CHRISTMAS

Carol’s back for Christmas this year and that’s a real Christmas reunion.

Heather celebrated her 13th birthday with a steamboat dinner & a 4 Seasons cake which she enjoyed immensely.

Rain…& more rain. It rained cats and dogs on the nite of the Christmas parade. It was fun to bring the kids to walk around the city for Christ. Philip made lanterns for our family. After 15 years of marriage, I discovered my hubby has got some artistic flair!!!

Immanuel. God with us. This is His promise to us not only at Christmas but all the days of our lives.

Serene. Funnily enough, I feel great serenity in my soul & spirit this Christmas holidays eventho’ there are a thousand thots running thru my head daily.

Theatre. Our bedroom has been converted into a mini theatre. We have been watching big screen movies using the LCD projector. Movies all courtesy of Alex. We missed many movies when the kids were younger so now it’s catching up time.

Meals. Not telling how many meals we had during this Christmas season. Suffice to say that the waist line has expanded after all the turkey, lamb, ham, lasagna, cakes, chocs etc etc.

A+ . I rate this as an A+ holidays coz it’s the type of holiday filled with all the right stuff. Taking the kids out, meeting with friends & just having fun.

Celebrating Claire's birthday.
Enjoying the Chocolate fountain & carrot juice from test-tubes.

Jonathan dropped by one fateful evening and we had him do the limbo rock under the expert guidance of Alex and Philip.
We met Hannah Tan on Christmas.
All the girls (Alie, Gloria, Heather, Victoria and Hannah) are crazy about me !!!That's probably what Jordan is thinking.
At the Igloo !
Playing UNO. It can get VIOLENT !!!
Heather's 1st experience leading Praise and Worship with the youths.

Shalom. Peace to all our readers. The peace offered to us by God is the peace that surpasses all understanding. May you enjoy His peace throughout the new year.

The Reason For The Season

As Christians we have to actively remember to keep Christ in Christmas. In recent years much effort has been made to remove Christ from the celebrations.

Carol & I were talking about how in western countries, various groups are actively working towards getting rid of Jesus in the Christmas celebration. Efforts include; no nativity scenes are allowed in Christmas displays, no mention of the Saviour’s birth in the songs played over the PA system in shopping malls etc etc. Just this morning I read that in the US, the lyrics of “ Silent Night” were completely altered to suit everyone who attended the presentation of a school play. Getting rid of Jesus is infact nothing new. Herod wanted to get rid of Jesus when he heard about His birth. However 2000 years on… Jesus is still alive & well.

I am glad that in Malaysia, we can still put up nativity scenes, have Christmas parades and go carolling in the shopping malls etc . Recently in KL, I heard carols proclaiming the birth of Jesus and I thought , “ Praise God for the privilege to do that.”

As Christians , we have to let others know why we celebrate Christmas. We also need to pass on this message to our kids so that the next generation and the next will not be influenced by the world system into believing that Christmas is only a holiday and nothing more.

And I do make a point to write CHRISTMAS and not X’MAS. To me “X’ is always the unknown factor as my math teacher once told me. For me & my family, we keep CHRIST in CHRISTmas coz HE the LORD OF LORDS , KING OF KINGS is NOT an unknown factor.

BLESSED CHRISTMAS TO ALL.

Going Back to My Roots

FINALLY!!! I get to go somewhere during the school holidays.. I wasn’t expecting a trip to Sibu and Kapit after being told by mum that we were not going anywhere as we have already gone to Penang and Terengganu in August. So, this was quite a surprise. My grandparents were originally from Sibu & Kapit so it was good to see how those places are like.
I was excited to go to Kapit and Sibu coz I have never been there in my life.. So this was my chance. In Sibu, we (me, grandma, Aunty Jac, Nat & Fi) spent our time strolling thru the town, visiting grandma’s old friends , shopping & eating. The next day we woke up early and ate a big breakfast at our hotel before going to the wharf to board the express boat to go to Kapit. After 3 hours travelling upstream on the mighty Rajang river, we finally reached Kapit.
We were warmly welcomed by our relatives. After that, we went to the inn which was just across the road. It belongs to Uncle Paul .We unpacked and got ready to go for dinner in a restaurant with everyone. We had a DELICIOUS meal and then went for a ride up to the mountains in Uncle Paul’s car. We opened the sunroof and stood up with the cold wind flying in our faces. We also visited Uncle David’s sports shop.

