All Or Nothing

Happy New Year 2010

2010-01-04T18:14:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year 2010 everyone!!

As 2009 comes to an end and a new year 2010, one of the beauty of this is to come to an end of an situation and begin a new journey.

Isaiah 43:18-21
"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now its spring up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise."

From the verse, God is saying that we should not set our mind in the past as He is doing a new things for us.

As for that, I would like to:

1. Forget the former things and look forward to something new in this year. This can be done by focusing on a goal which people usually set in the beginning of the year which is known as 'new year resolution'. Just like an athlete running in a sprint even. It is important to stay on his own lane and do not get distracted. I'm ready for something new to happen in my 2010 life as God want's to do new things.

2. To get a vision of new things from God. I will start to visualize the dream and believe in God's promises.

S = Specific
M = Measurable
A = Action plan
R = Realistic
T = Time conscious
E = Expectation management
R = Revelations

I will have to learn to set "SMARTER" goal as it will have a greater results and success.

3. Give thanks and Praise God continually.

Lets start this year right and start believing......

Inside Out

2008-04-07T06:20:00.000-07:00

Why do people always judge someone from it's appearance??? This is really nonsense. Just like when u went to shop for a watermelon. No matter how good it looks, it's hard to tell. As the saying goes "don't judge a book by its cover".
We must be careful to not absorbed with looking good on the outside and forget what really counts. Remember that the things on the inside. Your heart, your thoughts, your attitudes. That really matter.

Wearing a mask that shows everything's fine
Says that life's struggles are not God's design;
But when we're open, transparent, and true,
People will trust God to meet their needs too. (Sper)

What really matters to Jesus is what's on the inside.

Happy Birthday Boys

2008-04-06T21:02:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday to James Lai & Wong Lijuan.
Mr James is celebrating his 21th birthday while Mr Wong is celebrating his 20th birthday. We went to Pizza Hut in Kajang to celebrate their birthday. Nothing much about the celebration. It was just a simple lunch at the Pizza Hut because everyone seems to be busy studying for their final.
At nite, my diarrhea attacked me again. o.O
Agh!!! Shooo u diarrhea go away.

Lord, Heal my stomach.
U're my healer.
Thank you Lord.
Amen.

Another Visit

2008-04-04T21:52:00.000-07:00

It's friday and i'm not going to KL again. One of the reasons was DIARRHEA!!!!. :( Argh..it has been 3 weeks and i'm not recovered yet. This is really a sad case. I went to the clinic again and i got the same medicine again. Hopefully i will recover after this.
Oh Lord please strengthen me and heal me.

Ambivalence & Procrastination

2008-03-30T10:00:00.000-07:00

"To get where you want to go in life, you must start where you are". We should always remember this if we want to have a successful life. We have to be decisive and it is the key to success. The opposite of decisive and will bring downfall to us is ambivalence & procrastination.
God does not like ambivalence or procrastination. For example, when we are supposed to reach out to others and we will just say tomorrow or may be next week or even next year. As this goes on, it eventually will never start. This is a real story about a woman who sits on boyfriend's toilet for 2 years. The woman was physically stuck to the seat of the toilet as her skin had ground around it. Her boyfriend reported the police and the police found her not glued, not tied and just physically stuck by her body. The police asked the boyfriend why it takes him 2 years then he report it to the police. He answered " Everyday i will bring food and drinks to her and i will ask her to come out. She will just replied me 'maybe tomorrow or the day after tomorrow'".
As we can see from this situation, we must be decisive in our life when making our choice. For example when a girlfriend asking his boyfriend when is he going to married her and he will just replying her by saying "dunno, next year perhaps, etc". This is not the answer what the girl wants.
To overcome procrastination, there are several points we can do from A-I.

Activate Your planner - plan everything out and write it down so you can remember it.
Break large task - always do the toughest jobs first so we can see clearer. Ex. How do we eat an elephant? Little by little..
Create datelines - make a datelines to discipline yourself
Deal with the mess - clear unnecessary things as clutter kills productivity.
Encourage yourself - think positively
Face your fears - Face it and deal with it. Do not run away.
Goals Review - Write down all great things you have done as a self motivator.
Hang On, Don't give up - To overcome procrastination, it takes more than one days. So hang on, don't give up.
Initiate Now - Stop waiting and stop saying maybe. "just do it"

Who am I

2008-03-27T21:01:00.000-07:00

Who am I?
That the Lord of all the earth,
Would care to know my name,
Would care to feel my hurt.
Who am I?
That the bright and morning star,
Would choose to light the way,
For my ever wondering heart.

Not because of who I am.
But because of what you've done.
Not because of what I've done.
But because of who you are.

I am a flower quickly fading,
Here today and gone tomorrow.
A wave tossed in the ocean,
A vapor in the wind.
Still you hear me when I'm calling,
Lord you catch me when I'm falling,
And you told me who I am.
I am yours.
I am yours.

Who am I?
That the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love
And watch me rise again
Who am I?
That the voice that calm the sea,
Would call out through the rain,
And calm the storm in me.

Whom shall I fear?
Whom shall I fear?
'Cuz I am yours.
I am yours.

Easter Play

2008-03-26T22:15:00.000-07:00

Return of The Carpenter.

A play by the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus Christian Fellowship. It was held at the Great Hall. Basically this play was about the carpenter (which represents Jesus) and the puppets (humans). After the play, Ps Ryan shared a few words.
The puppets are the creation of the carpenter. As a carpenter, the carpenter created the puppets to have it's own personality and none of the puppets are alike to each another.
In our daily life, can u imagine what will happen if there are two person who looks similar?? There will be a chaos in the world. We have our own journey in our lives. Throughout this journey, we might just face sickness and other problems. For some people, they might just can't face this problem and commit suicide.
There is always a way to solve these problem. We must remember that we still have a carpenter who can help us to repair these damages in our body. The carpenter is the one who created us and he know everything about us includes how many hairs we have. Isn't this just amazing.
What we can do is to submit our life to Him and He will provide everything in our life.

God Bless :)

The Miracle of Restrain

2008-03-25T20:31:00.000-07:00

I remembered how Jesus reacted when He was in the desert and was tempted by Satan.

