Growing Up

When I was about 10 years old and even in my teenage years, I recalled always wishing that I would be 20 years old... soon! Somehow I had thought that the prime of a woman's life is when she is 20 to 30 years of age.

Not sure if I was wrong... but I now wish that I can go back to my teenage/childhood days where I need not bother about the details of life... that I can be happily living in my 'innocence' and carefree life. I realised that things I dislike when I was young, I like them now. But of course time is irreversible....

1) When I was young, I prefer to go places with air-conditioning to have my meals. Now I don't mind eating at places with no air-conditioning as long as the food is good.
2) When I was young, I like to eat fast food. Now I can do without fast food ;)
3) When I was young, I like to drink soft drinks. Now I don't mind not drinking soft drinks but I need my daily caffeine fix! :P
4) When I was young, I would reject to eat all vegetables. Now I would eat some of them because I know that they do my body well.
5) When I was young, I look forward to each Chinese New Year. Now I think its been a routine...
6) When I was young, I don't eat chilli. Now I will take some but not too spicy.
7) When I was young, I am afraid of amusement rides. Now I am only just a little scared :P
8) When I was young, I dislike exercising. Now I don't mind although I may be a little lazy at times.

But well when I was young, I cannot ride a bicycle. Now I still can't!

Rested (but not for long...)

Just came back from a short holiday. Went to Pulai Desaru to chill out with no specific agenda but to rest. Ended up only eating (2 meals a day), sleeping, napping and lots of chatting! This is probably my first holiday where we did not plan what we were going to do. Everything was thought of at the last minute and based on what we felt like doing at that time, which is none other than REST.

Was amazed how HY and I have so much to talk about... from the time we met in the cab, to the ferry, to the hotel, during meal times, on the bed before we sleep, on the bed when we wake up, during our spa massage, watching tv, bible study... Thankful for the time we have to know each other more... about our past experiences, present lives and what lies ahead of us! This is probably the first and last time we can do such thing before she gets married in July. Like what HY sms me before "... when we reach heaven, we can fellowship until we peng san! (hokkien word meaning 'fall over' or 'tired out' in this context)" Hopefully I won't get bored of her when I see her in heaven ;)

Strengthen Us

This song was written by someone in church. However this was not included in her debut song album. Both of us have sung this song before in harmony with each other. Besides it being a fun experience to sing together and sounding nice, the lyrics of the song reminded me of my status with and without Christ. May He strengthen us with His love :)

Dead in my transgressions
A prisoner of sin
Destined for Your wrath
An enemy of God
Yet rich in mercy
You chose to save me
Through the sacrifice of Your Son

He bore no outward beauty
He was a man of sorrow
Familiar with suffering
Rejected and despised
Pierced for our transgressions
So we could be forgiven
He died, was raised, He gave new life

Jesus, Savior How my heart longs to see that day
When at His name, creation bows
Till then, Lord, I pray

Strengthen us with power through the Spirit
So Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith
Strengthen us in love, with power
To grasp the measure of His love

Your grace which brings salvation
Compels us to turn away
From ungodliness, worldly passions
Die to self day by day
Help us live a life worthy
Of the calling of our God
Awaiting the blessed hope
The appearing of our Lord

Jesus, Judge and King
How our hearts long to see that day
When we're finally, fully free from sin
Till then, Lord we pray

Strengthen us with power through the Spirit
So that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith
And strengthen us in love, with power
To grasp how wide and long and high and deep
Is the love of Christ

Laboring For The Gospel

Church had Annual Congregational Meeting today. This annual event is 'highly encouraged' (if not compulsory) for members of the church. Constitutionally in the Presbyterian circle, we have to re-elect some elders and deacons in our midst. As members, we have out voting rights for our leaders and over major decisions concerning the church and its use of finances.

The exciting part of the meeting was to have the presentation of the proposed major renovation for our current church unveiled to us. Where we are sited now is getting too small for us for a long long time. But because we believe in focusing in the 'software' (people), rather than the 'hardware' (church building), most of the finances has been used for training gospel workers in theological training and ministry apprenticeship programme. But our church has outgrown itself so much that we now have to have 4 services per weekend to cater to our growing numbers.

