The Centre

"Christianity is Christ - knowing Him, gaining Him, and trusting Him."
-John Stott

My Daily Devotional Guide

The above is something that I read this morning in my devotional. As much as I struggle through issues and challenges in life I am thankful for the treasure of Christ in my life. I treasure every morning I spend talkin' to God and readin' His Word. Without which I wouldn't be able to make it through my days.

I know that I still don't demonstrate the full measure of Christ in my life but that won't stop me from continuing to strive to give Him more access into my being so there is less of me and more of Him. There's still so much of the un-Christ-like me that emerges and I pray that as I cultivate my relationship with Him that others will be able to see the difference that Jesus makes in life.

Christianity is truly Christ.

Non Weekend ... Almost

It's a Prepaid Thing

It's been an almost non-weekend. Been working on stuff for Happy most of the weekend in between jaunts in the wasteland that is Fallout 3. At least I had the game to keep me somewhat sane even as I worked so hard on the stuff that we need to get out to the client. The past few weeks have been crazy and work has just been full up with multiple projects on top of this one. It's madness!

Preparing for the Future in an irradiated wasteland

On top of that there were things to do to for Four Forty to close our books for the last financial year that just ended. It's been so difficult to balance things out but I'm thankful that I'm finding my groove.

Highlight of the weekend was worship at church this morning and lunch after with D & her cell. The sermon jumped through a lot of scripture and to be honest I found it difficult to pay attention because the topic of discipleship just wasn't hitting home. The low-light of the weekend was missing out on hanging at The Curve with my friends cos' I had to home to continue working on Happy. *Sighs* ... at least I had Fallout 3. Heh.

It's now officially Monday. And so another week begins. I leave everyone with these infamous lines from Fallout ...

"War ... War Never Changes"

Late Night Listening with Altered Frequency

Here's some news from the music front.

Pretty much the whole Four Forty Records crew had a late night listening session over at Nick Lee's studio till 2am and I am just thrilled that Altered Frequency is finishing up their album Transit after 3 years of delays and lotsa challenges. The real challenge starts now in marketing the album and getting the songs out on radio plus we gotta figure out how to fund music videos too.

It's gonna be a big year for the band and I am really lovin' the songs after last night's listening. Lots of potential singles and it's great stuff. AF fans will be wowed by what they are gonna be hearing. Trust me. I'm not just saying that because I'm part of the record label. Juwita agrees too! Right Ju?

In the meantime Liang's got a brand new video out for the track "Giggles". Check it out on YouTube and tell us what you think.

I knooooooooow ... since starting work I've been very silent about music and all but I wanna try to change things and balance things out even more. Music is very much in my heart and I doubt it'd go away. Been learning a lot about focus especially in the past few months and I hope to do better in discerning what to do and what not to do; the bottom line is that it's a choice and I can't do everything in the world. Duh ... shouldn't I have figured that out a long time ago?

Next up is our website which has been sitting there doing nothing for the past 2 years ... sigh ... and here I am a web professional. Sucks right? There's just so much to do for 440 and there's so few of us but if all of us pitch in I'm sure we'll get somewhere. Lotsa blessing from God would totally help too!

Pray for us. Or better yet pick up our CDs!

Mobile Number Portability. Faith too?

Switch to DiGi

Mobile Number Portability has just hit Malaysia. Officially launched just last Wednesday now Malaysians everywhere can switch from one provider to another and keep their existing mobile number. That's a HUGE boon to consumers everywhere and honestly I am leaning towards switching to DiGi but will probably wait till their 3G services are launched.

The Uber Cool HTC Touch Pro

I'll most likely be buying over my bud J-son's new HTC Touch Pro (as he can't send emails out through it) and looking at how things are at work; getting an unlimited data line to access email and the web would be quite cool. I am heading out for meetings a little more these days and quite possibly I'd see an increase in that as I start liaising with clients more. Emailing them on the go is pretty good too cos' sometimes I'm at church or somewhere else and taking some time in-between activities to answer emails would help pace things for me at work. There's just a tonne to do in the office and sometimes it's just quite overwhelming.

Convenience is something that all of us look for but that's not true when it comes to God. Sometimes it seems as if God can be a convenience in life for some of us. I'm learning a lot more that God is NOT a convenience. He has good plans for us yes and I believe that how we feel and what we go through is on His mind too BUT our comfort & happiness is NOT the most important thing to Him. His relationship with me is what it's all about. It's about BEING not about striving. That seems so contradictory ... how can I be if I do not first get there? I'm still figuring this out about God but I'm glad that I have Him.

