I just received another unexpected gift from my sis. :) Thank God! :) In recent months, I have been receiving a lot of gifts, most of which I did not expect to receive. It feels great to be blessed. :)

It is a blessing to be blessed but it is a greater blessing to be a blessing. :)

P/s : The pic shows a handmade cross. It is supposed to be a handphone accessory.

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My Thought...

A person who has low self-esteem tends to feel insecure. Such a person generally tends to be suspicious of the good intentions/goodwill of others, which can cause an unnecessary strain on his/her relationships with others.

Therefore, I think it's important for such a person to work on establishing a healthy sense of self so that he/she will not create strains (which can become permanent) in his/her relationships with others, especially people who mean the world to him/her.

If only such people realise how special they are in the sight of God regardless of their backgrounds, etc, they would be able to have a healthy self-esteem.

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Servant Leadership (Part 2)

A primary function of the servant leader is to assure that an organization's people are imbued with a clear understanding of vision. Beyond that, the leader must help people relate that vision to their own vision in a way that directly aligns their work with the goals they want to accomplish and the goals of the organization.

~~James A. Autry (Author of "The Servant Leader")

Hmmm...food for thought...

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Servant Leadership (Part 1)

Right now, I am reading a new book entitled "The Servant Leader" by James A. Autry. A key principle which he advocates is that we have to have congruity in our lives.

There is a foreword by Howard Behar, who is a former President of Starbucks Coffee International. He says, "You can't separate the way you behave when you're communicating with your spouse from the way you communicate with your co-workers or boss. It's important to be the same person all day, every day." I absolutely agree with him!

It's a sad reality that many people don't have congruity in their lives. In other words, they simply lack authencity. They are somehow so skilled in compartmentalising their lives that it's easy for them to behave one way when they are at home and behave another way when they are at work or with friends, etc. So, what others see is just a fragmented view of them.

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Doing good deeds should not be for the purpose of getting reward(s) and/or recognition. Ultimately, God looks at our hearts. It's the motive of our hearts that really matters to Him.

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To have zeal for living, we must actively pursue our dreams. :)

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I don't understand why some men feel so insecure at work. I don't understand why some people can be so insecure that they will make other people look bad (through backstabbing, badmouthing, etc) so that they will look good. I don't understand why some people are so full of hypocrisy. I don't understand why some people are so easily taken in by the lies/deception of others. I don't understand why some people are just so cunning. I don't understand why some people seem to enjoy sowing discord between colleagues (others). I don't understand why some people just don''t seem to have any conscience. I don't understand why God is so kind to such people. I don't understand why I am expected to treat such people with kindness even though they have repaid my kindness with evil and ingratitude of sorts.

I simply don't understand why some people just can't seem to live at peace with others.

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We can touch God's heart by touching lives. One of the ways that I plan to touch lives is through my songs.

Songs that I have written to date:-

Christian Songs

English Titles

1) My Soul Finds Rest in You

2) Father, How I Long to Draw Close to You

3) Let Your Healing Flow

4) In Your Presence is Healing

5) You Will Never Leave

6) Broken for Me

7) Shine through Me

8) Restore Me According to Your Promise

9) Exchange

10) You Carry Me on Your Wings

11) L0rd, I Give You All My Pain

12) You Have Clothed Me with Your Glory

13) Father, I Give You My Broken Wings

14) Help Me Find a Way Back to You

15) I Need a Miracle

16) Breakthrough Prayer

17) The Weight is On My Shoulders

Chinese Titles

1) Ni Pei De Wo De Zhan Mei (You Deserve My Praise)

2) Wei You Ni (Only You)

3) Wu Si De Ai (Unselfish Love)

4) You Ni De Gan Jue Zhen Hao (It Feels Good to Have You in My Life)

5) Xin De Qi Dian (New Beginnings)

6) Bei Shi Fang De Xin (A Heart Set Free)

Secular Pop

English Titles

1) Give Wings to Your Dreams

2) Breaking Free from the Shackles of My Past

Chinese Titles

1) Xin Yuan (Heart's Desires)

2) Fang Xia Guo Qu, Ben Xiang Xing Fu (Letting Go of the Past & Running Towards Happiness)

3) Guo Ke (Passers-by)

4) Meng Xiang Cheng Zhen (Dreams Come True)

5) Wo De Wei Lai Chong Man Se Cai (I Have a Colourful Future)

6) Ke Wang Xing Fu (Longing for Happiness)

7) Zhong Yu Cheng Zhen (Finally a Reality)

8) Zhi Meng Yuan (Land of Dreams)

Children's Songs

English Titles

1) We Are Happy Children

Oh my...I just realised that I have written more English songs than Chinese songs! I have always thought that I have written more Chinese songs. :P

Out of all the listed songs, there are about 11 songs that are without melodies yet or with melodies that need fine-tuning. Hopefully, I can compose melodies for two songs before I start my new module at the bible college later this month.

I plan to write Cantonese songs (and possibly Hokkien songs) in the near future. In fact, I have written a few Cantonese songs (secular pop) before. But when I moved to the current residence, the song sheets (loose sheets) somehow got lost. :(

May God alone receive all the glory for all the songs that I have written! :)

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Today, I received something unexpected from someone. Even though it may be something inexpensive, nevertheless it still 'made my heart sing' because it's always good to be at the receiving end of gifts (blessings). :) Thank God!

