Live Life With No Regrets!

I realize that at times, or rather, a lot of times, life doesn't follow the script we set it out to be.

One of the fallacies in life is that we think that we can set out 5-year, 10-year plans and goals for our lives.

Goal setting is important. But really, how many of us really had our lives follow a 5-year plan fully?

Sometimes, if we try to stick to our plans even if things don't go according to it, we miss out on opportunities along the way, because we were only focused on making things go along our way.

Like a general said, your plans are out the window once the first bullet is fired. Someone else wrote that doing a 5-year plan is like trying to plan what the weather is going to be like in 5-years.

I think for some of us that have personality types that are too rigid in our schedules and plans, we must let go and go with the flow.

It is a paradox in life that we must plan, it is an extremely important activity in life. Failing to plan means we plan to fail.  But like they also say, if you want to make God laugh, show him your plans.

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We all have fears. Fear of rejection, fear of failure, fear of conflict.

The following clip shows some of the fears that people have, if we look at it and sympathise with them, perhaps we can overcome our own fears. For isn't our own fear just as irrational as theirs?

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My take on why Christian drama is amateurish.

1. Resources. -- This is a church, not a theatre company. The emphasis is on the gospel message. The audience doesn't pay to watch. No money is gained to allow improvement of more future lavish productions. Also, between staging an elaborate production and paying off your church building fund, guess which is the higher priority?


2. Talent pool. -- A small church will have limited number of people with drama, stage management, lighting, AV experience. Each person themself range from complete novices to experienced. Often times, anyone who auditions gets a part. Christian drama is amateurish because it really is amateurs that are doing it.


3. Part Time vs Professional -- Part timers don't have their whole time devoted to honing their craft, unless it is their full time job as well. Liverpool football club of multimillion pound players perform much better than your Havant & Waterlooville of plumbers, postmen and teachers.


4. Economies of Scale -- A professional theatre company can take advantage of better quality props and equipment that are reused over and over. Costumes in church need to be cheap for a one-off production. Lessons learnt and experience is gained and applied whereas church volunteers come and go.


5. Too Christian in feedback. -- It's always nice to know that at least one soul is saved, the production is worth it. Unfortunately, Simon Cowell criticism is never heard. Political correctness is the key. There are times I wish I could say very American Idol comments... but I almost always demur to "It was okay. I'm quite sure it ministered to someone." (Great, now I can't use that phrase anymore...)


6. Strength of leadership. -- If the leadership doesn't share the vision of drama as a tool, then it may always be lack of resources. I once attended a church where the gospel message must be directly depicted in the traditional format: angels, magi, shepherds, Jesus life, death and resurrection. No deviation from that formula allowed.

When I look at the above reasons, these are tough constraints to break through.

While we can't match big budget multi million dollar lavish productions like Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera or Dim Sum Dollies. I feel there is still room for good scripts and acting that explore the struggles of the soul. I've been entertained by spartan yet very good plays from travelling drama groups like the Covenant Players and YWAM.

A church can't hire actors. This is where training I think is the thing that really develops the talent. The great thing about this is that it creates salt and light for the entertainment world. I wouldn't have gotten my break into TV or stage without me doing church camp skits and youth group sketches. Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey got their training in church. (Can't say much for their lifestyle now though.)

Development of good storytelling is important. Storytelling and parables was the tool of choice for Jesus. Everything hangs on a good story; without it, no matter how elaborate the sets, lighting, or how good the acting is, a forgettable story will not have the audience moved. Jesus didn't need multimillion dollar budgets to enthrall a crowd with memorable stories of Good Samaritans, Rich Fools and Prodigal Sons.

Pooling of talent between churches may help as well. It helps to cross polinate ideas and the sharing of resources.

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Sundown Marathon Bib
Originally uploaded by nicodemus_chan.

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Islamic group’s uniform comment slammed - The Star

An Islamic group in Malaysia now wishes to ban the baju kurung because they think its too sexy.

That to me is pretty ridiculous. The baju kurung is not a sexy dress. It covers a woman from the neck down and worn in conjunction with a skirt all the way to the ankles.

The real answer to the reason why they think it is too sexy is their own minds. They do not acknowledge their own sinfulness and lust in their own hearts.

My counter proposal to them is simple, I suggest that they cut out their eyes if it causes them to sin.

"And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell." (Matthew 18:9)

Updated: 26 May 2008, 2:03AM

After writing this blog entry, it has thrown new light for me on that verse quoted. I've read interpretations saying that Jesus used it as hyperbole to tell us to use drastic measures to stop ourselves from sinning.

But considering the context of Jesus time, with religious hypocrites abounding, it can be read as rebuking hypocrisy and putting the responsibility squarely on the men.

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Sometimes as we go along in life, a man may ask God "Why did you give me a sex drive? I wish I didn't have it." Or a woman may say, "Men are such perves, they look at me with disgusting eyes."

I think that if these people really got what they are implying they wouldn't want it.

The sexual drive is to be celebrated as a gift of God. Imagine instead that men with too strong a drive became gay, impotent, or castrated? Sales of viagra show how older men long for the time when they were more youthful.

And if you think men are perves just for looking at you, have you met the woman who wishes a for that day a man might even look at her?

Sooner or later, that time will come when we will lose our sexual potency, our youthful attractiveness. Celebrate that time of youthful strength, and the full bloom of the body that God gave to you. Neither abuse it but enjoy the gift of God.

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Unplugged Notebook
Originally uploaded by nicodemus_chan.

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Perhaps writing a book, screenplay, novel is more for the benefit of the author. Perhaps the act of writing it is to help the writer work through his issues or to gain insight or to leave a legacy. Some novels, books or plays may never see the light of day, having an audience of maybe his immediate family.

But then again, we do not know that until is written.

In counterpoint, the opposite may also be true. The Diary of Anne Frank, was a personal diary not meant to have an audience at all, yet it touched thousands or even millions of people.

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I wouldn't want to try this:

A bedouin cure for bacterial dysentery is eating camel faeces. Something which German soldiers testified to.

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/050610.html

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It's lonely when we make:

The decision not to eat that one candy bar or order dessert..

That decision to switch off the TV and give up that 1/2 hour sitcom or football game...

That decision to stop surfing the internet or to click on that next link...

That decision to delete that computer game...

That decision not to swear at someone...

That decision to do the laundry...

That decision to clean up our room...

That decision to go out for lunch with someone who's lonely...

Nobody notices the amount of effort taken. No champagne popping, no parties, nothing.

But I think heaven does.

The thing sometimes in life is that we don't get praise on the small decisions.

Every feeble effort that we make to become a better person is extremely commendable, in fact, greatly appreciated by God.

The Bible says that heaven rejoices when even a single sinner comes to repentance.

I believe that God delights in us in every single positive decision that we make.

Remember the widow who gave that two pieces of copper into the offering at the temple? Jesus noticed. And he said that she gave more than all others who gave out of the abundance of their riches.

So, when you make a decision, any small decision, no matter how trivial, remember, heaven notices.

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There is no way around it. There are endeavours which require more than a single person to accomplish. This means teamwork.

But there are two ways we can view it, one that we use people. The other is that people want to serve us.

The first method means extracting out of people their time and energy, probably compensating them with money, and perhaps using fear and guilt.

The second means being a person with such integrity, charisma, clarity of vision, that people are compelled inwardly to work for you.

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