It was back to the historial roots of our church... Having been in the church for 7 years and a member for 1.5 years (I was baptised only in July 2004), we were brought back to the humble beginnings of the church where there was only 20 persons in a semi-detached house. In 15-16 years, congregation size grew to about 1300 persons with 690 members. I am not boasting about the jump in numbers but when Pastor brought us through the history of the church and how other Presbyterian churches have been so gracious to us in helping us in many big and small ways.... I could understand and feel the same thankfulness to God for His hand in this. To me, I see my Pastor standing up there... aged a lot since the day I first stepped into the church. This man, so humbled, so Christ-centred and gospel-centred.... I was moved when I once again learn how he has put his life to pastor the church, teach the Word, share the gospel. It is not difficult to see how he love God's people - the church. It hasn't been easy for him and his family through theses years.... and because I know him and his family and through these years I see his labor for the sake of the gospel, it does makes me a bit ashamed... what have I done for the sake of the gospel?

I am thankful for the church, its leaders comprising of elders, deacons and pastors... for their good leadership and stewardship. It came to a point where there is no choice but to do major renovation to our current small building. Many alternatives have been considered but this is the best and cost-effective solution for us - to do major revamp of our existing building... such that we can double our congregation sitting capacity and make better use of the limited space that we have. Even then, I suspect after we move back in about 12-15 months time, we will probably still need 2-3 services per weekend.

As for me, I sat amongst the congregation, thankful to God for sustaining our church... and that we have Bible-centred and gospel-focused leaders, always reminding us that we must not move away from the gospel and never tire from it. The numerical growth is a good thing but I am certain that this is not a prayer of the church leaders. In my say, I am thankful that there are more Christians becoming more Word-focused and Bible-centred. I pray that as we are trained and taught in this manner, that our lives will show it in our testimonies. Like what Pastor kept saying today "We have to be big-minded and big-hearted". A good outworking of God's word taking root in our lives is LOVE - how much we love God's people, how we show love to our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Yes, sometimes we may fail but let's not give up persevering. Sinners are difficult to love. But hey, God loves us - sinners. His love is already shown in the person of Jesus Christ. If He loves us, so are we to love one another....

I am reminded of what Paul said in the book of Philippians...

Philippians 2:12-18
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed; —not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence; —continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life; —in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.

I am certain that my Pastor and the church leaders will not labor for nothing. They labored for the sake of the gospel, trying their best to be accountable in good stewardship of the resources given to us... leading us in every possible godly manner. I thank God for their faithfulness and love.

Mutation

One of the modules I studied in Varsity was about tumour and cancer cells. I recalled it being one of the modules that interests me a little more then. I learnt how normal cells in our body can be mutated, not function normally and replicate at a tremendously uncontrolled rate. When such occur, the cells are termed 'cancerous'. If you wish to know more, you may read up a simple explanation with some video illustration.

At the end of my long tiring day at work, I had to sit in a meeting with 10 other cancer specialist doctors (Oncologists). Although I studied Biochemistry (one subject in Medicine), I could hardly fully understand what they were talking about. I know that they were discussing the various treatment methods for their cancer patients. Some medical terms I understood and recognised but most I don't. Carcinoma, sacroma, RT, ressection, chemotherapy, names of chemotherapy drugs, CR, CT scans, MRI scans, nasopharenx, lymphoma, etc... I know these but those with longer alphabets and too clinical a term, they got be baffled.

Through the meeting I got to learn that the wife of someone whom I know via work, has a reoccurence of cancer. For a second, I searched through the database of my brains to ask if this was the same person that I know? And of course it was. I recalled how that someone I know also put up a strong fight with cancer but lost the battle in the end and God called him home. Now his wife's cancer has recurred... and with the many young children she has... how is she going to cope?

