MARRIAGE
When I got home that night as my wife served dinner, I held her hand and said, I've got something to tell you. She sat down and ate quietly. Again I observed the hurt in her eyes.
Suddenly I didn't know how to open my mouth. But I had to let her know what I was thinking. I want a divorce. I raised the topic calmly.
She didn't seem to be annoyed by my words, instead she asked me softly, why?
I avoided her question. This made her angry. She threw away the chopsticks and shouted at me, you are not a man! That night, we didn't talk to each other. She was weeping. I knew she wanted to find out what had happened to our marriage. But I could hardly give her a satisfactory answer; she had lost my heart to Jane. I didn't love her anymore. I just pitied her!
With a deep sense of guilt, I drafted a divorce agreement which stated that she could own our house, our car, and 30% stake of my company.
She glanced at it and then tore it into pieces. The woman who had spent ten years of her life with me had become a stranger. I felt sorry for her wasted time, resources and energy but I could not take back what I had said for I loved Jane so dearly. Finally she cried loudly in front of me, which was what I had expected to see. To me her cry was actually a kind of release. The idea of divorce which had obsessed me for several weeks seemed to be firmer and clearer now.
The next day, I came back home very late and found her writing something at the table. I didn't have supper but went straight to sleep and fell asleep very fast because I was tired after an eventful day with Jane.
When I woke up, she was still there at the table writing. I just did not care so I turned over and was asleep again.
In the morning she presented her divorce conditions: she didn't want anything from me, but needed a month's notice before the divorce. She requested that in that one month we both struggle to live as normal a life as possible. Her reasons were simple: our son had his exams in a month's time and she didn't want to disrupt him with our broken marriage.
This was agreeable to me. But she had something more, she asked me to recall how I had carried her into out bridal room on our wedding day.
She requested that every day for the month's duration I carry her out of our bedroom to the front door ever morning. I thought she was going crazy. Just to make our last days together bearable I accepted her odd request.
I told Jane about my wife's divorce conditions. . She laughed loudly and thought it was absurd. No matter what tricks she applies, she has to face the divorce, she said scornfully.
My wife and I hadn't had any body contact since my divorce intention was explicitly expressed. So when I carried her out on the first day, we both appeared clumsy. Our son clapped behind us, daddy is holding mommy in his arms. His words brought me a sense of pain. From the bedroom to the sitting room, then to the door, I walked over ten meters with her in my arms. She closed her eyes and said softly; don't tell our son about the divorce. I nodded, feeling somewhat upset. I put her down outside
the door. She went to wait for the bus to work. I drove alone to the office.
On the second day, both of us acted much more easily. She leaned on my chest. I could smell the fragrance of her blouse. I realized that I hadn't looked at this woman carefully for a long time. I realized she was not young any more. There were fine wrinkles on her face, her hair was graying! Our marriage had taken its toll on her. For a minute I wondered what I had done to her.
On the fourth day, when I lifted her up, I felt a sense of intimacy returning. This was the woman who had given ten years of her life to me.
On the fifth and sixth day, I realized that our sense of intimacy was growing again. I didn't tell Jane about this. It became easier to carry her as the month slipped by. Perhaps the everyday workout made me stronger.
She was choosing what to wear one morning. She tried on quite a few dresses but could not find a suitable one. Then she sighed, all my dresses have grown bigger. I suddenly realized that she had grown so thin, that was the reason why I could carry her more easily.
Suddenly it hit me... she had buried so much pain and bitterness in her heart. Subconsciously I reached out and touched her head.
Our son came in at the moment and said, Dad, it's time to carry mom out. To him, seeing his father carrying his mother out had become an essential part of his life. My wife gestured to our son to come closer and hugged him tightly. I turned my face away because I was afraid I might change my mind at this last minute. I then held her in my arms, walking from the bedroom, through the sitting room, to the hallway. Her hand surrounded my neck softly and naturally. I held her body tightly; it was just like our wedding day.
But her much lighter weight made me sad. On the last day, when I held her in my arms I could hardly move a step. Our son had gone to school. I held her tightly and said, I hadn't noticed that our life lacked intimacy.
I drove to office.... jumped out of the car swiftly without locking the door. I was afraid any delay would make me change my mind...I walked upstairs. Jane opened the door and I said to her, Sorry, Jane, I do not want the divorce anymore.
She looked at me, astonished, and then touched my forehead. Do you have a fever? She said. I moved her hand off my head. Sorry, Jane, I said, I won't divorce. My marriage life was boring probably because she and I didn't value the details of our lives, not because we didn't love each other anymore. Now I realize that since I carried her into my home on our wedding day I am supposed to hold her until death do us apart.
