Writing

Many years ago , a dear friend, Claire, while praying for me prophesied and said she saw me spending time doing a lot of writing....pages and pages and it's about my life. When I heard it , I was thinking, “OK” but I didn't give it much thought. At that time , I was really not into writing stuff anyway. I enjoy reading but writing “Nah.. it's a totally different ball game.” Too much effort and too much thinking.

So of course , nothing came of it for a long time. My 1st foray into writing started in 2008 when we came back from Singapore and that was my first effort in writing a blog. My understanding of a blog came from Alie. I had heard the word before but being so unsavvy in my internet skills and language, I had no idea what a blog is , until Alie explained. My first reaction was “ Why would anyone want to read a blog for ?” Anyway, eventually after some time, I myself wrote our first blog. I wrote the blog mainly for my 2 sisters coz they are so faraway and so that we can keep tabs.... but eventually more people got into our blog and I end up writing not only for them but to express myself as well. After writing the blog for sometime , I realised that the words prophesied over me is coming to pass. I thought “Hmmm.... interesting.” And I actually thot ...thats it!!!!

But God has other plans. Many moons ago, hubby told me that I should consider writing short articles regularly for our friends to encourage them in their spiritual journey. Being the not so obedient wife, I didn't obey him. I just conveniently forgot about it. To me writing regularly is too much of a challenge. I just felt it was impossible.....until God spoke. I was at work one morning and He gently reminded me of what hubby had said . He told me in very clear terms to write. That very moment I said “yes”. He wanted me to write about my everyday life and how it can be an encouragement to people. I always feel I live a very ordinary life …. nothing much to write about but God thinks otherwise , I guess. Basically it's about Him not so much about me, really.

My first article was sent out via email on 13 June and since then by God's grace I have been able to write more than 20 articles. I try to write once a week. I am most overwhelmed with the goodness and faithfulness of God. As I write , I feel God's love for His people and how much He wants to encourage them. I feel encouraged and blessed by Him.

There were certain articles which I wrote which I felt would not be so impacting, yet it would be the one that drew a response from people. I remember Steven shared how happy he was to hear that I had a tough week as he was having one too. He felt he wasn't alone. He was so glad I had a tough week and found companionship in that thought!!!!God works in mysterious ways.

I don't know how long this writing is expected to go on. But one thing I do know is that God requires obedience from me....that is to write until He says “STOP”.

Holidays Holidays

I love the word holiday. It's such a wonderful word. Our family just returned from a week of hols ...journeying from KL to Ipoh then to Penang. Taking the long way to Penang meant that the kids had a chance to travel by train and it was also the 1st time Jordan used the ferry.
Last year, we did not go on any holidays due to the house moving so it was great to be able to do so this year. I found it most refreshing to be able to just get away and not have to work or do any house work even if it was for only 1 week.

Our days were filled with eating and more eating
shopping (spending hubby's $$$)
going ooh n aah over the Christmas decos in KL (Penang's Christmas decos are no where near KL's) meeting up with friends (we are very touched by the kindness & generosity of our friends)
doing fun things ( going to Penang Hill on the new train, riding the Sedgway )

discovering sights that were totally unexpected !!!!
Speaking of unexpected , hubby didn't tell his dad that we were coming home for a visit so you can well imagine his surprise when we turned up at the doorstep. He was sooo pleased !!!!

All in all...we had a splendid holiday.

ODE TO JOY

The St Joseph Band had their concert recently and it was a huge success judging by the applause they received. As a mom of a band boy, I had the privilege to see many gruelling hours of practice and to see how the band coordinator, Mr Jonathan Fox worked with the boys whenever he flew in from Singapore. I am touched by his encouragement as he drilled the boys in the fine points of music. He wasn’t just looking for quality in the music but he was instilling in them the love of music.

I was also very moved by Prof. Dr Thomas Hecht. Though a world class pianist, he had no qualms about putting his reputation on the line to perform with the boys in classical music. Many world class musicians wouldn’t do that . I mean…these are just St Joe boys…. Literally nobodies in the classical world of music. As Sarawakians to see a world class pianist performed was pure enjoyment. He was to say the least…. BRILLIANT.

Here he is seen performing Mussorgsky’s “Pictures In An Exhibition” with the pit percussion boys.

We managed to record some bits of the concert but like before the recording device from our camera ain’t that great.

One of the touching thing that night was to see the St. Teresa’s band girls giving the boys a standing ovation. The girls have known all along that in Kuching, St Joe band is not only state champion but they have won at national levels as well. So to see Heather as the conductress rising to give them a standing ovation, followed by the rest of the band girls , I feel touched coz they are humble enough to give credit where it is due and to do it openly. Surely God will bless such a generous spirit in the girls.


We thoroughly enjoyed he performance that night and we just want to echo what Heather said to Jordan that night while having supper @McD... “Jordan, I am proud of you.!!!!”.

