One Day to Go...

... Before my 1st ever Olympic Distance Triathlon attempt at the OSIM Tri! So I am afraid this is one of those totally unorganised, "spill-my-guts" type of posts where I try to work thru my insecurities...

1st of all, sorry for not keeping up with my buddies on blogland. I have been too caught up in self-pity for catching a cold so close to the race, having such a late start, work pressures, etc... Yup the race is tomorrow, I guess it is normal to feel a little unprepared? This is all the training I managed to do in my 15 week training plan, sure hope it is enough:As many of you rightly pointed out, "enough" training or not probably depends a lot on my race goals, which are

• "C" goal - Finishing my 1st ever Olympic Distance Triathlon
• "B" goal - Finishing under 3:30hrs
• "A" goal - Finishing under 3:15hrs

Given that I am still snorting/coughing out yucky stuff this morning, I am going to put aside timing ambitions tomorrow and just lean on Him for the strength to complete my 1st ever Olympic Distance Triathlon. It's gonna be a long 3.5 hours or so, but I am going to try to remember that this is my special "dance" for the Lord. No reason, no special sacrifice, no special occasion just something that I enjoy doing, and something that I am able to do only with His awesome blessings and protection. Must admit that I was contemplating not going for this due to my cold, the hot weather, etc... But He has healed me (just about) and He has brought clouds and rain for the entire week now, I guess I better stop whinning and get out there and do it!

And now, to end the pre-race post with a game of "Spot the Difference". Can you tell the difference between this previous picture of my bike (top) and the current (bottom)?Yup, the black plastic disk between the rear casette and the wheel spokes is gone! Affectionately known as the "dork disk" in roadie circles, it is often an indication of a newbie cyclist - "experienced" cyclists usually remove it so the bike looks "cleaner". I have never bothered to remove it, but when the mechanic at the LBS was tightening the spokes on Wed, he also took it out (in case it was contributing to the squeaking noises). So I guess I am finally a "serious" cyclist now. :-)

Okay, I betta go pack my stuff for the race, train safe and God Speed y'all! But before I sign off, I just HAVE to share with you my kids' prayers for me tonight:

R1: "Dear God, please don't let the sharks or anything bite my father tomorrow. Please don't let another swimmer doing the front crawl pull him down and swim over him [Oops, he must have overheard my conversations]. I know it is very hard, but please help him to do [the triathlon]. Please protect him when he is running and cycling because it is raining and it could be slippery."

R2: "Dear God, please accompany my Papa everywhere he goes, until he is very old and dies."

Funny how even though I did not communicate my fears to them, but they seem to know JUST WHAT to pray for! ;-)

Week 12 of 15 - Bubble Baths & TT week

Something occurred to me while I was giving R1 & R2 a bubble bath this weekend... Like all kids, R1 & R2 loves bubble baths, so once in a while, we fill up the big bath tub in the master bedroom bath and give them one. R1 & R2 love taking baths together, but now that they are getting older (6+ and 4+ respectively), they are starting to want their own space. This time in particular, they were so busy hoarding the bubbles on their respective ends of the bath tub, and fighting with each other over who has more bubbles, that they totally forgot to enjoy the bubble bath. As I was watching them, it occured to me that sometimes, we are like that too. God, in His love, blesses us with good things, but how often are we so busy hoarding them that we forget the simple act of enjoying the very blessings that He has given us? As I watched the bath disintegrate into a fight, I realised that when God blesses us out of His love, it must be incredibly frustrating for Him to see us fighting over the very things that He has blessed us with. When we do that, we take the good things that He has given to us, and turn them from blessings of joy into seeds of enemity. Let's take the time this week to simply appreciate and enjoy the many blessings He has put into our lives - family/children, health, fitness, material well-being, the ability to race, etc...

On the training front, I have decided to call this week a TT week. Some of you already know that I had the 10km race last Sunday, but on top of that, I decided to also do swim and bike TTs this week:

• Mon: Tempo Run. 20 mins warm-up, 20 mins @ 10.3km/hr (quit laughing, that's tempo for ol' nitrox), 20 mins cool down.
• Tues: Swim Intervals - 550m Warm Up, 5 X (220m sprint, 30s recovery), 550m Cool Down.
• Wed: Long Run. 15.1km, 1hr 44 mins. Yups, that's my longest run yet!
• Thurs: Strength Training - Leg Press, Seated Row, Bent Elbow Lat Pull Down, Push-ups, Bicycle (Abs).
• Fri: Bike TT. 40.2km in 1hr 19mins. (It was a very flat course, but that's as fast as ol' nitrox can go).
• Sat: Swim TT. 1.65km in 40 mins. Following Rachel's very informative swim post, I was concentrating on using the top of my head to point ahead, keeping my finger-wrist-elbow straight and using it as a paddle, pulling a full stroke, and it seems I made a breakthrough in the swim! 1.65km in 40mins ain't fast for you ironmen/women out there, but it's 1-2 mins faster than ol' nitrox had ever done it! I'm so hoping that this is not a flash-in-the-pan fluke. (If you are heading over to Rachel's blog, remember to check out her HAWT new Tri Bike.)
• Sun: Run TT. Saucony-100Plus Passion Run 2007 - Official results just out - 62mins chip time (my watch says 61mins) which is slower than more than half of the guys in the Men's Open. Either way, I did NOT meet my target time of 60mins. Still, it's 6-8 mins faster than when I was running 10kms as long runs back in March, so I guess I can't complain. I'm lousy with race reports so I'll just say that overall, I'm actually pretty happy with the run, as I managed to meet my secondary objectives of (1) running at a steady rate, (2) getting a negative split, (3) test out my el cheapo racing shoes (they worked great - can't say that I noticed the weight difference when running, but I had no problems with them at all), and (4) being able to get to church on time after the run. :-)

This week (week 13 of 15) is my last training week before tapering for the OSIM Olympic Tri. I will be travelling to Bangkok this week, so again I will have to juggle my training schedule a little. Still can't decide if I should go for a mock O. D. Tri this weekend, or just do a long brick (50km bike / 10 km run). What do you think? Also, do I need to do any swim/bike bricks? Have not done that at all this time.

Until next time, train safe everyone, and God Speed!

