Getting in the SF mood

In anticipation of our move to the city by the bay, I've decided to put together some of the songs that speak of San Francisco.

Nothing to prove

I will always remember Pat for this phrase. Finally came across the song. That's how I want to live my life.
"Nothing to prove, nothing to lose, nothing to hide"

Check out the words of the chorus.

Nothing to prove

You taught me how to ride a bike
To tie my shoes and fly a kite
How to swim and how to fish
To see a star and make a wish

It's ok to make mistakes
Just don't get stuck in yesterday
Forgive, forget and move ahead
Because life is what you make of it

Now you're gone and all I have
Are memories I hold deep
But if I'm quiet, I'll hear your voice
Still ringing in my ears

[Chorus]
Saying live with no excuses
Love with no regrets
Laugh a lot and leave this life
With nothing left unsaid
Make this world a better place
Don't be afraid to cry
And when it's finally time to say goodbye
Nothing to prove, nothing to lose, nothing to hide

You see, life cannot be measured by
The place you live, the car you drive
The thing that counts the day you die
Is who you are, and what's inside

So tell the truth, don't ever lie
Integrity at any price
Your words your bond, your highest price
So guard it close, and live your life

So many things, I learned from you
'bout life and love and play
But I learned more by how you lived
Then what I heard you say

[Chorus]
Live with no excuses
And love with no regrets
Laugh a lot and leave this life
With nothing left unsaid
Make this world a better place
Don't be afraid to cry
And when it's finally time to say goodbye
Nothing to prove, nothing to lose, nothing to hide

[Bridge]
I only want to live my life
Half as well as you
To leave behind what I received
Is all I want to do

[Chorus]
So I live with no excuses
And I love with no regrets
I laugh a lot and I leave this life
With nothing left unsaid
Make this world a better place
Don't be afraid to cry
When it's finally time to say goodbye
When it's finally time to say goodbye
When it's finally time to say goodbye
There's nothing to lose, nothing to prove, nothing to hide

Help is on the way

This song is on the Michael W Smith CD in Li Soon's car. It spoke to me when I drove her car today. If you are in any trouble or pain, hope it assures you that help is on the way.



[Verse 1:]
People say that time will heal
But you know, they just don't feel what you feel
Times are hard but God is so good
He's never failed you, and He said He never would

He see's your tears
He fights your fears

[Chorus:]
Hold on, help is on the way
He said he'd never leave you or forsake you
Stay strong
Help is on the way
He'd said he'd help you
Just reach out and take his hand

[Verse 2:]
He knows your heart, He lifts your head
He's always close enough to hear every word you said
When you're weak, He said He's so much more
His arm is long enough to reach you where you are

He see's your tears
He fights your fears

[Chorus:]
Hold on, help is on the way
He said he'd never leave you or forsake you
Stay strong
Help is on the way
He'd said he'd help you
Just reach out and take his hand

Throwing good money after bad

When does one decide that a venture or investment in something has no more hope and decide to call it a day? Quite often, due to pride, or fear or being called a failure, or the unwillingness to let go of something we treasure dearly causes us to want to continue to do something that does not seem to have any upward potential. We also often have the notion, right or wrong, that if we only pray and try hard enough, God will rescue the situation for us.
When we start out on something new, we are full of passion, hopes and dreams. When things don't turn out as we had hoped or expected, we try all means to adapt and change to make things work. In business, we sometimes use the phrase "throwing good money after bad" to describe the decision to invest more money into a money losing venture in the hope of saving it. Sometimes, it is very difficult to decide when the business needs just a little more money to turn to corner, or if putting in more money will just be a waste of resources.
Recently I encountered this principle in relationships as well. How far can a relationship get before it comes to a point that putting in more time, energy, resources will not make it any better. This is especially so if the other person does not respond as expected or hoped. I am reminded that God loved us unconditionally and without limit. Often even as we reject or ignore God, He still continues to love us and wait for us to respond. Are we, as mere humans, expected to love people in the same way? We do not have unlimited energy, physical capability or resources to continue to love without limit. When do we decide that there is no more point to continue and move on and let God deal with it? Or do we stubbornly hold on to it and hope and pray for God to make it better? Tough decisions.

