His Words, my words

"...Words are all I have to take your heart away". Yes, even the Bee Gees recognised the impact of words. Words are so powerful. I remember just being a few feet high and the family receiving loads of Christmas cards before e-cards surfaced and ruled. It was just so meaningful to know that people had painstakingly written a loving message in it with your name right on the top left corner of the card and then signing off diagonally across from 'Dear'. The fact that it's handwritten makes it so precious. Typed messages over the keyboard lose not so much the meaning as the character and tone of the conveyor.

I know you have the choice of fonts from the staid Times New Roman to the stoic and unfriendly Trebuchet, and you can choose however tiny or gi-normous you want your font size to be, but that's beside the point.

But words being words, they're largely all the same. For ease and speed of message transference, it's all down to typing. If you make a startling discovery today that there are more people with poor handwriting today than 20 years ago, you know technology and the keyboard are to blame for the lack of practice (and the carpel tunnel syndrome!).

I always knew I loved writing and had a knack for it (if I can say so myself without gloating). My boss even made me the unofficial PR representative to reply emails that would require firm tact and subtle cordiality. I first knew I never had much of a problem with words when I frequently exceeded the word limit of essays at school. No wonder mum sometimes teased me in Cantonese as being 'lor-sor' or long-winded. But can you imagine if I weren't? How'd I even do half as well in my job that doesn't allow a moment of silence? Herein lies the purpose of this email, I hadn't realised just how much I'd missed the 'written' word until my colleague Pam and I set up a work blog to tie in with our show! The excitement surrounding that new blog was one reason why I'd neglected posting an entry here these last few weeks, but rest assured, I won't be forsaking this, my personal blog.

Words have also been demanded of me the last couple of weeks. I'd been invited to contribute an article to a Christian publication, VantagePoint, for their Nov/Dec issue. They'd requested I share about what it means to be a Christian in the Media industry and the impact of broadcast media. The topic was close to my heart and I have been blessed with instances where Christ's name was lifted high on air! Writing that article made me recount how privileged a position I am in. Not every job allows you to impact so many people on a daily basis and it made me reflect on my responsibility to my audience in the eyes of the Lord.

Words written or spoken, let it come from on high through you and me!

RELAUNCHED! The New Look of The NewsStan(d)

Time to pull the poppers!!! We turn 3!!!

This blog was born 3 years and 3 days ago and as with everything, changes are inevitable, if not, necessary. If not for deliberate cause for refreshment, then succumbing to the normalcy of change and its grip on life and all in its path.

I am one blogger who's surprised he's continued to keep at the art of blogging while many who've launched their blogs in big and exciting ways (loud hailer and all) have since hung up the keyboard.

There are three primary thrusts why this blog continues to live on, as long as I do (God's at the check-out counter) - self-expression through journaling, reporting and informing from my small aperture of the world, and to encourage and bless readers like you who make stopovers on this site.

Please come by soon again for the next issue from THIS newsstan(d).

~ The celebrating Editor