contentment n faith?

we serve a God of El Shaddai (the God of more than enough), not El Cheapo (The God of barely enough) ~Joel Osteen

i've always wondered how these two elements interwind? In a way we're taught to be content with what we have1, but yet we're asked to stretch ourselves2 too...oddly, if we're happy with what we have, why would we want to strive for more?

the orang aslis as i've come to learn, are the most contented ppl. If they're hungry, they'll just go into the jungle (which happens to be where they live btw) to pluck the ferns (ok, maybe they do wild boar hunting too). With just the bare necessities to survive, yet i've heard one of the most grateful prayers being said there. Does being content means settling for mediocracy?

i'd like to glue these two poles thru' the parable of the talents3. Each of us are given different measure of gifts and talents. To be content means being please with what we have without comparing with others. Even though it may seemed unfair that some received a dearer portion. (we're told that the master distribute the talents/gifts acc. to each's ability4)

However, faith is the fuel to develope the talents. Fear, faith's barrier cripples progression, as seen from the man with one talent. Questions like "but what if i fail?", "other ppl can do better", "i can if only i were a bit more..." stems from fear & discontentment. While faith could have seen that one talent flying into horizon. Take John Osteen, Joel's osteen dad, pastor of Lakewood church (one of the fastest growing in the states). After he accepted Christ, all he dream of is preaching. Nobody ever believed that would be possible, coming fr a family of cotton-pickers, soaked in poverty due to the great depression, with non of his family attending church regularly. One of the first sermons which he preached on the entire story of samson, only at the end, did he realize he has been calling the hero "tarzan". Yet he never gave up.

The parable concludes that what we have now is not fixed5. Somehow as we progress, we receive. Like a bidirectional path. ungoverned. I believe God usually meet us according to our expectations6. The bible7 also states the importance of where we set our minds to.

some ppl are wary of ppl or churches spilling with success... is ordinarily & reasonably THE 'acceptable' reference mark of which anything yonder is questionable...? What about setting overflowingness as the plumb line?8

1. Heb 13:5
2. Mat 17:20, Isa 54:2
3. Mat 25: 14-30
4. 25:15
5. 25:29
6. Mat 8:13; 9:29; 15:28
7.Col 3:1,2
8. Roms 15:13

sun baked

sunrise at pasir panjang

had a week where both my wishes lap over my whines (if only i can strike through those words in my prev post. Rach, how u do that with yr fonts?)

got sun-baked in redang.
strolled through pasir panjang,
rubbing my feet on the fine sandy white...
lulled by reds thredding through the blue canvass (sunset).
taking pictures of sunrise...
of wide-ness n space... :a

in the deep blue
a creation of it's own :a
life's bubbling all around me
or search them in sandy bottom n crooks
of eels n shrimps
& ballooning fishes...

got back home n found that lightning had striked my house. Down were my modem, astro decoder, 2 phones, dad's motherboard...:( it hit next door too... (raining in s'bg can be dangerous)

hike on sat
saw colour quilted insects... ;p
glimpsed of sun flecks thru the woods :a

climbing up slopes and gliding through mud
of waterfalls and soggy feet
and endless greens...

:a --> ahhhh...

"too much of a good thing is wonderful" ~Nigella Lawson