Birdy Park?

I just found out that Birdy is short for Abigail! Anyway, we were supposed to go Bird Park today. But because of bad weather, we stayed at Bugis Junction and then went to Suntec Carrefour. Gosh. I'm defintely a bargain hunter. And there isn't any in Carrefour. :P Dove Shampoo/Conditioner $12.20 at Carrefour, but $7.10 at Swanston. FOR THE EXACT SAME THING. I dun care if I"m auntie - with this discount, i can do more things with my $$!

I'm glad we had a family day today. It's been awhile - most outings have been functional - get stuff, fill stomach, fill petrol, etc. Yup, we're together, but it's just different. U know, when people say - they suddenly wake up one morning and find themselves waking up to a stranger? That phenomenon happens when people simply exist together, but they cease to know each other. Knowing each other requires effort - and disarming 'landmines'. This is not tosay that Ben & I dun spend time with each other - but when extra effort is involved - a special day set aside, a special hour, or even simply half hour, and then we just pay attention to each other - to his & her needs - the relationship is refreshed. :)

Watched Singapore Idol. Was glad that Chris is out - the competition finally begins - sorta. But when I saw Olinda cry over his departure, I realised that this is not only a competition. I was reminded of my pageant days. To the audience, it may be a competition, but to the contestants, it is a production. So when the SI contestants leave one by one, it's pretty hard to take, unless the fella in there is so bent on winning and has a horribly selfish attitude. Pui.

Praise the Lord! Now I have a renewed attitude towards school after the roller coaster ride. :) Now I'm excited to go back school. Regardless of what I have to study. :) Oh, I received a letter from some government department stating that they are really pleased to inform me that I've been selected to be in some position which I know nothing about. How come lucky draw also not so heng uh? :D Anyway, regardless of what position I'm placed in and what responsibilities I have to undertake, I pray that I will commit myself to it with the right attitude. I'm pretty sick of negative attitudes and being affected by people with negative vibes. I also pray that I will not produce such vibes either.

I need to pack the room. Again. :S Also need to do my QT. :D

Phhooooossshhhh!!!!!

Time just flew by! Did u feel that?

So many things have taken place, and as usual, I'm not sure I know where to start, as usual. I'll write anyway...

Uploading Abby's photos onto her album now. Have been wanting to do that for quite some time, but haven't had the mood to do it. So now even no mood die die have to upload, or else will pile up even more. :P Looking at these photos really make my heart melt... she's growing up so fast! :D I love those of hers with her daddy. It's my prayer that my children will have a dad who loves them wholeheartedly and shows that. God is good, He's blessed my children with a great dad! I've never experienced that, so through him, I rejoice that my child can have what I didn't. I'm not even sure if my dad has ever changed my diaper before. But it doesn't really bother me anymore. It doesn't change the fact that he's still my dad, and like my mum asked me the other day, if my dad gets really old next time and no one wants him anymore, would we, as his children, take him in? Of course! :D

Even though he's got another family, ironically, he feels rejected by us. When we went to sent Randy off to be enlisted on the 20th, we met my dad at Pasir Ris MRT station. Before he left, he asked us to msg him whenever, and jokingly commented that it seems like he's been deleted off our contact list! :P Anyway, I thank God that there isn't hostility between us, unlike many years ago when it got real bad. *Shudder* Well, about 3 weeks ago, he msged me and asked if I was having a celebration for my birthday. I was like, "Huh? So far away!" He still thinks I'm a li'l girl who gets excited about my birthday and starts drawing up a guest list THREE MONTHS before my birthday!

Ben was supposed to go reservist yesterday after our birthday celebration, but thank God he managed to be excused and go in only next week. By God's grace. So on the 26th, which was BEN's day, we went to Tung Lok's My Humble House.




We sat on this couch! It could fit both of us side by side!