The following day, after breakfast we went around Kapit. Kapit is actually a nice town …especially around the mountains where the air becomes colder as we go up higher.

At noon, we were all packed and ready to go back to Sibu with the express boat again. I just wanna say a BIG thank you to everyone in Kapit for making me feel at home.

Our Holidays Thus Far

The last few months have swept by in a flurry of activities. After Hari Raya, the school was alive again after a lull of fasting.

All the necessary programmes and report writing were quickly held and done before the school officially closed on 20.11.09 to the shouts of “whoopee” and “Happy Holidays”

Frankly speaking, I’m only beginning to feel a sense of holiday seeping through my pores on 30.11.09 at precisely 4.05pm ie. When the last EXCO meeting for the year was held.

The kids are already enjoying and into their holidays. No more sleeping or waking up early. We’ve been trying to keep them occupied with books. Heather enjoys reading but Jordan is totally opposite. Getting him to read is like asking him to eat medicine!!!

Last Sunday, we went to watch ‘Christmas Carol’ in 3-d version. Not bad at all.

With Aunty Lorna away in New Zealand, we’ve been “plundering” her mini orchard. We’ve been taking the kids fruit plucking. Actually fruit plucking sounds too mild. It’s more like “let’s give the tree a good whack”. A good whack can produce a rainfall of langsat. We have been feasting on langsat, rambutans, longans, oranges, durians… these last few weeks.


Philip took off with a few cell group members to hike to Waterfall No. 7 at Gunung Gading. He said it was ‘easy-peasy’ and thoroughly enjoyed it. He tried to get me to go but I was in no mood to be bitten by insects again. The trophies of spots I gained from my last trip are still very evident on my legs.

With 4 weeks more of holidays remaining, we intend to spend it as relaxing as we possibly can.

Band Camp Rocks!!!

Last weekend I wasn’t around. I was at band camp which was held in my school. I was kinda nervous coz I was afraid I might not “blend in” with the seniors and also coz I brought A LOT of luggage. Let’s see.. I brought a big suitcase, a bagpack, a pail filled with snacks and another bag for drinks. All these just for a 3-day camp..hehe

Before starting any of the programmes, we had a briefing from our seniors and then we were divided into 6 teams namely Vanilizers, Sexy Strawberries, BG 9, Panda Loving Oreos, Mint Ice-cream with Extra Chocolate Chips and Chocolate. Can u guess which team I was in ? Later, we had icebreaking which was lots of fun. Then, we split into our groups to create our group cheer and to design our group flag and our group bandanna.

At 7pm, after bathing and eating our dinner, we had our group presentation which was VERY funny and enjoyable.. Later at 11pm, we played a game called POSEIDON which was a scary game where the seniors will blindfold us and bring us around the school in the dark.. They’ll also make scary noises and do scary things to make us scared …. But….. I wasn’t!! LOL

The next day, after having our breakfast, we had our marching session.. 2hrs 30 minutes… straight..!!! We had to stand still for 15 min without moving.. I was really tired after that. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the end of it…. after marching, we had a VERY LONG band practice. By then, I didn’t have much energy left to blow my trumpet J

In the afternoon, we had station games. It was soooo much fun!! In one of the games, I was carried by another girl.. So that means I’m not that heavy.. hehe .. After bathing, we had band practice again until 9:30pm. Later, we had to do chores e.g clean toilets, mop and sweep floors.

The last day was mostly band practice…like 6 hours straight. It was tiring. In the afternoon, we had a performance with most of our parents watching. We performed 3 songs; Full Throttle Funk, Don’t Give Me Attitude and Take the “A” Train. This camp was EXTREMELY fun. My friends and I can’t wait for next year’s band camp. Band camp truly rocks!!!