The devil said to Him, "If u are the Son of God, tell this stone to bcome bread."
Jesus answered,"It is written:'Man does not live on bread alone.'"
The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So i you worship me, it will all be yours"
Jesus replied,"it is written:'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'"
The devil led Him to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the highest point of the temple."If you are the Son of God," he said,"Throw yourself down from here. For it is written:"'He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone'"
Jesus answered,"It says:'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"

Humans are not perfect. That's why humans are not God. I decided to forgive and forget. I will remind myself of Jesus when He was tempted in the desert if i am to be tempted. As the saying goes patient is virtue.

Revenge restrained is a victory gained. =)

Chilling @ KL

2008-03-07T14:00:00.000-08:00

My friend's house in KL. This is where i stay during the weekend. Main door
Swimming pool :)
Night scenery from the 16th floor
The living room

Kitchen

House @ Semenyih

2008-03-05T19:44:00.000-08:00

The living room

Phone booth :D

Outside of the house....
It's going to...
RAIN!!

After the rain.

The mysteries of lefthandedness

2007-11-01T19:39:00.000-07:00

Plato and Aristotle puzzled over lefthanders, as did Charles Darwin. What determines "handedness"? Why are only 10 percent of us lefthanded, and why did the ratio seem to change over the last century? Are lefties somehow different - less healthy, more creative?

With brain scanning and the latest genetic technology, scientists are finally starting to crack the mysteries. Lefthanders really are special, and the ways they differ are yielding insight into human diversity - especially how one person's brain differs from another's.

Searches for a lefthanded gene, meanwhile, are untangling the roles of nature and nurture in shaping our behavior, and revealing ever more subtle ways that DNA can influence but not determine who we are.

"Its a quirky phenomenon of humans, and people ask why it's relevant," says research geneticist Clyde Francks of Oxford University. "But this is taking us into a fundamental feature of the human brain."

"Lefthandedness is connected to a lot of neurodevelopmental disorders," says Daniel Geschwind, a UCLA expert in what is known as neurobehavioral genetics. People with autism and schizophrenia are more likely to be lefthanded, he says. "But with that risk, there is also gain."

Look at MIT professors or musicians or architects, he suggests, and you'll see a slightly higher percentage of lefthanders than in the general population. Neuroscientists are beginning to figure out why.

The brains of lefthanded people develop more freely in utero, they say, allowing the organization to stray more from the standard design.

In most people, experts say, the left hemisphere of the brain specializes in tasks that are performed in sequence, such as reading and speaking; the right does more holistic processing, like that needed for visual perception. Most people have a dominant left hemisphere, and since each hemisphere controls the opposite side of the body, most of the population is righthanded.

For years, many psychologists assumed that lefties' brains were reversed, with language capacity concentrated in the right side of the organ. Subsequent work shows that is sometimes the case - but not always.

A large body of research shows the majority of righthanders follow the typical pattern, using the left hemisphere for language. Lefthanders' brains appear less predictable: About half have language abilities concentrated in the left, 10 percent in the right, and 40 percent make use of various regions on both sides.

Many animals are right- or left-pawed, or -footed or -flippered. Mice, for example, will consistently use either the right or left paw to press a lever. Unlike humans, however, most species are divided 50-50.

"Years ago geneticists tried to breed left- and righthanded mice," says Chris Walsh, a neurologist at Harvard Medical School and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The offspring were still evenly divided.

In humans, handedness runs in families, though not in an easily predictable way. Lefthanders are about twice as likely as righties to produce lefthanded children, but most of their offspring will still be righthanded.

In the 1980s, psychologist Marian Annett of the University of Leicester in the U.K. came up with a mechanism by which a single gene could produce such a pattern. Genes often come in two or more forms, called alleles, and she suggested that one form might predispose people to righthandedness while another, less-common, form leaves it up to chance.

Since we get two copies of each gene - one from each parent - Annett calculated that even two of the less-common form would give you no more than a 50-50 chance of coming out lefthanded.

A few years ago, UCLA's Geschwind scanned the brains of identical twins, hoping to understand the connection between handedness, heredity and brain structure. He found that pairs of righthanded twins tended to share a more asymmetrical brain structure than did lefthanded pairs or mixed sets.

The finding backed the idea that genes either drive the developing brain toward righthandedness or leave it to chance.

No single righthandedness gene has turned up despite many efforts to find it. Three months ago, however, a team led by Oxford's Francks discovered one that may at least play a role. They found that lefthanders tend to share a variant of the gene they named LRRTM1, but it appears to influence handedness only if it is inherited from the father. (Genes whose dominance is contingent upon which parent contributes them make up about 1 percent of the total in humans.)

In either form, this gene is active in the developing brain. "It influences the way different regions wire up and find connections," Francks says. Its effect on determining handedness is small, and the geneticist believes several yet-to-be discovered genes are also involved.

Environmental factors - stigma, social pressure, possibly hormones - could nudge people one way or the other as well.

Other scientists are examining how LRRTM1 and other genes might tie lefthandedness loosely with all sorts of characteristics. Various studies have found weak but statistically significant associations between lefthandedness and schizophrenia, autism and even homosexuality.

Psychologist Ronald Yeo of the University of New Mexico thinks the common link is a kind of flexibility known as developmental instability. Roughly, this describes the tendency to get off track during development, he says, freeing some brains to vary from the majority design, with each component in its place.

That may allow for novel ways of arranging the brain. Perhaps only an unusual configuration can produce an artistic and scientific genius like Leonardo da Vinci, who was reportedly both lefthanded and gay.

Lefthandedness studies, Yeo says, "have proven to be an avenue into understanding more general issues in how human beings develop and where variation comes from." In doing that, they sometimes overturn long-held beliefs.

Yeo reanalyzed a study that relied on death records to show that lefthanders died an average of seven years younger than righthanders but found that its conclusions were based on the incorrect assumption that the percentage of lefthanders has remained steady over time.

A few scientists say their colleagues are looking at the mystery of handedness from the wrong perspective.

University of Toledo psychologist Stephen Christman was trying to connect handedness with preference for types of musical instruments when he made an unexpected finding: people who were very strongly right- or lefthanded preferred keyboards and drums, while those who were more ambidextrous gravitated toward strings.

"I realized that maybe what's important is not left or right but strongly one-handed or mixed," he says.

