These are a Few of My Favourite Things

• An unnoticed act of kindness that makes someone's day just a little bit better
• When you gently grab my hand when I don't expect it
• Well-performed musical productions, to which I can bop along to
• Playing with puppies
• How a woman's head is made to fit so nicely onto a guy's shoulder
• A warm & cosy fireplace in winter
• The way you make me blush when I catch you looking at me
• A hot water bottle in bed
• Brunch in a cafe near a park on a sunny day
• A kiss on the forehead before a goodbye
• Reading & people-watching under a tree
• The sense of satisfaction when someone likes what I bake/cook

Little Joys

Just a few highlights to my week so far...

1. Guy Shopping
Yup, you heard me. I love guy shopping. I was looking around trying to find a gift for Mothers' Day & realised it's so hard to buy clothes for a female! Nothing caught my eye, except for this really nice guy's sweater.

I love shopping for guys' clothing, especially when I've got someone special to buy them for. I often think that guys' clothing (particularly winter sweaters, jackets & jumpers) look much nicer than those sold for females. I think it's the broad shoulder thing that does it. When I buy clothes for a guy, I imagine him in it, with his strong broad shoulders so I can give him a hug.

Ok, I'll try not to keep it too graphic. For now, my brother would just have to deal with me spoiling him with men's clothing that he will probably grow out of quickly.

2. Wedding Dress Shopping
Went with a friend to find her a dream white dress. I think I'm fussy 'cos nothing seemed to take to my liking. We visited a few cheaper places, then more up-market ones where prices hiked up to $5000! Gorgeous dresses, but none that I'd see myself wearing. Not that I really need to think about that for now. She did show me this white strapless one with nice black embriodery at the top & the end of the trail. It was quite beautiful. I like something plain yet classic & elegant, but with a touch of an oriental look to it to emphasise my Asian culture.

So anyways, it's about her not me. ;P She looked gorgeous when she tried it on, by the way. But nothing was bought yet.

3. One to One

We've had the pleasure of having a girl from Brazil as part of our bible study this year. We were together since last year, but she's in the group I'm currently leading. After she'd expressed concerns about finding it hard to follow during bible study because of the language barrier, we decided for us to meet once a week before the study to go through the passage together.

I can't express how great it was to do that last night & I was really blessed by her desire to understand God's Word. She had been faithfully reading the passages before bible study as well. Hebrews is a difficult book to study sometimes, but I thought she understood more than she gave herself credit for. It brought much joy to see her grapple with it. We shared prayer points & she had much wisdom & encouragement for me in relation to what I'm finding difficult in my current situation with life & church. One thing I learnt is that I can plan all I Iike - to be in a new state, new church & to meet new people. But I can't twist what God has already planned for me, much less hide from it. I need to be trusting that His plans are good & better than those I've got for myself.

We topped off the evening my watching the BBC version of Pride & Prejudice - one dvd every week she comes over. :)

Are You Wasting Your Suffering?

I'm not writing anything for now. But I was inspired by Mark Driscoll's talk on Joy in Suffering & I've been reflecting on it. Not that I've been through as much as a lot of others have.

Stay tuned...

Some thoughts so far:

• "Don't bear suffering - use it!"
• "I'd rather have a hard road to heaven than an easy one to hell."
• Don't waste your suffering. Don't let your tears, pain & mourning go to waste. Use it to let God work in you & through you.
• Christians are like nails - the harder you hit them, the deeper they go.
  

Skepticism

In an episode of How I met Your Mother, it starts off when Ted's friends comment about how talkative his new girlfriend is. Then it snowballs when they turn their backs on one another & start voicing their pet peeves. *glass shatters*

It's funny how when you're infatuated at the start of a new relationship, almost nothing about the other person can annoy you. It's limerence where you're all excited about being in love. It's at this stage where you hear sweet nothings from the other person & you're on Cloud Nine because they tell you "I like you for who you are." I almost wish that's left unsaid.

The test is when you get past that. You start to notice those habits which never annoyed you before & they eventually become pet peeves. It may be the tiniest thing like the way they walk, or more important things which you don't see eye-to-eye with. But as said in the episode, "if you love them enough, you learn to live with them."

Maybe I'm naturally too optimistic. Often when I weigh up the negatives against the positives, they're not big enough for me to make a big deal out of & I let them go. Surely there are more things I value & hold on to more than even the bad stuff which may seem important at the time?

I think I've become skeptical & more wary of what I hear at the start of a relationship. I know that sooner or later, something's going to come up which bores them, annoys them & frustrates them. I'm starting to think that when it comes to relationships, it's almost impossible to love someone the way God has made them. I don't believe it when I hear it anymore & I'd rather not if it's going to be betrayed. We all have our pet peeves or values we hold on to, but it takes patience & grace to be able to look past that. It seems like those two things just don't exist anymore or just get looked over when you extend it.

I realise more & more that there's nothing else like the love of God. You may get over the initial limerence of being a new Christian, but I don't think God does. I believe He always finds joy when we are in relationship with Him & He shows us His grace & patience each & every day. So as bitter, disappointed or betrayed as I may feel, I really pray that I can trust in that.