Week 5 of 15

Week 5 of my 15 week Olympic Distance Triathlon Training Plan was tough, and I scored myself 5.5/6, but before that... please allow me to take detour thru the "Hill of Foreskins". Yup, that's Gibeath Haaraloth, where Joshua circumcised all the Israelites with flint knives - ouch! (Joshua 5:3). ;-D

Sometimes when I read a Scripture passage, it seems to jump up at me and shows me an immediate application or area of sin/rebellion in my heart. Other times, it just sticks in my mind for weeks/months... This is one of the latter. The situation is this: God has just stopped the Jordan river mid-flow and brought His people over the river into the promised land (Joshua 3:15-17). Only problem is that the promised land was still inhabited with its native population who are not thrilled that a whole army has crossed over to take their land. So imagine the entire Israelite population dressed for battle and hyped up about their God stopping the entire river to bring them over. Victory has been promised, the natives of the land are trembling with fear (Joshua 2:8-11) and the Israelites are ready to kick ass. But then, God reminds them that the entire generation of Israelites has not yet been circumcised! Talk about a let down. Talk about being vulnerable. The people had to literally lay down their armour and arms, and get themselves circumcised - I would imagine that movement alone would be tough for a few days, let alone defending themselves against any sort of attacking forces or wild animals (Exodus 23:29) now that they are literally behind enemy lines.

Has that happened to you before? All ready to go and then there's this soft, persistent voice at the back of your head reminding you that perhaps you might have missed something even more important? It's happened to me too many times now. After a long day of work/family/training, I am all ready for my 8 hours of recovery sleep, only to remember that I had forgotten about my QT (Quiet Time with the Lord) - so what's it to be? Trust in the recovery from 8 hours in bed, or trust God to honour my QT? Another one I face pretty often goes something like this: Back from a week of business travels and missed work-outs, can't wait to head out the door for my run, and R1/R2 says "Can you play with me Papa?". I still struggle with these sort of decisions, but one thing for sure is that AFTER the Israelites were circumcised behind enemy lines, nothing came to attack them, until they have re-committed themselves to the Lord, and we all know that they then went on to capture much of the promised land. Praise God!

Okay, back to week 5:

• Mon: Rest (Just too much going on at work, and the office gym is closed for a month due to the merger and re-locations) :-(
• Tues: 12km Run - Dark clouds started forming from the point that I left the house for my morning run. As I ran, I was praying hard that God will hold back the rain so I can finish the run. And you know what? God has a sense of hunour - the rain started coming down at exactly the mid-point, where I had no choice but to run all the way back. This was not a drizzle, this was a tropical storm, where the rain goes side ways. It was the first time that I ever felt cold running in Singapore, and I think it helped speed me up, as I was running harder just to get warm!. :-)
• Wed: Swim Intervals - 550m warm up, 6 X (110m sprint, 30s recovery), 550m cool down
• Thurs: Another unscheduled rest day - work is really getting busy.
• Fri: Run Intervals - 15 mins warm up, 3 X (3 mins sprint, 3 mins active recovery), 15 mins cool down
  Strength Training - Squats, Seated Row, Bent Elbow Lat Pull-down, Push-ups, Bicycle (Abs).
• Sat: 50 km Bike / 6 km Run (Brick). I bonked on the run - had lunch too early and got hungry in the run. Probably pushed too hard on Fri too. Had to walk/run a bit after 4km or so. Terrible cramps when I finally got back. Felt better after I stuffed myself with raisins, almonds and peanuts.
• Sun: 1.9km swim.

The sliver lining is that the parent teacher meeting confirmed that R1 is doing well at school (that's my boy the Star Student on the right). He has also discovered some new found interest in sports this week - football (soccer) & badminton, which is encouraging, as I have been starting to worry that he may be a bit too much of a "home body". :-)

Next week I go to Indonesia again, so again the training plan requires some tweaking. Until next time, train safe and God Speed!

Be Strong and Courageous...

... because Jesus Christ is alive!

I've come to realize that it is so easy to fall into the trap of being a hypocrite when writing a blog. I say that because I have a tendency to post about some things happening in my life but not others, and in doing so, I am probably portraying myself to be a better person than I really am. There is a HUGE gap between writing and doing, and ol' nitrox is still struggling mightily with a lot of the things I write about, both in Intentional Discipleship and in Triathlon Training. Suffice it to say that in both areas, I am still sputtering along in a on again, off again fashion, and probably in danger of not finishing the race in both senses (Hebrews 12:1)...

Especially in the area of Intentional Discipleship, I have been consistently allowing the world to come into my heart and steal the unspeakable joy and the unshakable peace that Jesus paid such a high price for. I will spare you the details, but I have been choosing to wallow in self-pity, anger, frustration, even depression, rather than to take hold of the incredible gift of grace from God. I have allowed even the little things in life (e.g. the ol' family mover breaking down when my neighbors are sporting new Mercedes Benz's & Porsche's, falling sick on my 1st week of the new training plan, irrational worries about the merger going on at work, etc...) to displace what should be unshakable and unspeakable.

"Coincidentally" (I am starting to wonder if QT - Quiet Time with the Lord - topics are ever coincidence?) in my QT, I am reading about Moses handing over the reins to Joshua before the Israelites crossed the Jordan over to the promised land. You will remember that Moses was not allowed to cross the Jordan into the promised land, he was allowed only to see it. Why? Because he did not trust God enough (Numbers 20:12) to take control of his emotions. Instead he allowed himself to get angry with the whining of the people, and in anger he struck the stone twice (Numbers 20:11) to get water for the people (when God told him to just speak it, Numbers 20:8).

So when Moses handed over to Joshua, what was the one instruction that was repeated not once, not twice but EIGHT times in the bible's account of Moses and Joshua? You guess it, "Be strong and courageous" - Moses said it to the Israelites (Deuteronomy 31:6), and to Joshua again (Deuteronomy 31:7); God Himself said it to Joshua (Deuteronomy 31:23, Joshua 1:6-7, Joshua 1:9); the Israelites said it to Joshua (Joshua 1:18); and Joshua repeated it to the Israelites (Joshua 10:25). Actually, generations later, even King David encouraged his son King Solomon with the same words (1 Chronicles 22:13, 1 Chronicles 28:20) - we're not even counting these last two occurrences in the eight times. :-) (Just for fun, the phrase "be strong and courageous" is repeated one more time in the bible, anyone know where that is? Hint: Use the search function in BibleGateway.)

I think when a phrase is repeated so many times in the bible, it is probably worth looking at. So why did Moses, Joshua and the Israelites place so much importance on being strong and courageous? And more importantly, how does this exhortation apply today? Well, I think it still takes tremendous courage to choose to keep our eyes on Jesus, and to take hold of the freedom/victory that He gives us by doing the "right" thing despite pressing circumstances. As I look back in the past few weeks (and much beyond) I know that I have chosen in weakness and cowardice to wallow in self-pity, anger, and frustration, instead of being brave enough to to take the high road and do the "right" thing. A current example may be ol' nitrox choosing to worry about my job security/scope, choosing to assume that management is lost in politics and/or empire building, rather than choosing to find my security in Jesus, and trusting Him enough to be the voice of re-assurance and hope in the midst of the merger at work. In doing so, I have lost yet another opportunity God has given me to be a witness at work.

