A fun post! Bananas & papayas, ukelele and frangipani, S'yang!

random thoughts on my sick leave...

fever, ulcer, migraine, flu
my first sick leave in 5months
came home after finishing the special committee's meeting and book launch
called in sick yesterday and today

a long awaited rest...
body soul and mind...

happenings for the past weeks (non-work related)

been going to Malaysian Care
was called up to help them with translation for their dvd project
people with special needs, especially children with learning disability
will be working closely with SPICES
a close friend agreed to help since i'll be off in mid-july for 7months
i think she'll be great, helping them with the subtitling
i would love to stay in that project too, if only my schedule permits me
however, am deeply encouraged by the social workers whose compassion and dedication had touched me, inspired me, showed me that love & hope prevails, joy abounds...
i want to be able to do that too...

am always encouraged seeing friends who are passionate bout social work
like a friend who's involved in the KAWAN ministry in Penang
it's just that the authorities aren't doing enough
the local jabatan kebajikan aren't doing enough (i understand that they're seriously under-staffed, what is in the mind of KPWKM and PSD?!)
the minister's aren't doing enough for the people
why can't there be more love?
more love, more compassion...
then, the world would be a better place...

a girl who loves to dream...
or maybe i'm just hallucinating from paracetemol overdose...

on life's vocation...

Saw this at Grace@Work sometime ago... Posting it as a reminder to myself, and also a lil' pearl to share with those at the crossroads...

How do we discover our vocation?
I believe discovering our vocation is a life long journey.
A good starting place is to consider the primary calls on our lives.
We have been called to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love our neighbour as ourselves.
With our abilities, burdens and opportunities how do we best love God and neighbour at this point of our life?

And here is Frederick Buechner's oft quoted advice:

"By and large a good rule for finding out (our life calling) is this:
the kind of work God usually calls us to do is the kind of work
(a) that we need most to do and
(b) that the world most needs to have done.

If we really get a kick out of our work, we've presumably met requirement (a), but if our work is writing cigarette ads, the chances are we've missed requirement (b).

On the other hand, if our work is being a doctor in a leper colony, we have probably met requirement (b) but if most of the time we're bored and depressed by it, chances are we have not only bypassed (a), but probably aren't helping our patients much either.

Neither the hair shirt nor the soft berth will do.
The place God calls us to is the place where our deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet.
(Frederick Buechner, Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC, New York: Harper & Row, 1973, p.95.)

The Lord says, '... I have good plans for you, not plans to hurt you. I will give you hope and a good future.' Jeremiah 29:11