Not yet dead

Nope, this blog isn't dead, yet.

I did toy with the idea of completely calling it a day, but when I've been poring through the archives, I was actually surprised. Mostly, pleasantly surprised. There are a lot of thoughts (and memories) crammed in there!

It was a really interesting exercise actually. Some posts I remembered distinctly. Some I don't remember writing at all. Quite a lot I still agree with, but would now refine or nuance it more. (But you can't say everything!) Maybe one or two which I would now throw away. Some of my convictions have strengthened. Some of my convictions, relaxed a little. What is especially interesting is what I have chosen to say, and not say, on this blog. What you get, I think, is a true shape of my thoughts, but not the complete shape. For eg., there's one period where you could reasonably infer I was becoming quite "emerging", which isn't the whole truth. I was fascinated by that particular stream, and tried to be generous with it, as I try to be with all things. But I don't think I was as "emerging" as it might look.

The main point is that writing still helps me to focus my thoughts and to do some thinking aloud. It's a good discipline to try to maintain. I know I just won't be able to keep up a good pace of blogging with my schedule nowadays, but I want to keep on trying to write and reflect in this space. I often still do have lots and lots of thoughts floating around in my head which needs some space to breathe, and this is still the ideal place for it.

:-)

A new chapter

Sorry it's been a bit quiet around here this week. I seem to have lots of things going on in the last few days, and I was also slightly unwell on Thursday, no doubt thanks to my immune system being battered due to a very late night watching the Celtics clinch their 17th championship against the Lakers.

Anyway, I just thought I'll let my readers know a bit more about what's been happening, since it would have an impact on my blogging. Of course, if you know and see me regularly, you would know all about this already! Basically, I will be moving back to Oxford in mid-August to start life as an apprentice at St. Ebbes. I certainly did not forsee this a year, or maybe even 6 months ago, but God, in his timing, has brought it all about and I'm pretty excited and daunted all at once.

Some of you might know what apprentices or apprenticeship schemes (or if you're from Australia, Ministry Training Schemes) are, particularly if you move in particular church circles or networks here in the UK, but for the rest of you who are scratching your heads, here's a brief rundown. "Apprentice schemes are 1-2 year placements with evangelical churches, normally incorporating practical service, Word ministry and some formal training" (9:38 website), meant to help people think through whether 'full-time paid gospel ministry' (although let us be clear, all Christians are 'full-time'!) is right for them in the context of serving the local church and being under the watchful eye of those who are already in the ministry. I've seen an apprentice defined as "someone who has committed themselves to learning about gospel ministry as part of a local congregation" and that's not at all a bad way of putting it. In other words, it is both a 'testing ground', to see whether it is right for someone to pursue such a path, and a 'stepping stone', in that such experience and training would no doubt prove invaluable. It's a great model, I think, because it gets you involved in the life of a local church and to be looking to build God's people up, and also in watching those more mature than you at work, because discipleship isn't just taught but caught. Christopher Ash puts it this way: "The gifts of Christ are discerned by the body of Christ as they are used by the servants of Christ".

For more, have a browse of the 9:38 website and their articles section, especially those by David Jackman, Vaughan Roberts, and Chris Green.

I will be working primarily amongst international students, possibly with an eye on the postgrads in particular. One of the blessings is that although I'm on the move again for the 4th time in 6 years, this time I'm moving back to familiar surroundings. I spent 3 years at Ebbes as an undergraduate and it's fair to say that I grew a lot as a Christian during my time there. Some of you might recognise the name of the rector (Anglican jargon for senior pastor), Vaughan Roberts, perhaps best known for his book God's Big Picture. One of the most amusing anecdotes I've read about Ebbes actually comes from Alister McGrath's biography of J.I Packer. Apparently, when Packer was in Oxford as a student in the 1940s, he initially went along to Ebbes but left because he found the place "cold and unwelcoming"! Over half a century later, Packer attended an Ebbes service when yours truly was there so I'm guessing Dr. Packer has since revised his opinion. Although I think I found settling in hardgoing at times, I don't think I could ever accuse Ebbes of the same thing and hope that it would continue to be a welcoming place for internationals.

