"When they saw the star, they were overjoyed" - Matthew 2:10

I have no idea what the characters are saying in the dialogue, but it seems so cute!

It isn't quite doodling to sketch based on images from a magazine (Nat Geo Traveler), is it?

Mark 9:24 is fast becoming something that I quote quite frequently, perhaps in my bid to express the extent of my humanity in matters pertaining to a realm beyond my own.

I've been pandering a pretty dark valley these past few weeks, and this cry (the title of the post) has been on my mind along with other things. I want to believe in something real, I want You to be with me, I want Your rod and staff to be my source of comfort.

And hence it is rather interesting to be recommended two separate songs, along with a chance encounter today with a stranger, to be a reminder that I am not alone.

I'd like to believe that all of these were not by chance.

1 Corinthians 15:55 - "O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?"

Just last week, as I was on the train with Joel, I had a particular discussion with him - it pertained to faith, and if one could truly be sure of our eternal security, or even the existence of God for that matter.

What would happen to us when we pass on? Do we return to ashes and nothing more? Do we enter an eternal realm of bliss? Or do we pass into eternal torment because all that we had lived for wasn't true - these were all questions that often occurred in my head, even as I profess to believing in God.

Kierkegaard coined the notion of leaping to faith, where the act of faith is born out of faith.

Personally, I do not believe that one can be fully convinced when it comes to religion - we do live in a fallen world. I will never be fully certain about the truth of God - it is simply a fact that this life is one defined by uncertainty (rather ironically of course). Yet it is truly remarkable that in every aspect of our lives, suggestions of His existence and grace are plentiful - should we choose to interpret them as such.

Reading the Daily Bread (October 15) sometime this week, I came across an interesting perspective on a familiar verse (Psalm 23). It hovered on how death was merely a transitory period into the afterlife, and suggested that the "darkest valley" of that psalm be viewed as so. I've always thought of that as merely a metaphor for the trials and pains of life, not the final frontier.

And sometime this week, Newsweek published an excerpt from a book published by a neurosurgeon entitled Proof of Heaven: A Doctor's Experience with the Afterlife. While it was replete with seemingly cliched images of the afterlife (think fluffy clouds, gleaming crystal etc.), I'd like to think that it was placed in an issue of Newsweek that I had access to for a reason.

I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!

Image Credit: NI&Co. Architects via Dezeen

All I can say is that goodness, this store's design is conceptually really similar to the Grid Table design that I came up with just prior to my A-Levels.

Who am I?

What am I doing?

Why am I doing this?

How do I carry on?

How will I persist?

When will it cease?

What then should I do?

An old woman's recollection of romance under the Japanese occupation of Singapore causes her young interviewer to re-evaluate life, memory and history.

Widespread death, loss and destruction are unimaginable but ingrained concepts evoked through the collective memory of Singaporeans at the mention of the word Occupation. Undoubtedly, this has much to do with the years of government rhetoric on the war years. Yet beyond the statistics of lives lost, of buildings reduced to rubble and national boundaries permutated lie human figures, and their human stories - tales that involve more intimate emotions, tears, flesh and all.

Jo Kukathas powerfully portrays a pantheon of characters, whom through their various experiences and/or opinions on the Japanese war years, explore themes that transcend time - love, family, class and religion, to name just a few.

Beautifully set in a minimal stage, where crystalline Philippe Starck chairs serve as metaphorical reminders of the many acquaintances we meet in our life experiences, Ms Kukathas shines.

And that is what makes Occupation so beautifully executed.

These thoughts were penned on the 24th of September

I am in purgatory,
I am in an abyss,
I am Job.

I am the only one trapped here. Alone.

Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani

It is difficult to respond as Job does. As Psalm 22 depicts David.

1 Corinthians 3:3 - "For since there is jealousy. among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans?"

I must try.