Strings of My Heart ~芳心之弦~

Thank You Lord!

2011-10-14T18:02:00.002+08:00

It started to rain on a lazy Saturday afternoon, just before Thaddea takes her nap. I picked up the guitar and sang, to my three beautiful girls, this song about the rain that God had sent to water the earth, in which I am thankful for. And most of all, I thank God for them. They have been a blessing! Truly~

Dedicating this song to...

Tiffany - my firstborn,

Theophila - my sweet pea,

and Thaddea - my baby_cat_cat_pink_princess
(she has been calling herself by that)

Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him. (Psalm 127:3)

可爱图片

2011-08-18T23:18:00.001+08:00

“我是胖妞我怕谁？”

第一眼看见这图片时就立刻想起我那可爱的三岁小女儿!

两条小马尾

一双会说话的大眼睛

圆鼓鼓的小肚皮

十足的 T H A D D E A !

I am so in love with you Thaddea!

I love your smiles and your cheekiness.

I love how you would always remind me of your fondness for me;

sometimes out of the blue and always right before you sleep.

You have been saying "I like you, mommy." and I love it!

Just like how much you LIKE pink; you LIKE me too...

and I think it's so (facebook)COOL!!

:)

Deaa-Deaa, you occupied a special place in my heart, just like your two big sisters too.

Thank God for all of you, my three lovely Ts!

Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him. (Psalm 127:3)

儿女是耶和华所赐的产业；所怀的胎是他所给的赏赐。(詩篇 127:3)

Thank you Lord for the trials~

2011-05-12T12:32:00.000+08:00

Thank you Lord for the trials that come my way,
In that way I can grow each day as I let You lead.
And thank You, Lord, for the patience those trials bring,
In that process of growing I can learn to care.

But it goes against the way I am to put my human nature down,
And let the Spirit take control of all I do.
'Cause when those trials come, my human nature shouts the things to do;
And God's soft prompting can be easily ignored.

I thank You Lord with each trial I feel inside,
That You're there to help lead and guide me away from wrong.
For You promised O Lord that with every testing, that Your way of escaping is easier to bear.

But it goes against the way I am to put my human nature down,
And let the Spirit take control of all I do.
For when those trials come, my human nature shouts the thing to do;
And God's soft prompting can be easily ignored.

Thank You Lord for the victory that growing brings,
In surrender of everything life is so worthwhile.
And I thank You Lord that when everything's put in place,
Out in front I can see Your face, and it's there You belong.

But it goes against the way I am to put my human nature down,
And let the Spirit take control of all I do.
For when those trials come, my human nature shouts the thing to do;
And God's soft prompting can be easily ignored.

So give me strength to do Thy holy will, my Lord~ My Lord.

"Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed." (James 1:12-14)

"So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." (1 Corinthians 10:12-14)

Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for seeing me through every single trial in my life. There were times when I fail You, but you picked me up each time and let me soar on wings like an eagle. Thank You Lord!

Forever thankful~ :)

给爸爸的简讯

2011-04-15T13:04:00.008+08:00

黄伟芳：
亲爱的爸爸，祝您六十七岁生日快乐。福如东海，寿比南山。谢谢您的疼爱与养育之恩。谢谢您辛苦赚钱把我们养大。谢谢您用心良苦教我做功课。谢谢爸爸！我好爱爸爸您！！：）愿您信靠那创造南山东海的上帝，接受他独生子-耶稣基督在十架上为我们的罪受死的救恩，靠着所赐圣灵的感动，认罪悔改，灵魂得救，生命活得更丰盛，拥有永生的盼望！一定哦？！：）生日快乐，永远健康快乐！！！

黄伟芬：
爸爸，当你看到这世界所发生的灾难，这些都是圣经所记载的，由不得你不信。现在能救你的灵魂的只有耶稣。很简单，只要相信他是神的儿子，他来救赎你。你的灵魂就保证安全进入永生里，要不然我们就无法在永恒里再见到你了。爸爸永恒的在地狱或永恒的在天堂，只在于你的一个决定。你说今生长还是永生长呢？妈妈小花思烈伟芳和我，都在等着你做这个决定。时间真的不多了。你可以先开始陪妈妈去教会走走听听。你不会后悔的。在今年你的生日里我们渴慕你相信耶稣。：-）

分享一个小笑话；在爸爸载我出院那天，刚好用爸爸的手提电话和妈妈对话，过后我为了要确定爸爸有收到我们的简讯，就顺手察看了他手机的简讯箱，结！果！发！现！爸爸把我和姐的名给弄错了！哈哈哈哈。。。也就是说，爸爸收到我传的简讯时，会以为是姐传送的，而姐传给爸爸的简讯即会是我的名出现。。。也无所谓呗~ ；)

啊！怪不得每每打电话给老爸时，总是要报上名几次。：））

"你们作儿女的，要在主里听从父母，这是理所当然的。" - 以弗所書 6:1

"他们说：当信主耶稣，你和你一家都必得救。" - 使徒行傳 16:31

Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy

2011-04-12T23:49:00.013+08:00

Exactly one week ago I went through this procedure to surgically remove my diseased gallbladder.

The traditional surgical method to remove the gallbladder is through a skin incision of 10cm long. What I had is an alternative surgical method(which has currently become the standard method), which is carried out through four short incisions (0.5 - 1.0 cm) to remove the gallbladder. This technique is called Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy.