We really enjoyed dinner, and really splurged on ourselves. Also, we received a complimentary birthday dessert. Well, they call it "Speak Softly Love - Strawberries with Chocolate Fondue and Ice Cream. They really have fanciful names for their food - Elixir of Life – Double-boiled Soup of the Day, The Balmy Breeze Beckons –Oven-baked Five-spiced Pork Loin, Chef's Blended Sauce amongst MANY other items. The decor is pretty amazing - very artistic. I must be honest though - I spent the first 3 minutes trying to figure out the orientation of the menu, and the next TEN minutes trying to read through all the items in the menu. It's really nice though. The food's fantastic. Well, abby as usual, she knows when mummy eats, coz she'll wanna join in too. So during then, I breastfed her for most part of the meal as we ate. :P

When we reached home, Ben got me to put the voucher pouch back in the glove compartment. When I opened it, I saw a bouquet in there! Also, a handmade card - gosh I love his creativity! Benji's back! ;D - and my birthday present!! I've been bugging him for one for most part of the year. Anyone wanna guess wat he got for me?



It was a fabulous evening, to be able to spend our birthday festival together. :) God is good. :) No more lonely birthdays. Many people blessed us with birthday wishes - Dad, Mum, Granny, Choo ee & family, Eve & Vic, Queenie, Charlotte & Andrew, Randy (he called from camp!!), Aunt Mich & family, Aunt Carol, Ps Jonathan, Xiaoyan, Huiying, Carole and Elise! :D

Started the next day without any plans coz Ben was supposed to go in camp. Wanted to go Amore Day Spa with the deal I got, but procrastinated so much that I didn't even make the appointment. So Eve took pity on me - seeing that Ben was going in camp - and offered to visit me. Later on, plans developed and I got the car and went to my mum's workplace to visit her. Thank God she was in Singapore. God revealed a simple truth to me some years ago. Though for birthdays, we celebrate the birthday person, in actual fact, we have to honour our mothers on this day for bearing us. The truth hit me more so after I've become a mother myself. So we skipped down to church for a quick visit and took some photos. :) (it's my first time out with Abby alone! And I feel great! :D)







after that, went over to Eve's place to pick her up. We went down to Parkway, she to Cold Storage while I headed for Isetan's Nursery Room, my hideaway as Abby milks me. :) After that, we went back to Eve's place to check on Vic while Ben headed for her place in a cab after his daily zillion-laps swim (he hit 100 on last sat!). We left for Swenson's and pigged out there. Mmm. Abby had to be fed again. There. :P

Really enjoyed myself... yakking and all. The conversation never seems to run dry, it's really enjoyable. Ben's so amazed at the way the ball keeps bouncing back and forth. Even when the 'ball' drops, a new serve is given and the game continues, so there's very li'l awkward moment. And the things we do... gosh, the tiko pek in the next car would have dropped his jaw... Hahahah... put two breastfeeding women together and u have strange conversations! Engorged breasts, poopy MMS, etc. Yup. Super auntie, but loving every moment of it. :D

Oh, by the way, I scalded myself today while preparing for abby's bath. Cooked my right hand. Sigh.

Abby's able to hold her neck pretty well now, with the occasional flops - whacks rather - and she's smiling so sweetly whenever she's fed and clean! When she's got a dirty diaper, she'd haf an uncomfortable look if it's been too long, or she just won't sleep. Oh, we realised she's sleeping long hours. Yup, blur parents. She sleeps from 11pm to 7am without waking up, and when she does, around 7 in the morning, she feeds for abt 15mins then she goes back to sleep till about 10. So effectively, she's sleeping from 11pm to 10am! Wow! :D

Okie, think I gotta go pump milk alredi... Still uploading photos though... :D

Ultimate Laziness!

I'll let my best pal, li'l Vic (the charming babe on the left!), do the narrating for the day while I snooze... hehe! It's Snoozy Sunday! :D



Luff,
Baby Abby!

Baby News Update

Congratulations to Melissa who has given birth to a healthy 3.6kg baby girl, Athena Ng Dianya, on 18th October 2004.



Also, BIG HUGE CONGRATS to Karen who's expecting BabyTwo! :D Keep the updates coming, girl! :D

Hullo world!

Bozo has finally got it!



Hullo world!

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

1. How many steps does the guard take during his walk across the tomb of the Unknowns and why?
21 steps. It alludes to the twenty-one gun salute, which is the highest honor given any military or foreign dignitary.