I believe God, in His infinite wisdom and love, has already prepared/supplied everything we need to do the "right" thing everytime. The only uncertainty in the whole equation is our free will - He is gracious enough to respect what we choose, even if it means that sometimes we choose to give up the precious freedom/victory that He has bought for us. So one way to look at it is that all we need to do is be strong and courageous enough to choose His way, and He will do the rest.

Perhaps another way of looking at it is that fear is the anti-thesis of faith. For some who live where there is no religious freedom (and there continues to be many such places right here in Asia), this is the very real fear of reprisals, social exclusion and even grievous bodily harm to family and self in the midst of persecution. For ol' nitrox, it is ultimately the fear that what God has promised just ain't good enough - I know that God has promised unshakable peace and unspeakable joy, but I really don't think I can be happy without my current job/pay, without a shiny new sports car, without "respectable" timings in my 1st O.D. Tri, etc... Crazy but true. My co-leader in Care Group once said that when we sin, we are really choosing to find happiness/peace by our own means. Like the early Israelites who made for themselves a golden calf when Moses was in Mt Sinai talking to God (Exodus 32:1), we are taking things into our own hands, and finding peace and joy in what we can create/control. The end result is always that we find the end point less than fulfilling, because we are trying to fill a "God-shaped" hole in our hearts with something that we fashioned with our hands.

Today, I choose to be strong and courageous. I choose joy and peace, and I hope you do too. Until next time, train safe and God Speed!

Freaking Out

Sorry for the picture quality - that's a dragon fly on Mrs Nitrox's finger that has R1 & R2 freaking out. Sigh, I am the father of 2 true blue city kids... :-)

Sorry also for freaking about the 17 weeks to my 1st O.D. Triathlon. What can I say? It's been a rough week by all counts... (By the way, if you have any advice for my O.D. Tri Training Plan, I would very much appreciate it!)

• One of our pastors (whom I have come to dearly love and respect) had a terrible family tragedy, and all we could do was pray for him and give him a hug...
• The HUGE merger at work is now underway, and there is STILL no news about what our roles are in the new company months from the start of planning. As expected, some folks have been busily building "empires" while the new organisation is being formed, and it really ilks me that the rest of us seem to be at the receiving end of their posturing and "land grabbing". I KNOW God is working to prepare the path ahead for me (just as He has always done), but my lack of faith makes the journey more than a little unsettling. What a clear example of the difference between HEAD knowledge and HEART knowledge! Lord, help my unbelief and restore me to the fullness of life in accordance with Your perfect will!
• On the training end, I finally had a break through last Sunday in the 50km bike / 5km run - for the 1st time ever, I actually felt strong on the bike AND the run, and got some respectable timings. And then the very next day, the familiar "runny nose, sore throat, cough" feeling came back. Sigh, what a let down! :-( It's been stressful since then trying to toe the fine line between meeting my training commitment and getting enough rest to fend off another full-blown infection. Not a good thing to start my 17 week plan by missing work-outs, but it looks like this is exactly what's gonna happen.

However, in spite of the cloudy skies, I have been totally OVER-WHELMED by the outpouring of love, advice and encouragement from all of you via comments and email in reponse to my shameless plea for help - Thank You RobTheRunner, Tri-Mama, IronPol, PapaLouie, NancyToby, Cliff, Tryathlete, Tammy, IronJenny, Wylee, Tri-Dummy, Lisa, Annette, Commodore, TriFeist, Flatman, and other kind bloggers who have yet to offer wise words to my O.D. Tri Training Plan. Thanks again guys/gals, you really made my week!

Quite a few of you reminded me that I did not state my goal for the OSIM 2007 Triathlon in my last post. Well, it was semi-intentional. ;-) My timing for the last Sprint I did end 2005 was swim 21:36, bike 41:56, run 32:22 (inclusive of transitions) so I figure that I should aim for 2 X my Sprint timing which would take in account the on/off training I did in 2006. So my goal for OSIM 2007 is swim 40mins, bike 1:30, run 1:05 for a total of 3:15, which at this stage looks pretty much like a S-T-R-E-T-C-H target. So there it is, I have publicly declared my time target, now it's SERIOUS BUSINESS. :-)

Some initial thoughts/changes to my training plan after all that great feedback:

• My original plan is probably too ambitious, will have to scale down the distances somewhat and accept the fact that I will probably miss some sessions due to travel, family, etc...
• TriFeist reminded me that my ambitious Saturday bike/run distances will take a LONG time - I had forgotten to take training time per session into consideration. Duh... So some weeks I'll do 60-70km bike/5km run, and other weeks do 40km bike/10-12km run. I'll probably keep it random based on how I feel. I hear it is good to shock the body sometimes. :)
• Will limit run intervals to 1km or so and increase speed and/or number of repeats progressively. Will also introduce some stride work as suggested by IronPol. I also like Tryathlete's idea of running 2.4km time trials (like in the army).
• Will try to increase my long run and long swim distances - I think I'll need that extra boost of confidence come race day.
• Cliff made time during his vacation in Hong Kong to give me some pretty specific advice. My favourite being to week one in each 3 week training block with a lower volume and progressively add until rest week. I like that idea very much, my previous plan to rack up the mileage from week one was probably a little too unrealistic.
• I am also seriously looking at how I can insert a mid-week bike ride, maybe in place of a strength training session. Hmmm....

So it's obvious that the training plan needs more work and I will try to put up a revised plan this weekend. Meanwhile, train safe and God Speed! I will be going for Maundy Thurs service tonight and going to bed straight after, hoping to wake up feeling good enough to go for my missed 12km run.

Happy Easter everyone! Remember that Christ died to buy us fullness of life, so don't let the world rob you of the freedom you already have!

So Why Intentional Discipleship?

When I started this blog in 2005, I wrote long, winding posts like Intentional Discipleships and Triathlon Training, and So What's the Deal with Intentional Discipleships, but I don't think I ever articulated in clear succint terms what is Intentional Discipleship and why it is so important to me. So in the spirit of the "never say die" attitude in triathlon training, here's another go:

1. I believe that Christianity is a process and not just a point of accepting Christ, because Christianity is about having a relationship with God, and the point of accepting Christ is just the start of this relationship.
   