As much as I struggle in my faith to make it real and to rest in Him; I have that deep assurance that He is the constant in my life. And I can be 100% honest with Him about the way I feel and the things I go through because He is the ONLY one who does not judge me. In Him there is true acceptance. Unlike Mobile Number Portability where we can switch from one provider to another; there is only one provider in life; God. I can't explain it 100% but believing in God is not just about knowing it in our heads and hearts; it's also about stepping out and putting a measure of faith in Him. I believe that's what the Bible talks about when some of the authors in there write about how blessed are those who believe even though they have not seen.

I'm off to Bentong today. An old classmate from school just got married today and the dinner is on tonight. I have mixed emotions about seeing my old friends; I just hope they don't egg me about whether or not I'm seeing someone. That question is always hard to take ... especially at weddings.

Ta!

Doing What's in Our Hearts ... and Iron Man?

I've been continuing my reading of "Celebration of Discipline" and there was a part in Chapter 2 that caught me about the doubts we have in our heart when we commune with God. I have made a lot of difficult decisions in life based on a feeling of what God is saying to me and I suppose I wouldn't have it any other way. Sometimes I wonder if it's just me but there are many times when I find myself obeying the nudging in me to do things that I wouldn't do ordinarily. Right now I guess I'm learning how to find balance in between my thoughts and in obeying the nudging I feel in my heart & spirit at the times when I feel it.

Eastern religion sees meditation as an emptying of one self but Christianity goes a step further to fill that emptiness with God. I wouldn't say we need to empty ourselves but more so we need to tune in and shut out the world and all its distractions. Meditating on God means being filled with so much of Him that we cannot help but change. We human beings don't like that do we? Change. Because secretly we like being flawed ... we like being imperfect because it gives us an excuse to continue living our lives the way we want to live them. Without Him. Now that's a scary thought; life with God.

Anyways, I digress ... There are far worse ways to make decisions and as I grow older I learn how to balance going with an impression from God to also making educated decisions with the faculties that God has given me. I am learning that it's all about balancing both. On one extreme we can just make calculated decisions based on facts and on the other extreme we can also just make decisions based on feeling & promptings too. To balance it out I suppose that's where knowing God's purpose and will comes in. God never changes. Not one single bit. He's the same yesterday, today and forevermore. Now that's an awesome thing ... that we work with what we have and at the same time to be guided by Him.

The Invincible Iron Man on Blu-ray!

Anyways, I am somewhat inspired by Iron Man. I just watched it again this evening and it's a great movie. There's one bit in the movie where Stark is talkin' to Pepper Potts about doing what's right and knowing deep down in his heart that he's doing the right thing. I guess that's what I feel most times when I am just doing what God is wanting me to do. I'm still learning a whole lot to do that. I heard somewhere once that the problem with us hearing from God is this:

"If we were to truly hear from Him would we obey Him?"

Now that's something to ponder about. There are many things in our lives that we want God in but as I read in "Celebration of Discipline" today; God is not interested in partial Lordship. He wants it all. All of us. That may sound awfully harsh to some people but the fact is that after living on planet Earth for the past 30 years; there is no other person I'd rather be surrendered to than God. I have made a mess of my own life through my own inadequacies so the best thing to do would be to learn how to listen to Him and to obey Him. Granted, that the path isn't always the easiest in following God; but would we have it any other way?

Think about it.

P.S. Incidentally, Iron Man has just been released on Blu-ray & DVD and I am gonna get my very first Blu-ray movie soon! My regular DVD shop in Cineleisure ran out of stock 2 weeks ago and I've asked them to reserve me a copy when the new shipment arrives next week. No HDTV yet tho' ... all the power of my PS3 is currently being cramped by my Panasonic Tau at 480p. Ha ha ... the evils of materialism!

My New Addiction

Delicious McDonald's Fries ...

Spicy McShaker Fries! Or any McShaker Fry for that matter! Such a delicious fried & oily treat!

I have been going to McDonald's regularly over the past month just to consume the powdered combination of fries and spicy powder. Yums! In fact I had two fattening servings of McShaker Fries today for lunch (together with their brand new spicy fish burger). No Sundae this time round though ... cos' two servings of fries is a tad bit too much. I would have fallen asleep at my desk if I had one. I'm sure of it!

Go get some today! And no, McDonald's did not pay me to write this. I wish they would though ...

