Life, Travel, GRACE

There are a few sport activities available in Bali. From para-sailing at beach front, cycling at the countryside to water rafting in rapids. By far, water rafting is the highlight of the trip. I guess I am addicted to water rafting. Had it another round in Sabah recently. There are two popular rivers catered for water rafting in Bali - Sungai Ayung and Telagawaja. The rapids in Telagawaja is classified as class 3 and rapid. There are 2 points with almost 90 degree down slope (see the side photo; unfortunately I don't have my photo). This is the scariest part. The raft in Telagawaja starts from the upstream river, near Besakih area. From the narrow stream, one needs to go through several villages, marked by low rise bamboo bridges. Of course you need to bend yourself so that you won't hit the bridge. Along the way, one will see magnificient view of rice field and vertical hill wall. We banged to the wall few times though. Our raft members (2 from Russia) weren't good in navi...

There are aplenty paddy fields in Bali. We did a stopover at Tegallalang for the view. Nevertheless, on the way to Danau Bratan, you will enjoy more for the rice field view. Of course it's a different view compared to Vietnam.

We had farewell dinner last Saturday for J. Arre. A light moment with him and the friends. Also present were Justin and wife (visiting staff from US). It was God's will for J. Arre to pursue doctorate study in Japan. Wish him all the best. Maybe will meet him in the Philippines in coming September.

This road is just in front of my house. Looks ordinary but it had recorded few snatch theft cases. There were two cases in a week, just two weeks ago. It's not so safe nowadays.....

The God’s created world is a classroom, an environment that was designed for continual, lifelong learning and worship. This world teaches us that God is the creator (Job 12:7-10). It speaks of the glory of God (Rom 1:20) that our worship should be to him. Great are the works of the LORD; they are pondered by all who delight in them. Psalm 111:2 Isn’t that God’s creation and its wondrous that stir in us a desire to worship Him? This should allow us to focus on Him, not on the materialism itself. Therefore, be watchful so that you will not worship the created world itself. The world also gives lesson in wisdom, God’s provision and faith (Pro 30:24-31, Mat 6:28-30). We learn from the nature and it makes us to be a better planner. The Scriptures also use observation from the material world to deliver lessons about living. We learn about God by observing how He utilizes the material world. What does your management and use of material resources communicate to others about you and God? As Go...

Bali has many good beaches. The beach along the Kuta bay is the most frequent visited by people. On the southern part of Bali, up class hotels dominated the beach, as in Nusa Dua. Some of the beaches received good review for surfing spot. For those who prefer quiet and tranquility, Lovina in the northern Bali is a good place. You can get a view of dolphins too. Some will prefer a little adventure across the sea, Gili Islands.

There was a centralized recruitment for university lecturer and potential lecturer held in KL Sentral end of last May. The ad also mentioned on scholarship award for post-graduate study. So I went with anticipation of getting some information on the scholarship. To my dismay, the event was very disorganized. Information was not well dispersed. Somehow I ended up attending an interview for the potential lecturer / scholarship application on the spot. Well, I'll be lucky if they shortlisted me.

This week marked the World Environmental Day. In conjunction with this event, local newspapers had published a few articles on environmental issues. The current hot topic is global warming; thanks to Al Gore for publicizing his "Inconvenient Truth" . Although most of the facts in the documentary are referenced to the National Geography, these issues are no new things for us. We learned it from our science and geography classes. Yet we pay little attention to it. As the world was created by God for us, shouldn't we pay a little more attention and do our part to reduce the pollution? Preserving our resources will ensure the continuous benefit for us in sustaining life, learning, joy and as a capital. Ultimately we are the beneficiaries. Some individual effort which you can help to contribute: - recycle your waste. Segregate the organic waste and aluminum can and plastic. - car pool. Or take public transport. - reduce usage of electricity. - plant some plants.

From the account of the creation, God was focused on preparing a “custom-built” home for mankind. He planted Eden and put the man he had formed there (Gen 2:8). Earth is not only created for human but for all creatures (or living life) as well (Psa 104:5-30). It is therefore, God’s purpose to form the world to be inhabited (Isa 45:18). And he sustains this with his provision (both food and joy) (Act 14:17). These evidences describe God’s care to us, as one can see our “home” is complete and ever sustaining and providing. Think of the world. No wonder the Scriptures agree that we live by God’s grace. Imagine you were the first to awake in the newly created world, one cannot deny the feeling of home, a sense of life and abundance. This should be how our home or business feels like when people walk into it. Do you feel at home (or homey) in your work place as well as in your living quarter? Our growing is influenced and shaped by our environments. Remember how our home shaped us as a chil...