Part 2 - 10th Christmas of a Remarkable Journey

I would like to dedicate the song "The Heart of Christmas" to all my loved ones (You know who you are) and to all out there who are trying to find the meaning of life again, trying to discover hope again and trying to believe in love again.

The Heart of Christmas

"The Heart Of Christmas"

I’m gonna make a wish this Christmas
I’m gonna say a little prayer
I’m gonna stop here for a moment
Before the moment disappears

The world’s in a hurry this December
City streets and shopping malls
I wish we could slow down and remember
The meaning of it all

Wherever you are, no matter how far
Come back to the heart, the heart of Christmas
Live while you can, cherish the moment
The ones that you love, make sure they know it
Don’t miss it, the heart of Christmas

Let’s make it feel the way it used to
Let’s find that wonder of a child
You can see the magic all around you
Come on, and open up your eyes

You can find it in the warm embrace of your family
Or calling up a long lost friend
You can even find it in the eyes of stranger
When you reach out a helping hand

Wherever you are, no matter how far
Come back to the heart, the heart of Christmas
Live while you can, cherish the moment
The ones that you love, make sure they know it
Don’t miss it, the heart of Christmas

In the shadow of a steeple
In a star that lights the way
You will find Him in a manger
The heart of Christmas has a name

I’m gonna make a wish this Christmas
I’m gonna say a little prayer

Wherever you are, no matter how far
Come back to the heart, the heart of Christmas
Live while you can and cherish the moment
The ones that you love, make sure they know it

Wherever you are, no matter how far
Come back to the heart, the heart of Christmas
Live while you can, cherish the moment
The ones that you love, make sure they know it
Don’t miss it, the heart of Christmas

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Christmas is a time when all of us should be reminded on all things that truly matters in life.

Let's light a candle,

for peace we pray for every nation,

for joy we pray for every child

for faith we pray for every man

for hope we pray for the world

for love we pray for every heart

My Christmas Tree 2011

Lin's Christmas Tree 2011

Lin's Christmas Cake 2011

My window decoration Christmas 2013 (At night)

My home decoration (Christmas 2013)

Blessed Christmas to everyone and to all people that God loved so much that He gave His only Begotten Son Jesus Christ, that who so ever believe in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Come back to the Heart of Christmas which is Christ our saviour.

Joshua

Part 1 - 10th Anniversary of a Wonderful Journey

Hi everyone,

1st November 2013 is a significant milestone in my journey of life, as it marks the 10th Anniversary of the beginning of a remarkable chapter of my life.

I have Alopecia Areata since young and then it rapidly developed to Alopecia Universalis within a several months just before my 17th birthday in 2001. The hair on my scalp fell off significantly (>90%) followed by my eyebrows, eyelashes, arm hairs and the rest is history.

It was extremely tough to deal with the sudden massive hairloss psychologically and socially as I retreat myself in the comfort of my house and a baseball cap whenever there is a need for me to go outdoor. I never know why I loss my hair, never know that there were people out there who shared my condition for almost two full years until 1st November 2003.

1st November 2003 was the day when I first discovered and officially get in touch a wonderful group of people sharing my condition on a support website called "Alopecia Areata Support Community".

From the online community I've met a group of wonderful people where the seeds of friendship were planted into our hearts and lives.

From then, friendships have been blooming like spring. Many thousands of miles have been traveled to spend quality time together including special events like, group gathering, wedding, New Year's celebration and Christmas Day.

Sunflower is symbol of my friendships and it has been my favourite flower since. The Lord has been kind enough bless my life with so many people that has never fail to touch of my heart many times.

There is so much share on this milestone and days till Christmas 2013. A very special Christmas indeed as it marked the 10th Christmas together in spirits and thoughts with my friends from all around the world.

Joshua

My love for the flower began when one of dear friends Dotty sent me some sunflower seeds from the United States.

This teddy is named "Josh". It reminds me of a very dear couple of my life- Uncle Wilf & Aunty Kath. Aunty Kath has since gone home to be with the Lord in 2012.

Good Friday reflection [Repost from 10 April 2009]

I hope everyone had a meaningful Good Friday and Easter Sunday recently. The day which historians and the Catholic Church adopts as the anniversary of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection.

It's significance transcends the beliefs of mankind and put God's love for mankind in action. Only the suffering and crucifixion of Christ (The unblemished Lamb of God) can redeem us from sin and Only His resurrection can redeem us from the consequences of sin which is death. The ultimate sacrifice of a truly innocent and willing person has even reverse day as seen on Easter.

May the Lord continue to bless mankind, and His love continous to touch the hearts of man, and that we may truly reflect the loving image of God, our Creator.

God bless.

Joshua
(2nd April 2013)


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Today is the most sombre day of the Christian calendar.

God as the guardian of Love and Justice, love and justice co-exist in every situation and time throughout the beginning of time, with love, Heaven is created and with justice, Hell is created.

