Our Deepest Fear

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. It's not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

From Surgery to Medicine

Ahh, seems like ages since I last blogged... Maybe, just maybe, the voice within me resonates to a frequency that shatters all desires and ambitions to just mindlessly blog like some people do on their blogs. Perhaps the perfectionist within me blogs, or at least tries to, about things or events that exemplify and amplify the quality rather than the quantity. Even more imminent is the knowledge that this semester of my 3rd year in MBBS demands an even greater need to excel and push myself harder to do well. It is probably for this reason that I missed out on this year's CF camp, which happened to coincide with my first day of my Medical posting. Disappointed as I was when I found out, I knew that this path of selflessness, sacrifice and integrity was my 'higher calling' to do something in this world.

Well, a week has passed since it all began. Just like that, Week 1 ended. But like many of my friends, we can agree that it was a good one, to say the least (they say that the first week is always the calm before the storm). As the mindset of my peers and I shift towards the other half of the Year 3 syllabus (i.e those who were in Surgery last sem, like me, would now be posted in Medicine and vice versa), we were given a brief overview of what was to be expected. Our group tutor was none other than Dr. Wong Yin Onn, who was renowned for his passion in teaching Internal and General Medicine. Many of us would agree that he is a doctor who commands respect, a physician who emphasizes on finesse, and who pushes us even further to think and correlate basic sciences with the clinical aspects of medicine. He mentioned that by the end of this posting, he hopes that he would have made us into better doctors for the future!

By far, I still miss Surgery. Last sem, my group members and I were under what many of our seniors said were 2 of the best teaching surgeons that Monash had employed. It wouldn't be wrong to say that both Mr. Farouk and Mr. Shwe had somewhat 'drilled' into us the general principles of Surgery, and it was fun learning from their respective perspectives. However, it is time to move on... Medicine should now be the focus of my attention!

Note to self: Push yourself Tim! You're halfway through MBBS, just another half to go! Just don't burn out along the way and as best as you can, maintain the exercise regime you've planned for yourself! Trust God and He'll do the rest, He'll provide and give you the strength you need!

~Tim~

Wisdom For Life

My siblings (JC & Eve) and I

AWESOME FRIENDS!!

Well peeps, it's been ages since I last penned down my thoughts on my blog... almost a good ol' 2 months! Let's juz say that for the most of it, I was pretty busy with end-of-sem assignments and preparing for my Formative Written and OSCE exams. It's been a good whole week since my hols started, and let's just say I have not been in Malaysia for almost the entire week; the reason being that I was in S'pore and Indonesia for my annual church camp at Batam Island.

Overall, it was a good and refreshing camp, and I got to do things I never did before: experiencing the thrills of cable-skiing and being on the receiving end of an hour-and-a-half massage at a massage parlour. Yeah, those 2 activities alone kinda burned a hole in my pocket, but thankfully, I still had some cash leftover in case of any emergency. Had an awesome time with my old church friends, and I got to know a few more peeps who made camp even more fun! =) Thanx esp to AWESOME friends Joanne Yan, Hoy Meng, Angie, and Matt Yeo for the memories!!

Now, for the real purpose of this post: to share with one and all what I learned from this camp (yeah, I'm sure you guys are all eager and waiting anxiously for this part! =p) Our camp speaker, Ps. Steven Tan, delivered his series of a total of 8 messages from the book of Ecclesiastes. Yet, he somehow managed to squeeze all those sermons into 4 consecutive days; meaning there were 2 sermons per day! They were unique in the sense that his first sermon was the Conclusion: Fear God and keep His commandments. Although the speaker went through each message pretty fast, he did state some points that made for some good food for thought. Below are the main points I extracted from the rest of the messages:

1. When it seems that God does not answer our prayers, it may be that He wants us to live with unanswered prayers (or rather the answer of NO or WAIT)
2. If God lays upon your heart to do something, just DO it (out of love)
3. We can make a significant difference not by doing just the significant things in life, but by doing the little things faithfully
4. A man's worth is determined by his worth in God's eyes
5. On the surface, a man who is wise will ultimately have the same fate as a man who is foolish
6. It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it
7. Sometimes, silence is golden: DO NOT utter meaningless words... just be still and know that He is God and He is in control
8. The right attitude is essential in whatever we think, say and do
9. DO NOT be a "stranger" in your own family
10. The end of a matter is better than its beginning
11. Never overestimate nor underestimate yourself - in everything we do, do in moderation
12. Make full use of every opportunity you get - you may not get a second chance!
13. Life doesn't meet all our expectations - we need to lower them a little sometimes
14. Unexpected things happen... expect them!
15. Live with a generous spirit - it can enact a chain of blessings to many people around you
16. Youths should "live for the moment"... but they will all be accountable to God eventually
17. Give yourself to worthy causes!
18. RWS - Relationship with/Walk with/Spirit of God --> Elements of a healthy Christian life

FEATURE: Puns, For the Educated Mind

1. The roundest knight at King Arthur's round table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi.

2. I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian .

3. She was only a whisky maker, but he loved her still.

4. A rubber band pistol was confiscated from algebra class because it was a weapon of maths disruption.

5. The butcher backed into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his work.

6. No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery.

7. A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering.

8. A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart.

9. Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie.

10. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.

11. A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking into it.

12. Atheism is a non-prophet organisation.

13. Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to the other, 'You stay here, I'll go on a head.'

14. I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then, it hit me.

15. A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab centre said, 'Keep off the Grass.'

16. A small boy swallowed some coins and was taken to a hospital. When his grandmother telephoned to ask how he was, a nurse said, 'No change yet.'

17. A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.

18. The short fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.

19. The man who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.

20. A backward poet writes inverse.

21. In democracy, it's your vote that counts. In feudalism, it's your count that votes.

22. When cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of religion.

23. Don't join dangerous cults: Practice safe sects.

5 Essential Features of a Top Surgeon

1. Fingers of a Lady - Delicate, yet intrinsically firm to handle even the finest of surgical instruments and manoeuvring them with deadly precision (not to be confused with an abnormal fetish for the vegetable lady's fingers)

2. Eyes of an Eagle - Sharp eyesight to pinpoint even the most minute detail during surgery, which is essentially important during micro-surgery

3. Heart of a Lion - Brave enough to take risks during surgery as well as being cool, calm & collected during a surgical crisis

4. Stomach of a Camel - Able to withstand not eating food and drinking fluids for at least 12-13 hours straight and not develop gastric pain in the long term

5. Legs of a Horse - Mighty lower limbs to support the body for the entire duration of the surgery and an innate immunity to falling down by slipping on banana skins

The Greatest Sacrifice in History!

"He had to die so that we might live". I know I'm reiterating the famous statement on the right that all of you see every time you visit my blog, but because 4/4/2010 is also Easter Sunday, I felt like emphasizing it. =)

Newaez, Yours Truly juz got back from Easter Sunday service at City Harvest Church JB. It was a good one, and not juz because of the great company (Rachel and Nick... haha sorry Grace, you juz happened not to come with us today, but I understand). Pastor CK delivered a memorable message; and usually, I don't really give credit to sermons on my blog, if there were any to begin with. There were 3 instances in his sermon which really touched me on a spiritual and emotional level, and I'm pretty sure it touched both "NicHel" as well. Haha, kudos if you got that! =D The following is what I mean:

#1: A really powerful, heart-seeking, message-inspiring video about the power of forgiveness. The video showed a man visiting his father behind what seemed like a prison centre, where visitors are allowed to see and make contact with the inmates/death row convicts across a transparent bulletproof-glass-like structure. His father had neglected, rejected and made use of his son, and displaced his trust in the process. The man expressed all these not by verbal words, but by words written on flash cards: "You neglected me", You rejected me", etc. His second last card showed us why: the father had killed his wife, the son's mother. All this while, both parties were in tears and wrought with sadness, grief, and regret. His final card showed that although the son was deeply hurt, he forgave his father.

#2: This is an analogy of God the Father's decision to sacrifice his one and only begotten Son, Jesus, on the cross to pay the price for our sins. It tells the story of a father who worked at a local train station who brought his 6-year old son to work one day. The father allowed his son to play by himself as long as he was within a safe distance from the railroad tracks and within sight. However, the father got tired as the hours went by. What he did not realise was that his son was unknowingly moving closer and closer to the tracks as time went by. When he finally realised this, his son was already at a foot's length away from falling over. Then, the inevitable happened. The son fell onto the rail tracks and his foot got stuck in it. However at that very moment, a train was heading exactly in that direction towards his son. Both father and son panicked. One good thing was that the track leading up to his son was split into two separate tracks (let's call them Track A1 and A2: the one his son was stuck in was A1). The person controlling the flow of trains (which was the father) could alter the wedgie at will to make the train go in the other direction by the push of a button. Also, the train could only be controlled, started and stopped by the conductor inside the train. Unfortunately, Track A2 was closed due to fatal faults to the lining and structure and still under major repair. So as you can see, the father now had 2 options: push the button and let hundreds, maybe thousands, of people die, or not push it and let his son die. He had less than 10 seconds now to decide what to do. With sweat trickling down his face, the father froze in place. Both his heart and brain were in a heated debate: the former telling him to push the button to save his son's life, while his brain sought to reason with the logic of killing 1 to save a thousand. Finally, as adrenaline continued circulating in his body, he did not push the button even though every muscle in his body wanted to... He let his son perish to save the many lives aboard the train.

