Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Generation Ex-Christian by Drew Dyck

Title: Generation Ex-Christian
SubTitle: Why Young Adults Are Leaving the Faith. . .and How to Bring Them Back
Publisher: Moody Publishers
Pub Date: 10/01/2010
ISBN: 9780802443557
Author: Drew Dyck

Young people aren’t walking away from the church—they’re sprinting. According to a recent study by Ranier Research, 70 percent of youth leave church by the time they are 22 years old. Barna Group estimates that 80 percent of those reared in the church will be “disengaged” by the time they are 29 years old. Unlike earlier generations of church dropouts, these “leavers” are unlikely to seek out alternative forms of Christian community such as home churches and small groups. When they leave church, many leave the faith as well.

Drawing on recent research and in-depth interviews with young leavers, Generation Ex-Christian will shine a light on this crisis and propose effective responses that go beyond slick services or edgy outreach.

But it won’t be easy. Christianity is regarded with suspicion by the younger generation. Those who leave the faith are often downright cynical. To make matters worse, parents generally react poorly when their children go astray. Many sink into a defensive crouch or go on the attack, delivering homespun fire-and-brimstone sermons that further distance their grown children. Others give up completely or take up the spiritual-sounding “all we can do is pray” mantra without truly exploring creative ways to engage their children on matters of faith. Some turn to their churches for help, only to find that they frequently lack adequate resources to guide them.

I received a pre-publication electronic galley to read and review from the publisher via netGalley. I am under no obligation to the publisher, and this review is my honest opinion upon reading the galley.

Generation Ex-Christian is written with an evangelical Christian audience in mind. By this I mean that Dyck writes from the point of view of a Bible-believing Christian who whole-heartedly believes that faith in Jesus is the only way to have a relationship with God, and that all those who do not accept this are lost. He writes to an audience that believes the same, and who are desperately concerned for friends or family members who have abandoned their faith. For evangelical Christian readers, this book will be informative; but other readers may find it offensive or upsetting.

Dyck describes six different groups of "ex-Christians"; postmoderns, recoilers, moderns, neo-pagans, rebels and drifters. He briefly discusses what may have led to these particular people moving away from traditional Christian faith, then concentrates on the best methods of evangelism to win them back.

I found Dyck's discussion of the reasons for leaving the faith overly simplistic, but I see that is because he is writing from a point of view that does not have any questions or doubts about Christianity. I would have liked these issues to be looked at more deeply. I also found Dyck's various methods for bringing the lost sheep back to the fold a little bit manipulative. It certainly gave me the a bit of a "paint by numbers" feeling, in which the reader was encouraged to "diagnose" which group their friend or family member belongs to, and then follow the recommendations that were prescribed. That is the main reason that I think that the non-Evangelical-Christian reader would find this book somewhat offensive.

For the expected audience, this book will provide some useful insights into the issues around leaving the faith, and I believe that it has been written, and will be read, with the best of intentions. I'm just not sure that the issues are interrogated deeply enough for my liking.

Accentuate the Positive

I've been busy lately, and not handling it as well as I might. I've been feeling a bit stressed. So though I'm still just as busy, I've decided to focus on the positive.

I'M GOING TO SEE ECLIPSE TONIGHT!


I'm really looking forward to it :) Alana and I are going with another mother/daughter pair - we have a standing date with them ever since we all saw New Moon together. I'm sure we'll be back for more when Breaking Dawn comes out.

I took the lovely Lucy for a walk yesterday, and I'm going to take her for another one today as well.












Awww, aint she cute?

Also, I visited Wyong TAFE Library this morning to meet Joanne the library manager, who is going to look after me while I do my two week work placement there. Click here to visit the website and check it out!



Monday, June 28, 2010

Vodka under the Eclipse


Last Saturday night, caught the eclipse when I looked out of the window... when was the last time I caught the eclipse?


My sec school friends came over to my house to drink...


Weiliang couldn't take it anymore...cause of the...


Poker cards? Maybe...


Haha... yea, it was the result of Vodka!


