It's The Thought That Counts

All along I've been saying I'm crazy about simple things -- much more if it is a gift, and nothing beats the thrill of unwrapping it.The object inside more often than not is immaterial, it is the thought knowing you are special to the gift giver, at least to prove a point, that really matters.

Needless to say, for the first time in my life I sent a gift via Fedex to the most thoughtful and sweetest friend I ever have who happens to be  in France -- proof of which is the gift she sent me last February. These simple things I brought with me from my vacation in the Philippines may not be that storied of monumental proportion that deserved a trip across the Mediterranean but certainly they were well-thought of and heartfelt just as my intentions were. 

One of the two items I sent her was a small rooster figurine  (whose beak unfortunately got detached most likely due to careless handling) and the other was a tee shirt which I bought from a kiosk in a mall that sells Christian tee-shirts. Mind you, it was no ordinary t-shirt with the message emblazoned on it, "Jesus Heals". I have been praying for her because she has some sort of illness that I believe is nothing compared to the power of Jesus. Way to go little rooster and the T and my prayers for you my friend! (the photos below were proof they safely arrived, though not completely sans the little guy's beak. And the video I took in a shop where the T-shirt didn't escape me.)

"I am still wailing over my beak. Wonders how on earth people can be so careless and indifferent that reduced my life to being miserable. "The gesture though of my human tells me there is hope and she would do anything to make me whole again, literally, yehey!!"

"I'm still cute though sans my beak. I could only pray my twin back in the KSA gets a more humane treatment and does not lose his."

The Name Above All Names

Went to work this morning at one of our shops, and behold what greeted me...one of our staff a Yemeni Muslim, wearing this!

His t-shirt screaming 'JESUS' in boldface certainly is no ordinary sight in this part of the world . What was he thinking? Surely he has not come across yet a mutawa who would have gifted him some less generous amount of lashes had he met one. Judging from his lack of reading skills on anything apart from his beloved Arabic, he certainly had no clue he was promoting the name above every name; or he could sprint towards the nearby Citimax to gift himself a new one and obviously to give that 'dreaded' one a worthy dunk in the trash bin. But wait, he was adamant to keep it on his back even after I gave him some friendly tips that people would be displeased with what he is wearing. Guess what, he replied "no problem", as "I love to wear it and have been wearing it daily since few months as it was a gift from my older brother." Haha, I thought it has yet to have its first date with the washing machine given its "favorite tag" for, come again, few months already?

Humor aside, I thought it could be the best time for me to introduce the Lord Jesus to him. I just waited for the customer to leave and aided with my crooked Arabic, I started to actually tell him that 'JESUS' is written on it, the one they know to be Isa in their Koran whom the Islamic faith recognizes to be of a lesser prophet than their very own prophet. Though a lot of people (especially Rick Warren) are convinced that Jesus of the Christian faith and Isa of the Koran are the same person, true born again believers do not buy this belief as there are stark contradictions between the real Jesus and the one in their book...very different. And that warrants another blog entry albeit long and tedious topic it is to write, that is if we really want to know the truth. Just a little snippet of what I may probably write on the topic, the links below could be helpful if we are to delve into this completely different topic -- the deity of Jesus, that is.

Links: The Deity of Jesus (Scriptural Proof), 10 Prophecies About Jesus' Birth, Ancient Prophecies About Jesus Christ.

Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, 

and given him a name which is above every name: 

That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, 

of things in heaven, and things in earth, 

and things under the earth; And that every tongue 

should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, 

to the glory of God the Father. 

~ Philippians 2:9-11