2. How long does he hesitate after his about face to begin his return walk and why?
21 seconds for the same reason as answer number 1.

3. Why are his gloves wet?
His gloves are moistened to prevent his losing his grip on the rifle.

4. Does he carry his rifle on the same shoulder all the time and if not, why not?
He carries the rifle on the shoulder away from the tomb. After his march across the path, he executes an about face and moves the rifle to the outside shoulder.

5. How often are the guards changed?
Guards are changed every thirty minutes, twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year.

6. What are the physical traits of the guard limited to?
For a person to apply for guard duty at the tomb, he must be between 5' 10" and 6' 2" tall and his waist size cannot exceed 30." Other requirements of the Guard: They must commit 2 years of life to guard the tomb, live in a barracks under the tomb, and cannot drink any alcohol on or off duty for the rest of their lives. They cannot swear in public for the rest of their lives and cannot disgrace the uniform {fighting} or the tomb in any way. After two years, the guard is given a wreath pin that is worn on their lapel signifying they served as guard of the tomb. There are only 400 presently worn. The guard must obey these rules for the rest of their lives or give up the wreath pin.

The shoes are specially made with very thick soles to keep the heat and cold from their feet. There are metal heel plates that extend to the top of the shoe in order to make the loud click as they come to a halt. There are no wrinkles, folds or lint on the uniform. Guards dress for duty in front of a full-length mirror.

The first six months of duty a guard cannot talk to anyone, nor watch TV. All off duty time is spent studying the 175 notable people laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery. A guard must memorize who they are and where they are interred. Among the notables are: President Taft, Joe E. Lewis {the boxer} and Medal of Honor winner Audie Murphy, {the most decorated soldier of WWII} of Hollywood fame.

Every guard spends five hours a day getting his uniforms ready for guard duty.

ETERNAL REST GRANT THEM O LORD, AND LET PERPETUAL LIGHT SHINE UPON THEM.

In 2003 as Hurricane Isabelle was approaching Washington, DC, our US Senate/House took 2 days off with anticipation of the storm. On the ABC evening news, it was reported that because of the dangers from the hurricane, the military members assigned the duty of guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier were given permission to suspend the assignment. They respectfully declined the offer, "No way, Sir!" Soaked to the skin, marching in the pelting rain of a tropical storm, they said that guarding the Tomb was not just an assignment, it was the highest honor that can be afforded to a serviceperson. The tomb has been patrolled continuously, 24/7, since 1930. We can be very proud of our young men and women in the service no matter where they serve.

Blur

The days are passing by in a blur. Not exactly very energetic, everywhere's still spinning, may go see doc sometime soon. Miss the girls - every single one of them - coz i haven't had much strength catching up with them. Room's still in a mess :P, need new clothes coz I dun haf suitable ones now. Have been repeating my wardrobe - today's outfit is the 3rd time i wore it this week. Need separates. My walk-in looks full but can't seem to find a thing to wear. Well, will clear out the remaining maternity stuff - some are still lingering around! :P Well, everytime i clear them it's always - I think i stil can wear this - even thought it's either too big (maternity) or too small (waaaaaaaaay before pregnancy days).

It was hilarious tonite... Bro took video of Abby imitating him sticking his tongue out and Ben caught a video clip of mum carrying abby and then realising there was a bug on her arm. I freaked out and the phone cam caught that too. In my face. :P Heh.

Oh. It's past twelve. Today is many people's birthday. Quite strange actually. Well, there's Vincent Phang's birthday, Vincent Ooi's birthday, and from what I heard, Del was supposed to be named Vincent also (is that true?? :D). It's officially Vincent Day. Heheh. :) Happy birthday Vincents and a Del!

In seven days' time, my ol' man will be going ICT. So sad. :( Dunno for how long, but praise God my MIL and I are on way better terms now, so I won't be scratching my eyes out. Heh.

Well, still tired. Physically. Will go read abit ,spend time with God, reflect and k.o. G'Nite.

P.S. My dog ate Abby's poop. Eeeeks.