There is some evidence, he says, that mixed-handers have a wider connecting pathway - called the corpus callosum - between the right and left hemispheres. Having a wider connection seems to make it harder to do more than one thing at a time - playing a different rhythm with each hand, for example.

Christman has found that strong right- or lefthanders, on the other hand, are more likely to hold to set beliefs, such as creationism. He speculates that communication between hemispheres helps people revise beliefs.

None of this suggests mixed-, right- or lefthanders have a corner on creativity or genius. Researching an essay on the lefty guitarist Jimi Hendrix, who famously played a righthanded guitar upside down, Christman made a shocking discovery: the much-photographed Hendrix held a pen with his right hand.

It makes sense, says Christman, himself a lefthanded guitarist, if you consider that in "righthanded" guitars, the left-hand job of working the frets has grown increasingly difficult as both styles and design have evolved.

So why not see how it works the other way around?

Source

Why we need to attend Lord's Table every Sunday??

2007-10-28T09:34:00.000-07:00

Yo yo, just want to share why we need to attend the Lord's table every Sunday.

This Sunday's story...

A Church goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. "I've gone for 30 years now," he wrote, "and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can't remember a single one of them. So, I think I'm wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all."

This started a real controversy in the "Letters to the Editor" column, much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher:-

"I've been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this.. They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!"

I would rather live my life as if there is a God, and die to find out there isn't, than live my life as if there isn't, and die to find out there is...

When you are DOWN to nothing.... God is UP to something! Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible. Thank God for our physical AND our spiritual nourishment.

When Satan is knocking at your door, simply say, "Jesus, could you please get that for me?"

That's why we need to attend The Lord's table every Sunday.

God Bless.

Live Life To The Fullest.

2007-10-17T13:16:00.000-07:00

Each day is precious and so full of wonderful possibilities.

Do not waste your day by worrying about your problems.

Leave all your worries behind.

Instead, fill your life with peace and serenity.

Enjoy the simple pleasures in this complex world.

Happiness lies within YOU :-)

Fellowship

2007-09-23T23:01:00.000-07:00

You're Beautiful?? Yea indeed. I had a dream where I date with a pretty girl ^^ And this song is for that girl.
It's Sunday morning....Time For CHURCH :-)

Before the service started, someone came and tapped on my back.

Voice : U form 5??
Me : ermmm ( wanted to say yes but my parents say NO lol)
Voice: oooooooo, u do look young.
Me : Tq ^^ ( indeed i'm form 5 XD)

Today, Rev Law shared on the topic "FELLOWSHIP".

Acts 2
42They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

"You cannot be a dynamic disciple of God without having a dynamic fellowship"

What is the meaning of fellowship?? Just a gathering?? A group of people gather together and mamak?? Or like fellowship of the ring?? The answer is No. Fellowship indeed is a group of people gather together but with a purpose which is Jesus.

In our daily live, we should have fellowship with our friends and shared about our spiritual walk with Jesus. With this, our faith with Jesus will be stronger and so with others. Besides that, relationships between friends will be closer too. We are encouraged to practice this instead of gossiping around.

Now here's a video clip, Sir James Galway plays "The Lord Of The Rings". He is a good flutist.
Do enjoy ^^

Did dinosaurs ever really exist? YES they did.

2007-09-22T23:29:00.000-07:00

The Bible refers to many the common animals we know today. The list includes lions, wolves, bears, sheep, cattle and dogs along with various kinds of birds, rodents, reptiles, and insects. What is interesting is that this extensive list includes three animals that we no longer recognize. These three are (in the original Hebrew language) tanniyn, b@hemowth (yes, it’s spelled correctly—at least as close as we can get in Roman characters), and livyathan.

Although we alter the spelling of behemoth and Leviathan slightly, we still use those same words in bibles today. However, tanniyn is always translated into another word when we write it in English. Tanniyn occurs 28 times in the Bible and is normally translated “dragon.” It is also translated “serpent,” “sea monster,” “dinosaur,” “great creature,” and “reptile.” Behemoth and Leviathan are relatively specific creatures, perhaps each was a single kind of animal. Tanniyn is a more general term, and it can be thought of as the original version of the word “dinosaur.” The word “dinosaur” was originally coined in 1841, more than three thousand years after the Bible first referred to “Tanniyn.” To make things clearer, we constructed the following table comparing the scientific names with the Biblical names tanniyn, behemoth, and Leviathan.

Behemoth has the following attributes according to Job 40:15-24

It “eats grass like an ox.”
It “moves his tail like a cedar.” (In Hebrew, this literally reads, “he lets hang his tail like a cedar.”)
Its “bones are like beams of bronze,
His ribs like bars of iron.”
“He is the first of the ways of God.”
“He lies under the lotus trees,
In a covert of reeds and marsh.”

Leviathan has the following attributes according to Job chapter 41, Psalm 104:25,26 and Isaiah 27:1. This is only a partial listing—just enough to make the point.

“No one is so fierce that he would dare stir him up.”
“Who can open the doors of his face, with his terrible teeth all around?”
“His rows of scales are his pride, shut up tightly as with a seal; one is so near another that no air can come between them; they are joined one to another, they stick together and cannot be parted.”
“His sneezings flash forth light, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning. Out of his mouth go burning lights; sparks of fire shoot out. Smoke goes out of his nostrils, as from a boiling pot and burning rushes. His breath kindles coals, and a flame goes out of his mouth.”
“Though the sword reaches him, it cannot avail; nor does spear, dart, or javelin. He regards iron as straw, and bronze as rotten wood. The arrow cannot make him flee; slingstones become like stubble to him. Darts are regarded as straw; he laughs at the threat of javelins.”
“On earth there is nothing like him, which is made without fear.”
Leviathan “played” in the “great and wide sea” (a paraphrase of Psalm 104 verses 25 and 26—get the exact sense by reading them yourself).
Leviathan is a “reptile [a] that is in the sea.” (Isaiah 27:1)
[a] Note: The word translated “reptile” here is the Hebrew word tanniyn. This shows that “Leviathan” was also a “tanniyn” (dragon).

