Battling the SPAM Challenge

Recently I have been receiving a number of unsolicited SPAM mails from all kinds of senders including many in Chinese which unfortunately (maybe it is fortunate that I don't read Chinese) I had to delete.  Is this a sign of the times? creating disruptions wherever possible? Or is it coincidental that I became a victim because some of my friend's outdated email accounts were corrupted by computer viruses and this resulted in the proliferation of virus-inspired SPAM mails.

Whatever it is, one thing this entire episode has taught me - I need to be more vigilant and not be too flustered with all these minor challenges and continue on with living life the way our Lord wants it done - in a restful mode and not letting my heart become troubled and burdened but believing that He had DONE everything that is needed to be accomplished and to stand on victory ground because what had been achieved by Him needs to resonate in our spirit-man and then this will work itself out in our natural-man and come alive.

Thanks For The Time

A friend sent this to me over the weekend and I found it very touching and I want to share it with you my 'followers' and readers.  THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. ONCE YOU READ THIS YOU WILL UNDERSTAND!

A young man learns what's most important in life from the guy next door.
It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, girls, career, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him.
Over the phone, his mother told him, "Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday." Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days. "Jack, did you hear me?" 
"Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It's been so long since I thought of him. I'm sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago," Jack said. "Well, he didn't forget you. Every time I saw him he'd ask how you were doing. He'd reminisce about the many days you spent over 'his side of the fence' as he put it," Mom told him. 
"I loved that old house he lived in," Jack said. 
"You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man's influence in your life," she said. "He's the one who taught me carpentry," he said. "I wouldn't be in this business if it weren't for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important... Mom, I'll be there for the funeral," Jack said. 
As busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown. Mr. Belser's funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.
The night before he had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time. Standing in the doorway, Jack paused for a moment. It was like crossing over into another dimension, a leap through space and time The house was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture... .Jack stopped suddenly.

"What's wrong, Jack?" his Mom asked.  "The box is gone," he said.
"What box?" Mom asked. "There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he'd ever tell me was 'the thing I value most,'" Jack said. 
It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it. "Now I'll never know what was so valuable to him," Jack said. "I better get some sleep. I have an early flight home, Mom."
It had been about two weeks since Mr. Belser died Returning home from work one day Jack discovered a note in his mailbox. "Signature required on a package. No one at home. Please stop by the main post office within the next three days," the note read.

Early the next day Jack retrieved the package. The small box was old and looked like it had been mailed a hundred years ago. The handwriting was difficult to read, but the return address caught his attention. "Mr. Harold Belser" it read. Jack took the box out to his car and ripped open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack's hands shook as he read the note inside.
"Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett. It's the thing I valued most in my life." A small key was taped to the letter. His heart racing, as tears filling his eyes, Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch. 
Running his fingers slowly over the finely etched casing, he unlatched the cover. Inside he found these words engraved:  "Jack, Thanks for your time! -Harold Belser." 
"The thing he valued most was...my time" 
Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his office and cleared his appointments for the next two days.  "Why?" Janet, his assistant asked. 
"I need some time to spend with my son," he said. "Oh, by the way, Janet, thanks for your time!"

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away,"

Lessons I Learnt From Observing Our Pet Dog - Part 6

My latest lesson actually came from my wife and it is on perseverance.
Our pet Scot had been trying to get into the house for many years now and each time he stepped into the living room, he would be chased out as he was never allowed to enter the house; his roaming area would be the car porch and garden area in the front of the intermediate terrace and this had been 'ingrained' in him since his obedience training. Recently because of his  many sicknesses and also because there were no one in the house for extended periods of time, we decided to bend the rules and allow him to rest in the backyard. Also his many adventures of running away from home contributed to the change of our hearts. You might say that his perseverance in trying to come into the house had finally paid off and he is at liberty to walk through the front door and go right to the backyard and we would not shout at him and he knows it well too.


And so the Lord reminded me how when we persevere, after much changing of our character traits through many trials and training, we too would be able to enjoy our benefits. Our benefits have always been there but we may not be ready to receive them and so through much training, our characters change and we are now better equipped to enjoy the goodness of our Lord.

Lessons I Learnt From Observing Our Pet Dog - Part 5

When Scot was younger and every time there is a heavy thunderstorm, with loud thunders, he would get nervous and would want to run into the house and hide under the table or under the sink in the bathroom or anywhere else where there is an 'overhead' shelter for him.

But over the years on a few of these storms when we were not at home, and we had forgotten to lease him up on the front yard, he would contort his body and slip under the narrow gap of the main gate or in between the bars in the garden fence, reason being that there is no overhead shelter for him in the front yard and plants do not count. I recalled we had great difficulties locating him as the entire neighborhood is very widespread. However, inevitably he would be found and kept by neighbors and strangers alike and they would call us to inform us to collect him home.

Initially we could not understand his strange behavior but over close to seven experiences we introduced new measure to overcome similar situations. What is also amazing is that he could squeeze between the vertical bars of the garden fence which the gap is only about four inches. How could he manage to squeeze his head (which is about 4 inched wide) and his torso (which is slightly more than four inches at his girth) through such a narrow gap?

And does he do that in every thunderstorm? No. Whenever we are home and he knows it, the winds can howl and the sky covered in flashes of thunderbolts, he would be most peaceful and fast asleep as he could have selective hearing. And we have also learnt that his refuge is under the toilet sink and so we would place him there and shut the door and go about our errands and not have to worry about his antics again.

It is very amazing what fear can do to a person. Out of fear, Scot would force his way out of 'danger' to seek 'refuge'. I see a parallel here - humans too have a great propensity to do impossible things out of self-preservation and fear but remove that fear and we will be most calm and collected. Jesus IS our good Shepherd and with Him around we do not need to have fear (Psalm 23 & John 10:14-16).

Lessons I Learnt From Observing Our Pet Dog - Part 4

Recently we brought Scot to the veterinarian for some sores on his legs which had started to bleed and while we were waiting for the helper to fetch his medication, we chanced upon a chart which lists all the possible ailments that dogs would be susceptible to. The list was a fairly long one and as we read each type of sickness and how it would impact dogs in general, we could not help but noticed that Scot practically had all the symptoms described there.

Now, according to the list, some of the sicknesses are pretty potent and yet, when we look at Scot, his tongue is as healthy as can be - all pinkish and red with good blood circulation. Then the Lord reminded me that Scot is a blessed dog because he belongs to a blessed family and because of his blessedness, he will live a long life.

And so I was immediately arrested to the fact that we, as blessed sons and daughters of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, will live up to a good age and we are filled up on health; sometimes symptoms appear on our bodies but the truth of the matter is, we are the Lord's and as His own, divine health is our portion. The moment we realize that and start to declare that over our lives, viruses will have to leave our bodies for where the Temple of the Holy Spirit is, there will be LIFE and health.

And so I learnt from observing Scot that "as my days, so shall my strength be" Deuteronomy 33:25.