At the same time, it would also be a new experience, since I'll be at Oxford as a non-student, and of course, many of my friends are no longer there. Even many on the staff team will be new as well. There are some little niggly things still to sort out, like visas and funding, so prayer's always welcome. So expect things to be busy after August, with blogging likely to rank lower on the list of priorities!


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Happy Blogiversary

Yesterday marked the fourth birthday of this blog. It was the Easter holidays of 2004, and I was sitting in my room bored out of my mind. Mucking about on my computer, I suddenly thought, why not start a blog for fun? It’s no contest when the alternative is hitting the books to prepare for the coming term. I had been reading blogs for a while by then – I was stunned when revisiting my archives to see that I already knew of the 'emerging church' from the very moment this blog was borne – and my other friends had blogs so it seemed like a natural way to connect. Who knew I would last this long? It seemed as if things were grinding to a halt in 2006, when I had a really busy year, but I dug in my heels and pressed on.

Interestingly, in my very first post I had chewed over 5 possible reasons for blogging and concluded that my own motivation was probably a combination of these:

1. To "document my life", i.e chronicling, journaling day-to-day stuff.
2. As commentary, i.e if I have an opinion, the whole world should know about it!
3. As catharsis, i.e pretending to be the innocent martyr. :-p
4. To force thinking by writing.
5. To build community.

I’ve always thought of my blogging as rather piecemeal, even after all these years. It was very interesting to look over my first year of blogging especially and see all my half-formed thoughts and the things I was grappling with. Things can change a lot in 4 years! I was also quite surprised to note that my posts were more personal than I thought they would be. My writing was less detached and more stream-of-consciousness. I had a more playful streak as well. (Haha, and probably more pretentious too). That was also the summer Uncle Jason and others perished in the helicopter accident and I’m glad that my memories of it were captured on this very blog. I know that in the past year especially, I’ve probably not been as personal in tone, as I’ve been much more essayistic in style and less of a chronicler. It’s quite hard to get the balance right since a general rule of blogging is to avoid the "Today I took my cat to the vet" syndrome, yet, as Gordon Cheng put it very well recently: "I suppose minutiae are interesting if you’re interested in the person whose minutiae they are." But then again, and this is certainly not the first time I’ve said it, getting the right pitch for an unseen audience (I honestly have no idea who many of my readers are) has never been easy.

Of course, I break other rules of blogging as well, such as the endless verbiage of some of my posts and the failure to find a particular niche. Although having said that, interestingly, as I look back, certain themes can be easily detected over the past four years. Books and films figure quite a bit, but that’s not a surprise. My sports-nut persona is present. But there was certainly much more featured poetry and stuff on current affairs than I thought. Reflections on "Christian" things are all there obviously. Just as often, however, there are things which I initially want to blog about but after more thought, I realise it’s better to hold yer horses. I’m sure some of you have also probably spotted patterns that I missed.

One thing I admit to is that I sometimes wish more people would comment, especially my friends. That's 'cause I just selfishly want to feel looooved. :-p Sometimes a post does surprise you, like my post on homosexuality. I didn’t actually spent ages writing that one; just sat down in front of the computer and let the words flow. So I was surprised, shouldn’t have been really, that it attracted attention.

Anyway, happy blogiversary to myself!


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New Word Alive

I've been kind of wanting to go to New Word Alive (promotional video here), currently underway, this year but circumstances (jobless etc.) have dictated that I won't have been able to go anyhow. Also, I wanted to go with a few close friends as opposed to going with a big group of strangers / people I only vaguely know - this introverted exile needs a (relational) break from time to time - but sadly, most of them couldn't go. To be honest, none of them seemed even interested in going, which was quite disappointing even if in the end I couldn't go anyway.