According to the Bible: Dinosaurs first existed around 6,000 years ago. God made the dinosaurs, along with the other land animals, on Day Six of the Creation Week (Gen. 1:20–25, 31)Adam and Eve were also made on day six—so dinosaurs lived at the same time as people, not separated by eons of time. Dinosaurs could not have died out before people appeared, because dinosaurs had not previously existed, and death, bloodshed, disease and suffering are a result of Adam’s sin (Rom. 5:12,14, 1 Cor. 15:21–22).

Representatives of all the kinds of air-breathing land animals, including the dinosaur kinds, went on board Noah’s Ark. All those left outside the Ark died in the cataclysmic circumstances of the Flood—many of their remains became fossils.

After the Flood (around 4,500 years ago), the remnant of the land animals, including dinosaurs, came off the Ark and lived in the present world, along with people. Because of sin, the judgments of the Curse and the Flood have greatly changed the earth. Post-Flood climatic change, lack of food, disease, and man’s activities caused many types of animals to become extinct. The dinosaurs, like many other creatures, died out.

At the end of the Flood, Noah, his family and the animals came out of the Ark (Gen. 8:15–17). The dinosaurs thus began a new life in a new world. Along with the other animals, the dinosaurs came out to breed and repopulate the earth. They would have left the landing place of the Ark and spread over the earth’s surface. The descendants of these dinosaurs gave rise to the dragon legends.

But the world they came out to repopulate differed from the one they knew before Noah’s Flood. The Flood had devastated it. It was now a much more difficult world in which to survive.

After the Flood God told Noah that from then on the animals would fear him, and man could eat their flesh (Gen. 9:1–7). Even for man, the world had become a harsher place. To survive, the once easily obtained plant nutrition would now have to be supplemented by animal sources.

Both animals and man would find their ability to survive tested to the utmost. We can see from the fossil record, from the written history of man, and from experience over recent centuries, that many forms of life on this planet have not survived that test.

We need to remember that many plants and air-breathing, land-dwelling animals have become extinct since the Flood—either due to man’s action or competition with other species, or because of the harsher post-Flood environment. Many groups are still becoming extinct. Dinosaurs seem to be numbered among the extinct groups.

If you want to reject evolution and believe the account in Genesis that God created all creatures as fully functioning — and much as we know them today — then the evidence is on your side.

Did dinosaurs exist?

They most certainly did. God made some incredible creatures!

The fact is that dinosaurs were created no more than one day before mankind, not many millions of years earlier—and we have evidence to support that statement. Therefore mankind were the one who ruled during that time.

Conclusion.

If we accept God’s Word, beginning with Genesis as being true and authoritative, then we can explain dinosaurs and make sense of the evidence we observe in the world around us. In doing this, we are helping people see that Genesis is absolutely trustworthy and logically defensible, and is what it claims to be—the true account of the history of the universe and mankind. And what one believes concerning the book of Genesis will ultimately determine what one believes about the rest of the Bible. This in turn will affect how a person views him or herself, and fellow human beings, and what life is all about, including their need for salvation.

Dinosaurs

2007-09-21T23:39:00.000-07:00

Were they really on the earth once upon a time??
Hmph......
Anyone?? Any suggestions??

Distant space collision meant doom for dinosaurs

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A collision 160 million years ago of two asteroids orbiting between Mars and Jupiter sent many big rock chunks hurtling toward Earth, including the one that zapped the dinosaurs, scientists said on Wednesday.

Their research offered an explanation for the cause of one of the most momentous events in the history of life on Earth -- a six-mile-wide (10-km-wide) meteorite striking Mexico's Yucatan peninsula 65 million years ago.

That catastrophe eliminated the dinosaurs, which had flourished for about 165 million years, and many other life forms, and paved the way for mammals to dominate the Earth and the eventual rise of humankind, many scientists believe.

The impact is thought to have triggered a worldwide environmental cataclysm, expelling vast quantities of rock and dust into the sky, unleashing giant tsunamis, sparking global wildfires and leaving Earth shrouded in darkness for years.

U.S. and Czech researchers used computer simulations to calculate that there was a 90 percent probability that the collision of two asteroids -- one about 105 miles wide and one about 40 miles wide -- was the event that precipitated the Earthly disaster.

The collision occurred in the asteroid belt, a collection of big and small rocks orbiting the sun about 100 million miles from Earth, the researchers report in this week's issue of the journal Nature.

The asteroid Baptistina and rubble associated with it are thought to be leftovers, the scientists said.

Some of the debris from the collision escaped the asteroid belt, tumbled toward the inner solar system and whacked Earth and our moon, along with probably Mars and Venus, said William Bottke of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado, one of the researchers.

DEADLY COLLISION

The collision is believed to have doubled for a while the number of impacts occurring in this part of the solar system.

In fact, while the bombardment of this region of the solar system due to this shower of debris peaked about 100 million years ago, the scientists said the tail end of the shower continues to this day. Bottke said many existing near-Earth asteroids can be traced back to this collision.

"Imagine breaking up a big, big boulder on top of a hill and all the fragments rolling down the hill. And somewhere at the bottom is a village called Earth," Bottke said in a telephone interview.

The dinosaur-destroying meteorite, thought to have measured 6 miles across, plunged into Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and blasted out the Chicxulub (pronounced CHIK-shu-loob) crater measuring about 110 miles wide. The researchers looked at evidence on the composition of this meteorite and found it consistent with the stony Baptistina.

The researchers estimated that there also was about a 70 percent probability that the prominent Tycho crater on the Moon, formed 108 million years ago and measuring about 55 miles

across, also was carved out by a remnant of the earlier asteroid collision.

Philippe Claeys of Vrije Unversity Brussel in Belgium, who was not involved in the research, said by e-mail the findings were "clear evidence that the solar system is a violent environment and that collisions taking place in the asteroid belt can have major repercussions for the evolution of life on Earth."

Bottke emphasized that point. "Dinosaurs were around for a very long time. So the likelihood is they would still be around if that event had never taken place," Bottke said.

"Was humanity inevitable? Or is humanity just something that happened to arise because of this sequence of events that took place at just the right time. It's hard to say."

An artist's depiction of a huge meteorite striking Earth 65 million years ago, sending the dinosaurs and many other life forms into extinction.

Computer modeling shows that the parent object of asteroid (298) Baptistina, which was approximately 170-kilometres in diameter with characteristics similar to carbonaceous chondrite meteorites, was disrupted 160 million years ago when it was hit by another asteroid estimated to be 60-kilometres in diameter (L) .

