Lawrence and Christine Family Blog

Never say die!

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Bear with me as I redesign the site!

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Ever wonder how these songs in the Bible are actually sung? In fact, if you turn to the book of Psalm, the whole book was sung out by the choir of the old kingdoms. Now, what exactly was used? I mean the instruments! They just crossed the red sea with their lives! The exhaustion is staggering. Imagine walking down to the sea bed and crossing that divide that's believed to be over eleven miles!

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Within the intricate steps to prepare the passover lies a deeper truth of a "substituitionary" death. A physical lamb that symbolically represents Christ is to be slain and its blood, averting the angel of death, who will soon descent upon mankind.

Yeast, an agent associated with uncleanness and sins is to be totally abstained in the household of God while observing the feast of the unleavened bread. From my point of view, this signifies the need of oneself to be cleansed and made right with the Lord, prior to witnessing the act of God in our lives, as He intended.

Living at large in our unsanctioned liberty would naturally cause a gradual departing away from the Savior...a sight not desired.

Posted in: Quiet Time on Sunday, June 21, 2009 at 0 comments  

For one, I admire the stubbornness of Pharaoh. For another, I admire the determined, progressive approach God deals with humans. Well, for one, God has all the time to deal with us, to break the stubborn will of ours in the most "gentle" of ways.

The now destitute Egypt has all her crops wiped out, water supply poisoned with blood, frog-invested stench landscape, livestock destroyed and human deaths (from the hail). You name it. The pride of Egypt been slowly removed from Pharaoh, on a piece by piece torture.

What does it take for the Lord to remind us precious lessons at times? Do we need to go through such a tedious ordeal to learn too?

Posted in: on Sunday, June 14, 2009 at 0 comments  

From the simple act of turning a rod into a lively serpent, we not only witness an increase in the sphere of impact of God's revealing judgement onto Pharaoh, but also in their severity. It is also interesting to note that the Egyptian magicians have finally met their match when they no longer could replicate the signs of Moses and Aaron on the fourth judgment - Lice.

Posted in: Quiet Time on Tuesday, June 09, 2009 at 0 comments  

Being a strong health advocate, part of my life has been devoted to discovering what governs our health and what makes it stronger. I have tried Lingzhi, Aloe Vera, Shiitake mushrooms and performed extensive research on their efficacy. 

Posted in: on Sunday, June 07, 2009 at 0 comments  

Cynically, God opened Exodus 7 with a quick mention that He has just made a god out of Moses in the sight of Pharaoh! It sure brings me a quick reminder how cheesy Man's view on God really is. As long as you can do something extraordinary, either with a talent, skill or capability. You are a god!

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Its June. And the heat wave is just warming up to visit the equator once again. To escape it for a week or so, a trip is due to haul everyone to the safety of some cool mountains. No idea where it will be but it has to be cool... as my boys would say it.

Posted in: Fun on Monday, June 01, 2009 at 0 comments  

Just got this to replace my Sony Ericsson P1i. Not surprisingly, the new upgraded camera-less model which I got no longer supports Blackberry! I am thankfully able to get the new Nokia messaging push services working on it.

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Its so interesting yet so true that we are very self-centered creatures. We look at ourselves, our ability, deny our unlikes, boasts about about strength and most critically, refuse to put God before oneself.

Perhaps, it is false modesty and perhaps, its our stubbornness.

Now, in pre-delivering His people from the Egyptians, the Bible decides to side step into a chapter dedicated to identify the lineage of the Israelites, the link that will soon be used to claim the Savior as the rightful link to the house of David. Here, we find leaders being identified - Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Gershon, Kohath, Merari, Izhar, Uzziel, Korah.

Posted in: Quiet Time on Sunday, May 31, 2009 at 0 comments  

God's revelation often works best in the highest contrasty scene of human history. The first face-off encounter with both Pharaoh and the people of Israel has not only build upon a higher contrast of impossibility of the assigned task, but reveals God's desire that Moses walk not by his sight.

Against all odds, at the end of the day, its what God says count really. If He says so, it shall come to past. Its that plain and simple truth that we oftentimes still have trouble grasping. This approach also taught me that God's work can involve a degree of perseverance. It takes a few attempts, and then a few more.