In You I Trust

In You I Trust
When I am afraid, I will trust in You
In You whose Name I praise.
Lord You are my light and my salvation,
I will not be afraid.

In You I trust,
You are my shield in the face of my enemy.
In You I hope
You are my help in times of trouble.
O Lord I worship You,
O Lord I worship You.

I wrote this song today to remind myself that I need to trust God to help me in all circumstances. The secret of finding joy in the midst of storm is simply this: trusting God. Enjoy the song and be encouraged !

Milo Tale

Last Sunday, when hubby was preparing breakfast for the kids , he took out a new refill pack of Milo and started to empty the contents into the jar. And guess what ? A crumpled tissue coated with Milo fell out from the bottom of the packaging. Eouwww!!!! How utterly disgusting!!! Of course we complained to Nestle bla bla bla and the incident got me thinking.

As Christians, we can all look well on the outside , nice packaging and we might all even do the right things like what the MILO is supposed to do but if at the bottom of our hearts we do all these out of self glorification or self preservation or other selfish motives then our works done without the love of Christ is painfully sad. It's like that lumpy tissue that fell out and it leaves a not so nice after taste.

The Bible says that when we speak with tongues of men and of angels but have not love, we are a clanging cymbal, and tho we may have gifts of prophecy & understanding along with faith that moves mountain but no love , we are nothing and tho we may bestow all our goods to feed the poor, or have my body burned but have no love, it profits me nothing. Very strong words indeed.

At the core of our Christian message and lifestyle is the word LOVE. My family have felt the incredible love of God in our lives .In addition to this, we experience love from others. We know who are the ones who really love us and sacrifice for us and do things for us just becoz they love us warts and all. This group of people can speak into our lives and bring forth changes in us that help us on our journey of faith. These are the people whom we hold dear to our lives and our kids too; feel love in their presence.

We are eternally grateful to God for the people who have helped us in times of crisis and lavished their acts of kindness in our lives. They were not people who just talk the talk but they walk the talk. These are genuine people who went beyond themselves. We are also extremely blessed to have people who laugh with us and share our joy in our good times. They too giggle and rejoice with us over the goodness of God in our lives.

On a penultimate note, I just want to say that when our actions are genuine our recipients will feel it. If our actions no matter how good and right it looks are done without love but out of self then it's like that Milo with tissue inside .

As His Children, may we be genuine in our christian walk and bring Him glory through our actions. May we not seek the praises of men or the adulation of our peers. May we not steal His glory.

Try Speak English PLEEAASE !!!!

Well at least trylah….even if it is broken Manglish or whatever. I find that frequently when I shop in KL , the sales persons will inevitably break out in a barrage of Cantonese which I don’t understand. Normally I would then reply in very very very simple English or ask in very Malaysian English my request and yet the sales person would persist in replying in Cantonese. And I realized that they can be rude when replying. I haven’t a clue what they are saying but it sounds rude to my ears so I would just walk away when I see that they make no effort in trying to carry on some form of decent communication. I might as well take my business elsewhere.

You might think I was shopping at some kaki lima but to tell you the truth I was at Mid Valley and I even encountered that at Suria KLCC. Mind you, the sales persons are all young ones so they must have been to school and studied English!!!Truly our standard of English in Malaysia has dropped to below freezing point.

And to nail in my point, I saw this sign at the Gardens Shopping Mall and I didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. It was displayed at a boutique and it read : Vacancy: Part – time female.

Tell me please… are they targeting transvestites for the job ? or what ????

Also, I feel that if you speak to someone in a particular language and they have problems comprehending, it is polite to find an alternative. Either one can change to the language which the person knows or find a common language, or inform the person as best as you can thru body or facial language that you will find assistance; instead of pushing your own language down somebody’s throat and expect that person to understand immediately. This is so important in the service industry. When I was shopping in Thailand, the sales girls spoke to me in halting English and it was ok for me coz we are trying to communicate simple information and not correcting grammar or syntax or whatever. I was very encouraged by the fact that they tried and I believe that as they try they will in the long run improve themselves. I for one don’t have brilliant English and I don’t expect everyone to go about with the Queen’s English but at least we must all endeavour to try.

I hope our education ministry can come up with something more positive in helping Malaysians improve their level of English. Something must be done before it deteriorates further.

Truly A Night To Remember

With all the family members in Kuching , Jac decided that we should have hubby's birthday dinner way in advance so that we can all celebrate together. Of course we didn't tell him but kept it as a surprise. All of us conniving together …. Carol pretending that she wants to take photo at Raintree, BCCK and had him drive all of us there.

The surprised birthday boy .

So to fulfill Carol's statement about taking photos, we took plenty of photos that nite.

It was a splendid meal. Just look @ these mouth watering photos.

















Family shots.