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God's Economy

In man's economy, the more we give, the less we have. But in God's economy, the more we give, the more we receive. :)

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Yesterday, while I was talking with a client, he told me that he was very unlucky. He then used the analogy of the different sizes of our fingers to illustrate his point that everyone's fate is different. So I used the same analogy to drive home my point that his life will not stay the same, ie. he will not remain unlucky all his life.

No one will remain unlucky all his life! Therefore, take heart. :)

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The Weight is On My Shoulders

I just felt 'inspired' to pen this song a short while ago. It is a Christian song, which I hope will bring comfort to weary souls.

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To protect our dreams, I believe it's important for us to set a healthy boundary with people who are stumbling blocks (dream destroyers), ie. people who are insecure and prone to jealousy/envy.

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"Burying a talent is the betraying of a trust; and amounts to a forfeiture; and gifts and graces rust for want of wearing."

~Matthew Henry (Quoted by Connie Giordano in her message entitled "A Principle of Immense Importance")

Whatever talents we are given are meant to bring glory to God. They are not meant for self-glorification. Neither are they meant to be buried, for they are of no use in the kingdom of God if they are buried (or untapped).

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I got a new office mobile phone last week, shortly after I started work. On Tue (19 Jan) my sis got me a new mobile phone. It is a phone that I like very much. :)Thank God!

I am thankful that today is Friday! :) The past two weeks have been pretty hectic and so it feels great to be able to take a breather. :)

Once I am more settled in my new job, I will then have more personal time to compose music for some of my songs.

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Life

How we see our lives is determined, in part, by what we choose to see. If we choose to see ONLY the 'negatives' in life, we will probably be living a 'zombie-like existence.'

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Dignity Overdue

I would like to recommend one book to all of you out there. The book is entitled "Dignity Overdue" by John R. Gee and Elaine Ho. I am not sure if it's available anywhere else besides Singapore though. I believe it's a good read for anyone who's interested to know about the plight of foreign workers, particularly in the Singapore context. It might also be of interest to anyone who is keen to help foreign workers in the context of their own countries. Do check it out! :)

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Garfield's pic is one of those pics that can make me smile when I am feeling down. This time round, I am putting it on my blog not because I am feeling down. But rather I just want to wish all of you a great week ahead! I would probably not be able to blog over the next few days because I am starting a new job tomorrow.

If you are not doing a job that you enjoy right now and you have got a dream job in mind, do remember to work towards it, just as I plan to do. :)

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Recently, I wrote two songs entitled "Breakthrough Prayer" and "Breaking Free from the Shackles of My Past" - the former is a Christian song while the latter is meant to be a secular piece. I pray that these songs will minister to those who need breakthroughs in their lives.

Sometimes, things may seem so bad or situations may seem so hopeless. But if we try to look on the positive side, they may not be so bad or so hopeless after all. Even if they really are, there will always be a glimpse of hope.

Don't give up!

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Hope gives us the power to look beyond circumstances that otherwise appear hopeless.

~~Philip Yancey (Author of "Reaching for the Invicible God")

I agree. Hope is what gives us the will to carry on living despite seemingly hopeless situations that we may find ourselves in.

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Now! It is the most important time because it is the only time when we have any power.

~~Leo Tolstoy (Quoted by Philip Yancey in his book entitled "Reaching for the Invisible God")

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Failure is a necessary part of growth.

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In order to overcome fear, it must be confronted.

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Just in case some of you think that my life has been a bed of roses so far and that's why I seem to be so optimistic about the year 2010, I must tell you that it is not true. If you get to hear my songs (Btw, I hope to produce 2 albums within this year if God is willing), you will have an idea of what my life had been like prior to 2009. And because of the intensity and the prolongation of the pain that I have gone through in the past, that's why I want my music and my blog to inspire hope and courage. :)

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2009 has been quite a good year for me. It was the year in which I got a major breakthrough in my life. :) It was also the year in which I learnt to be more disciplined. Furthermore, it was the year in which I got more serious with my music. Thank God!

I am looking forward to a great year ahead! I am expecting more good things to come my way this year. I am expecting at least one major miracle to happen in my life this year (I am a firm believer in miracles and I believe wholeheartedly that God still works miracles today!). I am expecting more breakthroughs in my life this year. I am expecting many pleasant surprises this year. Haha! :)

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Happy New Year! It's a brand new year. So, let's leave the past behind and strive for a much brighter 2010. :)

I wish all of you a great year full of sunshine, hope and pleasant surprises! :)

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Doubt always co-exists with faith, for in the presence of certainty who would need faith at all?

~~ Philip Yancey (Author of "Reaching for the Invisible God")

I am currently reading the abovementioned book by Philip Yancey. I like the above quotation from his book and hence I choose to share it on my blog.

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If we cling on to something in our past that was painful, it can 'cripple' us emotionally and even spiritually. We can either choose to live in the shadow of our past or move forward in life. I believe that the choice we make will have a significant impact on how our future will look like.

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I feel blessed today. :) Sometimes we receive something when we least expect it and it makes us feel good. :) I am personally convinced, though, that we ought to expect good things to come into our lives, because our (strong) expectations will set things in motion.

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I feel blessed today! :) Thank God for giving me an MP3 player through my sis. Thank God for the Christmas 'angpow' too (I declined though). Incidentally, my family has the 'tradition' of giving angpows not just during Chinese New Year, but also during birthdays and Christmas.

By the way, 'angpow' is a red packet that contains money. Giving 'angpow' is a way of blessing the receiver during Chinese New Year. It is usually given by people who are older.

The picture on the right shows an 'angpow' and a green packet. Green packets are used by Muslims here in Singapore during Hari Raya. I suppose Muslims in other countries also use green packets.

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