felicity of expression

Vera Wang... In Black

2011-11-01T03:32:00.001+08:00

I like very much!

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The day I said yes...

2011-09-13T02:18:00.001+08:00

... was September 12, 2011 :)

He proposed! Cal proposed!!!

Oh my.... I'm shocked, speechless, touched, blessed, happy... Mostly surreal... Haha, it hasn't sunk in yet...

More details on another day...

To sum it all up, God has been so good to me, to us... I'm so happy and thankful that it is Cal whom I will be spending the rest of my life with. The journey that God has brought us through has been some very exciting times in the last 6 years... Yet there is no one else I would rather walk through life hand in hand with. Cal is the most amazing man in this whole wide world :)

Just wanna say, I love you so much darling!
Thank you for everything!

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Location:Renaissance Melaka Hotel, Malacca, Malaysia

Ferrero Rondroir

2011-09-10T23:29:00.001+08:00

Calvin Choo is so nice!!!
He surprised me with a box of my favourite dark chocolate...

Hehe, yummy! Thank you my love! :)

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Location:Suntec

Happy day :)

2011-09-06T03:19:00.001+08:00

Love praying together with Cal!
No motives, no agenda, nothing... Just wanna spend time with God :)

Happy! :)

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Love

2011-09-05T11:48:00.001+08:00

The easy way out is to run away, but love chooses to stay.

Location:Home

The heart

2011-09-04T14:18:00.001+08:00

When I switched on my iPad yesterday, this verse appeared on my screen...

Proverbs 29:18 (MSG)
If people can't see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves;
But when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed.

Wow... I don't know about you when I saw this, my heart skipped a beat. It is true, isn't it?

The NKJV version says it this way... "Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; But happy is he who keeps the law."

Sometimes in the midst of our suffering, our trial, or just the process of God's sanctification work, when we have no revelation and see not what God is doing, we stumble all over ourselves. We busy ourself with everything yet accomplish nothing. We stress ourselves out, get overwhelmed with emotions; we whine, we complain, we grumble to God about Him.

But if we would choose to see what He reveals, when we walk with the laws of God, we would be most blessed. Happy is that man!

Was just thinking this morning that sometimes God sends people along to prod and poke at our hearts. To see if we have really gotten over things which we thought we had forgiven and forgotten. Then when you feel that familiar twitch, you realize that you must never succumb to dwell upon the past again. That is imperative that we move on.

Today, looking back at that point in time, maybe it was better that such an arrangement was made. I may not understand it then, but at the end of the day, I know that it is the work of God and it is His best way to teach me obedience, submission and to keep trusting in Him.

The heart, oh the heart...

Pro 4:23 (NKJV)
"Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life."

I pray God, let me always have a tender heart towards You that I may know Your ways, pleasing unto You... :)

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Location:AMK Hub, MOS Burger

Writing it down

2011-09-01T01:48:00.002+08:00

Two days ago, Cal was telling me about Pst Kevin Loo and how CHCKL started out. In the first 3 years, the church only grew from 20 to 22 people. 10 years down the road, the church is now 1800 strong and residing in its third building.

Pst shared of how when he first started the church, he used to have a really bad temper and would often take it out on his CGLs. He lacked self-discipline and would wake up late in the day, go to office, do a few visitations, hang out with his leaders, and that's it.

One day while walking to his car, God spoke to him and told him that one day he will pay back for all the time that he has wasted. It was a wakeup call for Pst. Immediately he repented before God, and changed his lifestyle drastically. Since then, Pst would start early in the morning, spend more time praying and penning down his devotions, and the rest is history...

On self-reflection, there are many times that I would feel prompted to write down the things which the Lord has spoken. More often than not, I would procrastinate and end up forgetting whatever revelation, blessing or challenges in my life. Hearing this, I am going to be more faithful in praying, seeking the Lord, writing down and remembering all the promises of God :)

Hab 2:2-3 (MSG)
"And then God answered: "Write this. Write what you see. Write it out in big block letters so that it can be read on the run. This vision-message is a witness pointing to what's coming. It aches for the coming—it can hardly wait! And it doesn't lie. If it seems slow in coming, wait. It's on its way. It will come right on time."

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Google Doodle!

2011-08-28T02:01:00.000+08:00

and of course...

I love my sisters!

2011-08-20T01:37:00.003+08:00

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Location:The black sofa

The boy and I

2011-05-10T01:09:00.005+08:00

The boy made me watch 2 hours worth of 单身男女 just to catch the last part. More than 1 hr + of boring drama, though I must admit that the ending was sweet.. STILL! zzzzz......

He's a funny boy... Hahaha :P

Way too much food

2011-02-17T03:02:00.001+08:00

I can only conclude that the girls in my family are nocturnal. All three of us are awake at this hour, doing random stuff… Jia’s marking compositions while watching ‘Running Man’, Zi’s tinkering with her Tumblr account, and I figured it is about time I get my fingers typing… It’s been a good 3 months since I’ve blogged proper.

Anyway, was looking through the pictures in my blackberry, and I realised that I have been doing way too much eating in the last month and a half… Just take a look at the evidences below, yikes!

Mondays with Cal: Dinner at Swensons, Northpoint

Mondays with Cal: Lunch at an Egyptian restaurant, Haji Lane + Lava cake at 3-inch Sin

Starbucks whilst writing Xmas cards + Dinner & Drinks with JY

Snacking on Yan Yan in the middle of the night + Sushi whilst waiting for the doctor

Dinner with Cal at Astons, Suntec

CNY Feast: Lo Hei at Uncle Vincent’s + Kong Ba Pao at 大姨’s

CNY Feast: Mock Sharks Fin at home + Lunch at Lao Kor’s house

CNY Feast: Reunion Dinner at home + Lunch at 大姨’s

CNY Feast: Lo Hei with S50 + Reunion Dinner with W519

Tea at Cafe Galilee while reading up + Snacking on wafer twigs

Ice cream at Swensons + Tang Yuan with ZY Ldrs

Reunion Dinner with ZY Ldrs!

Reunion Dinner with W519!

Mondays with Cal: Valentine’s Day lunch at a Korean restaurant ♥

Mondays with Cal: Home-made breakfast surprise from Cal at Botanic Gardens + Free donut from GV

I think I have done enough eating for the first half of 2011 man. The next time you catch me eating, please remind me to STOP MUNCHING and START EXERCISING!

2011-02-17T02:02:00.006+08:00

Nice song from 下一站, 幸福 :)

我爱他 - 丁当

他的轻狂留在某一节车厢
地下铁里的风比回忆还重
整座城市一直等着我
有一段感情还在漂泊

对他唯一遗憾是分手那天
我奔腾的眼泪都停不下来
若那一刻重来我不哭
让他知道我可以很好

我爱他轰轰烈烈最疯狂
我的梦狠狠碎过却不会忘
曾为他相信明天就是未来
情节有多坏都不肯醒来

我爱他跌跌撞撞到绝望
我的心深深伤过却不会忘
我和他不再属于这个地方
最初的天堂最终的荒唐

如果还有遗憾又怎么样呢
伤了痛了懂了就能好了吗
曾经依靠彼此的肩膀
如今各自在人海流浪

我爱他轰轰烈烈最疯狂
我的梦狠狠碎过却不会忘
逃不开爱越深越互相伤害
越深的依赖越多的空白
该怎么去爱

我爱他轰轰烈烈最疯狂
我的梦狠狠碎过却不会忘
曾为他相信明天就是未来
情节有多坏都不肯醒来

我爱他跌跌撞撞到绝望
我的心深深伤过却不会忘
我和他不再属于这个地方
最初的天堂最终的荒唐

如果还有遗憾是分手那天
我奔腾的眼泪都停不下来
若那一刻重来我不哭
让他知道我可以很好

2011-01-10T00:55:00.003+08:00

No Fear of Heights - Katie Melua

I never walked near the edge
Used to fear falling
I never swam far from shore
Never tried the secret door

But when you give me love
When you give me love

I have no fear of heights,
No fear of the deep blue sea,
Although it could drown me,
I know it could drown me

I didn’t wander in the woods
Used to fear the darkness
I didn’t like getting deep
I was scared of what I couldn’t keep

But when you give me love
When you give me love

I have no fear of heights,
No fear of the deep blue sea,
Although it could drown me,
I know it could drown me

No fear of the fall
No fear if it's with you that I fall
‘cause nothing could break us,
No, nothing could break us, now

Mmmm... Isn't this song really nice? :)

2011-01-07T02:02:00.004+08:00

"Never lie, steal, cheat, or drink.
But if you must lie, lie in the arms of the one you love.
If you must steal, steal away from bad company.
If you must cheat, cheat death.
And if you must drink, drink in the moments that take your breath away."

Hitch [Alex "Hitch" Hitchens]

Updates in the wee hours

2010-11-15T05:43:00.001+08:00

Updates! YES… In the middle of the night at 4.34am. I know… What am i doing right??!?!!!!!

I’m updating. That’s right. That’s what I am doing, and therefore at 4.35am, I am now rambling. I need sleep! Noooooo… I need to watch HIMYM! No… actually I just finished a lot of work, therefore I am feeling mighty fruitful. So to top it all off, I’m updating.

October and November has been eventful because it has been a period (and still is) where I really feel that God is doing a work in my life, pruning away all the flaws and weaknesses in my character. It’s not been easy, but I don’t feel quite prepared to share. Or rather, I feel that I’m not done for this season. Maybe after I have sorted it out, I will write it all down in this blog… Meanwhile, I have recently whipped out my diary and starting penning again in the middle of the night.

It feels great to read the past diary entries and see how God has always been so faithful throughout all these years. Come to think of it… Wow, I have been a Christian for the last 10 years. And it feels like I’m only at the very beginning, starting to know God all over again…

Like what Pst Kong has shared in service this weekend about the seasons of faith, I do believe that God is bringing all of us somewhere, no matter if we should see it immediately… For even if we do not see God’s hand, we trust His heart, knowing that all things will work together for the good of those who love Him!

Anyway, now looking back at October and November (though we’re still in the midst of it), this has been a season of rebuilding relationships and strengthening friendships with the people around me. It’s been awesome!

This picture was taken on the day of Kelvin and Cynthia’s wedding, October 30, 2010. Just wanna say, Congratulations Kel and Cyn!You both are a perfect match made in heaven :)

I heard from my friends that the matrimony was really sweet and touching! Ahhh, but I missed it because I had to go for an urgent visitation. The wedding dinner was great though, simply because we were all in the company of old friends. People that we grew up serving God with!

Mummy lent us her car for the wedding, so Cal brought me to the newly opened Woodlands Waterfront to have a look! It’s a really great place to hang out… There’s the amazingly fun playground with exciting structures… Hee, we had a go at them! I really do love playgrounds, heh :) Then, there were many families out fishing at the jetty, the salty sea breeze at night, and the lighted view of JB… Pretty!

The next day, Cal and I went to the farms at Pasir Ris, because Mr Choo was soooo nice to come pick me up… Yay! Thank God for such an awesome boyfriend :D We went to the different puppy farms, fish farms and even the kids’ kampung… Paid $2 to feed the fishes, chickens, ducks, swans and even rabbits with the same pet food! I know.. Weird right? They’re not supposed to eat the same food! Or so we thought…

The next week, 大伯 wanted to introduce us to some yummy western stone grill at Lorong Ah Soo. It was very very nice and really yummy!!!! Only $19.95 for a decent slab of beef tenderloin, baked potatoes, mushroom soup and coleslaw! Cheaper than Swensons for sure! What made the deal even sweeter was, Jia decided to treat the whole family and paid a whopping hundred plus dollars for it! :)

From top-down, left-right: Stone-grilled Norwegian salmon, chicken with herbs, beef tenderloin, Auntie Lydia and her friend, Uncle Johnny, Zizi, handsome Uncle Vincent and me! Daddy was there too! :) I love spending time with my family *hearts*

Ooh, did I tell you? Mummy says she’s planning a family trip for us all in March 2011! That will be the first family trip EVER! We have never travelled together before! I’m so excited and thankful to God for restoration! :D

Then just beginning this week, Weiwen and Beng enlisted into NS… So the boys are now botak! Haha can’t wait to see them again :)

Speaking of botak… Here’s baby Macheden! He’s sooooooo cute with his many facial expressions! Saw him with daddy peng and mummy tiffy last Saturday at JW.

Then Zi and I fellowshipped yesterday at TCC, after going to Tec-Man to source for bible covers and some Christian books!

Zi says that in order to look pretty and slim in pictures, you have to partially cut off your head… So there we are, slightly ‘headless’…

Hmmmm… I daresay it works!

Heehee!

Alrighty, 5.40am… Goodnight and sweet dreams to all!

And before I end, here’s a verse that recently spoke to my heart :)

Heb 6:13-15 "For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, "Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you." And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.

Many a times, the word of God is what gives me strength and courage to move on in life. Reading this verse, I am suddenly, once again reminded of the goodness and faithfulness of God. Our Father God promised to bless and multiply us. Therefore, after we have patiently endured what God is working in our lives to make us more like Him, we too, will obtain the promises, blessings and multiplications of God.

Dear God, please do as You will in my life… I give You full permission. Help me to always have a great attitude, a teachable heart, a willing and obedient spirit, and love overflowing for others… Let me walk closer to You more than before, and teach me in Your ways… In Jesus’ name I pray, amen :)

2010-11-05T23:31:00.001+08:00

Life After You - Daughtry

Ten miles from town and I just broke down
Spittin' out smoke on the side of the road
I'm out here alone just tryin' to get home
To tell you I was wrong but you already know

Believe me I won't stop at nothin'
To see you so I've started runnin'

All that I'm after is a life full of laughter
As long as I'm laughin' with you
I'm thinkin' that all that still matters is love ever after
After the life we've been through
'Cause I know there's no life after you

Last time we talked, the night that I walked
Burns like an iron in the back of my mind
I must've been high to say you and I
Weren't meant to be and just wastin' my time

Oh, why did I ever doubt you?
You know I would die here without you

All that I'm after is a life full of laughter
As long as I'm laughin' with you
I'm thinkin' that all that still matters is love ever after
After the life we've been through
'Cause I know there's no life after you

You and I, right or wrong, there's no other one
After this time I spent alone
It's hard to believe that a man with sight could be so blind
Thinkin' 'bout the better times, must've been outta my mind
So I'm runnin' back to tell you

All that I'm after is a life full of laughter
Without you God knows what I'd do, yeah

All that I'm after is a life full of laughter
As long as I'm laughin' with you
I'm thinkin' 'bout all that still matters is love ever after
After the life we've been through, yeah
Know there's no life after you

Know there's no life after you
Know there's no life after you
Know there's no life after you
Know there's no life after you
Know there's no life after you
Know there's no life after you
Know there's no life after you, yeah

2010-10-26T00:36:00.004+08:00

Greatest Love - CCC

Sitting in my room, preparing the message for zone meeting tomorrow... Many thoughts running through my mind, but one stands out.