In such situation, our dependence and trust in God have to increase with each step forward as the contrast of impossibility comes more pronounce but I believe that's exactly what God wants us to do.

Posted in: Quiet Time on Thursday, May 28, 2009 at 0 comments  

Just when it cannot get any worse...comes a new low for the enslaved Israelite - Increased physical hardship. Well, I have been there. And its not funny for one moment. In our context, its usually more mental and spiritual than physical.

Here, the "onward" plan commanded by God to perform suddenly gave way under Moses's feet. Herein lies a lesson for us perhaps?

• God is always in control in every moment despite worsening turn of events
• God's work does not always come smooth and overpowering from man's perspective.
• Its supposed to mold His people into closer dependence on God
  

Posted in: Quiet Time on Wednesday, May 27, 2009 at 0 comments  

Sometimes, out of the blue, things around us crumple for no good reason. I mean, real bad. It can happen in your work where troubles spur. It can be a relationship. And you suddenly wonder what's this all about? Are you being played?

Well, that's exactly what happened to the Israelite! I guess the straws provide the tensile strength to the brick made from mud but the labor to both collect them and make bricks out of it. You get the idea - falsely accused yet unappreciated.

In a way, you can say this is how the Lord God showcase His sovereignty. You won't have a clue what they are at that instance but we are simply asked to put our trust in Him faithfully and walk the talk.

Posted in: Quiet Time on Friday, May 22, 2009 at 0 comments  

Big decision, big decision.

Just do it!

Stronger relevance to our friends who are currently following only our family blog.

UPDATED - Done!

Posted in: Editor Notes on Sunday, May 17, 2009 at 0 comments  

Well, it sure is a shame that this blog be just deleted. Hence, my decision today to overhaul the focus of this site to become my family blog!

Yeah...that's what I will do!

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In His sovereign design, mankind would to first fall, then a system of grace be in place to bring them to Himself through a process involving time. Doing His work would also mean a series of challenges that are supposed to condition His people to draw closer and stronger in ties with Him.

Here, in a twist of event, Moses and Aaron's work to deliver the Israelite backfired, ending with a greater persecution on the already suffering population. Sounds familiar to you too?

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In any dedicated work we carried out in God's decree, it's imperative the basic spiritual criteria be met and fulfilled. In the Old Testament, its the a physical act of circumcision that also signified a spiritual separation and removal of one's sins symbolically. In the age of grace, its the circumcision of the heart that brings about a prerequisite to serve God.

Moses carelessly ignored that as commanded in Genesis 17, and was nearly killed by the Lord before reaching Pharaoh. A constant self examination is very important in our christian walk. In this case, God was gracious enough to Moses to allow his wife, Zipporah to show him of his lack. Perhaps, this can still apply today if our spouse do so out of a sudden to us!

In doing His work, its great to also accommodate and work with a partner in Christ. Look out and welcome that as well as a possibility.

Posted in: Quiet Time on Wednesday, May 13, 2009 at 0 comments  

Well, if you have been reading from the first chapter of Exodus, zero hint was given that Moses had an elder brother. In fact, even at chapter four, it was God Himself who revealed this fact.

Through his sojourning, not a word was mentioned that Moses even attempted contacting his brother...zip? But again, out of the blue, the account that Aaron was coming to visit him in Midian was all a surprise to me at least. So, they did caught up and kept in touch! OK.

As far as family goes, his first-born son - Gershom, was documented at 2:22. Several others were born but not accounted for when he left for Egypt at 4:20.

Posted in: Quiet Time on Monday, May 11, 2009 at 0 comments  

Now, you might say, I would do anything if God would appear to me like He did to Moses! Hmm...think again. In today's context where the Bible is readily available and God's Word is all sufficient in instructing our lives, you can say God is living with and in us per the burning bush days of Moses each day!

Well, the problem is first this - we don't read it as often as we should. Second problem - we lack the consistency to read through even a book to allow God to speak to us. Third problem - we pick and choose what we want to read, like a buffet meal, that ends with an unbalanced outlook of God.

Little is accounted for as to how close Moses lived with God but God's decision to use Him says pretty much how close he was with God! Right? Maybe...as God can use anyone for His Kingdom.