It all began when I experienced sharp pain in the upper-right part of the stomach. The pain sometimes would radiate to my back between shoulder blades. Funny but it usually occur at night, after heavy meal or oily food in the daytime... the pain completely immobilized me! I had to lie on the bed and prayed for daylight. Chills, belching, nauseaed, I had to take shallow/light breath as the pain worsen with deep breathing. Searching the internet I discovered these were the symptoms of a gallbladder attack.

I had the attacks for almost like twice a week for a month when I finally went to see the doctor who scheduled me for an Abdominal Ultrasound. I believed God knew the urgency of my case, I went to see the doctor on the 3rd of March and the U/S appt was made on the 5th, if not for someone who cancelled her appt I would have to wait for a month.

Result of the U/S findings: There are three large stones seen measuring 2cm to 1.9cm with internal sludge and mild GB wall thickening measuring 3mm. CBD measures 5.2mm.

The stones are 2cm big??? I double-checked and checked again to see if it's 2mm instead of 2cm... nope, it's in "cm" - centimeter alright. Wow, that's BIG! And THREE of them would make 6cm of space taken up in my gallbladder, no wonder it's mildly inflamed with wall thicken to 3mm.

Verdict: Doctor adviced me to have it removed - my gallbladder along with the "kids". Pre-Admission test on 29 March. Operation on 5 April. Boohoo!

Small stones, like say 5mm, can be left alone cause they are usually silent stones. Mine are "LOUD" stones as they are giving me extreme pain, ouch!

What causes gallstones?? After some researching, well, it's something to do with the unbalanced amount of bile and other fluid inside the gallbladder which causes some of the chemicals to become solid and form stones. Before it hardens, it is called a sludge. Sounds yuck!

What is the gallbladder(henceforth as "GB")? It is a small pear shaped organ under the liver that lies beneath the upper right side of your abdomen. GB stores bile which is produced by the liver. It releases bile into the instestine where it helps to digest fat at meal times. (Right, Caleb? ^_^) Without a GB, bile flows straight into the intestine. A person can live without a GB, no need any long term medication either. Interestingly, some animals do not have a gallbladder, like camels and giraffes.

Anyway, the pain stopped occuring as I had been a good-girl; avoiding oily food and heavy meals. So I thought I wanna keep my GB, somehow those large stones had became silent stones, hah! I "pongtang" the Pre-Adminssion Test - twice(rescheduled 31 March), thinking I will try out the natural remedy of gallstones flush instead.

After reading up the so-called gallstones flush, it does make sense, but I dare not try it, with the size of my stones, if it get stuck in the CBD(common bile duct, 5.2mm), I will end up having to undergo Endoscopic Retrograde surgery before LC, it's a complete double whammy which I DO NOT want!

I did some reading on Cholecystectomy and have concern on the Long-Term Prognosis: "As many as twenty percent of patients develop chronic diarrhea." Another concern is the risk of developing colon cancer due to the dripping of bile into the intestines. Urgh! I. Read. Too. Much!

Decided to discuss my situation(since I have no pain like for a month) with my doctor again, asking Philip to come along, hoping to find out more whether is there other ways I can keep my GB.

Well, Prof Wong said that the risk of developing colon cancer is not proven, as for chronic diarrhea, loose stools only occur at the beginning stage and the body will adjust to it. I requested another U/S and got it done on the same day, stones still there(bleh :P), GB is a little more inflammed. Doctor said it's too risky to wait till the next attack, if the GB gets too inflammed and if infection occur, emergency operation would have to be done.

Looking back, those attacks could have been fatal. I read that if the GB is infected, the inflammation can cause it to burst. *gasp*

Finally, Philip and I decided to go ahead with the op.

Time for some pictures!

My 1st Abdominal Ultrasound scan @ Sengkang polyclinics/SGH

1st of the 3 rainbows I saw in that same week~

Double rainbows just outside my windows!
Rainbow reminds me of God's faithfulness. :)

Pre-Admission Test. 4 April
My name tag stickers for the many forms to come prio my surgery!

Waiting to take my blood...
3 tubes at one puncture, phew!

My 12 Lead ECG!

The nurse who put the electrodes self-adhesive pad on me was so quick and talked so fast that when she finally got the cables connected and said, "OK! Try to relax!" I nearly burst out laughing! She had just succeeded in making me nervous! Good thing my result turns out normal. Hey, I thought of Faith Yap! Your mommy posted a pic of you being wired up like that too. ;)

Next, Chest X-Ray. In an interesting 3 sleeves gown.

After seeing the anaesthetist at the Pre-operative Evaluation Clinic, she wanted me to get a dental clearance due to some loose teeth, or rather, loose crowns(boo)! This is to minimise my risk of tooth aspiration during general anaesthesia. Oh yeah... SO, off I went to Orchard Point to see my dentist as my op is the very next day. Thank God it went smoothly, after checking the crowns and teeth, my dentist wrote a letter to go ahead with the op. Settled everything around noon and went to have my lunch and home for a good nap before the big OP next morning.

Some advertistment shooting near my dental clinic.
Saw a Takeshi Kaneshiro-look alike, really!