Dear God, help me to never lose my first love for You.

Help me to grow in deeper in love, strong in faith, courageous for You.

2010-10-24T22:38:00.000+08:00

Love cold nights like these.

Feeling nostalgic, thankful...

I serve a great God :)

Updates! Aug 2010 to Oct 2010

2010-10-09T01:38:00.001+08:00

Finally an update! I haven’t written in such a long time, I’m not sure I can even write anymore… Haha, honest!

I recently took some time to write encouragement notes to cheer on my members for their exams. A note that will usually take me 5 minutes to write, I actually took 15. Can you imagine?! Gosh. And yes, I am indeed having trouble penning this right now…

Anyway, sorry for the lack of updates! If there are still people reading this forsaken blog, a big HULLO to you! :D Thank you for your fervent support! Heehee! :) The last update I did was in May, but that’s too far back to catch up… So I must start with the most important month of the year… AUGUST!

My birthday! Yes! August kicked off with my birthday on the 4th. Yippee! Thank you my dearest friends for celebrating my birthday with me! I’m soooooo touched by all the love, wishes, kind words, presents, everything! This year was extra special, not just because it’s the first time my boy celebrated it with me, but also because God provided ALOT of finances through my most wonderful parents and friends! I really needed the moolah, so thank you Jesus! And thank you friends! :D Heehee!

This is the only group picture I have taken with my BB - it’s with N399! But thank you LYL, ZY, W531, N282, W525, even my mass BS class for celebrating my birthday with me too! :)

The actual birthday was a tremendous surprise too! Cal msged me that day to say that he didn’t want to meet me at RW after mass BS :( He said he’ll meet me only after I’ve reached home… Which is what, 9 plus? And I only get to spend 2 hours with him on MY BIRTHDAY?! No fair and not nice. So I told him to pleeeeeeaseeee meet me at RW. Little did I know what he had conspired!

The boy took the entire afternoon off to buy flowers and get balloons, bring them to my house and BLOW all of them up! No mean feat, those balloons! Cal actually came to my place to lay an ambush and thought he could surprise me at my house. But since I’ve sent him such a pleading sms (heehee!), he didn’t want to disappoint me (so sweet!), so he cabbed down all the way from Marsiling to Clarke Quay at peak hour rate! Expensive man… That’s not it. I hope my memory fails me not, but in order to make it for dinner with Daddy, we cabbed back home from Clarke Quay to Marsiling (yes, once again at peak hour rate!)

Without a clue of what he did that afternoon…

I was first marvelled by the amazing lava cake that my sister baked me! What’s also very touching is that Qiong also came over to help bake the cake! Awww… *cries* So nice!! You’re really such a goody friend!!!

Then Daddy who said he will only be cooking macaroni, cooked an entire feast! There was steamed chicken, prawns, cockles, vegetables and an awesome pot of amazing soup (with fishballs and what not)! So touched… Daddy knocked off work, reached home at 6 plus and started cooking cooking all the way till the time I reached home… *cries again*

Then I went to my bedroom wanting to change into my FBT shorts… and when I switched on the lights… Voilà!

AHhhhhHHHH!!!!! *squeals!!*

So SWEEETTTTT!!!!!!!!

Heehee! I was so so so so so touched!!!! Coz Mr Choo is soooooo NOT known for romance, but this is so romantic! :D

Not to mention he blew all 5 humongous red balloons all by himself and another 4 more smaller white ones! Zi and Qiong blew 3 white balloons between themselves! Happineesss!!! And for once in my life, I really actually had a surprise!!! :D

Thank you my dearest family!!! Thank you my darlingest dear!!! And thank you my goody friend, Qiong!!! :D

You guys are truly the best!!!

Plus the boy who loves me actually has a romantic bone! Aw…..

LOVE!!!! :D

----

Ok, I’m tired updating… This is exhausting! Haha, shall continue tmr, but I’ll leave the pictures be! :D (Oct 9, 2010, 1:38AM)

Which, by the way to my 妹妹, Happy Birthday Zi!!! :D

---

October 9, 2010, 10:10PM

It’s Zi’s birthday! She’s prancing around the living room, parading her beautiful shoes given by her many friends…

Meanwhile, I shall continue with the updates!

August 8 was Mich’s birthday! Happy birthday my dearest buddeee! Thanks for the many many years of friendship, 5 years to be exact :) Thanks for laughing with me in the best times and crying with me in the worst times of my life, and for being such a great listening ear and generous giver. You’re the best buddee! ♥

On the same day, Cal’s awesome CGs and friends gave him an early birthday surprise at the cafe! :)

Then came National Day where the Ee family gathered together for a patriotic celebration! We had ‘zi char’ while watching the parade on TV. There was coffee spare ribs, fried fish with mango sauce, prawn paste chicken, fried long beans, sambal kang kong, youtiao with fish cake and fried dong fen! FOOD galore!

Most importantly, we had a great time watching the parade, having each others’ company and admiring the beautiful fireworks :)

Then came Cal’s birthday! A Spiderman balloon altered into an Ultraman balloon, chocolate mousse cake, and a birthday surprise late in the middle of the night… Heehee!

Mahjong session with Jess, Jon and Peng… But before mahjong, we all had to do an online Accounts test with Jess… Thanks for the invite guys! I miss hanging out with you all… :)

Beautiful sunrise during morning prayer…

Naughty boys trading their erasers…

Haven’t done scrapbooking for a long time. Here’s the latest attempt at scrapbooking! Making of a birthday card.. Nice? :)

Happy graduation Jas!

and happy studying Weehian, Kel and Wesmond!

Whenever I watch dramas in bed, I dig myself a hole in the blanket. Here’s the hole I emerged out of one morning…

Hello Kirsten! You’re so cute! You sweet little baby… :)

After the first ever WYZ District Youth Meeting :) First time I hosted games in front of thousands of people! Thank you Pst for the experience!!!

Farewell lunch for Bennie at Hot Tomatoes!

Eugene with Ninja Tatsuro… Spoooky…

Yes, who on earth is fuzzy wuzzy?

Happy birthday Dylan and baby Macheden!

Happy birthday Sze, Bennie and Chaiying! :D

Cycling and fellowship with ZY ldrs at Blk 85… Nom nom! We should do this more often!

Mondays with Cal :) Happy!

Check out the fat fat white dog called baby! Heehee! And of course pretty Mei posing with doggie!

Professional Boon at work… Busy busy at Andy and Pearly’s wedding!

Li’ora’s fascination with the iPad and BB! She’s so cute! She dragged out the wedding box (yes, the one you put hongbaos with) and sat on it, so that no one can disturb her when she’s playing! Smart girl!

Happy birthday Chaiying! Celebration part 2 with the CG!

Mondays with Cal :) Morning climb at Bukit Timah Hill!

Mondays with Cal :) Exploring town when the sky turns dark…

Happy birthday Chaiying! Celebration part 3.. with the CGLs!

Thank you Zi for the thoughtful surprise and very pretty stickers! I like pretty stickers! :D

Touched by my very thoughtful and loving papa… One fine day, he casually asked if Yakult helps with my digestive system, I said yes. The next day, I found 5 new packs of Yakult stocked up in the fridge. I love my daddy!!! :D

WHEE! Finally! Such a long update! Apparently I got bored halfway… Oh well… Anyway, it’s a short summary of my life the past 3 months. There were some other events that I didn’t take any pictures of… Like the TJC reunion with 2903. They’re on Facebook!

I just wanna say…

I WANT TO LOSE WEIGHT! AT LEAST LOSE 5KG!!!!! Visualise visualise! Confess confess! Hot bod like Alessandra Ambrosio!!! HEEHEE! :D

Did you know?!

No, I’m kidding.

BUT I KID YOU NOT ON THE LOSING WEIGHT PART.

I REALLY WANT TO LOSE WEIGHT AND SLIM DOWN… ROAR!!!!!

Eulogy by MM Lee Kuan Yew

2010-10-08T23:56:00.001+08:00

EULOGY BY MINISTER MENTOR AT THE FUNERAL SERVICE OF MRS LEE KUAN YEW, MANDAI CREMATORIUM, 6 OCTOBER 2010

The last farewell to my wife

Ancient peoples developed and ritualized mourning practices to express the shared grief of family and friends, and together show not fear or distaste for death, but respect for the dead one; and to give comfort to the living that will miss the deceased. I recall the ritual mourning when my maternal grandmother died some 75 years ago. For five nights the family would gather to sing her praises and wail and mourn at her departure, led by a practiced professional mourner. Such rituals are no longer observed. My family’s sorrow is to be expressed in personal tributes to the matriarch of our family.

In October 2003 when she had her first stroke, we had a strong intimation of our mortality.

My wife and I have been together since 1947 for more than three quarters of our lives. My grief at her passing cannot be expressed in words. But today, when recounting our lives together, I would like to celebrate her life.

In our quiet moments, we would revisit our lives and times together. We had been most fortunate. At critical turning points in our lives, fortune favored us.

As a young man with an interrupted education at Raffles College, and no steady job or profession, her parents did not look upon me as a desirable son-in-law. But she had faith in me. We had committed ourselves to each other.

In February 1952, our first son Hsian Long was born. She took maternity leave for a year. That February, I was asked by John Laycock, the Senior Partner, to take up the case of the Postal and Telecommunications Uniformed Staff Union, the postmen’s union. They were negotiating with the government for better terms and conditions of service. Negotiations were deadlocked and they decided to go on strike. It was a battle for public support. I was able to put across the reasonableness of their case through the press and radio. After a fortnight, they won concessions from the government. Choo, who was at home on maternity leave, pencilled through my draft statements, making them simple and clear.

Over the years, she influenced my writing style. Now I write in short sentences, in the active voice. We gradually influenced each other’s ways and habits as we adjusted and accommodated each other. We knew that we could not stay starry-eyed lovers all our lives; that life was an on-going challenge with new problems to resolve and manage.

We had two more children, Wei Ling in 1955 and Hsien Yang in 1957. She brought them up to be well-behaved, polite, and considerate and never to throw their weight as the prime minister’s children. As a lawyer, she earned enough, to free me from worries about the future of our children.

She saw the price I paid for not having mastered Mandarin when I was young. We decided to send all three children to Chinese kindergarten and schools. She made sure they learned English and Malay well at home. Her nurturing has equipped them for life in a multi-lingual region.

We never argued over the upbringing of our children, or over financial matters. Our earnings and assets were jointly held. We were each other’s confidant.

She had simple pleasures. We would walk around the Istana gardens in the evening, and I hit golf balls to relax. Later, when we had grandchildren, she would take them to feed the fish and the swans in the Istana ponds. Then we would swim. She was interested in her surroundings, for instance, that many bird varieties were pushed out by mynahs and crows eating up the insects and vegetation. She discovered the curator of the gardens had cleared wild grasses and swing fogged for mosquitoes, killing off insects they fed on. She stopped this and the bird varieties returned. She surrounded the swimming pool with free flowering scented flowers and derived great pleasure smelling them as she swam. She knew each flower by its popular and botanical names. She had an enormous capacity for words.

She helped me draft the Constitution of the PAP. For the inaugural meeting at Victoria Memorial Hall on 4 November 1954, she gathered the wives of the founder members to sew rosettes for those who were going on stage. In my first election for Tanjong Pagar, our home in Oxley Road became the HQ to assign cars provided by my supporters to ferry voters to the polling booth. She warned me that I could not trust my new found associates, the leftwing trade unionists led by Lim Chin Siong. She was furious that he never sent their high school student helpers to canvass for me in Tanjong Pagar, yet demanded the use of cars provided by my supporters to ferry my Tanjong Pagar voters. She had an uncanny ability to read the character of a person. She would sometimes warn me to be careful of certain persons; often, she turned out to be right.

When we were about to join Malaysia, she told me that we would not succeed because the UMNO Malay leaders had such different lifestyles and because their politics were communally-based, on race and religion. I replied that we had to make it work as there was no better choice. But she was right.

We were asked to leave Malaysia before two years.

When separation was imminent, Eddie Barker, as Law Minister, drew up the draft legislation for the separation. But he did not include an undertaking by the Federation Government to guarantee the observance of the two water agreements between the PUB and the Johor state government. I asked Choo to include this. She drafted the undertaking as part of the constitutional amendment of the Federation of Malaysia Constitution itself. She was precise and meticulous in her choice of words. The amendment statute was annexed to the Separation Agreement, which we then registered with the United Nations.

After her first stroke, she lost her left field of vision. This slowed down her reading. She learned to cope, reading with the help of a ruler. She swam every evening and kept fit. She continued to travel with me, and stayed active despite the stroke. She stayed in touch with her family and old friends. She listened to her collection of CDs, mostly classical, plus some golden oldies. She jocularly divided her life into “before stroke” and “after stroke”, like BC and AD.

She was friendly and considerate to all associated with her. She would banter with her WSOs (woman security officers) and correct their English grammar and pronunciation in a friendly and cheerful way. Her former WSOs visited her when she was at NNI. I thank them all. (Listed in Appendix A)

Her second stroke on 12 May 2008 was more disabling. I encouraged and cheered her on, helped by a magnificent team of doctors, surgeons, therapists and nurses. (Listed in Appendix B.) Her nurses, WSOs and maids all grew fond of her because she was warm and considerate. When she coughed, she would take her small pillow to cover her mouth because she worried for them and did not want to infect them

Her mind remained clear but her voice became weaker. When I kissed her on her cheek, she told me not to come too close to her in case I caught her pneumonia. I assured her that the doctors did not think that was likely because I was active. When given some peaches in hospital, she asked the maid to take one home for my lunch. I was at the centre of her life.

On 24 June 2008, a CT scan revealed another bleed again on the right side of her brain. There was not much more that medicine or surgery could do except to keep her comfortable.

I brought her home on 3 July 2008. The doctors expected her to last a few weeks. She lived till 2nd October, 2 years and 3 months. She remained lucid. They gave time for me and my children to come to terms with the inevitable. In the final few months, her faculties declined. She could not speak but her cognition remained. She looked forward to have me talk to her every evening.