To Alex & Jac , thanks for the extravagant birthday gift. To the rest of the family, thanks for making it a night to remember and to Raintree... thanks for the complimentary cake.

Dust Gets Into my Eyes

Just came back from a heartwarming mission trip in Bakong, 2 hours from Miri. We touched down at Miri airport on Saturday afternoon, and straight away headed to the heartland of Borneo, through miles and miles of bumpy untarred roads, and found ourselves in a rural church, next to a 40 doors- traditional long house, and into the middle of constant man-made dust storms.
As the church is situated next to a massive road construction site, and we are in the midst of a terrible 24 hour haze, the debris of dirt and flying dust from passing vehicles were enough to put off the faint hearted, but thank God, all of us were even more determined to brace the cloud of dust.

We had opportunities of visiting 2 long houses, shared our testimonies and prayed for the people there, and distributed new Bibles and other stuff to the people in the long-houses. As much as we wanted to bless the Iban community there, we were shown the warmest hospitality and had a lot of fun too, especially for the children.

Faith & Jordan.... had a real good time.
Praise and worship time with the villagers.
These children enjoyed the activity led by Jackie while the adults were listening to our sharings.
Praying for those who needs a healing touch from God during the 2nd night meeting.
We witnessed the baptism for new believers in a pond nearby the long house.
It is my prayer that God's presence continue to dwell in this place and bring about a spiritual revival.Halleluyah !

In Anticipation

The joy of anticipating something is always exciting. Whether it's a big event or a small one, it can create a spark of happiness in our soul. The whole of last week, the family ,young and old alike has been excited about Carol's return. The kids are doubly excited over the contents of her luggage...especially Jordan who has been conspiring with her for months over a football jersey. And like today... I 'm thinking how nice it is with the holidays coming up next week and the whole family will be together again. Carol is already back tho a bit jet lagged and Alie will be touching down on Monday. It's really nice for everyone to be back together and boy... what fun.

I know hubby is excited about the upcoming mission trip and it will be Jordan's first foray into the jungles of Borneo. The whole team going is excited about sharing the love of Christ with the our native brothers and sisters .

All of us regardless of age look forward to events in our lives. Tho' some events we dread like exams or doctor's appointments or certain meetings which drag on for hours on end yet on the other end of the spectrum are events which we so look forward to like a trip , or birthdays or parties. For certain events we have to make preparations for instance for our next year's trip to NZ we are looking into winter clothes which are so necessary if we are not going to freeze to the bone.

In our spiritual journey... I wonder , “Do we anticipate the second coming of Christ ?” It is something which no one knows when but it is surely gonna happen. Looking at the world events … we Christians are not to be surprised as the Bible has already mentioned what is to happen in the last days. The only thing is we don't know exactly when the event will occur. My next question is, “ Do we make preparations ?”

Often times, we make a whole lot of preparations for events in our lives and the second coming of Christ never cross our minds.... so we don't give it any thought. As His children , we need to spare some thoughts on this matter. We need to consider our lives and evaluate on whether what we do and spend time on has any eternal value ? I am not saying that if you are facebooking or twittering away .. you are doomed or condemned but my thoughts are more on... apportioning our time and learning to be selective on how we spend our waking hours. We need to know what God's plan for our lives is so that we can groove with it.

The last day events do not sound pleasant. Yet is is inevitable. Are we prepared for them ? Are we God's army prepared and ready for battle or are we drowsy sleepy complacent soldiers who are likely to be the type who is caught unaware ?

Let's not just drift thru life … day in day out without purpose. Catch God's vision for you and run with it.

Maranatha!!!

Guess Who ?

I was at my parents’ place today and mom left a stack of photos out on the sofa. I think she must have been sorting out some stuff and I happily thumbed through them and had a really good laugh at some of them. I am posting them to remind the 2 aunties that their nieces and nephews are growing up fast and they have to make a point to come back more often regardless of cost & distance!!!!

Looking at these photos only served to remind that these tiny beings are not so tiny anymore. They will eventually be taller than us and the likelihood of them outshining us is certainly there.

Mr Cupcake & Miss Pumpkin

Mr Cool

There used to be 4 …

now here’s one more.

Miss Gong Xi Fa Cai

MUSINGS

All of us , whether we like it or not have swiftly hurtled into the second half of 2011. Mark my words …. Christmas will not just creep up on you... it will be right in your face before you know it. I was looking thru my diary a couple of days ago and I realised that I should start thinking about what to buy for Christmas gifts. My Christmas list is long and that's just my list and over the years it has come to include Heather and Jordan's friends as well. Thank God hubby does not have a long list. Man are really not into gift buying. They just leave it to their obedient wives to do it!!!!

