Not Made for Defeat

God's dream for human persons

 Is total and complete.

 We're created in His image,

 And never for defeat.

But Lucifer, our enemy

Was poisoned by conceit;

Jealous of God's glory,

He was sentenced to defeat.

The battle was invisible;

Satan was cast out.

So he came to God's creation

And sowed his seed of doubt.

Instead of Life, Death was our lot;

T'was the wages of our sin.

But Jesus came and paid the price

So our new life could begin.

We're now a new creation;

Our rights have been restored.

Look out Satan! Here we come!

We're empowered by God's Word.

The blood of Jesus covers all.

We live and move in Him.

We speak His Word. We use His Name.

His presence makes us win.

When God formed us in His image,

His species to repeat,

We were destined for dominion,

And never for defeat.

T.L.Osborn
(part of the foreword for the 'Not Made for Defeat' book... but it truly does summarise the whole book) :)

Penang

Last December, I had the opportunity to visit Penang, that beautiful northern-west state in the country. It was again a brief visit. Penang is a beautiful state; it can pride itself in its nature-wealth, as well as in its brilliant architectures.

Walking along the Penang seafront (Esplanade) was a joy; I enjoyed the breeze, and the sight and the sound of the waves hitting the barrier. We then visited Fort Cornwallis; it was built by Sir Francis Light who had also founded and governed Penang a long time ago. Inside the fort, one could see the stature of Sir Francis Light, a tiny chapel, old cannons, a lighthouse, some rooms that exhibit some local spices and tools, and a small amphitheatre.

As we walked past the Taman Kota Lama, I could see some people practising and setting up canopies for Christmas Open Day on the 25th Dec 2013 (I read about the event from one of the buntings and later, Jaime told me about it). Georgetown is a fusion of old and new things; some buildings reflect the colonial era, some moderns and some the classic old town style. We then reached Penang Hill at dusk, we travelled up (and down) the hill on the train and we walked for a short time before we decided to come down. (I did not manage to snap any beautiful picture of Penang night view from up there)

The old Penang Bridge

Part of the old Penang Bridge

Queen Victoria Memorial Clock Tower

Penang

A rocky shore

Another view of the shore

Me

The old City Hall building

"Lest We Forget"

World War 1 Monument

Taman Kota Lama

One of the wall sides of Fort Cornwallis

I stole a snapshot - a Malay couple who took their wedding photo at Fort Cornwallis

Fort Cornwallis

At the stature of Sir Francis Light

The small chapel

My lil brother

The exhibits

Spices

Tools

The map of Fort Cornwallis together with the adjacent town

Bigger view

Some paintings inside the room

 

'Paddy Harvesting'

Lighthouse

The amphitheater

One of the cannons

The view of the seafront from Fort Cornwallis

Setting up the canopies and stage

Dance practice

Some canopies

More canopies

Town Hall building

The city fountain

Some modern buildings

Some medieval-looking building

Old town building

One of the shopping malls

Penang Hill

My lil brother

"Hey, if you're big enough to have access to this blog and you see this... well, this is one of your earlier selfies" XX

Penang Hill

Smile!

The next day, we headed to Batu Feringgi… I thoroughly enjoyed the sight of Penang on the way to Batu Feringgi; I could see some famous buildings, saw them in pictures from books or internet, but nothing beat the real things, ya. Batu Feringgi itself is beautiful; at one point, I could see the green trees on the left and the blue sea on the right, at another point, I could see the blue seawater with a huge, tall, white building as its background… beautiful. There are many hotels and accommodations, pubs and bistros established at Batu Feringgi area, it is really developed as one of the main tourist attractions.

Part of Batu Feringgi beaches

Part of Batu Feringgi beaches

After breakfast, we went to visit St.George’s Anglican Church. It is recognised as a national heritage, and I read from some brochure and a bunting outside the church saying that it is the oldest Anglican Church in South East Asia. We could not see the interior of the church as it was closed when we came. If you are in Penang, do consider of attending the church. 

St.George's Church

Christmas Celebration Services

A National Heritage

Then, our next destination was Rumah P.Ramlee (P.Ramlee’s House). The house was where the late P.Ramlee once stayed in, yes, he’s from Penang. He spent his early schooling years in Penang. For the benefit of those who do not know him, P.Ramlee was a very famous film director, actor, singer, musician and composer. He contributed a lot to Malaysian filming and music industry. He’s quite a genius; I once heard that he was actually fluent in 5 languages. Alright, so beside the house is the Kompleks Pustaka Warisan Seni (err… Arts Heritage Complex) that houses the P.Ramlee Gallery. No camera is allowed both in the house and in the gallery. In the gallery, one could see some of P.Ramlee’s pictures, his favourite musical instruments, a typewriter, P.Ramlee’s old coats and articles telling about his achievements. 

P.Ramlee's House

 

The House

The Gallery

Well, that’s all I could write about Penang for now.


 P/S: Jaime, if you happen to read this, sorry didn’t get to meet you during the visit.