Her last wish she shared with me was to enjoin our children to have our ashes placed together, as we were in life.

The last two years of her life were the most difficult. She was bedridden after small successive strokes; she could not speak but she was still cognisant. Every night she would wait for me to sit by her to tell her of my day’s activities and to read her favourite poems. Then she would sleep.

I have precious memories of our 63 years together. Without her, I would be a different man, with a different life. She devoted herself to me and our children. She was always there when I needed her. She has lived a life full of warmth and meaning.

I should find solace at her 89 years of her life well lived. But at this moment of the final parting, my heart is heavy with sadness.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/kwageokchoo/

2010-10-02T00:12:00.003+08:00

You're Blessed
Matthew 5:1-10 (MSG)

When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing companions. This is what he said:

"You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.

"You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

"You're blessed when you're content with just who you are—no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought.

"You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God. He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat.

"You're blessed when you care. At the moment of being 'care-full,' you find yourselves cared for.

"You're blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.

"You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That's when you discover who you really are, and your place in God's family.

"You're blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God's kingdom.

"Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don't like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.

2010-09-07T19:23:00.003+08:00

John 16:7
"Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you."

The disciples could not comprehend how it could be to their advantage if Jesus "went away".

When the people we have relied on are not there, we have to rise and discover the gifts, calling and power God has placed in our life.

As long as Jesus was with them, they wouldn't discover the power of the Holy Spirit for themselves. Sometimes God doesn't answer our prayers, because He wants us to discover His power in us, answering our prayer. He goes to sleep in our boat so WE WILL WAKE UP.

We are the answer to our own prayer at times, if we will get up and start being and doing what we are believing for!!

2010-07-15T00:27:00.007+08:00

Make a guess!

Which type of camera did the photographer use for this shot?

Was it a DSLR?

A Nikon Coolpix S8000?

Or a Canon PowerShot SX20 IS?

Did you guess?

This shot was taken by an iPhone!

Yes, you read right. Was having my weekly read at mrbrown.com, when I saw this...

The iPhone Fashion Shoot - Lee Morris Shoots With The 3GS Fstoppers from FStoppers on Vimeo.

Out of curiosity, I went onto their website at FStoppers. It's a video blog for creative professionals. I love looking at pictures!

Very nice... This is an underwater shot by Zena Holloway.

Now, I'm gonna create some magic with my BB Bold 9700! :)

2010-07-14T23:58:00.000+08:00

Nice song! :)

明知我爱你 - Serene Koong 龚芝怡

告诉你瞒着你只不过是个决定
放弃你忘记你只怕我无法前进
不知道为什么会如此莫名紧张你
我越了解你越靠近你越犹豫

明知道我爱你却不敢告诉你
我害怕失去你宁愿沉默不语
该如何整理幸福在手里
我恨自己无能为力

明知道我爱你却不敢靠近你
我假装不在意反而痛了自己
多痛都可以不能没有你
只想永远永远爱你
你知不知道我也没关系

Hosea 2:16

2010-05-20T12:24:00.001+08:00

“And it shall be in that day,”

Says the Lord,

“That you will call me ‘My Husband,’

And no longer call me ‘My Master.’”

Leadership Goal

2010-05-20T12:21:00.001+08:00

START on time - Make every minute count - Speak LIFE - Fill the air with faith - FINISH on time!

Brian C Houston

Zzzzzzzzz!!!!

2010-05-19T11:16:00.001+08:00

I’m sooooooo sleeeeeeepppppppyyyyyyyyyy!

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz………………………

2010-05-15T01:40:00.004+08:00

I love the smell of rain.

Before the rain comes, the winds blow...
The winds carry with it
the smell of rustling leaves, of nature, of anticipation...
It carries with it the peace that comes before a storm

I stand at the window, head peered out,
breathing deep breaths of this rain
A sense of nostalgia

Then after the rain, the earth is washed clean
After the rain, the winds blow...
The winds carry with it
a new beginning and a comforting touch

I love the smell of rain.

Don’t work. Avoid telling the truth. Be hated. Love someone.

2010-05-14T17:16:00.001+08:00

Written by Adrian Tan, author of The Teenage Textbook (1988), was the guest-of-honour at an NTU convocation ceremony. This was his speech to the graduating class of 2008.

-----

I must say thank you to the faculty and staff of the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information for inviting me to give your convocation address. It’s a wonderful honour and a privilege for me to speak here for ten minutes without fear of contradiction, defamation or retaliation. I say this as a Singaporean and more so as a husband.

My wife is a wonderful person and perfect in every way except one. She is the editor of a magazine. She corrects people for a living. She has honed her expert skills over a quarter of a century, mostly by practising at home during conversations between her and me.

On the other hand, I am a litigator. Essentially, I spend my day telling people how wrong they are. I make my living being disagreeable.

Nevertheless, there is perfect harmony in our matrimonial home. That is because when an editor and a litigator have an argument, the one who triumphs is always the wife.

And so I want to start by giving one piece of advice to the men: when you’ve already won her heart, you don’t need to win every argument.

Marriage is considered one milestone of life. Some of you may already be married. Some of you may never be married. Some of you will be married. Some of you will enjoy the experience so much, you will be married many, many times. Good for you.

The next big milestone in your life is today: your graduation. The end of education. You’re done learning.

You’ve probably been told the big lie that “Learning is a lifelong process” and that therefore you will continue studying and taking masters’ degrees and doctorates and professorships and so on. You know the sort of people who tell you that? Teachers. Don’t you think there is some measure of conflict of interest? They are in the business of learning, after all. Where would they be without you? They need you to be repeat customers.

The good news is that they’re wrong.

The bad news is that you don’t need further education because your entire life is over. It is gone. That may come as a shock to some of you. You’re in your teens or early twenties. People may tell you that you will live to be 70, 80, 90 years old. That is your life expectancy.

I love that term: life expectancy. We all understand the term to mean the average life span of a group of people. But I’m here to talk about a bigger idea, which is what you expect from your life.

You may be very happy to know that Singapore is currently ranked as the country with the third highest life expectancy. We are behind Andorra and Japan, and tied with San Marino. It seems quite clear why people in those countries, and ours, live so long. We share one thing in common: our football teams are all hopeless. There’s very little danger of any of our citizens having their pulses raised by watching us play in the World Cup. Spectators are more likely to be lulled into a gentle and restful nap.

Singaporeans have a life expectancy of 81.8 years. Singapore men live to an average of 79.21 years, while Singapore women live more than five years longer, probably to take into account the additional time they need to spend in the bathroom.

So here you are, in your twenties, thinking that you’ll have another 40 years to go. Four decades in which to live long and prosper.

Bad news. Read the papers. There are people dropping dead when they’re 50, 40, 30 years old. Or quite possibly just after finishing their convocation. They would be very disappointed that they didn’t meet their life expectancy.

I’m here to tell you this. Forget about your life expectancy.

After all, it’s calculated based on an average. And you never, ever want to expect being average.

Revisit those expectations. You might be looking forward to working, falling in love, marrying, raising a family. You are told that, as graduates, you should expect to find a job paying so much, where your hours are so much, where your responsibilities are so much.

That is what is expected of you. And if you live up to it, it will be an awful waste.

If you expect that, you will be limiting yourself. You will be living your life according to boundaries set by average people. I have nothing against average people. But no one should aspire to be them. And you don’t need years of education by the best minds in Singapore to prepare you to be average.

What you should prepare for is mess. Life’s a mess. You are not entitled to expect anything from it. Life is not fair. Everything does not balance out in the end. Life happens, and you have no control over it. Good and bad things happen to you day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment. Your degree is a poor armour against fate.

Don’t expect anything. Erase all life expectancies. Just live. Your life is over as of today. At this point in time, you have grown as tall as you will ever be, you are physically the fittest you will ever be in your entire life and you are probably looking the best that you will ever look. This is as good as it gets. It is all downhill from here. Or up. No one knows.

What does this mean for you? It is good that your life is over.

Since your life is over, you are free. Let me tell you the many wonderful things that you can do when you are free.

The most important is this: do not work.

Work is anything that you are compelled to do. By its very nature, it is undesirable.

Work kills. The Japanese have a term “Karoshi”, which means death from overwork. That’s the most dramatic form of how work can kill. But it can also kill you in more subtle ways. If you work, then day by day, bit by bit, your soul is chipped away, disintegrating until there’s nothing left. A rock has been ground into sand and dust.

There’s a common misconception that work is necessary. You will meet people working at miserable jobs. They tell you they are “making a living”. No, they’re not. They’re dying, frittering away their fast-extinguishing lives doing things which are, at best, meaningless and, at worst, harmful.

People will tell you that work ennobles you, that work lends you a certain dignity. Work makes you free. The slogan “Arbeit macht frei” was placed at the entrances to a number of Nazi concentration camps. Utter nonsense.

Do not waste the vast majority of your life doing something you hate so that you can spend the small remainder sliver of your life in modest comfort. You may never reach that end anyway.

Resist the temptation to get a job. Instead, play. Find something you enjoy doing. Do it. Over and over again. You will become good at it for two reasons: you like it, and you do it often. Soon, that will have value in itself.

I like arguing, and I love language. So, I became a litigator. I enjoy it and I would do it for free. If I didn’t do that, I would’ve been in some other type of work that still involved writing fiction – probably a sports journalist.

So what should you do? You will find your own niche. I don’t imagine you will need to look very hard. By this time in your life, you will have a very good idea of what you will want to do. In fact, I’ll go further and say the ideal situation would be that you will not be able to stop yourself pursuing your passions. By this time you should know what your obsessions are. If you enjoy showing off your knowledge and feeling superior, you might become a teacher.

Find that pursuit that will energise you, consume you, become an obsession. Each day, you must rise with a restless enthusiasm. If you don’t, you are working.

Most of you will end up in activities which involve communication. To those of you I have a second message: be wary of the truth. I’m not asking you to speak it, or write it, for there are times when it is dangerous or impossible to do those things. The truth has a great capacity to offend and injure, and you will find that the closer you are to someone, the more care you must take to disguise or even conceal the truth. Often, there is great virtue in being evasive, or equivocating. There is also great skill. Any child can blurt out the truth, without thought to the consequences. It takes great maturity to appreciate the value of silence.

In order to be wary of the truth, you must first know it. That requires great frankness to yourself. Never fool the person in the mirror.

I have told you that your life is over, that you should not work, and that you should avoid telling the truth. I now say this to you: be hated.

It’s not as easy as it sounds. Do you know anyone who hates you? Yet every great figure who has contributed to the human race has been hated, not just by one person, but often by a great many. That hatred is so strong it has caused those great figures to be shunned, abused, murdered and in one famous instance, nailed to a cross.

One does not have to be evil to be hated. In fact, it’s often the case that one is hated precisely because one is trying to do right by one’s own convictions. It is far too easy to be liked, one merely has to be accommodating and hold no strong convictions. Then one will gravitate towards the centre and settle into the average. That cannot be your role. There are a great many bad people in the world, and if you are not offending them, you must be bad yourself. Popularity is a sure sign that you are doing something wrong.

The other side of the coin is this: fall in love.

I didn’t say “be loved”. That requires too much compromise. If one changes one’s looks, personality and values, one can be loved by anyone.

Rather, I exhort you to love another human being. It may seem odd for me to tell you this. You may expect it to happen naturally, without deliberation. That is false. Modern society is anti-love. We’ve taken a microscope to everyone to bring out their flaws and shortcomings. It far easier to find a reason not to love someone, than otherwise. Rejection requires only one reason. Love requires complete acceptance. It is hard work – the only kind of work that I find palatable.

Loving someone has great benefits. There is admiration, learning, attraction and something which, for the want of a better word, we call happiness. In loving someone, we become inspired to better ourselves in every way. We learn the truth worthlessness of material things. We celebrate being human. Loving is good for the soul.

Loving someone is therefore very important, and it is also important to choose the right person. Despite popular culture, love doesn’t happen by chance, at first sight, across a crowded dance floor. It grows slowly, sinking roots first before branching and blossoming. It is not a silly weed, but a mighty tree that weathers every storm.

You will find, that when you have someone to love, that the face is less important than the brain, and the body is less important than the heart.
You will also find that it is no great tragedy if your love is not reciprocated. You are not doing it to be loved back. Its value is to inspire you.

Finally, you will find that there is no half-measure when it comes to loving someone. You either don’t, or you do with every cell in your body, completely and utterly, without reservation or apology. It consumes you, and you are reborn, all the better for it.

Don’t work. Avoid telling the truth. Be hated. Love someone.

Dinner, I mean, Snack at Ion Orchard

2010-05-14T10:01:00.001+08:00

Cal and I were walking around Ion Orchard last Sunday. Tired and hungry, we decided to find a place to have something to eat and to rest our poor feet.

Cal, being a creature of habits - I kid you not when I say that - wanted to eat at The Asian Kitchen 鹿港小镇 again. I tell you, we eat there EVERYTIME we're at Ion Orchard. And we have been there quite a number of times. So I, being the wonderful adventurous person that I am, said, "Let's go try something else instead! How about Imperial Treasure?"

And him, being the loving person that he is, said, "Let's do it!" Next thing we knew, we were seated at Imperial Treasure Noodle and Congee House, for a snack.

Yes, I said, a snack.

So here's what we ordered for our snack: 1. Congee with Lean Pork and Century Egg 2. Roast Duck 3. Roast Belly Pork 4. Shrimp Dumpling Soup

I know, you're amazed right? So was I. Heehee, I even went home to have dinner with my family two hours later and gobbled up an entire serving of watercress soup with pork ribs and white rice. Yums!

Well, Imperial Treasure was fine. The food wasn't too bad, but it isn't fantastic either. It's like Crystal Jade, only slightly more expensive. So I thought to myself, "Okay lah, creature of habits also not bad. The food at Asian Kitchen is less expensive and tastes much better!"

Mr Choo and I have already made a date to have dinner at Ion Orchard again next week. Guess which restaurant we'll be going to?

Here’s a picture of what we had:

Oops! Heehee! Only remembered to take a picture after we finished the food. Don’t say I never take picture… Empty plates look great too! :P

Author's Note:

Please do not think that the both of us are really wealthy to eat at such atas places all the time. Haha, truth is we only eat good food (i.e more than $10 per pax) once a month! And every time we eat the Ion Orchard, we use the CapitaLand vouchers given by our wonderful friends (Thank you LYL leaders, N282 and W531!)