A simple night, with good old buddies.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

the short second life of bree tanner by Stephenie Meyer.

Read as e-book for free at http://ld-breetannerbook.libredigital.com/index.html

*** "For fans"





The blurb: "Fans of The Twilight Saga will be enthralled by this riveting story of Bree Tanner, a character first introduced in Eclipse, and the newborn vampire world she inhabits. In another irresistable combination of danger. mystery, and romance, Stephenie Meyer tells the devastating story of Bree and the newborn army as they prepare to close in on Bella Swan and the Cullens, following their encounter to its unforgettable conclusion."

If you don't already love Twilight, then this book isn't for you.

First, a word about the structure of the writing; Meyer doesn't use chapters, the story just flows along from page to page from beginning to end. I found this a little frustrating. I didn't have the opportunity to read it all in one go, and it was hard to find a place to stop, and then hard to get back into it later. I guess if I had bought a copy of the book, I just would have used a bookmark LOL, but the free online version does not allow saving, printing, or bookmarking :( Well fair enough, you get what you pay for!

So, on to the actual story. Did I enjoy reading some of the events of Eclipse from a different perspective? Yes. Did I enjoy the fact that Meyer used this book as an opportunity to expand on her version of Vampire mythology? Yes. Did I find Bree Tanner a sympathetic and engaging character? Yes. But was I "enralled"? Did I find it "riveting", "irresistable", or "unforgettable"? No.

Now this might seem a bit harsh, but to me this book seemed like Meyer, so enamoured by the world she had created, decided that she couldn't leave it behind and needed to explore it more. So she had a play, and this is what came out. And the publishing company published it more because they knew they could sell it, than because it was an excellent book. Mean, aren't I?

I also felt that Meyer did her usual trick of allowing the story to unfold slowly, then suddenly wrap it all up at the end.

I won't be rushing out to buy a copy to add to my Twilight collection, but I did enjoy it. You can still read it for free online until July 5th.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Hectic Life Update

Everyone has done very well today! Chris' team won their football game - yay for them! And both the kids did very well at their competitions...

Here's a picture of Josh with his silver medal.


He scored 8.40 for the Vault, 8.60 for the Floor, 8.80 for the High Bar and 9.40 for the Parallel Bars, which was a grand total of 35.2 marks out of 40. Would you believe that the winner of the gold medal got a total of 35.3?

Alana got a Highly Commended for the Ballet Scholarship competing against girls and boys up to 18 years of age. The adjudicator gave her lovely comments, saying that "it is a pleasure to watch you dance".

So, here I am home again, and it must be just about time to read the Sunday papers :)

My hectic life.

I don't think I'll manage a Twitter Trio post today, things have been way too hectic at my place!

Today Alana is at the ballet studio competing in the annual Scholarship Exam. She's doing two different grades, Grade 6 and Intermediate Foundation, and will find out later in the day if she has won any awards.

Soon I'll be heading down to the gym with Josh for the Scallywags Gymnastics competition. Yes, that's right, the ballet and gymnastics will, of course, be on the same day! Josh is competing in Senior Level 5, and we'll find out at the end if he receives any medals or ribbons.

Chris is playing the BJ Smith Cup AFL Masters today, unfortunately none of us will be there to see his brilliance!

And as for me, well I've already started doing some reading for next semester's uni subjects which seem quite challenging.

Here's a picture of Lucy to finish the roundup.



I am utterly hopeless at taking photos of her, I have lots and lots where she's not looking at the camera. This is the best I could do - she's chewing a tennis ball sitting in her favourite pile of leaves in the back yard.

Enjoy your Sunday, everyone, and I'll update you on everyone's results soon.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Help! Literature in Education

I am starting a new subject at uni called "Literature in Education" and I'm putting out the call for help.

What children's literature is in your school library? How is children's literature being used to enhance the education of children at all levels of schooling?

I am looking specifically at Contemporary Realistic Fiction for my first assignment. What are the current trends and themes in this area of children's literature? Can you suggest any current examples that are popular, relevant, and used in schools?