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Coming to You this Christmas!

I just watched a most interesting trailer off Apple.com!

A new Brad Pitt movie that also stars classic screen beauty Cate Blanchett. Based on a F. Scott Fitzgerald short story; the movie revolves around Benjamin Button, a baby born with the physique of an 80-year old man and as he grows him, curiously he grows younger while everyone else around him older.

It's set somewhere in pre-World War 1 or 2 I think (I can't tell for sure ... but I think I did see a German U-boat in one of the scenes featured in the trailer). It's certainly one of the more interesting new movies to look forward to this Christmas season. Ah ... something to look forward to for a change.

I'm absolutely uncompelled to go to the cinema as there is really nothing out there that catches my eye these days. Sigh ... I miss the cinemas ...

Check out the trailer here!

Another Passing

Passing ...

My cell member Angie's granny just passed away. Do pray for the family ... For more news about the funeral or for those of you who want to contribute to getting a wreath & pak kam for the family please get in touch with me via this blog or text me.

The sad thing is that Angie is right now in London and I received news from her via SMS to pray after her granny had fell and didn't regain consciousness in SJMC. She just passed on after 97 years of life here on earth.

For those of you who know Angie do drop her a SMS. Thanks.

That's All

The Movie That Made My Day Better

Movies. Movies. Movies. A good movie always makes me feel a whole lot better. Just watched my brand new Region 1 copy of "The Devil Wears Prada" and it's such a great movie. The soundtrack is a good one too; I guess that's why I love "City of Blinding Lights" - a track by U2 that plays just as Andy Sachs & Miranda Priestly arrive in Paris for Fashion Week. Ha ha ... makes me wish that I had the glamorous life of someone in the fashion industry; but I suppose I'll just settle for being a creative in web and on-going balancing act in working out 440 Records. I have not been able to do much for that at all ... *sighs*

I had a long day that started at 5.45am; it's been a bit of a nightmare these days but I guess I'm getting used to waking up at odd hours even on weekends. It's something that I need to live with and the sooner I accept it the better I'll get through life.

It was frustrating at first but I'm learning to just roll with it. What I can do to ensure I get enough sleep and that starts really with reorganising myself. Bedtime. It all starts with bedtime. And since I get up early every day anyways, the solution is to just sleep earlier.

The great thing about waking up early is really just to start the day off just as the sun comes up. The quiet in the morning is refreshing. The time I get to spend with God in the mornings is the one thing that helps me get through the day and it's especially great when the day is a great one. Then I know that there's no one to thank for but the Big Guy up there.

OK OK ... it's 11:09pm. Time to turn in for bed or I'd be a zombie tomorrow. G'nite folks!

Meditating on the Word

Zephaniah 3:17
The LORD your God is with you,
He is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.

Zephaniah 3:17; it's just a little something I'm meditating on from the Bible. I'm learning to hide the Word in my heart cos' I'm really not that great at memorising scripture. So! am making some effort to do so now. Pray for me please.

All you need is a Bible, a pen & a notebook!

Meditating on small portions of Scripture can bring great insight. And definitely with the Word in my heart I will be better able to face challenges in life plus have the added privilege of encouraging others who need a touch from God. That's the awesome thing about the Bible ... it makes a difference both in myself and in others too. How much more universal can anything get? It's like a super duper plug-and-play device! Ha ha!

On a more serious note, I've been blessed and received a timely Word from others many times before. And these verses have encouraged me to keep pressing on. I want to be able to do the same for other people in my life too! I pray that I'll be able to keep this up and make time to really get deep into the God's Word.

Anyways, it's almost 8am and it's time to get crackin' to really start the day off. Ta!

I'm on Google!

Google Me Up, Scotty!

Mua ha ha ha ha ... guess what?! Just for fun I googled my name up "Chris Leow" and this blog actually turns up as Number 9 in the first set of search results! This blog is a Google Page 1 site! I'm feeling quite pleased actually because I feel as if I mean something on the internet (or rather this blog means something on the web).

I clicked on Google Images and a shot of me taken by Louis Pang turns up as item number 1! If you don't believe me check out the screenshots I took off my Macbook below:

Click on the images for a larger image.

I am Number #9

I am Number #1!

Dare I say it? I rawk! Ha ha ha ha ha ha! Beat that Search Engine Optimisers ... I didn't do anything and somehow from the cross-links being generated by some other sites and my name being mentioned here and there this blog currently sits pretty at Number 9 on Google. Pretty cool no? Of course I doubt anyone would purposely do a search using my name as a search keyword unless he or she is a stalker ... or really into me. Ha ha ... now that's a thought.