From the First Day I Met You

From the First Day I Met You
From the first day I met You,
O how my heart was touched.
My life have never been the same again.
Your tender mercy and Your healing grace,
Lavished on me ever-since.
My Jesus, precious Saviour,
You turned my life around.
Mighty is Your Name.
I trust You, precious Saviour.
You're the Faithful One,
My Jesus, my friend.



I became a Christian when I was 13. I was attending a youth camp, and I met God there for the first time in my life. During the 3 days retreat, my heart was touched. I realized how much God loved me. I knew right there that I was unique and important in His sight and He had a plan for my life. It felt like heaven on earth and I could dwell there forever. Words just cannot fully describe my experience at that time. Since then, I started to know more and more about God, and grew to love Him more and more as the years went by. If someone would ask me about one single great thing about knowing God ; without any hesitation I would say it is God’s grace, His saving grace. You see, His grace brought me joy and peace in my daily living, healing when I was sick, direction when I felt like I’ve lost my way, on top of all these, it is His grace that brought me salvation, which means I l have eternal life, a life forever with God. I am very excited to tell you that you too can enjoy this grace from God. He loved you even before you choose to love him. Give Him a chance and see how different and rewarding your life can be.

Taste And See

Taste and See

Taste and see that the Lord is good.
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him.
Glorify the Lord with me.
Let's exalt His Name together.

The righteous cry out and the Lord hears them.
He's ready to rescue, He's ready to save.
The Lord is close to the broken hearted.
His love for me is great.
His love for me is great.

As a person brought up in a Christian home and professing to be a Christian for all my life, I have often taken for granted the significance of being a Christian. As I write this song, I am reminded that being a Christian is not just ticking the right box in the religion column when filling forms. It is definitely not just about wanting to look good on our Sunday best in the church week in and week out. It is also much more than keeping ourselves busy serving in churches, or having a good time singing some nice songs at the beginning of church meetings. It is about an experience. An experience of being a friend of God and in the same time calling Him our Heavenly Father. I know I am sounding very theological today, but don’t you want a REAL experience with the Maker of the universe ? Knowing God is a life time adventure in tasting and seeing how good our God is. I am not talking about knowing something about Him, like how we hear gossips of some superstars, but knowing Him personally. I talk to Him, and He talks to me… that kind of relationship. The goodness of God is real. It doesn’t matter if your heart has been broken to pieces. I believe He will still be there to mend and heal if you allow Him to.

This is a song about acknowledging the sweetness and beauty of knowing God. Let’s draw ourselves really close to Him today, like a child runs to his father. You’ll be amazed at the whole new experience with Him, and I know you will never be the same again !

Enjoying Life (Part 2)

These are a new breed of trekkers. After Sematan, we headed for Gunung Gading National Park. There was no full bloom Rafflesia in sight. We only saw the bud. The forest ranger told us it takes 9 mths for it to fully bloom. Amazing!!!
We took the easiest and shortest trek.... trekking to the nearest waterfall.This trek doesn't look so difficult.
Oops!!! No more plank walk. Everyone must watch your step.
Aiyoh!!!We are tiredlah!!! Are we there yet ?Too much trekking can cause goofiness. Finally....the falls are in sight.
Bad news.... we have to trek back again!!!

Enjoying Life ( Part 1)

We were back in Sematan Palm Beach Resort again over the short break and this time around we stayed at the chalet which is really nice.I don't believe this. Where is everybody ? Out walking, cycling, kayaking and catching jellyfish.
















After all the energy is spent, food is a must. Steamboat for dinner & these Starbucks mooncakes are delicious.










After this funtime... all of them are going home to swot for their finals... except Asher of course!!!

The Roaring Forties

I noted that over the years, Philip's energy and passion for life increases. Now into his forties, he is truly enjoying life. After a hearty Thai meal and a delicious round of strawberry cream cake, the guys decided to join the kids in a test of strength , which of course the guys won hands down.
Then,the kids decided .."Hei , lets do limbo rock!!!". Philip & Alex were a real sport. Alex quickly went and put on some'hot music" N there was no stopping the guys. We laughed till our sides split. I only managed to take 2 very blurry photos coz my hands were shaking sooo much from laughing.When the guys were limbo rocking , I was tooo busy laughing... hence not a single shot of them was taken.