NWA is a big evangelical UK Christian conference that runs for a week every year around Easter time. They had a little controversy last year with their trustees, UCCF and Keswick Ministries having a theological disagreement with their old partner, Spring Harvest and thus both deciding a split would be best for both parties. It's sad but hopefully healthy for the church in the long run. Hence, the "New" in the title, although hopefully by next year they'll have figured out a better name; I'm assuming NWA is provisional! Don Carson, John Piper and Terry Virgo are the main speakers for this year.

I can experience some of it vicariously though, Adrian Warnock is liveblogging the event. He's got copious notes on all the talks so far. I've also enjoyed his interview with Stuart Townend and his notes of Mike Ovey's seminar on humanity.

Tim Chester has blogged through some of the talks - if you just need a summary you might want to look at his instead of Warnock's stuff - and I'll update the links here if he blogs the rest as well.
Grace and Law (Terry Virgo, Romans 7)
The Cross and Propitiation (Don Carson, 1 John 1:1-2:2)
Treasuring Christ in the call to suffer (John Piper, Romans 8:1-35, Audio, but i haven't gotten it to work yet!)
Praise my Soul the king of heaven (Tim Chester's own reflections on worshipping at NWA)
Suffering and the praise of God's grace (John Piper, Romans 8, Audio)

Sick note

Been ill for most of this week. It's not as bad as the last time sickness assailed me but it seems to have lingered on for longer - I have the chills, a bad sore throat/cough, and my temperature fluctuates quite a bit. Twice I thought I was on the road to recovery only for my body to heat up again, so until I have 24 hours sans fever, I will not pronounce myself healthy. The sore throat might take a little longer to go away by the looks of it.

Hence the lack of blogging - well, not really. Even if I've been healthy, have had a bit of blogger's block recently. There have been dregs of posts floating around aimlessly in my mind, waiting to be fished out, prepared, and served accordingly, but I've not had the motivation/inspiration/energy lately to do anything about it. Then again, it's not like I'm Challies (as of today, 1617 days of consecutive blogging) or anything.

In the meantime, why don't you visit some of the blogs on my blogroll instead? :)

12 hours of blog fame

Well, this blog had about 12 hours of fame after my previous post got linked by Malaysiakini. I had the highest number of hits ever, but I expect things to return to normalcy today. :) Would have been nicer still if they had been directed to a post like this one.

And if my blog stats are any indication, Malaysiakini's readers are overwhelmingly from KL.

And for a light-hearted take on the elections (sorry non-Malaysians for the in jokes):

Taking stock of my blogging

Since it is the new year, I thought it might be a good idea to take stock of my blogging, something I haven't done for a while. Having blogged very little in 2006, I picked up the pace this last year from March onwards, when I got hold of a new laptop.

ThisLast year, I found myself blogging more explicitly on biblical passages, such as 2 Timothy or various psalms, such as Psalm 8. In addition, I briefly worked through the complementarian and egalitarian positions, which also got me quite a few google hits. I think this renewed focus parallels what's happening in my life outside the virtual world, where I both gained a renewed confidence that the Scriptures are the speech-acts of God and a realisation that I needed to try to get a better grasp of what the Bible says. In other words, I needed a better handle on the basics first before going for the cheem (deep) stuff! And committing words to screen has proven helpful in doing this.

I found myself reading more biblioblogs this last year, most of them not on my blogroll, such as the always enlightening Euangelion. I had fun too discovering some Malaysian blogs such as pearlie and Lim Kar Yong. It seems like you can easily access the thoughts of just about any well-known scholar these days; I noticed, for example, that OT professor Peter Enns is the latest to join the blogosphere.

Alongside the wrap, I instituted Wordsmiths this last year, where I featured various literary pieces, mainly poetry. It also helps with my blogging rhythm, I noticed. In fact, Paul David Tripp's Psalm 51 inspired poem was one of my most popular posts. One of the things I'm considering doing this year is actually doing a regular book post, since I am a bibliophile after all. But I'm not quite sure what - perhaps highlighting various books that are coming out?