On another note ... it's been a rough week. I can't believe Connor's gone and I have yet to put up anything substantial about my thoughts & feelings of his passing. I'll do that tomorrow in the morning I guess ...

Till then, good night everybody!

An Assurance ...

Good Bye Connor

Good Bye Connor

At 10.55pm last night Connor passed on.

I was blessed to have been able to see him at 8pm ... I couldn't speak to him at all because he was unconscious but at least I saw him one last time. I am saddened by his passing but am thankful that I saw him one last time yesterday.

Thank you everyone for praying. Connor truly experienced so much love in this past month. He returns to our Father in Heaven and is in a place far better than this. No more suffering. No more pain. No more tears. Connor, we will miss you but we are comforted that we will see you again in eternity. Welcome us at the gates whence we shall meet.

Wake details are as follows:

Location : PJ Modern Casket & Funeral Parlour
Jalan 229, Section 51A, Petaling Jaya
46100 Selangor

Time : 8.00pm - Arrival of Guests
8.30pm - Wake Service

He will be flown back to East Malaysia for burial after the wake.

An Encouraging Update About Connor!

Prayer Makes a Difference!

Hi everyone,

What a difference 24 hours of prayer makes! He's looking great. Even though the tube's still up through his nose he looks so much more comfortable. And he's so much stronger! Seeing him this evening really made my day & week. I am so happy & thankful for how much God is doing.

And you know what? I prayed for him today and after I said amen ... I looked up and I saw his breathing rate was at 20-something! Wow ... Prayer is really awesome. But then when I stopped praying it went up again to about 30-something 40. Man! I should have claimed with more faith!

His breathing readings are different. I looked at the squiggly line reading on the screen of the apparatus that monitors Connor's vitals and it's different. The readings for his respiratory rate are more consistent & squarish instead of being squiggly & wavy. I think that means that his breathing is stable now and more consistent. I dunno how to explain la ... I'm not doctor.

But suffice to say I am so happy that Connor is doing so much better!

Keep on Praying

Keep on Prayin'

Please keep on praying everyone ...

Connor was just re-admitted into ICU again today. I just saw him at 7-something and he looked down and discouraged. His respiratory rate was not too good and he was breathing more heavily compared to when I last saw him.

He was really going through such a tough time as he had a tube stuck into him for nutrients and it was really making him uncomfortable. Let's not cease in praying and if any of us go to hospital next please prepare yourselves to be an encouragement ya? As much as he needs to be strong, we need to be strong for him too I believe.

His dad looked very tired too and had red eyes. All the weeks at hospital is taking a toll on him. Please pray for uncle too. Auntie looked pretty alright but physically but I know she must feel the pain of a mother for her son. Do keep the both of them in prayer and if you can speak Cantonese or Hakka, it'd be awesome to have a chat with them should you meet them at the hospital.

Thanks! Sign up to the prayer chain if you haven't already done so. It's available here.

Connor is out of ICU! Hooray!

Blind Bartimaeus' Healing

Thank you everyone for praying. Connor is seeing a huge improvement and has just been discharged today from the ICU in Pantai Medical Centre after being admitted in there last Thursday. The treatment he's getting there is top-notch and God has been using the doctors and nurses there to really take good care of him. Connor has even been blessed with 2 Christian trainee nurses; one of whom has been taking time to do Quiet Time with him in the mornings. Really awesome stuff.

For those of you who were praying for Connor last Thursday night; your prayers really made a difference as he had an acute breathing attack that night and his family was rushed to the hospital to decide whether or not he had to be put on a ventilator. God really worked a miracle because just as his family arrived; Connor's breathing stabilised.

It was a HUGE scare and that night when I received the SMS I prayed so much. I had just seen him that evening and it was pretty disheartening to see him so discouraged that day after Calvin Yong broke the news to him that it could possibly be cancer in the lungs. Plus I had just learnt that patients who are put on ventilators generally don't recover fully ... it was a very emotional night ... but God really showed up in such a big way and I am so thankful that we are seeing Connor improve day by day. The scans of his lungs show an improvement and that's really awesome! Yay!

So much has been happening this week and it'd be really great if we were all to keep on praying for Connor. Sign up and be part of the prayer chain right here if you haven't done so already.

God bless ...