Same Day Admissions Centre. 5 April.Admitted myself @ 9am. Surgery @ 11am.

Receiving sms from Philip, Sock Kiang, Judith, Tryphena, Hannah and Desmond helps when I went to the hospital alone. Thanks, guys! I went under GA with the Word of God you guys quoted to encourage me! :)

Frankly, I was VERY scare of the surgery! Guess I read too much and think too much of it... even though I may be under general anaesthetic, imaging how they are going to snip, clip and cut just scares me out!

The words and verses that you guys sent are all addressing to my fear, I am so thankful to God for you guys! What great encouragement and comfort! I felt strong and brave! PRAISE GOD!

1st thing I asked the nurse when I woke up from the GA was, "Is it a keyhole surgery?". "Yes, it's keyhole." "YAY! Hallelujah!!!" I was so relieved~

Then she asked me what is my pain intensity from 0 to 10. I said, "7".
Got 3 doses of Morphine until I finally said "5". The nurse pat my shoulder a few times to remind me to keep breathing, I asked for the oxygen mask at one time... too weak to breath I think.

Not long later, I was wheeled out of the recovery room and to a normal ward. First time I felt like a big baby having nurses to help me get dressed. Gave a call to Philip and dozed off in short naps... the nurse kept disturbing me; measuring blood pressure lah, taking orders for meals lah, etc.

Etoricoxib 120mg tab for pain/inflammation.
OMEprazole 20mg cap to prevent gastric.

"Curious George" @ the Hospital. ;)

Ward 57, Rm 9, Bed 3.
Stayed one night.

Introducing my 3 large gallstones!!!

Look like dices huh?
Make a loud clunk sound if you shake the bottle.
Bile is dark green in color.

Was discharged the next day and
my mom cooked fish/pork MeeSua with lettuce for me. :)

Prof. Wong showed me the images taken by the digital laparoscope, see HERE for the look-a-like, WHOA, my GB was so swollen compared with that in the link!

It could have been an open surgery, given that my gallbladder was badly inflamed, swollen to twice its normal size, plus 3 large stones to boot! Thank God for Elder Hong Choon who recommended Prof Wong Wai Keong, Head and Senior Consultant of the Department of General Surgery in SGH.

An open abdominal surgery requires a 3 to 7 day stay in the hospital, with a 3 to 7 inch incision and scar on the abdomen. But with Prof Wong's skillful hands, and by the mercies of God, I am very happy to have a successful Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy. I am happy that the 5% risk of converting to open surgery due to internal bleeding or acute inflammation DID NOT happened. I am recovering very well now with only 3 incisions(0.5cm) on my tummy and a 2cm incision at my navel(1cm if GB not swollen). I almost always forget that I'm less of a gallbladder now, teehee.

Well, I need to change my diet habits. Less oil. Less big meals. More frequent small meals. I will have to read up on Post Cholecystectomy diet.

Thank you, Prof Wong WK.

Thank you, my fellow brethren who prayed for me.

Thank you, dear Philip for showing me loving post-surgery care.

Above all, thank You, my God and my Lord Jesus Christ for seeing me through it all! :)

‎"The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles." - Psalm 34:17

Jesus Christ is my Righteousness and God has heard my cry and delivered me out of all my troubles! :)

Virginia L Roberts Donna, a listenner of Bible Broadcasting Network (BBN) wrote in FB: Lydia, if that gallbladder needs to come out, don't fight it. The complications from a gallbladder attack/pancreatitis can be fatal. God's blessings for healing, but sometimes he uses doctors for that healing.

Amen! Thank God for doctors~

‎"The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace." - Numbers 6:24-26

"When I am afraid, I put my trust in you." - Psalm 56:3

"For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you." - Isaiah 41:13

Made for Heaven

2011-01-29T03:22:00.006+08:00

I was attracted to this picture of a baby sleeping so peacefully in the bosom of someone whose face was not shown, it was an article in a magazine for christian women and wives. I remember that was the time I was trying to conceive for almost 2 years. Every month when menses came, it was like a miscarriage to me. This piece of sharing reminds me of my God, who is Sovereign, is very much involved in my trying-to-conceive.

Click onto the picture for a better view... I have taken time to type the sharing out here. May God bless your heart with Serene's sharing as much as it blesses mine.

* * By SERENE ALLISON - Primm Springs, Tennessee * *

I rushed inside leaving the groceries in the car. With fumbling hands I opened the pregnancy test and prayed a desperate prayer. The three minutes I had to wait until I could read the result stretched out in teasing torment.

I could almost hear the thump of my heart as I watched the pink line move slowly across the little windows. I could hardly believe it! Was I seeing things? I held the test up to the light. "Yes, I think there is a faint line emerging". My spirit soured. My whole being welled up and I cried tears of joy and relief.

I double-checked the test before leaving the bathroom and a now bright pink line greeted me. "Thank you, lord." I cried. I ran outside and fell to my knees, my arms raised to my Creator for this precious new life growing inside of me. My husband was as eager as I was for a new little baby and I could hardly wait until he got home from work to surprise him with the news. When I met him at the door with something hiding behind my back, he saw the joy in my eyes and gave me a knowing glance. He was over the moon and danced through the kitchen.