Ok here's a vidoe clip of Louis Amstrong - What a wonderful world.
I just love his smile ^^
Do enjoy

MAFIA

2007-09-16T21:06:00.000-07:00

It's Sunday. Looks like I've disappear for few days. Was doing something....Secret XD
As usual I'll be in the church on the Sunday morning. Today's sermon was about not to commit adultery.

Matthew 5:28 - But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. it is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

For those who are involved in committing this sin, repent now. Pray to God and ask for His forgiveness.

MAFIA. It is a party game modeling a battle between an informed minority and an uninformed majority. Mafia is usually played in groups with at least five players. During a basic game, players are divided into two teams: 'Mafia members', who know each other; and 'honest people', who generally know the number of Mafia amongst them. The goal of both teams is to eliminate each other; in more complicated games with multiple factions, this generally becomes "last side standing"

I played it this afternoon. Online version. Well I'm the mafia again. There was 2 mafia, 1 doctor, 1 cop and the others were citizen. Here's the result of the game.

The Story.

Mafia Win Charly Lau won the game by murdering all the citizens!

Day 5 Ashley Markewinski, an innocent citizen, was executed by Charly Lau.

Night 4 Bethanie VonBuskirk, a Police Officer, was murdered by the mafia.

Day 4 Nong Yang, an innocent citizen, was executed by Ashley Markewinski, Bethanie VonBuskirk, and Charly Lau.

Night 3 Nicholas Xue Wei Tan, an innocent citizen, was murdered by the mafia.

Day 3 Aj Orena, a Mafia Hitman, was executed by Nicholas Xue Wei Tan. (No my mafia partner)

Night 2 Matt Eichorn, an innocent citizen, was murdered by the mafia.

Day 2 Dario B, an innocent citizen, was executed by Matt Eichorn, Bethanie VonBuskirk, Nicholas Xue Wei Tan, and Aj Orena.

Day 1 Hannah Sho, a Doctor, was executed by Dario B.

The funny part was when left 3 player. The cop pm me to vote for Ashley as she thought that she was the Mafia. LOL. One man show of mafia works ^^

Here's a video clip of Vanessa Mae playing "STORM". Do enjoy ;-)

9/11

2007-09-11T23:00:00.001-07:00

It has been exactly 6 years when hijacked plane crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field. The dreary skies created a grim backdrop, and a sharp contrast to the clear blue of that morning in 2001.

How to remember 9/11??

If actions speak louder than elegy, it tells you where we are that the team coverage on the eve of the 6th anniversary of 9/11 alternated between General Petraeus' performance on Capitol Hill and Britney Spears' performance at the MTV Video Music Awards. Osama returned to prime time, only to be mocked for his "impotence" and apparent need for Grecian Formula. A New Jersey community that lost 100 people that day has had to delay expansion of its memorial because fund raising fell short. September 11 falls once again on a Tuesday, we are six years away from the fire, and wondering what that means.

Some people fear complacency; others fear forgetting. Others have only limited space in memory, and the day is overwritten by the events that followed, by war and hurricane and every family's private trials. But the record can't be erased, any more than a year can have 364 days, and anything can bring it back full screen, like a glance at a skyline, a siren in the distance, a prayer that comes as reflex as you walk to work and remember the day they never came home.

Luciano Pavarotti

2007-09-07T23:49:00.000-07:00

Thousands pay respects to Pavarotti

MODENA, Italy - The body of Luciano Pavarotti lay in state at the city's cathedral Friday as thousands of people lined up to pay their respects to the opera mega star whose charisma and voice were celebrated around the world.

Hundreds had filed past Pavarotti's white casket, which was surrounded by flower wreaths and draped in a red veil with an embroidered treble clef, after the Modena cathedral reopened shortly before 7 a.m.

"It's terrible, he was a great man; it feels like everything must come to an end," said Maurizio Trincani.

The tenor died early Thursday in his hometown at age 71 after a yearlong battle with pancreatic cancer. The public viewing was scheduled to close at midnight, then reopen to the public Saturday morning before the funeral, which will be broadcast live on public TV and is expected to draw dignitaries from opera, politics and culture.

The crowd applauded in a sign of respect as pallbearers carried Pavarotti's casket into the cathedral late Thursday and by midnight more than 9,000 people had filed into the cathedral.

While Pavarotti moved the world with what one admirer called "the last, great voice" of Italian opera, his legacy reached beyond the opera house. He collaborated with classical singers and pop icons alike to bring opera to the masses, rescuing the art from highbrow obscurity in the process.

In many ways, Pavarotti fulfilled the public's imagination of what an opera star should be. He often wore a colorful scarf and a hat, be it a fedora or a beret, and while he didn't always have a beard, it was hard to imagine him without it. His heft — as well as a restaurant on his property in Modena — evinced his gourmet appetite.

But above all, his clear voice, and his prized diction, made him beloved by millions.

"Pavarotti was the last great Italian voice able to move the world," said Bruno Cagli, president of the Santa Cecilia National Academy in Rome.

As Modena celebrated its most famous son, the atmosphere wasn't sad or tearful but warm. Many brought their children, and thousands of pictures of the tenor were distributed to mourners.

"He's a symbol of Modena, a symbol of Italy, he's international," said Simone Sarrau, a 32-year-old who waited in line until nearly midnight Thursday to pay his respects. "I think this demonstration of affection is justified. And it's not just Modena, it's in the whole world. He's a one of a kind. There's only him, and there will always only be him."

"Thanks to Luciano Pavarotti, the name of Modena has gone around the world as the name of a city much bigger than it actually is," Mayor Giorgio Pighi told Associated Press Television News from the piazza.

Authorities are preparing for an outpouring of grief at the funeral: Giant television screens were set up near the cathedral. Premier Roman Prodi, among others, was expected to attend, while tenor Andrea Bocelli was expected to sing the hymn "Panis angelicus" at the service, the ANSA news agency reported.

Within hours of Pavarotti's death, Modena authorities had posted information on the city Web site detailing the extraordinary public transport services that would be put in place get mourners from parking lots to the city center for the afternoon service.

In his heyday, Pavarotti was known as "the King of the High Cs" for his ease at hitting the top notes.