Photos

Yay, the cell's Dinner & Dance (great dinner but no dance, only a night full of corny jokes) photos are up! :D They are here and will last only 2 weeks or so. :)

Spin

The room is spinning. Woke up to a spinning room. I'm fine, just that the room keeps spinning. It's spinning in a rather odd way too. Like that puzzle houses u go to when u haf no where else to go to - the kind where u walk across a mini bridge in the house while circular walls around the bridge spin. Yup. The room is spinning on its horizontal axis.

Spin also. Like how people see a perspective and believe it's the truth. I appreciate family gatherings, I really do. Just that whenever we approach a subject we all love bitching about, I have started to bite my tongue. I think whenever we gather, we just luuuurrrrvve bitching about this topic. And I have to stop. Honour your parents. Even though he's blah blah blah... *censored*, yup, I still have to toe the line when everyone is having a jolly good time bitching. Yup. I'm bitching too. God, help me love this man the way You want me to.

Will see if I'm feeling better. Yesterday, Abby's routine was no routine. She woke up at 3am *sigh* coz she slept from 7pm the evening before - see, 7am to 3pm is 8hrs - and then started her day at 3am, when we were still busy trying to get some work done. So, 3am, 6am (I fed her while i was asleep), 8am (ditto), 9am (scolded myself for falling asleep while feeding her, 12nn (this feed lasted till 1.30 coz I was tat sleepy), 3pm (we din realise this feed was due coz granny carried her downstairs after that long feed), 5.30pm, 8.30pm (she woke up coz it was too steaming hot in her infant seat and thank God, not much earlier or I would have had a chance at aunt michelle's dinner) and 11.15pm. Now looking back, it wasn't tat bad. But the only sleep she had was at the 12nn feed. So from 9am to about 7pm, she was awake. That's really long for a 2mth old. She napped from 7 to 8.30pm, then after feeding her, she slowly dozed off in Ben's arms. Then after he put her down, she was still dreamy until patient relatives went to coo at her. Then she was fully awake. Oh well. Thank God last nite she slept from about 12 to 7 this morning.

Realised because of my ill-discipline, she may be developing a need to nurse to sleep. Like last nite. I went to bathe and she fussed. Ben picked her up and noted that she was still hungry. But then I said that she may be wanting to be nursed to sleep instead. So she fussed abit, din feed her, and then she promptly fell asleep until this morning. Thank God.

Woke up ard 7 and fed and changed her. She fell back to sleep around 8.15am. It's a good day. Next feed due -between 10 and 11am.

Happy Birthday, Mummy!

We celebrated my mother-in-law's birthday today at Kippo, a Tung Luk a-la-carte buffet restaurant at Keppel Club. Family dinners are getting more fun. :) Everyone's laughing and simply enjoying themselves! It's really very heartwarming, everyone just gelling together. Praise God for this unity in the family. As Ben has been believing and saying, Abigail is indeed a blessing to both our families.

I confess I hadn't been giving my mil an easy time. During those tough moments, she has quietly borne my nonsense and stepped aside lest an arguement ensues. I've been constantly praying for God to teach me to love her abundantly, and He has. He has melted my heart and given us a new relationship. There's a newfound respect for her also, as God allows me to see her in a totallly new light.

Perhaps it's the first child thingey and just assimilating into the family, it was quite difficult to relinquish Abby. However, God allowed me to realise that my MIL is Abby's granny, and will forever be. I cannot be selfish and separate them - this i know but emotions are another thing. But thank God for self-control. Although all these emotions were at times rearing its ugly head, thank God that they were just bottled up. Yet the bottle looked pent up at times. Post pregnancy hormones do wreck havoc - so for those who are volatile even before pregnancy, do watch out for hormonal changes affeccting moods during and worse - post pregnancy. But thank God - all these will pass as well. For those who've been pregnant before, i think they'll agree. As much as we say we're prepared, it'll still affect us. But thank God it's over.

I'm enjoying her presence more and more each day, and I look forward to the time when she and abby interacts. Abby loves her granny, in fact both her grannies! :) Abundant smiles and lovely looks - the grannies get them all. And both grannies get SUPERLY excited when they see Abby respond to them!