Images of the look on her face and her spirit to hang on, were brought out from my memory bank. I had met her once to pass her something a couple of years ago. I also remembered encouraging her to hang on and lean on Christ. If God were to take her home too, how's her young children gonna go on? I have ever wondered if I would be able to be so strong if I were her. Yes God's grace will sustain us but truly not easy still... It suddenly felt more personal and real. The p53 oncogene, T-cells and B-cells... yup I studied them all. I know I have forgotten most of what I studied. It was so academic then. But now, it became medical for me at the meeting and will it ever be personal for me? Of course I don't wish to have cancer but we all do know the high possible risk of people dying from cancer. It could be you one day... it could very well be me too....

It is easy to say God is in control and no doubt He is the almighty God of all the universe. But one day if crisis strikes at our doors, how do we stand before God? The lyrics of a song came to my mind.... when a few of my friends were talking about funerals, I did mention to get them sing and play this song at my funeral!

My Hope Rest Firm

My hope rest firm on Jesus Christ,
He is my only plea;
Though all the world should point and scorn,
His ransom leaves me free,
His ransom leaves me free

My hope sustains me as I strive

And strain towards the goal;
Though I still stumble into sin,
His death paid for it all,
His death paid for it all.

My hope provides me with a spur
to help me run this race:
I know my tears will turn to joy
The day I see His face,
The day I see His face

My hope is to be with my Lord,
To know as I am known:
To serve Him gladly all my days
In praise before His throne
In praise before His throne

Fallen Angels

Was chatting with a good old friend on MSN last week. We were catching up on some of our common friends we knew back then in junior college days... 10 years ago.

With the bunch of friends I hang out with then, most of them were boys and some girls from my class. We all were studying the same subjects but in different classes. Somehow we always hung out together - sit in the same area during lectures, have lunch together and most of us attend Christian Fellowship together since most of us are Christians. Another bunch of people I spend time with who were in Student's Council with me. Again there were quite a number of Christians amongst the group.

I seldom catch up with all of them now... the only ones were probably 2 of my closest girl friends and another guy whom I was closest to at that time. This guy is now married but he will still drop me a sms to say hello every few months. Its nice to know that I have these old friends who knew me for a decade. Although we seldom keep in touch, but we know that the friendship still remains.

The thing that saddens me is to learn how one by one, they seemed to have given up their Christian faith... or rather, I hear how they no longer try to live godly lives. Some choose to be in denial, one couple has divorced, some dated and married non-believers. Those who many thought to be godly and modelled after boys and girls then... a number of them now are not so godly now... or at least it is showing in how they live their lives and spend their time. Some examples shocked me, most saddened me. I am reminded how if I do not strive to finish the race marked out for us, I can very well be like one of them. Similarly, I reminded the friend whom I was chatting with, if she were to allow other things of the world, e.g. work, power, relationship, etc, to occupy her time and take priority, she can possibily be like that too.

I guess it also reminded me not to take the gift of salvation for granted - that God really loves us so much to sacrifice His only Son Jesus Christ so that I can have eternal life with Him. I need to safeguard my walk with my Lord and not take it for granted that I need not do anything. Although I need not work for my salvation... its by grace through faith and not by works. But we still ought to persevere to complete the race marked out for us. We still need to strive to lead godly and holy lives, leaning on God's grace and strength... living a life in complete submission and obedience to Him... to please Him and not pleasing ourselves.

It seems like nothing I can very much do but to pray for my friends...

No Mood

No mood to work... don't feel like going to the gym too... not sure exactly for what reason(s)... a few of them could be:

• Wet, gloomy weather for the past few days;
• Too much work and don't know where to begin;
• Brains rather be thinking about other things but work;
• Looking forward to my next holiday... to rest and do nothing.

I think its a combination of the above. Sigh....

My boss is ill. At a meeting with him just now, I entertained thoughts that I could catch the virus from him so that I can be sick and stay at home. The truth is that some of my virus-attacked-cells (somewhere in my body) are communicating to my brain cells that I am about to fall sick. My throat cells are already giving away some signals of an impending attack!

