TGIF!!!

TGIF!!! Many of you are familiar with this expression. Sometimes I would drop an email to people with this heading. TGIF is an initial for "Thank God It's Friday!" You want to celebrate on the last day of the school or work week. It actually originated in the 1960s first popularised by a restaurant T.G.I. Friday's and then there was a movie by the same name. See if you could spot this place in the pix with a hung up sign: "Thank God It's FRIDAY'S".




























Do you remember stories or movies like Robsinson Crusoe, Gulliver's Travels, The Last of The Mohicans, Castaway, etc. Everybody has a sidekick or companion - Adam & Eve, Batman and Robin (if they got run over by a lorry would become Flatman and Ribbon), Green Hornet and Kato. Robinson Crusoe found one on a Friday and called him "Friday".


Robsinson Crusoe was desperately ill one day and called for his helper Friday to seek help. Not knowing what to do Friday just went outside the tent and prayed. Shortly, he returned to his master and saw Robsinson Crusoe staring at a glowing figure at the side of his bed when Robsinon Crusoe asked : "What is that?" and Friday replied: "Thank Friday, it's God!" Or do you like another ending? Robinson Crusoe was groggy and when he opened his eyes, he thought the angel of death was upon him but when the shape came into focus, he exclaimed: "Thank God it's Friday!"


All of us have different feelings during different days of the week like how on a Sunday especially the later half and you feel all gloomy and helpless as Monday is looming large again. I remember as a child I really hated Mondays because after a few days of fun I would be going to school again and sometimes in pensive mood I would missed everybody, parents, siblings and even the dog and if it rained, it got worse. In those days, our time was an hour earlier before we followed Malaysia's time adjustment by an hour. This means that if you go to work by 8am, it was 7am and if you go to school today by 7am it was 6am.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPmbT5XC-q0


We used to work five and a half days week having to work on Saturdays for half a day. At that time, you would have found that by the time you get home on a Saturday, you do not have much time for the weekend as Saturday was almost gone. Your five-day week now means your weekends really got started on Friday evenings. Should you not be thankful and grateful for that?! Allow me to give you some great quotes below. The problem with quotes in the Internet is that people instantly believe they are true - Abraham Lincoln.



Quotes


Always strive to excel, only on weekends! - Richard Rorty


Not for nothing is their motto TGIF. They live for weekends when they can go do what they really want to do. - Richard Nelson Bolles


I never think of the future, it comes soon enough.- Albert Einstein


There aren't enough days in the weekend. - Rod Schmidt


Weekends do not count unless yo do something completely pointless. - Bill Waterson


Take heart, only Robinson Crusoe had everything done by Friday.


Daniel Defoe fathered the story of Robinson Crusoe in 1719. A man is shipwrecked on a deserted island all on his own surviving on his wits, suffered anguish due to isolation, found footprints one day that belongs to Friday and was finally rescued. Before all this, he was wilful and arrogant but when stranded, helpless and desperate he surrendered to God. He named Friday, gave him clothes and armed him, taught him how to bake and make fire, religion and science. He shared with others what he reaped. He also rescued some Englishmen, a few others from cannibals. Those he has rescued and helped thought he was sent from Heaven but of course all help comes from Heaven. Finally, he returned a highly respected man of generosity and kindness.


Good Friday


Good Friday is Holy Friday, a religious day observed by Christians to commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The crucifixion took place probably on a Friday during AD33 meaning Jesus was aged around 33 years of age. Jesus was betrayed by Judas Iscariot in the Garden of Gethsemane for thirty pieces of silver. Politics were there during the days of Cain and Abel where Cain killed his brother Abel out of jealousy and disobedience. Then there was Esau and Jacob.

Jesus was asked "are you the Anointed One, the Son of God?" Jesus replied: "You have said ti and in time you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Almighty, coming on the clouds of Heaven." The high priest condemns Jesus for blasphemy. Peter denied Jesus three times as predicted. Jesus was brought to Pontius Pilate under charges of subverting the nation and opposing taxes to Caesar.

Pilate questioned Jesus and found no basis for sentencing and sent him to King Herod of Galilee who did the same and sent him back to Pilate. Pilate told the assembly that he found no guilt in Jesus. Pilate's wife had seen Jesus in a dream and told Pilate to have nothing to do with this righteous man. Pilate had Jesus flogged and released. Pilate declared Jesus innocent and washed his hands in water to show he has no part but handed over Jesus to be crucified to prevent a riot (this way he can keep his job). Sounds familiar in modern working life as well?

Jesus was made to carry the cross to Calvary wearing a crown of thorn, was constantly whipped till his flesh was torn asunder, spat at and speared. There, at Calvary he was crucified along with two criminals. Before he died, he uttered: "God forgive them for they know not what they have done". He also said "It is finished" meaning he has completed his mission. One of the criminals has heard about Jesus and told Jesus that he believed him to which Jesus replied that he shall be in Paradise.


He agonised for some six hours or so. He is God who came as a man to be with us. He could have snapped his fingers and angels would come to his rescue but he did not because his mission was to die so that his blood was shed for mankind's salvation. From around noon and for the next three hours, the entire land fell into darkness. Jesus gave up his spirit with a loud cry: "It is done" or "It is finished". Tombs break open and there was an earthquake and the centurion guard at the crucifixion site declared: "Truly this is God's Son!" A soldier pierced the side of Jesus which caused blood and water to flow out and informed Pilate that Jesus was dead.


Jesus's body was later wrapped in linen shroud with myrrh and aloes and placed in a tomb carved in rocks. They then rolled a huge rock at the tomb's entrance. On the third day, now known to us as Easter Sunday, Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to many people. 

This is a heart-rending story of relationship and love. There were lots of politics, hypocrisy and betrayals. Don't you find all these stuffs among us humans? Don't you find that in life, very often doing the right things are a lot more difficult and could even be fraud with dangers? How do you feel when you are righteous, innocent and all good and you got framed and prosecuted just because a few people feared your powers? Where the whole world's injustice come upon you?

Can you forgive people who hurt you, betrayed you and killed you? Even a criminal was forgiven at the very last minute - just like that. If you were on His side and like watching a good Hollywood movie, wouldn't you be charging with all guns ablaze seeking to get even? Well, only there are no enemies. We are the bad guys that killed the hero. So this Good Friday ask God for forgiveness and forgive everyone including yourself. Our human faults lie evenly among us.

We can all get too superstitious or too self-righteousness. 1 Corinthians 13:13 says "And now these three remain: faith , hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." It is all about love so fill your hearts with love! And love will conquer all! When your heart is full of love there is then no space for hatred and where there is no hatred there will be no evil. Hatred and evil go hand in hand so deny them the space in your heart. Just keep it flowing with love such that even pride has no space there too.

To err is human, to forgive divine. So err on the right side meaning love. To go er, er, er is being slow and to procrastinate.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7Sn5rV6oM0


"Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.- Isaiah 1:18


Somebody told me that on every Good Friday it rains at 3pm. Maybe the Heavens cry over us if it were true. These humans...


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