I think my grandmother (and Jed’s great-grandmother) looks beautiful in these pictures.

I interrupt this long hiatus for a brief announcement that Jed (finally) appears to have spoken his first words.

It is not "mama".

Or "papa".

Or "daddy" or "mummy".

But, it seems, "star".  (Sigh, all the unreciprocated love and affection.)

Of course, given the inclination of parents to impute signs of intelligence to otherwise unintelligent, random acts performed by their children, Joyce and I may just be imagining this.

Christians all over the world remember the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross today.  Cult leaders (such as David Koresh) have often brought their misled members to the grave with them.  But Jesus was and is nothing but the real thing.  He gave His life so that none of His disciples might be lost (John 18:9), both at the time of His death two thousand plus years ago in the case of His disciples then, and in the afterlife for all His disciples then and thereafter.

As we honour the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross today, we too are asked to look beyond ourselves and towards the higher purpose that God has called us to, in the footsteps of Jesus.

Exhortation

"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12 : 2)

Response

"… I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.  I considwer them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ - the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.  I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead." (Philippians 3 : 8 - 11)

Short & Sweet (Singapore), a local festival of short theatre featuring ten minute plays, will be held from 18 April to 2 May this year.  A friend’s play will be featured on 21 April at the Play Den, Arts House.  The synopsis, I told him, were titillating enough to arouse my curiousity.

“On Love”
Written by Tan Kaiyi. Directed by Erica Law.
The tables turn as a man confesses his sins to a pastor only to discover a startling secret.

So do catch it if you happen to know him, or heck, whether or not you know him.  Offensive language warning.  Further details here.