Maybe I am not thinking right... even as I was vacuuming my house the other day, I was thinking "how nice if I need not go to work but do this at home everyday..."

Hmm... I think the biggest culprit is probably the weather...

Down Memory Lane

Finally I have some time to pack up some of my things in my room. Not that its particularly messy but I was just in the mood to put together some things and repack some things to create more space. Boy! I found a lot of old old possessions!!

I was reminded that I have had quite a bit of collections since I was a little girl...

• Erasers
• Threads of all sorts of colours (I make friendship bands with them)
• Letter-writing materials
• Postage stamps (hmm.. where are they now??)

This is a pair of paper cranes made by my best friend in... secondary school... when I was probably around 14 to 16 years old. I love to fold paper cranes too! I also found a box of the cranes which I had made, although I cannot remember whom I was gonna made them for.





This piggy stuff toy was given by a friend when I was in junior college... about 17 years old. I kept it till now because that was the 2nd stuff toy that I received as a gift. In my memory, I was quite deprived of owning stuff toy... until I was 15! Anyway stuff toys now to me, are nice to look at but not practical to keep :P


I have also been keeping those little cards, birthday cards, Christmas card, CNY cards, letters, post cards that I received from my friends since 1992!! Looking at those cards and letters, they seemed to encourage and comfort me in some way... Little did I know that I have collected so much of them! Those letters that we write and exchange (during lecture times!!) as students, the little Pass-It-On encouragement cards, some hand-made cards, many many Christmas cards, some letters, cards and photos that reminded me of my past relationships with the special someone (then)... somewhat made me felt a little older because I have actually been through all those...

I also found the book band (those that you use to tie books together and carry them. I think the students don't use this anymore) which I had won it as a book prize for writing Chinese composition (yes you heard it right :P), the Pentax pager which I used to co-own with my sister (which she bought it second hand from my cousin) and my Sergeant and Corporal rank badges which I had in my Red Cross uniform group days....


(From top left, clockwise) My favourite Andrew Brownswood "Forever Friends" cookie tin with my collection of erasers, the box of colourful threads that I collect, neatly packed cards into categories (these only represent 20% of my total collection), the various sets of letter pads and envelopes I have collected.


Didn't realise I was such sentimental to keep so many many things that tells me stories of my past. I sound heartless but because I had to clear space, I actually decided to throw away many many of those cards, letters, etc... keeping only those that I have received in the past 3 years. Hopefully these photos and my memories of the messages in the cards and letters will be kept in the cupboard named "sweet memories" in my mind... keeping only those with really special and meaningful cards and letters. I wonder how many of these I would have kept if I were to live on earth until I'm 80 or 90 years old!!

In any case, the thought of having once owned these precious notes, cards and letters from friends of the various stages of my life, pulls a warm tug in my heart.... :)

小夫妻 - Little Husband and Wife

Hmm... while I am still a little cheap thrill with the ability to type Chinese characters, do bear with me as I share yet another song from Joi Chua's album :P This song is a duet with a male singer Ocean Ou.

This song has a light-hearted and happy tune to it. If you understand the lyrics and listen to the song, it will bring a sweet smile to your face =) The song talks about a young married couple's love and a bit of their daily married life.

在 SuperMarket 逛了好大一圈
想你爱咖哩或是义大利面 幸福的食谱再恶补几遍
我的优点要你百尝不厌

在下班路上租了几支影片
有你在沙发就是浪漫剧院 辛苦的时候想着你的脸
没有蛮牛活力也会出现

喔 小夫妻 我的福气
这辈子可以让我爱上了你 这一路
有时晴 有时雨
都没有关系
我们的真心超过钻石对爱的定义

小夫妻 永不放弃 默契是最富有的一种储蓄
赌气话
你一句 我一句
也觉得甜蜜
多庆幸我们望着 同样明天 牵手在努力

你今天玉米浓汤有一点咸
你没送钻戒以后补我项连
我的通通是你的没有期限
存够钱我们逛地球一圈

我愿意
这一生 这一世
呵护着你 一直到
你当爷爷 你当奶奶
还是老夫老妻

有你多好

Just mangaged to get around to use the Chinese character software to type Chinese characters. So thought that I will try it out by typing out another of a song I like from Joi Chua's album :) Literally translated, the title of the song means "Its nice having you around"...