Haven't got a present for my mother in law yet , thinking of making her something. She's got all the stuff she'll ever need, so i dun think she'll need another massager. Heh. Hope I won't procrastinate in making it - her birthday's on the 12 Oct. :)

Hunting with Sinners

I once went hunting in Colorado with 12 of the biggest sinners you've ever seen. Some of you may say, "Why didn't you just go hunting with 12 Christians?"

But I didn't want to go hunting with Christians. I didn't want to go on a Christian hunting trip. I wanted to go hunting with sinners.

I told one of the men who helped gather the hunters together, "I want to go on this hunting trip with the biggest sinners you've got."

"Son," he said, "we've got a crew that goes every year. They're going to talk about women. They're going to drink booze. I mean, it's going to be bad. They'll be telling dirty jokes from the minute you get there."

"That's the crew I want," I said.

"Well, we're sure not going to tell them you're a preacher," he told me.

"No," I said, "go ahead and tell them." I wanted them to know they were going hunting with a preacher.

Sure enough, everyone was told that they were going hunting with a preacher. They all basically said, "Well, I'll tell you one blankety-blank thing. It ain't going to stop our blankety-blank having fun. We don't care if that blankety-blank preacher is coming. We're going to blank whatever we want to blank!"

That's what they really thought. They absolutely weren't going to change their actions because of me.

So the time came for us to go hunting. All of us got together, and when it came time to introduce me, I was introduced as "Reverend Jesse." As soon as I was introduced to those men, they told me, "Now, Reverend, let us just tell you one blankety-blank thing. We're going to blankety-blank talk the way we want to. Do you understand? We're going to talk about women. We're going to talk about drinking, and all of that stuff. We're going to cuss when we want to, and we're going to drink booze. In fact, we have two quarts of Jack Daniel's right here, and we're going up the mountain. If you want to drink some, we won't tell anybody."

I listened to those guys, and when they were done saying what they had to say, I spoke up. I said, "Guys, you all can talk about anything you want and cuss as much as you want. I couldn't care less." They just looked at me. They were shocked to hear this. They hadn't expected a preacher to say that.

I went on, "If you want to flat cuss, then cuss from the minute you start on the trip to the minute it's over. It doesn't make any difference to me. You can talk about all of your sexual exploits.

Most of them are lies anyway, and you know it." They all laughed when I said that.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I said, "you're all lying anyway. But you can say whatever you want to say. It doesn't make any difference to me. As a matter of fact, don't let me disturb your lifestyle at all."

"But let me just say this. Since you can cuss when you want and talk about what you want, then if I want to praise God when I want, and if I want to shout praises when I want, then I guess that will be all right."

"That's blankety-blank all right with us," they agreed.

"Well, praise God," I said. "That's what we'll do."

Sure enough, we started hunting that first day, and son, I want to tell you something. They were cussing up a storm. And every time they did, I'd go, "Glory!

Whew! Thank You, Jesus!"

They'd go, "Blankety-blank, really! Why did you do that? And why did you blankety-blank shout it so loudly?"

"Whew!" I said. "Because Jesus is in my life!"

God was with me on that hunting trip. I would wake up in the morning and start shouting, "Jesus, thank You, Lord!" I was praising God, and those guys heard it.

I'd wake them all up by saying, "Whoa, Lord! Jesse's up! Hello, Jesus!"

By the third day into the hunt, none of those guys had shot anything, but I'd already bagged an elk and a deer. And when those guys saw that, they were surprised. They said, "Blankety-blank! Reverend got the biggest blankety-blank elk we ever saw in this place!"

About that time they were getting a little jealous. They wanted what I had, but they didn't know how to get it. They even asked me, "Hey, Rev, can you talk to the good Lord and help us out here on this hunt?"

"Well," I said, "He'd have been here the entire time, but every time He tries to come, you all just shut Him out by using that foul language all the time. Maybe if you changed your conversation a little bit, He might come down here and say something."

"Do you think so?" they asked.

"Well, I got my elk and deer, didn't I?" I said.

