The Measure of A Man (Part 1)

Ummm, decided to stop the Lord of The Rings thingy for a while and go to a book I just bought recently from http://paylessbooks.com.my/index.asp , "The Measure of A Man" by Gene Getz.

There are 20 qualities that Paul the apostle writes to Timothy and Titus in his letters to them, which are essential for men to have....they are in the 20 chapters of the book:

1. Faithful
2. Good Reputation
3. Moral Purity
4. Maintaining Balance
5. Wisdom
6. Adorning the Gospel
7. A Cup of Cold Water (Hospitable)
8. Able to Teach
9. Avoiding Overindulgence
10. Overcoming Self Centredness
11. Don't Let The Sun Go Down (Controlled Anger)
12. Never resort to violence
13. Fair minded
14. Peacemaker
15. Generous
16. Reflecting Our Heavenly Father
17. Loving What is Good
18. Just and Fair
19. Lifting Up Holy Hands
20. Disciplined

Sounds like a lot of work.... God willing, we men can live our lives filled with the above qualities...

Book Review: Lord of the Rings (Part 1)

Since this is one of my favourite books, I want to try and go into the details for The Fellowship of the Ring.....
(from my memory)
Places:- The Shire, Bree, Old Forest, Rivendell, Lothorien, ....cannot remember

People:- Bilbo, Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, Gandalf, Tom Bombadil, Strider, Gimli, Legolas, Boromir, Elrond, Arwen, ......

Summary:- Frodo was entrusted to bring the Ring to Rivendell, for the Council to decide on who is to bring the ring to Mount Doom, to be destroyed. As the group of Hobbits go to Rivendell, they go through hazards along the way.... and when they reach Rivendell, the following people were chosen (reasons in brackets):

1. Gandalf (as advisor);
2. Aragorn/Strider (no reason apparent);
3. Gimli son of Gloin (representing Dwarves);
4. Legolas son of Thranduil (representing Elves);
5. Boromir (representing Man);
6. Frodo (volunteered to carry the Ring);
7. Sam (will not leave Frodo);
8. Merry (want to go with their kin, on adventure); and
9. Pippin (want to go with their kin, on adventure).

Interesting Thoughts:-
(Since this may be very long, it will warrant another post)

Till then, I will go back and review LOTR before I come back on this....

Wedding Preparation Pot (Part 2)

As my wedding draws closer, I am getting more and more excited.... however, there are still sooo many things to do.... I thank God for these things:
1. He gave me the hind sight to plan early;
2. He gave me good friends whom were so happy and willing to be a part of the wedding... preparations and actual event itself....; and
3. An understanding fiance, whom tolerates me and accepts me through the times when I was moody, frustrated, anxious, etc....

By looking at how things are going, time is moving extremely fast.... while I thought there was still plenty of time... I am actually down to the last few months..... I need the prayers of my friends and family....

I am extremely thankful to my church, Bangsar Lutheran Church for the support that everyone is showing us.... and how they actually exhibit the grace and love of God to us.

The Beginning of A New Blog

Wow, didn't know need to create a whole blog just to get the address to put comments on a blogger site.
Anyway, decided to write a bit here.

You might wonder, why "Flowerpot John"?

This is a blog that will "Look into the Nitty Gritty of Life"... where I will try to explore, hopefully, details of stuff in life.... anything from life situations, to work, to books, to Christian issues, etc.

Let's see, what shall I look at first?

I think I will start by digging into the pot of "Wedding preparation".
Do you know, there are soo many things to think about and prepare for in order to get married nowadays. This list is purely mine, in no particular order and is not exhaustive.

1. Booking a restaurant/hotel for the dinner;
2. Choosing a dinner menu based on your budget and also what you think others will like;
3. Deciding on beverages (alcohol? Non alcohol?);
4. Deciding on food (vegetarian, kosher, environmental);
5. Choosing a Church/Hall;
6. Getting invitation cards printed;
7. Choosing a Bridal House to take your wedding album;
8. Going through the photo session;
9. Preparing a preliminary guest list;
10. Looking for a wedding car (and driver);
11. Getting a fitting for your suit and having it made (not to mention looking for a tailor before that)
12. Deciding on decorations in the Church, hotel, at home;
13. Choose wedding songs and a music team to play the songs;
14. Master of Ceremonies for dinner;
15. Coordinator for ceremony;
16. Scripture reader for ceremony;
17. Page boy and flower girl and their clothes;
18. Best man and maid of honor and their clothes,
19. Ushers and registration;
20. Slide/photo presentation;
21. Refreshments for the ceremony;
22. Videographer and photographer;
23. Planning for honeymoon;
24. Planning a place to stay after the wedding;
25. Flowers for the flower girl;
26. Wedding rings;
27. etc

Sorry, cannot think anymore.... will continue in the next post