Jane seemed to suddenly wake up. She gave me a loud slap and then slammed the door and burst into tears. I walked downstairs and drove away.
At the floral shop on the way, I ordered a bouquet of flowers for my wife. The salesgirl asked me what to write on the card. I smiled and wrote, I'll carry you out every morning until death do us apart.
That evening I arrived home, flowers in my hands, a smile on my face, I run up stairs, only to find my wife in the bed - dead.
My wife had been fighting CANCER for months and I was so busy with Jane to even notice. She knew that she would die soon and she wanted to save me from the whatever negative reaction from our son, in case we push thru with the divorce.-- At least, in the eyes of our son--- I'm a loving husband....
The small details of your lives are what really matter in a relationship. It is not the mansion, the car, property, the money in the bank. These create an environment conducive for happiness but cannot give happiness in themselves. So find time to be your spouse's friend and do those little things for each other that build intimacy. Do have a real happy marriage!
If you don't share this, nothing will happen to you.
If you do, you just might save a marriage.
Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.
A CHRIST-CENTERED MARRIAGE IS A MARRIAGE THAT IS SURE TO LAST A LIFETIME.
So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate. Matthew 19:6.
By Stephanie Halmilton
Friday, August 27, 2010
If U're in a relationship, married or none, read this. U'll know why at the end.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Franklin Graham: Christians Will Lose the Power to Pray Outside Church Walls ‘Maybe in My Lifetime’
http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/65337
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
赌鬼变天使 - 林万兴弟兄
从偏门到社工 (华)
Hope this will help people who are addicted to gambling.
*Quite tired. Will try to edit my sentences and add my content if I'm free....
Monday, January 25, 2010
I am a Reliable Realist?
I took another personality test. Results: http://www.41q.com/type.41q?p=23572577
Sunday, January 17, 2010
One generation is all they need
One day we will all happily be implanted with microchips, and our every move will be monitored. The technology exists; the only barrier is society's resistance to the loss of privacy. An expert on surveillance and society lays out how corporations and gove
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Career Quiz: Which Career is Right for You?
Your Result
Accounting
You would be suited to work in an accounting job. Such jobs include accountant and accounts manager.
Job Test: What Job is Right for You?
Your Result
Production
You should look for a Production job. You can think on your feet and have good problem solving skills. You prefer to work on the production side of the job--the part where the actual product (be it software, books, clothing, etc.) is developed.
Career Personality Test
Your Result
The Stabilizer
Your career personality type is The Stabilizer. You like order, and are purpose-minded. You also favor traditional practices. You also prefer to engage internally and are very thoughtful. A work environment where you can work quietly and gather information before making a decision is best for you.
Career Test: What is Your Perfect Career?
Your Result
Planning and Research
Your perfect career would be in Planning and Research. This career requires skills including highly specific knowledge and in depth analysis. Some such careers include accountant, financial analyst, stock broker, scientist, crime scene investigator or detective.
Saturday, December 05, 2009
Isaiah 46:9-10
These verses caught my attention. The words strike me like what is being described in Hebrews 4:12.
9 Remember the former things, those of long ago;
I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me.
10 I make known the end from the beginning,
from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say: My purpose will stand,
and I will do all that I please.
(Isaiah 46:9-10)
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Jacelyn Tay supernatural way of being converted to Christian
Jacelyn Tay's testimony in PDF (IMPACT magazine) - Link 1
Jacelyn Tay's testimony in PDF (IMPACT magazine) - Link 2
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
I finally pass my IPPT
I finally pass my IPPT with $100 incentive.. haha.. my chin up also CMI.. luckily the instructor close one eye... haha.. Two stations I quite disappointed lor... the sit up I should get 5 points lor... I thought I do till 38 is 5 points liao .. then I stop and look only 4 points nia.. then i look puzzled... I reaction too slow lor... or else...just one more sit up i get 5 points lor... The other is the shuttle run... I should be able to get at lease 3 points nia... cos I touch the ground, no alarm sounded, i pause and think a while, later i continue run... that slow me down lor.. aiya... then lazy .. no retake one more time .. then go do 2.4km... that time my morale super high already lor cos I already pass all 4 statics stations... and guess what??!! I ran 12:10 min for my 2.4km... haha... that's not bad already nia... really... haha...
Sunday, June 21, 2009
At the cross road
Friday, April 10, 2009
how many legs are there??
Ok, I work out the answer to Eunice's quiz.
there are seven girls on a bus..
each girl carries seven bags...
each bag has seven big cats..
and each big cat has seven little cats..
HOW MANY LEGS ARE THERE???
(assuming each cat has 4 legs..)