Unusual Sunday morning

Some random musings.
I was woken up at 5am this morning by my wife's phone ringing. While it's not usual for her to get SMSes at night due to automated updates regarding the network and servers at work, it is certainly unusual to get a phone call at 5am in the morning. Calls in the middle of the night are either filled with bad news or a wrong number. Anyway, it was her client calling with an emergency that required her to go down to the client's place urgently. Thankfully this doesn't happen too often.

While I'm up, had to move my van and my aunt's car out of the way so that she could drive her car out. You see, we park our cars in a row in the driveway and if the one car parked inside has to move out, the other cars all have to be moved out of the way onto the road and then moved in again after the one car has moved out.

I had to be in church by 7am for the 8am service as there was a choir from Indonesia singing and I needed to help do sound for them. No point going back to bed and risk oversleeping. So I decided to shower and head out to look for breakfast. So what's open at 6am in the morning.... I thought... hmm Carl's Jr has a nice breakfast burrito I like and it's open 24hrs at Big Splash at East Coast Park. As I drove towards there, I remembered... oh no! It's the army half marathon this morning and the road is closed. Sure enough, there were thousands and thousands of people running there. I'm sure some of my friends were running there.
So I drove round and round and ended up at MacDonald's at Marina Cove which was surprisingly full for that time of the day. Got my Sausage McMuffin breakfast and headed to church.

Take my hand

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QU74WNShZtw


I know there are times
your dreams turn to dust
you wonder as you cry
why it has to hurt so much
give Me all your sadness
someday you will know the reason wy
with a child-like heart
simply put your trust in Me

CHORUS:
Take My hand and walk where I lead
keep your eyes on Me alone
don't you say why were the old days better
just because you're scared of the unknown
take My hand and walk

Don't live in the past
cause yesterday's gone
wishing memories would last
you're afraid to carry on
you don't know what's comin'
but you know the one who holds tomorrow
I will be your guide
take you through the night
if you keep your eyes on Me

Take my hand and walk where I lead
Keep your eyes on me alone
don't you say why were the old days better
just because you're afraid of the unknown
take my hand and walk where I lead
you will never be alone
faith is to be sure of what you hope for
and the evidence of things unseen
so take my hand and walk

Just like a child
holdings daddy's hand
don't let go of mine
you know you can't stand
on your own

finally fixed my Outlook problem. Filesize exceeded. Truncated and repaired the file. Finally working now. Phew.... had me worried about losing my emails.

Glad that today's devo went well. Received good feedback :)

Just came out of accounts meeting.... definitely not inspirational :(

Spending time at Starbucks... Exit interview done

On leave tomorrow to rest and then to Broadcast Asia in the afternoon.

Got my FB username www.facebook.com/harrychua

Easy to get, east to forget

Alternation leading worship at BFEC camp this morning. In anticipation.

At church camp. Very tired with all the tech duties. Not getting much out of it but putting in lots. Brain and physically drained

Thankful that we managed to get the equipment in eventually after being refused at M'sia CIQ. Set up and ready to go.

Packed for church camp at Pulai Springs. Hopefully didn't forget to bring anything for tech.

Preparing for church camp tomorrow

Camera class done. Lighting tomorrow. Quite brain draining.

Good time swimming with the kids are Raffles Marina. Prepping for camera and lighting class next 2 days.

Gone swimming

Campus Crusade Mass Media pre-stocktake sale.http://ping.fm/vYr9i 4-9 June

Busy day ahead. HR interview, lunch appt, facilities meeting, finance meeting.

is glad that the Malaysian road tax renewal for the company van went without a hitch today.

It's good to appreciate and to be appreciated

Harry's brain = friend eggs.... time for the weekend

Finally back home... good and tiring trip. 100+ PRCs

Up at 5am for last 3 gigs in a row this Sunday morning..... yaaawwwwnnnn!! Lord wake me up.