Heehee, now you know. So when our birthdays come round the corner, please kindly donate to our "Feed Cal and Zhen Fund". Woohoo! :p

Lotte Black Black

2010-05-14T10:00:00.001+08:00

This is a bottle of Lotte Black Black gum that Mummy brought back from Japan. Not cheap if you ask me, it's SGD$10 per bottle.

Don't look at me like that, didn't you know that gum is perfectly permissible in my part of the world? ;)

Oooh, lookie here, what's this green stuff?

It's a post-it notepad!

Can you guess what this is for???

(Scroll down for answer)

At least make a wild guess first......

I thought it was some kind of special drying paper. To absorb and keep the gum free from unwanted moisture..

Did you guess?

It's for spitting out gum after it's been chewed! :)

Wow. I must say, the Japanese are really creative and thoughtful. World-class service if you ask me, even if it's all in a bottle of gum.

I’m so challenged to think out of the box. What other contraptions will be good for everyday use?

A note to Chocolate

2010-05-13T15:05:00.001+08:00

Dear Ghana Chocolate,

I am gonna eat you up this Sunday, just you watch.

Two more days to go!

With God all things are possible!! :)

PS. Thanks for the Korean chocolate Jas! Nom nom nom… Heehee!

Happy Mother’s Day!

2010-05-13T15:00:00.001+08:00

Almost a week past Mother's Day and here I am blogging about it. Nonetheless, it is never too late in this case!

So we gave Mummy the carnation given out during church service on Saturday.. Felt really cheapo about it, repented real fast and bought her the real deal - a beautiful bouquet of pink roses, accompanied with baby's breath and what not.

The following Monday, we went out for a good meal at Dian Xiao Er at Lot 1. Here's what we had:

行政套餐 The Executive Set

丝苗白饭 Superior Steamed Rice
泡参烤鸭 Duck Roasted w/ Wild Ginseng
西兰花炒鲜带子 Sautéed Broccoli w/ Scallops
豉油皇银鳕鱼 Silver Cod Fish in Superior Soy Sauce
人参红枣炖雪蛤 (冷) D-Boiled Hashima w/ Ginseng & Red Dates
江南焗鲜虾 Baked Live Prawn Jiangnan Style
红烧蟹肉鱼翅 Braised Sharks Fin Broth w/ Crabmeat
东坡肉 "Dong Po" Pork

No pictures. We were all too busy gorging ourselves silly! Yum yum! :)

Happy Mother's Day Mummy! Although I tell you this all the time, you really are the best mummy in the whole wide world! Much as there are ups and downs in life, I never cease to thank God for you in my life.

Mummy, perhaps the day that you should read this, I really hope that you would have known the Lord and received Him into your life. Praying for your salvation everyday :)

I love you Mum!

Adam and Eve

2010-05-11T17:38:00.000+08:00

Eve was not taken out of Adam's head to top him, neither out of his feet to be trampled by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected by him, and near his heart to be loved by him.

Matthew Henry

Revenge of the Husband

2010-05-11T17:36:00.001+08:00

Husband and wife are getting all snugly in bed. The passion is heating up. But then the wife stops and says, "I don't feel like it, I just want you to hold me." The husband says, "WHAT??"

The wife explains that he must not be in tune with her emotional needs as a Woman. The husband realizes that nothing is going to happen tonight and he might as well deal with it.

So the next day the husband takes her shopping at a big department store. He walks around and has her try on three very expensive outfits. She can't decide. He tells his wife to take all three of them. Then they go over and get matching shoes worth $200 each. And then they go to the Jewellery Department where she gets a set of diamond earrings.

The wife is so excited. She thinks her husband has flipped out -- but she does not care. She goes for the tennis bracelet. The husband says "but you don't even play tennis, but OK if you like it then let's get it."

The wife is jumping up and down so excited she cannot even believe what is going on. She says "I am ready to go, let's go to the cash register."

The husband says, "No, no, no, honey we're not going to buy all this stuff." The wife's face goes blank. "No honey - I just want you to HOLD this stuff for a while." Her face gets really mad and she is about to explode and the Husband says,

"You must not be in tune with my financial needs as a Man!!!"

2010-05-09T23:09:00.000+08:00

It's been way toooooo long since I last blogged... The past 2 months has been busy busy busy! I've hardly any time to breathe. There are just too many things to do and too little time to do them. Really got to thank God for grace in every aspect of my life! God is truly amazing! :)

It's a happy week for me, heehee *grins* Because my boy and I finally had the luxury to spend an entire day together! Yippeee, dances around!

The boy drove to my place at 10.45am to pick me up. All he said in his last sms was "Wear something comfy", so I didn't think too much into it. I thought we were probably go to have a walk somewhere, spend time at a shopping mall like we usually do.

But the boy had something up his sleeves! When I asked him where we were going, he said, "You'll know soon!" What do you mean you'll know soon!?! I don't wanna know soon, I wanna know where we were going now. Tell me now now now! "Botanic Gardens", I said. "Nope, I did think about it, but I figured we can always go there with or without the car. We're going to somewhere near your place... Near Khatib," the boy replied.

"Bottle Tree Park!!! But we've been there before," I retorted. Haha and he said, "Somewhere you've always wanted to go dear..."

So guess we went to?

We went to visit the Singapore Zoo!!!!!

Heehee! Fun!!! The last time I really explored the place was the time when I was still in primary school. So now, I'm really happy to go back there with my favourite person in the whole wide world. Plus I've been bugging him since forever to bring me there... Heehee. Cal's right. One should not venture going to the zoo unless you drive or am willing to splurge on a cab. It is truly a very ulu place.

We walked the entire place in about 3 hours.. Pretty amazing huh! From visiting the wailing siamangs, to the unhippo-like pygmy hippos, to the pumba warthogs, to the cheeky monkeys and swinging orang utans, to the majestic lionesses and the sunbathing cheetahs... We really saw alot of beautiful creatures! Here I am, petting a beautiful pony called "Princess Belle". Pretty ain't she?

We didn't have time to see the bears and reptiles, partly because we were getting tired of walking and also because of the rain. God was good! The weather was also fantastic, it was not too hot unlike the rest of the northern area. The rain also cooled things down for all of us :) If you have time, you should also go check out the Singapore zoo too!

After that, we had a quick bite at a nearby coffeeshop. Not forgetting his favourite half-boiled eggs...

We headed further up to Yishun and caught Ip Man 2. The show was fantastic! Haha we were riveted in our seats throughout the movie :)

And finally we ended the day with dinner at the Manhattan Fish Market. Yums! We started with the soup of the day and drinks...

and shared the Manhatten Platter for 2, with the flaming prawns, crisp calamari, oysters, butter rice and fish and chips...

Yes... I ripped this picture off the internet. Yums! I love comfort food!

Haha, I really enjoy spending time with my boy... It is really a luxury to spend an entire day together, uninterrupted and simply enjoying each other's company.

I really don't care where we go to (okay, that's not the complete truth at times coz I really do enjoy romance once in a while, heehee :P), but just to have time together with you is perfect to me. Thank you dear for everything!!! You're the best!!! :)

2010-03-05T15:45:00.005+08:00

How conversation with Qiong looks like...

Yes, I know... First she tries to blind me with the many emoticons, then makes me to decipher the pictures to form words with her shortcuts...

Qiong! :)

Just wanna say thanks for always encouraging me and being there for me through good times and bad! Hee, treasure you loads! :)

2010-02-14T02:38:00.011+08:00

First heard this while watching Didi Benami on American Idol today...

Here's the original version by Katharine McPhee. Presenting to you... "Terrified". Very nice! :)

You by the light is the greatest find
In a world full of wrong you're the thing that's right
Finally made it through the lonely to the other side

You said it again, my heart's in motion
Every word feels like a shooting star
I'm at the edge of my emotions

Watching the shadows burning in the dark
And I'm in love and I'm terrified
For the first time in the last time in my only life

This could be good, it's already better than last
And love is worse than knowing you're holding back
I could be all that you needed if you let me try

You said it again my hearts in motion
Every word feels like a shooting start
I'm at the edge of my emotions

Watching the shadows burning in the dark
And I'm in love and I'm terrified
For the first time in the last time in my only

I only said it 'cause I mean it, I only mean 'cause it's true
So don't you doubt what I've been dreaming
'Cause it fills me up and holds me close whenever I'm without you

You said it again my hearts in motion
Every word feels like a shooting star

Watching the shadows burning in the dark
And I'm in love and I'm terrified
For the first time in the last time in my only life

A little more than a year ago, my boy told me that he wants to walk through life together with me.. I'm happy that he's in my life, more so because we've experienced not having each other in our lives :)

May you find love and that special someone to walk through life with you... Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-13T00:10:00.000+08:00

Zhen: My name is Zhen Ying.
Jieying: No, my name is Sun.
Zhen: No, your name is Dawn.

Random in the month of February :)

2010-01-22T14:16:00.006+08:00

Save Me From Myself - Christina Aguilera

It's not so easy loving me
It gets so complicated
All the things you gotta be
Everything's changing
But you're the truth
I'm amazed by all your patience
Everything I put you through

When I'm about to fall
Somehow you're always waiting with
Your open arms to catch me
You're gonna save me from myself
From myself, yes
You're gonna save me from myself

My love is tainted by your touch
Well some guys have shown me access
But you've got that royal flush
I know it's crazy everyday
Well tomorrow may be shaky
But you never turn away

Don't ask me why I'm crying
'Cause when I start to crumble
You know how to keep me smiling
You always save me from myself
From myself, myself
You're gonna save me from myself

I know it's hard, it's hard
But you've broken all my walls
You've been my strength, so strong
And don't ask me why I love you

It's obvious your tenderness
Is what I need to make me
A better woman to myself
To myself, myself
You're gonna save me from myself

Prayer is the key to revival

2010-01-22T11:25:00.001+08:00

Our prayer level must match up to our promise level!

So, PRAY! More than ever before!

2010 will be a year of prayer, where God takes over :)

2010-01-21T11:11:00.001+08:00

Greatest Day - Take That

Just so we remember! :)

Tis the season to be jolly!

2009-12-28T02:34:00.000+08:00

Pictures speak a thousand words… or more :)

I can’t wait!

Oooh, the endless possibilities!! Dreaming of what the next few weeks would bring me… More dinners and get-togethers, lazy mornings spent in bed with good ole blankie, reads reads and more good reads, breakfast with daddy and mummy, more sister-bullying (I can already imagine! “Jia, Zi, can you make me a cup of milo please? While you’re at it, please make me some toast. Hold it, go grill the popcorn chicken too. Oh oh, btw, switch on the tv? I’m aching all over from lazing in bed… Haha :) Plus beautiful wintry Korea (with a stopover in Shanghai), fun retreat in KL… I love the holiday season!

And of course, how could I forget… More time to spend with a special someone… :)

You’re getting the first hand news my dear readers…

My new boyfriend!!!!!!!!

Hold it, make that my old boyfriend!

Mmm… My only boyfriend! :)

Writer’s note, January 13, 2010: I quote from the man himself -

“God works in His own awesome ways!” :)

2009-12-15T13:02:00.003+08:00

The Good-O-Meter

Thank God for grace! :)

The power and purpose of fasting

2009-12-14T17:41:00.000+08:00

Extracted from Pst Kong’s blog:

http://www.konghee.com/www/2009/12/purpose-for-fasting/ http://www.konghee.com/www/2009/12/power-of-fasting/

Fasting is to loose the bond of wickedness, undo the heavy burden, free the oppressed, and break every yoke of the devil. So when our backs are against the wall; when the enemies surround us; when temptation seems too overwhelming for us to bear, when our ministry lacks the power of the Spirit, God has ordained fasting as a means by which we can humble ourselves before Him in order to invoke the supernatural for our miraculous victory!”

These are the reasons why we fast :)

Tweet tweet!

2009-12-09T17:28:00.001+08:00

What I have been tweeting about in the past 3 months…

Follow me @zhenn today! :D

What have you been tweeting about?

2009-11-20T15:41:00.002+08:00

Check this out! :)

http://www.mypersonality.info/personality-types/infj/

Is it accurate for you? :)

Wake me up when September (and October) ends…

2009-11-08T02:16:00.001+08:00

It’s really about time for an update! Haha, be prepared for a picture-heavy post… Here goes!

September 2009

One of my favourite desserts! It’s called Burbur Terigu, known as 大麦 in Chinese. An elderly lady sells it for only 70 cents at the Commonwealth market.. Yummy! :)

And here’s what I do when I’m lunching alone.. Write, think, read, do maths, chat on the phone or pray!

Bball at the arcade after SVC… Wow, reminds me of what I do when I was younger. Wait. I’m still young! Which totally explains why I can still snap this picture, haha :P

Hee, the CG boys playing at the JP arcade while the girls look on…

Fellowship with W525! Confessing 20 disciples by December! :D

Coffee and chill out session with Yuzhen :) Nice to have a good friend whom you know you can count on and understands :)

My colleague and I at the InnerShine Berry Essence Beautiful Eyes makeover tea party! Should try out the drink, it’s really refreshing especially when you add soda to it!

October 2009

October was a really eventful month! Lazy to type, so let the pictures do the talking…

At Safety and Security Asia Convention 2009. Was interesting! Learnt about the upcoming new technology to be used at the Youth Olympic Games next year. Cool stuff!

Study group at JW… Joey and Grace with teacher Bel. They really studied! Very good!!!

Sze teaching Stan… Also really studied!!! Wow!

Kel also mugged away… He did very well for his exams! :)

And there were those who tried to study, succeeded for abit and then decided to play instead! Haha… Samuel and Wesmond! :) Okay lah, Wesmond really studied… Which means… SAMUELLLL…

And what was I doing?

Taking pictures! HAHA :P

More!

Tamil church had an outreach that week. Look at the yummy food! Hungry hungry…

Story-telling by Lun after SVC one fine Sunday… It’s a powerful story! Haha, must ask her to share with you too! Heehee!

At The New Paper New Face Grand Finals. Opening performance! Was simply too lazy to take anymore pictures after that… Can’t see much on my camera anyway. Haha it was a blast! Kumar was hilarious!!

And the winner was Victoria Bradbury! She had an awesome catwalk :) I really like Collette Miles though.. She’s the girl in red.

