yesterday i attended the appreciation dinner for the functional ministries (i.e. ushers, security, cleaning crew etc) at church. It was a nice dinner and i'm touched that the pastors and church leaders do pay attention to little details such as these - taking the time out to speak a word of encouragement to us, sharing dinner and chatting casually with us. i think that people do take for granted the fact that yah.. the leaders are supposed to do these things but even so, i do appreciate the effort that they make coz it can be tiring in the middle of the week (esp. after a holiday) to hang out late and talk to people - people who just seem to be doing the ordinary helping once a month or every 3 weeks to do some odd jobs here and there. And even if you don't talk to them, they'll still be doing the same thing day in and out anyway. well, i don't think i can say it half as convincingly as my pastor when he said that everyone of us was important to the church. i can tell you what he said but i don't want to. the nuance of the words/phrases and emotions would be lacking. sometimes one just has to be there to see the person's expressions, body language to know that the person is sincere and that coupled with truth and conviction is something i glad i did not miss.

so before the nice dinner, i parked my car early at the church carpark and took a stroll to borders at parkway to browse and perhaps spend a little of my christmas vouchers from parents. you know how they always place the magazine section in a most conspicuous place so that people will readily and impulsively buy a magazine but i'm one of those cheapos who don't buy magazines and just read off the rack.... anyway. the men magazine Esquire's front cover had a super cool picture of johnny depp. i just had to flip it open as i had resisted going near the johnny depp calendar 2008 and stoicly browsed through the literature and fiction section. and i was leaving the stall ready to head for the nice dinner, when i just had to pass by the magazine rack and see johnny depp again. i'll like to think it's "coincidence" but knowing how stores are all wired up to make you buy things, i'll just admit that i'm a sucker.

but flipping through the magazine was quite enlightening. ya.. "enlightening" and "men's magazine" don't normally go hand in and hand but here is what i thought was interesting. they had quite a few segments on interviews with celebrities. Instead of the usual tabloid sensational centred questions and answers, the magazine was very refreshing in eliciting the opinions of these celebrities on a range of issues from family, politics, environment, personal values etc. So to me, that was refreshing and i think i can possibly use some of the methods for my church magazine or any other writing opportunity (if any).

secondly, perhaps it was the people they interviewed like muhammed ali, ray charles, michael J fox, tim burton and of course Johnny depp.. but the things that were discussed were thought-provoking. not very profound but this quote from muhammed ali still lingers in my mind. can't remember word for word what it is but it's something like this..

It's possible for the world no. 1 champion boxer of the world to stay with only one woman.

The words in bold are the words given by the magazine and each celebrity had to complete the sentence in anyway they wanted but most probably, reflecting on what they had experienced in the year 2007. the fact that M.A. chose to complete it in this manner makes this an amazing statement and to me, a good testament of the man that i think he is. each of the interviewee is unique in the life stories that they have or the perspective in which they see the world. of course when it comes to perspective of the world and being different, there are just two figures - tim burton and johnny depp. then for life stories, ray charles (former drug addict and womaniser now made good and tucked safely in heaven) and michael j fox stricken with parkinson disease and bravely fighting it and championing its cause. so it was a good issue just for these segments alone.

And thus, it has inspired me to sit back, reflect on the year that has passed and consider at least for myself, what are the things that i have learnt this year. So let's start with a few.

1. Being faithful is key to inheriting the promises of God.

2. The promises of God aren't always what your dreams are - they are greater than that. So don't look back and don't take an opportunity to go back. Always remember the promises of God and keep them ever present in your life.

3. Do not back bite or speak evil of your neighbour. Somehow, they will surely get wind of it and then you'll sooo regret it. And, the environment around you becomes depressing and sucks the enthusiasm and energy out of everyone because negativity, no matter how truthful, is not constructive/edifying.

4. So if i have to whine, i turn to God as no one in their sane mind can listen to whinings for extended period of time. it is also unreasonable to expect them to. And worse, they'll try to help you when you're ranting and raving and that often does more harm than good.

5. Love my neighbour. Love no matter what; under any condition - unconditionally. the more i try to run away from someone, the more i must reach out and show care to that person.

6. Always be willing to learn and speak up when something is not understood, yet having the humility to be corrected constantly.

7. Learn to admit my mistakes and listen to others instead of always trying to prove my point.

8. Acknowledge God in everything and He will make straight our paths. Sometimes a short prayer before a meeting can do miracles.

9. listen to Christian music and hymns when travelling to work. it has worked wonders in my life and helped me break through in a few of my prolonged battles. i don't know how - it just works.

10. Do not speak loudly. Do not argue even if there seems to be a reason for it. A home needs to be a place where people WANT to come home to - not HAVE to.

11. When i am down, i realise that God and eternity with Him is the only thing that matters. this realisation has helped me shoulder on and persevere.

hmm.. and i think these were the key learning points of 2007. i think it has ended well for me after a rather lengthy struggle in my mid 20s. i just pray that the Lord will give me the grace to live out another fruitful year ahead.