Godly leadership #3

 

 The prayer modelled after Psalm 46:1-3. God, you are my strength and refuge. You are my ever-present help in trouble . Therefore I will not fear, even though the earth be removed and mountains be carried into the midst of the sea. When everything else falls apart, God is our source of strength and is always accessible to help us. Amen.  

Lei Lanxi badminton #1

 

Following Lei Lanxi, a 26 year old badminton player from the Guandong province in China. He is left-handed and is ranked 48 in the world. He has just reached the quarter-finals of the Indonesian Masters, a BWF Super 500 event. This is probably one of his best achievements in his career. He has a good all-around game, mixing attacking and defensive shots against his opponents. Although he lost to Anders Antonsen in the quarterfinals, he gave a good performance and stretched Antonsen in 2 close sets. Hopefully he can maintain his good level play in the next few BWF tourneaments. He has the potential to win a Super 300 event and break into the world's top 32 this year.     

Jun Hao shuttler episode 4

 Leong Jun Hao has made a promising start to 2024 at the Indonesian Masters, a BWF Super 500 event. He beat Japan's Kenta Nishimoto but lost in the last 16 to local favourite and world no 4 Anthony Sinisuka Ginting. Nevertheless Jun Hao gave a good fight and had to win 3 matches to get to the round of 16. The world-famous Istora Senayan is a really cool venue for world-class badminton. If Jun Hao replicates his form at next week's Thailand Masters, he should break into the worlds top 32 soon.        

Lee Cheuk Yiu badminton #3

 It was a good effort from Lee Cheuk Yiu but he ultimately lost to arguably the most in-form player this season , Shi Yu Qi. Lee lost in straight sets to Shi in the final of the Indian Open, a Super 750 event. However Cheuk Yiu is now in a great position to qualify for the Paris Olympics and a realistic shot at breaking into the world's top 10. He next plays at the Indonesian Masters next week.   

Lee Cheuk Yiu badminton #2

 Lee Cheuk Yiu is through to his first final of a BWF super 750 tournament at the Indian Open. What a match he played, defeating World no 6 Kodai Naraoka from Japan in 3 sets. He now faces World no 2 Shi Yu Qi from China. This will be Lee's biggest test with Shi in excellent form, reaching his second consecutive BWF tour final. Lee has nothing to lose, and should just go out and enjoy himself in the final.  

Lee Cheuk Yiu badminton #1

 We shall be hearing more about Lee Cheuk Yiu, a Hong Kong badminton professional ranked no 18 in the world. He played a fantastic match against reigning world champion Kunvalut Vitidsarn, coming from behind twice to win in 3 sets against Kunvalut at the last 16 of the Indian Open.   He is coached by Malaysian former world no 1 Wong Choong Hann, and it looks like the partnership is beginning to flourish. The Malaysia- Hong Kong  connection is the real deal, with Angus Ng Ka Long from Hong Kong reaching the Malaysian Open quarterfinals least week. Angus is also coached by Choong Hann.   

Godly leadership #2

 

From my last blog on Godly leadership, King Hezekiah went to the Lord to commit the problems before Him. So how does he start his prayer ?

And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the Earth. You have made heaven and earth. 2 Kings 19:15

When we start our prayers to God, 

1.We acknowledge Him and praise Him for who He is. He alone is God, and He is above all other gods. There is no other god besides Him.    

2. We acknowledge Him as a creator . Our God created heaven and earth,

 When we seen the moon and stars , we are reminded of God's wonderful creation. 

An Evening Scene in Worcester #2

 This scene was taken outside my son's nursery in Worcester. It was 5.50pm . I loved how the light from the moon illuminates the branches of the trees. Sometimes in life when it seems dark, the light shines brightly.

The light shines in darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John1:5  

Lin Chun-Yi badminton #1

 Following Lin Chun-Yi, a rising badminton star from Taiwan. He is 24 years old, left-handed and ranked no 21 in the BWF . He plays a deceptive game with nice forehand drives and cross-court smashes. He has just reached his first super 1000 semi-final in the Malaysian Open. He had defeated Li Shi Feng, the world no 3 and China's no 1 player in the quarterfinal. I think he will break into the top 15 this year and will be a threat to the top 10 players in the major tournaments 

  

An Evening Scene in Worcester #1

 

An evening scene with the crescent moon and fading light in Worcester. My 2 year old son gets excited when he can see the moon. The changing day to night also symbolises that our days are numbered. However rather than dwell in despair about it, it is about the precious time that God gives us and what we can do with it.

Psalm 90:12 . Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Godly leadership #1

 What does it mean to be a Godly leader? It means looking to God at all times, especially in times of trouble. Let's look at King Hezekiah in 2 Kings 19:14.

Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord and spread it out before the Lord.  

It is worth noting that King Hezekiah did not respond immediately to King Sennacherib's letter. In fact he went up to the temple and presented the letter to the Lord. In difficult times, it is very easy to respond or react. However a Godly response requires Godly wisdom and Hezekiah responded correctly by seeking God's wisdom in prayer.   

Under the sun

 Everything is meaningless. What do people gain from all their labours at which they toil under the sun?

Ecclesiastes 1:2-3  

Under the sun, things we work for don't last. So why bother? Under the sun, we only see it from the human perspective. It will only matter when we see all that we do from God's perspective (above the sun). 

Shine like stars

 Happy new year! We thank God 2024 has arrived and am grateful that we have another year to grow in Him and to flourish as a family. Last year I have managed to write 46 articles on this blog. That is almost one every week and the most I have blog since I started this blog in 2020.  This year I hope to share more stories about my interests and thoughts. The above picture was taken this evening on 6th Jan 2024 at 8pm. It was a clear starry night in Worcester but with my smartphone camera I could only capture the biggest star outside my home. My son gets very excited now when he sees a star. For my first article of the year I would like to share my bible verses for 2024.   The bible verses for me to hold onto this year has to be Philippians 2:14-16.

Do everything without arguing or grumbling, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. 

These verses are both a challenge and an encouragement to me. Praying that the Lord will help me focus on these verses this year.