I appreciate your help! If you can post a link to this blog entry on your blog, or tweet a link to it so it gets to as many people as possible, that would be wonderful :)

Thanking you in anticipation.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Stranger Here Below by Joyce Hinnefeld

Title: Stranger Here Below
Publisher: Unbridled Books
Pub Date: 09/28/2010
ISBN: 9781609530044
Author: Joyce Hinnefeld
Category: FICTION - ADULT: Literary

In 1961, when Amazing Grace Jansen, a firecracker from Appalachia, meets Mary Elizabeth Cox, the daughter of a Black southern preacher, at Kentucky's Berea College, they already carry the scars and traces of their mothers' troubles. Poor and single, Maze's mother has had to raise her daughter alone and fight to keep a roof over their heads. Mary Elizabeth's mother has carried a shattering grief throughout her life, a loss so great that it has disabled her and isolated her stern husband and her brilliant, talented daughter.


The caution this has scored into Mary Elizabeth has made her defensive and too private and limited her ambitions, despite her gifts as a musician. But Maze's earthy fearlessness might be enough to carry them both forward toward lives lived bravely in an angry world that changes by the day.

Both of them are drawn to the enigmatic Georginea Ward, an aging idealist who taught at Berea sixty years ago, fell in love with a black man, and suddenly found herself renamed as a sister in a tiny Shaker community. Sister Georgia believes in discipline and simplicity, yes. But, more important, her faith is rooted in fairness and the long reach of unconditional love.

This is a novel about three generations of women and the love that makes families where none can be expected.

I received a pre-publication galley of this book via netGalley. I am under no obligation to the publisher and my review is my honest opinion of the book.

Before I begin my review, I must admit that I'm facing a bit of a stumbling block when it comes to reading the galleys that I receive via netGalley. Because I don't own a portable eReader of any description (no iPads, Kindles or the like reside here), my only option is to read them on my computer, which is a fairly heavy HP laptop. It is portable, so I can take it to McCafe to read with coffee, to football or gymnastics to read while the children play (though they do ask why I didn't see that fabulous goal they kicked, or the fly spring they did off the end of the tumble track!), or even to bed if I sit propped up on pillows and angle the screen just right. But it's just not the same as reading a book! Trust me to say that if I'm lucky enough to get an iPhone or a Kobo or such, then I'll be the one who gets sand in it at the beach, or drops it in the bath. I like to read anywhere, anytime! Having to sit up straight at a desk or table of some sort to read a novel just doesn't make me feel like I'm reading for pleasure, and my laptop doesn't do so well on my lap! I guess what I'm saying is that sometimes it feels a bit too much like work to read galleys to review.

Anyway, on to what I think of Stranger Here Below.

The book opens in 1968, with a letter written by Maze to her best friend Mary Elizabeth. She speaks of her sadness, loneliness and regret, and of her fears for the future.

We then go back to the beginning, to the birth of Georginea Ward in 1872, and from there the story weaves back and forth between Maze and Mary Elizabeth, their mothers Vista and Sarah, and Georginea, who Vista and Maze live with for much of their lives.

Stranger Here Below leaves much unsaid. Fears and passions alike are buried or denied by women who face hardships and must show strength and stoicism to live day by day. Many questions are left unanswered, and much is implied rather than made explicit. For this reason, the book is an engrossing, though not easy, read.

An indication of how finely drawn Hinnefeld's character are, is the anger, frustration and tears provoked in the reader by the events that unfold. The fact that the reader feels so strongly for the characters, and empathizes with them in this way, shows just how successful the author has been.