I’m sorry I turned stalker, but this boy is so cute! He was staring and staring at the person’s PSP set for the longest time! So amused…

Then came Sam and Jess’ wedding! Sorry no pictures of them, you can check that out in facebook. Elkan is so cute!!! He keeps covering his mouth though… It’s a new habit… Sigh, but still cute! :)

Zhijiang gave Ling, Sze and myself some very cute toys! Mine’s big bird.. and I called it Tweety! Don’t you think it looks like tweety! Haha! Case of mismatched identity, oh well…

Pho Hoa with the gang… Nice nice! Thank you for coming down guys… Really blessed! :)

Baby Li’ora! Haha spent a whole Sunday with her! She’s super cute and chatty! Haha, kept making noises as if she’s trying to tell you something… Love it when she looked at Lun in dismay… Li’ora honestly wanted to get out of the car seat man… Pretty baby!

Fellowship with the leaders at Quality Hotel. Haha, Elaine was complaining that I was taking all these food and not finishing it… Made Sze and her finish it instead. Technically it’s a half-truth! I didn’t ask them to finish it okay, they happily volunteered! :D

Pretty Weilin! Food is yums!

Big prawns. Must show everyone. See the comparision with the fingers in the first pic? Humongous creatures!

That’s it for October! Actually alot of other things happened, but I’m too lazy to blog. Shall do a separate entry for mission trip though…

Now begins November… Pray for me please! Two launches this month. Woohoo! Grace grace :)

Cute!

2009-10-27T15:43:00.001+08:00

So cute right?!?!! Haha!

Saw this off my friend’s profile page and koped it! Nicee :) One day I will try it out on my sisters too, oh yeah.

Shall blog proper tonight. Ah bed… I’m so missing you right now… :)

Carnality vs Spirituality

2009-10-16T10:33:00.001+08:00

Dear Flesh,

Please die. And die faster.

[Rom 7:13-25]

“Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin.

For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.”

[Romans 8:1-11]

“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”

Pray

2009-10-15T00:00:00.001+08:00

When I know the answer is just to pray like never before…

2009-10-14T17:33:00.003+08:00

Unashamed - Starfield

I have not much
To offer You
Not near what You deserve
But still I come
Because Your cross
Has placed in me my worth

Oh, Christ my King
Of sympathy
Whose wounds secure my peace
Your grace extends
To call me friend
Your mercy sets me free

And I know I'm weak
I know I'm unworthy
To call upon Your name
But because of grace
Because of Your mercy
I stand here unashamed

I can't explain
This kind of love
I'm humbled and amazed
That You'd come down
From heavens heights
And greet me face to face

Words of Wisdom

2009-09-23T18:35:00.001+08:00

Revelation, wow factor, freshness!

No matter how mundane the outline is.

Leadership is all about inspiring, modelling.

Everybody that comes in finds a dream.

Our love for God, our love for people, our love for life.

Learn to satisfy your soul! A satisfied soul is a happy soul!

We are called to be soul winners.

Look after our spirit, soul and body.

Relationships are very important.

Learn to be at peace with God.

Not taking care of our body and health will affect our soul.

If I am not happy, it is hard for me to carry the passion of God.

Inspire the people! Switch on happiness when I stand before others.

Be a happy, satisfied, contented leader.

Be successful in my career.

God wants me to lead a full and happy life.

Learn to abase and abound.

2009-09-19T01:05:00.003+08:00

Lovin' Fancy Free!

and catch Sun on the recorded webchat on Facebook :)

Love the music video, love the new haircut, love Sun!!

Go Live with SUN!

2009-09-18T16:17:00.001+08:00

Get to know Sun and her latest single "Fancy Free"!

Log onto www.facebook.com/sunhomusic and chat with her LIVE at 11.00pm TONIGHT (SG, Sep 18, 2009). You can post your questions to her via webchat on Facebook, or simply tweet your questions to @mynameissun. I’ve already tweeted mine!

Listen to the preview of “Fancy Free” here! Now available on iTunes, Amazon, Napster, eMusic and Rapsody, go check it out!

Whee, how exciting!!! I’m so LOVING New Media! Heehee! :D

Authenticity

2009-09-09T15:38:00.001+08:00

(noun)

1. Not false or copied; genuine; real.

2. Having the origin supported by unquestionable evidence; authenticated; verified.

3. Entitled to acceptance or belief because of agreement with known facts or experience; reliable; trustworthy.

4. True to one's own personality, spirit, or character.

Salonpas

2009-09-09T11:52:00.000+08:00

I’m sorry but I have to admit. I am a Salonpas addict.

After Sentosa on Sunday with the CG, and Yoga in office on Tuesday, my whole body is aching really bad!!! Which reminds me that I should exercise more so that I don’t get such foreign pain no more…

Salonpas brings instant relief! Ask my sister. She’s the one plastering me with Salonpas at night.. Quite shiok really. Heehee!

Picture Update!

2009-09-03T00:48:00.001+08:00

Here’s what I have been busy with the past 2 months.. Picture update for July and August 2009! :)

There was a recent jewellery show held at Suntec Convention Centre from July 30 to August 2. Check out the pictures!

First up, a mini exhibition about the history of the Singapore Jewellers Association…

Paintings by renowned Italian artist, Thomas Diego, who is famous for painting chic plump women adorned with beautiful jewellery. Don’t you think the pictures are very beautiful and interesting? If you were to do a close-up of the pictures, you will find that the jewellery are painted using real gold! :)

Hee, was quite amused too because we offered the artist with a bottle of bird’s nest. He has never tried it before! One thing I realised though, bird’s nest is not vegetarian… Haha, never knew that! It’s one thing to know it’s bird’s saliva, another to know that it’s not vegetarian… :P

Check out the VIP lounge… So pretty right! C and I had our dinner there almost every night. They catered different varieties of food for different audiences each night. We had Peranakan on the second night – kuehs, samosas and the likes. Yummy!

I really love the lighting of the room, but alas, I forgot to take the name card… It was like $9999 for one table lamp!!!!!!!! *faints* One day, I shall be prosperous enough to buy 91786161556747150745 lamps just for fun! NOT that I have any use for so many of them… Heehee :)

We had most number of fashion shows for an event ever! 7 fashion shows in 4 days! Haha, very nice… I like models. They are stick-thin. I also want to be thin! THIN THIN THIN THIN THIN!!!!! Haha! Oh oh, I saw Genecia Luo from our church. She was modelling for a bridal show :) Confessing THIN THIN THIN THIN THIN! I also want to be model!

Oh and this? An entire painting made up of gemstones! Fierce! The different shadings you see in the background? Crushed gemstones…

Funny statues…

One thing I realised is that people are really rich! They won’t hesitate about buying diamond rings that cost SG$12,000… Then again, there are people who bought jewellery priced at US$100,000. The most expensive piece was a rare natural fancy blue 10.02 carat diamond ring priced at US$3,000,000! That’s right…Count the zeros…

Haha, so the jewellery show was fun! CG was also very very fun! Check out Grace and Matthew in their moustaches… Haha, so cute!

The week after was Liora’s baby dedication :) Heehee, she’s so pretty! And she’s got spunk! Really man, she’s super brave! Not scared of anything… Including kicking Pst Kong’s pulpit on stage (Read Lun’s blog) Haha, love Li’ora loads! :D

After that we had National Day celebration… *sings* Stand up for Singapore! Do the best we can! Haha, and the reason for the below picture is to show the long long queue for cheaper petrol at Shell. Seriously, these people are violating traffic laws and risking fines just to get a saving of $20… Haha, then again, who am I to say? I don’t drive… YET ;)

Love this present given by CG!!! VERY NICE!!!!! Haha, Grace drew the picture from scratch.. You can see Joey with her Domo, Clifton traumatizing Stany, Weehian and Samuel slacking together, Si Ling with a mouse, Hock Soon in his Security uniform etc!!! POWER!!!! :D

Picture with Jo on the eve of her actual graduation, nice!

Clifton and Samuel fooling around at the bus stop after fellowship… Haha!

Fellowshipping at Starbucks! Stan taught us how to take widescreen shots using our Sony Ericsson phones… Not too bad I must say :)

In the third week of August, I had a major event at work and thus was working late almost every night… Check out the alley that I walk through… It’s super duper extremely very tremendously DARK! You literally cannot see your foot. No kidding man. The only lights are HDB lights, which I think are a good kilometre away… It was scary! Honestly… Haha!

Finally, out of the wilderness, into the light :)

Jesterz at the event! Awesome tattoos! :) Haha, thank God that the event turned out really really well and everything went on smoothly! Hee, God is GOOD!!!!!

While waiting for the set-up to complete, I caught the Drummer Boys of VivoCity… Cool!

That’s it for the update! :D

Did I mention? Daddy & Mummy got us nice roller chairs with good backing… Now I can roll around in my room! Shiok! :)

2009-08-28T16:00:00.005+08:00

You got to hear this song (http://media.cityharvest.tv/asx/090712/300C.asx) at 12:21, it's truly awesome! :) I don't know what's the title though, please let me know if you do :)

And then at 19:50, another very good Chinese worship song...

我願意

為了愛祢離開天上來到世界被釘十架
遠在我認識你以前祢已先愛我
拯救我的生命為我附上代價

為了愛祢從死裡復活勝過死亡坐在寶座上
從天上祢呼召我出黑暗入光明
我願獻上自己成為馨香活祭

我願意每一天比前一天更愛祢
願意這一生能夠遵行祢旨意
我盼望我的心能更靠近祢懷裡
更新我的心意使我能更像祢
我願意

There's something so beautiful about the Chinese language...

:)

2009-08-27T18:34:00.004+08:00

Hello, I'm back!!

Yeah that was fast! Because I was surfing Pastor Kong's blog and I realised that at the sidebar, he shares his current reads - Christian, secular and popular culture books, current listens, and current movie and TV shows. Wow, pretty cool huh!

Let's see....

My current reads are:

1. Bible (This one is a permanent read)
2. Driven to Eternity by John Bevere
3. Renewing Your Spiritual Life by Kong Hee
4. Spiritual Leadership by Yonggi Cho
5. Prayer That Changes Nations by Ulf Ekman

Basically I'm rotating the books, reading a little here and a little there. They're all good reads!

If you realise, I'm missing out on the novels. Haven't had time to go to the library... :( Soon soon, yesterday I passed by Bukit Batok Community Library and felt a drawing to go in and borrow books. Haha, shall do that soon!

As for music, basically I'm listening to everything that's stored in my laptop - played on shuffle mode. But the current focus is on Writings on the Walls and Fly High. Woohoo, because I'm preparing myself for the upcoming mission trip!!!!

SO EXCITING!!!!!! MY FIRST TRIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Peng and I have been discussing about the sermons, songs etc, and the holiday afterwards! Reading the exciting email exchanges between Peng and Lun got me high too! The itinerary looks very packed, but it's such a great honour to serve God and serve people with the LYL team!

Haha, as for current movies, the latest one was watching "UP" with Sze, Roland, Vincent, Clifton, Grace, Stan, Beng and Jiang. I think there'll be another movie outing this Sunday with the marketplace CG. Sze's cousins want to watch "Where got ghost?", it'll be fun! Maybe we can go Botak Jones for lunch too, haha, been craving for junk food :P Yeah, marketplace fellowship tonight!!! Our debut meeting!!! :)

God, please stretch and increase in my life! More of You and less of me :)

Yeah, I better leave for Suntec now... But before that, check out this Pixar production! Niceee!

Botanic Gardens

2009-08-27T14:04:00.001+08:00

It’s raining cats and dogs outside, and there’s no one in my office because it’s lunch hour! Yeah, taking this time to finally do an update of what’s been happening in the past two months :)

On July 20, Ying and I decided to go on a trip to Botanic Gardens! Coz her member was in the performing band and she wanted to support him. The park is beautiful! Can’t remember the last time since I’ve been there, probably when I was still in Primary School? Must go relax more often, nice nice! :)

So here we are outside Tangs, after browsing for shoes, we took a picture! Which reminds me, I’m supposed to go online and order some Havaianas platform slippers for us to trudge around in… Haha :P

At beautiful Botanic Gardens… Nice right! Always wanted to spend my weekends frolicking in the hills, laying on the green green grass and staring at the azure blue skies, accompanied with my favourite people on this earth :)

There we were, sitting on the picnic mat that Ying brought. It was REALLY SMALL. You should hear the way she described it, as if it were big and spacious for both of us to sprawl on. But noooooooooo, there’s only space to sit. Never mind that, next we knew, a little monster had crawled beside us…

Here’s the monster!

What a cute monster! He refused to leave! He crawled from left to right and right to left. Juggled with Jieying’s handphone, ate grass and basically was all over the place. His parents were really a handsome couple! And very fun too.. :)

Parting shot :)

After Botanic Gardens, we met up with Irene and Yuzhen for dinner at the Botak Jones branch near Orchard Cineleisure. Wow, can’t remember the last time I fellowshipped with them! Hee, but it was a good fellowship! :)

Yeahh, so apparently as you can read, I’m so not in the mood for writing. I’m leaving the rest of the updates for another day! Lalalla!

If God…

2009-08-26T15:29:00.001+08:00

Just read Carrisa’s blog and was particularly impacted by what Lun said about Sun… “If we were to cut open Sun’s heart, we will see China.”

If God were to cut open my heart, what would He see?

The love of my life

2009-08-09T13:38:00.000+08:00

Laying aside all ambition, dreams, desires, people that I love, people that I want approval from, my future, my career and all in life… Jesus You are more than enough for me.

First love. When I first received Jesus into my life, I wanted nothing but just to know Him more and love Him more. There were no requests, no needs, no demands, just love and a pure heart. Now God, restore that heart of purity, love deep for You. You are more than enough for me. I trust and seek You Lord, seek you first in all that I do.

The Food Court Random

2009-08-06T19:46:00.000+08:00

It’s 7.34pm and I’m sitting in a food court beside Commonwealth MRT, waiting for my very very nice daddy to pick me up! It’s the dinner time peak hour yet I’m occupying a nice seat when I’m not eating… Haha, I don’t care, I need to rest my tired legs… Hee :P

It’s been exciting the past few days. Been in back to back meetings and presentations preparing for the next financial year. It’s going to be busy busy busy for my company! Today we had media drop… 50 publications in 15 locations. Wow, but it was really good! Was praying this morning that most of the media will be at their desks, and for the first time we had almost 80% attendance! Niceee, God is good and faithful! :)

Actually I have alot to blog about and I keep making mental notes to pen it all down. But I’m tired… So… That’s it for now! Meanwhile, I’m going to think about dinner… Korean food looks good here… Yum yum :) Byeeeeeee!

Impregnated

2009-07-26T00:24:00.001+08:00

A pregnant woman does not need to announce to the world that she is pregnant. Any person can see that she is and knows that she is, without doubt.

The same goes when you are pregnant with a vision and a dream. Any person should be able to see that you are and know that you are, without doubt.