While opera lovers treasure recordings with soprano Joan Sutherland, Pavarotti slipped into the CD collections of the hipper set mixing notes with Elton John, the Spice Girls, Sheryl Crow and Liza Minnelli, among others.

He was the best-selling classical artist, with more than 100 million records sold since the 1960s, and he had the first classical album to reach No. 1 on the pop charts.

Some of the greatest opera stars were in his debt — from the young talent whom he fostered to Spanish tenor Jose Carreras, who said Pavarotti had supported him in moments of difficulty, including his battle with leukemia. Some would argue opera owed itself to "Big Luciano."

"When I wanted to construct the Bastille opera house in Paris about 30 years ago, they told me I was crazy. Opera was dead, they said," former French Culture Minister Jack Lang told the news agency ANSA. "Pavarotti returned opera to popularity and contributed to its rebirth."

Pavarotti sought to commercialize opera, scoffing at accusations that he was sacrificing art. He relished that the hugely successful "Three Tenors" concerts with Placido Domingo and Carreras that reached vast audiences around the world.

In a statement from Los Angeles, Domingo said he "always admired the God-given glory of his voice — that unmistakable special timbre from the bottom up to the very top of the tenor range." In Germany, Carreras told reporters he was "one of the greatest tenors ever."

Pavarotti himself was clear on his legacy. "I think a life in music is a life beautifully spent, and this is what I have devoted my life to," Pavarotti said in a quote posted on his Web site after his death Thursday.

Double Thumbs up. I also give him double thumbs up for his wonderful voice.

Pavarotti performing.

Luciano Pavarotti really was blessed with a wonderful tenor voice. I will sure miss him and his voice. His voice beat MJ, Justin T, etc. Luciano made opera popular,fashionable and enjoyable for everyone at every age!!! God rest his soul.

"KANTOI"

2007-09-06T22:15:00.000-07:00

Kantoi. Another word in Manglish Language or known as Rojak Language. Kantoi gives the meaning of to get caught, punished or die. Well people will be asking me how's my result and my answer will be kantoi.
I'm not giving up now and it's not the end because it is only the beginning. I will take this as a lesson which I will never forget. I will make sure that I will not repeat the same mistake. I will work hard and give my best. Whatever the outcome is I won't be sad because I tried my best .For it is written " We Reap What We Sow". I will sure get what I wanted if I have sow bountifully.
For those who face any problems in their live or failed in achieving something, never give up. God is still proud of you and He does not hold anything against us especially not our failures. It is the time to stand up again and to run the race again. Be strong and preserve in the Lord.
Remember that whenever you are sad, there is always someone who can make you smile again.
For God will comfort us and send someone to comfort us.
Enjoy this video clip " YOU MAKE ME SMILE by DAVE KOZ" :-)

Say NO to TV :-)

2007-09-04T22:17:00.000-07:00

Study links attention problems to early TV viewing

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Watching television more than two hours a day early in life can lead to attention problems later in adolescence, according to a study released on Tuesday.

The roughly 40 percent increase in attention problems among heavy TV viewers was observed in both boys and girls, and was independent of whether a diagnosis of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder was made prior to adolescence.

The link was established by a long-term study of the habits and behaviors of more than 1,000 children born in Dunedin, New Zealand, between April 1972 and March 1973.

The children aged 5 to 11 watched an average of 2.05 hours of weekday television. From age 13 to 15, time spent in front of the tube rose to an average of 3.1 hours a day.

"Those who watched more than two hours, and particularly those who watched more than three hours, of television per day during childhood had above-average symptoms of attention problems in adolescence," Carl Landhuis of the University of Otago in Dunedin wrote in his report, published in the journal Pediatrics.

Young children who watched a lot of television were more likely to continue the habit as they got older, but even if they did not the damage was done, the report said.

"This suggests that the effects of childhood viewing on attention may be long lasting," Landhuis wrote.

Landhuis offered several possible explanations for the association.

One was that the rapid scene changes common to many TV programs may overstimulate the developing brain of a young child, and could make reality seem boring by comparison.

"Hence, children who watch a lot of television may become less tolerant of slower-paced and more mundane tasks, such as school work," he wrote.

It was also possible that TV viewing may supplant other activities that promote concentration, such as reading, games, sports and play, he said. The lack of participation inherent in TV watching might also condition children when it comes to other activities.

The study was not proof that TV viewing causes attention problems, Landhuis said, because it may be that children prone to attention problems may be drawn to watching television.

"However, our results show that the net effect of television seems to be adverse," he wrote.

Previous studies have linked the sedentary habit of TV watching among children to obesity and diabetes, and another study in the same journal cited the poor nutritional content of the overwhelming majority of food products advertised on the top-rated U.S. children's television shows.

Up to 98 percent of the TV ads promoting food products that were directed at children aged 2 through 11 "were high in either fat, sugar, or sodium," wrote Lisa Powell of the University of Illinois in Chicago.

Surgery!!!!

2007-09-03T20:04:00.000-07:00

I went to the dentist today. I waited for 2 hours till my turn to see the dentist. "Charly Lau sila ke bilik 6". Finally it's my turn. I went in the room and the dentist checked my teeth. She asked me what's the problem and I told her that I'm having toothache. She checked the part which the pain was and she asked me to take an X-ray to confirm.
I went into the X-ray room. After taking X-ray I need to wait again. Few minutes later I went into room no.6 again. With the X-ray, the dentist told me i have to do a minor surgery on my tooth. O.o My wisdom tooth is growing horizontally instead of vertically. So that's the source of the pain. An appointment was made for me in October to remove the wisdom tooth.
NO......... I DON'T WANT SURGERY!!!!!!!!!

Toothache!!

2007-09-02T17:14:00.000-07:00

Argh!! I'm having toothache now. This really irritates me when every time I try to eat. I have to bite slowly. I'm going to the dentist tomorrow to check my teeth. When my teeth are back to normal, I'll BITE BITE BITE!!!!!

2007-09-01T17:37:00.000-07:00

When you smile at me
Or even just look my way,
It makes me smile and
Brightens my day.
Because I Know,
That even if it
Was just a second,
I crossed your mind.

MERDEKA!!