2. In order to have a healthy relationship with God, I believe that we need to have Intentional Discipleship in three crucial disciplines: prayer, reading His Word and honouring Him by how we live- i.e. how we treat ourselves (body and soul) and how we treat those around us. Hence the similarity between Intentional Discipleship with Triathlon Training where we have to constantly balance the three disciplines of swim, bike and run. Which explains my facination with Intentional Discipleship & Triathlon Training, and hence the title of this blog. :)
   


3. At this point, some may object and remind me that it is purely by God's grace alone that we are saved. We are not able to do anything to save ourselves. They are absolutely right! In fact, it is a sin to even try to earn our salvation through works because only God can save. The crucial point here is the definition of salvation, and I believe that if we define salvation to be just entry into heaven and eternal life (as astounding as that is), we might have missed the fullness of God's incredible grace. I believe that Jesus came to give us fullness of life as He intended it to be (John 10:10), and the best part is that the offer starts now, not just when we go to heaven! And I believe that to unlock this fullness of life, we have to know Him in a very real and intimate way. We simply cannot learn from someone we do not know, respect and meet with regularly - hence the importance of Intentional Discipleship to get to know Him more and more. So in short, I don't believe that Intentional Discipleship saves my soul, but I believe it to be the key that enables me to start having fullness of life even now when I am still on earth.

And that's why Intentional Discipleship is so important to me. It is my prayer that somehow, we can journey together and learn together, and together unlock the fullness of life that Jesus has designed for you and me.

Train safe and may God Speed our journey of discovering the fullness of life!

Hair Spray

Confession time: Ol' Nitrox is follically challenged, and I have been carrying with me a travel sized pump action hair spray dutifully in all my travels, believing that if I keep at it, one day, beautifully healthy hair would start growing again. (If only we were as consistent with our medication/treatments as our Quiet Time with the Lord - but that's another story.)

A few weeks ago, the hair spray got clogged up somehow. It would work once or twice, and then the whole thing would get clogged out. I would then dutifully take the spray bottle apart, clean out the spray mechanism, assemble the whole thing, only to have it work for one spray and then get clogged all over again. Some nights I do the whole dissemble/clean/assemble process 3 times a night just to get some of that precious fluid on my bald pate. All the while, feeling frustrated with the bottle, and more than a little unhappy that more of the precious fluid is literally going down the drain than onto my head. :-(

Last night, I noticed another similar bottle on the counter top, so I picked it up, and hey presto, the new bottle worked just fine. The sense of satisfaction that I got from having the new bottle freely spray the precious stuff onto my head is simply beyond words - I went to bed with a smile on my face, amazed at how a simple thing like a working spray bottle can make or break my night. (Okay, so I don't have much of a life, but that's also another story.) Just then, it ocurred to me that in a lot of ways, I am like that blasted clogged up spray bottle. As a child of God, I am filled with His love and Spirit, but my efforts to share His love through ministry are like the impotent putterings of the clogged spray bottle!

When I started out as an ursher in church, it was all great and rosey, but after some months, I started dreading my ministry. It came to a point when I contemplated switching church so I would not have to ursher! Then when R1 & R2 were toddlers, I started serving in the Toddler's Playgroup in church. It was great at first, the kids and I had a lot of fun, some of the parents were amazed that a father would bother to come and teach the toddlers (it's still very Asian for the fathers to leave parenting to the moms). But now that R1 & R2 have both "graduated" into the kindergarden classes, I catch myself wishing sometimes that I could stop serving at the Playgroup. Some of you know I lead a Care Group, and when we were doing a structured Intentional Discipleship program last year, it was great - I learnt lots and looked forward to Care Group meetings. But nowadays, I catch myself wishing sometimes that I was just a member...

So in my service, I am like the clogged up spray bottle. Imagine God's frustration that each time He would take the time and effort to "clean" me out, just so that I would work like I should only once or twice before it happens all over again. Wouldn't be long before He finds another spray bottle that is working fine, and I miss out on being used by Him. What a scary thought! I guess the lesson here is really to guard my heart against the euphoria and drudgery of service - both are just as dangerous, because both may be symptoms of serving for the wrong reasons. Just as in Cain and Abel, God looks at the giver and not the gift. When our eyes are not on the Lord, we cannot please Him with our service. Conversely, when our eyes are on Him, we cannot but please Him. It really is as simple as that!

Talking about being clogged up, the Nitrox clan is pretty clogged up with the flu. Mrs Nitrox has got high fever, and R2 is all clogged up and has a bit of difficulty holding his food down. R1 and I are both having some of the runny nose, scratchy throat symptoms ourselves. So the planned 50km ride / 4km run last weekend got canned, and I did what all cyclists do when they cannot ride - I brought my bike for some much needed tuning and then cleaned my bike. (Don't let the WD-40 scare you, I spray it on as a chain cleaner, dry it, and then lubricate with the expensive Teflon chain lubricant.) :)

• Tues (6/3): 11.8km run (longest run yet!)
• Wed (7/3): Strength Training in office gym - Leg Press, Seated Row, Bent Elbow Lat Pulldown, Push Ups, Ab Crunch with Twist.
• Thurs (8/3): Intervals on office gym threadmill - 1 km warm up, 3 X (1km run, 500m jog), 2 X (1.5km run, 500m jog)
• Fri (9/3): 1.65km swim
• Sat (10/3): 7km fun ride with R1 & R2 (R1 is the grouchy one - R2 is happy as he got to be a passenger on my bike) :-)

This week is school holidays week, so I am taking some time off work to take care of R1 & R2, especially when Mrs Nitrox is down with the flu. Looks like will be a light training week for me then. Until next time, train safe and God Speed!

Dancers Who Dance Upon Injustice

We were singing this wonderful song in church 2 Sundays ago - "Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble" - and the verse "Dancers Who Dance Upon Injustice" really spoke to me.

Some of you know that I have this romantic notion that our swim/bike/run training is kinda like "dancing" before the Lord because I believe that when we train, we are using our bodies in a way that pleases God. How many of you, when faced with injustice, frustration, and other similar tough times react by heading out the door for a swim, bike or a run? I tend to do that, because there is something about the solitude of training which reminds me of what's really important in life, of how small I am in the overall context, and of how blessed I am to be able to swim, bike or run. There's something about moving (how ever slowly) on my own propulsion that reminds me of the freedom that God has given us, the freedom to choose to do the right thing, the freedom to live life to the fullest ("The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full" John 10:10). How kewl is it? That Jesus gives us all the freedom to dance upon injustice?