Incubate your visions and dreams in prayers and fasting. In due season, in God’s perfect timing, you will give birth to them!

Rediscovering Ministry

2009-07-22T11:43:00.001+08:00

Very good post by Lun! Check out her blog at http://lunshines23.blogspot.com

Put On Your Own Oxygen Mask First (Rediscovering Ministry)" by Bill Easum

Dr Jeffrey Rachmet shared with a phenomenal word on self-leadership yesterday night. I recently read a book entitled, "Put On Your Own Oxygen Mask First (Rediscovering Ministry)" by Bill Easum. This book served to further reinforce the importance of building ourselves, stretching ourselves and testing ourselves before leading others.

Some 'quotable' quotes from 'Put On Your Own Oxygen Mask First':
To not know one has been called to some form of ministry or to not respond to God’s call is to die without ever really living!

You can’t give what you don’t have. It is imperative that we keep close to our call, close to our God-given mission and close to our God. In other words, leaders must take care of themselves and set their own agenda, before they can be or do anything for anyone else.

If you hope to develop spiritual giants, you must be a spiritual giant.

It’s not about me, it’s not about you; it’s about the mission.

To care for one another and to make disciples is the heart of Christianity.

Leaders need leaders who are spiritually ahead of them. This type of leadership takes constant development and learning.

Leaders set the tone for a congregation. If the congregation is weak, the leaders are weak.

In the absence of strong leadership, leaders leave and dysfunctional people take charge.

Leaders always take responsibility for whatever situation in which they find themselves. Leaders never blame the system for their failure. If the system destroys them, they allow it to happen.

Leaders set their own agenda and set out on the journey to make it happen. It is silly to think that a pastor should do whatever a congregation wants him or her to do. That would be a violation of a pastor’s call. The same is true for all Christians. It is a violation of God’s direction for our lives to allow someone else to redirect our call.

Leaders get what they look for.

Jesus spent the bulk of him time doing two things: modelling faith and equipping them to be leaders of tomorrow. Jesus saw the role of leadership to be that of radically transforming the hearts and minds of the people.

Leadership is about modelling a deep spiritual connection with God so that others are inspired to grow their own relations. This spiritual depth is the only source of authenticity and authority a Christian has in this emerging world.

People with a vision don’t burn out, give up or compromise. They carry on, no matter what. The key to spiritual leadership is to withdraw, not work harder. The key is to allow enough time in the day to nurture your soul so that you have something earth-shattering to share with others.

Call + Leadership Style + Context of ministry + Skill Set = Authentic and Effective Leadership

For a leader to reach his or her potential, all four of these factors must be compatible. If they aren’t, a person has two choices: either to learn to live with the consequences of being ineffective or frustrated; or do whatever is necessary to change the incompatible factors.

The call is that moment when Christians find out why God put them on this planet. It defines our life and ministry. To go through life without ever experiencing and responding to this call is to die without ever having lived. Your calling must be a foundational experience in your life! Hearing and answering a call from God is the most awesome, life-changing moment a human being ever experiences. No one is the same ever again. There are many different callings but all calls leave the person with a different view on how to spend his or her life for God. Calling precedes authentic and effective ministry. Is your calling big enough to die for?

Our call resonates deep within us, interweaving with our gifts and talents in a way that creatively empowers us.

The foundation of all leadership is a radical obedience to a call bigger than one’s own life. Without obedience to what God wants accomplished through our lives, we can’t fulfil our call and reach our God-given potential. The result of our obedience to this call is a deep, burning passion to carry out the mission God has given.

God’s people should seek God’s will for their lives and do whatever is necessary to live out that calling.

All people have a call from God and we miss out on the divine purpose of our lives if we do not journey through the process to discover it.

There are four marks of our call from God:
- Always a simple statement
- Always impossible to do on our own
- Not ego-driven/ one’s own invention
- Strange persistence to the call

If we really cared about people, we would not allow them to bully others into submission. Instead, we would want every person to feel free enough to express hopes and dreams, to stretch his or her wings, and to reach his or her God-given potential. If we really loved people, we would not base our decisions on whether or not people would like us for those decisions. Being nice or being liked is never a goal for followers of Jesus.

The common traits of transformational leaders are:
- They are passionate followers of Jesus Christ
- Their chief goal is to equip disciples to reproduce themselves
- They are rabidly focused on their mission and flexible on most other issues
- They trust and act on their intuitions as they explore the edges of normalcy looking for the next innovation.
- They model servanthood rather than professionalism
- They act as spiritual midwives helping others birth their God-given gifts
- They have a common prayer that seems to permeate all that they do: “Show me what you are doing in the world. Put me in the midst of it. Run over me with your presence and allow me to be part of your great movement on earth.”

It is impossible to teach passion and character, but it is possible to teach skills to passionate people with character.

2009-07-13T11:47:00.005+08:00

As a prelude to Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, meet the Puppet Pals!

Snape Snape... Severus Snape....
Dumbledore!
Ron, Ron, Ron Weasley...
Hermione, Hermione, Hermione
Harry Potter, Harry Potter, Harry Harry Harry Harry!

As introduced of course, by an equally irritating sister... Jia Ying, Jia Ying, Jia Jia Jia Jia Jia Jia Ying! :D

Yeah! Looking forward to Harry Potter time with the barbarians! Our annual movie, heehee :)

Confidence in God

2009-07-12T22:26:00.001+08:00

Letting go.

We always have to let go to move on. In not letting go, there will not be new things. We have to let go of our old wineskins, and put on new wineskins. We have to let go of old mindsets and be renewed to new mindsets. We have to let go of that which may be precious, that we may obtain which is in the will of God. We have to let go like how Moses let go of Jethro, Abraham let go of Isaac, Joseph let go of his family. We have to let go that we may enter into a deeper relationship and trust in God, that we may be more mature in His likeness.

I have to let go of the old and move on to the new. To let go of thoughts and replace them with new thoughts. To let go and have faith, to forsake all in trusting Him. It takes faith to follow after God and know that He loves us dearly.

“And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgement: because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; because perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.

We love Him because He first loved us.” [1 Jhn 4:16-19>

We love and that is why we let go. We have confidence and that is why we trust, no longer depending on human mind and strength.

I asked God today, “Are You sure? Can I? Will You?”

And His answer was Daniel in the lions’ den.

Governers and satraps were envious of Daniel because he had an excellent spirit and was greatly favoured by the king of the land. As such, these men plotted and tricked the king into establishing a royal statute and to make firm decree, that whoever petitions any god or man for thirty days shall be thrown into the lions’ den.

Daniel knew about the statute that was established but he still prayed 3 times in a day, giving thanks to God. He was willing to put his life at stake because he wanted to continue seeking God.

The men quickly seized the opportunity, on account of the decree that was set, and threw him into the lions’ den. The king was greatly displeased for he knew he had been deceived. And just before Daniel entered the lions’ den, the king said, “Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.”

Such is the faith of the king, who was not a believer, and yet was able to have confidence to say that!

So God says that He will be able to deliver me. Ok… Yet I was unconvinced… I really don’t know… So I said to God, “Are You sure? Can I? Will You?”

And now His answer was in 1 John 5: 14-21.

“Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him…

We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him. We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.

And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.”

And so I remember that as I went through some of the toughest times in my life, God has always been faithful and carried me through. Because we have been born of God, the devil cannot touch us, for no weapon formed against us shall prosper.

Recently I was reminded that the first conversation I want to strike in good times and bad, must be with God. The thoughts that I have must be towards God. It shouldn’t be that whenever things happen, out comes the mobile phone and calls be made to my leaders or my best friends. The first phone call belongs to Jesus.

To quote Dr. AR Bernard, he says the original sin is idolatry. Idolatry is to satisfy one's needs & seeking security or meaning in someone or something other than God. Idolatry is the problem, separation is the consequence, and chaos is the effect.

If God, who is, a Jealous God, then I must be mindful to give Him my first, all, one and only. And yet I am assured that He wants me to prosper in all things – meaning ALL, I have the confidence knowing that whatever I ask, according to His will, He hears me.

And so, I will not be like the Israelites, wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, when it takes a mere 3 days to enter the Promised Land. So I’m letting go, moving on, having the confidence and boldness, knowing that God loves me and cares for me, and I will fulfil His purpose for me in my generation, and I know He will provide for me.

Convictions

2009-07-10T10:52:00.000+08:00

What are the convictions in my life?

I must choose to do the right thing even if my life is in jeopardy, even if it causes jeopardy.

Gangster Only

2009-07-08T16:37:00.000+08:00

I picked up the phone and gangstered my sisters:

“Arloe, you wanna fight issit?”

One answered: “Arloe! Why? You wanna fight ah? I fight you!”

The other answered: “Errr…. Erm…… Dajie… O_o”

No prizes for guessing who’s who.

And no… I didn’t want to fight them. I wanted them to stretch with me!

YOGA CLASS TONIGHT :)

Picture Update!

2009-07-06T22:54:00.001+08:00

YEAH!!! FINALLY!!!! My Windows Live Writer can finally finally upload pictures! YIPPEEE!!!! HAHA, happiness! Makes uploading so much easier :D

Warning: Picture-heavy post… 2 months worth of pictures!

May 7, 2009

Was going through a tough time in my life when CG bought me a lot of food to cheer me up :) Apparently, food is supposed to make me happy! And because I turn junkie every time I’m stressed or sad.. Haha :P

There were breakfast cereals, Yam-Yam, Yupi gummies, Campbell soup, Smarties, Collon biscuits, Lays, Wang-wang, Twisties, milk biscuits, Kinder Bueno, Ferraro Rocher, haw biscuits, Snickers, Pocky, Snapple and Delona jam biscuits.. To be honest, after 2 months, I still haven’t finished the goodies! Thank you my friends! You guys are really the best :)

Oh and see the purple flower? This Si Ling smsed me to say that the news reported of a mysterious purple tulip growing outside my house… Diao… Actually it was just Bel, Sze and herself wanting to surprise me as I open the door to check out the flower.. Haha, alas I was already sleeping… And my very fierce and protective Jia said that they cannot come in… Haha, sorry girls! Hee, but really really was very touched by what you all did :)

And a get well card with encouraging messages :)

It was a tough time but I thank God for my family and great friends who were there to help me through :) Zi even slept in my room because for the first few days I couldn’t sleep unless someone was beside me… Haha, so nice of her! :D

May 9, 2009

Oooh… Then came Mother’s Day! We celebrated with Mummy by having Zhi Char at the hawker centre opposite our house :) We had chicken, fish head curry, tom yam soup, mapo tofu, broccoli and I think sambal kang-kong! Hee, there was yummy fruit cake too!

May 10, 2009

Random photo of ice-cream auntie selling $1 ice-cream downstairs. It was the first and only time I saw her at my house area!

May 13, 2009

“No Train Service” sign spotted on my way home! Something must have happened along the tracks that day… I figure.

May 16, 2009

Dinner hosted by one of our clients at Fullerton… Not too bad. The food was pretty good! :) Missed Sat service for this… It had better be good…

May 20, 2009

Reserved Seating sign when it was first launched… Man, I’m so random in May… Madness.

May 22, 2009

Daddy’s birthday!!! Steamboat at Bugis!!! DADDY, I LOVE YOUUUU!!!!! HAHAHA :D

May 24, 2009

Zi’s performance at SCGS! Nopee.. Those tiny little things are not Zi.. They are little ballerinas and so cute they are!!! Dancing, shaking and hula-ing away…

There was a scene where they were supposed to act like they’re sleeping… and the little girl on the extreme right refused to wake up! Until her teacher came along and chased her off stage! Hee, so cute!!! :)

Oops. I didn’t take pictures of Zi dancing. Haha, was too busy scrutinizing her and commenting along with Daddy and Jia… Muahaha :P

May 27, 2009

Walking home from work… May was really a random month.

May 30, 2009

Covering your face is the way to go when it comes to taking pictures. See for yourself!

June 5, 2009

Stresssssseeeed at work. Must take picture of desk. See Subway on table to know that I’m stressed. Fast food is junk food. Rmb, I turn junkie?

June 7, 2009

Shopping and quality time with Daddy and Mummy!!! LOVES! :D

June 18, 2009

At NYNY with best friend! Karma. She was more interested in attendance!!!

June 28, 2009

Botak Jones with my family! YEAH, been a long time since we all had dinner together… Hee, happy day! :)

And finally…

July 4, 2009

It was a work weekend again this week… Check out some pictures I snapped while working! :) Cosplay!!! First time I’m seeing it live… But I have no idea which characters I am taking pictures with… I only know that they either belong to Japanese anime or Japanese games! Haha! :)

First up, two funny boys who were goofing around the area when I first reported for work… And cosplayers who flew in from China and Hong Kong. The ‘guy’ with the blond hair is actually a girl!

She had chess pieces lying on the floor all around her, strewn flowers, and was photographed for a good 15 minutes in front of the banners!

The competitive gamers!!!

Pink hair and oh-so-cute! Hahaha, and of course the game character we all grew up with, Super Mario!! He even had a mushroom and a box with a question mark. Haha, you know? That question mark block that Mario must use hit using his head to score points? Ding!

Cool bunch of girls! Very stylo…

Kawaii des?

DRAGON BALL!!!!!! His muscles are for real. FIERCE… And hot sexy lady!

Couple in black… Apparently they don’t belong to the same show but I made them take pictures together. Heee :)

Samurai boys! I think. Hahaha! They just started cosplaying this year! And they tell me that their costumes cost $120!!! Supposedly cheap!!!! Er.. Wow…..

The Sword Gang?

They looked really good, black suits and all. I like the devil spear! Haha! Ooh, and the pink-hair girl had an artificial scar over her left eye…

Black featured winged girl! :)

Shana! The girl posing is the character you see on the poster. Look-alike? And a pair of cosplayers with an umbrella as prop!

My favourite cosplayers for the day! They were eating Pocky sticks for at least 3 hours non-stop. Simply because their characters ate Pocky all the time! They had chocolate, strawberry and vanilla flavoured ones… So professional! :)

Yeahh, and I bought a 320GB external portable hard disk for $99! Quite gooddd!! Okay… Time for bed!!!

2009-07-02T10:10:00.000+08:00

A new colleague sent us this link some weeks ago..

The Vendor Client Relationship in the Real World

What happens at night

2009-06-30T00:26:00.001+08:00

Nightly routine with Daddy sounds like that…

Me: “Daddy, I love you! Goodnight!”

Daddy: “Mmm, ok, goodnight.”

“Dadddy……”

“What……”

“Do you love me?”