The highlight of the year was discovering that I had made Stephen Murray's blogroll, although I have no idea why! I'm the least illustrious and intelligent member of the group on his sidebar.

I expect that when I get a job blogging output would once again be reduced, which is not necessarily a bad thing.

Anyway, the floor is open to all of my readers now. I need feedback. What have you liked about my blogging? What could be better? (I know that I break one of the cardinal rules of blogging often, and that is to be concise!) My writing style? (I experiment so much less these days). One thing I'm quite curious about, how many of you use RSS/Google Reader/etc. to read this blog? Plus anything and everything else. No asking to redesign my blog though, I don't have the time! And feel free to comment anonymously, if you're shy-shy one.

Merry Christmas!

We interrupt this regular transmission to bring you breaking news...

Happy birthday to me
I turn twenty-three!
I still have no money
Or my own biographeeeeee!

Ahem.

In other news, conclusive evidence that BK's tutors are on crack surfaced today when he discovered that he had been awarded a distinction for his Masters. BK(MA)?!!??

An empty apartment, furnished with a television and a petulant adolescent will also be in the charge of BK for the next ten days or so. George is your typical teenager, sucking up to you when he wants something (particularly food), before sullenly ignoring you once the stomach is filled. Or else demanding inordinate amounts of attention while expecting you to clean up after him. At the same time, George is capable of tugging at your heartstrings, as he did this evening while I was leaving, staring woefully at me in the hallway with his puppy-dog pout. Don't tell George I said that though, as he won't appreciate it. He is a feline after all.

Anyway, I might not blog for the remainder of 2007; at the very least, I expect blogging output to be reduced. So have a very Merry Christmas!

The Future of Reading

Ebooks and ebook readers haven't really caught on, although they've been touted for the better part of the decade. I'm not too sure how many of my readers know of the Amazon Kindle, which is a portable reading device, but it's certainly whipped up a media frenzy. It's quite an interesting tool, on which you can not only download books, but also subscribe to various newspapers and magazines, as well as access Wikipedia.

Newsweek has a very good feature story. It doesn't just focus on the foibles of the device but explores the wider implications of new technology on reading.

Like virtually all bibliophiles, I've always been a bit of a traditionalist - how can something mechanical replace the smell, the feel of the book? But over this past year my assumptions have been challenged. I was at a forum discussing ebooks earlier this year and I was quite suprised to learn of the existence of E-Ink, which makes the page on the screen look very much like a printed one and more or less eliminates screen glare (one of the major things that put me off). Amazon czar Jeff Bezos certainly thinks that we can get over the physical nature of books : "I've actually asked myself, 'Why do I love these physical objects? Why do I love the smell of glue and ink?' The answer is that I associate that smell with all those worlds I have been transported to. What we love is the words and ideas." In some ways, I think the transition has happened without me/us(?) noticing it - the simple notion of anyone with an internet connection being able to publish a blog, read other blogs and comment is actually quite revolutionary when we think about it.

I'm also quite intrigued as to the relevance of this to Christians; with regards to Bible reading, mission and so on. During early church times, Christian scribes were among the first to adopt the codex, a manuscript whose sheets of papyrus are fastened together in the form of a book rather than a scroll, which made circulating documents easier. The invention of the printing presses, of course, ushered us from an oral culture to a print culture. What was previously transient now acquired a new air of permanence (speech vs writing). Also, the fixed form of the printed book meant that books seemed more "weighty", it had an authority about it that was not present in the medieval manuscript tradition, which was often more of a colloborative effort. I'm sure the lawyers will tell me that they give more leverage to written material than to oral utterances. The rise of print (and literacy) also led to a rise in the notion of privacy; you can read on your own whereas you have to talk with someone.

