Congratulations!!!

Congratulations to my splendid and unendingly brilliant Darling for wrapping up her 2nd-year Law in wonderful colours!!

(I clearly don’t mean blue and red colours, in case you’re wondering… -.-)

Around The ‘Son’ We Go Again…

Here we are, at the beginning of the end.

His mercies are new every morning.

Resolutions are good things especially at the start of the year. They allow us to stamp down markers on the mist ahead. According to Ying’s dad, if we don’t put down any markers, we will be N.A.T.O- No Action, Talk Only.

Here are mine and how I plan on going about achieving them: Reach for the moon, fall on the stars.

1.  Learn more about being Godly, wise and street-smart.

I plan to reread Piper’s Battling Unbelief, moving between the devotional books I have with me and Spurgeon’s Treasury on David online.  I plan to keep on training my ear to listen to pearls of wisdom whenever God puts them in front of me. I plan to put some actions which I’ve learnt from smart people into practice.

2. Learn up and apply  more cooking and household skills until it becomes a second nature in order that my life will not be filled with ‘yuen wang lu’- roughly translated: unnecessary roads.

I plan to keep up my effort of changing I-Have-Tos to I-Want-Tos (perspective) and making work sacred. I will open my eyes and continue garnering new skills for a flexible life- able to do with/ without luxuries.

3. Stay consistent on my studies and devotions.

I plan to study hard and pray when I don’t have the strength or discipline. I plan to remember to commune with God multiple times a day.

4. Keep up a healthy diet and exercise- avoid stress, anxiety and tamp down my hormonal swings.

I plan to go jogging when I have accompaniment, swimming alone if I dare, and do indoor exercise. I plan to meditate on verses. I plan to read up on my body once every 2 mths to see what it needs.

5. Develop and retain a positive way in looking at as many things in life.

I plan to TALK to my BODY and not letting it TALK to ME(Piper) to avoid despondency. I anticipate this to be the toughest challenge yet but I believe that God’s grace is sufficient for me to be faithful.

6. Make new friends and treasure the ones that I have.

I plan to press on when people don’t seem to care.  I plan to appreciate and encourage people when it seems fitting to do so. I plan to look out for the people who are singled out and speak to them first. Looks, as always, are deceiving.

7.  Love God and others flowing from that love.

I plan to do my part in discovering more about God and letting God change that knowledge of him into love. Knowledge puffs up. Love builds up.

8. Love and appreciate my loved ones

I plan to be more receptive, repentant and sensitive to those close to me that may hurt as a result of my words and actions. I plan to be more caring and understanding. I plan to forgive others as God has forgiven me. I pray for God to continue to soften my heart and by His grace allow me to love rightly. To despise that which ought to be despised and to love that which should be loved.

9. Be more discerning in the truth. Break the habit of linking and heaping things together(a female exhibits this during times of emotional weakness).

I plan to doubt my mind when it throws accusations/ condemnations upon myself or others. I plan to offer everything bugging me up to God in prayer and thanksgiving. I plan to learn the skill of casting my cares on Christ. I plan to exercise faith in the future grace through Christ.

10. Complain less. Exhort more.

I plan to do what I taught my tuition kids through a sudden inspiration.

To complain is to: Talk about bad, angry, unsatisfying, prideful, sad, fearful things.

Emotions are helpful in crossing over a tough period in life. When that emotion festers into complaining, that becomes unsanctified emotions and on a more alarming note, it indicates that we do not have faith in the future grace God promises in Christ.

Some Examples:

Sanctified Anger: A mother is angry when a child disobeys and takes steps to discipline the child in love and not in spite.

Unsanctified: The mother complains to the father: ” Look at your daughter! Why did we beget daughters! This is a cursed life! Other kids are so obedient… etc etc etc”. Anger turns into hatred, frustration, agony, bitterness through complaining.

Sanctified Unsatisfaction: A student is unsatisfied over the biasedness practiced by her teacher.

Unsanctified: The student badmouths the student favoured by the teacher and even if the allegations of the girl starts off being the truth, she will find herself slowly sinking into exaggeration and outright expression of hatred against that teacher’s pet. Unknowingly, she finds herself treating that student as her own enemy.Unsatisfaction turns into hatred, anger, bitterness, jealousy through complaining.