They smiled, and one of them opened up and said, "Help us, God."

You see, I knew I was going to get that elk and deer before the rest of them got anything. I also knew that once I got my kill, I was going to spend the rest of my time witnessing. I knew that by the Holy Ghost. That was why I wanted to go on that hunt.

And that's what I would do. After I shot the elk and deer, I walked all around those woods. I'm not the kind of man who likes to wait in a tree stand for the deer to come to me. I have too much energy to just sit there; I'm going to walk. So I walked up and down those mountains, even past the timberline - the point at which trees don't grow anymore. I went up as high as 11,000 feet chasing elk, and I always made sure I would walk past one of the other guy's stands.

When I walked past any of the others, I would usually hear one of them call me over. For example, when I walked past one guy, he said, "Hey, Rev. Hey, Rev, come here."

"Hey, what's up?" I said.

"Did you see anything?" He was talking about the hunt.

"I haven't seen anything yet," I said.

"Hey, listen. I like you, Reverend. Don't tell the other guys," he said, "but what about this Jesus?"

"Well, I like you too," I said.

"This is really real to you, isn't it?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said. "It's great just to know God."

"Well, you know," he said, "I was raised ..." And he named his denomination.

"Well, that's all right," I told him.

"I don't know if all this stuff is true."

All of them would say things like this sooner or later. I'd go by their stands, because I knew where everybody was hunting. So I'd walk by, and every one of them would call me over and say something like, "Hey, Rev, I want you to pray with me, but don't tell nobody."

I would say, "I'm not going to say a word to anyone else." And I would pray with each one. I was witnessing to them. The light that was in me was brighter than the darkness in them. They tried to spread their darkness around by cussing and telling dirty jokes, but the Light was stronger.

That hunting trip was years ago. Today, 11 of those 12 guys are deacons in a church. One of them is even a preacher! Those men are in church, serving the Lord.

What does that tell you? When you get around sin, don't let sin pull you in. You pull the person out of sin. Jesus called us to be lights in the world. There's no way we can keep ourselves away from the world. We're not supposed to! Jesus said that we are in the world but not of it. That means that we're not supposed to run from sinners.

Jesus didn't run from sinners. In fact, he had dinner with them. The Bible says that Jesus went over to a man's house and ate dinner with tax collectors and sinners. Why did He do that? Jesus told us why. He said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance" (Mark 2:17 NKJV).

Remember that you are the light of the world because you have Jesus inside you. Light exposes darkness, so let your light shine wherever you go.

(From em2lites mailing list.)

Blessings

Just counting my blessings. God's been real good. :)

Baby Abigail is truly awesome. She has her own character, and is a wonder to watch. Her actions, smiles, mannerisms (especially when she does the "talk to my hand!") really makes hearts melt and tiredness ooze away. She slept 7.5hrs last nite and is slowly stretching. Wow. And I didn't realise, till Blanca called just now, that babies take about 12 weeks to transit to a regular routine. And I thought they were supposed to be routined from 1st week onwards! :p

Anyway, as long as Abby's contented, I'm happy. She hardly fusses, dussen suck on anything, sleeps well, eats well and poops like an M16. Yup. She hit my MIL near the belly button with her power poop. :S All diaper changers should be certified that way. Heh.

Relationship with MIL is improving and she's surprisingly extremely easy-going. :) Besides her temperamental nature, she's a blessing to have around. Relationships with sisters-in-law are good too... heard of some which are stormy, and I praise God it's been a smooth journey so far.

Ben n i have been communicating way lots more, and i'm really touched that he set aside an amount of time daily for me. Practising couch time, before the tasks of life overwhelm us. Great conversations, edification and encouragement. :) There's alot of mutual respect as each seek to make the other comfortable in all ways.