1. Calculate the total number of cats in each bag.
Small cats=7x7=49
Big cats = 7
So the total number of cats in each is 49 + 7 = 56
2. Calculate the total number of cats each girl is carrying.
Since 7 bags, so each girl carrys
56x7 = 392 cats
3. Calculate the total number of cats in the bus.
Since 7 girls, so there are
392x7 = 2744 cats in the bus
4. Calculate the total number of legs
Cats' legs: 2744 x 4 = 10976
Girls' legs: 7x2=14
Therefore, total number of legs = 10976+14 = 10990
:D
Monday, March 16, 2009
The inevitable new world order
Dr Ng Eng Hen, Minister for Education and Second Minister for Defence, in his speech, also talks about a new world order (which idea has already existed in the past) .. hmm..
http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/speeches/2009/03/11/speech-by-dr-ng-eng-hen-at-the-19.php
CIA report: Israel will fall in 20 years
CIA report: Israel will fall in 20 years
Fri, 13 Mar 2009 14:44:41 GMT
 International lawyer Franklin Lamb |
The CIA report predicts "an inexorable movement away from a two-state to a one-state solution, as the most viable model based on democratic principles of full equality that sheds the looming specter of colonial Apartheid while allowing for the return of the 1947/1948 and 1967 refugees. The latter being the precondition for sustainable peace in the region."
The study, which has been made available only to a certain number of individuals, further forecasts the return of all Palestinian refugees to the occupied territories, and the exodus of two million Israeli - who would move to the US in the next fifteen years.
"There is over 500,000 Israelis with American passports and more than 300,000 living in the area of just California," International lawyer Franklin Lamb said in an interview with Press TV on Friday, adding that those who do not have American or western passport, have already applied for them.
"So I think the handwriting at least among the public in Israel is on the wall...[which] suggests history will reject the colonial enterprise sooner or later," Lamb stressed.
He said CIA, in its report, alludes to the unexpectedly quick fall of the apartheid government in South Africa and recalls the disintegration of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, suggesting the end to the dream of an 'Israeli land' would happen 'way sooner' than later.
The study further predicts the return of over one and a half million Israelis to Russia and other parts of Europe, and denotes a decline in Israeli births whereas a rise in the Palestinian population.
Lamb said given the Israeli conduct toward the Palestinians and the Gaza strip in particular, the American public -- which has been voicing its protest against Tel Aviv's measures in the last 25 years -- may 'not take it anymore'.
Some members of the US Senate Intelligence Committee have been informed of the report.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Absolute Truth
What is truth? What is the nature of truth? Is there even such a thing as truth? Some would argue that truth is relative, and that they are absolutely certain that we cannot be absolutely certain of any truth. As ridiculous as this statement sounds, the logic goes something like this. I perceive reality through a different lens or filter than does anyone else, and therefore, my reality is different than your reality. Those who subscribe to this school of thought claim that truth is relative - based upon perspective or perception. This relativism, known as subjectivism, states that absolute truth does not exist, and that reality is contingent upon the subject.
There is another side to this debate, however, and those on this side claim that we can be absolutely certain that there is absolute truth. This is called objectivism, and holds that truth is not determined by the subject, but rather is inherent in the object. In other words, this truth never changes - no matter who is looking at it or how. In the scientific realm, these objectivists believe that their theories do not provide just a better understanding of reality - as the relativists believe - but rather, that they are reality in themselves. Instead of agreeing with the relativists that theories help our perception of reality, they claim that their theories are reality - or absolutely true.
The problem with objectivism in science is that science alone simply cannot yield absolute certainty due to its inductive nature. Science observes clues about reality, and makes assumptions and conclusions about reality, based upon these clues. In essence, science starts at the bottom, and seeks to understand the truth at the top without a first-hand knowledge of reality. Their perception is limited to their theories. Though science can give us a good idea of reality, or reasonable certainty, only God's Word can give absolute certainty. A detective cannot be absolutely certain of what took place based upon the clues alone. Though he can formulate a good theory and be reasonably certain his theory is correct, this cannot be compared to the absolute certainty that comes from a first-hand account such as viewing security camera footage of the event in question. So while science is important, it cannot be compared to the first-hand account recorded in Scripture. Absolute truth does exist. The Bible tells us "thy word is truth" (Jn 17:17b). Our foundation for absolute truth rests upon God's Word. All other ground is sinking sand.
鄭秀文正式洗禮 成為基督教徒 - Sammi Cheng officially baptised and becomes a Christian
Happen to come across this video. Was surprise to know..
Sammi Cheng's testimony
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Why Won’t God Heal Amputees?