I was three months pregnant when I saw evidence of my deepest fear. I dropped straight to the floor, my mind flooding with prayers and stabbing fear. My husband knelt down beside me and we prayed to God to save our baby's life.

I stayed flat on my back for a week, praying and hoping that the bleeding would stop. It kept coming,and eventually so did our baby. "Oh my precious baby!" It felt like my worst nightmare and I wished I could wake up. I screamed until my voice was gone and cried even deeper within my soul.

I mourned for my baby, along with my husband. But deep down, even deeper than the pain and the loss, was a sturdy anchor of peace and rest. It took me by surprise! "How could I know peace right now?" In my darkest moment, when I held the form of my little baby in my hand, my God was there.

I felt Him more deeply than I ever had before. The world around me was cold and unfair, but beneath the despair, a warm current of peace flooded into my veins. It was the still small voice of my Father in heaven, comforting and soothing my taunted mind. I felt Him speak these words into my soul...

"I am your God. I am not cheating you out of your baby and your dream. I have plans for this precious child beyond this world that you can see. I blessed you to conceive this child so that it might exist and have a soul, but I want to take this one to be with me. Your precious baby was made for heaven and will not have to go through the trials of this world. Your baby is living its destiny, worshiping its Creator in heaven. It is in my arms.

Rest. Rest in Me. Rest in my divine plan. I have the best in mind. Your baby is not really dead, for Heaven is the true reality. Rejoice. your precious baby is alive. You will come and see for yourself one day."

As a little girl I remember being told that the Lord won't give you what you can't handle. I always thought that losing a baby would almost send me to the crazy bin, but God's word is true. He was there for me. He didn't sit back idle and watch from a distance. I know if God had a plan for my baby here on earth, a threatening miscarriage could not stop God from his plan.

My soul was at rest, but my empty aching womb still stung with the impact of the loss. No longer did a little life live and grow inside of me. Tears continue to flow at times but I know my baby is where God has chosen it to be.

The lies the devil loves to weave say, "Your baby is lost forever." or "Where is God? My baby is dead and there is no good reason why!" "It just happened because awful things can happen to anybody and life just chose me." "Maybe I did something wrong." "It must have been the water I was drinking."

The truth is, God cares more than anybody in the world, and you are his precious daughter. If you have suffered a similar loss, may you be comforted. God is Divine and in complete control. He knows what is best for you and your baby. Rest in this truth. The truth will set you free. It did for me.

I am writing this article only one month since the loss of my baby and I still cry. Even when the tears don't flow, my heart aches. I recently received a letter from a great friend who told me of the news of her pregnancy. I went on to read of her due date and all the pain came back with such an impact that it felt as though my heart stopped beating. The thought that my once anticipated due date would never arrive whipped my healing wounds.

I was unpacking some boxes at the time and the first thing I picked up after reading the letter was a picture I hadn't seen for a year. It was a picture of a baby being held by a figure that was shaded by a shadow. I could never tell who it was meant to be. Now, looking at it again, I was flooded with the realization that it was Jesus and He was holding my baby. I felt God reminding me again, "I have your baby in my arms." I couldn't think of a better place.

The sorrow left and I gazed at the picture again. The artist had drawn a golden light streaming onto the baby's face. My soul was quieted as God reassured me that my baby was made for Heaven.

* * * * * * *

I really like the picture and kept it for the longest time. Thank God for scanner which I can now digitally keep it and best, to share it with you. :)

2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

Daddy's Camera

2010-12-28T01:42:00.001+08:00

(Posted on 25 April 2007 - Latest Purchase)

I think it took about a week or two of searching online and reading reviews, that Daddy finally decided to get Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H2. ($700+)

Our good old Nikon CoolPix 5700 has served us for 3 years now and when it started to require a 2nd repair recently, we thought of letting it retire gracefully.

This new toy has a 12x optical zoom for zooming in on distant objects, coupled with the Sony "Super SteadyShot" optical image stabilization, so less concern of unwanted blurring from zooming with an unsteady pair of hands. It's quiet, which means I can snap sleeping pictures of my light-sleeper. Its faster than average shutter response is good for taking my two very active gals. In macro mode, it is able to focus clearly with a short distance of just 1cm from the subject. Movie recording mode (with sound), can do zooming while recording! While its manual exposure control is mainly for Daddy.

Here are some pics taken by Daddy...

"Did You Know"

2010-10-04T18:05:00.008+08:00

This is my choice for October desktop Calendar. The white flower somehow reminds me of the recent departure of Mrs. Lee Kuan Yew.

Farewell, Madam Kwa - MM Lee's "tower of strength".

Dear MM Lee,

May you know that God loves you and gave you His Only Son, Jesus Christ.

May you know that Jesus died on a cross for your sin, rose again and is coming back(Maranatha!).

May you know that Jesus is the Only Way to God.

Please stay strong...

We love you~

Dear God, may Your Strength be with MM Lee and heal him of lung infection. In this difficult moment of his life, losing his beloved wife and fighting against old age, may You O God, touch and preserve him unto Salvation. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen!

Did you know, He's loving you today...