有你多好 幸福在远 我愿意陪你冒险
世界在吵 在我耳边 都只有你的声线
虽然你的爱不明显 我会放在我的心里面

原来天一直蓝的美丽 原来我不确新鲜空气
原来窗没打开而已
原来路不是到了尾端 你就在我下一个转弯
带着我走过黑暗

只怕我生命太短 来不及陪你潇湘
握在我手上 属于我们的天堂
离开所有别人眼光 自由飞翔

有你多好 幸福在远 我愿意陪你冒险
世界在吵 在我耳边 都只有你的声线
虽然你的爱不明显 其实我都察觉

有你多好 幸福在远 我愿意陪你冒险
我们最好能一起老 正明爱不会消见
最好谁会先看不见 也要活在对方心里面

Philippians 4:6-7

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

I hope I'm not quoting the verses above out of context. I'm also not attempting to preach on the above verses. I was just thinking about my prayer requests to God and the above verses came to mind...

After talking to a friend last night, I was thinking about my past and present prayer request to God and the mindset that I have towards Him answering my prayer. Surely when we commit something in prayer to God, we do sincerely and hopefully hope that God will answer the prayer. I know there were times which I pray without a total dependence on God and sometimes probably with that hidden thought "God, I pray you will answer MY request MY way". Admittedly, this is all but my human sinfulness... wanting to live life my way and not God's way.

But of course sometimes I do pray, not knowing what will happen next and knowing the uncertainty ahead, but really able to pray with my heart, mind and soul "God I really don't know what's happening, what will come next and how the future might be, but I want to trust in you and your sovereignty and that not my will but yours be done."

I always think that I will be able to recognise it when God answers prayer. I mean, it surely isn't so difficult to know that isn't it? I realised that it will only be easy if God's answer to my prayer matches what I really wish it will be. But if God's answer to my prayer is not according to my wish list, will I be able to recognise it? Will I then be short-changing myself or even asking "God, why isn't it the way I thought it to be?".

I probably ought to be more thankful in everything... not questioning God why my prayer is answered in a way that is not what I imagined it to be. I must learn to be thankful and not doubting Him and His ways. I need to go to Him with a trusting heart, in total dependance on Him. Probably then will I be able to understand when He answers my prayer and submit to Him wholeheartedly. Who knows if His answer to my prayer is much better and more beautiful than what I wish for??

Reflections on Love

I have been talking, evaluating and reflecting with the leaders of one of the ministries I serve in.... about the past year, about its members, about ourselves as leaders, about the coming year. Not sure if this is a valid reason or it is merely an excuse, sometimes I feel tired of giving... giving of my time and efforts to people and sometimes would entertain thoughts of "How come I am not receiving?" Sometimes I would 'take a break' and just spend time by myself, doing the things I enjoy to do, catch up with old friends that I've not met for some time... generally taking a 'back seat' in ministry and service.

As I search myself, I realised how selfish and unloving I have been. Do I serve for a personal agenda or purely simply serving the God who loves me? Who gets the glory for the things that I do? Am I motivated to please God or please man? Have I really love God and therefore love His people? If I truly love His people, how can I ever get tired? The imperfect me know that I don't have 100% right motive to serve God, 100% glory all to God, 100% to please God, 100% love His people. I guess I was reminded of the finite me, the sinful me and how I am living under God's rule of my life and God's grace to enable me to live my life. Therefore I need to surrender to Him daily, trusting Him to provide, loving this God who saved me, loving His people whom He love, serving with a servant heart. Not easy I must say... but I thank God that in the midst of the reflections, I have recognised this. I pray that He will help me love His people... help me be other-person-centred. I thank God for a renewed and refreshed heart and mind to serve Him as this new year unveils.