Last Sunday was my turn to take on the Toddler's playgroup in church. As usual, I procrastinated until Saturday night to start preparing for the lesson, which means, as usual, I was a little less prepared than I would have liked. But, God's plans always work in spite of our weaknesses. It turns out that another parent thought it was her turn, but did not have enough time to prepare either (at least she has a valid excuse - she was moving house on Saturday). And it so happens that she has prepared only worship and bible reading, while I was prepared to do the art & craft - so it all worked out perfectly. The kids were taught a new song, and had a "live" locust to look at when they were told about the plaques God sent to Egypt to free his people, and after all that, they got to make macaroni and cardboard fish necklaces. Praise God! Next week, we swap (I'll do worship and bible reading, and she does the art and craft), so hopefully the kids get another interesting session and learn more about our Lord. :)

On the training end, I didn't get to do much "dancing" in India - just 8km of intervals on the hotel treadmill followed by strength training (squats, lat pull down [back], bent elbow lat pull down, push ups and ab crunch with twist). Got back to Singapore on Friday morning (overnight flight - hardly slept), had a good rest on Friday, and headed out for a 50km ride / 5 km run on Saturday afternoon, but I found the bike to be really tough and even had to walk for 500m towards the end of the run. Can't understand why I felt so sore minutes into the ride even though I only did that one run and strength training (in the same session) while in India?!?! I was so wasted after the gruelling session that I had to stay in the cold shower for 10 mins just to cool down. Even had to lie down for a bit before I could play with R1 & R2. Maybe I am just getting old and all this travelling is finally getting to me... Maybe it is the MacDonalds dinner I had on Thurs before the flight back (it was the most healthy option - I did not dare try a cold sandwitch and I was sick of greasy Indian food from the cafeteria)... Maybe I shouldn't be training in hot humid tropical afternoons anymore... Maybe I should just shut up and head out more! :D

Until next time, "dance" safe and God Speed!

Faith is so much more than coincidence...

... It's my evidence!

I've been having these fanciful thoughts in my head about getting the Toddlers (3 years old and below) in the playgroup at church to kick start our worship service with a dance. So last Sunday, I taught them to dance to "You're The One" from Hillsong Kids, Jesus Is My Superhero CD (track 9) and the best part is, some of them actually did pretty good! :)

Come Monday, I sent my fellow teachers an email saying "... There is something very innocent, joyful and powerful when kids worship..." and suggesting that we get the toddlers in front of the congregation. Then Tuesday, I started having doubts - "What was I thinking?!?! That's gonna take a lot of time and practice! I don't have time for this.." - and I started thinking let's put the whole thing off. And that's when it hit.

First, I got word that one of my fellow teacher's kids are down with chicken pox, then shortly after I got word that another of my fellow teacher's 1+ year old son has got a bad case of the stomach flu and is hospitalised and on drips as he cannot hold down any food/water. Then when I got home, R1 started having a fever, and R2 fell while riding his bike (yes, he still has training wheels on so I am not sure how it happened), and got a nasty cut on his head! (Given that there are only four regular teachers for the Toddler's Playgroup, that's a pretty good "hit rate"!)

We rushed R2 to the doctor's, blood dripping from his head onto his T-shirt, Mrs Nitrox and R2 both in some level of shock... Praise God for tissue glue - no stitches needed, the doctor just glued the gaping wound together. We got home to discover the next day that R1's fever has grown to a high fever and a full blown stomach virus attack!

Later I found out that a number of other kids in our extended Care Group were also down with sudden high fever... Wow, what happened there? Coincidence? A bout of nasty stomach flu? (Wouldn't explain the other sick kids and the nasty cut on R2's head.)

Sometimes, you know you are on the right track when things seem to start going bad. Psalm 8:2 says:

"From the lips of children and infants

you have ordained praise

because of your enemies,

to silence the foe and the avenger."

I still don't know if it is my pride talking (please pray for me!), but I reckon that if the foe and the avenger is trying to discourage us or distract us through the little ones that are dear to us, he must be really worried about what we are doing with the Toddlers. :) PRAISE GOD! Not sure if we will go ahead with putting the toddlers in front of the congregation soon, but this Sunday I am "subbing" for the teachers with sick kids, so I will be getting the toddlers to DANCE! HALLELUJAH!

On the training front, I managed to get in both the 10km run and the 50km bike /3.5km run last Fri and Sun as planned. This week, I got a little side tracked by what happened to the kids, so here's what I did:

• Mon/Tues: Rest (and frantic rush to doctor's)
• Wed: 10.6km run (PR this year - 1:09, ok not fast but a PR is a PR, and I got it while praising and worshiping the Lord as I ran!) :)
• Thurs: Rest
• Fri: Strength Training - Leg Press, Seated Row, Abdominal Crunch with Twist, Chest Press, Standing Bent Elbow Lat Pull Down
• Sat: Swim 2km (Planned)
• Sunday: DANCE with the Toddlers, 50km Bike & 5km Run (Planned)

Next week, I travel to Manila and then week after is Chinese New Year, so I will try to push myself a little harder this week and especially the next, and call Chinese New Year a rest week. Train safe and God Speed everyone!

A Reason to Live (Part I) - Intentional Discipleships

Sorry for the ambitious title. It's that time of the year for reflections and direction setting/renewal, and I was very much encouraged by a song we sang in church on Sunday, reminding us that Jesus came to show us the reason to live. Well, 2 of the main reasons Christ has given me to live are are Intentional Discipleship (intentionally being a disciple of Christ) and Triathlon Training. The other being the family of course, but that's not the topic of this blog. ;) As such, I thought I will split this year's reflection and direction into two posts, this one focusing on Intentional Discipleship and Part II focusing more on training plans for 2007.

1st, a confession: 2006 has been a lax year for me in the area of Intentional Discipleship. In 2005, I was leading my Care Group (fellowship/bible study group) in a focused study on the Masterlife series, serving in the Toddlers' Ministry at church, and at the same time reading through the Bible using the Cover to Cover reading plan. It was a busy time, but also a time of growth in the Lord; growth that I missed in 2006 because I quit the Toddlers' Ministry and also had the luxury of having rotating Care Group leadership (thus effectively leading only one month in the entire year). I have also been inconsistent in keeping to my Quiet Time with the Lord. :(

Three significant things happened to me in the last few weeks that is bringing me back on track:

• Firstly, I have come to learn that I need to serve not because the Church needs me, but simply because I need to serve. Without an active ministry/service, I cannot be a part of God's blessing for the Church. In His infinite wisdom, God has chosen to use us as the primary channel of blessings to the world, and He has given us gifts to equip us for the work that He calls us to do. However, when we refuse to serve, He respects our decision and uses someone else. The problem is that when He does that, I miss out on the growth and intimacy of relationship with Him. In the end, the one who loses out is not the Church, nor God, but myself.
  Action: I will actively look for and pray for areas of service in Church. Rather than wait for some sort of "divine wisdom/inspiration" to descend on me, I will put my hands to the work at hand, and take a more active role in leading my Care Group and in the Toddlers' Ministry.