I quote one part of the article which really captured my full attention:
If there is no God, why should we care if people have lost limbs? To borrow from C. S. Lewis, in a truly godless world, amputations wouldn’t be “good” or “bad”; they would simply be, a fact of life no different from a tree shedding leaves. Attacking theism on a moral basis undermines the argument.
Thursday, February 05, 2009
A Cool Idea - me2everyone
Hello,
Something incredible has arrived!
I just became a shareholder in me2everyone and I never had to pay a single penny for the shares! It can only be described as the gold-rush for 2009. This company is going to be huge and shares will soar in value over the coming months! You can register for free and it never has to cost you a single penny!
me2everyone is going to be a cool new virtual world where you can meet friends, chat, shop, play, watch videos, create an art gallery, open a virtual newspaper, play the free inworld lottery and make money from your own online store! You and everyone you know make the decisions, shape the world, create real incomes and share in the profits. It's a new place where you meet new people or invite your friends. Learn new skills or expand your business. Find the love of your life or help the planet.
Membership is free and every member automatically becomes a shareholder in me2everyone Limited. Personally I have 14500 shares in the venture and I am going going to increase my shares very soon. This is an excellent chance for all of us to make some real progress in 2009 and beyond! Please do not miss it.
If you are looking for something really good in 2009: something that changes your view on the world, then you really have to spend just one minute and look at this website.
Please click visit www.me2everyone.com/8826 for the details.
PS: More than 350 people signed up every hour during the first 2 days and the owners expect 100m+ over the next 3 years!! Be in now and get ready to share the wealth! :)
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Seven women begging for one man
Happen to come across this verse.
In that day seven women will take hold of one man and say, "We will eat our own food and provide our own clothes; only let us be called by your name. Take away our disgrace!" (Isaiah 4:1)
Friday, January 23, 2009
Molecular Manufacturing will change the world
Overview: Molecular manufacturing (MM) means the ability to build devices, machines, and eventually whole products with every atom in its specified place. Today the theories for using mechanical chemistry to directly fabricate nanoscale structures are well-developed and awaiting progress in enabling technologies. Assuming all this theory works—and no one has established a problem with it yet—exponential general-purpose molecular manufacturing appears to be inevitable. It might become a reality by 2010 to 2015, more plausibly will by 2015 to 2020, and almost certainly will by 2020 to 2025. When it arrives, it will come quickly. MM can be built into a self-contained, personal factory (PN) that makes cheap products efficiently at molecular scale. The time from the first fabricator to a flood of powerful and complex products may be less than a year. The potential benefits of such a technology are immense. Unfortunately, the risks are also immense.
Click here to read more.
Just some thoughts
I believe the future will be frightening. The world will going to have a "global" leader, with "global" currency; "global" religious system, "global" financial system, "global'" order... etc etc ... Many people will hate Christians, ban christian teachings .. etc.. Many things are already happening but all these are just the beginning of the end. I strongly believe Jesus Christ is coming "real soon". But it is difficult to say how soon - whether during my times or the future generation times. (I do not know how long the window of grace will be open.) Biblical prophecies are slowly unfolding as I watch the world news and how events are occuring. I am convince a new world order will definitely emerge. It is just a matter of time. Fear not if you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ. Let those who choose not to believe continue to scoff lor. The future ahead is not going to be as easy for Christians as before.
Thursday, January 01, 2009
Going rate to kill pastor: $250
WorldNetDaily
Going rate to kill pastor: $250
Rewards offered for murdering Christians, destroying homes, churches
Posted: November 20, 2008
11:30 pm Eastern
By Chelsea Schilling
WorldNetDaily
Hindu extremist groups are offering money, food and alcohol to anyone who murders Christians and destroys their homes.
The violence is nothing new in Orissa, India, where India's Communist Party estimates that more than 500 Christians have been killed by Hindu mobs in Orissa since late August, 12 times more than official government claims of only 40 homicides.
But now the stakes are even higher – and pastors have a bounty on their heads.
Faiz Rahman, chairman of Good News India, said Hindu militants are targeting Christian leaders, the Christian Post reported.
"The going price to kill a pastor is $250," he said.
Rahman, a head of several orphanages in Orissa State, said he's helped 25 pastors to leave refugee camps, but 250 Christian leaders are still in shelters.
"All of the pastors are high value targets," Rahman told the UK-based Release International. "We've got to get them out of the refugee camps."
An All-India Christian Council spokesman said, "People are being offered rewards to kill, and to destroy churches and Christian properties. They are being offered foreign liquor, chicken, mutton and weapons. They are given petrol and kerosene."
(Story continues below)
One official said he personally authorized "cremation of more than 200 bodies" found in jungles after Christians were blamed for the death of Hindu leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati on Aug. 24. They continue to be persecuted even though Maoists openly admitted to murdering Saraswati.