Sanctified Sadness: A woman working all her life to make ends meet for her family or single-handedly manning the household with a passive husband, being unappreciated.

Unsanctified Sadness: The woman passing the cloud of ‘bitterness and unsatisfaction’ to her family and everyone she comes in contact with who asks her how she is doing.  Her tone is marred with unsatisfaction and stress. She thinks that by complaining, her heart’s sorrows will disperse. But what it is in effect doing, is solidifying all the mud(negativity) into stone. What she will end up with is an unfeeling heart of stone despite the noble beginning she started from which is to: upkeep her own family which is no easy task. What a waste of a woman. What a blessing she would be if she would turn and let God in to help deal with the repressed hurts. Sadness becomes a life not worth living, hopelessness, pain, loneliness, the world collapsing on you(overwhelmed), when it seems as though everything in the world is against you, and finally a dejected, rejected soul through complaining.

I felt compelled to expound here because likewise, I am also subject to this maggot of complaining but this is no reason for backing down on the fight. Because we know where our future lies, we shall fight this good fight against the ‘fiery darts’ the enemy throws at us. With the Sword of the Spirit(the Word) and the Shield of Faith( which comes from hearing the Word), we can be the children of God that He has called us to be through Christ.

This is evermoreso important as we enter the New Year with new resolutions, new purposes in our hearts for the tasks that are set ahead of us mortally and spiritually. The dealing with complains  is very relevant, in my opinion, in achieving the good resolutions we lay down especially if it includes a more permanent growth or improvement.

So, as I end the last resolution I have in my top ten list, which is also the longest one of them all, I cheer you all on, to pursue your knowledge in everlasting things and through that, may you be blessed with wisdom to deal with the knowledge you garnered in order that you may not waste away yet another fleeting year. The years will get more and more fleeting as time passes by, mind you! And last of all, I pray that in times of trial and challenges where  ‘mud(negativity) gets slung on your windshield’ in this year, that God will be with you and by His grace and Your corresponding faith you will be able to let Him help you ‘wipe them off’ and continue on your map.

Line to Remember: TALK TO YOURSELF NOT LET YOURSELF TALK TO YOU!

Trust: from Event to Response…and back again

Reading about the Law of Trusts from Peter Birks‘ writing is amazing. Talking about God is, however, to an infinitely greater extent, far more amazing.

The Legal Context

The word “trust”, to one not familiar with the law, will seem utterly commonplace in everyday relationships. Indeed it is; and indeed, the Law of Trusts began from such commonplace relationships of trust. X tells Y, “I am now transferring to you my house, trusting you to transfer it to my son after I die.” X dies, leaving Y his house, and Y decides to breach the trust vested in him. He moves into the house and lives in it. X’s son, poor thing, knocks on the door that should have been his. Y answers the door; and not only does he stick out his tongue, he also sticks the land title deed (a paper which says who owns the house) to the house in the poor son’s face. The poor son looks at the land title deed: it says “X transferred the house to Y”. He is aggrieved. He goes to court to pray for aid. The judge, sensitive as always to the manifest injustice, notices that the house seems to belong to Y; but also notices that Y acted adversely to the trust X had in him, and thus declares that Y must transfer the house to X’s son.

This, my dear friends, is the essence of the Law of Trusts.

It would be noted that, from the example above, the element of ‘trust’ came into view as an Event. That is to say, the event of X reposing his trust in Y gave rise to the ultimate proclamation of the judge that Y must transfer the house to X’s son. Nowadays, however, a “Trust” in the legal context refers not so much to the Event than as to the legal Response. That is to say, in the example above, the word “Trust” today will be used not to describe X’s reposing of trust in Y, but the judge’s proclamation that Y must transfer the house to X’s son. That transfer that Y is liable to, which is the Response, is what we call a “Trust” today.

