The Best of Me Symphony #65″ is up at Gary Cruse’s The Owner’s Manual, and as usual, Gary has done a fantastic job. The post itself is a treat.

This time around the guest conductor is John Updike. Go enjoy, and from there you can also get to a great collection of posts from various contributors.

My submission this time around is Should a young lady have to go to a public men’s restroom?, a post that attracted quite a raucous response from different readers. Go see for yourself.

I stumbled upon this blog quite a while back, and placed a “BlogIt” reminder to re-visit, read, reflect and response.

It has been a while now, and I have not yet done anything to it. In fact, I promptly forgot about going back and checking out the site. In combing through all my draft posts today, I re-discovered the site, and once again resonated with much of what this 41-year old happily married sushi lover business preson who tries to be an authentic representative of his Savior , says (it helps that he and I share many of the same attributes).

This is one site I would like to visit and re-visit. What he has to say about life and faith is illuminating, insightful and instructive. Perhaps you will find him to be of interest to you too.

The lady priest with the kitten heels has a few choice words to say about the church’s obsession with “same-sex genital acts” today, and I enjoyed reading her well-balanced and obviously well-controlled discourse on the gay debate within the different Christian enclaves.

I agree with her that the emphasis of the Church and its heart and mission ought to be “to feed the hungry, tend the sick, preach the gospel, love one another.” I share her view that the tone of much of the debate within the church is off the mark by quite a fair margin and I agree that the issue is one that is very important as well.

I also enjoyed reading the article she referred to in no such thing as a straight bishop which strikes me as a much more sophisticated articulation of something I wrote a while back. (My diatribe is here and the quote I am referring to is further down in the post, but you will have to read the entire piece to find it within its context). In his post, the hopeful amphibian suggests that “it is time for all Christians to cease to refer to themselves as ’straight’” because

in light of the dominant discourse of our culture and the history of the use of that term, carries with it the implication that ‘I am normal’ (whereas others are not), ‘I am sorted’ (whereas others are not), ‘I have got it right’.

And I’m not, no I’m not, and I haven’t.

I am not straight. Nor, I would suggest, is any Christian I know.

My sexuality has a brokenness to it, a part of that going back to childhood, a lot of that discovered or accumulated along the way..

Very powerful and strong words indeed. And, they do ring true. I was trying to express the same ideas when I tried to start a conversation on the concept of illicit sex, but found neither the right words nor the participants to engage in it (except for DJ Chuang, who suggested a better way to frame the question).

I suspect that few Christians ventured to engage me in conversation at the time might be because (apart from the fact that my blog is not well frequented by those who do engage in conversations) most think it is an open-and-shut case, when it most definitely is not.

My point is, rather than think that only gays (and sexual deviants) have it all wrong, that their sexuality is all sinful and broken, we need to look at ourselves and see that all of us are wrong and sexually broken.

If we were to accept, honor and respect each other in spite of such brokenness, we need to extend the same grace to them as well. We need to also stop supposing that sexual sins are the most grievous.

It appears to me that Jesus didn’t, and neither did any of the New Testament writers. Instead, it appears that not loving our brothers or sisters, not extending the mercy that we so gladly receive for ourselves to our neighbors, and not recognizing our own sinfulness while condemning that of our fellow creatures, are at least more grievous than sexual sins of any form.

The first victimplayer for the …in the outer… round of the Blog interviews is Messy Christian. Here are the questions for her:

(1) Describe one key lesson you have learned in Authentic Christianity.
(2) How do you think Christianity in Malaysia is different to Christianity as you have observed in, let’s say, the United States?
(3) How is Christianity in the US and other Western countries affecting the expression of the Christian faith in your country?
(4) What do you think is the key to a healthy church life?
(5) Tell us something you have always wanted to rant about, but haven’t yet done so in your blog!

Over to you Messy Christian. Let’s hear your answers!

For others, if you would like to play in this interview game, please see this post and leave a comment there.

The Blog-interviews are taking place throughout Blogosphere. I first came across it at The Bilbe Archive when Rey was interviewed by Rebecca of Rebecca Writes. I decided to join in and invited Rey to interview me.

Here are the questions and answers:

1. Which verse(s) stand out as giving you personally the most comfort?

Many verses in the Bible offer comfort to me at different times in my spiritual walk. The ones that offer me the most comfort currently are those that reaffirms to me that the Creator of the Universe cares for us (me!) and promises never to leave or forsake us (me!). Imagine! Even the Lord Jesus in His experience on earth was not spared this devastating experience of being forsaken! Yet, He who was tempted and who has suffered in every way as we are, gives us this precious promise to be with us no matter what, no matter where!