Thousands of homes and churches have been destroyed, and an estimated 50,000 Christians have been forced to flee the violence. Mission Network News estimates 5,000 Christian homes have been burned and 200 churches ruined. According to the Christian Post, 30,000 people remain in government-operated refugee camps. Tens of thousands are living in forests – many seriously wounded.
Father Manoj, based at the archbishop’s office in Bhubaneshwar, said Christians remain in hiding.
"They are too scared to go home. They know that if they return to their villages they will be forced to convert to Hinduism."
Religious rights group Barnabus Fund told the group Hindu militants "forced" Christians in Orissa to "convert" to Hinduism by threatening them with rape if they refused.
Neighbors reportedly gang-raped a Hindu woman after her Christian uncle refused to renounce his faith, according to reports.
Another Christian woman named Jaspina was told by neighbors, "If you go on being Christian, we will burn your house and your children in front of you." She and her family were forced to eat cow excrement to "purify" themselves of Christianity.
Other Christians were doused with gasoline and told to participate in conversion ceremonies or be lit on fire.
This week, Hindu extremists said they have set a deadline for the capture of Saraswati's murderers. If the killers are not caught by Dec. 15, they promised to begin a massacre on Dec. 25, Christmas day.
According to the latest report, Orissa's Catholic bishops wrote an ominous letter to the state's chief minister. It read, "This conflict is a calculated and pre-planned master plan to wipe out Christianity from Kandhamal in order to realize the hidden agenda … of establishing a Hindu nation."
Saturday, December 06, 2008
Something to think about..
Happen to come across this comment...
Hmmm.... something to think about..
Only a Christian nation would have allowed this atheist a choice to not believe. Not even atheist nations give you a choice. You have to believe what they want you to believe. So the fact that he is able to freely protest proves to me that we live in a free Christian nation. History proves that there is no freedom without God. If only the atheist would learn this.
Below is a good enough answer to those who wants to know... Happen to come across this comment too..
I have to agree with Jack Kelly's commentary on the holiday season. It was and is originally a pagan holiday season. Let's let them have it back and begin to celebrate Jesus' birth at the time that he was most probably born, which is around Rosh Hoshana. The Romans are the reason we celebrate Christ's birth at this time in their attempt to combine the old Roman pagan gods and Christianity. The same goes for the Resurection and Easter. Ever wondered what bunnies and eggs have to do with the Resurection of our Lord and Savior? It comes from the Babylonian goddess Ishtar, the goddess of fertility. Lets celebrate Resurection Sunday when it supposed to be celebrated, the Sunday following Passover. Let the pagans have their rituals, lets celebrate our Christian Holy days when they should be celebrated. The atheist is right about this, these are not historically Christian holidays/festivals. I know this is probably not a popular view. I've never been able to really wrap my arms around Christmas for this reason, not since I was a kid. As for Santa Clause, again I have to agree with Mr. Kelly. Lets stop lying to our kids about where blessings come from, and exhalt our Lord to them instead, give Him the glory for all blessings. Kids, ultimately, don't care one whit where the presents come from, as long as they come. Just my 2 cents.
Children are born believers in God, academic claims
Children are "born believers" in God and do not simply acquire religious beliefs through indoctrination, according to an academic.
By Martin Beckford, Religious Affairs Correspondent
Last Updated: 11:36PM GMT 24 Nov 2008
Dr Justin Barrett, a senior researcher at the University of Oxford's Centre for Anthropology and Mind, claims that young people have a predisposition to believe in a supreme being because they assume that everything in the world was created with a purpose.
He says that young children have faith even when they have not been taught about it by family or at school, and argues that even those raised alone on a desert island would come to believe in God.
"The preponderance of scientific evidence for the past 10 years or so has shown that a lot more seems to be built into the natural development of children's minds than we once thought, including a predisposition to see the natural world as designed and purposeful and that some kind of intelligent being is behind that purpose," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"If we threw a handful on an island and they raised themselves I think they would believe in God."
In a lecture to be given at the University of Cambridge's Faraday Institute on Tuesday, Dr Barrett will cite psychological experiments carried out on children that he says show they instinctively believe that almost everything has been designed with a specific purpose.
In one study, six and seven-year-olds who were asked why the first bird existed replied "to make nice music" and "because it makes the world look nice".
Another experiment on 12-month-old babies suggested that they were surprised by a film in which a rolling ball apparently created a neat stack of blocks from a disordered heap.
Dr Barrett said there is evidence that even by the age of four, children understand that although some objects are made by humans, the natural world is different.
