Sunday, August 25, 2013

The delight of the LORD

Pastor Jeremy Ong

Was blessed  to hear our new pastor make his maiden sermon at WMC today.
Jeremy began by thanking church for thir prayers and support all these years from the time he was welcomed as a teenager to WMC, thru YM and TTC


The bible passage fromIs 58: 9b- 14. spoke of God's promise of blessings to those that live righteous lives.


Turning to a reference in CS Lewis' book The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, Jeremy identified the tag line "Betrayed for Turkish delight" as Edmund betrays his siblings for this delectable desert.

The name contours up magical mystery, but when actually he got to sample some Turkish Delight Pastor Jeremy was disappointed and thought that the stuff did not taste good at all.

But the point is,
What brings you delight?
And what brings God delight?

The Isralites went through the motions of fasting and animal sacrifice but these did not please God.
their motives were wrong.
their lives were wrong

Spefically in this passage
FOUR conditions and SEVEN blessings

FOUR conditions 
1 REMOVE yoke of oppression
2 STOP quarelling
3 PROVIDE food for the hungry
4 HONOUR the Sabbath

SEVEN blessings
1 God will remove darkness
2 God will guide you always
3 God will satisfy your needs
4 God will strengthen you
5 You will rebuild
6 You will restore
7 People will take delight in the LORD


God is willing and wanting to bless us.
Will we do our part?

What is the yoke of oppression we cause them to bear?
Insisting on labour during fasting?
Dont force them to work during fasting.
Treat FWD as part of your family
Provide chocolate bars to migrant workers, street cleaners.
Offer food to the hungry
Satisfy needs of widows and orphans
Meet emotional needs of those around us.

THE BLESSING is that you will delight yourself in The LORD.
"Riding on the heights of the earth" is a description of a position of security.

NOTE
None of this can be achieved by our own strength
This is the miracle of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Obey these injunctions not out of fear but out of love.



 Take home message:
Free the oppressed
Meet the needs of the week
Delight in the LORD
THIS IS TRUE WORSHIP


Technical notes
This sermon was recorded as a sketchnote on my iPad2 using SketchbookPro.
I had a template grid layer to mark of the whole page into 6 sub-pages:
template grid was set at opacity 60% as 2nd layer.
Work layer was first layer.

Managed three icons for this talk
a sketch of the speaker
a sketch of a blob of turkish delight
a sketch of a person under a yoke

My handwriting was quite a scribble
 (index finger scribing)
Neater when I zoom in 600% or more.

I make no apologies for post production editing... I made neater hand writing and I found that use of stylus improves my writing, as I can see the evolving lines better from the tip of the stylus than when blocked by my fat finger. (Well do iPhone users know of Fat Finger Disease)

I actually extended to a second page during scribing (new file).
Post-production (ie back at home later) I tidied up the graphics and the words:
To add the extra page I imported it as another layer, and re-scribed the relevant words onto my work layer. Then I deleted the second page.

The final work was exported to my photo album; a photo editing app was usedto crop the image to six sub pages. QED.

I will use a stylus for my next live scribing using iPad, Sketchbook Pro.



Saturday, August 24, 2013

PechaKucha Night Singapore #9: Sketchnotes on Sketchbook Pro

So the night has finally come!
I was armed with my IPad, loaded with Sketchbook Pro app.
I had prepared a template with lines to divide it into 6 "sketchnote" pages:
 this was to be level one with 50% transparency.
Level two was to be my scribing level.



We attend the function at ACM. 
The hall was full!


I got the brochure for the evening and duplicated a copy of the template file for each speaker.

This is the "raw" sketchnote on SketchbookPro, after deleting template, produced in real time, listening to Juliette speak for 20 seconds for each of her 20 slides. I looked at some of the slides but concentrated on what she was saying and on scribing with sketchbookpro. Got a few icons in.



Post-production tweaking done at home took the best part of 11 am- 3 am for all the notes of the night. Added some colour, one icon: what do you think?



I don't have them in order of presentation but they are in pairs.
Oliver spoke of the VUCA world we live in and crowd sourcing.
This is my notes after 6 minutes 40 seconds.

This is my edited version; I like the google globe 

Roger Egan spoke on how he built his Redmart team.


Edited version


Wei Wen spoke on social enterprise.
Edited version with one line of typed text.


Neil encouraged us to find and celebrate differences.

Improved version of notes with highlights.
Loren spoke of the importance of mindfulness.