Reading the Gospel stories, I draw the most comfort from the simple and short verse found in John 11, “Jesus wept.” (verse 35). I have already posted on this passage, so I will only say here that what this verse tells me is that I have a Savior who is intimately involved with my life circumstances and although He knows all things, especially the end (and the final resolution of all things), He is involved in our situation right now, enough to be moved with compassion and to weep alongside us.

This is indeed amazing grace.

2. Are you a morning person or a night owl?

Hah! Definitely a night owl! There are times when I have trained myself to get up in the morning, and even to be pumped up and motivated in the morning because of work situations. When I was managing a team of sales and customer service people, we used to have breakfast meetings every Monday at 7:30 a.m. (Who came up with such a crazy idea??), but I get really hyper, and excited when everyone has turned in at night, and I am alone in my own study, with my books, my computer, and my thoughts…

3. What’s the best thing about being a Dad?

The best thing is to be loved back! When my kids come to me and give me a hug, or when they tell me how their day has gone, and simply hanging out with my kids and chatting with them. Yesterday, my youngest came home from school and we took Elvis, our precocious little Shitzu for a walk and she gave me a blow-by-blow account of her day at school, and I felt on top of the world. I felt so privileged to be able to spend that time with her and decided that the recent laying off had some positives to it!

4. What’s the best fictional book you’ve ever read? >

That has to be Mammon, Inc. by Hwee Hwee Tan. I haven’t read much fiction in a while, but when about two years ago I found Tan’s Foreign Bodies and read it in over three evenings, and decided to get her second novel, which at the time was only available via Amazon UK site. When I received it, I read it in a day and a half!

Tan weaves a story of a young Christian graduate with a promising future in front of her having to face the difficult decision of what she ought to be doing after college. It is a Gen-X story par excellence, and I promise you once you get hit with the opening sentence you will not want to put it down.

Because the protagonist is a young woman from Singapore, but the setting of the book crosses continents, from the dusty halls of Oxford, to the shining lights of Manhattan, back to the hustle-bustle of Orchard Road, Singapore, you will find the craft of an artist as Tan deftly intermingles cross-cultural themes with veiled references to Star Wars to portray some very universal themes about life, decisions and consequences. In the midst of it all, Tan cleverly questions cultural beliefs and norms with wit and humor as she draws you into the challenges of a twenty-something up-and-comer in the world struggling between spiritual values and monetary success. Well, what more can I say? Go read it yourself!

5. Who are what are the Freo Dockers?

Ah, the Fremantle Dockers. The next great team of the Australian Football League. I used to attend every home game, come rain or shine, but alas, now that I am so far away, I have to make do with the internet, and I still watch replays of some of the classic games on tape.

The Freo Dockers as they are also known is one of the new expansion teams in the AFL and they are touted as one of the young teams with loads of talent but has yet tasted the glory of a Premiership (the championship). I have a feeling in my bones though that it will be Real Soon Now.

>Note: If you wish to play the Blog Interview Game, leave me a comment on this post, and I will visit your blog and then post you five questions here. You will then need to go back to your blog, and post your answers to it.

Today, Parableman’s reflection on Belief Seeking Understanding’s pondering whether or not retroactive prayer is well formed caught my attention. In his post, Jeremy walks very ably through the philosophical underpinnings of prayer, God’s actions and His timelessness. The issue about which both Jeremy and Douglas are wondering is the wisdom of praying about events that have already happened.

Douglas used the following illustration to highlight the conundrum:

Suppose you go to the doctor, and the doctor says “Well, based on everything I know at this point, you either have x or y. X is somewhat of an inconvenience, but y is significantly more serious.” Is it foolish to pray “Please God, let it be x and not y?” If y is the consequence of a lifetime of choices, isn’t praying such a prayer functionally equivalent to asking God to zap you into some alternate parallel universe where you had x, from another one where you had y?

Both Jeremy and Douglas acknowledges God’s timelessness, and Jeremy explicates how this important concept does not preclude us from praying for past events on the grounds that “we don’t know [the outcome] when praying…” Further, Jeremy poses the following questions about prayer and God’s answers to it

Is it possible for my prayer to be answered positively given that the negative answer is true? No. Is it possible for my prayer to be answered ignoring any information about whether the positive answer happened already? Yes. The question is whether it’s proper to ignore information about the past if you don’t know it. Normally, we assume the past is irrevocable and thus don’t try to do something that might change it, simply because we can’t. But what if our prayer can genuinely lead to a past decision on God’s part? Then it seems it is indeed proper to ignore that there might be facts about the past for the same reason it’s proper to avoid facts about the future. What makes it come out the way it did/will hasn’t happened yet.