And yet with the rise of new technologies, we're swinging back to an oral culture, albeit a very different one. Comments on blogs act like annotations. Blog posts are never finished products, well, unless you cut off comments. I was wondering how the ability to be able to search a book electronically might change our reading habits. (Actually, we already do this when we search for something on Bible Gateway, but if that feature was widely available on an ebook reader...) The invention of the hyperlink means that we no longer have to follow something from beginning to end - you might have clicked on the Newsweek link above before returning (or not!) to this post!

I should say that the Kindle has had an underwhelming response so far. It's far too expensive, and still has too many kinks by the looks of it. But I wonder. Would people be taking ebook readers for granted in 20 years time?

This blog is so junior high!

Aiyah, and all this time I thought I was so smart lor. Turn out that ah boy and ah girl all have no problem reading this belog one.

OK OK, no more Manglish. Maybe this just shows that I have the populist touch. :) However, no more of this nonsense. I thrive on obfuscation. Why say "lie" when I can say "epistemological fallacy"? From now on, I shall write like this:

"It is the deterritorialization of the discourse of the other, displaced from its topography of narrative and unable to carve out a spatial and temporal autonomy, yet which paradoxically preserves its singularity and transforms itself in its alterity that resists the penetrative gaze that seeks to do violence to its textual substance and prevents a premature foreclosure of subversive utterances."

Or something. It's not just genius level I'm aiming for, it's beyond genius! MWAHAHAHAHA etc. etc.

random thoughts

...here are a few bits and pieces that have been floating around in my head and were too undeveloped to deserve a post of its own, but needed to be made a little more concrete...

...i forget sometimes that blogs are public, especially as this blog has what, 10 readers? and therefore it's easy to project a more self-righteous self than is actually the case, and not to practise what i preach...

...one john has been the book i've been reading for quiet times over the summer, and while it can be confusing - i bet he wasn't a linear thinker! - the big theme stares you in the face: loving one another (referring to Christians here). and i was thinking, and we all know this, that it's easier to round on those who we are closer, more familiar with. so for example, in light of the recent gay church controversy. i know that they were enthusiastic brothers and sisters who in their zeal, probably didn't handle the matter correctly. but sometimes i wondered, we bend over backwards to rightly show grace to our homosexual people out there, but fail to show the same grace to our fellow christians. sure their language was a little wrong-headed and love, of course, includes correction, but the disdain we show for them, that didn't always sit right with me...

...been reading de zengitota's mediated, which is basically postmodernism 101 applied. but his observations were very striking on just how self-obssessed our culture is, and just how much we default to therapeutic explanations. it was scary really. i've also been reading david wells' god in the wasteland, and the title says it all...

...jesus as judge is not something we think about much. if anything, it's something we automatically recoil against, and seems out of sync with jesus as friend, brother, saviour, priest etc. and it seems so negative. but it is a picture found in the new testament, and judgement is part of the message the apostles preached. so what does that mean for today?...

...just over a week ago i wrote an email to a good friend of mine, and mentioned how our ordinary lives are just messy. coincidentally, my brother, in an email back to family, mentioned the exact same thing. and it's true - our ordinary, day-to-day lives are messy. many times i hear a friend talk about a problem or a struggle and i have no idea what to say. this is where the rubber meets the road, and where we really begin to understand what it means to trust god...

...is it just me, or is philip pullman boring?...

...oh, and happiness is being able to read empire and slam on a lazy Sunday afternoon and being persuaded to go out for a curry with the church family...

The wrap

Quite a lot of things are calling for my attention lately. I've been working full-time the last 2 weeks on a very worthwhile work placement. I was in Bath yesterday - not for a holiday, mind you! - but because I needed to consult a work which was only available at their university's library. I did manage to get enough time off to go look at the Roman baths (slightly disappointed; I had these larger-than-life images of grandeur in my mind).