My edited version, making the tip of the iceberg plain to see.
Vinayagan spoke of forestry conservation.
Topics clustered and highlighted.
I scribed Sue's talk onto the template layer, not the layer beneath.
Also I saved the edited version to replace the original, so I can't show the original to you.
the banana was there as a yellow outline, coloured and textured post production.



In summary GR on sketchbookpro is do-able but takes a lot of practice.
I need to zoom in more for neater writing. 
I need less words and more icons.

Pechakucha 20x20 format is very challenging to record :
I probably might do better with large on the wall format?

Nonetheless it has been a good experience for me.
Practice. practice. practice.

Friday, August 23, 2013

Grapic Recording on IPad using Sketchnote Pro

As an early adopter of all things Apple (starting with Apple II)  in 1978, my main use has been for word processing, communication, and over the last 4 years Skype and Facebook.

I had no interest in digital art. 

But I did do graphic recording in my own way at our community training sessions, on flip charts.

After I saw Brandy Akerback on a TED-talk I became very interested in large scale graphic recording: bought books, scanned the web, spawned a Special Interest  group in Singapore, and even did an online course Rockstar Scribe at Alphachimp University.

There is a sector of GRs who do digital work, and I launched into a steep learning curve  (still launching) to use Sketchbook Pro for graphic recording.

My first image, exploratory, was this:


Then 

I tried my hand at a bit more icons...
And I felt sketchnotes was do-able by me using sketchbook pro,


Then I found a 128 page PDF manual,  read the manual and tried a GR at cinema
Rather pathetic, but getting to it..


So I did a sketchnote of the manual using sketchbook pro
This helped me learn a lot



Then I was ready for PechaKucha night at ACM

Monday, August 19, 2013

INNER HEALING

Sermon DR Rev Kow Shih Ming 18 August 2013
Wesley Methodist Church

Bible text Psalms 147:3



 Every one has hidden wounds.
These come from memories that still hurt.
Abandonment
Abuse
Ridicule

From 
Society
Family
School
Workplace

These cause emotional scars that take a very long time to heal.

Jesus Christ wants to heal your inner wounds.

 

Exodus 15:26 God declares
I am the God that healeth thee.


5 principles or steps (not necessarily in chronologcial order)

REVEAL
RELEASE
REPLACE
REFOCUS
REACH OUT

STEP ONE:  REVEAL
You need to reveal your hurt
Need to own up to it
Acknowledge it
Face the feeling

One cause of emotional fatigue is the emotional energy spent on past hurts.

some wrong ways of coping with past hurst
Ignore
Hide
Run away
Get drugs
sex
overeat
blame
These are wrong ways of coping
None of these work.

HONESTY in REVEALING HURT
You need to be honest to three persons in order to progress healing for your inner hurts.
Honest with self: you need to acknowledge, to own the hurt.
Honest with God: Although God knows everything, you need to admit this to God.
Honest with at least one person you can trust.
There is something healing about revealing this to someone you trust
(hence the value of small group ministry)



STEP TWO  RELEASE those that have hurt you

Let go of those that have hurt you
Spend your emotional energy on getting well
(not on getting even)

Resentment causes bitterness
Heb 12:15 Let no bitter root grow
1 Pet 2:23 Jesus did not retaliate: Entrusted himself to God

God keeps a record
He know your pains
He knows your tears

Psalms 65:8 list my tears on your scroll
             (collect them in your bottle)



STEP THREE REPLACE

We have to replace old files with new files
replace faulty data with God's truths


Faulty data on our hard disk include things like
You are stupid
You are dumb
You will never amount to anything
This faulty data leads to self-defeating self-destructive behaviour.



We pray fr inner healing
we fill our mind with God's word
Read: Daily quiet time: Bible study small group
Memorise
Believe.

Our self image is often influenced by what the most important person to us thinks of us.
In Eph 1:3 God sees us holy and blameless.

STEP FOUR REFOCUS
There is hope in the future
RE: Job 11
i) Devote yourself to God
ii) Stretch out to God
Ask Jesus to come into the dark places of your life and bring healing.
iii) lift up your face without shame.
stop saying "I am a victim"
stand firm
forget about your troubles

say "My past is not my future"

Painkillers don't last
Painkillers don't solve the problem
Painkillers may kill you.



 STEP FIVE REACH OUT
How do we know we are healed?
When we can reach out to help others.

