Each day, when individually examined, make up a pretty good year 365 days later. =)
As The Deer
I am Christ redeemed & blessed many folds more than I have been tried. =) I am the head not the tail, above not beneath, blessed in the city and in the country, my bread kneading bowl and bread basket are blessed and anointed, i rest in the shadow of the most high! I claim the promises of blessings in Deut 28, Psalm 91 and Psalm 23 over my life. I claim the blessing of Jabez and the double blessing Elisha and Benjamin received in my life. AMEN!
Sometimes it amazes me How strong the power of love can be Sometimes you just take my breath away
You watch my love grow like a child Sometimes gentle and sometimes wild Sometimes you just take my breath away
And it's too good to slip by Too good to lose Too good to be there Just to use I'm gonna stand on a mountain top And tell the news That you take my breath away
Sometimes it amazes me How strong the power of love can be Sometimes you just take my breath away
Your beauty is there in all I see And when I feel your eyes on me Oh don't you know you just take my breath away
And it's too good to slip by Too good to lose Too good to be there Just to use I'm gonna stand on a mountain top And tell the news That you take my breath away
And it's too good to slip by Too good to lose Too good to be there Just to use I'm gonna stand on a mountain top And tell the news That you take my breath away
I went up to deliver to Bernie his cheque for the buffet on the 24th and he asked me if I am feeling nervous about the wedding. In the natural realm, yes... but in the spiritual realm, i am rested and know all will go well because God has blessed this marriage and this wedding day.
There has been incredible favour for our wedding preps so far... so instead of counting the anxiety causing stuff (aka the Goliaths), I choose to focus on the blessings that have rained down on us for this wedding.
The wedding ceremony invites were printed at a shop at Bras Basah that gave us a generous discount.
The wedding invites were printed at a reasonable cost despite being "express".
Ian managed to get his suit in just one fitting session & that was the day before our wedding photo shoot. The owner of the shop, May, kindly lent me a corset top that she fitted for me there and then - for free - to use at the shoot!! She even loaned me the earrings. Am I touched? Immensely so!
Our friends at Cinegear were so kind as to loan us a Canon 5D , 2 kickass lenses and lights for our wedding shoot.
Yew Mun managed to rent the special porti lights for $100 lesser. Kah Hui loaned us his DSLR! Aaron came along too with his DSLR and Ricoh - thanks Aaron and Kah Hui!
Ling Hooi kindly took time off that day to drive us around and to loan us his lights for the shoot.
Fionna, our makeup artist, was really wonderful. She gave us a good rate and was a real blessing.
CHARMAINE - my aircon - thanks for arranging the shoot with Yew Mun and for getting us the passenger van, for taking care of Kae whilst we finished up the beach shoot, and just for being the best friend and sis ever. Can't wait to see the ring cushion!!
Dad's wise counsel and help in caring for Kae was integral and much appreciated. I really love my Dad so much.
Mum's generosity - for buying us the Corningware and a host of other essentials for the new house... for letting us live in th TPY flat with the tenant, for travelling around to deliver the invites... and for just being the wonderful one who gave birth to me and taken care of me so far.
My Aunty Leng told us she will be sponsoring the London Cab and florist. Thanks so so very much! It was an amazingly sweet and much needed gesture. HUGS.
My Coco has offered to lend me her kerosang for the kebaya. Yay!
Eldred was able to come back for the wedding. Yes we have ups and downs but how can I not be overjoyed that my friend of 15 years has made it back?
I am grateful for finding gowns at a reasonable price by a really wonderful and supportive small boutique in Punggol.
ALL the relatives have been so helpful and encouraging.
I've lost weight. Praise God!
I thank God also that the NLB courtyard was available for the ceremony and that we could cancel Changi Chapel without a penalty. Simon was really sweet - I am glad they allowed for it because I really dread the noise and traffic jam of the Aerospace show.
The skin allergy on my ring finger has fully subsided. No more red glossy ring of skin.
I thank God esp for my Ian's family - incredibly loving, incredibly supportive and incredibly grace-filled.
Thankful that Vivien still has her 3 CDs worth of jazz music that she used at her wedding... we can use them =)
I thank God for a great CNY service to further encourage us in our journey with Christ and as we approach the wedding.
Thank God for no rain at the wedding photo shoot!! =D
... and there are so many many more blessings! I can't finish relating all of them out.
I just got a message from a dear sis of mine who is in TW. She hasn't been well...
In her msg, she told me that she has been having really terrible seizures and she had another one where half her body was paralyzed. She doesn't think she has long to live. She is feeling very down now and wishing she had "made it" in her career and carved a name for herself.