It was probably no coincidence that the first sermon of the year was about LOVE. Pastor spoke from 1 Corinthians 13 - the popular Bible passage on love. Although many couples picked this passage for their weddings, it has almost really nothing to do with romantic love.

1 Corinthians 13:1-4 - "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing."

The people in the city of Corinth had been engrossed in self love, self ambition and self glory. They will give up everything to gain all that at all costs. Paul questioned the gifts that the Corinthians have.... if they exercise the gifts that they have but have not love, they gain nothing and are nothing. The activity of the gift becomes valueless if there is no love.

Ministries done without love equals to nothing. Pastor also added that the love is an unspectacular, unrecognised and unnoticed love. Ministries done with love often go unnoticed and unrecognised. Does it mean that we give up serving? This hit home the point of my earlier reflection as I serve God in my ministry... if the love shown in the time I spend for the people is not recognised and appreciated by them, do I just give up loving them? If they do not respond, do I just give up on them? Jesus did not give up on the people when people ridicule him, persecute him and nail him on the Cross. He did not give up on his disciples when they betray him and deny him. So what am I doing with the people whom I claim to serve?

Pastor also spoke a bit about weddings and marriages... The groom will wait patiently for the longest time for his bride to arrive on the wedding day. But after that day, will he always wait patiently for his wife and not dread at every opportunity to have to wait for her? Weddings are celebrated in a spectacular manner, but marriage is really not so spectacular and romantic... but day to day and ordinary living. Love is unspectacular, unrecognised and unnoticed.

1 Corinthians 13:5-8 - "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails..."

What strikes me about the above verses was that patience is long-suffering. Long-suffering means an active decision not to retaliate. How difficult that is to do!!! To be kind is sometimes, to be paying back wrong with kindness. It is not just the willingness but also the 'quickness' to pay back with kindness. This does not mean that we do not hurt when others wronged us. It only means that the hurt does not matter anymore... this is "love is kind".

God has commanded us to love one another. By displaying the kind of love in 1 Corinthians 13, others will be able to see that we are God's people. I pray that I can continue to love His people....

Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head

It seemed like winter in Singapore. It has been raining non-stop for the past 2 days. Temperature was as low as about 21 degree celsius and that is cold for the tropical Singapore. Seldom have to be wearing a sweater out in the open. The known place of 'winter' I encounter in Singapore everyday is my office...

Many of us were stuck in church since the rain has been pouring non-stop. The 40 packets of lunch were snapped up very quickly. Left with no lunch to eat and stranded in church as none of the people in my DG has a car, they hang around waiting for me to settle some ministry matters. Just as pastor spoke about love in action, one of the church staff, A had cooked some porridge at home and she offered to share with the 4 of us so that we can temporarily be relieved of our hunger. Yum!! A's porridge was delicious... and the hot porridge amidst the cold weather and our hunger was welcoming and so filled with warmth. Eating the small bowl of porridge with 4 others was surprisingly an enjoyable experience...

But of course the porridge was not sufficient to satisfy our stomaches. Thankfully, we had a brother-in-Christ who generously offered to give us a ride to HV for a proper lunch. The interesting part of the afternoon was going to a bakery called "Provence". I have seen that shop around for some time but I have not tried the bread. Since M says that the bread is really very yummy, we decided to listen to her and adjourned there for some bread and drinks.

(From left, clockwise) chocolate cornet, cinnamon bun, blueberry & cheese bun, black sesami with cream cheese

All the bread look so delicious! We tried some interesting and delicious-looking ones. And true to our tasteful selection, all of them were very yummy! Most of them had a melt-in-your-mouth kind of smooth texture and they do not taste too rich. We found out that the bakery was opened by a Japanese who had gone to Europe to learn baking. So the shop and its products had a mix of both: the shop looking European and its bread looking Japanese :P We created our own 'lazy Susan', turning the plate around each time so that we all can savour bits of each bread. With the rain falling non-stop just beside our table (we were sitting at the alfresco area), the delicious bread and a good time of fellowship with friends, the Sunday afternoon was truly relaxing and enjoyable.