• Secondly, Church Camp last week away in Malaysia has been a wonderful time of spiritual blessing/rejuvenation. To cut a long story short, I have had a few prayer requests/concerns confirmed. Praise God! On the last night of the church camp, the speaker invited us to come forward for a specific prophetic word from the Lord, and I did. When it was finally my turn, I was told to look into the Song of Solomon to find intimacy with the Lord, so that others may look at me and see the presence of the Lord upon me. I must confess that I was initially puzzled by the prophesy and even doubted if the speaker "knew his stuff". :) But as I reflected on it that night, I remembered to humble myself to receive God's word with faith and not to focus on the instrument used (i.e. the speaker) - who am I to judge the instrument that our Lord chooses to use? When I swallowed my pride, the prophesy began to make a lot of sense to me, and in fact agrees with my constant prayers to be "like Daniel/David" - to have the presence of the Lord wherever I go and whatever I do - that my daily life would indeed point others to the goodness of our Lord. It occured to me that this prohecy is indeed a direct reply to my prayers, that God is telling me that the key to have more of His presence in my life is intimacy, and the book of the Song of Solomon will show me show to grow in intimacy with the Lord.
  Action: I will receive this prophecy in faith and study the Song of Solomon. I will get back to being consistent with my Quiet Time (QT) with the Lord daily.



• Thirdly, prayer has been an area that I have been lacking in 2006 - I am comfortable reading the Bible during QT, but somehow I could not pray consistently. Well, the Lord has confirmed that He has placed a love for children in my heart, and I have somehow been "picking up" prayer items for little children over the last few weeks. But instead of praying for the children, I have been asking God for a "enlightenment" as to what ministry He wants to call me to. I have been thinking in my pride "surely He wants me to do more than just pray queitly in the background". I have been listening to my pride and not to the "still small voice".
  Action: I praise the Lord that He has called me to prayer for these children. I commit to spending at least 15mins a day in prayer as part of my daily QT. I will stop asking for "divine revelation" and start being a prayer intercessor in the background.

That's all folks! Sorry for the rather lengthy post, but this is a subject that is very close to my heart. Next post, Triathlon Training plan and a draft race schedule for 2007! Until then, train safe and God Speed!

Lessons from Parenthood Part II

That's right, NO TRAINING WHEELS! :D Been trying to teach R1 to ride his bike without training wheels and as you can see, he's finally in the weird, wonderful world of cyclists! :D

More than a year ago, I wrote a post on Lessons from Parenthood. Our kids teach us so much - while teaching R1 to ride without training wheels, it occured to me that there is much in common between teaching him to ride a bike and my bumbling attempts at evangelism. I am sharing this parallelism in the hope that it will help pre-believers better understand our sometimes bumbling attempts at spreading the Good News.

1. Why do I care whether R1 can ride his bike without his training wheels? I mean he gets on fine with his training wheels and is happy enough. Why do I want to stress him out by encouraging/cajoling him to ride without training wheels? Why do I want to risk his falling and hurting himself?
   Well, because I want him to experience the freedom and joy that comes from riding without training wheels. I am hoping that he will discover the same joy that I found in the wierd and wonderful world of cyclists and, God Willing, this would be the first step towards discovering a healthy lifestyle.
   In the same way, we evangelise out of our eagerness to share the joy and peace that we have discovered in our Lord. You know that feeling when you find a good restaurant and can't wait to tell others about it? It's pretty much the same deal, except maybe 10 times stronger. :) I know that sometimes out of our over-enthusiasm, we offend the pre-believers and in doing so, perhaps make it even harder to accept Christ. For that, I sincerely apologise.
2. Did I really "teach" R1 anything? I mean all I did was help him find the God-given ability to ride a bike. If he did not have that in him, there is probably no way I can "teach" him to ride his bike.
   In the same way, evangelism is really only helping the pre-believers find what God has already planted in their hearts (Romans 1:19-20). It is probably more like helping someone "connect the dots" than "teaching"...
   
3. There is a time and place for everything. I tried teaching R1 to ride without his training wheels months ago, multiple times, but he just wasn't ready. I could tell he has terrified of the idea of riding on two wheels, I can see him thinking "that's impossible". No matter how much I encouraged/cajoled him, there was just no way he was gonna do it. When he did try it (months back), his fear made him fall (repeatedly). It is only with time, when he saw his friends doing it that he made up his own mind that he wants to do it. Once his mind was made, all it took was a few practice runs (and I mean me running behind him, hunched over holding his saddle - Ouch!) for him to get it.
   God's timing is always perfect - sometimes He calls us to sow, and other times He calls us to reap where we may not even have sown. If we are not in tune with the Holy Spirit's working/timing, it can get frustrating. When the time is right, all it takes is the courage to try. Praise God!
   
4. While running, hunched over, holding R1 up by the saddle, I was trying realy hard to make sure he "got it" before I let go. My aching back soon had other thoughts and I had to let go. But guess what, that's just what it took for R1 to learn to ride.
   Sometimes, we just gotta let go and let GOD.
   
5. Finally, a quote from R1 when I asked him to describe to R2 how it felt the first time he rode his bike without training wheels. I was expecting him to rave about the sense of freedom/speed, etc, so that R2 will also get enthused about giving up his training wheels, but this is what he said instead:
   "It feels like you are going to fall, but if you don't let go of the bike, and just PEDDLE, it's easy peasy, lemon squeezy."
   At some point, it takes a leap of faith to discover God. Rationalisation can only take us so far. God cannot be "taught", but He certainly can be "experienced".
   

Praise God for He shows His wisdom in the innocence of daily life with children. :)

Quick update on the training side:
Thanks for all the encouragement/advice about breaking up the cycle of training/sickness I seem to get myself into - your comments made a lot of sense and I am going to focus a bit more on eating/resting right, and take baby steps back into training (and a little less on how much I weigh). I'm finally getting my hands on The Triathlete's Training Bible end of this month (I hope) which will help tremendously towards figuring out my training and nutrition plan. This week my baby step back into training is a 50km bike - I usually follow up my ride with a short (3km) run, but this time, I could feel cramps setting into my legs at the end of the ride so I skipped the run. Hurray for baby steps! :)

Train safe and God Speed!

Coincidence?

Many of you already know that Singapore has been affected by a haze from the peat forrest burning in Indonesia. This following is the PSI reading (Pollution Standard Index, anything below 50 is good) from the East of Singapore over the last 10 days (you can find the detailed version here):

• Sunday (15th Oct '06): 93
• Monday (16th Oct '06): 91
• Tuesday (17th Oct '06): 86
• Wednesday (18th Oct '06): 75
• Thursday (19th Oct '06): 73
• Friday (20th Oct '06): 96
• Saturday (21st Oct '06): 75
• Sunday (22nd Oct '06): 67
• Monday (23rd Oct '06): 78
• Tuesday (24th Oct '06): 45!!!!

Yup, the PSI dropped off a cliff to 45 today! According to this news report today, it is due to "a turnaround in wind directions". Was it a coincedance that today is R1 & R2's outdoors birthday party by the beach and we have been praying against all odds (and weatherman forecasts - this report from Monday 23rd Oct was still calling for haze till the end of the week) that it would be a clear day this morning so the kids can have a safe and fun time outdoors today? You decide.