I'm mindful that I just can't keep up with everything, and attending to my 'reality', as it were, should probably take priority. As I continue working on my thesis, which I'm very behind on, and look for a job, it looks like blogging will be less frequent for the next month or two. So don't expect as many updates as usual. Here's a (long but possibly quite dated) wrap in the meantime!

The Gospel Coalition
The Gospel Coalition is an initiative to unite around the gospel. That's an overly simplistic summary, since which of us do not want that? Their Confessional Statement and especially their Theological vision is well worth a read, and I am in deep agreement with them. Dashhouse has brief commentary on what this means. I understand that there are some who will look at this with suspicion, wondering if it is too parochial or insular or just a "power" exercise, and I plead with them to be charitable and interpret the motives of those involved in the best possible light. This, I think, is an attempt to be what John Stott calls "radically conservative", and to practise "double listening" - the Bible in one hand, the newspaper (i.e the surrounding culture) in the other. I haven't had the time to listen to any of the talks, but I hope to one day.

Time for some critical self-examination. John Richardson looks at the unhealthy state of English conservative evangelicalism. It'd probably only be interesting for those wanting to see how the British scene is doing, but I thought I'll link it anyway. There is a follow-up on the wisdom of knowing when to keep silence.

Are we creating a Reformed celebrity culture?, asks Timmy Brister. Yes, if we're too proud to think we're not subject to the same sinful tendencies to elevate men above God as everyone else.

There's also a very good post on the non-primacy of the imagination in much Christian thinking today. I'm lucky that I have had much contact with those who were influenced by the neo-Calvinists, such as Os Guinness and contributors to The Christian imagination, as well as having been exposed to redemptive-historical preaching. For those of you who are stirred by the claim in the article that worldview as a set of propositions is inadequate, then errr...expand your worldview by reading James Sire's Naming the Elephant! :-p

9 Marks is a ministry devoted to thinking through what it means to be church, and their July/August ejournal is really good. Click here if you want to read it in PDF. I thought Greg Gilbert on Brian McLaren was especially good.

Tim Chester has been blogging a few mini-series on marriage, singleness, sex and beauty. They're short and very good. I have now used the word "good" too many times.

Dan Kimball on whether some Christians want to be "hated". His main point is that while it is true that the message of the cross offends, sometimes it's really us who offend, and we confuse that with "standing for the truth".

Michael Pahl on a big question - what is the gospel?. Shamefully, I didn't do much more than scan this, need to go back and have a read.

2 features from Christianity Today: Desire happens and Holy to the Core.

Onto Malaysians and their thoughts. Insightful post on Sunday School and the Kingdom of God.

pearlie gates is a blog I've discovered and very much enjoy.

Great post on the grounding of Christianity in history. On his point on truth, I would frame it differently - I would say we worship a covenant God who acts in history, and based on his past acts and his perfect keeping of his promises, that provides a framework for truth to both trust in and live out.

The Al-Jazeera feature on apostasy in Malaysia. I saw this one late, but if you haven't seen it, worth a look.

Those of you in Malaysia would probably have read about Nathaniel Tan. I only began perusing his blog a month ago, and was late to hearing about his arrest. (Like I said, I can't keep up! :-> ) Again, he is likely to be an insightful blog on the public square of Malaysia. Here's the publicity info for the DAP forum on the matter.

Great profile of Tim Duncan, the non-superstar of superstars.

Where does Man Utd's last title win rank among their triumphs?

Ratatouille has been garnering lots of positive reviews, but it only comes out in the UK in October!

The tourist map of literature! I foresee using this a lot.

Oh, and an interview with Ngozi Adiche, winner of this year's Orange Prize. She helps us see a little of what it's like to be an African.

Enough for the week, at the very least!


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Technical notice

If you've visited my blog in the last couple of days could you do a quick scan of your computer for viruses or spyware? Not to alarm you or anything, but I'm trying to trace a niggly problem on my computer and it's possible that it might be related to this blog. Then again, it might not - my internet connection has only just revived, after all!