Psalm 34:18
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Hachikō - Dogged Devotion

2010-09-21T00:58:00.017+08:00

Haven't gone for movies for a long time, it used to be my favorite thing to do during courtship days. I'm missing the Large popcorn, chips dipped in warm melted cheese and the muscular arm next to me, hehe! :D

Tryphena passed us a DVD on Sunday, so after the kids have gone to bed(they usually turned in early on Sunday night), we took time off from "FBing" and watch this movie, Hachi: A Dog's Tale, starring Richard Gere.

Based on a true story from Japan, this is such a moving film about a dog's loyalty. And what impressive loyalty this dog exuberant!

Parker, a college professor, found a loss Japanese Akita puppy at the train station, brought it home and finally kept it as a pet after failing to find it's owner. He called the puppy Hachi, which is a translation of the symbol in the puppy's collar.

Years pass and their love for each other grew. Every morning, Parker walks Hachi to the station where he leaves on the train. Hachi leaves after Parker's safe departure, but comes back in the afternoon to see his master's train arrive and walk with him home again. How sweet! And this continues for some time, until one fateful day, Parker passed out from cardiac arrest during his lecture and never come home.

Hachi waited. He waited for 9 years! Everyday he kept coming back to the same spot at the train station, waiting for his master to return... this is so heart breaking! Waiting for someone who will never return... this is so sad. I have never cried so hard before, this story made me cried so hard! :(

Remember I said this is a true story? I did a search on internet the next day and was surprise to see there's even a write-out from Wikipedia: Hachikō.

Hachikō!

I was amazed at the true story.. Hachikō eventually became a national symbol of loyalty. And WOW, his stuffed and mounted remains are kept at the National Science Museum of Japan in Ueno, Tokyo!

The legendary faithful~

And on Youtube, I found this interesting News report by CBS Evening News. I like how the video ended with this "A dog who was forever lonely for one more pat on the head, one last moment of his master's love." So, so touching~~

"Hachiko: A Dog's Story of Loyalty in Tokyo"A permanent fixture at the train station

Alrighty! As if its not enough, during my devotion on the same day, ODB article was
"Dogged Devotion, September 20, 2010 — by Julie Ackerman Link" How timely!

Maggie(the pet dog) doesn’t care much for television. She would rather look out a window than stare at a small screen. Reading doesn’t thrill her either. She has been known to “chew” on books, but only in the strictly literal sense. Nevertheless, when Jay and I read or watch TV, Maggie participates. Even though she doesn’t enjoy what we’re doing, she enjoys being with us. Maggie is our very devoted dog. More than anything (well, just about anything) Maggie wants to be with us.

The word dogged means “determined and persistent.” These words describe Maggie. They should also describe us. When we are devoted to God, we want to be with Him even when He’s doing something that makes no sense to us. We may ask, “Why, Lord?” when He seems angry (Ps. 88:14) or when He seems to be napping (44:23), or when the wicked prosper (Jer. 12:1). But when we remain devoted to God despite our questions, we find fullness of joy in His presence (Ps. 16:11).

Jesus knew that we would have questions. To prepare us for them, He urged us to abide in His love (John 15:9-10). Even when God’s ways are inexplicable, His love is reliable. So we remain doggedly devoted to Him.

Never should our love be just a word,
A passing phase, a brief emotion;
But love that honors Christ our Lord
Responds to Him with deep devotion. —Hess

We find joy when we learn to abide in Jesus’ love.

In Your presence is fullness of joy. —Psalm 16:11

忠心耿耿

玫琪不太在意电视，宁可看着窗外，也不盯着小方格荧幕看。它对阅读也不特别感兴趣，虽然它爱「啃」书是众所周知的，当然，这个啃还真的是字面上意思。不过，当我和先生杰一起看书或看电视的时候，玫琪总会加入我们，即便它并不喜欢我们做的事，却喜欢和我们待在一起。玫琪是我们忠心的狗儿，倍受宠爱的狗儿！它总是喜欢和我们在一起。

「忠心耿耿」这个词汇代表恒久的决心，这些字眼描写玫琪的特质，也能用在我们自己身上。当我们对上帝忠心时，即使有的时候，上帝做的事我们一点也不明白，我们也想要和祂同在。在祂似乎生气（诗篇88篇14节）；或似乎正打盹（诗篇44篇23节）；或当恶人亨通时（耶利米书12章1节），我们可能会问：「主啊！为什么这样呢！」但是，虽然我们心中充满困扰，却仍能对上帝忠心耿耿时，我们就会因祂的同在而满心喜乐（诗篇16篇11节）。

耶稣基督知道我们心中会产生疑问，为了解除我们的困惑，祂激励我们常在祂的爱里（约翰福音15章9-10节）。虽然我们不明白上帝的道路，但祂的爱却可靠无比，因此让我们永远对祂忠心。JAL

爱不仅是一个单字，
一句话儿一首好诗；
爱是荣耀我主基督，
此情不移此志不矢。Hess

在祂的爱中安静等候，就得满足的喜乐！

「在你面前有满足的喜乐。」（诗篇16篇11节）

I read too the Chinese translation as I didn't want to miss out what God wants to show me. Personally, I'm not a dog lover, I'm more of a cat woman, haha! After today, I truly understand what dog lovers always claim, "A dog is faithful to his master." I want to be a dog to my God! I want to be faithful!