Enjoyed our day off at Napa valley, but came back to rehearse from 10pm to 12am for tomorrow morning's gig

Back in San Francisco after a long 10 hour drive again.... warmer then expected here.

Tiring day at the exhibition. Only saw about 1/2 of the exhibits today. Going back again tomorrow bright and early.

In Las Vegas attending the NAB exhibition today and tomorrow, then it's another 10 hour drive back to San Francisco

Leaving for San Francisco in 15 hours

Packing for the trip to San Francisco on Saturday

Preparing for 7Days SF trip briefing I'm supposed to give tomorrow.

The time of the month to take care of all the bills.

Good Friday... a 2000 year promised fulfilled

Gearing up for SF trip in 10 days

This is a test of update of Ping.fm through MSN

This is my first test post from Skype to Ping.fm

While I'm waiting

This song from the Fireproof movie really speaks to me at this point. Waiting for God's direction, for things to come to fruition, when things don't seem to be going in the way I imagined it should. It reminds me to continue to serve and worship Him even when I'm waiting...



While I'm Waiting - John Waller

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident
Taking every step in obedience
While I'm waiting
I will serve You
While I'm waiting
I will worship
While I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it's not easy
But faithfully, I will wait
Yes, I will wait
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve you while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord

THINGS WE LEAVE BEHIND

Scribbling in the Sand: The Best of Michael Card (2002)

There sits Simon,
so foolishly wise
proudly he's tending his nets
Then Jesus calls,
and the boats drift away
all that he owns he forgets

More than the nets
he abandoned that day,
he found that his pride was soon drifting away
It's hard to imagine the freedom we find
from the things we leave behind

Matthew was mindful
of taking the tax,
pressing the people to pay
Hearing the call,
he responded in faith
followed the Light and the Way

Leaving the people
so puzzled he found,
the greed in his heart
was no longer around and
it's hard to imagine
the freedom we find
from the things
we leave behind

Every heart needs to be set free,
from posessions
that hold it so tight
'Cause freedom's not found in the things that we own,
It's the power
to do what is right
Jesus, our only posession,
giving becomes our delight
We can't imagine the freedom we find
from the things we leave behind

We show a love for the world in our lives
by worshipping goods we posess
Jesus has laid all our treasures aside
"love God above all the rest"

'Cause when we say 'no'
to the things of the world
we open our hearts
to the love of the Lord and
its hard to imagine
the freedom we find
from the things we leave behind

Oh, and it's hard to imagine
the freedom we find
from the things
we leave behind

Tribute to Uncle Sank

This morning I found out that my co-labourer at SCCC who just retired last year after more than 38 years of service has gone home to the Father. Nedunghat Sankaran, or Uncle Sank as we affectionately call him, and his wife Aunty Sally were the first staff when SCCC was started way back in 1969. I had the brief opportunity to co-labour with and to learn from them when they were transferred to my ministry with Creative Communications last year for a short time where they were involved in internet ministry. Uncle Sank's legacy lives on through his website at http://discovery.sccc.org.sg

What really impressed me about Uncle Sank was his love of the Lord and his tenacity in ministry. Even while suffering from spinal problems which prevented him from sitting down for too long, he continued to update the website and reply to the people who wrote through the website. He hooked up his computer to a large screen LCD TV with a wireless mouse and keyboard so that he could continue to stand and reply to emails.

What an irony that for a person who was in his golden years, he used the means and technology of the younger generation to continue to reach out to them. No longer able to travel to meet and disciple people like he used to when he was working on the university campus, he still sought out ways to continue to reach out to people who are asking questions about life. What an inspiration to me, even as I am no longer a youth and moving on to middle age. How can my ministry change as I grow older? Here was a great example.

Thank you Uncle Sank for your legacy, and Aunty Sally, I will definitely continue to pray for you as you go through this difficult time of loss.