Happy Birthday Rel!

6th Feb 2007

To rel - You have been a very sweet boy....ermm, well, I mean sweet young man. I have been blessed and made to feel very welcome in the family by the many extensions of your love. Through the years, the Lord has indeed shown himself real in your life as you struggled and resolved to give your life to him. As the years go by, may the Lord continue to mould you into His likeness - in all wisdom, in all knowledge and in all love. Delight in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart -love Kor, Jie and Baby

This birthday dinner would start the whole avalanche of eating and more eating for the month of Feb.

Whirlwind Weekend Visitor

Guess who came over to stay?

Spent some good time with Josh and Jan as they made final preparations for their house and wedding.

A typical breakfast at a crowded heartland coffeeshop in Khatib

Before we knew it, Jan was whizzed off the the airport after church. Quick lunch and bye bye till June!

Me and Jan:)

We are accepted by God

"To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved. " Ephesians 1:16

We are accepted as sons of God, children of the Beloved and heirs to the throne of God. Confident faith and life in God depends on us, remembering and giving praise to the glory of His grace that has freely bestowed this to us. Let us not let the world despair us - with its' impossible pace, with its' unecessary demands, with it's godless pursuit. But let us live our lives in this God-Revealed truth and reality - that He has made us accepted in the Beloved. Beyond that, let us rally our brothers and sisters in Christ, together.

My Reading Diet

With the new year well into its first month, my purpose is to find time to read and study the word of God, as well as to read good Christian literature to gird me up in my Christian walk and equip me for my ministries for the year...

"Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine..."

1 Timothy 4:13

Yes, it is a baby girl...

Estimated Due Date: 22nd April.

I am now moving onto my 28th week of pregnancy. All is good. Baby kicks when she listens to 92.4 or music in general. No sign of morning sickness, bloatedness etc. Only thing is, my placenta is still on the low side so I need to be careful about my movements. I am looking forward to baby's arrival. So is Dan. He tries to sing to baby everynight and gets upset when he doesn't get to do it. Here are some gifts to remind us that baby is coming:)

Great is Thy Faithfulness...Sept 2006

I know that I have to blog about this slip of paper. For all possible reasons, logical and even logical, the result on this paper is nothing short of a miracle. And I don't write this carelessly. Just a few days before I was about to fly off to HongKong with Dan to take his 3 exam papers, life truly took an unexpected turn. He was on a rare study leave of one week, trying to cramp a mountainous amount of information - which seemed really humanly impossible to begin with. On top of that, it was the final week of preparation for David and CC's wedding. As I mentioned earlier, life took an unexpected turn in the midst of already tight circumstances. That brings to mind John Hutchenson's definition of FAITH is - That a life of FAITH is a Fantastic Adventure In Trusting Him [God]. On 1st Sept, having realized that I was 5 weeks pregnant, I suddenly bled in the middle of Takashimaya. The rest of the events were again nothing short of dramatic. Some little delay at the always crowded taxi stand at Taka, I found myself in Thomson Medical with Dan frantically trying to infuse saline into me. Not long, my pulse regain its normal rate and the scan showed the baby's heart still beating. God has sustained the baby but it all was a blur to me. Family and close friends looked at me with sad and worried eyes. As I stayed in hopsital that night, I saw Dan trying to mug his books as well as keep me company. Of all times, this had to happen. I really had to trust that God knew what He was doing. But it was not easy. The stress in Dan was obviously escalating. I heard from my mom-in-law, that Dan sped through heavy traffic to get to the hopsital on time. The next day, Dan went off to the wedding alone. I knew that he wanted us to go together and be blessed together. But he remembered me...at home and knew how much I wanted to be there. Through his handphone, I heard the entire church service and my heart was blessed. 2 days later, on Monday, Dan flew off to Hong Kong at 6 am with a heavy heart cos he knew he was leaving me behind, alone in Singapore with an unstable condition. His first call came and he reported that the exams were difficult. My heart fell a little. But it didn't matter anymore, I just wanted Dan to come back to me, safe and sound. So did he. The exams were not important to him anymore.

Dear readers, you can imagine, in light of all of these, passing the examinations were really nothing short of a miracle and the Lord has placed all the events to show us that He indeed overcomes all things and brings miracles to past. We can boast in nothing but in Jesus Christ our Lord.

2006 - We thank thee....

In summary, for the overall year 2006...[hang on, cos I am unloading my bucket of photos]

We thank thee for the morning light

For rest and shelter through the night

For health and food, for love and friends

For all thy goodness sends

Our God is great, our God is good
And we will thank Him as we should

By His great hand, we all are fed

He gives our daily bread

My hubby, mommy, daddy, dad and mom. I thank God for their love and concern and prayers...My mommy for literally staying at my house throughout the week to take care of me. For my in-laws for accompanying me on my fornightly gynae visits and waiting patiently for my turn, nursing me with much black chicken soup, soups and more soups.

The love of my aunties for visiting me, cooking for me, cousins in calling and playing with me while me resting in bed and all their prayers and comfort.

For David, Chiao Chyi and Darrell for their care, prayers, company and love...