Who is in the mood to work the next day?? ;)

Red is the Colour

Chinese New Year is approaching in 3 weeks' time. Decided to pop by Chinatown this afternoon. Went to my daddy's workplace to buy sets of traditional coffee shop type of coffee cups and saucers for a friend.

There was the Chinese New Year light-up programme this evening, and so Chinatown was extremely crowded and busy! If Orchard is the place to go to see Christmas lights, then Chinatown is the place to see CNY lights! Some roads were blocked since 3pm in preparation for the evening's event.

Entrance to the blocked off area. Police were seen directing traffic and probably standing by for crowd control.



There are people who would actually be there by 3pm to wait and see the process of setting up and having a 'front seat' to the stage of the the evening's lightup. See how comfortable some made themselves to be!


Street stalls selling food stuff, decorative stuff can be sighted everywhere. There is the famous place selling barbequed pork - LCG. Every year at this time, there will be a long snake queue of people queueing to buy their bbq pork. In comparison, you can hardly see any queues for other stalls selling bbq pork nearby. I wanted to join in the queue since it was rather short today. But decided to pull out last minute.


I passed by Chinatown in the evening again... so managed to take a shot of it in the night.. after the lightup!!

The Waiting Game

Extracted this from Elizabeth Elliot's book "Passion & Purity"...

Steadfastness, that is holding on;

Patience that is holding back;

Expectancy, that is holding the face up;

Obedience, that is holding one's self in readiness to go or do; listening, that is holding quiet and still to hear.

How long, Lord, must I wait?

Never mind, child. Trust me.

Friendship

This was printed on a card which I had given away a couple of years back. I thought it quite meaningful :) How many of such friends do we have in our lifetime?

Friends do things for one another. They understand. They go a million miles out of their way. They hold your hand. They bring you smiles when a smile is exactly what you needed. They listen and they hear what is said in the spaces between the words. They care. And they let you know you're in their prayers...

Friends always know the perfect thing to do. They can make your whole day just by saying something that no one else could have said. Sometimes you feel like the two of you share a secret language that others can't tune in to.

A friend can guide you, inspire you, comfort you or light up your life with laughter. A friend understand your moods and nurtures your needs. A friend lovingly knows just what you're after.

When your feelings come from deep inside and they need to be spoken to someone you don't have to hide from, you share them... with a friend. When good news come, a friend is the first one you turn to. When feelings overflow and tears need to fall, friends help you through it all.

Friends bring sunlight into your life. They warm your life with their presence, whether they are far away or close by your side. A friend is a gift that brings happiness and a treasure that money can't buy.

Questions for the New Year

Found come questions on this website which are useful to help us start the new year. Might be helpful that we can think through some questions and pen down the answers and evaluate them from time to time as the year goes.

I myself haven't got around to thinking through all questions yet. But surely something worthwhile to do! :)

Money Not Enough

My close girlfriend J has been reminding me to save money for the rainy days. She just got married last year and lamented that she should have saved enough money when she was single. So she has been reminding me since then...

I do have a bit of savings but I must admit that it is not a big figure and I can do better. So since September last year, I decided that I will log in my daily expenses so that I can monitor my expenditure and find out if I can cut down in some areas and save more money. It did help a bit and it is slowly improving.

Surely as the years come and go, my expenditure has grown but savings are lesser. Compared to my previous job 5 years ago, I now earn 50% more but my savings is less than what I could save then!!

In order to really do something about it, I decided to set down that one of my resolutions this year is to save a certain percentage of my salary and I will continue to watch my expenses.

I think it is no coincidence when I was catching up with another church friend D yesterday. I told him that I had thought of pursuing a Masters in Nutrition overseas but due to the high cost, I thought that it would not be possible. We then began a conversation about savings and money. D has been married for 1.5 years and he too, feels the strain of family finances. He thinks that if I can set down practical ways to cut down expenditure, I can save quite a sum of money overtime and I can go study!