Mum's totally mad about Abigail. From that pregnancy and baby-fearing woman to this proud granny, I'm really proud of her. Did i mention that, 2 fridays ago, when we brought abby to the church conference, abby let out a peep and i had to breastfeed her. That peep commanded my mum, who was sitting IN FRONT OF the church, to run behind and persuade me to end the feeding so that she could kidnap abby! Later, she came back again after the initial failed babynapping attempt and took off with abby to show people in front while my senior pastor was sharing the vision. Heh. :) So proud of her. :) She's a gorgeous hot mama! :D

I thank God for Eve, who has been my sanity and shoulder, my edifier and encourager, a true sister-in-Christ. :) Am so really proud of her for being so strong and holding on to Jesus. Also am very glad that God has caused us to value and treasure this friendship very much and allowing the iron-sharpening process to take place. :) I know we'll go a long way, coz we're very very different, yet so similar! :D Heheheh... I really pray that God'll continue to rain down blessings on her life and vic's, and that she'll continue this path and rise up as a woman of God who will storm the gates of hell! :D Yes and Amen! :)

Really happi with cell too... it's multiplied, and i can sense that things are getting serious. We're a whacky bunch. :) Also, our dear friend will be joining us for cell! :) He feels at home in church and that's a great blessing! :) Both his kids are also happy there, so they've finally started to settle down. :)

Young working adults ministry in the works, and I still have no idea what's going to happen. But I know that great things are going to take place. :) Lives will be changed, and I realised that my mission of helping others draw close to Christ may very well be my mission in this ministry. :) It's not a thought out mission statement, but something which God has placed within me. It's so different. It's real. It's amazing.

I'm blessed. This is real living. Life on earth is short, but life in eternity is forever. The kingdom perspective will radically change the way things are perceived right now. And it will change the way life is lived. The time on earth is not even 0.000000000000000000000001% of eternity, so what will i do to ensure that i will enjoy eternity? As it has been said, some people may not even enjoy when they get to heaven when the prospects of heaven are praising and worshiping the true Almighty God all day long. The lie is too great. True worship is heavenly. It's not the music, the vocalist or even the guitarist. It's about Jesus. It's all about Him. Not about how we feel during worship, whether we like the style or the melody.

Praise the Lord. :)

Encouraged

Ben & I had dinner with a friend yesterday... pretty cordial, with half the time looking for a Lebanese restaurant for Ben's business associate who was entertaining a potential business partner from Dubai. I suggested McDonald's since they are found all over the world. :p Seems these business people met up with Mustafa from Mustafa S.C. the day before and had ice-cream together.

Halfway during dinner, Abby started crying and was not easily pacified. We left the Thai restaurant quickly and headed for church. As we left, I realised the shrine of a Thai idol was erected behind Abby. Fed her on the way to church. Prayed over her for cleansing coz she was still abnormally fussy. Daddy also prayed for her midway thru her feed and she calmed down significantly. I spent the whole of Pentecost Friday - Emmanuel's monthly prayer session - in the breastfeeding room. It was unbelievable. Changed her diapers twice, changed her clothes twice, fed her two rounds, spent an hour and a half in the small room. Unbelievable. Serene came in to look for me (she knew where to look for me...) and after a while I asked her, "finished alredi uh?" "Yah, people are leaving alredi!" Fwah. Unbelievable. I had missed the entire session.

Went out and saw our friend mingling with the guys from cell - ben, roland, andrew, jack etc. We saw Ps Mark heading out of the church. The thing is, when Ps Mark is heading out of the church, he will stop and greet most of the people on his way. So it took him quite a while before we could interrupt his journey out of the sanctuary.

Shared with our friend over dinner about how God used ps mark to intervene and save our marriage even before the wedding. I praise God he met Ps mark. They hit off really really well! :) Guessing his age and all, ps mark suggested 20plus. Then roland revealed both his boys going to youth the next day!! Ps mark's eyes were soo soo big!! Hahah... it was hilarious. Ps mark's two yrs older than him, and worked in a similar industry before. Also, before ps mark left, he asked, "You with these guys issit? (Referring to roland and gang.) Good. These are good guys. Stick with them." Heh.