The Christian Context

So much for the legal context. We saw how the word “Trust” can be used as an Event, which is the commonplace usage of the word, and how the law has used it to describe a Response – the transfer of a property to the rightful owner. What then of “Trust” in the absolute sense – in the context beyond the legal, earthly realm; a sense relating to the Creator God? We are, of course, told to “Trust in the Lord with all [our] hearts, and lean not on [our] own understanding” (Proverbs 3v5a). What does this mean?

I do not suggest that I can offer an exhaustive definition of what it is to Trust in the Lord, nor do I claim to have mastered it.  But I hope to offer you two thoughts to the matter.

The first relates to the pessimism/optimism dichotomy. A couple of weeks ago, Debbie blogged about what it is to be Optimistic. It pays to read (or re-read) that post for its intrinsic worth (and no, I am not being biased here ). If you do, you will realise that the post ends with this sentence: “Hence the answer to being optimistic lies ultimately, all the way above. (literally and metaphorically)”. So it does. But, you may ask, how do we put this into practice? In other words, what can I do to get to the point whereby I am able to trust in the Lord, so much so that I become a ‘Christian optimist’? The answer, it seems, is to avoid saying to yourself “I can’t”, and starting to say “He can”. The former is a pessimist, the latter an optimist. Indeed, the Psalmist David once said, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” (Psalm 73v26) I want to lean not on my own understanding, for anything of my own will fail – indeed, by definition it will, since I need to trust in the Lord – but to lean on Him who is my strength. Strength not only to resolve my problems, but to sustain me – and even more so, strength to trust in him. A divine circle.

The second seeks to highlight a common Christian mistake. When a Christian is in a comfortable period of time, he becomes complacent: he spends less time with the Lord, and basks more in the glory of himself, which makes him forget that it is the Lord who gives. The Lord also takes away – and so, conversely, when things aren’t going too well, the Christian then turns to the Lord; but seldom immediately. For the Christian – a human and thus prone to the errors of the world – is by (human) nature a prideful being. He will try, in his own endeavour, to conquer the problem at hand. Only when he sees that it is to no avail will he call upon the Lord. If we are to avoid both situations, the general rule is simple: trust in the Lord by making him your Constant Resort, not your Last Resort.

Conclusion

Perhaps one might have already picked up on the cue set by the title as to the element of “Trust” in the Christian context. “Trust” is (or, in any event, ought to be) an Event, not a Response. A Response is a product of an Event; and an Event (where it is not an act outside the human control) is a product of initiative. Need we wait for a series of Events (such as blessings, feelings, signs and wonders) to occur before we repose our Trust in the Lord? If we do, we are only going as far as our human Law has done – in making Trust a Response to a particular Event. This will mean that, insofar as the Event does not occur, the Response finds no reason to exist. This approach is clearly counter-intuitive to the Christian “Trust”, for it empties the word “Trust” of any meaning. Trusting the Lord, clearly, is an Event deeply rooted in the choice and control of human beings. But that is not all there is to the Event. The Event consists of us choosing and endeavouring to Trust the Lord and relying on His strength to do so. Then the Responses will flow at His divine timing (calmness, spiritual insight, joy, liberation…the list is endless for God is unbounded).

Indeed, God is the Lord even of “Trust” – he is in it from the Event to the Response…and never ceases to go back again when we need Him to.

Omnia: all in one…or is it?

Forgive my Latin, but I’m not sure ‘Omnia’ means ‘all-in-one’. No, this isn’t so much a linguistic discussion than it is about the Samsung Omnia. In fact, my Samsung Omnia. Yes, I actually bought myself a super-phone which is a touchscreen, wifi-enabled, 16GB memory, accelerator for auto screen rotation and call muting, Windows Mobile-enabled, you-name-it-its-got-it phone. I of all people, who once unilaterally and voluntarily declared ‘a phone’s only function is to call and message!’, have bought an Omnia.

Did I mention that it has a 5 megapixel built-in camera? Oh yes it does! Coupled with its 3.2″, 65K colour, 240 X 400 pixels screen, this makes the camera as powerful as my already-powerful digital camera!

So, without much ado, here’s a picture for you!

*Rolls eyes*. An all-in-one phone that can't even take a picture of itself?!