2007-08-31T14:58:00.000-07:00

Malaysia is celebrating its 50 years of independence. Hip Hip horey.... This year Malaysia independence's theme is "Malaysiaku Gemilang". This year state level celebration was held in Miri. Well I stayed at home and watched live show on TV because no one accompany me to see the Merdeka Celebration. All become 'PILOT' already.
As usual there are a lots of movies about perjuangan and those soldiers who die for our country. TV3 is showing a movie called Leftenan Adnan. This is a film about a Malaysian soldier, Lt. Adnan, who gave his life in defending Malaya from Japanese invasion during World War II. The principal of "pantang berundur sebelum berjuang" was really emphasized in the movie. The storyline really focuses on the spirit of patriotism that should be in the heart of every Malaysian. Overall, Lt. Adnan is a valuable piece of history in its own and should be viewed by all Malaysian as a lesson in patriotism.

Malaysia's Flag a.k.a Jalur Gemilang named by the Malaysia's 4th Prime Minister Tun Dato Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad on the 31 August 1997.

MERDEKA!!!
MERDEKA!!!
MERDEKA!!!
MERDEKA!!!
MERDEKA!!!
MERDEKA!!!
MERDEKA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No Moon??

2007-08-28T22:01:00.000-07:00

Well....I cant see the moon at all tonight due to the rain. The sky was covered by the clouds. Where is the moon?? I want to see the eclipse......covered by the clouds...sigh. Then 9 something, the rain stops. I went out and I loop at the sky, it was clear and no clouds at all. I manage to see a full moon but the eclipse was over already. Sob.

Lunar Eclipse

2007-08-27T07:10:00.000-07:00

There will be a total lunar eclipse early Tuesday(28/8/2007).

The total lunar eclipse, the second this year, will be visible in North and South America, especially in the West. People in the Pacific islands, eastern Asia, Australia and New Zealand also will be able to view it if skies are clear.

The full eclipse will be visible across the United States, but East Coast viewers will only have about a half-hour to see it before the sun begins to rise and the moon sets. Skywatchers in the West will get the full show.

In eastern Asia, the moon will rise in various stages of eclipse.

During the full eclipse, the moon won't be completely dark because some light still reaches it around the edges of the Earth. The light is refracted as it passes through our atmosphere, scattering blue light — which is why the sky is blue — but sending reddish light onto the moon.

When someone asks why is it the moon red, you can say because the sky is blue.

Map Showing the global visibility of the total lunar eclipse of August 28,2007

Path of the Moon through Earth's umbra and penumbra shadows
during the Total Lunar Eclipse of Aug. 28, 2007.
(Pacific Daylight Time)

Red moon

Who want to go for moon-sighting with me :P it's a special one...the moon is RED in color. ^^

Failure List Of The Famous

2007-08-09T17:05:00.000-07:00

Einstein was 4 years old before he could speak.

Iassc Newton did poorly in grade school and was considered "unpromising."

When Thomas Edison was a youngster, his teacher told him he was too stupid to learn anything. He was counseled to go into a field where he might succeed by virtue of his pleasant personality.

F.W. Woolworth got a job in a dry goods store when he was 21, but his boss would not permit him to wait on customers because he "didn't have enough sense to close a sale."

Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team.
Bob Cousy suffered the same fate, but he too is a Hall of Famer.

A newspaper editor fired Walt Disney because he "lacked imagination and had no original ideas."

Winston Churchill failed the 6th grade and had to repeat it because he did not complete the tests that were required for promotion.

Babe Ruth struck out 1,300 times, a major league record.

A person may make mistakes and disappointing others, but is not the end of the world. We must believe in God because He will make a way for us.For He is our provider and He will give the best to us.

God will make a way where there seems to be no way :-)

How Much Is A Miracle??

2007-07-30T09:57:00.000-07:00

A TRUE STORY

Tess was a precocious eight year old when she heard her Mom and Dad talking about her little brother, Andrew. All she knew was that he was very sick and they were completely out of money. They were moving to an apartment complex next month because Daddy didn't have the money for the doctor bills and their house.

Only a very costly surgery could save Andrew now and it was looking like there was no one to loan them the money. She heard Daddy say to her tearful Mother with whispered desperation, "Only a miracle can save him now."

Tess went to her bedroom and pulled a glass jelly jar from its hiding place in the closet. She poured all of the change out on the floor and counted it carefully. Three times, even. The total had to be exactly perfect. No chance here for mistakes. Carefully placing the coins back in the jar and twisting on the cap, she slipped out the back door and made her way 6 blocks to Rexall's Drug Store with the big red Indian Chief sign above the door.

She waited patiently for the pharmacist to give her some attention but he was to busy at this moment. Tess twisted her feet to make a scuffing noise. Nothing. She cleared her throat with the most disgusting sound she could muster. No good. Finally she took a quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter. That did it!

"And what do you want?" the pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of voice. "I'm talking to my brother from Chicago whom I haven't seen in ages," he said without waiting for a reply to his question.

"Well, I want to talk to you about MY brother," Tess answered back in the same annoyed tone. "He's really, really sick... and I want to buy a miracle."

"I beg your pardon?" asked the pharmacist.

"His name is Andrew, and he has something bad growing inside of his head, and my Daddy says only a miracle can save him now. So how much does a miracle cost?"

"We don't sell miracles here, little girl. I'm sorry but I can't help you," the pharmacist said, softening a little.

"Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn't enough, I will get the rest. Just tell me how much it costs."

The pharmacist's brother was a well dressed man. He stooped down and asked the little girl, "What kind of a miracle does you brother need?"

"I don't know," Tess replied with her eyes welling up. "I just know he's really sick and Mommy says he needs an operation. But, my Daddy can't pay for it, so I want to use my money."

"How much do you have?" asked the man from Chicago.

"One dollar and eleven cents," Tess answered barely audibly. "And it's all the money I have, but I can get some more if I need to.

"Well, what a coincidence," smiled the man. "A dollar and eleven cents -- the exact price of a miracle for little brothers." He took her money in one hand and with the other hand he grasped her mitten and said "Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents. Let's see if I have the kind of miracle you need."

That well dressed man was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon, specializing in neuro-surgery. The operation was completed without charge. And it wasn't long until Andrew was home again and doing well. Mom and Dad were happily talking about the chain of events that had led them to this place.