God really has given us favour. We asked him how he found service and all. He explained that he's been bringing his boys around churches, almost 4 or 5!, but haven't been able to settle down because they couldn't compromise - one may like, but the other dussen or vice versa. Until they came to Emmanuel. Both the boys like!!! WoW!!! One likes the worship, while the other enjoys the teaching! WoWoWoWoW... God is good!!! :D Let's keep praying that all will emerge victorious!! And especially when i realised that the boys would most likely be under roland (i.e. good hands), it's really encouraging! :D

After that and the fellowship, he left for home while the rest of cell went for supper at Simpang Bedok. On the way back, we chatted with Serene coz she lived nearby so we gave her a lift. She shared that she was really encouraged by how we manage parenthood. I am similarly encouraged by her words. She's a family friend of the Ngs, and seeing how the family is so child-centred towards the newborn scares her. Yet, as she sees how relaxed we are with Abby, how relaxed Abby is with us and with the rest of the church... (yup, people we know take turns to carry her and she's totally cool about it)... and how easy she is to manage (think about it, we could have supper and fellowship with the cell at Simpang Bedok till 11plus) she's encouraged to be a parent! :D Only by prayer can this happen. Before the wedding. Before the conception. Before the delivery. And during and after too! :D Auntie Aye Lan prayed for Faithe's husband when she was pregnant with Faithe. So it's never too early to start. :)

God's putting another dear female friend in my life. This time it is another powerful friendship. Synergistic and sharing a common vision for God. We're going to start a ministry!! God is good. Ben and I have been stranded for quite a while in terms of ministry and a similar trap for many is to go where the road's been travelled. Ministries that have been in place, such as Youth, Children, Ushering etc. Yet within me I couldn't see myself in any of these ministries. Something just wasn't right. Serene felt that way too. Until last week when we spoke and shared individually the vision God had placed in our hearts! :) I pray for wisdom and efficiency so that my time here on earth is not in vain. Perhaps that's why i've been feeling so stifled. Because I haven't been productive. Not that I dun cherish my time with Abby. No no. I'll never trade it for anything in the world. She is God's gift to me and I'm really honoured to be her mother. She is my responsibility and my joy and nothing can ever replace her. Yet my life should not, and does not pivot around her. It does not pivot around work also, although work expands to fill up whatever time available. I believe God will teach me to manage my time. Even the president of the US has time to exercise. What more a lil' girl like me? :D

I pray that God continues the good work that He has started in all of us, and that He'll bring it to completion. Amen! :D

Pruning

I just had a very interesting encounter. My aunt bought a mozzie plant for abby so that we can open the balcony doors and keep mosquitoes away. The thing is, she bought it about 2 weeks ago, and Ben just managed to collect from her place yesterday. At first I understood that the plant had dried up partially so it was pretty pathetic looking. Then as we were leaving the house to run some errands yesterday, ben mentioned that the other section (??) of the plant is downstairs, and it's a bushy lot! It had overgrown, so he left it downstairs. So I realised that there were actually two parts of the plant!!

So the pathetic lot was upstairs. Not that bad, but just had the right amount of dried up leaves and fresh ones. I took my scissors and started snipping away. At first i removed the clearly gone case leaves... dried up and ready to be preserved, then those that seemed hopeless. Then the Holy Spirit started explaining to me, "The Heavenly Father prunes your life as well, so that nutrients, such as time and resources, are not wasted on activities which produce no fruit. In fact, if left there, they will zap up all your energy and time. In time, u will nto bear fruit, but be so zapped." Indeed, I must allow my Father to prune me. Later I also recalled that even seemingly good branches, the Father prunes. It is because by pruning the good ones, better ones will grow. So in His wisdom, He will prune. So that we will bear fruit. Much fruit. More fruit.

Let's hope God will give me wisdom to prune the mozzie plant so that it will survive. I need green thumbs. If it survives, it'll be the first plant that survives under my care. Heh. :P

Words of wisdom for parenting...

Taken from my mailing group list...

And as we are always reminded, (our children) are watching, watching, watching us. So if we 'lose our cool' they will learn it's okay to lose theirs. If we say "have self control" and yet we possess none or very little, then they will too.

Hope this helps. You are in the discipline phase of parenting. Hang in there. Can't remember where I read it but in one book I read they say "what you have at 4 you will have at 14, if you don't work on things".