These few general suggestions that came out in our discussion:

1. Take less taxis. Take bus instead!

2. Cancel unncessary credit cards and don't be fooled by their gimmicks.

3. Eat at food courts, hawker centre. Only eat at restaurants at special occasions. When with a group of friends, be the first to suggest to eat at a more economical place. Others will appreciate and follow :)

4. Consider taking bus instead of driving.

Suddenly I begin to realise that this is one area of my life that God is challenging me to work at. (In fact, I just recalled that I was on a similar topic with another girlfriend just last Thursday!!) I may or may not go study my Masters but I surely think it is high time I be more prudent of the money I earn, given by God. There are a few things I can do proactively and one of it is that I will be cancelling 2 shopping credit cards. I guess being single, it is easy to spend money on many things since I do not have much financial burden. It also doesn't help that I work so near Orchard Road. I think I also need to be less generous... I spent quite a bit on gifts for people in the last 3 months. Wedding ang baos, birthday gifts, Christmas gifts... perhaps I should think of a more cost-effective yet meaningful gift for people.

So next time when you see me, remind me to save :P Don't expect me to give you expensive presents :P But surely I will welcome any tips to save money :)

Lord, help me be a good steward of the money that you enable me to earn. Help me put into good use for your glory and Kingdom-sake.

The Last Few Moments of 2005

A Happy New Year to everyone!!

Had a tiring but enjoyable last 12 hours of 2005. Went out for lunch far at eastern island, went church to help pick up music logistics to be brought to Neptune Restaurant. (My church had a new year eve's dinner-cum-service. There were almost 140 tables, i.e. 1400 people having dinner together!!) After another moving stint from carpark to the restaurant, rested a short while before driving in the heavy downpour to west of the island for DG evaluation. But we ended up playing Risk since the attendance was poor. Then I drove back to the restaurant for music practice before everyone began to stream in. Had to get DG settled down on our 2 tables, since I was the one who coordinated the table arrangement. Whilst dinner began, I had to be 'video-woman' as personal favours to video some performances. When the service began proper at 11pm, I sang as a back-up as we had a singspiration session. By the time I got home, it was 1.30am and I slept at about 2am!!

The fun bit was the great fellowship with so many people in church, being entertained by the kung fu hustle dance, chicken little dance, etc. The main highlight of the evening were the fireworks that went off at the strike of 12am 2006! Fireworks went off at Esplanade Bay and from where we were, we had a great view! Its been some time I last saw fireworks. Here are some of the better shots I took :)

At the serivce, pastor spoke on "The Lord's Prayer" as we enter into new beginnings. (My physical body was so tired then that I could feel my body 'disintegrating' and eyelids were heavy. But thankfully I managed to try to stay focussed to listen) One thing struck me and that was about how we ought to pray about our daily bread and not about our retirement bread. (This wasn't a new illustration that pastor used. In fact, all his illustrations that night were old ones but they served to bring the points across) We can worry and plan that much about the future but truly, we do not even know nor can we gurantee if we could be back here at the New Year's Eve dinner on 31 Dec 2006. Isn't that true? Life is unpredictable and we can never know what will happen to us and if we would be back again next year! At least one thing I know I can be sure of: the hope that I have in Jesus Christ my Saviour and I shall persevere on to work at obeying Him and living a godly life pleasing to Him.

On hindsight, although I had spent the last 12 hours of 2005 helping and arranging stuff relating to the NYE dinner and service, fellowshipping with fellow brothers and sisters and eating :p this kinda summarised what I have been spending lots of time doing in the entire year of 2005 - 'being a 'kay poh' in church, fellowship and eat! I thank God that by His grace, I am able to be of use and help in areas that I can, be it music ministry, bible study leading, praying for people, being there for people, coordinating weddings, etc. How did I do them? All to God's glory and only by His grace. But in this new year, one of the things I hope to do is to have deeper fellowship with some people and also to eat lesser and healthier ;)

To sum up, I am utterly thankful to God for giving me another year of life and whatever had happened. And yes I do welcome the new year with some anticipation of what God's special plan for me is :)