II Cor 1:3-4
 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

Extend your self in ministry to comfort those with the comfort that you have experienced.
God can use your pain for good.




SUMMARY
REVEAL
RELEASE
REPLACE
REFOCUS
REACHOUT

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Inspirational Talk NVPC

RESILIENCY IN ACTION! 

This is the first time that the 4 inspirational speakers from POSITIVE SYNERGY will be sharing their personal life stories and challenges together in one platform. 

Inspirational Speakers: 
- Aishah (Ex-National Shooter)
- Shariff (Singapore Blade - Runner)
- Abdul Alim (X3 Blade Runner/Triathlete)
- Bey (Bey On Wheels)

Come and find out...
- How they bounce back from their life challenges and adversities?
- What are their success factors? 
- How you can make a positive change in your life?

Date: 17 August 2013 (Sat)
Time: 2pm-5pm
Venue: National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre (NVPC)The Central, 6 Eu Tong Sen Street, #04-88(Above Clark Quay MRT Station)

I first got to hear of Aishah in March this year when her shooting colleagues decided to do a charity shoot to help her raise funds for her bebionic arms. I googled for her story, found it amazing, and went for the charity shoot. Enjoyed myself on the SAFRA Air rifle range that day.

Befriending Aishah on Facebook, I found that she gives motivational talks. I offered to do a Graphic Recording for her at one of her talks. Aishah put me in touch with Vincent Soo who runs this small social enterprise to help mobility challenged individuals by giving them a platform to give inspirational talks. Vincent allowed me to come to this talk and do a GR for the four speakers.

Armed with their names and their FB links I was able to preselect some pictures of these four speakers and convert the portraits to "pencil sketch" with an iPhone app. This pencil sketch was easy to outline with 6 B pencil and simulate on paper with Copic marker . I did one each on a,4x6 foot sheet. I have become a fan of Copic Marker Pens as they are juicy, do not bleed through the paper and are not smelly. One single new Copic Marker (Black) helped me cover four sheets (that is 4 feet X 24 feet = 96 sq ft!) of graphic recording today without running out of ink.

Two thumbs up for Pan Pastels which had their first major markings today (thanks Brenda for the recommendation and help with online purchase)

Shariff Abdullah Peters aka SBR aka Singapore Blade Runner, exudes a positive mindset.
Looking at my sketch of him before we began his talk, he asked me to add the logo of his 2015 Everest endevor.

"How are you today?" he asks the audience.
"Good" is not a good enough reply for him.

"Awesome" he cues the audience.
And he encourages us to choose to be awesome.

Shariff is a MIA (Mobility Impaired Athlete)

SBR plunged into his account of taking part in the 2013 Boston marathon.
Flagging off at 9 am he managed to reach the 40 km mark in good time,
( despite having forgot ton his Vaseline and developing stump blisters).
At 41 km he heard the twin blasts.
Then police stopped the race and directed every one home.
With no public transport available he had to walk back to his hotel.
later on Facebook he found that his friends and supporters were safe.

Shariff then outlined the story of his life:
Born without a left foot, he was soon abandoned and adopted by a foster mother.
The kids made fun of him as he crawled around.
At age of 6 he got his first prosthetic leg.

He attended school but got shifted around three different schools.
His father and foster mother passed away.
These were some of life's hard blows.

Trying a job as a golf caddy he found that clients thought he could not do the job properly.
He decided to face life as a "normal" not a handicapped.
He made a choice:
Wore normal clothes.
Worked as 
cleaner,
 Cisco, Security
 Body Guard, 
Private Investigator.
Motivational Speaker.

Has managed to get married and has a wife and 3 daughters age 21, 18 &13.

Did not look after his stump adequately and got stump infection and required 3" amputation.
Advice for amputee:
Stump management:
Allow stump to air
Clean it
Change socks regularly

At dark period of his life found inspiration on Youtube from double amputee blade runner Oscar Pistorius.

Shariff trains hard for his running, with a schedule of 6 times a week.
He has covered during competition many hundreds of miles.
For the last few years
2010 he covered 359 miles during events
For 2011 the figure is 470 miles
In 2012 it was 520 miles.

In preparation for Everest 2015 he has attended Technical Mountaineering course.

POSITIVE THINKING has helped SBR and he shares five important areas of encouragement:
FOCUS
BELIEVE
WORK IT OUT
NEVER GIVE UP
MAKE IT HAPPEN.