A day when evil seems to prevail, the guardian of evil was able to inflict greatest damage and pain in God's own heart but it is still called Good Friday because evil was ultimately overcome by good.

Christ even asked God to forgive those who were hitting, beating, jeering, putting him to death. I could see how much He loved me.

God who is loving and justice, had to turn His face away from His beloved only Son on Good Friday, the day where the greatest love was demonstrated and yet the greatest injustice took place at the same time. As much as God is a jealous and wrathful God, His love is the greatest among all His noble characteristics. Christianity is not a religion or faith to be sum up as judgemental, intolerant...Christianity is a faith with love as it's theme just as God is love.

Even though God is loving, He could not be injustice. On Good Friday, an exception was made for the greatest injustice incident to take place in paving a way for the greatest act of love, where an innocent, blameless, faultless, sinless was punished and put to death in the place of the guilty, rebellious. Heavenly Father God had to turn away and be separated from His son, Christ suffered the greatest punishment of all, alone, forsaken by His Father.

It was an excruciating lonely and painful journey beyond any man could bear but Christ took the path in His love for mankind.

Let us go back into the day...

• # When evil seems to be triumphant but yet it the day is still called "Good".
• # When there is no greater love than what happened on that day.
• # When God had to turned His face away admitting the pain in God's own heart.
• # When a noble mother had to restrain from saving her beloved son & watched him die.
• # When friends had to see him dying in pain.
• # When helpless women & children crying for him
• # When the sky turned dark.
• # When the earth trembled and cried.
• # When the stars stopped glowing.
• # When the day love was made complete and tested.

Video #1 "Mary did you know?"

Video #2 "Above All"

God bless us all & blessed Good friday.
Joshua

So, here's to the Birthday Boy Jesus who saved our lives

Christmas is about Christ,

and Christ was born to save you and me.

Whether you are a Christian or not,

God loves us all and joy to the world;

 and peace on earth and good will to mankind.

 



This year's Christmas will be different from last year's of 2011 but I am still thankful for all that God has blessed me with. Therefore, I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a blessed Christmas and each heart to be filled with hope, peace and joy.

Remember that Christ was born unto us to save us from the death due to sin. As so, let's us celebrate His birth  by sharing His love to our loved ones.

Have a cheerful and peaceful Christmas to everyone and cherish on things that truly matters in life.

God bless us all.

Joshua

Quench your real "thirst"

It's been a while since I last posted something. Work has been keeping me occupied most of the time, but being working over-time or stressed about it does not help in finding true satisfaction and fulfilment in life. At the end of the day, a healthy relationship with God is all that matters in addition to healthy relationships with people around us.

I'll spare the audience of this blog  from Malaysia and its political situation at the moment, and share with all of you an article will touch each of our hearts and search for a true meaning in life.

Joshua

Good Friday, Easter Sunday

I hope everyone had a meaningful Good Friday where we reflect on the love of Christ till the extent of extreme suffering, shame and even to a horrible death on the cross. There is no greater Love than the Love of Christ.

I also hope everyone had a joyful and hopeful Easter Sunday, where we celebrate the resurrection of Christ. As a quote from Aslan from the Chornicles of Narnia : The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe "... if a righteous is willing to die in the place of a condemned, even Death itself will be reversed..."

It's always a right time to remember our dear Lord's love for us...

Palm Sunday- The Triumphal Entry



Mark 11: 7-10 (NIV)

"When they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, he sat on it. Many people spread their cloaks on the road, while others spread branches they had cut in the fields. Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted,

"Hosanna!"

"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"

"Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!"

"Hosanna in the highest"

Merry Christmas 2011 & Blessed New Year 2012

It's Christmas! This season will not be JOYFUL without the HOPE we found in the First Christmas. May your home and heart be filled with the warmth LOVE of God, family and friends during this season. Jesus Christ is the reason we celebrate Christmas. Shall we all dance with this lovely and lively song "Feliz Navidad" by Michael Buble and Thalia.

Let us dance...

Earth: Population = 7 Billion

According to the United Nations estimate; on 31st October 2011, the human race reached a population milestone of 7 billion. As cheers and fears greet the symbolic "7th Billion babies" being born across the globe.

It is estimated that the world reached its 1 billion population milestone on 1804 and it took slightly over 200 years for the world to reach 7 billion. What an achievement! Better access to healthcare (lengthen life expectancy and reduced infant mortality and eradication/ prevention of diseases), education (empowerment of human capital, choice and progressive thinking), energy (fuel, gas, mass production of food) and awareness through the information age are among the main contributors to the population growth. It is something that all of us should be proud of.

Nevertheless, war, poverty, hunger, oppression, injustice continue to plague mankind. The earth as created by God can provide a comfortable and sufficient food and resources to feed all mankind, be it 7 billion or even 10 billion! As the saying goes, the world can feed every man on earth but can never feed the greed of mankind.