The underlying assumption from which both Jeremy and Douglas work is that prayer really does cause God to respond and act to change things. This is a common understanding of most people. In fact, “Prayer changes things” appear to be a slogan that is quite commonplace. However, while I don’t doubt the truth of the statement, I wonder if this kind of thinking about prayer distorts its real purpose and effectiveness, and is in fact a misunderstanding of the practice of prayer. And, if misunderstanding, then, it is detrimental to our spiritual formation.

Sometime ago, I wondered about the theological implications behind our practice of prayer and why we assume that God’s answers to our prayers are in any one of three ways: “Yes,” “No,” and “Wait” and then, only count those times when our prayers have been answered affirmatively as real answers. We say “Praise God! He answered our prayers!” but only do so when we actually see positive answers to our prayers.

This problem is closely related to the question I recently asked myself when reflecting on–and asking God to change–the circumstances in which I found myself. I wondered if it was proper for me to ask God to remove me from the difficult situation or to ask God to remove the situation from me, and then I contemplated if the wiser, if not proper, prayer was to invite God into my situation.

Perhaps rather than think that the goal of prayer is about changing things or circumstances, we ought to think about prayer as a means to changing people. In fact, prayer is more about changing the person doing the praying, than about bringing changes to world events. I am not denying that God does act to change things in response to the prayers of His people, but my contention is that this is not the Biblical emphasis of prayer.

When we understand prayer as a discipline in which we engage God in our lives and engage in His life, as a means of intimacy with God, then it doesn’t really matter if the things we pray about are in the past, or in the future. For then, we would be praying not for or against the occurrence of an event, but rather we would be praying for our responses to events.

While this understanding may not preclude us from wondering about whether or not to pray for things that may have passed, it does help us to focus our prayer on our responses to whatever comes, not in a fatalistic manner of “whatever will be, will be” (which was Jeremy’s worry), but more in the manner of asking God for wisdom and faith to respond courageously, whatever the outcome.

So, do we ever pray for some things to happen rather than other? In the Bible, there are specific passages where this seem to be the case. Jesus’ prayer in the garden, “Let this cup pass from me” seems to be an example, yet its emphasis might be more in the “nevertheless let your will, not mine be done.” At another time, He taught his disciples to pray that God give us our daily bread and deliver us from evil, and yet, it appears that the prayer is more about our interaction with God than about asking God specifically for different things. Yet further, He teaches his disciples to ask that the Lord of the Harvest send workers to the ripened fields, but even so, this prayer can be seen as a prayer of entering into the heart of God, than of asking God to change certain events.

It would be an interesting exercise to study all the passages of prayer in the Bible (or even the major ones). My suspicion is that there is more emphasis about changing people’s hearts (specifically changing the hearts of those doing the praying), and more about inviting God into our circumstances, and entering into God’s heart–his work and mission–than about asking God to change things, in a vendor machine-like manner. Perhaps, asking God to change things or praying for things to change is a first step in learning about prayer, and about our walk with God, but as we progress in this relationship, we need to see prayer as more about engaging God in our life and engaging in God’s life in the context of an intimacy that is our relationship with our Savior and Lord.

So, here I am. I haven’t yet done my taxes. I haven’t yet balanced my checkbook, and dang it, I haven’t looked at monster.com and hotjobs.com to check out today’s latest postings on new open positions. Given the events of the past week, that is so critical to me!

And yet, I have spent my first hour at the computer blogging, reading blogs, answering blog emails and so on… so, what do you think, do I need to go to Bloggoholics Anonymous? One thing for sure, I haven’t been checking out BlogExplosion, BlogClicker or BlogCrowd. Now, that was an addiction, for sure. I am glad I have that obsession for traffic under control! Now, where was I…?

Christian Carnival is on! After the uncertainty of the handover teething problems of last week, this week’s carnival is working like a well-oiled machine, attesting to the administration gifts of the current coordinator, Dory of Wittenberg Gate. This week’s Carnival is being hosted at Wallo World. I posted up my meditation on blessings and curses, which is a culmination of a series of posts where I bared my soul due to the events of the past few weeks. I am still feeling raw from being fired from my job, and still questioning the wisdom of standing up to a crazy boss, rather than taking it all in. But now it is in the past, and I have to look towards the future.

Perhaps I can find wisdom in the posting from other Christian Carnivaliers, such as, Ray Pritchard whose post, “Does this man has a future”, resonates with me, as I struggle with the misconception that failure in business and financial matters equate to bad testimony to the Lord who gives success to His people, a kind of distortion of the wealth and health gospel.