Update: I think I've identified the problem. If you visited my blog today (Tuesday 12/6) then I would especially encourage you to scan your computer as there might be a Trojan lurking somewhere. I think those from the past couple of days are safe, but you might want to make sure.

Online Petition to get Wai Nyan blogging again

Many of us have lamented the recent non-activity at Life's Legalities. Therefore, I have decided to take the lead and start this petition. To sign, all you have to do is to leave a comment below together with a heartfelt plea and/or a compelling reason as to why said blogger should resume his online writing for our entertainment edification.

Yes, it's possible; I myself have managed to get back to blogging again after slumbering for quite a while. All we're asking is for a post a week! Well, I speak for myself at least. So come back, and spin a yarn or two for us!

Thinking Blogger?

Wow! Talk about a surprise. I was quite taken aback to learn that I have been given a Thinking Blogger award and even more blown away to find out that it was none other than the inestimable Sherman Kuek, "theologian, stand-up comedian, fellow pilgrim" (I'm waiting for him to add Kuek Doctor to his description), who had nominated me. Thanks, Sherman! Although I don't think my humble blog lives up to your high praise. And let me correct your analysis a little. I think you've got it backwards: the reason I don't blog more isn't because I've got a life, but because I'm such a lotus-eater I can't even be bothered to blog more!

I guess it's my turn to pass it on. So...

1. Tim Yao
This one is a no-brainer really. Tim represents a place I used to be at, coming from a committed charismatic perspective (I don't know if he appreciates being labelled as such!). Yet he is irenic, well-read and his posts often have me going: "I've never thought of it from that way before". And I love his passion.

2. Discordant Dude
Well, he doesn't post as much anymore 'cause he's working I guess, but his blog is a great combination of thoughtful ruminations, versifications and calls to action. Another guy whose range and depth of reading is impressive, and who cares a great deal about our country.

3. David BC Tan
Go read him. You'll never fail to learn something. We youngsters need people who's further ahead on the journey.

4. JollyBlogger
JollyBlogger was one of the first Christian bloggers I've ever read, and he remains one of the best. All his posts are intelligent and instructive, often fused with a pastor's heart. His ministry extends beyond his local church community, as shown when I, a Malaysian in the UK, am edified by him! He is a natural bridge-builder, as shown by his willingness to partner with people who hold different positions on certain issues, such as Adrian Warnock, who like me is a non-cessationist, and Stephen Shields, someone aligned with the emerging church. I'm a lurker of sorts on his blog, so he might not notice this nomination, but if he does, we're all grateful, JollyBlogger!

5.Sharon Bakar aka Bibliobibuli
I know she's already got one, but she really deserves it. Not only is this hands down the best blog on books in Malaysia, it really is one of the best book-blogs out there on the Web, period.

I'm supposed to stop here, but I should say there are plenty more I would love to mention: The Internet Monk, Bob Robinson, Education Malaysia, 31, Lingamish etc. etc....

Anyway, guys, here's what you need to do in acceptance of this friendly award:

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think;

2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme,

3. Optional: Proudly display the 'Thinking Blogger Award' (like the one above) with a link to the post that you wrote (here is an alternative silver version if gold doesn't fit your blog).

Also, please make sure you pass this list of rules to the blogs you are tagging.

Blog post > #100

So I finally surpassed a hundred posts here on Blogspot! It took me some time, but I got there. :) I can’t believe I’m still in this blogging business. Well, considering that I probably only attract readers like Mr. Secret Rapture, trying to convince me how both he and Jesus are wizard buddies.

Anyway, as you can see, I’ve slowed down in my postings after a flurry in March. The surge of energy was deliberate, as I wanted to see if I could get back in the habit of regular blogging again, but it was never going to be maintained. Still, at least I’m back in the game.

I’m away on a mini-retreat from tomorrow.I was hoping to finish blogging my way through 2 Timothy before then, but I didn’t quite make it. I will finish it though.