Reading her sms-es really saddened me.
My sis is a really talented headturner. She is an accomplished actress and singer; she is witty and intellectual; she plays the piano hauntingly and has a really beautiful soul. She is also young (younger than I am), and has so much more to live for!
She is cheeky and has a sparkle in her eye when she talks. She also eats scary amounts of food, can do an even more frightening impersonation of a sadako-esque spirit; she falls asleep suddenly and can sleep walk around town with some guidance. She loves Tao Kay Noi seaweed and sleep-ate (is there such a thing?!) it at our office when she was here.
My li'l God-given sis... There is only one her and she is so special to me.
I know I sound like a real (Jesus) freak when I say this, but I feel it is a spiritual attack. I believe with all of my heart that she can be cured and she can be healthy again. I believe that the attacks have become fiercer because she has not succumbed to previous attacks to get her down. I ask all of you to fierecely pray for her as Ian and I will be doing so as well. Pray the protection of Psalm91 over this very lovely daughter of Sarah, pray the blessings of Deut 28 over her. Please?
She deserves to be happier, healthier and to live a long and satisfying life. I know she can. I trust that she will.
As a child, I had a dream of becoming a fashion designer someday. As an adult, I just want to be able to learn how to sew with the sewing machine(sorry Home Ec teachers, I didn't really pay attention in class last time - and mum helped me with my sewing project haha).
I have been online lately and really enjoying all these sewing craftzines, blogs, etc. Feel very inspired by them. There was a lady who bought this horrendous XXXL t-shirt from a thrift store an turned it into a really nice tube dress! There was another lady who made really nice dresses for her kids. It is just so darn inspiring! =)
My mum can sew somewhat -but she makes for a scary teacher. Was thinking of asking my Aunt... hmm. Maybe I will.
Mandy Moore - Only Hope (A Walk to Remember) movie soundtrack
There's a song that's inside of my soul It's the one that I've tried to write over and over again I'm awake in the infinite cold But You sing to me over and over and over again
So I lay my head back down And I lift my hands and pray to be only Yours I pray to be only Yours I know now you're my only hope
Sing to me the song of the stars Of Your galaxy dancing and laughing and laughing again When it feels like my dreams are so far Sing to me of the plans that You have for me over again
So I lay my head back down And I lift my hands and pray To be only yours I pray to be only yours I know now you're my only hope
I give You my destiny I'm giving You all of me I want Your symphony Singing in all that I am At the top of my lungs I'm giving it back
So I lay my head back down And I lift my hands and pray To be only yours I pray to be only yours I pray to be only yours I know now you're my only hope
And if you wanna karaoke, here is the piano-only music:
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I know this is meant to be a secular song from a secular movie, but I cannot help but think of Jesus when I heard it (and of coz Ian and then Kaelen who are my cheerleaders in this life =D)
In my teenage days, I used to stand by my bedroom window at night and sing to Jesus. I would watch the stars and even try to draw where they were on a piece of paper. Those years were painful years - I felt my Mum didn't understand me and I was seeking a relationship with Christ after years of being a Sunday Catholic. I was ostracised in school and having problems "fitting in". I had BGR problems. I had probs with schoolwork - I was swamped by teenage woes. I wrote post-it note letters to Jesus on my wall and I would find sleep whilst singing praise and worship songs... letting Him sing hope and love and His light into my heart through the lyrics.
I believe - truly believe - that we all have a God-sized void in all of us. A void that nothing can fill completely - not even by our spouses or children. And if we expect our loved ones to try to fill that void, we will only frustrate them and ourselves - coz we are just not large enough!
I guess being in all those BGRs then was a desperate attempt to be loved and understood by someone - anyone! I couldn't get it from Mum and my (absent coz of work) Dad.
I was depressed and angsty and (shakes head) suicidal. I smiled. I laughed. But deep inside, I was bone dry and needed saving.
Tori Amos sings about looking for saviour between her sheets... I guess I made that mistake of looking for my saviour amongst my BFs. Dumb move. And then I got preggers - which just made things worse you'd think... but God proves He has His way of turning what Satan means to harm us, into good for us.
NOT aborting was prob the best thing I've ever did in my life. When I first saw the bump that Kae was on an ultrasound, it was truly love @ first sight.
Daddy God used Kae to help me grow up, help me see things from a clearer perspective. Kae's hugs, kisses, affection and unconditional love really brought so much sunshine and hope into my life. He also brought laughter into the house.