All I can say is that we did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to deserve this, but God is just THAT GOOD!

I know that a lot of you have races coming and are already into your taper periods. I praise God that He is helping me to build the faith to know that He has kept you safe in training and will continue to speed your efforts!

PRAISE GOD!

60,000 Angels

For some reason, the number 60,000 sticks in my head...

"Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?" Matthew 26:53 (NIV)

That's what Jesus said when the mob came for him, and Peter rashly drew his sword and cut off the ear of one them (Matthew 26:47-56). I believe a Roman legion in Jesus' time had about 4,000 to 6,000 fighting men (later reduced to 1,000 men in the late part of the Roman empire), let's call it 5,000 - so 12 legions wuold be 60,000! When I read this passage, I imagine that when Jesus was humiliated, tortured and finally crucified, there was 60,000 angels ready to come and rescue Him, and probably lay waste to this world that has done everything to reject its Maker. To me, that's power - Having the ability to stop the torture and punish the world, but having the strength to hold back and take the torture/death because it was the only way to reconcile us to Him. I am ashamed to think of all the times I retaliated at someone else, for no better reason than because I can - that's not power, not strength, in fact, in my case, a lot of times it's just pettiness. Don't get me wrong, Jesus does not expect us to be push-overs. In fact, He taught the apostles to be "as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves" (Matthew 10:16), but too often have I fallen into the trap of reacting/retaliating first, and then trying to rationalize what I did. I don't think that makes God happy. Mental Note to Self: Real power sometimes comes from exercising graceful restraint, not from retaliating just because I am "clever" or "powerful" enough.

OK, on to the review of my new headphones as promised - the Sennheiser OMX 70 - I brought them to the gym for a 7.5km run (intended to do 10km). As with all headphones, sound quality varies very much with positioning of the "speakers" in your ears and thanks to the bridge behind the ears and small rubber rings on the "speakers", they stayed pretty much in the same place. The headphones came with seperate sponge covers and larger size rubber "rings" for a better fit, but I found that I really didn't need them - the standard stuff that it came with worked great. The first time you use these, some positioning/adjustments is needed in front of a mirror (the "behind the ear" bridges are adjustable), but once that is done, it is pretty easy to get them to seat right (I still check myself in the mirror just to be doubly sure the "speakers" are sitting nicely in my ear). Oh, and the bridge behind the ears are made of soft rubber, so they are pretty comfortable. Folks, let me tell you that ol' nitrox sweats buckets - especially in the hot & humit weather in Singapore. I am one of those folks you don't wanna run too close to, because I literally drip from my head, shorts and hands, so if these work for me, chances are they will work for you too. :)

Despite what the weatherman said, it seems to be getting a little less hazy, and I was able to get in a ride/run on Saturday. Praise God! I was starting to feel kinda guilty that the only action my bike saw in the last couple of weeks was as a over-priced catapult - that's R2 in the picture, using my aero bar and a rubber band to shoot folded paper pellets at his brother. I was trying hard not to see the indignant look the bike was giving me! :)

On the training front, I must confess that my training volume has been dropping consistenly for about a month now, culminating in only one 5km run all of last week. No excuses this time, just plain lazy. Of course work and family continue to press for time, but I am just not managing my time dilligently, and giving in far too often to the desire to sleep in or take a nap. :( It's too easy to keep using my travels as an excuse for not having any sort of training schedule. I think I really gotta go get myself a copy of The Triathlete's Training Bible - I've seen it heavily recommended by you guys/gals, more importantly I gotta come up with some sort of training schedule and KEEP IT SIMPLE AND FLEXIBLE. Will start training more in the mornings, and maybe just call my travel weeks speed/interval weeks in the hotel gyms. A plan is hatching... I am just too tired of my "stop and go" attempts in triathlon training! :(

Thanks for all the advice, encouraging comments, and being a sanity check for me. Train safe and God Speed!

Polar Opposites... Part III

Plenty of great comments again. :) In particular, Ellie reminded us that when Jesus said "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?", He was praying Psalms 22 - which begins in a desperate cry out to God but ends in Praise. At the risk of exposing myself as someone who re-cycles the stuff in my posts, I will stop going off topic and just point you to a longer version here. ;)

Actually, what got me started on this topic was a personal observation that I made 2 weeks ago in Tokyo. I wasn't having a good week and the funny thing is that often when life presses in, the quality of my worship actually improves. Well, I made a rather simple but yet profound (to me) discovery - when I am immersed in the depths of worship, I become incapable of sinful thoughts/temptations!

Perhaps this is what Paul referred to when he said:
"Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God." Romans 8:5-8 (NIV)

So it seems to me that worship and sin/temptation are polar opposites. Somehow, I cannot praise God and yet habour sinful thoughts. It certainly took no effort on my part to work out that I was not being fair on my senior managers & colleagues who were travelling with me - I simply cannot praise God for His love with a hard heart! Now if only I can be CONSISTENT in worshipping the Lord... ;)

On the training front, today's headlines says it all - "Singapore maintains health advisory over haze". It has been incredibly frustrating that when I am finally back in town and can be away from the kids for a few hours, the haze prevents me from heading out for a swim, bike or run. While it's summer in Singapore all year round, this period of haze effectively brings on a "off-season" for any sort of outdoors training. :(

Thanks for the well-wishes and prayers. R2 is much betta this morning, Praise God, but we kept him from school as he still has a fever.

To you guys/gals that are still able to train, do it safely and God Speed!

Polar Opposites... Part II

Papa Louie left a very pertinent comment about 2 Corinthians 5:21 - "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (NIV) - which really brings to bear the extent of the sacrifice that Jesus made.

I am guessing that what hurt Jesus the most is probably not the pierced wrists, the thorn of crowns, the whipping/punches/kicks, not even the insults and humiliation, but the fact that as He hung on the cross, He became sin, and felt the full scorn/wrath of God. Perhaps this is why He cried out "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46). I can imagine that as God looked down at Jesus on the cross (His very own incarnation and Son) , for a brief moment, He saw the sin that Jesus represented on the cross, and withdrew His love even from Himself. God is spirit, which is why I guess that is probably the greatest hurt that Jesus felt on that cross.

Another pertinent comment from Papa Louie is how do we share about Christ to those who feel that they are living a good life and don't need God? This is a tough and very worrying one. Even Jesus said "I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent." (Luke 5:32, New Living Translation). I am the most worried about those around me who feel they don't need God. So many people find God in a crisis that sometimes it seems that our God has to bring a crisis into our lives just to bring us back to Him. But, if that's what it takes for my loved ones to be saved, so be it. Better a crisis in this life than to forfeit eternal life in God's kingdom.