The historical context of the novel is extremely interesting, covering as it does the Shakers (the United Society of Believers in Christ’s Second Appearing, known as the Shakers, is a Protestant religious sect), the Day Law (Berea College is a coeducational and desegregated school founded in 1855, admitting both blacks and whites students and treating them without discrimination. In 1904, the "Day Law" was passed by the Kentucky legislature, prohibiting any person, group of people, or corporation from the teaching of black and white students in the same school, or from running separate branches of a school for the teaching of black and white students within twenty-five miles of each other. Since at the time Berea was the only such integrated school in Kentucky, it was clearly the target of this law.), and the Vietnam War (In 1965 America officially entered the Vietnam War to fight against the will of the Vietnamese people and to support minority Vietnamese interests which were tied to American interests. 58 169 Americans were killed. Vietnam was a display of American fallibility, lack of judgment, lack of understanding of root issues, and lack of support for people to determine their own destiny and govern themselves.).

Recommended reading.

Keeping all the Balls in the Air

I've been feeling a bit "all over the place" lately. You know that feeling you have when you've got a lot of balls in the air and you're not sure which one is closest to the ground and should be getting your attention? Yeah, that's been me.

Josh went off to his first school camp this morning, and in a massive photo opportunity fail, I did not take a single snap of him - with his bag, getting on the bus, smiling and waving goodbye - nothing. Ooooops. In an attempt to redeem myself I wrote him a letter and posted it immediately.


So tomorrow or Friday he should receive a letter telling him that I hope it's not still raining (!) and he's able to do all the outdoor activities (rock climbing, archery, canoeing) and that I hope the food is OK (Josh is a fussy eater)!

My next project is doing some sewing for Alana's ballet costume. She's competing in an eisteddfod doing a duo with a friend of hers in less than two weeks, and at the moment the costume is just a plain white leotard in need of a skirt and some decoration. There's a lovely dressmaker that's doing the skirt for me, but I decided that I'd be perfectly capable of tizzing it up with some sequins or some such! After a couple of trips to Spotlight and Lincraft, I've got some black braid to which I have to attach diamontes.



Then, the dressmaking sales assistant informs me, I'll have to sew it onto the costume WITH ALANA IN IT because the braid and diamontes have no stretch, and if I sew it on without Alana in it, the decorations will all fly off as soon as she tries to put the costume on! Fun for all the family.

You'll be pleased to know that I got my uni assignment back yesterday. I was really happy with the mark of 37.5 out of 50 (you must remember that I am doing a Masters degree so they have very high expectations!), but even more so with the comment. Of course there was plenty of constructive criticism, but the bits I liked were:

Your use of the literature is well considered and you provide evidence of deep thought and analysis. 

Good luck with your research- you have huge potential to complete this and publish it.

Yay for me!

So, what have you all been up to?

Moonlight Resonance 家好月圓

From blogging

Recently, had been hooked infront of my computer.
After work, finished dinner, sit infront of computer.
After gym, sit infront of my computer.
Talking to my mum more often, because both of us sit infront of the computer...

Because of... 家好月圓

The best drama ever. The family ties that made me envious, the teachings that the main characters had given... really a show that can bring laughter and tears.

Even my mum is asking for the dvd... maybe I shall look for it in Hongkong.

Never had I been so obsessed with a drama serial. Not even 小娘惹. Mediacorp, do something man. Seriously.


Like this sub-theme song from the show. =)

Ciara Newell - Icecream

Talk to me
You speak with me
Don’t sink before you rise baby
Don’t fade away

You hesitate
You seem to wait
For all the time we had
Feels like a world away

Who’s to say, we’ll be ok
We will make it through the night
Don’t wanna wake up in this state
I just want us both to smile

Cause we’re the same
And I know that we’ll never change
Look I bought your favourite ice cream
I don’t wanna see it melt away

If you walk out now
I don’t know if we’re gonna be the same
Baby just talk with me
Cause I want you to stay here with me

The memories
The things we did
I locked inside my heart
Where I know I won’t forget

And now, who’s to say, we’ll be ok
We will make it through the night
Don’t wanna wake up in this state
I just want us both to smile

Cause we’re the same
And I know that we’ll never change
look I bought your favorite ice ream
I don’t want to see it melts away

If you walk out now
I don’t know if we could be the same
Baby just talk with me
Cause I want you to stay here with me

I want you to stay here with me

Saturday, June 19, 2010

The Twitter Trio (5) (With Hot Guys!!!)