He added that this means children are more likely to believe in creationism rather than evolution, despite what they may be told by parents or teachers.
Dr Barrett claimed anthropologists have found that in some cultures children believe in God even when religious teachings are withheld from them.
"Children's normally and naturally developing minds make them prone to believe in divine creation and intelligent design. In contrast, evolution is unnatural for human minds; relatively difficult to believe."
Monday, December 01, 2008
A/P Ang Whye Teong has joined my church
Ok, A/P Ang Whye Teong taught me Mathematics 3 before. I saw him a couple of times in English service last year. But saw his testimony yesterday. Alright, below is his and his wife testimony:
This is him (in case some of you forget):
Friday, November 21, 2008
Planet Earth
Psalm 19:1-3: The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
KNS!! I did badly for my IPPT today!!!!!!!!!
Sleep Deprivation Can Hinder Sports Performance
Logic would say that getting enough sleep is important for optimal sports performance, but there wasn't much evidence to support this theory -- until now. Some recent studies have found that that sleep deprivation can slow glucose metabolism by as much as 30 to 40%.
Eve Van Cauter, Ph.D., from the University of Chicago Medical School, studied the effects of three different durations of sleep in 11 men ages 18 to 27. For the first three nights of the study, the men slept eight hours per night; for the next six nights, they slept four hours per night; for the last seven nights, they slept 12 hours per night.
Results showed that after four hours of sleep per night (the sleep deprivation period), they metabolized glucose least efficiently. Levels of cortisol (a stress hormone) were also higher during sleep deprivation periods, which has been linked to memory impairment, age-related insulin resistance, and impaired recovery in athletes.
Van Cauter said that after only one week of sleep restriction, young, healthy males had glucose levels that were no longer normal and showed a rapid deterioration of the body's functions. This reduced ability of the body to manage glucose is similar to those found in the elderly.
Most of what we know about sleep deprivation has to do with immune function and brain function. This study is interesting because it shows that sleep deprivation can negatively impact physiology that is critical for athletic performance -- glucose metabolism and cortisol status. While no one completely understands the complexities of sleep, this (and other research) indicates that sleep deprivation can lead to increased levels of cortisol (a stress hormone), decreased activity of human growth hormone (which is active during tissue repair), and decreased glycogen synthesis.
Other studies link sleep deprivation with decreased aerobic endurance and increased ratings of perceived exertion.
What does this all mean?
Glucose and glycogen (stored glucose) are the main sources of energy for athletes. Being able to store glucose in muscle and the liver is particularly important for endurance athletes. Those who are sleep deprived may experience slower storage of glycogen, which prevents storage of the fuel an athlete needs for endurance events beyond 90 minutes.
Elevated levels of cortisol may interfere with tissue repair and growth. Over time, this could prevent an athlete from responding to heavy training and lead to overtraining and injury.
Obviously, more research is necessary. But this study indicates that a chronic lack of sleep may affect metabolic function. For the endurance athlete, proper sleep during heavy training and before competitions certainly may help and is unlikely to cause harm.
Why Athletes Need Rest and Recovery
It is the alternation of adaptation and recovery that takes the athlete to a higher level of fitness. High-level athletes need to realize that the greater the training intensity and effort, the greater the need for planned recovery. Monitoring your workouts with a training log, and paying attention to how your body feels and how motivated you are is extremely helpful in determining your recovery needs and modifying your training program accordingly.======================
Why You Should Try to Avoid Shift Work and Irregular Sleep
By Dr. Ben Kim on July 31, 2008
According to a study published in the August 1, 2007 issue of the journal Sleep, rotating shift workers have significantly lower levels of serotonin (precursor to melatonin) than people who work regular day shifts. A total of 683 men of European ancestry were evaluated for this study; 437 were day workers, and 246 were rotating shift workers.
Serotonin is a hormone that circulates throughout your body. It is also a neurotransmitter in your central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). A chronically low level of serotonin is associated with many health challenges, the most common of which are:
- Poor quality sleep
- Problems with body temperature regulation
- Tendency to feel depressed and anxious
- Poor ability to regulate anger and aggression
- Sexual difficulties
The findings of this most recent study confirm the importance of maintaining a regular circadian rhythm by resting when you are tired, and striving to maintain a regular routine of sleeping.
If your current life circumstances do not allow for a regular sleeping routine, you should at least strive to acquire restful sleep whenever your schedule allows you to. Here are a few suggestions on how to accomplish this while working on a rotating shift schedule:
- Within your irregular sleep schedule, strive to maintain a steady routine of eating, getting cleaned up, spending time with loved ones, and taking care of necessary errands before going to sleep.
