Simplify Christmas

by Francis Kong (Inspiring Excellence)

For the last decades the world has gone into a credit card binge. Just swipe it, and make sure you get that thing that would make you at par with the joneses. And the whole world has bought into the great marketing ploy that delivers the message that if we do not have their products or use them we would remain second-class.

Suddenly, the things we have are just not enough. What used to be God’s blessings upon us has dissolved into a culture of coveting driven by greediness and materialism. Our desires became bigger than our wallets. We no longer live within our means. This is not a very good thing. Here is something for all of us to think about. Ask yourself, "How simple is my life compared to 5 or 10 years ago?" Yes, while we have developed the skills of Multi-tasking, what we should not develop is to have multi-billings and killer interest that place chains on us as real as iron shackles. If there is one thing that the killer floods have taught is it is to reassess our lives and go back to the basics.

We need to simplify. Want a bigger house? You need more helpers to clean it. Want an expensive European car? You need more money to maintain it. Want everything money can buy? Where are you going to keep it? Clutter everywhere does not refresh us and meanwhile, when the new car smell disappears and the Hermes and Channel bags hit the closet, we realize that those things no longer make us happy. Most people learn to tighten their belts and go into cost-cutting mode only when they hit trouble. Why not do it now while the funds and money are still coming in on a regular basis?

In other words, simplify…simplify…simplify. It is time for all of us to go back to basics and ask what is essential and what is non-essential regarding the quality of life and not simply the quantity of the "things"—yes the "stuff"—listed on our credit card statements.

We got to get out of the rat race and find the true Source for joy and happiness. Learn to live happily in simplicity.

And if the flood has hit you remember you need to be strong and recover. You need to get your bail out plan from God. He wants you to live a life of fullness. This is why Jesus promised that those who are weary and heavily laden find rest in Him. Do not just move on, you need to move up. Yesterday ended last night. The worst hour is only sixty minutes. Many of those who have suffered during the Asian financial crisis some twelve years ago have recovered.

Put your trust in God, move on and move up. I remember saying this during the Asian crisis situation in 1997. I realize this is now the appropriate time for me to say it again. Do not focus on the word crisis. Focus instead on the words: Christ Is!

Abdominal Epilepsy?

The other day, I encountered an uncommon medical diagnosis, abdominal epilepsy. Maybe I was absent when this was taught in med school or maybe it was mentioned but it just didn't register in my memory bank. Anyway, for those colleagues who haven't heard of this as well, here's what I found out about it, so that next time you are faced with a weird abdominal pain, you will think of abdominal epilepsy as a differential. There are many medical causes of abdominal pain; abdominal epilepsy is one of the rare causes. From a medical perspective, the term epilepsy refers not to a single disease, but to a group of symptoms with numerous causes. The common factor in all forms of epilepsy is an excessive electrical excitability of the brain. The increased excitation is called a seizure and may manifest as a partial or total loss of consciousness and muscle spasms or other involuntary movements. Many conditions can produce epilepsy. For example, a genetic predisposition is

"Ganacity"

If there's one word that I will never forget from my AGSB experience, it's "ganacity"! A word frequently mentioned by our FinMan professor. What does it mean? It's a combination of the tagalog word "gana" (appetite, zest) and the english suffix "city" which converts an adjective word into a noun. 'Ganacity' therefore refers to one's state of desire or interest in something. I am sharing this because I feel that my 'ganacity' for what I am doing now is spiralling down, and it is so difficult to reverse it back up or just to keep it at a maintained level. It is becoming a struggle on a day to day basis. I am hoping that night and day will alternate fast so that this battle will end soon.

What to Think About this Holy Week

As we prepare for the coming week, let us be reminded again of this powerful message. In the message "Believe and Be Restored" we considered our need to believe that what God said is true. He said the death and resurrection of Jesus was the final sacrifice for our sin, and that those who believe would receive the gift of eternal life. Clearly, our Salvation is a gift from God; "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith" (Ephesians 2:8). We did nothing to earn our Salvation and there is nothing we must now do to keep it, we simply must believe; "there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). Though our sins are forgiven and Jesus is 100% sufficient for Salvation - though we walk in grace and are absolutely free of condemnation - sin in our life still causes temporary separation and tension in our relationship with God. Therefore, over and over in scripture, we are called to a life of holiness: "As obedient chi

Tooth and ENT Doctor

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