Normally I try not to leave it to the last minute to shop. I don't buy all the gifts too near Christmas coz when the credit card bills come... I think hubby might pass out. I would buy them a few months before so that I don't fully feel the impact of the amount spent. My reasoning is “ If I don't feel it, he won't either”. Ha ha.

At work I am starting to look into 2012 and getting the teachers to plan for next year. How come the days go by so quickly ? When I was much younger, Christmas , Chinese New Year and my birthday took forever to arrive. The phrase “time and tide wait for no man” is an apt description of our lives nowadays.

The Word of God tells us to number our days. Some might find that verse negative but I think it is such a positive proactive thing to do. When we number our days so to speak we are reminded of our mortality and how we need to live each day to the fullest in Christ. This does not mean that we need to be engaged in all sorts of activities at every single moment. There are days when I completely indulge in being lazy. No housework, no thinking about work and that's very nice too .

Living our lives in the fast lane can be very tiring and with the days going by so swiftly , we need to take a step back and look at our lives and see whether that is the direction we want to see it heading. If the answer is “yes” then by all means carry on. If the answer is “no” then we need to re-look into the situation and bring it before God ...which is what I am doing right now!!!

Uncluttering Your Life

I don't like clutter. That's one thing about me. If other people want to clutter I am ok with that but no clutter in my house. So I don't have many cabinets or huge wardrobes in my house. I keep everything to a minimal. If the wardrobe or cabinets are too full... then it's time to throw or give away some of the stuff.

Hubby cannot understand this side of me. A few times in a year , I would rummage through our wardrobes looking for clothes to giveaway. He would hold on to them for dear life declaring that he still wants to wear them while I will be defending my position stating that he hasn't worn them for the last 2 years or so. In the end , he would relent coz I tell him that I am giving to those who need it more than him.

For me life is pretty simple. If we don't wear the clothes anymore... why keep them? Give it away to someone who can use it. Same thing with toys and books. We have CDs that we no longer listen to or some of them doesn't even appeal to us... so why line them on the shelves ??
So the best recourse is to give them away. There are many people out there , who would benefit from this very simple exercise of uncluttering.

Right now... I am looking through our clothes again. My hands are itching to give them away. Hubby will be going to Baram area for a mission trip at the end of August.. So I am sending him off with stuff for the village folks.

So if anyone wishes to unclutter , you can drop your clothes off with hubby. Your LV bags, Jimmy Choos , Pradas are greatly welcomed. We also accept Guchi, Blurberry, If San Lorong and the likes.

The MERLION fun

Just recently, I went to S’pore with my school band and the trip was a blast. This trip was part of the school band exchange program. The trip was 5 days and I visited many places which broadened my mind. These are just some pictures from the trip.

We stayed at the Costa Sands Resorts and my roommates and I had a fun time together. we slept late but had to wake up early.
The impressive auditorium @ Yong Siew Toh Conservatory.

Trying out the piccolo trumpet @ the Brass Explosion in Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts.Music exchange program with Bukit View Sec School.
Swimming with Esjoy @ the theme park linked to Costa Sands Resort.
Universal Studio here we come!!!
Me & Daisy Duck.
Frankenstein got me & my friends!!!!
I went on 3 roller coaster rides & this one is the BEST!!!
Don't we look cute together ???
I watched a 4D movie in this majestic castle. I wanna watch it AGAIN!!!
Fishball picking competition at the museum.
Shopping in S'pore.
We also visited the Science Centre, 2 museums and saw the Marina Bay plus a host of other places. It was a glorious trip & I wish i could go again.

STS Symphonic Band Concert

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Last Saturday, we all trooped excitedly to watch Heather's school band concert. The school band has been working hard for the concert as well as the upcoming trip to Singapore for the music exchange programme.

Overall the girls did well. We managed to take some photos during the concert.

The band kicked off with the “Band Overture” and throughout the night you see the band girls having different attire for the different kinds of pieces played.

The Taylor Swift songs saw them all in pink and whites.




The flowery hippy dresses for the Beatles Song “ Here, Now & Everywhere”.

The black number for the "Full Throttle Funk".

Apart from the band performance, we had the Holloback girls performance. Faith enjoyed the very upbeat hip hop style.
Then we were highly entertained by the Desperados an offshoot of the band. These girls won the St Joseph School Idol Competition. They were cool.

Few days before the concert, Heather was asked to fill a 3 min gap between presentations. She chose “Croatian Rhapsody” coz she said it will not require a lot of practice time.
This video clip sees Miss Tan just out of the shower and having a final go at home before the real thing.

Grandpa was worried that Asher might doze off half way thru but he was wide awake till the very end. Faith was swinging and feet tapping or was is stomping ?? to the upbeat numbers. Hubby had a difficult time holding the camera with all that movement next to him.

As the curtains fall , and the instruments kept temporarily we just want to say we are proud of you HAT....eventho u make a lot of noise with the trumpet when u practice but you sure was good in all the presentations.