Posted in: Quiet Time on Sunday, May 10, 2009 at 0 comments  

Its said that God oftentimes show us miracles or signs as big as our faith. As little faith as Moses can muster, a serpent staff is all he could witness at this point of time.

It is also said that man are really hard to be convinced in their depravity. In the heart of unbelief, even a Goliath of miracle would easily be swept under the carpet of jeer and sneers. To add onto the cynical hearts of man, it pleased God to provide a second miracle to go with that serpent staff - a leprous hand trick!

In return, when we "jeer" God with our absurd doubt of fulfilling his work, we are taught to sober up and depend on His strength rather than some man-driven affirmation of the work we are to carry out...

Being personally convicted to the Lord's work is more important.

Posted in: Quiet Time on Friday, May 08, 2009 at 0 comments  

What a name God identifies Himself to Moses - I AM (Hayah). Being a memorial name, one would wonder if man can instantly associate that name with God. Well, its the sending of a man to help the people of Israel that is more important here.

When we cry (only in humility can we really do this) as God's people, He hears us. And in the real world, will also do what He did again - by sending someone to help us. Now, that person can be anyone, as opposed to only believers.

And the deliverance is never instantaneous. It usually begins with a small step, like a 3-day "pass" that Moses will seek with Pharaoh. Also note, deliverance is not automatically initiated by God. Moses and the elders of Israel have to open their mouth with the request to begin.

Posted in: Quiet Time on Thursday, May 07, 2009 at 0 comments  

One thing troubling me is that whenever you are back in any of the civilized city, you can entirely readjust whatever skill points you have earned to any of the skill areas you so please!

Though flexible, it kinda upset the system on logic and nature...

Posted in: Fun on Sunday, May 03, 2009 at 0 comments  

Nothing more is known of Jethro's wife except that she bore Jethro seven daughters. It was also said Moses became a shepherd for the next 40 years after he fled from Egypt. While on one instance, his venture landed him on Horeb, also known as the mountain of God. Some say its another name that denote Mount Sinai but that's not the key point.

In calling His servants, God oftentimes can use extraordinary phenomenon and signs to draw our attention to Him. It can be a "personal crisis", an event that draws our focus to nothing else but him. To which, Moses would say, let me ponder over this and reflect upon it. Now, its interesting to note that a choice was still given to Moses.

He can choose to ignore it and walk away. Only when God saw that Moses (or us) turned to it that he then decided to call upon him. Interesting? Yes.

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I would think the change was sudden and drastic. From the princely court of Pharaoh to the solitude wilderness of Midian, I am sure Moses was suddenly thrown with many questions and doubt he could not answer at the well.

The scarcity of water source may plague Midian then, as confirmed by the rivalry of the Shepherds and the people there for it. Then, a kind act, on the other hand, provided a bridge to a much more rewarding outcome to Moses, who ended up getting married!

How's that for a twist?

Posted in: Quiet Time on Thursday, April 30, 2009 at 0 comments  

The seamless weaving of Moses's birth and early childhood sped across the second chapter of Exodus, with us seeing his fearful escape from Egypt after being exposed as an Egyptian Killer. Raised in the Egyptian court, Moses must be a learned man, one who have seen and lived out luxury in the highest order.

Religiously, he was one who, for the large part of his life, been exposed to the worship of heathenish gods and goddesses. Perhaps, her biological mother also had a strong, good influence on him, it is not written. But the act of taking the law into his own hand in his first killing does not support evidence of his conversion then.

The adopted son of Pharaoh's daughter - Hatshepsut, was also seen to have a distant relationship with the royal lineage of Pharaoh, with him being sought out for death upon his first misdeed.

Posted in: Quiet Time on Thursday, April 23, 2009 at 0 comments  

In both scenario, you get a unique play environment buried full of evolving quests and story lines. In fact, It initially felt like another run-off-the-mill hack and slash game but it slowly unravels a sequence of "to-do" to outwit and turn conventional "search & destroy" logic upside down!

You simply cannot go head-on with the baddies every turn. So much for my initial assumption that its a simple game. Skills combination, second profession all follow suit thereafter and the rest of the game play appears linear for the first two hours or so.

