beyondwords: August 2005

Monday, August 29, 2005

The English Language

Just came across this article recently, so I would like to share it with your guys. Enjoy:)
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The English Language. Have you ever wondered why foreigners have trouble with the English Language?. Let's face it. English is a crazy language. There is no egg in the eggplant No ham in the hamburger. And neither pine nor apple in the pineapple. English muffins were not invented in England. French fries were not invented in France. We sometimes take English for granted But if we examine its paradoxes we find that Quicksand takes you down slowly, Boxing rings are square. And a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig. If writers write, how come fingers don't fing. If the plural of tooth is teeth. Shouldn't the plural of phone booth be phone beeth, If the teacher taught, Why didn't the preacher praught. If a vegetarian eats vegetables. What the does a humanitarian eat? Why do people recite at a play, Yet play at a recital? Park on driveways and Drive on parkways. You have to marvel at the unique lunacy. Of a language where a house can burn up as it burns down. And in which you fill in a form by filling it out. And a bell is only heard once it goes! English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race (Which of course isn't a race at all) That is why when the stars are out they are visible, but when the lights are out they are invisible, and why it is that when I wind up my watch it starts, but when I wind up this observation, it ends.

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Prayer and Prayer and Prayer

Today, lets talk about prayer. To pray, according to the Oxford dictionary means to speak to God or a god in order to give thanks or to ask for something. Prayer is the most powerful thing in the world. With prayer, we can work wonders and miracles by the strength of God. In Christianity, prayer is the most important aspect. It can be said to be the backbone of the faith. This is basically because prayer is the only way we can speak our God Jesus Christ. It is like a telephone that is directly connected to Him and everytime we phone, it will be answered. No prayer will be left unheard. All prayers are heard, no matter by who. Anybody's prayer, be it young or old, male or female, pastor or not pastor, ANYBODY, their prayers will be heard. In the bible, even Jesus Christ our Lord needs to pray regularly, what makes us think that we do not need to pray? 2nd Chronicles 15:2 tells us that "If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you." Prayer is very important as it keeps us close to God. Prayer is sort of like an armour to protect us from doing evil. If we do not pray regularly, trust me, we will fall into doing evil. Matthew 26:41 says "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." Also, in 2nd Chronicles 12:14 "He did evil because he had not set his heart on seeking the LORD."
As you can see, prayer is so so so important. If we pray, we will enjoy peacefulness from God. This is seen in 2nd Chronicles 14:7 "we sought him and he has given us rest on every side." In fact, in the books of 1st and 2nd Samuel, 1st and 2nd Kings, 1st and 2nd Chronicles, we can see that any king of Israel or Judah that seek the Lord enjoyed peace and victory, but any king that turned from God lose out in one way or another.
We as Christians pray for almost everything under the sun. Some people might think that we are kiasu, but that’s not the case. Thats because we believe that everything under the sun needs a prayer. When people are sick, we pray. When people are taking exams, we also pray. When people are going on a trip, we pray. When we eat, we pray too. Everything needs a prayer. For me, every and night when I wake up or sleep, I will pray. This is so that the day will be successful one.
Just last Monday, on 8/8/2005, my church had a prayer session to pray for the nation of Singapore. Prayer is extremely extremely important.
Sometimes our prayers are answered instantaneously, sometimes God decides to take it slowly. But do not lose patience! Continue praying and it will surely one day be answered! I know of someone whose parents are both unsaved. Every day she would pray for her parents. It is only after what seemed like 10 years before her prayers are answered and her parents came and know Jesus! Let me give you yet another example. The other time I had sports with my friend and we were waiting for a cab home. We were both in an area where the road is extremely busy and no cabs would stop for us. We prayed to God for a cab. Almost instantly, a cab pulled over by our side for a passenger to alight. We thanked God and boarded the cab.
You see, the power of prayer is immeasurable. If you have not started praying, you should start now.
James 5:16 "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."

Tuesday, August 02, 2005

Oh How I Love You Please Don't Run (By Don)

This is a poem by me, an assignment by my literature teacher on the topic of "Love". Just sharing it with you guys.

Oh How I Love You Please Don't Run (By Don)