Anyway, there are many good posts up at the Carnival, from theological ponderings to thoughts about Teri Schiavo. Incidentally, Wittenberg Gate has been hosting the Bloggers Best for Teri Schiavo. You can find part one here. When I first learned of this project, I thought my next posting on the series on the Commandments is ideal for this since I have just done the fifth commandment and should be ready to tackle the sixth, but I ran out of steam and creative juices this week, mainly because I have been emotionally drained by the past week’s events. Not sure when my next post on the Commandments series will take be up. It will be up when it is I suppose. That’s the way it goes with blogging, you know?

By the way, if you are interested in participating in future Christian Carnivals, please go here for instructions. In the meantime enjoy “this week’s fare at Wallo World!

Gary Cruse from The Owners Manual has once again put together the Best of Me Symphony, creatively interweaving showcases of posts, images, and snippets from the “guest conductor” of the week, Jack Handey of Deep Thoughts fame.

Who? You ask.

Don’t worry, I didn’t know him before either. He’s supposedly a funny person, and Deep Thoughts is reputedly famous as well.

Well, get over there and find out for yourself and treat yourself to some masterpieces. Among this week’s rendering is my own submission, which is part of my Commandments series, “Don’t Misues God’s Name.”

Psalm 42:6:

my God.

My soul is downcast within me;

therefore I will remember you

from the land of the Jordan,

the heights of Hermon-from Mount Mizar.

Actually, I woke up this morning feeling rather rested, which is surprising as I hardly slept at all last night. My current situation stem from recent events, mostly at work (you can read it here and here), and precipitated by my being fired, or as a friend so aptly puts it, released from an intolerable situation.

Because of many different reasons, I must find another position pretty soon, and I mean, really pretty soon.

Over the past couple of days, while outwardly seeming to be evenly keeled, I can’t help but feel this gloomy downcast spirit coming over me. Yet, this morning, while physically tired, I feel uplifted that God is an incredible God, mostly because I deliberately recall what He has done, and what I know about Him and have experienced about the life of faith. I may not feel it, I may feel fear and trepidation, but I choose to recall His grace, His power and His care and provision for me and my family.

Many times, our current situation, physically, emotionally or spiritually may be gloomy, but we can use the power of our memories to recall how faithful and awesome our God is. I can’t wait to go to church and worship with the rest of the congregation. I may be feeling vulnerable right now, but I know God has got me in His everlasting arms.

Psalm 42: 3-4:

My tears have been my food

day and night,

while men say to me all day long,

“Where is your God?”

4 These things I remember

as I pour out my soul:

how I used to go with the multitude,

leading the procession to the house of God,

with shouts of joy and thanksgiving

among the festive throng.

As you can see, I am still not asleep. Insomnia is a symptom of depression. Both of course can also be a sign of doubt, faithlessness and fear. I embrace them all. I admit I am really afraid of the what the future holds or not hold.

On the one hand, I chide myself, “O Soul, why are you downcast?“

On the other hand, I confess, “…and I shall yet praise Him, My Savior and My God!“

But, I just cannot help but feel the depression slipping in. Steathily but surely.

But before I sink too deeply into a debilitating despair, I want to confess my faith and trust in God, that He will lead and guide me in helping me find a company that will allow me to flourish and use the over twenty years of experience I have had in management, sales, marketing, business processes, and information technology, especially in customer relationship management, database marketing and sales force automation.

For reasons that I do not wish to disclose in this public forum, I must find a position quickly or there will be dire consequences too difficult to explain or contemplate.

I would like to spend a few moments thinking about the ideal company and the ideal position. The ideal company is one that places high values on ethics, individual performance as well as encourages collaborative teamwork. The ideal position will allow me to exploit the combination of my acute “technology-savvy-ness”and strong business acumen, as well as my passionate communication style with my strengths in customer facing situations.

Please pray with me, not so much that I get a position, any position, but that I sense in a deep way, the presence of God in my search for the next step.

I ask God for courage, for wisdom, for a clarity of purpose and for direction in where He is going to lead me and my family. Pray for growth, for transformation and for each of my children to learn afresh what it means to trust God. Pray that this lesson will remain with us and that we will be so transformed that we will not forget. Most of all, pray for opportunities for each member of my family to serve God and be channels of blessings. Pray especially for my daughter that she will return to her faith in God.

You’re quite useless, aren’t you?

On Christ my Solid Rock I stand.

Two layoffs in three years. Can’t hold down a job? A Jonah, perhaps?

All other ground is sinking sand.

What a loser! Can’t hold down a job. Can’t endure suffering. Can’t provide for your family. Can’t do anything right!

When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.

Hopeless! What can you do now? Where can you go? How are you going to pay the bills? How are you going to provide for your family? Didn’t you know they need you to at least bring in the paycheck? You are quite an idiot aren’t you?

When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.

First, a doormat. Next, a deadbeat. Forever, a bum.

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.

On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.