But I also had troubles then, my ex brought me much grief and my Mum & Dad had issues to iron out... there was just so much to deal with. When I decided to break up with Kae's natural father, I decided there and then that I was surrendering the choice of a life partner to Jesus.
Little did I know, somewhere else in Australia, a friend of mine made the same prayer and declaration. And who knew we would fall for each other some time after that prayer?!
God did. =)
A month from now, Ian and I will be walking down the aisle, not just as a couple but as a family with Kaelen - and as a family that will promise to forever built the foundation of our relationships on The Rock of Christ. Ian makes my heart sing, but Jesus is THE ONE who brings passion, love, romance, understanding, forgiveness and unity between the 2 of us, and between Kaelen and us.
"I trust in You, abide in You - my Hope, my Strength..." - is a refrain in one of the praise and worship songs by our church. How true!
Jesus is indeed the ONLY hope we know as a family and trust our lives with. I thank God for helping us find HIM and each other.
My Hope will always lie in the LORD who is also my source of Joy and Strength. =)
n Austria, they do not believe in Santa Claus! At least that is what an Austrian friend has told me in his most recent message on Facebook.
He shared that they celebrate Nickolaus on the 6th of December in remembrance of a kindly bishop. Nickolaus brings some stuff for the good kids, but this has nothing to do with Christmas. Historically he was a bishop who gave lots to the poor.
This is followed by the celebration of Christkind (which means Christ child) on the 25th of December . Jesus comes to each household and is also responsible for the gifts below the tree.
I think the Austrians have got it right. I want to celebrate Christkind too!!
Remembering a kindly bishop and the Christ child feels more meaningful than celebrating Mr.Claus, Rudolph and shopping sprees! I still like receiving the prezzies, but it is good to remind the kids the blessings are from Jesus not Santa yes?
This friend also shared:
"Yup, and the whole time is called Advent (which means something like the silent time) - this starts roughly 4 weeks before Christmas.
Every Sunday is a "adventsonntag" special celebrated - we have a rim that's specially made from brushwood and nicely decorated with four candles on it. Every Sunday one candle is ignited, till on last Sunday before Christmas where all four are burning...
We have Christmas markets than, not selling cheap stuff or crap, just silent markets with the beautiful goods you just get around that time and lots more like this.
Christmas in Austria is just beautiful and great, and it is the silent time...sometimes a bit hectic still, but more with family and friends..."
I like how my friend rounded up his story about Christmas in Austria, "And you know, he doesnt need chimneys or anything like that....solves lots of problems....hahaha"
Amen to that!
Happy celebrating the birth of Jesus (ironically his birthday is in September or October if I am not wrong.... ah well! Never too late to celebrate it! =D )
Really love the theme song for HJN. Koreans just have this flair for making heart rending music...
Lyrics Translated: Bad Person (Hwang Jini OST) - Baek Ji Young
I understood painfully Those warm hands that put me to bed How much more tired are you Pretending to have forgotten everything and living
Isn't your memory so hateful Everyday I tell myself I'm Ok but my tears keep falling like the rain You were the only one that didn't know That we would never be able to live together
The loneliness up until now Will you know I'm crying as if I haven't won I feel as if I'm going crazy Like a moment of resting, he's left for a little bit
I have nothing All the memories I've dug up I burn every one Time is going by too fast Why is it that I can't forget all of this
The loneliness up until now Will you know I'm crying as if I haven't won I feel as if I'm going crazy Like a moment of resting, he's left for a little bit
All the memories that have left me please
Come back to me just once If it appeals to me then maybe I'll take notice
I know but The person who made this hard for me is a bad person
There is a group of Christian ladies in USA who make these and send them out for free to anyone who wants one regardless of religion or Christian denomination. They are made voluntary and these women say a prayer with each knit, each stitch they make.
Here you see some prayer bunnies made for children... i think it is lovely to make something like that for kids who love to hold on to something comforting. And then there is the double wonderful thing of reminding them that the loves and prayers of many were stitched into the bunnies... and that with each stitch lies also a testimony of God's love for them. =)
I cannot knit or sew or cross-stitch or crochet to save myself... but I want to learn now so that I can make prayer cloths too... it feels meaningful. It is not a lucky charm la... and neither is it an object meant to replace real prayers or replace Gos Himself... but it is just an expression of Christian fellowship, concern and love made tangible.
If not maybe I can buy fabric and make prayer flowers! At least that is what I know how to do. =) Each flower I make I will say a prayer over the receiver to be touched by the love of Christ and to always keep their eyes on Him... that His shalom will be over them and that their family, and that His grace, His love and His blessings will pour out on them all the days of their lives. Amen!
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