5 months into the pregnancy, Baby Daniel proudly shows us his manhood in a 30 min scan at SGH. This is Daniel. I know this sounds like paternal pride coming in real early, but I dare say he's got a handsome head and lovely features =) .... well, at least he doesn't have his dad's trademark hainanese flat head. He was raising his arms several times during his scan, and sat comfortably on his bum. At times, I can almost feel he turning away from the the little prodding from the scanning shyly. Ruth asked if I felt happier that it was a boy. I don't think that it is a fair question -- I'd be equally happy if it was a girl. Just that now, we can finally call "it" with a proper name, Daniel Lau. =)

I took this picture over the weekend along East Coast Park. Two Malay youths were using their basic surf boards to surf what little waves that could come their way. It was an amazing show of perseverance. Singapore isn't exactly surfer paradise, but these boys made do. they dashed into the water, surfed a 0.3m wave for 5m, then splashed spectacularly back into the water. It didn't matter the waves were small. Important thing was that they had a whale of a time. It was a powerful demonstration of an unflappable desire to have fun at whatever costs and with whatever little. Bring back the kampong fun!

Musings at the Botanics

Sunday is a time for the family. At the end of a long week, or the start of one, we remind ourselves of what it means to be born, and what we will miss when we pass on. Even while i look at luscious spread of green and life before me, i can't help but notice the death that also permeates. a fallen brown leaf, a dead bird squashed as road kill. All of these, in its beauty and rawness, are God's way of sustaining his good creation.

I spent the morning finishing The Economist after dropping R for her music team. It was an immensely enjoyable read. in the last section, was an orbitary to Saul Bellow. I've never read him. By most accounts i should have. But what struck me was his quiet persistent living. His search for beauty in his books, and the undertanding that life is a quest.

It's not what you leave behind that will matter. It's how you live it, and whether by your own measures you have fought the good fight. That means undertanding what kind of journey you want to take, and where that will bring you.

God made this world of tremendous opportunities. I don't think he meant it just as a backdrop for our Christian walk. Perhaps he meant for us to worship him by enjoying its beauty, glorifying him for this awesome piece of creation. We venerate writers like Bellow by reading and appreciating and talking about their books. Ought we not do the same for this miraculous book of life before us?

No More Crossroads

We've all been through moments in life when we felt that a choice we were making was going to make our life so different depending on which road we were taking. hence crossroads or what we call life decisions. Robert Frost's "The Road less Travelled" sums that up pretty well. We often feel a sense of trepidation, a lump in the throat as we struggle to decide.

But as Christians, are there really such crossroads? We have already chosen Christ, and our salvation is assured by nothing less than the blood of Christ. True, there are moments when we feel as if we have to choose between the world and Christ. But we are sustained by Christ, marked and sealed by the Holy Spirit. In that light, we have come to The crossroad in our life and made our choice to follow Christ. There are no other crossroads in our life more important, more life-changing than that.

I am writing this in light of my own agonising over what i should do in terms of my career choices. Sometimes the perceived weight of that decision really bog me down and shackle me with intense navel gazing. The overwhelming sense of self pity causes me to withdraw and ignore the Lord's command to love sincerely. I become my own world, and how much smaller is that world!

So as i ran this morning and prayed and looked upon God's mighty work, i couldn't help but chide myself for forgetting that i had crossed the most important crossroad in my life. And oh what little faith i have that he will carry me through!

All this is further brought home as i watch the baptism today. By choosing Christ, we have made the most important decision that will last through eternity. And oh how small the rest of crossroads seem! And none of them will cause us to lose our way to heaven. What comfort that realisation brings! :)