$&Cents
Prosthetics are expensive
Need to consider /purchase/ replace: ordinary use or sports use
Socket
Blade
Blade sole

3 running legs
 3 climbing legs
2 standard legs

plans to extend motivational talks to the region and beyond:
Indonesia
Malaysia
Vietnam.

Income generating activities include
Selling posters
Marketing Oregano Coffee.

Abdul Alim X3 = Extreme Blade Runner shared his story as MIA
Married with a son and a daughter.
Has done vertical marathon
KOM Batam
Rock Climbing.

Year 2009 he was hit by a lorry
18 hours of surgery
2 months hospitalisation
Period of hopelessness
then one night a flash of inspiration
surf internet
story of Dana Bowman, double amputee after sky diving accident: Returns to skydiving
 story of John ?Celano

Alim had no one to guide him after his amputation
But he wants to mentor other who will want to know what to do after amputation.

Prosthetic leg costs:
Daily leg      12.5K
Running leg 19 K
Cycling leg  15K
Black Horse   7K (Carbon steel cycle)


As he has taken up tri-lathons, he has to pack a lot of luggage including:
3 sets of daily leg
3 sets of running leg
3 sets of cycling leg.

He used to swim breaststroke
but for competition had to learn freestyle:
Could barely do 5 metre, but now 500 metre in open waters
the result of HARD WORK and DETERMINATION

His dream: To take on IRON MAN




BEY on Wheels
17 years ago at age 19 motor cycle accident
No external injury but left him paraplegic (High thoracic) T4.
When told that he would be paralysed from chest downwards he told himself
"At least my face is still handsome with no scars" and
"At least I can still use my hands and arms".

"My mindset kept me strong
Even if I  have to crawl I will keep on going."

Upon discharge from hospital he told his dad
"Do not come to fetch me
I want to learn how to do it myself."

On wheelchair he came to his HDB block:
Lift went up to level 17or 21
Bey lived on level 20.
So he went up to 21 and went backwards down the stairs in his wheelchair.

His parents wanted to modify his apartment but BEY refused.
He does not want to adapt environment to suit him but prefers to adapt himself to fit the environment.

With his "I AM POSSIBLE" mindset,
 BEY had three take home messages
1) Every obstacle comes with a solution
2) SMILE (have a full length mirror to look into every morning)
3) Every thing happens for a good reason.

BEY attended motivational session where they did fire walking: He did fire-crawl!

PROTECT your mind with POSITIVE MINDSET

During Q&A
Bey shared how paraplegic have to learn to respond to different set of sensation as they lose their normal feelings: Pee and Poo Poo gives him tingling and rash.
With no sensation below, he can sit 10 hours on wheelchair
but he gets pressure sore: big hole which can not heal.
To prevent pressure sore should relieve pressure every 30 minutes.

Main grouse:
Public transport; facilities are good
BUT some people are shocking, dont give way, rush ahead of mobility impaired people.

Handicap car park: Often filled with no label Mercedes.
Mobility impaired need the wider space to get in and out.




Aishah had won SEA Games Gold medal for .22 small bore category.
Life was good
She was in Cisco Auxillary
Prisons trained
Defensive Driving
Shooting Coach
Leisure Bike Riding

2012 went with sister to Bali for her 40th Birthday celebration.
then to China
felt ill
 stomach ache
saw doctor.

On 6 hour flight back to singapore, feverish
rushed to Changi Hospital
Septic Shock
Multi-organ failure: Kidneys, Liver, Lungs
GANGRENE
Advised to amputate hands and feet
family buried these for her.

After surgery: 
Yes felt sad
Hospital psychiatrist "why you didn't cry?"
"Can crying add one inch to my leg?
Will it make my leg grow?"

BUT there were dark moments
Suicidal thoughts
take poison
jump down
suffocate....

THEN the thought
"Family and friends are all here to support me"
"Why am I being selfish?"

Feel bad when people stare at her as "alien"
Strongly dislike being "pitied".

Sister encouraged her "Aishah, you are still who you are"

This was turning point
Physically challenged but not disabled.

CONFIDENCE
(not arrogance)

I am very independent.

A wild cat on a zig zag.

still wants to go motorcycling.

Owns three "sports cars" wheelchairs.
Mercedes (Grey)
Lamborgini (Blue)
Porche (Red)

Strength come from her pillars: Family and friends

Going in September to Edinburgh for her Bebionic hands fitting and training.

SBR poses

Alim  3X Blade Runner

Bey on wheels


Aishah



The team!