1. Goodreads

I inadvertently joined Goodreads this week :)

A couple of weeks ago I posted about joining LibraryThing (read post here). LibraryThing is an online cataloguing tool for your books. I signed up, and started adding books to "my library". I got a cool widget for my blog (look at the right sidebar), and if you click on any of the book covers a popup will give you the catalogue record for the book and my rating and review if I have written one. I've been pretty happy using LibraryThing except for one thing - LibraryThing is billed as a social networking site, but I'm not feeling very social about it. There is an option for adding friends, and you can visit other members' profiles to leave comments, but it's not really working for me.

On the other hand, Goodreads is connected to Twitter. I followed a link in a tweet about a book, Goodreads asked me to sign in to Twitter to allow it to connect, and hey presto (!) I was signed up with a Goodreads account. At first I was a bit annoyed; I felt that Twitter had hijacked me a bit a-la-Facebook. But very quickly I had 15 new friends and was receiving updates about what they were reading and I was feeling the love! So far I've only added one book, Stranger Here Below by Joyce Hinnefeld, which is my current read. But for social networking, it seems that Goodreads has got it all over LibraryThing.


Now here's a blog that's got it all for the discerning, book-reading gal!

A sample:



Now, not everyone's idea of "hot" is the same, but I think if you check out this blog you'll find that there's something for everyone :)

3. Online Tools

I've tagged a million-and-one webpages "TBR" (to be read) since starting to use Twitter. I mark them, then when I've got some time I go back and look through them in more detail to decide whether or not they are "keepers".

Here are some online tools that I have tagged to check out later. If you use them, please leave me a comment to let me know if they're good!

Pho.to "Enhance, share, and have fun with your photos for free."

Producteev "Task management that works the way you do."

Veezzle "Free stock photos."

Aviary "Photo-editing, logos, web templates ...and more. Music creator, screen capture..."

I hope that this post has introduced you to something new. The Twitter Trio is a weekly feature on my blog.

Saturday night @ Marche

Was out with Citibankers at 313 somerset Marche, hmm... crowded, limited choices,expensive... overall... 2.5/5

Watched Karate Kids before that, first time heard audiences clapped in movie theater sia, Chinese Kung Fu... never underestimate it. Haha, but I'm more touched by the character's perseverance and determination throughout the learning process. Worth to catch it. =)



Went to the rooftop garden at... this new shopping mall in orchard. Haha, not sure of the name. Too many new shopping malls in orchard sia. Getting old. LoL



But the most important thing is not where we've go, what we've done. But the companionship among 5 of us.
Serling, Alvin, Gina, Myself, Xiuli (Clockwise from back)

Sense of Satisfaction...

From

Sense of satisfaction... I hope my customers will like it too. That's my job, going around to set up sales corner for them. Marketing, still my cup of tea. =)

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

More Puppy Pics

Just got back from having Lucy microchipped. Also bought some expensive stuff to eliminate all manner of worms and fleas (!) and a brush for her gorgeous curly hair which will tend to get matted if it's not attended to. The vet also clipped the hair around her eyes which we can now see! Check out this cute photo.



Here are some other pics that Alana managed to capture the other day - she's quite the photographer!



Before clipping - see the difference!



With her Daddy :)

See, I told you that Lucy is the cutest thing ever!

Monday, June 14, 2010

Jump for Joy!

Table Topics Tuesdays is on hiatus while Shannon enjoys her summer holidays. I thought I'd take the opportunity to share some photos of Josh on the trampoline with you.



I know Josh looks like he's flying, but trust me, there's a trampoline under there somewhere! It just didn't make it into the photo.



Jump for joy!



Flip out!

Alana took these great action shots while she was outside getting photos of the dog. I'll share some of those photos another day. For today, just know that if you have an active kid like I do, then you too could be watching him or her attempt death-defying feats of gymnastical brilliance on your backyard trampoline! Josh has been going to gymnastics classes for about 3 years now, and he loooooves it. Just as well he's getting some training!