Faithful till death~
至死忠心~

I want to find times to be with my Maker, for there is Joy in His present. There is nothing to lose, but everything to gain. His Love, Joy and Peace are for those who seek Him! :)

God's love is reliable. So we remain doggedly devoted to Him~

但祂的爱却可靠无比，因此让我们永远对祂忠心~

Psalm 16:11
You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

詩篇 16:11
你必将生命的道路指示我。在你面前有满足的喜乐；在你右手中有永远的福乐。

You've Got Message...

2010-09-14T00:27:00.023+08:00

"Good morning, my love :x Still remember this exciting day 13 years ago? The day when you officially belong to me :D The day when you looked the most beautiful and became the center of attraction. The day we counted ang-pow until our hands went wobbly. Thank God that He gave me my heart's desire and grace for the past 13 years. May He give us more grace and may our love grow from strength to strength. Finally, if given the chance to choose all over, I will still say "I do!" Reading MM Lee's interview, reminded us to be grateful for each other. May we continue to love Jesus and each other until He comes again. Maranatha!"

Received this SMS when I was in the office... Thank you, Philip, for your lovely short message~ Yes, may we continue to love our Lord, the Saviour of our souls and each other until He comes again for us. Maran-atha!!

I find it significant that on the eve of our 13th WA, Sunday Times published an interview of our Minister Mentor Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, by Seth Mydans of The New York Times. You can read it in the New York Times’ Saturday Profile. In the interview, MM Lee spoke of his wife, Kwa Geok Choo, 89...

“I’m reaching 87, trying to keep fit, presenting a vigorous figure, and it’s an effort, and is it worth the effort?” he said. “I laugh at myself trying to keep a bold front. It’s become my habit. I just carry on.”

His most difficult moments come at the end of each day, he said, as he sits by the bedside of his wife, Kwa Geok Choo, 89, who has been unable to move or speak for more than two years. She had been by his side, a confidante and counselor, since they were law students in London.

“She understands when I talk to her, which I do every night,” he said. “She keeps awake for me; I tell her about my day’s work, read her favorite poems.” He opened a big spreadsheet to show his reading list, books by Jane Austen, Rudyard Kipling and Lewis Carroll as well as the sonnets of Shakespeare.

Lately, he said, he had been looking at Christian marriage vows and was drawn to the words: “To love, to hold and to cherish, in sickness and in health, for better or for worse till death do us part.”

“I told her, ‘I would try and keep you company for as long as I can.’ That’s life. She understood.” But he also said: “I’m not sure who’s going first, whether she or me.”

I fight back my tears reading this... the stress of his wife’s illness is constant and harder on him than stresses he faced for years in the political arena, my heart went out to our dear MM Lee. It is really hard when someone so dear to you is fighting to live on. I wonder if I ever could take it if Philip were to leave this world before I do... I used to tell him that he is not allow to go before me!

MM Lee was drawn to the words of the Christian marriage vows lately, I have plans to review the marriage vows on our WA as a yearly practice, on top of the celebration. :)

I, Lydia,

take you Philip,

to be my wedded husband,

to have and to hold from this day forward,

for better for worse,

for richer for poorer,

in sickness and in health,

to love and to cherish,

'til death do us part:

according to God's holy ordinance,

and thereto I pledge you my love and faithfulness.

Lydia ♥ Philip

"Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." - Matthew 19:6

Dear Philip, I think of us growing old gracefully together and enjoy watching our children graduate from school; start working; get married and bringing forth godly offspring. I think of us being rapture together, haha! A cord of three strands is not quickly broken, God has united us together in a covenant relationship with Him as one, how wonderful this is! With God in our marriage, we would be fine. Let nothing separates us, not health or sickness, wealth or poverty, better or worst, and hey, not even death if Rapture comes first~ Maranatha! Maran-atha!!

---------------------------------------------------------------

"Maranatha" is an Aramaic phrase which means "O Lord, come!" It is a prayer for the early return of Jesus Christ. If divided differently as in "Maran-atha", it becomes a declaration: "Our Lord has come!"

As these phrases may have been used as a greeting between Early Christians, Pastor taught us to greet each other too using them. So, when one greets "Maranatha"(O Lord, come!), the other replies with "Maran-atha"(Our Lord has come!). I SO love this greeting! To me, it is a great reminder of the Imminent Return of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Saviour! :)

Interestingly, this Aramaic phrase is being mentioned by MM Lee and more on the fleeting of life... :

“I try to busy myself,” he said, “but from time to time in idle moments, my mind goes back to the happy days we were up and about together.” Agnostic and pragmatic in his approach to life, he spoke with something like envy of people who find strength and solace in religion. “How do I comfort myself?” he asked. “Well, I say, ‘Life is just like that.’ ”

“What is next, I do not know,” he said. “Nobody has ever come back.”

But in these final years, he said, his life has been darkened by the illness of his wife and companion of 61 years, bedridden and mute after a series of strokes.

At night, hearing the sounds of his wife’s discomfort in the next room, he said, he calms himself with 20 minutes of meditation, reciting a mantra he was taught by a Christian friend: “Ma-Ra-Na-Tha.”

The phrase, which is Aramaic, comes at the end of St. Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians, and can be translated in several ways. Mr. Lee said that he was told it means “Come to me, O Lord Jesus,” and that although he is not a believer, he finds the sounds soothing.