Well anyways, apart from the fact that it is a nifty little beast, I have been having trouble surfing on it. Guys, I’m sure you know how frustrating it can be to spend hours on end configuring a particular setting and to have to go to bed not solving it! (and girls…appreciate your guys when they configure something for you; it’s no fun )

***

It’s been one week in Nottingham for me; and I cannot say how much I miss my sweetie-pie (not the food). Not having her around is like eating a sweetpie that isn’t sweet; or a sweetpie that isn’t pie; or craving a sweetpie so badly that even eating one does not satisfy the craving. Yes, I KNOW THE FEELING. Once, I was in a bus, and for some reason the glorious taste of pork meat (char siew fan to be exact) just decided to take its seat at the back of my throat where my nostril-tubes begin. The bad news wasn’t the fact that I craved it, nor the fact that I was in a bus, but the fact that the bus was in London. To be absolutely precise then, I was craving Malaysian char siew fan. Can you imagine the desperation? Exactly how I miss my sweetie-pie.

***

Well, one week here means I am one week a PhD student. And I just realised something: I have not yet read the very book on which I based my PhD proposal! The fact that I have 2 years and 51 weeks to go is no comfort when there are countless number of materials to read.

Just some of the countless number of books I have to read to complete my thesis. Ignore the bread.

You might be wondering what it is like to do a PhD in Law. Well, apart from the fact that I am the only one in ten years to be doing this area of law at Nottingham U, and apart from the fact that even well-versed people respond to my topic with “You had to choose the tough area to research!!”, it is basically me reading in my room, typing out thoughts, and playing with my stress balls. (no, I did not say stressed balls)

Room window...

...typing thoughts...

...and playing with stress balls. (*note: I play neither sport*)

Panoramic view (thanks to Omnia) of the tiny room in which a PhD is being written.

***

There are quite a number of things I wanted to pen down (I mean, button-down) in this post; but since a long post seldom suits the readers’ fancy, I shall endeavour to end with two intellectual thoughts (to keep the intellectual reader happy).

The first is an idea of John Stuart Mill, adapted into real life. We each have our own sets of life principles (I hope?); and it is a very human thing to avoid situations wherein such behaviour of others challenges our core principles. Yet, in coming into contact with others, inevitable challenges are bound to come along our way. As to these inevitabilities, do we shun them for fear that they may unstablise our principles? Or do we sit through such challenges with such hatred and dissatisfaction so as to produce the (purported) counter-reaction of solidifying our own principles? It seems that, subject to the bounds of reasonability, we should consider all such challenges that come our way as ordained by God, and embrace them (the challenges, not the contrary principles) in a state of open-mindedness. For if one holds to his own principles without challenge, they are but dead dogmas to him. Conversely speaking, when one’s principles are challenged, one has the opportunity to defend his principles (albeit a process that takes place internally, ie. in his own mind); and this eventually adds meaning, confidence and ‘mass’ to his initial principles. Think about it this way: one might have body mass, but it may just be fats. Only after one works out (and this is tough, no doubt) can his body mass become muscles, properly so called.

The other thought is by yours truly, with special thanks to Viscount Simonds in The Wagon Mound (No. 1) 1961. It is trite law that, generally, one will only be liable in negligence for those damages which he caused which were reasonably foreseeable. Applying this to one’s mind, one has a sphere of ‘reasonable thought’ which must trouble him at any one point in time. For instance, the questions of ‘What should I eat now?’, ‘Am I talking sense in this conversation?’ and ‘Why does my arm hurt now?’ are reasonably relevant in that they relate to the present. However, it is a tendency of one’s mind to stray into unreasonable realms which then causes him to worry unnecessarily. Examples of this are: ‘What will happen to me after I die?’, ‘Will I grow up thinking too much?’, and ‘Will I be homeless when I am old?’ This is not to say that these questions are irrelevant; the point to be made is that these are only reasonable concerns insofar as what I do today can secure the outcome to the questions. In other words, I should only be concerned about these to the extent of my current actions. Just as the remoteness (extent) of damage in negligence is measured to the act of negligence itself, so should one’s thoughts, concerns and worries be measured to one’s present actions.

The end. (if you actually got this far, I am impressed!)