A Prayer Chain for Connor

Hi everyone,

Am putting this up for those of you who want to be part of the prayer chain that's interceding for Connor.

Pray for Connor

The Prayer Chain

12:00 - 01.00am -
01:00 - 02:00am -
02:00 - 03:00am -
03:00 - 04:00am -
04:00 - 05:00am -
05:00 - 06:00am -
06:00 - 07:00am - Sharon Ng, Kam Fai, Angie Ng
07:00 - 08.00am - Chris
08:00 - 09:00am - Dot, Soo Jen
09:00 - 10:00am -
10:00 - 11:00am - J-son
11:00 - 12:00pm -
12:00 - 01:00pm -
01:00 - 02:00pm - Kah Mun
02:00 - 03:00pm - Roland
03:00 - 04:00pm -
04:00 - 05:00pm - Affryll
05:00 - 06:00pm - Juliet
06:00 - 07:00pm - Esther
07:00 - 08:00pm -
08:00 - 09:00pm - Choon Ai & Team
09:00 - 10:00pm - Daphne
10:00 - 11:00pm - Lynda
11:00 - 12:00am - Benny, Debbie


Drop me a line here on this blog if you are able to join us in prayer for Connor. He's been moved to Pantai Medical Centre now and has been admitted into ICU so they can monitor him closely. I'll post an update later today over lunch about what's been happening so far.

I'll be updating the chain as and when new additions come in. If you can commit to hours in the wee hours of the morning please do so ...

Thank you so so much everyone. Your prayers matter.

A Quick Update on Connor

Pray Until Something Happens (P.U.S.H. for short)

Connor's improving! He's eating better now and his breathing has improved! Plus we're seeing a lot of colour return to his skin. What's really awesome is that there is a 2nd opinion from an oncologist in Tung Shin that suggests it could be a lung infection. We don't know for certain really until they can do another CT scan next week. In the mean time keep on praying!!! Your prayers matter ya?

Click here for my previous post about Connor to get an idea about what he's going through.

I Officially Dub This Week "Minggu Avril Lavigne"

ROCK K.L. AVRIL! You can DO it!

It's Avril Lavigne fever this week as I'm gonna be setting my iTunes playlist into an endless loop of Avril tracks in preparation for this Friday's concert. My leave has been approved and I'm all set with 2 other friends coming with me too! Mua ha ha ha ha ha! Looks like this year isn't a total music loss after all.

I won't be able to go for Diana Krall but I'm all for Avril cos' I really like her songs; she's got a knack in coming up with great hooks in her songs. I honestly don't know if she'll sound great on stage compared to her studio stuff ... but I'm ready to be sold come Friday evening.

On another note, I've heard rumours that John Mayer may be hitting Singapore this year. Can anyone confirm this? I would so love to catch him live even if it means travelling down over the Causeway. Great guitarist. Smooth vocals. What's not to like about Mr. Mayer? Besides the fact that he dumped Jennifer Aniston ... useless fella ... I think he's an awesome live performer. I've seen enough videos of him to be able to judge for myself; it doesn't hurt that I'm such a guitar geek ... heh!

Anyways as the title of this post says ... this week is "Minggu Avril Lavigne" for me. Have a fun week guys!

P.S. Juwita is currently making her own rounds in Australia. Follow her chronicles on Facebook or check out her website here!

It's OFFICIAL! Avril is ON!!!

Oh AVRIL!

I had a pretty good day despite my upset plans to go to Ipoh to visit someone who's battling a brain tumour. Caught Clone Wars in the cinema on my own ... it was freezing but all in all it was a good afternoon of Jedi, Sith, Clone Troopers and Droids battling out over alien landscapes.

Made it to church too (although I sadly missed the entire worship) and heard a really awesome sermon by Pastor Peter Tsukahira which for some reason made me cry as I was deeply reminded about God being a promise-keeping God. And it was all done through scripture and proof of God bringing Israel back together as a nation after being scattered all over the world and experiencing the horrors of the Holocaust during WWII. I went up for prayer and well ... I just couldn't stop crying because of the great sense of God's faithfulness.

And guess what? When I got home I learnt that Avril is OFFICIALLY on! Stadium Merdeka here I come!!! Oh yeah!!! I had included it in my prayer requests this week to the cell and they we all prayed for it; the best thing is that my prayer sec had highlighted my prayer request for Avril to be on and well ... here's an answer to my prayer! I've already taken the 29th off and now all I need is someone to go with me. Yay!

AVRIL HERE I COME!!!