotten to wind down for the night. Not good. I need to stay awake for my driver, who’s post call and driving at least 3 hours on a straight road in the afternoon. Not good at all.

Tried a lot of things to feel sleepy. Read boring books, surfed boring websites, and yes, I tried closing my eyes for sometime in my dark room. Didn’t work. In the frustration, I gave up trying. Might as well do something while I’m fully awake anyway…

What’s keeping me awake? Numerous reasons. But we shall not dwell on those…

Let’s talk about sleep. Perhaps that might make me want sleep and eventually feel sleepy enough to ZzzZzzzzz.

Here are some interesting facts I copied after reading quite a few sites on sleep. Yes, I read about sleep and still don’t feel sleepy.

1. The record for the longest period without sleep is 18 days, 21 hours, 40 minutes during a rocking chair marathon. The record holder reported hallucinations, paranoia, blurred vision, slurred speech and memory and concentration lapses.
(Gosh, am I glad I should be able to sleep in a few hours…)

2. It’s impossible to tell if someone is really awake without close medical supervision. People can take cat naps with their eyes open without even being aware of it.

3. Anything less than five minutes to fall asleep at night means you’re sleep deprived. The ideal is between 10 and 15 minutes, meaning you’re still tired enough to sleep deeply, but not so exhausted you feel sleepy by day.

4. A new baby typically results in 400-750 hours lost sleep for parents in the first year. (Does not deter me from still wanting kids…)

5. Elephants sleep standing up during non-REM sleep, but lie down for REM sleep. (Imagine getting up and down each night!!)

6. Scientists have not been able to explain a 1998 study showing a bright light shone on the backs of human knees can reset the brain’s sleep-wake clock. (How cool is that?!)

7. Some studies suggest women need up to an hour’s extra sleep a night compared to men, and not getting it may be one reason women are much more susceptible to depression than men. (Definitely a good fact to know…)

8. Ducks at risk of attack by predators are able to balance the need for sleep and survival, keeping one half of the brain awake while the other slips into sleep mode. (How nice it would be if I could do that when I’m on call)

9. Humans sleep on average around three hours less than other primates like chimps, rhesus monkeys, squirrel monkeys and baboons, all of whom sleep for 10 hours.

10. Tiny luminous rays from a digital alarm clock can be enough to disrupt the sleep cycle even if you do not fully wake. The light turns off a "neural switch" in the brain, causing levels of a key sleep chemical to decline within minutes. (What more from the city lights from our windows?)

Okay. I’m off. More attempts to have my shut-eye for the night. Clocking off at 1:30am – STILL not sleepy. Let’s hope I don’t nod off in the car ride later today.