- When you must sleep while the sun is out, use a sleeping mask or dark and heavy curtains to provide a dark sleeping environment. A dark sleeping environment is important to your body's ability to produce serotonin.
- Do everything you can to minimize potential disruptions during sleep time, like turning the phone ringer off, posting a 'no solicitations' sign outside your home or apartment, and wearing earplugs.
For more information on this topic, including suggestions on how to support your health via high quality sleep, view the following articles:
Why You Should Sleep in Darkness
How Much Sleep Do You Really Need to Be Healthy?
Healthy Foods that Promote Deep Sleep
Study Abstract:
http://www.journalsleep.org/ViewAbstract.aspx?citationid=3306
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
The 'R' word is getting louder and louder
Thursday, October 16, 2008
I pass my 2.4km during my 6th IPT session
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Back to Jerusalem movement / 传回耶路撒冷运动
The Back To Jerusalem movement (Chinese:传回耶路撒冷运动) is a Christian evangelistic campaign begun in China by Chinese believers to send missionaries to all of the Buddhist, Hindu, and Muslim peoples who live "between" China and Jerusalem. This movement was founded during the 1920s, however government restrictions and persecution forced the movement to go underground for decades.
Since 2003, the most vocal international proponent of "Back to Jerusalem" has been the exiled Chinese house church leader Liu Zhenying a.k.a. "(Brother Yun)". But many Christian leaders in China, such as Samuel Lamb have distanced themselves from Yun and his foreign-funded movement, which they believe has been largely discredited. Yun intends for "Back to Jerusalem" to evangelize fifty-one countries by sending a minimum of 100,000 missionaries along the Silk Road, an ancient trade route that winds from China to the Mediterranean Sea.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_To_Jerusalem
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The most audacious even dream of carrying the gospel beyond the borders of China, along the old Silk Road into the Muslim world, in a campaign known as "Back to Jerusalem". As [Time correspondent David] Aikman explains in Jesus in Beijing, some Chinese evangelicals and Pentecostals believe that the basic movement of the gospel for the last 2,000 years has been westward: from Jerusalem to Antioch, from Antioch to Europe, from Europe to America, and from America to China. Now, they believe, it's their turn to complete the loop by carrying the gospel to Muslim lands, eventually arriving in Jerusalem. Once that happens, they believe, the gospel will have been preached to the entire world.
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By Spengler
Ten thousand Chinese become Christians each day, according to a stunning report by the National Catholic Reporter's veteran correspondent John Allen, and 200 million Chinese may comprise the world's largest concentration of Christians by mid-century, and the largest missionary force in history. [1] If you read a single news article about China this year, make sure it is this one.
I suspect that even the most enthusiastic accounts err on the downside, and that Christianity will have become a Sino-centric
religion two generations from now. China may be for the 21st century what Europe was during the 8th-11th centuries, and America has been during the past 200 years: the natural ground for mass evangelization. If this occurs, the world will change beyond our capacity to recognize it. Islam might defeat the western Europeans, simply by replacing their diminishing numbers with immigrants, but it will crumble beneath the challenge from the East.
China, devoured by hunger so many times in its history, now feels a spiritual hunger beneath the neon exterior of its suddenly great cities. Four hundred million Chinese on the prosperous coast have moved from poverty to affluence in a single generation, and 10 million to 15 million new migrants come from the countryside each year, the greatest movement of people in history. Despite a government stance that hovers somewhere between discouragement and persecution, more than 100 million of them have embraced a faith that regards this life as mere preparation for the next world. Given the immense effort the Chinese have devoted to achieving a tolerable life in the present world, this may seem anomalous. On the contrary: it is the great migration of peoples that prepares the ground for Christianity, just as it did during the barbarian invasions of Europe during the Middle Ages.
Last month's murder of reverend Bae Hyung-kyu, the leader of the missionaries still held hostage by Taliban kidnappers in Afghanistan, drew world attention to the work of South Korean Christians, who make up nearly 30% of that nation's population and send more evangelists to the world than any country except the United States. This is only a first tremor of the earthquake to come, as Chinese Christians turn their attention outward. Years ago I speculated that if Mecca ever is razed, it will be by an African army marching north; now the greatest danger to Islam is the prospect of a Chinese army marching west.
People do not live in a spiritual vacuum; where a spiritual vacuum exists, as in western Europe and the former Soviet Empire, people simply die, or fail to breed. In the traditional world, people see themselves as part of nature, unchangeable and constant, and worship their surroundings, their ancestors and themselves. When war or economics tear people away from their roots in traditional life, what once appeared constant now is shown to be ephemeral. Christianity is the great liquidator of traditional society, calling individuals out of their tribes and nations to join the ekklesia, which transcends race and nation. In China, communism leveled traditional society, and erased the great Confucian idea of society as an extension of the loyalties and responsibility of families. Children informing on their parents during the Cultural Revolution put paid to that.