For Gong Gong, cousins [especially Jem], aunties and uncles and their visits, gifts of comfort, love and care.

Our blessed holiday rest at Bintan Agro Spa and Resort. This is our seaside room.

It is so nice to see my hubby take a break from his hectic work and ministry to rest, read and return to his elements...haha [you will know what I mean in the picture below.

Daniel is just like a little boy - back in the natural habitat of fishing and resting. He calls himself a kampung fishing boy....oops, I mean, Master of the Sea.

Thank God for providing food beyond...birthdays & celebrations.

For the Youth Com, with whom much spiritual battles are fought, with Daniel's pal at work, Melvin and his fiance, Viola and lastly, with Dr Chua [Dan's bible sparring partner, jogging partner, our family's faithful praying friend....]

For Weifang, chubby boy & Mingyong, for good friend Ade and David, for going-to-be married Angelyn and Puishung.

New little friends I made in Children's Camp Dec 2006

Cheryl & Charissa, a well-posed unabashed Auntie shot [check out our plastic bags], a nice high tea at The Equinox with church friends

Special Christmas meal and timeout with ex students who have been a blessing and shown much love to me, Dan's Christmas meal and timeout with the older youth boys, Darrell, Wee Beng, Ivan and finally a Christmas Dinner with ex colleagues at Sofra [Turkish Restaurant]

Lastly, the goodness sent to me during my sofa rest. A few of my visitors, Uncle KangFun and Sis Adeline with bird's nest, Auntie Esther, Auntie Lai Moi, Yixiang with Bird's nest and dessert, Shaz, my pal and colleague with homemade foccacia bread, my aunties and Baby Shayna and lastly Auntie Chee Kit who came faithfully to feed me and minister to my mommy.

Amen!

Integrity for God

Integrity - An Uncompromised Life/Lifestyle In Christ

Vibrant Christianity demands us as youths, young adults and adults to live a life of no bargains, no excuses, no staggering in Him. As a young person, it is so important to establish these convictions and purpose in our hearts - to deliberately refuse the world and its influences. Because as an adult, you will be plaqued with the very same challenges and more.

Jim Berg defines worldliness succintly and perceptively:

Worldliness - Taking your cue from the world as to what is important in your life.

Interestingly, it takes on subtle permutations as one grows older. Young person, if you are still struggling with entertainment, internet, movies and music...it just gets more and more profound as you grow older. Running after the 'latest' = taking our cues from the world.

During this period of time in my life, I have come to know that we need an unwavering faith in God's word and a thorough understanding of Christ's sufficiency alone. Lest you be tossed to and fro like a ship in troubled waters. As an adult, worldliness should no longer be confined to entertainment, hopefully. But sadly, many families still struggle with it. It filters to your choice of mate, how you want to carry out your wedding, how you would start your family, your type of house, and the furniture you choose to place in your house as well as how to raise your family. But somehow, when adults venture into this area, they never see it as worldliness but ...oh, how much it is related.

Think about it, what determines your choices for:

• A soulmate- God or people who think you are suitable for each other, or some compatibility survey?
• Wedding - from the choice of gown, to music, to what is included in a service and dinner - God or tradition or looking cool?
• House - what is the focus of your Christian home- God or that huge plasma tv or the playstation?
• Pregnancy - God and His word or old wives superstitions?
• Child Rearing - God or Self Help books and courses?

'Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile God....' Living an uncompromising life in Christ deals with all aspects of our everyday life - whatever we eat, or drink or whatsoever we do. It is easy to focus on the fires and lions that Daniel faced. But it was his persistent commitment to honor the Lord in the everyday things that made him a vibrant and living hero in the faith. Every choice we make is a deliberate statement about our pledge of allegiance to God. As more and more of my peers move from teenagehood to adulthood, I pray that we do not forget or lose our youthful determined resolution to honor Christ and all aspects of our life.

Dear Christian, from whence do you take your cues from? God or the world?

A Weighing Burden - Youths & Youth Workers

So many thoughts are in my mind...since Sept. Lying on the couch and being 'confined' at home gave me much time to think and ponder about my life and the life God wants us as Christians to live. Though it's real tempting and exciting to relate all my experiences, I have to put my personal updates aside for a growing burden in my heart.

Is our Christian life full of vibrance? Or has it been dulled?

If so, what has caused our lives to be dull or mediocre?

There's so much to write that I can't even sort them out properly. Not in this entry. The more I study, think and observe, the more alarming and heartbreaking the revelation is - That a great majority of professing Christians are more than contented to live a mediocre Christian life, a life that does not call for sacrifice.

To Blog or Not To Blog

To blog or not to blog? That is the question. Yes, yes it has been a really long while. Everytime, I feel the impetus to blog, the backlog of events easily deters me. Let's see ok...from teacher's day, my 4th wedding anniversary, David and Chiao Chyi's wedding, Going to Hong Kong, Daniel's exams....and of course the reason for my blog hibernation. Many of the above mentioned events ...I did not get to witness or take part. It is great inertia on my part, I must admit. Well, but to testify of the Lord's goodness during this long while would be the reason for re-entering blogsphere. Stay tune to this space.