One no-no I discovered while playing most online MMORPG is this - everyone is busy doing their "rat race", totally ignoring your existence! Very well, you can still recruit henchmen to cover for the lack of team members when the going gets tough. Having said that, what do you expect a 20 year old playing GW to do except being engrossed with the leveling up process?

To me, its more than fulfilling quests after quests but making some real people acquaintance during game play that makes it all worthwhile!

Posted in: Fun on Wednesday, April 22, 2009 at 0 comments  

If you play it right, with a ton load of patience, without thinking too much about leveling up for the sake of leveling up, you should be able to reach level 6 with a full proficiency with your first character class.

I must admit an online guide or walk-through will help this along quite well instead of waddling on the map trying to make sense what each collector is looking for. Now, if you are like me, who bought the Game of the Year Edition of GW, there is a pleasant surprise installed for you the moment you start.

Well, I discovered this via an online forum - free customized weapons for your character. You get them by simply issuing the "/bonus" command on the dialog box. Voila! Powerful bows, hammer, scepter and axes fully customized for your character.

Cool!

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Talk about a blessing in the disguise of a mass persecution in the camp of Israel! In the intensifying search for male children born among the Israelites, God raised an earthly man so to be called Moses to deliver His people from the slave master - Egypt.

In an attempt to make the basket float, a fair amount of tar and pitch were used to waterproof it. Many say God works best in the midst of a trial but it does take a degree of personal suffering to truly understand this point. It's hard to accept, at times, on how the Lord works in us but you get the point.

This occur the very moment we desire to grow in the Lord. The world that seems sunny just a while ago has suddenly turned gloomy and hopeless! Ever been in such valley before? Many times we shall be in on this pilgrim's journey I would say.

That's how diamond is formed.

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If you have played Dungeon runners or any other MMORPG, you know what i mean...

GW has spent many months perfecting their graphics quality and I guess playing games is almost, always about graphics. Just look at the character creation screens and you would agree with me. I have played quality but free MMORPG in my life and I consider MU Online to be decent. But GW simply blew it out of the water!

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Well, the boxed game I've got comes with two Discs, without a proper naming order inscription. It's anybody guess which is the first one to load into your PC. For convenience, I have tried installing two copies of the game on two of my laptops - one with the Discs and one from an online client. I prefer the latter as its faster.

The game key is the most important piece of information you need to get by your game installation. Keep it safe. Well, of course, GW also provides a few more trial keys to entice you to try out the newed evolution of Guild Wars.

I simply ignored them for the moment...

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Its no longer just a hype but I am led to believe I'd just found a rather entertaining yet non-addictive hobby for a long time since.

You know, being an IT person, gaming seems ingrain in me, with my first experience in using an Intel 80386 PC that costed over $2000! Those were the days of wolfenstein 2D and CGA monitors.

But as it turned out in the 21st Century, online games (which EA is attempting to move into) is the new hype and fire.

Just got a copy of Guild Wars Game of the Year Edition box today at $15. It's kind of game you play on a lazy weekend...and its turning out to be a rather sophisticated game!

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Role - Midwives
Religious Inclination - God of Israel

Incident Date - 1790 BC
Incident Notes - Obeyed God over Pharoah over survivial of male offspring. Was blessed in return with established families. Fear of God described to be in them.

Other Notes - It was noted that the King of Egypt then was probably Sobekhotep III. Putting the Lord first on our top priority of obedience well characterize a blessed outcome despite possible harsh environment

Posted in: Quiet Time on Monday, April 20, 2009 at 0 comments  

So, with the hard effort of the enslaved Isrealites, two cities came into existence in the span of Exodus 1. It may well have continued into the bowel of Exodus's manuscript by Moses.

Some say, these are fortified treasure cities and mega structure dedicated to the Egyptian Sun God - Heliopolis and Egyptian Pharoahs (original term - Ramesses). Ramses essentially translates as 'Born of the sun God, Ra'. The Egyptian culture and religous system runs very deep, and we hope to do a few "archaeological" digging on this blog about this race.

Remember that Egpyt has profited greatly with the last famine on the land, owning massive lands from the commoners in exchange for food, together with an elaborate tax structure linked to the daily produce of the land. Hence, storage cities were very common then too.