"That surgery," her Mom whispered, "was a real miracle. I wonder how much it would have cost?"

Tess smiled. She knew exactly how much a miracle cost... one dollar and eleven cents... plus the faith of a little child.

The End.

In our lives, we never know how many miracles we need.

A miracle is not the suspension of natural law, but the operation of a higher law.

My Birthday

2007-07-13T09:02:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday ^-^
13/7/2007. It's my 19th birthday :-) No presents?? My presents are the wishes from my friends & family. Thank you to everyone for the birthday wishes.

My birthday Cake :)

Peng Hoe & Rosalind's Wedding(07.07.07)

2007-07-08T20:21:00.000-07:00

SATURDAY(07.07.07)

MORNING

Mr Ang Peng Hoe & Rosalind Tay's Wedding.
It's a nice date for a wedding :-) Congratulations to this couple ^^.

Venue of the wedding ceremony : THE ACTS CHURCH

Here is a picture of the couple at the entrance.

Nicely decorated wedding invitation card.

The ceremony started with Bridal Procession. As usual, a wedding march will be played but this time using a song called "Every Seasons" by Nichole Nordeman. Chris sang this song with her sweet voice with Ps. Alex playing on the keyboard with his "feeling" and me on the synthesizer to play the strings part.

Flower Girls :)

The ceremony continues with praise & worship lead by Jack Ling.

Musicians: Ps Alex, Joel Vijay, Nick Chin, Agnel Raj, & me.

Charly the saxophonist, The sax man.

Solemnization of Marriage.

And now, I present to you Mr Ang Peng Hoe & Rosalind Tay as husband and wife. The groom
may kiss the bride now :-)

The Bride with all the ladies in the God's house.

Mr & Mrs Ang's family - when two become one

James, The Groom, Me & Moses

Peng Hoe & Rosalind with the ACTS Blue

The Groom & Me.

It's MAKAN time....^^

NIGHT

Wedding Banquet at The Saujana Hotel, Kuala Lumpur.

Photo Session before the wedding banquet.

Aaron,Kenneth & Me

The wedding banquet started of with a duet singing performance by Ps Andy Yeoh & Jay Loh with Ps Alex on the keyboard. They were singing a song by Mercyme called I Can Only Imagine. I don't have the picture of them singing for the moment....
After finish singing, it's MAKAN time ^^

Piano Lessons

2007-07-01T04:38:00.000-07:00

PIANO LESSONS

My name is Hondorf. I am a former elementary school music teacher from Des Moines, Iowa. I've always supplemented my income by teaching piano lessons--something I've done for over 30 years.

Over the years I found that children have many levels of musical ability. I've never had the pleasure of having a protégé, though I "musically challenged" pupils. One such student was Robby. Robby was 11 years old when his mother (a single Mom) dropped him off for his first piano lesson. I prefer that students (especially boys!) begin at an earlier age, which I explained to Robby. But Robby said that it had always been his mother's dream to hear him play the piano. So I took him as a student.

Well, Robby began with his piano lessons, and from the beginning I thought it was a hopeless endeavor. As much as Robby tried, he lacked the sense of tone and basic rhythm needed to excel. But he dutifully reviewed his scales and some elementary pieces that I require all my students to learn.

Over the months he tried and tried while I listened and cringed and tried to encourage him. At the end of each weekly lesson he always say, "My Mom's going to hear me play someday." But it seemed hopeless. He just did not have any inborn ability. I only knew his mother from a distance as she dropped Robby off or waited in her aged car to pick him up. She always waved and smiled but never stopped in.

Then one day Robby stopped coming to our lessons. I thought about calling but assumed, because of his lack of ability, that he had decided to pursue something else. I also was glad that he stopped coming. He was a bad advertisement for my teaching! Several weeks later I mailed to the student's homes a flyer on the upcoming recital. To my surprise Robby (who received a flyer) asked me if he could be in the recital. I told him that the recital was for current pupils and because he had dropped out he really did not qualify. He said that his Mom had been sick and unable to take him to piano lessons but he was still practicing. "Miss Hondorf...I've just got to play!" he insisted. I don't know what led me to allow him to play in the recital. Maybe it was his persistence, or maybe it was something inside of me saying that it would be all right.

The night for the recital came. The high school gymnasium was packed with parents, friends and relatives. I put Robby up last in the program before I was to come up and thank all the students and play a finishing piece. I thought that any damage he would do would come at the end of the program and I could always salvage his poor performance through my "curtain closer."

Well the recital went off without a hitch. The students had been practicing and it showed. Then Robby came up on stage. His clothes were wrinkled and his hair looked like he'd run an eggbeater through it. "Why didn't he dress up like the other students? " I thought. "Why didn't his mother at least make him comb his hair for this special night?" Robby pulled out the piano bench and he began. I was surprised when he announced that he had chosen Mozart's Concerto # 1 in C Major. I was not prepared for what I heard next. His fingers were light on the keys; they even danced nimbly on the ivories. He went from pianissimo to fortissimo ... from allegro to virtuoso. His suspended chords that Mozart demands were magnificent! Never had I heard Mozart played so well by a person his age. After six and a half minutes, he ended in a grand crescendo and everyone was on one’s feet in wild applause.

Overcome and in tears I ran up on stage and put my arms around Robby in joy. "I've never heard you play like that Robby! How'd you do it?" Through the microphone Robby explained: "Well Miss Hondorf... remember I told you my Mom was sick? Well, actually, she had cancer and passed away this morning. And well ... she was born deaf, so tonight was the first time she ever heard me play. I wanted to make it special."

There wasn't a dry eye in the house that evening. As the people from Social Services led Robby from the stage to be placed into foster care, I noticed that even their eyes were red and puffy and I thought to myself how much richer my life had been for taking Robby as my pupil. No, I've never had a protégé -- but that night I became a protégé..of Robby's. He was the teacher and I was the pupil. For it is he that taught me the meaning of perseverance and love, and believing in yourself, and maybe even taking a chance in someone and you don't know why.

This is especially meaningful to me since, after serving in Desert Storm, Robby was killed in the senseless bombing of the Alfred P.Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in April of 1995, where he was reportedly.... playing the piano.

And now, here’s a footnote to the story. We can all make a difference. We all have thousands of opportunities a day to help realize God's plan.