Now the great migrations throw into the urban melting pot a half-dozen language groups who once lived isolated from one another. Not for more than a thousand years have so many people in the same place had such good reason to view as ephemeral all that they long considered to be fixed, and to ask themselves: "What is the purpose of my life?"
The World Christian Database offers by far the largest estimate of the number of Chinese Christians at 111 million, of whom 90% are Protestant, mostly Pentecostals. Other estimates are considerably lower, but no matter; what counts is the growth rate. This uniquely American denomination, which claims the inspiration to speak in tongues like Jesus' own disciples and to prophesy, is the world's fastest-growing religious movement. In contrast to Catholicism, which has a very long historic presence in China but whose growth has been slow, charismatic Protestantism has found its natural element in an atmosphere of official suppression. Barred from churches, Chinese began worshipping in homes, and five major "house church" movements and countless smaller ones now minister to as many as 100 million Christians. [2] This quasi-underground movement may now exceed in adherents the 75 million members of the Chinese Communist Party; in a generation it will be the most powerful force in the country.
While the Catholic Church has worked patiently for independence from the Chinese government, which sponsors a "Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association" with government-appointed bishops, the evangelicals have no infrastructure to suppress and no hierarchy to protect. In contrast to Catholic caution, John Allen observes, "Most Pentecostals would obviously welcome being arrested less frequently, but in general they are not waiting for legal or political reform before carrying out aggressive evangelization programs."
Allen adds:
The most audacious even dream of carrying the gospel beyond the borders of China, along the old Silk Road into the Muslim world, in a campaign known as "Back to Jerusalem". As [Time correspondent David] Aikman explains in Jesus in Beijing, some Chinese evangelicals and Pentecostals believe that the basic movement of the gospel for the last 2,000 years has been westward: from Jerusalem to Antioch, from Antioch to Europe, from Europe to America, and from America to China. Now, they believe, it's their turn to complete the loop by carrying the gospel to Muslim lands, eventually arriving in Jerusalem. Once that happens, they believe, the gospel will have been preached to the entire world.Aikman reports that two Protestant seminaries secretly are training missionaries for deployment in Muslim countries.
Where traditional society remains entrenched in China's most backward regions, Islam also is expanding. At the edge of the Gobi Desert and on China's western border with Central Asia, Islam claims perhaps 30 million adherents. If Christianity is the liquidator of traditional society, I have argued in the past, Islam is its defender against the encroachments of leveling imperial expansion. But Islam in China remains the religion of the economic losers, whose geographic remoteness isolates them from the economic transformation on the coasts. Christianity, by contrast, has burgeoned among the new middle class in China's cities, where the greatest wealth and productivity are concentrated. Islam has a thousand-year presence in China and has grown by natural increase rather than conversion; evangelical Protestantism had almost no adherents in China a generation ago.
China's Protestants evangelized at the risk of liberty and sometimes life, and possess a sort of fervor not seen in Christian ranks for centuries. Their pastors have been beaten and jailed, and they have had to create their own institutions through the "house church" movement. Two years ago I warned that China would have to wait for democracy. [3] I wrote:
For a people to govern itself, it first must want to govern itself and want to do so with a passion. It also must know how to do so. Democracy requires an act of faith, or rather a whole set of acts of faith. The individual citizen must believe that a representative sitting far away in the capital will listen to his views, and know how to band together with other citizens to make their views known. That is why so-called civil society, the capillary network of associations that manage the ordinary affairs of life, is so essential to democracy. Americans elect their local school boards, create volunteer fire brigades and raise and spend tax dollars at the local level to provide parks or sewers.China's network of house churches may turn out to be the leaven of democracy, like the radical Puritans of England who became the Congregationalists of New England. Freedom of worship is the first precondition for democracy, for it makes possible freedom of conscience. The fearless evangelists at the grassroots of China will, in the fullness of time, do more to bring US-style democracy to the world than all the nation-building bluster of President George W Bush and his advisers.
Notes
1. The uphill journey of Catholicism in China, August 2, 2007, National Catholic Reporter.
2. See Luke Wesley, "Is the Chinese Church predominantly Pentecostal?" in American Journal of Pentecostal Studies 7:2 (2004).
3. China must wait for democracy, Asia Times Online, September 27, 2005.
Relevant links:
http://gointl.org/?q=gointl/magazine/56/node/708
http://www.mbherald.com/44/02/books-2.en.html
http://www.amazon.com/Back-Jerusalem-Called-Complete-Commission/dp/book-citations/1903689031