- silence -

“Daddddyyyyyy……”

“What……”

“Do you love me? I love you, you know?”

“Mm…. Go sleep…”

“Dadddddyyyyyyyyyy….!”

“Whattt…”

“I love you! Do you love me?! Papapapapapa!”

“What…”

- and it continues for half a dozen times before… -

“DADDDDYYYY!!!! I love you!!! Goodnight!!!!!”

“Yah lah yah lah. Ok la ok. Good night!”

Heee. I hear “yah lah” also shiok. Goodnight all!

Haha, that was such a random post :P

Thoughts

2009-06-30T00:17:00.001+08:00

Wow… It’s been some time since I’ve worked late into the night. Love the smell of the night… Hee, nostalgic. Like the good old school days and memories alike :)

There is always something mystical and magical about the wee hours, don’t you think? :)

Been thinking, how I wish to go back to SOT again… The last I went, it was probably only 1-2 months of actual time spent in SOT. The rest of it was spent in NUS, hospitals, camps and what not. I haven’t actually done the homework either, yikes. Haha! Really the supernatural grace of God in my life :D

SOT again! Sounds wonderful :)

Time for bed! Yippeediddoo!

Aside to zhi, qiong, ling, sze and beakiie:

The tooth extraction wasn’t really that bad! Haha! Looking forward to the surgical ones though… I know, sounds mad right. But think about it… ONE WEEK MC!!! Not so mad after all!!! HAHAHA! :P

Hee, and just wanna say thanks for reading my blog and tagging!!! Love you guys loads!!!!!! YEAH! :D

When the 2nd wisdom tooth has to go…

2009-06-22T22:50:00.001+08:00

it was certainly more exciting than the first!

I did my pre-extraction routine, went for a quick dinner and watched the Channel U drama at the coffee shop nearby. Honestly, it was quite therapeutic. Having time to myself, people-watching, tv-watching, thinking and praying for the extraction. Haha, actually I wasn’t excited or worried about it… Was quite indifferent actually, mainly because it had been a long day at work.. WORK = SUDOKU. Never felt more haunted by a word in my life, but that’s for another time! (Still there’s grace! *cues singing* If not for love, if not for grace, and all the sin that You’ve erased! Heee!)

Anyway at 8pm, I walked up to the dental clinic, flipped some pages of a magazine and soon it was my turn. Everything went exactly like how it had been the first time… Some numbing gel, gurgle, anaesthetic, gurgle, more anaesthetic, gurgle. Then Mr Dentist asked me if I were an avid drinker.

“Nope, I seldom drink. Why?”

Because people who drink a lot usually need more anaesthetic as their liver breaks it down real quick. And I was needing a lot of anaesthetic to numb my gums. Haha, it was at the tip of my tongue to positively confess my very high metabolism rate to the dentist ;)

Then it went on to conversation about my job and what I do, then to my lower gum and when I should extract the last two wisdom teeth. To which I blurted out…

“I’m sorry Doctor, but I really hate dentists.” Oops.

“It’s okay, I understand. You can say that all you want, I don’t like dentists too! It’s a record-breaking day… 3 of my patients said that they hated dentists today!”

“Haha! No offence Doctor, honestly!” I mean he’s a really nice guy, but his profession is really not one of my favourites. Anyway… extraction time!

Okay… I just realised how difficult it would be for me to describe the extraction, because I don’t know the names of the instruments he was using! He called out about 5-6 different ones to his assistant, all of which looked sinister. And for the first time in 3 visits, he refused to share with me the procedure, saying “Let’s not scare you unnecessarily. Anyway, the tooth is going to come out.”

So after 15 minutes of tugging and pulling, I was set free! Apparently, the extraction was not as straightforward as the last. Unlike my previous tooth which was a straight one root canal, this one had 3 roots! 2 of which has fused together, not to mention it was brittle because of the decay.

I kept praying, “God, please let the tooth come out whole! Please let the tooth come out whole! Don’t let it break!” Because if it had broken, the extraction would have become a surgery. And true enough, God was faithful. The tooth came out whole, and Mr Dentist was mighty pleased with himself as well. Phew! PTL! :)

Apparently he told me towards the end, that they were contemplating on doing a surgery on my tooth, which will not only cause a whole lot of pain and would cost between $500-700. But thank God it was only an extraction, which heals faster and costs only $120. Yay! :)

One thing I have learnt. Patience is key to tooth extraction. If the dentist had insisted on pulling it out using brutal force, circumstances would have been dire. But he coaxed the tooth out slowly, sometimes tugging, sometimes poking, and eventually it got out.

Wounds take time to heal. Hearts take time to mend. I can’t do it with brutal force. So I have to yield to the Holy Spirit, with His gentle tugging and promptings, with His gentle encouragements and reminders, I will slowly but surely get better :) Patience is key, waiting upon the Lord is key – keys to the Kingdom of Heaven and letting His will be done :)

Right now, I have a very numb right cheek, a very numb right gum, a very numb right lip, but this time, my right side of the tongue feels a-okay!

2009-06-22T21:46:00.003+08:00

Love this song!!! *sings* It's for freedom that Christ has set us free.... I live for Youuu and not for me anymore! :D

Freedom - CCC Oxford Falls

If not for love, if not for grace
And all the sin that You've erased
I will always have reason to praise
It's not by strength, it's not by might
But by the Cross I'm justified
Though all else falls away
Still I'll praise

It's for Freedom that Christ has set us free
I live for You and not for me any more
And Your mercy is new with every day
No longer will I forfeit grace
I'll follow You and live by faith

You have made a way for us
When You died upon the Cross

If not for love
Where would I be if not for love
If not for grace
Where would I be if not for grace

Tooth Extraction

2009-06-15T22:01:00.001+08:00

is no mean feat… Haha!

Honestly. But it was not too bad because the dentist was really nice :)

Last week, I felt an excruciating pain on the left side of my gum, and I couldn’t really eat. Basically, I resorted to gulping food. After bearing with the pain for 2 days, I decided enough was enough. I needed to face (one of the) greatest fears in my life… The Dentist. Yelps! Really can… I mean who likes to visit the dentist right?

Right.

Haha. So I went to a clinic near my place. The dentist took a look at my mouth and came up with a couple of conclusions.

1. I have 4 wisdom teeth – so wise!!!!

2. 1 is decaying, 1 is chomping down on my gum, 2 are impacted.

3. All 4 must go.

4. $100+$100+$500+$500=$1200

5. When all 4 goes – not so wise anymore!!! Plus an empty wallet.

#$$%!#@$$%^&*()*(^$$#@$%#%@%$%

But the truth shall always set us free. My wisdom teeth must go!

Mr Dentist refuses to extract all 4 at one go even though I kept proposing the idea to him. So I have to remove them one at a time. Today was the extraction of the first one!

So as I sit here typing this entry, I have a very numb left cheek, a very numb left gum, a very numb left lip, and even the left side of my tongue feels very numb. Plus, I am swallowing blood, albeit tasteless.

Talking about tasteless, yesterday’s KFC was tasteless :( But Daddy was so nice to buy us KFC! Simply because he knows that I love eating KFC, hahaha, so niceee!!

But I digress…

What does not do good in our lives must go. Our bad habits must go. Our bad mindsets must go. Our fleshly desires must go. No longer I but Christ who lives in me!

And so goes my toothly wisdom, but hence begins godly wisdom. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

Okay, that was mildly out of point but I’m sure it’s fine. They both have the words wisdom!

After extraction, I had wobbly legs while climbing down the stairs. And trembling fingers while typing. And I mumbled a whole load of incomprehensible words to Hock Soon on the phone just now. Heehee! :P

Brain’s not thinking…. Nights everyone! :)

Yeah, and thank God it was good extraction today. Everything went super smoothly :) Grace grace!

2009-06-11T09:39:00.003+08:00

Jacob's Defining Moment
By Os Hillman

"So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, 'It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared'" [Gen 32:30]

Every believer in Jesus Christ must have a defining moment in their lives. Jacob is about to meet his brother Esau in the desert after years of separation. The last time he saw him was when he manipulated the birthright from him years ago. He assumes Esau is going to try to kill him. He sends gifts ahead as a peace offering. And he spends a restless night in prayer asking God to spare his and his family's life.
Jacob has lived a life of control and manipulation. Yet, there is something in Jacob God finds worthy of redemption. He has a heart that genuinely wants to serve and be used of God. But God must do something in him to chisel away the bad traits in his life.

He sends an angel in the form of a man to wrestle away the striving in Jacob. The only way to remove the striving in Jacob is to injure his physical abilities. "When the angel saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man'" (Gen 32:25-26). Jacob's natural abilities were so great that God literally had to make Jacob a weaker man physically in order for God's power to be manifested in his life. When this happened a turning point took place in Jacob. A new nature was birthed in him that required a total trust in God. His name was changed in recognition of this defining moment. "Then the man said, 'Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome'" (Gen 32:28).

My friend Bob Mumford once said, "Beware of any Christian leader who does not walk with a limp." If a leader has not wrestled with God over their natural abilities and come to a place of total dependence on God, that leader will live a life of striving and manipulation.

Let go and let God do the work needed in you. When this happens even your enemies will be a peace with you.

Beautiful Sunday

2009-06-07T12:36:00.001+08:00

Snuggled in bed, sipping clam chowder, watching youtube, feeling the cool breeze and breathing in the sweet smell of rain... It's a happy relaxed sunday! :)

2009-06-05T10:35:00.003+08:00

Have you seen this?

It's very good.... Wait for it!

Click to view

Check out Phil Pringle's blog at http://philpringle.wordpress.com/. Heart-stirring and thought-provoking! :)

2009-06-05T09:56:00.003+08:00

I said in my blog yesterday that I felt like a desert, metaphorically.. My sister took its literal meaning and gave me a desert song! Wow, niceeee! Hee, thanks ziiiii! :) Great song!

Desert Song - Hillsong

This is my prayer in the desert
And all that's within me feels dry
This is my prayer in the hunger in me
My God is a God who provides

And this is my prayer in the fire
In weakness or trial or pain
There is a faith proved
Of more worth than gold
So refine me Lord through the flames

And I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon forged against me shall remain
I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and He is here

And this is my prayer in the battle
And triumph is still on it's way
I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ
So firm on His promise I'll stand

All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship

This is my prayer in the harvest
When favor and providence flow
I know I'm filled to be emptied again
The seed I've received I will sow

2009-06-04T12:35:00.005+08:00

I was walking to work today, when a voice bubbled up from my spirit...

"Toughen up on the outside, but soften on the inside. It's not toughening on the inside and softening the outside, right?"

Right, yes and amen. So true, don't you think?

I think I have unconsciously been toughening up on the inside, thinking it's what that will make me stronger and more able to go through times that are difficult. But it's not working, because sooner or later I will realise that I have lost myself... I will lose that love for people, simplicity in life, trust in others and passion for the things that I do. What's worse is ending up proud, bitter, resentful and feeling like I'm victimised - I really don't need that!

So yes, I must be strong on the outside.. But deep inside of me, needs to be a heart that is soft, willing to yield, broken, meek, humble, moldable and sensitive towards God... And I want that. I want a heart that is soft, willing to yield, broken, meek, humble, moldable and sensitive towards God...

I woke up yesterday morning and the very first thought that came to me was, "Man, I feel like a desert." I'm not exaggerating, it's a tangible feeling of dryness that is uncomfortable and terrible to bear. No wonder the bible says, "As the deer panteth for the water and my soul longs after Thee..."

I don't know where I can go without the presence of God in my life, or what I can do without Him... I will not go looking for love in the wrong places, when the only place I'll get a love that satisfies, is in God :)

But that has to be a blog entry for another time. I have scribbles all over the place, half-written blog entries, drafted notes, all waiting to be strung together. Hee :)

Well, on a less reflective note, check out best friend and I! We took a picture together and decided we both looked not so thin!

So..... we made Stan sit in front of us, so he can look fat and we can look thin! Haha!

And of course, what we do best.... Bullying Stan! ;)

The Love of God

2009-05-25T12:05:00.001+08:00

God loves me very very very much!!!

Heehee, I love Him too! :D

I love You!!!

2009-05-18T18:01:00.005+08:00

We had a crazy time at Harvest House yesterday! Haha, the main aim of the game was to 'earn' as much monopoly money as we can, enter a lucky draw and redeem prizes at the end of the day. So that was exactly what we did! We played many games such as memorising spiritual fruits, sang in 'Don't forget the lyrics', tithed our earnings etc... And at the end of the day, all of us were super duper rich! Ok... The members were super duper rich, I didn't get to play and earn... Haha! So being super duper rich, we decided to take super duper alot of studio pictures to entertain ourselves!!! :D

So we started out normally with a nice decent looking picture :)

Being very prosperous, we just had to show off our money!

and fling it in the air while we're at it! Haha, can you see the monopoly notes flying about!?

The girls took a pretty shot, numbering 1-6 :D

And the guys took a picture too. But Clifton and Jabin kept trying to act gay and irritate Hock Soon and Kelvin. In the end, the photographer really wanted to box them and had to shout 1, 2, 3 really loudly to make them settle down! Haha!

We tried lying down on the floor and getting the photographer to shoot from the top. Yeah, check out Jabin's lotus position! And Kelvin totally slept through this shot coz he was too tired from all the noise we were making..... Heehee!

Then Bel said we must be spiritual and act holy. Haha! So we all tried to be really prayerful! Check out Sze's fervent praying man.... Er, but I don't think Ling was trying to be spiritual though, more like distracted!

And the act retarded shot. Most of us were not ready for the shot so it ended up like we were smiling.. One person wins acting retarded hands down! Guess who?! ;)

Lastly my favourite shot of the day! Everybody looking greaat! :D

In black and white, edited lighting by the very efficient and talented Bel :) Hahaha, boy was it a fun day! Can't wait to take pictures with the rest of the CG! :)

Oh, and if they really do it at JW, I can take pictures with my sisters tooo!! Hahahah, can traumatize them! Or maybe it's the other way around..... Hmmm, hahahaha! ;)

As prayed by Kunwu…

2009-05-14T14:14:00.001+08:00

神的旨意!

WOw, fierce! But yeah!

I want the perfect will of God in my life :D

I refuse to settle for just the good and acceptable!

This morning, I had a thought flash through my mind.

“I would rather be faithful in prayer and pray every single day, love spending time with the Lord and having the joy, than to have hell happen in my life in order to make me pray!”