Oh, how I pray that it is more than just meditation, but a sincere cry out to Jesus Christ, God's Only Son; Who was and is and is to come!

Jesus came 2000 years ago. He took the punishment of our sins upon Himself and paid the price by dying on the cross. He didn't remain dead, He came back to life! History recorded that Jesus rose again on the 3rd day and showed Himself to His disciples for 40 days. Then He was ascended into Heaven, seated now at the right hand of God. Angels appeared proclaiming that Jesus is coming back again in the same way He's been ascended.

Jesus Christ did come back. He conquer death. You can too, Mr MM Lee. And my sincere prayer to God is that you may find Eternal Life in Christ Jesus. :)

Romans 10:9
That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

FREE Desktop Wallpapers!

2010-09-01T17:35:00.014+08:00

Been receiving newsletters from CrossDaily.com since June'09 when Philip sent me an Ecard, only till April'10 that I bordered to check out their Christian Graphics... found this Calendar Download and LOVE it!

My present desktop
My first's
My Favourite!

It used to be pictures of my baby, now it's scenery with Calendar adorning my desktop, coupled with Scriptures~ I'm blessed with new fresh thoughts by it every month... No worries, my sweet baby, I still get to see you in my mobile's wallpaper ;)

Given 4 types of calendar to chose from every month, these were my choices:

As I only started in April, I check back and thought I would have chosen the following for March, Feb and Jan:

Now go ahead and click away: Calendar Download, and set your desktop to some beautiful, inspiring Calendar~

Beholding Jesus Christ

2010-08-29T23:01:00.000+08:00

From:Christian Art For You - Inspirational Posters

Thought of recording my script for Sunday Worship now that I have started to type them down instead of the ancient way of writing down in my note book. I find that it's faster and it's convenient, easier to make amendment with CTL C & V rather than using asterisks and hexes, with arrows flying all over my note!

SO, here it is! This is my notes on worship leading conducted on 18 July 2010. The theme was "Beholding Jesus Christ~" (I thought it would be nice to insert video clips of the songs I led, only if I can find them... yup!)

Greetings:
(1 peter 1 : 1-2) To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout (Hougang, Sengkang, Punggol, Pasir Ris, Ang Mo Kio, Thomson, Yishun, Serangoon, Sambawang), who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

Without A Vision the People Perish

Proverbs 29: 18a “Where there is no vision, the people perish”

When you do not have a vision, you perish, lost souls perish and churches perish.
As we gear ourselves up to pray, let’s have a vision for this church, for this nation. Let’s share a dream for this place and for this land.

Chorus 82 – We Have a Vision (Prayer)

Last week I’ve finished reading the book of Jeremiah, altogether 52 chapters. I’ve forgotten how long, or rather, how many years I’ve taken to read from Genesis up to Jeremiah. Maybe 7 years because I started before Tiffany was born. Really, no bluff, but then of course, it’s not speed reading, I read also the Chinese version after the English one, chapter by chapter.

I remember once I sat behind Jaren Teo before the service starts, and he was reading the Bible. So I asked him, "How many times you have read through the Bible?" I think he said, “A few times.”

The Bible is all about JESUS. Jesus is pictured or prophesied about in each of the 66 books, as well as in countless types or in the lives of different characters in the Bible.

My theme today is “Beholding Jesus Christ.”

As I present to you the Jesus in all the 66 books of the Bible, I invite you to behold him, and then to love and worship him with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Amen.

In Genesis, Jesus is the Ram at Abrahams alter.

In Exodus, He’s the Passover Lamb.

In Leviticus, He’s the high Priest.

In Numbers, He’s the Cloud by day

And Pillar of Fire by night.

In Deuteronomy, He’s the City of our refuge.

-------(Paused for Interpretation)-------

In Joshua, He’s the Scarlet Thread out Rahabs window.

In Judges, He is our Judge.

In Ruth, He is our Kinsman Redeemer.

In 1st and 2nd Samuel, He’s our Trusted Prophet.

And in Kings and Chronicles, He’s our Reigning King.

-------(Paused for Interpretation)-------

In Ezra, He is our Faithful Scribe.

In Nehemiah, He’s the Rebuilder of everything that is broken.

And in Esther, He is the Mordecai sitting Faithful at the gate.

-------(Paused for Interpretation)-------

In Job, He’s our Redeemer that ever liveth.

In Psalms, He is my Shepherd, and I shall not want.

In Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, He’s our Wisdom.

And in the Song of Solomon, He’s the Beautiful Bridegroom.

-------(Paused for Interpretation)-------

In Isaiah, He’s the Suffering Servant.

In Jeremiah and Lamentations, It is Jesus that is the Weeping Prophet.

In Ezekiel, He’s the Wonderful Four-Faced Man.

And in Daniel He is the Fourth Man in the midst of a fiery furnace.

-------(Paused for Interpretation)-------

In Hosea, He is my Love that is forever faithful.

In Joel, He baptizes us with the Holy spirit.

In Amos, He’s our Burden Bearer.

In Obadiah Our Savior.

And In Jonah, He is the Great Foreign Missionary that takes the Word of God into all of the world.

-------(Paused for Interpretation)-------

And you see in Micah,

He is the Messenger with beautiful feet.

In Nahum, He is the Avenger.

In Habakkuk, He is the Watchman that is ever praying for revival.