Thank you everyone for your birthday wishes and gifts.

The Glory of The Lord

The Glory of the Lord

The glory of the Lord fills this heart of mine.
Bringing great change inside of me.
The glory of the Lord fills this place right now,
Causing us to be set free.

Come Holy Spirit, You are welcome here,
Oh Holy Spirit, guide me in Your truth.
Come Holy Spirit, anoint me with Your p'wer.
Holy Spirit, let me live in glory realm.

I was reading the book of Ezekiel this morning. In chapter 10, the Bible talks about the glory of God. “The glory of the Lord rose from above the cherubim and moved to the threshold of the temple… the cloud filled the temple and the court was full of the radiance of the glory of God…” This is a wonderful description of what the glory of God is like. It’s so unfathomable, yet it is tangible! When we have a desire to seek God, we shall sense the glory. When we have a heart of worship, we shall be surrounded by His glory. There is a place in the Bible which talks about a man named Obed-Edom, who had God’s presence in his life. When God’s presence resided in his home, he prospered in every way, he was a blessed man. Let us continually seek God and His ways so that we will expereince His glorious presence in every situation of our lives. Be it rain or shine, or mountain top or valley like experiences, our God will be our greatest blessing and His glory, power and His love will take us thru every circumstances.... bringing Him all the glory due His name. The glory of God brings wondrous blessings to His children

Lord of The Rings

Sitting high up in the tree house with the sound of the waves crashing onto the shore and the buzzing of insects in the rainforest, I feel inspired to post a blog of the recent watching of the Lord of The Rings trilogy. Hours of Fellowship of the Ring, The 2 Towers and The Return of the King really make my days. I had read the book but had no opportunity to watch the movie until last week.

It is essentially about the triumph of good over evil. I love how well the movie portrayed the love , loyalty between friends like Frodo & Sam. The heroism of Gandalf, Arathorn, Legolas, Gimli is highly commendable. The story also speaks of sacrifices made for the ultimate good of all involved. It also shows how evil and greed for power can be such corruptive forces. The nature of the fallen man so well acted out by the actor portraying Smeagol reminds us of how we struggle between the good we should do and the evil we should avoid. The deceit & selfishness of Smeagol concealed by him helping Frodo was well discerned by Sam. We have to take a lesson from here. Not everyone who help us either in words or deeds are our friends or have our wellbeing at heart. We need to have discernment or we will fall for their trickery and hidden agendas.

We may say The Lord of the Rings is just a story but I feel story or not….. it depicts the very world we live in where there is a struggle between good and evil. The heroes in the movie set out to make a difference. They fought the good fight right to the end. They were selfless. They did not compromise and choose to succumb to the evil power like Saruman. They chose the better way. But not everyone who chose the high road were able to finish well; like Boromir . Even towards the end, Frodo struggled to destroy the Ring. In our Christian walk, it is not how well we start but how we end and walk into the arms of our Lord that counts.

As His children, we are called to make a difference. He does not call us to be light and salt of the world for nothing. He knows the evil at large but He also knows there are many of His children who are heroes out there. He has equipped us thru the power of the Holy Spirit to fight and run the race well. There is always a tendency to say “Who are we to make a difference?” But look at Merry and Pippin… even they could play a role to bring down the forces of Saruman with the help of the Ents. As we choose God’s ways, He will always provide people alongside us to encourage and support us.

So what does this mean for me? In a nutshell, to run the race for the reward set before me, to make a difference in the place where He has put me and to be obedient to His calling.

A Quick Weekend Getaway

Last weekend we took a leisurely drive to Permai Rainforest Resort. We were pleasantly surprised by the gorgeous white and pink blooms on the trees as we drove along. We were "ooh-ing and aah-ing" at how pretty they were. Even the sides of the roads were a carpet of pink and white blooms.
It was our first time staying at the tree house. Not bad at all..except you have to climb a long flight of stairs to reach your room.


Basically, we had a quiet restful time. After, the Penang & Terengganu trip, we needed another getaway to rest the body, mind and spirit.


This is a holiday to recuperate from the previous holiday!!!!