R2 is sick with stomach flu - high fever and throwing up just about any food we put in him - so he is quite a miserable lil' camper. Thank God that he is at least able to retain some fluids and is still peeing (a good sign that he is NOT dehydrated). Gave him some good old Staminade so we can get some carbohydrates and salts in him. Hope there's no side effects in kids! Maybe it will make him the Iron Man that I never will be. :)

Oops, got carried away as usual, looks like what I had intended for Part II will now become Part III once I have some time to post. Train safe and God Speed!

Polar Opposites

What are polar opposites? In my book, it means things that are the anti-thesis of each other. Things that cannot exist together by definition of what they are. A good example is light and darkness. By definition, there is no light in darkness and vice versa. Another example is God and sin. The definition of sin is everything which detracts from God's perfect love and will for us, so there is no sin in God, and there cannot be anything Godly in sin.

This actually helps me understand why God is so hard on sin, and why there is a hell. By definition God abhores sin, just as nature abhores a vacuum (where there is a vacuum, there is no air, and vice versa). Because of that, sin seperates us from God. In spite of His awesome power, God cannot help that, because that is the very definition of sin - the decision to exercise the free will God has given us to choose to not to respond to His perfect love and will for us. Just like I could not help the fact that some of the gals I fancied in my younger life did not quite accept my affections. :) So sin seperates us from God, and each sin we commit pulls us further away from Him. He cannot say "never mind, all is forgiven" without giving up who He is. And frankly, I would not be impressed with a God who is not consistent with who He is - can you imagine the chaos with an unpredictable God who changes His mind? The only way God can get rid of sin and bring us back to Him is to pay the price for sin, all sin. The rest is, literally, history (get it? His Story). :) He stepped out of eternity and into time, suffered physical, mental and spiritual abuse, and He died to pay the full price for sin. I could even say that He did that just for you, because He has no control over who will accept His sacrifice (grace) and come back to him. So technically, He would have done the same if the only person in the world who accepts His grace is you. WOW! Praise God!

So why is there hell? My theory is that hell is simply "where God isn't". At some point (let's call it judgement day), God will have to seperate those who accept Him from those who don't. He will respect the decision of those who choose not to be with Him. I'm not sure if there will be eternally burning fires and other horrors in hell, but I'm willing to bet that life without God for eternity is pretty "hellish". It scares me to think that my parents still do not accept His grace. It REALLY scares me. :(

On a lighter note, I ran naked in Tokyo today. ;) Did not to bring my HRM, not even a digital watch (stopwatch). The weather was great - 72 °F / 22 °C - what a difference from the hot humid weather in Singapore! :) Ran for 30mins and thanks to the weather I did not even feel tired for more than half the way. Praise God!

Until next time, train safe and God Speed!

I'm a Babe

Sorry, but seriously, I am a spiritual baby, and I am ashamed about it.

"You have been Christians a long time now, and you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things a beginner must learn about the Scriptures. You are like babies who drink only milk and cannot eat solid food."
Hebrews 5:12 (New Living Translation)

For too long now, I have been a spiritual babe. I have not yet truly learnt that life/work is not about fame and riches, but rather it is about love, peace and joy - unspeakable and unshakable joy. Just this week, I have been feeling like I am an order of fries short of a Happy Meal. I have been looking at the senior people I work with, their expensive suits, business class travel, lavish lifestyles, all the "clever" comments and thinking to myself just what is keeping me from reaching that level (it is certainly not ol' nitrox's age - 'em senior management types are getting younger by the day). To make things worse, just when I was consoling myself that at least I have a life outside work, I found out one of them runs 10 km under 45mins DAILY. ;) In short, I have been allowing the riches and the worries of the world (Luke 8:14) to poison my heart against the unspeakable joy of the Lord.

This is where Christian Music Radio comes in. Thanks to my iPOD and a MP3 recording software, I am finally able to listen to recorded segments of Christian Music Radio on the long flights and train/bus rides, and I can tell you it is simply WONDERFUL to be able to blast the music, close my eyes, and let my heart and soul sing/shout to the Lord inside. While God enjoys our worship, I don't think He needs it, but we sure do. Personally, being able to worship Him in song (even though it is listening and silent singing inside) has helped me to stay centred in Him. He has reminded me to think about what Jesus would do in my circumstances - He would not really care that much about the outcome, rather He cares much more about the people we encounter and what we go through. Keeping that in mind, helped me to see the senior managers for who they really are - senior individuals with passion to help us close the deal. It also opened my eyes to the value of the high level relationships and wisdom that they bring. PRAISE GOD!

I got back to Singapore yesterday (Sat) evening to a CHOKING haze. Visibility was about 100m and being outdoors felt like being trapped in a room of smokers. So we prayed, the family and I, so did many other families, I reckon. And Praise God, He swept the haze away - this morning (Sunday) the skys were clear. I cannot call it anything else but a miracle - the PSI (Pollution Standard Index) was 150 (anything above 100 is "unhealthy") and I was choking, this morning it was below 50, and now under 30 - I can't even smell the smoke anymore, so I'll be heading out for my weekly ride/run brick. :) Like what my dear wife said, "God ain't gonna let the haze keep His people away from church". AMEN!

I simply cannot say it enough - GOD IS GOOD! Train safe everyone and God Speed!

God is Good...

Come on, say it with me, "ALL THE TIME!" :)

Okay this has been a TOUGH week. I am travelling with two senior managers this week, trying to close a deal, and if you have been there, you will know the pressure, follow-up work, "servanthood" that I have to put up with. Worst of all, I will only get back to Singapore Saturday evening, effectively cutting my precious weekend in half. :(

BUT...

God is good! I managed to squeeze in 2km of swim drills before I flew off to Hong Kong:

• 10 X 27.5m = 275m front crawl warm up
• 4 X 27.5m X4 = 440m kicking drills (with kick board)
• 4 X 27.5m X4 = 440m chicken wing (single arm pull/recovery)
• 4 X 27.5m X4 = 440m catch up (with hand paddles)
• 20 X 275m = 550m front crawl tempo

God is good! I got my paws on the beautiful black iPOD nano in Hong Kong. I got the exchange rate wrong - it ended up costing about the same as in Singapore. ;) But I am so stoked that I managed to rip a few long segments of my favourite Christian Music Internet Radio segments and they sound fine on the iPOD! Now to get it "water-proofed" so I don't kill it with my sweat.

God is good! I even managed to squeeze in a run this morning at the gym.

God is good! Turned on the TV in the hotel room and managed to catch the 2006 St Croix 70.3 - how cool is that? Ol' Nitox is too cheap to have cable at home so it is indeed a treat to catch some Tri action on TV. :)

Another testimony of God's grace enabling me to get through a trying time. PRAISE GOD!

Until next time, keep those podcast, Internet Radio, streaming/download music tips coming, train safe and God Speed!