As it is written in God's word in 1 timothy 6:10 "for the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil"

Resources and energy footprints are already leaving strains on the earth's abundance with climate change and excessive depletion of resources in the past several decades, leaving a trail of challenges to produce and provide the most basic requirement for survival : Clean water and food.

At the end of the day, it is the heart of every man that will decide the future of the human race. As the world marked the "7th Billion babies", let us recall the world's first baby being born: the child of Adam and Eve, Cain. Cain is the first infant being born in the world (According to the Bible), and after Cain, there was another child, Abel (Cain's younger brother). As all christians would know the story, Cain being the first person being born of man and woman had also became the world's first murderer.

As God said it in Genesis 8:21 "...every inclination of his [a man] heart is evil from childhood..." . All mankind can only find assurance in a peaceful, abundant and fruitful present and the future through faith in God and His words.

Today, we can be proud of the population milestones, but without God in our hearts, our worries and fear of the future of mankind is trustworthy and true.

Let us rekindle our hope in the coming Christmas season, where the answer lies to the Person's birthday that we all celebrate.

God bless

Joshua

The Spirit of Christmas 2011 arrives...

The year of 2011 started with much pain, horror and sorrow. It's time that the Christmas Spirit to arrive, filling each heart again with hope, hope for a perfect love descending from the Heavens as in the First Christmas.

~Joshua

In Christ Alone...

Praise the LORD!

In Christ alone. All things are possible. Its good to be back in the blogging world :).

Joshua

Above All- Christ died for us...

Why it is called Good Friday? When Christ, Son of God, an innocent man was crucified?

Why isn't it called the Evil Friday when the devil was successful in inflicting severe pain in God's own heart?

Good Friday is called good because GOOD triumph over EVIL with LOVE, the most powerful weapon that is not known for those who dwell in darkness.

Have a good weekend, everyone. God bless.

Joshua

Christian churches attacked in and around Kuala Lumpur

9 January 2009. Four Christian churches have been attacked with petrol bombs with one being severely damaged. Read the following news from Timesonline by clicking here.

The principles which govern our life and lifestyle are those that the Lord Jesus Christ gave us in HIS Sermon: (Matthew 5:3-12:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Christians all over Malaysia will remain calm and look at God for comfort and strength. Christians will not and must no retaliate with violence as it would dishonour the word of our God and an insult to God Himself.

Deliver us from the evil doers oh, Lord our Father.

Joshua

The World's Greatest Dad.

Do you remember when we get our dad the cup with "The world's greatest dad" word on it on Father's Day? It is an award to all the dads out there (Dads who own that cup). I believe that if we could only name a person to the world's greatest dad award, it would be no other than the father who love his son so much, that he would run a marathon, trialthon , the ironman trialthon for many years for his son. Please enjoy and be touched by the video clip below.

He truly loves his son so much. It would be a challenge to all dads out there, including myself (If I ever become a dad). It's truly demonstrate an undying love for a person. Evenmore, the father truly reflect the image of God, whom all of us are created in the image of God.

For those without dads out there, do not be wary for you too and in fact all of us has one Heavenly Father who loved us so much that He sent His only begotton Son , Christ to suffer to the point of death in our place. Our Redeemer, Jesus Christ truly lives.

We are thankful that Team Hoyt continue to be an undying inspiration for us all. The father who loves his son so much and dearly and how much the son believe and trust in his father. Bless them both. Team Hoyt! Thank you! Cheering you both all the way!

God bless us all and thank God for being our Heavenly Father for loving us so much!

Joshua

Easter Day reflection

Hi,

I know it's more than a week since Easter but nevertheless the Lord is still risen, aren't he? Here's some youtube reflection that I would like to share.

Hope everyone had a blessed Easter. Praise the Lord.

Joshua

At the cross...

Holy Thursday reflection

As the christian calendar marks today as the Holy Thursday with several significant occasions, it was the official starting of the passion of Christ when he was betrayed into the hands of those who wanted him to be killed.

Christ knew what was going to happen to him and felt the intense burden and heartache that he had on his shoulder when he prayed to Heavenly Father in Gethsemane. If we were to go back to that particularly time, knowing that he is Christ...what would be our reaction? Run away or fight for him? It was not for us to decide.

Let us all, christians (and non-christians) reflect on the beginning of this historical event that transcended across our physical realm of time and matter.

Let us reflect on the creator of heaven and earth that call us his friends on this special night:

WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS



Now, let us focus our spirit and mind on Christ who loved us so much...

TURN YOUR EYES UPON JESUS

*This series of blog is specially dedicated to people of all faiths (including atheist, agnostics), as all us learn about each others' different faith and so at the end of the day, we respect other people's choice without being judgemental and narrow-minded.

*However, this blog is not for discussion or debate forum for inter-faith matters.

* I just wanted people to know what Christianity is all about, just as how much I am learning about others' faith and thus respecting their belief.

* Hope all is greatly inspired and to christians, hope you find strength in your faith again.

Joshua