With a twist!

Ris Low's comments on World Cup...





Hmm... so does her "BoomBz" comments represent the girls too?

Sunday, June 13, 2010

The Twitter Trio (4)

1. Wordia

Wordia is a new online dictionary that brings words to life via videos. Check out this video for the word cliche.




2. WGBH Open Vault

Open Vault is a Media Library and Archives. Search through the archive of broadcast series and programs. Here below is a link to Dr Martin Luther King Jr's famous "I have a Dream" speech.

Martin Luther King, Jr.: I Have a Dream Speech - WGBH Open Vault

3. The UNDP-Olympus-AFP Foundation Photo Contest

The Millenium Development Goals are a global undertaking to end poverty. The goals are:

Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

Achieve universal primary education

Promote gender equality and empower women

Reduce child mortality

Improve maternal health

Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

Ensure environmental sustainability

Develop a Global Partnership for Development

Contestants can enter photos that focus on progress towards the millenium goals. The photo below was taken by GB Mukherji shows a maths teacher with high school students. Some day, the teacher told the photographer, one of them will become a scientist.



The Twitter Trio is a weekly feature on my blog. My goal is to share resources and information that I have found via Twitter with my readers.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Back to the 1960s of Singapore...


"We have a vision for tomorrow... just believe, just believe..."
Visited the 1960s gallery in National Museum today, while I was working there for a film screening session...


It's a free gallery, which educate many young people like us, who were born after the 1960s...


Malay language books were introduced back then... during the merger of Singapore and Malaysia.


Familiar sound records to my parents...


How many of us are still using type writers these days?


You think you've only seen them in 小娘惹?


Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew swearing-in-ceremony back then, no pictures were taken back then... an artist's view of impression...


Headlines during those days...


If you're interested, visit the National Museum, 3rd June to 22nd August, 10am to 6pm daily. Admission is free. =)

Friday, June 11, 2010

Oodles of Cuteness!

Here I am holding Lucy!

She arrived on the plane yesterday afternoon. Chris picked her up from Sydney airport and drove her home, so we finally met her last night.

Lucy is the cutest thing you have ever seen!




Here's Alana holding her.



And here's Josh playing with her.

Lucy loves to chew, and her tail wags at a million miles an hour. She has successfully peed on the newspaper a couple of times, but so far we haven't managed to get her to go outside.

I'm sure to give you regular updates!

By the way, Blogger has new templates. Like the new look?

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Twilight and Philosophy

With thanks to Darlyn at Darlyn and Books I won an eBook of Twilight and Philosophy by Rebecca Housel and Jeremy Wisnewski.


Twilight and Philosophy: Vampires, Vegetarians, and the Pursuit of Immortality edited by Rebecca Housel and Jeremy Wisnewski.
Won in a blog giveaway.

*** "Interesting."

This book is part of the Blackwell Philosophy and Pop Culture series, which includes South Park and Philosophy, Lost and Philosophy, and House and Philosophy. The contributing writers are mainly Philosophy teaching staff at universities. Consequently, this book is an examination of some of the big philosophical questions seen through the lense of the Twilight saga books.

I did not receive any "blurb" with my eBook of Twilight and Philosophy, so I came with my own expectations of what it would be about and what it would be like. I had never heard of the Blackwell series, and so thought of this book as a kind of "companion piece" to the Twilight books. I was very wrong.

Although there is plenty in this book to delight Twilight fans, it is by no means a light, fluffy take on the philosophy of the books. Instead, it investigates issues such as the ethics of vegetarianism, the definition of a person (what makes us human), and the question of theodicy (why God, if he exists, does not eliminate evil from the world). See - not exactly light and fluffy!

Now I'm the type of reader who would pick up a book about philosophy. Something billed as "a beginner's guide to the philosophy of feminism, Taoism, and the nature of space and time" would be of interest to me. And that's exactly what Twilight and Philosophy is - an accessible look into some of the problems that philosophers wrestle with.