Posted in: Quiet Time on Sunday, April 19, 2009 at 0 comments  

Our journey begins with the end to Joseph and his peers' influence in Egpyt. Somehow, the rapport of the second generation was absent with the royal Egpytian court and the rise of a new king abruptly ended the cordial relationship of Jacob's heritage with the Egyptian.

The Bible mentions a blessing in 1:7 - of fruitful increase, a blessing that can always open doors to a lengthy process of trials into our lives. The population of the Israelites were estimated to stand at 2 million at the opening chapter of Exodus, implying a much smaller one to represent the Egyptian, who felt very threatened.

Here also, the concept of slavery was introduced, with an attempt to control, shape and suppress the people of Isreal. I believe its here where a nation is born - Descendant of Israel called Israelites.

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My local church community mentioned a few program that many christian parents uses, one namely called the Accelerated Christian Education Program. Little do I know about this program to date, except the fact it does contain a progressive education platform for preschoolers and up.

I have made contact to the local representative recently and hope to find out significantly more about this program as to how it compares to the other public programs offered in the country.

Read about ACE [here].

Posted in: Kids Development on Monday, March 30, 2009 at 0 comments  

Ever look at our kids as a gift? Do we actually think about it and be thankful to the Creator? Now, this gifts entail a life-long responsibility and its on our part we need to act upon this responsibility soberly.

Well, I am not just talking about bringing food on their tables and a bed to sleep on, that should be a given. Neither am I talking about big presents and gifts to close the gap of absence while we make our frequent business trips and career. I am talking about the simple personal contact time we spent with our kids reading a book together, doing a field trip together in a national park, tagging them along with your holiday trips.

As we know, kids learn solely from their role-models (mum and dad!) when they are preschool age. And with us out of the home 10 hours a day, the TV becomes their role-models. The domestic nanny becomes their role models. The grand-parents becomes their role models (rule of thumb - good parents makes poor grandparents when grandkids arrive).

Cut back on clocking those time in the office and fulfill that responsibility that perhaps have been absent all along!

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I must admit we are at ground zero when it comes to educating our kids. My wife has the patience which significantly helps. I am but the content seeker, syllabus seeker, the logical methodical researcher which only plays a small part in the whole picture.

As usual, guys are good only in doing the maths, reviews and analysis but suffers from the lack of the warmth and emotion needed by kids to learn well.

I am the type of parent that takes priority in my kids education, even if it means spending the more-than-average time each day with them. Research shows dad usually spend only about 2 minutes a day with each of their kids! (Watching TV together doesn't count, or reading the newspaper with them around you) That's a sad statistics!

Many parents are obsessed with the double-income, capitalistic way of life and they are stuck in that wheel of business. Nothing more than a sad routine to fuel that insatiable ego trip for bigger this and that.

Posted in: Kids Development on at 0 comments  

If you have kids, they need some form of education, may it be home-based, public-school based or even a prestigious private international school. The point is, we are spoilt for choices!

So, this is a lab for a Christian parent like me, attempting to strike a balanced, sound education for my boys. So, being the first post, I welcome parents or parents-to-be who would approach their kids education with an open mind and explore the very best in both academic and biblical positions of educating pre-schoolers.

I have been to many web sites on this topic but could not find a holistic content site to help young parents like me gain a competency to supplement my kids education curriculum. It's a sea of information flooding and the limited time we have may not give us the luxury of doing a complete research.

Let the exploration begin!

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Why did God create the World and known living creatures, destinating
them to suffer and die and damned to whoever does not believe in the
saving power of His son?

- for His sovereign glory alone.
- he did not will any to perish but in his omniscience, he knows
- in the many instances when men exemplify their lives in faith to
God, he is glorified continuously
- all this historical past has in no way contradict the free will
nature of his government toward all beings

Some are led to believe the creation process was purposely elaborated
for a reason and it was not done mechanically
But in love. Hence, in what manner of love was the earth created? The
way Gen 1 was written often times imply that mechanical attitude of
God rather than love.

The concept of multiplication and elaboration were integral to God's
character

Regards,

Lawrence Oei

Posted in: Quiet Time on Sunday, January 04, 2009 at 0 comments