#3: The final instance is a comparison of humans and sin to ants and honey. Ants, as we all know too well, are attracted to sweet things like sugar. Some of us are like ants too, with a sweet tooth as people call it, but that's beside the point. Honey is a food made by certain insects. It is sweet, and ants love it. However, it is also sticky, and when any ant attempts to soak itself in it, or merely collect a bit of it, the ant will get trapped in the substance, with no chance of escape forever. The life of that particular ant as we all know it, will cease to exist from that point onwards. In the same way, honey is like sin. For humans to resist sinning is like telling an ant to resist collecting honey. Once caught in sin, forever a sinner. Even the strongest-willed of human beings are not perfect, and like the Bible says in Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God". However, we can rejoice in the fact that the chains of sin binding us are gone when we accept Christ as personal Lord & Saviour for what He did for us on the cross. =D Hallelujah!!

Yeah, so I hope these 3 instances will benefit one and all to rethink Easter as a whole. It's not about Easter bunnies or Easter eggs per se, but rather about the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day. Christ has conquered death, so that through Him, we may conquer death as well! Have a great Easter and an awesome week ahead, dudes & dudettes!!

Blessings,

~Tim~

Reframing Discipleship, Spiritual Formation, & Christian Spiritual Formation

I sincerely apologise to all for the lack of updates for the past 1 month. Yes, I know, being in medical school and attached to the General Hospital here in JB does not make up for an excellent excuse to put blogging regularly on a halt, because all the knowledge I gain from my time in the hospital and studying will only contribute to the well-being and mortality rates of my patients in the future, right? =p *ironically, loves the sarcasm of life and death*

For those who don't already know, I've already endured a month of Year 3 and thus far, it's been hectic, but at the same time, enjoyable! Everything we've learned in the past 2 years has more or less played its part in helping me adapt to life in the wards, and everyday has been a new learning experience for me. Seeing "real-life" patients in "real time" is so much more different than merely practising the interviewing and physical examination skills on fellow coursemates and SPs. The best part of the Clinical Years is the fact that there are very few lectures, and I mean VERY FEW, in comparison with Year 1 & 2! Gone are the days when we had 4 to 5 lectures back to back on the same day which could span 2-3 days! No more will we have 10-15 lectures per week! =D

I recently read this Christian article which states the differences between the 3 terms: discipleship, spiritual formation, and Christian spiritual formation. The author, whom will remain anonymous for security purposes, has these words to say, "There has been much confusion about the meaning and usage of these words... These words are sometimes used interchangeably by some teachers while others offer a more nuanced definition." Below is the rest of the article which I hope will enrich the lives, or at least the minds, of those who read and are able to comprehend its meaning.

Spiritual formation is the process of forming our inner spiritual beings (soul) which manifest outwardly as our character. This is an ongoing process which starts when we are in our mother's womb and continues until we die. There are numerous influences that affect our spiritual formation which includes our cultural legacy, our childhood experiences, our ethnicity, the socio-political environments in which we live in, the dominant culture in our society, and our social interactions with other people, including our family members. Often these influences act subconsciously by a process of socialization or enculturation. In other words, all of us are undergoing spiritual formation all the time, whether we are conscious of it or not.

Christian conversion (accepting Christ) involves a change in status by our justification by faith, and of the formative regeneration of our souls (sanctification). Christian spiritual formation starts after conversion. Christian spiritual formation is the process of the redemptive inner transformation of the character of a person to reflect the character of Christ himself. There are two components to Christian spiritual formation:

• the work of the Holy Spirit
• the willingness of a person to follow Christ in discipleship

Christian spiritual formation is a collaborative divine-human interaction. The influences that act on Christian spiritual formation are similar to those experiences by all living human beings. Additional influences are the formative practices of the Christian faith communities (Christian education) and the Word of God.

Discipleship is the part of Christian spiritual formation where we can be actively involved in. The Holy Spirit is ever willing to be involved but respects our choices and will not force us to be disciples. Discipleship is following and obeying the teachings of Jesus Christ and in doing so, we become Christ-like in our character. Jesus summarizes this by saying that, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke9:23). To be his follower, Jesus points out that there is a part about denying self, and there is another part about following him. Luke helpfully gives us some essential features on discipleship. These essentials are trust (Lk 9:37-43); suffering (Lk 9:44-45); humility(Lk 9:46-50); purpose (Lk 9: 51-56); commitment (Lk 9: 57-62); involvement (Lk 10:1-20), and prayer (Lk 10:21-24). However all these need the work of the Holy Spirit if Christian spiritual formation is to take place. We cannot will or discipline our bodies into spiritual transformation.

The purpose (telos) of Christian spiritual formation is three-fold reflecting the economy of the Triune God. Christian spiritual formation is to:

• restore the image of God (imago Dei) within us so that we reflect the character of Christ
• form a people of God –the body of Christ
• be part of God’s plan of reconciliation with all of creation (missio Dei).

Christian spiritual formation is Trinitarian in basis as it is an invitation to join in the perichoresis or eternal dance of God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

So let us embark on the journey of Christian spiritual formation, availing ourselves to the transforming work of the Holy Spirit, and intentionally becoming disciples of Jesus Christ with “informed minds, hearts on fire, and contemplative in actions” until “we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from theLord, who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18)

~Tim~