I found this book interesting, and recommend it to readers wanting a primer on philosophy. I don't recommend that you read it just on the strength of the word Twilight in the title!

Monday, June 7, 2010

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Movie Trailer!



Yay! Any day with a new Harry Potter movie trailer is a good day! Can't wait to see these movies :) I wonder how they're going to manage splitting the book into two movies? Where will part one end and part two begin?

Sunday, June 6, 2010

The Sacredness of Questioning Everything

The Sacredness of Questioning Everything by David Dark.

Bought for myself.

*** "Deep and meaningful."





From the back cover: "Is Your God Big Enough to Be Questioned? The freedom to question is an indispensible and sacred practice that is absolutely vital to the health of our communities. According to author David Dark, when religion won't tolerate questions, objections, or differences of opinion, and when it only brings to the table threats of excommunication, violence, and hellfire, it obstructs our ability to think, empathise, and live lives of authenticity and genuine engagement..."

This is a book for Christians. It encourages questioning and deep thought, but from within a Biblical world view.

I'm going to have to re-read this book at some future time. It was quite dense and definitely not a light read. There was so much substance to the book that I don't think I took it all in the first time around.

The book begins with a compelling image of what "God" means to some people, the idea of a fearsome, distant judge who requires praise from people in order to be happy with them. I could really relate to this image, and to the sense that this image must be inherently wrong. I commend Dark's efforts to encourage Christians to examine their beliefs and move toward a more authentic understanding of God. This will be very challenging to Christians wanting to think deeply about what it means to truly engage their faith.

I didn't find this book compelling all the way through. I simply found it a bit too wordy, I think some of the power of Dark's ideas was lost to me. But I will try again in the future.

Thailand Trip Part 2 - Shopping Paradise


Day 3... started with taking a group photo with Khun Mi and her son. Cause we foresee we will be returning late, and next morning we would need to rush for our flight at 7.05am. Since time was tight, we took it early in the morning. Seen behind is her wedding photo, haha...she took it 10 years ago.


We head on to the Grand Palace in the morning. Walked around some temples near the Grand Palace... and the architecture of the temples are really stunning.
Christian posing here... the temple behind is made up of small square gold plates...imported from Italy.


Images of the temple.


At the Grand Palace, Markus and I joined in the soldier to guard the palace. LoL.


I really pity the soldier guarding the palace. Haha, but I admired his will power and determination under the hot sun! He had became an icon there for everyone to take photo with!


Images around the the grand palace.


Don't you think this pic looks like some palace you find in those HongKong drama serial? Ehh... 宫心计?


Markus, Christian, Marco and myself at the Grand Palace.


After sight-seeing, was already lunch time. Head on to Chatuchak market via taxi. Found a small cafe around that area and had our lunch there. Good food, good price, nice!



If you want to shop in Thailand, then Chatuchak weekend market is a "must visit" place for all... but please be prepared to spare about 4-5 hours at the market. With more than 10 000 stalls, you will definitely need more time to walk around!


Do you dare to eat this?


Chatuchak randomness...


Posing with some gay slippers here...


Head on to the next biggest indoor shopping center, MBK in the evening via skytrain. The skytrain system seem to work in the same way like the Singapore MRT system few years back, when we were still using our "MRT" card...


Saw this parking space from the skytrain platform, PACKED like sardine sia.


In the skytrain with Marcus and Christian.


MBK center reached! Hmm, heard that it's quite near the Central Mall, which was recently burned down by the red shirts. But frankly speaking, the crowd still exist at MBK shopping mall, just that there's security guard and control at every entrance. It's safe lah, really.


Ate our dinner in MBK, some international restaurant, which works like Marche. Just passed the card to the stalls, and they will whip up something good for you.


And time flies, by then, was already night time. Stayed around MBK for about 2-3 hours before we head back to Khun Mi's house...


Early morning, we took our flight home at around 7.05am Thailand time. Gonna miss Thailand sia. I'm sure I will return to the land of all smiles again. =)
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