I want to build my spiritual life in God stronger than ever before :)

Failing Forward

2009-05-13T15:59:00.000+08:00

By Renee Swope

"The steps of a [woman] are established by the Lord, and He delights in [woman] way. When [woman] falls, [woman] will not be hurled headlong, because the Lord is the One who holds [woman] hand." [Psalm 37:23-24 (NASB)]

I admire, maybe even envy, people who aren't afraid to fail. You know, those people who see personal setbacks as another goal to conquer. People who don't even consider defeat when they blow it.

I wish I were that kind of person. But honestly, I am not always so courageous in the face of failure.

Failure is painful. It's embarrassing. And sometimes it makes me want to give up, mainly on myself.

God is teaching me a lot about failing. In fact, He is giving me a little push these days, to fail forward.

This week He's been challenging me to determine in my heart and mind that I am a work in progress and move forward even when I have a setback. He is reminding me that I am a woman who is becoming all He created her to be.

A woman who is growing.

A woman who is getting better and better each day.

A woman who is not perfect - but who tries to surrender to God's perfect love and perfect power at work in her.

Failing forward...after I shoot harsh words across the room to "shoosh" my child when he announces that the yogurt in our near empty refrigerator has expired and there is nothing to eat! That is, after I'd just opened the large container of perfectly good yogurt, eaten some myself and served it to his brother for a snack.

Failing forward...after I criticize my husband and realize I failed to honor my man, again. Instead I've added to an already stressful day for the husband and father who just brought home groceries.

Failing forward...after I let myself be "too busy" to take the time to encourage, sit with, talk to, and listen to my always-giving-and-forgiving-mom who stopped by unexpectedly this afternoon.

Failing forward...after I tell God that a certain ministry assignment is too stinkin' hard so I can't do it because surely I don't have what it takes.

Every time I fail to be the woman God calls me to be, or the woman I expect myself to be, God reminds me of the progress we've made. Because, even though I may not be who I want to be, I am not who I used to be!

And I get that much closer to who I am meant to be every time I fail forward.

2009-05-12T10:52:00.004+08:00

There ought to be some form of restraining order against me going online to check my blog, Twitter and Facebook THAT many times a day.

There ought to be some form of restraining order to make me sleep before 12md everyday. I keep falling asleep only at 3am, which really doesn’t do any good for me.

There ought to be some form of restraining order to stop me from hailing a cab. In the past 11 days, I’ve already spent $62.70 on cab, and I suspect that I didn’t get receipts for some cab trips. What a waste of good money!

There ought to be some form of restraining order to channel all distractions into working really hard at work. But those proposals and letters are just too hard to craft! Oh, brain, oh, wouldn’t you work?

There ought to be some form of restraining order to prevent me from watching Youtube! Did I tell you, there’s this artiste in Taiwan who looks like a 宅男, and sings some gibberish about having breakfast in the morning – but he does pen some good music. And that's the thing I like about Taiwan. Regardless of how you may look or behave, they give you a shot at fame! Check out an MV by 卢广仲...

Ok... But I still need a Youtube restraining order!

Edited at 2.19pm:
I also need a restraining order against falling down :(
Sze's right, I need a knee guard!!

2009-05-11T01:56:00.005+08:00

Wheeeee! Did you know? You can now get updates on Sun on Facebook and Twitter! Check out her hot blonde hair and the links below...

Sun on Twitter: http://twitter.com/sun_ho

Sun on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/people/Sun-Ho/1751321479

What are you waiting for?! Start following her today! :D

P.S. Sun's always been a tremendous inspiration to me :) I'll never forget how her songs have been a great motivation and brought me through some of the darkest moments of my life. Love you Sun! :)

2009-05-10T23:23:00.002+08:00

Daughtry's new song! Nicee.. Heard it on American Idol today :)

No Surprise - Daughtry

I’ve practiced this for hours, gone round and round
And now I think that I’ve got it all down
And as I say it louder, I love how it sounds
Cause I’m not taking the easy way out
Not wrappin’ this in ribbons
Shouldn’t have to give a reason why

It’s no surprise I won’t be here tomorrow
I can’t believe that I stayed till today
Yeah you and I will be a tough act to follow
But I know in time we’ll find this was no surprise

It came out like a river once I let it out
When I thought that I wouldn’t know how
Held onto it forever, just pushing it down
Felt so good to let go of it now
Not wrapping this in ribbons
Shouldn’t have to give a reason why

It’s no surprise I won’t be here tomorrow
I can’t believe that I stayed till today
There’s nothing here in this heart left to borrow
There’s nothing here in this soul left to say

Don’t be surprised when we hate this tomorrow
God knows we tried to find an easier way
Yeah you and I will be a tough act to follow
But I know in time we’ll find this was no surprise

Our favorite place we used to go
The warm embrace that no one knows
The loving look that’s left your eyes
That’s why this comes as no, as no surprise

If I could see the future and how this plays out
I bet it’s better than where we are now
But after going through this
It’s easier to see the reason why

It’s no surprise I won’t be here tomorrow
I can’t believe that I stayed till today (stayed till today)
Yeah you and I will be a tough act to follow
But I know in time we’ll find this was no surprise

Our favorite place we used to go
The warm embrace that no one knows
The loving look that’s left your eyes
But I know in time we’ll find this was no surprise

More Daughtry!

2009-05-09T01:34:00.006+08:00

The AWARE Singapore Collective

Letting Go to Find

2009-05-07T11:39:00.000+08:00

Wow, feels like I’ve just woken up from a dream. There are fleeting moments in the day where everything suddenly feels unreal. I stop, think, only to find myself facing reality. At the end of the day, I only know that I can’t make myself better, only God can. So I’m leaving my entire life to God, in His perfect timing and His perfect will :)

To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted; A time to kill, And a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up; A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, And a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, And a time to refrain from embracing; A time to gain, And a time to lose; A time to keep, And a time to throw away; A time to tear, And a time to sew; A time to keep silence, And a time to speak; A time to love, And a time to hate; A time of war, And a time of peace. What profit has the worker from that in which he labors? I have seen the God-given task with which the sons of men are to be occupied.

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. [Ecclesiastes 3:1-11]

Got this in an email today, one of those Christian daily reads :)

"Whoever will lose his life for my sake will find it."

"True love is like quick-silver," said Ann Landers, "if you hold it in the palm of your hand, it will remain. If you try to grasp it, it will slip through your fingers." Perhaps this is what Jesus meant when he said, "Whoever will save his life will lose it: and whoever will lose his life for my sake will find it."

Some parents never let go of their children even when they are adults. Out of their own insecurity they cling to their offspring and smother them. In so doing they drive them away and the thing they need the most—love—they lose. As the saying goes, "If you love someone, let them go; if they come back to you, then they are truly yours. If they don't, they never were."

In other words, when we cling to life to live for ourselves or cling to someone else for our own sake out of our own need, we lose what we need the most—love. This is because we have mistaken need for love. Only as we let go of clinging are we free to love and live life to the full.
When we do this and truly love, we give love without strings attached. In so doing we receive more love to give.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, please heal the deepest wounding of my heart so I am set free to truly love others and you without strings attached, and be a clear channel through whom your love for others will flow. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

2009-05-04T21:04:00.010+08:00

Picture post! Collection of photos for the past weeks :)

Pretty rainbow we caught while going home from church. Been a long time since we last saw rainbows... God's promises are coming to pass! Haha, so spiritual! Hee ;)

In CG where my friends are taking the bible verses quiz, with Daniel watching them... Haha, Hock Soon, Stan and Joey, concentrating really hard... They want their Starbucks vouchers!

Siyi and Heyong, thinking thinking....

Bel and Ling sprawling on the floor... Relax only... hee :)

The top 3 winners get $5 Starbucks vouchers each. , and they are Bel, Sze and Ling! (Did i rmb correctly? Too long ago already, this was in March! Haha)

After CG, I went to meet dear at Clarke Quay, Had a yummy zhi-char dinner and drinks at TCC! :) I think mine was some tropical fruit drink.. Nice and very refreshing!

Dear's one was banana milk shake? Or was it lychee? Alamak, cannot rmb.... Haha, really stm!

Moving on to April, I went to meet Daddy for dinner together at Sun Plaza. Was waiting for him when I snapped this picture.

Recession? What recession? Women need their new bags and shoes! The power of sale in Singapore!

Speaking of which, I just ordered some forever21 clothes with my colleagues. Never ordered clothes and had them shipped over from America before, frankly it's quite exciting! Hee! :)

And just last Friday, Ling, Bel, Sze and myself went out together after our girls meeting. We couldn't decide on where to go, and were even contemplating on going to JB! But we realised we forgot about one very important factor, our passports. Man.... Hahaha, so we decided to board any bus that comes along and find out where it would take us... We ended up at West Coast!!!

I really wanted to try out the paint-a-clay thingy at the newly renovated West Coast Plaza, but Sze was saying I can always buy a pack of clay and make them at home. That makes sense, so I shall buy a pack home and meddle with it. Bet my sisters would love it too :)

Yummy candy floss at New York New York! The waiter gave us 3! Sugar rush! It was super sweet and sticky, and the sugar bits were falling all over our table.. Mmm.. *licks fingers*

Bel and me with our sugar clouds :)

Ling's and Sze's chocolate waffle! Yum!

Really treasure my friendship with all 3 of them! :)

Served next was my mudpie with ice-cream! Haha, the pie was crumbly and lukewarm.. Not too good. Haagen-Daaz ones taste 100000x better, hee :) Dear's brother treated us during their Mummy's birthday. That mudpie was yummy!

Bel with her honey waffles! I hear she likes honey alot... Honey bee leh :)

That's it for now! :) I don't know what happened to the rest of my days.. Haha! Must make more effort to take pictures, so that all my memories can be captured! :) Evidently, since I can't even remember things that happened a month before, hee.

Will update on Peizhi's beautiful house when Gina uploads the pictures, that's another post for another time! For now, goodnight everyone! :)

Oh oh! I nearly forgot... Haha, my latest addiction - 痞子英雄! NICEE!!!

(Click to view page)

If you don't already know, I love watching tw dramas on youtube, hee! Check out 痞子英雄 Episode 4 (Part 1 of 6) below:

Nice right?! Haha, I love the story plot! Super exciting!! Okay lah, but you might need to watch from Episode 1 to know the story line. But seriously, who am I kidding? Haha, Zai Zai 周渝民 and 赵又廷 are super cute and they act really well too! Hehe! :P

Nights! :)

Faith

2009-05-01T22:57:00.002+08:00

Wow… Been such a long time since I’m reminded of the word ‘FAITH’. Looking back, I realised that I have been asking God for a rhema. In fact, I honestly don’t think I was asking… I’ve been bugging, complaining, crying out and pleading for a rhema. Yes I know, very noisy right? Haha! But desperate times calls for desperate measures, and I’m certainly desperate to hear from God! :)

And how God revealed it to me is in His impeccable timing. It started on Tuesday night when Jess smsed me.

“Hey dearest zy,. Just wanna share something with you I just came across recently.. I was reminded on the story of Abram.. When God spoke to Abram, he obeyed at once, departing for an unknown land based only on ‘a’ promise. Childless. he trusted God to make him a great nation. Just to remind you faith often appears where least expected and falter where it ought to thrive. Faith looks across the storm – it does not doubt or stop to look at clouds and things without. Faith does not question why when all His ways are hard to understand, but trusts and prays..”

On Wednesday, when I was reading and preparing for the CG sermon on “Faith and the Word of God”. So I thought to myself, “Wow! Ok, that’s great, faith’s exactly what I need now!” I was pleasantly surprised actually, since it’s been a long time we last shared about faith in CGM. That night when I spoke to PZ, and he too asked me if i had faith for my future and told me to pray about it.

So that very night, I came home and prayed to God, asking for a clear direction. I remembered what Lun said in a phone call on Monday night. The opinion of man cannot matter. It must be the opinion of God. People are not perfect, they make mistakes. In the very end, it must be a decision that I am happy about, and one which pleases God.

“For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.” [Galatians 1:10]

So I went to bed that night mulling over the many decisions I have to make, asking God for His reply.

I woke up yesterday morning with “faith” strongly impressed upon my heart. I walked to the bathroom to shower before going to work, and saw in my living room, my sisters’ SOT book on “Faith” (written by Phil Pringle).

I went to work, and opened my internet browser. I flipped a few blogs, and read PK’s blog on “A Divided Heart”. You may think this has nothing to do with faith, but obedience to the Lord has everything to do with faith. It is never easy to obey, it is always easier to walk in the flesh. Saul was a picture of partial obedience and rebellion to the Lord, David was a man after God’s own heart.

I flipped over to Yuli’s blog on her “Ridiculous” post. I know, very bad right, call her ridiculous! But how not to? She lives a ridiculous life, doing ridiculous things, and came up with a ridiculously powerful statement. I quote, “Courage is the capacity to do what is right even when it is unpopular.” – which can be summarised in one word “Faith”.

Then I spoke to Lun in the afternoon, and she asked me, “Zhen, do you have the faith for it?” Guess my very powerful reply?

In tears, I said, “I don’t know…. I really don’t know! I think I need to pray!” Wah, so full of ‘faith’ right…. Hahaha :P

So during lunch time, I took out my bible (I wanted to bring my “Driven to Eternity” book that morning, but was prompted by the HS to bring my bible instead.) And so in utter desperation (Not exaggeration when I say that), I asked God for a word and flipped open the bible.

“Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’ Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe--and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” [James 2:17-26]

Could it not be more obvious? When God told the childless 100-yr old Abraham, that God will give him an ‘open door’ to have a son, Abraham chose to have the faith. When God told Abraham to sacrifice his son and “shut the door” himself, Abraham obeyed immediately. Because of Abraham’s obedience and faith, it was accounted to him for righteousness sake, and he was called the friend of God.

So today I stand, wondering why so many doors has opened before me, I need only to do one thing – to obey the voice of God. To have the faith and obedience to shut the doors that were opened, and enter that which pleases God, accounted for righteousness sake and be called a friend of God. To have the faith that the promise of God can be fulfilled in my life. To have the faith and know that whatever I am doing is something that I know God wants and I’m happy about.

I took weeks to come to this conclusion, days to confirm the word. My very encouraging sister told me, “Da Jie, just to let you know, this is only the beginning of your battle.” Wow. THANKS. Haha! And really yes and amen. I’m not confessing battles, I’m only confessing that all I do are motivated by love, faith and obedience, pleasing to God :)

What’s your faith in today? ;)

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“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.” [James 3:13-18]

“Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, "The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously"? But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble." Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.” [James 4:1-10]

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