-------(Paused for Interpretation)-------

In Zephaniah, He is the Lord mighty to save.

In Haggai He is the Restorer for our lost heritage.

In Zechariah, He is our fountain.

And in Malachi, He is the Son of Righteousness with healing in His wings.

-------(Paused for Interpretation)-------

Let’s arise as we go into the New Testament:

In Matthew, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God.

In mark, He is the Miracle Worker.

In Luke, He’s the Son of man.

And in John, He is the Door by which everyone of us must enter.

-------(Paused for Interpretation)-------

In Acts, He is the Shining Light that appears to Saul on the road to Damascus.

In Romans, He is our Justifier.

In 1st Corinthians our Resurrection.

In 2nd Corinthians our Sin Bearer

-------(Paused for Interpretation)-------

In Galatians, He redeems us from the law.

In Ephesians, He is our Unsearchable Riches.

In Philippians, He supplies our every need.

And in Colossians, He’s the Fullness of the God Head Bodily.

-------(Paused for Interpretation)-------

In 1st and 2nd Thessalonians, He is our Soon Coming King.

In 1st and 2nd Timothy, He is the Mediator between God and man.

In Titus, He is our Blessed Hope.

In Philemon, He is a Friend that sticks closer than a brother.

And in Hebrews, He’s the Blood of the Everlasting covenant.

-------(Paused for Interpretation)-------

In James, it is the Lord that heals the sick.

In 1st and 2nd Peter, He is the Chief Shepherd.

In 1st, 2nd and 3rd John, it is Jesus who has the tenderness of love.

In Jude, He is the Lord coming with 10,000 saints.

-------(Paused for Interpretation)-------

And in Revelation, Lift up your eyes, Church, for your redemption draweth nigh.

He is King of kings and Lord of lords!!!!!!!

Chorus 178 – No Other Name.

No other name but the name of Jesus
No other name but the name of the Lord
No other name but the name of Jesus
He is worthy of Honour & worthy of Glory
And worthy of Power and of Praise

His Name is exalted high above the earth
His Name is high above the Heavens
His Name is exalted high above the earth
Give Glory & Honour & Praise unto His Name

The Book of Psalm is found in the very center of the Bible. Beholding Jesus in Psalms, I see that He is my Shepherd, and I shall not want.

Brothers and sisters, are you in want? Are you in some form of needs? Healing? Provision? Wisdom? Love? Or just a touch from God?

Whatever your need maybe, come to Jesus, He is your Shepherd. Come to Jesus now and He will make you lie down in green, green pastures.

Come to Jesus; come to the Shepherd of your soul. Then, restoration, guidance, boldness, comfort, victory, anointing, provision, goodness and love are yours to keep for all the days of your life. Hallelujah!

Chorus 238 – You Make Me Lie Down in Green Pastures.

You fill my hunger with honey from your sweet, sweet word-The Holy Bible! O how sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth. When Your words came, I ate them, they are my joy and my heart’s delight.

Brothers and sisters, we who bear the name of the Lord God Almighty, let’s eat and let’s feast on His word like never before. Praise God for His word and for all of you who’re God’s elect! Hallelujah!

You maybe seated and I shall open this time for testimony and God’s word.

Monolingual 17 – Let Praise Arise (Offering)
Let praise arise
In the midst of thee, O Zion
Let the praises of God be in thy mouth
Let praise arise
In the midst of thee, O Zion
Wave His banner forevermore

For He has chosen us to be His people
A royal priesthood who worship Him
Singing praises to the King of ages
Eternal Lord is He
Eternal Lord is He

Let....
Wave His banner forevermore (3x)

And.... it’s a Banner of LOVE~

Chorus 135 – How Excellent is Your Name (Message Proper)

Praise the excellent name of our Lord~

New Family Sticker!

2010-08-19T13:10:00.007+08:00

AD 2009
AD 2010
Daddy has put on a little weight,
so is mommy(more :P)~

Tiffany needs spectacles
and misses Grand Golf~

Theophila has a tiara in all her drawings
and loves ballet~

Thaddea likes her Fire Fighter helmet
and can says "bas-ket-ball-pla-yer"~

Our girls have all grown taller!

三个宝贝女儿呀...

爸爸妈妈都好爱好爱你们哦~

妈妈祈求天父保守你们健康的成长...

有平安，有喜乐，
有属天的智慧，有圣灵的充满。

有主怜悯的心，彼此相爱，彼此尊重。

敬畏上帝，天天祷告，
爱读圣经，不停止聚会。

尽心，尽性，尽力，尽意爱主耶稣；
又要爱邻舍如同自己。

要孝敬父母，使你们得福，在世长寿。
这是第一条带应许的诫命哦~

阿门!

:)

A Loving Father 愛我的天父

2010-08-08T00:14:00.007+08:00

Me(the one floating in the air, haha) and my 大姐，Sarah~

Sarah: 嗨，伟芳! 你看，我们的孩子真的是身在福中不知福！

Lydia: Ya loh! At such a young age, they already have their own personal computer, iPhone, iPod, iPad, and all the i...

Sarah: 哎呀，我不是指手机或电脑物质方面的福！

Lydia: Oh, not what you mean? Then, why did you said that they 身在福中不知福？

Sarah: 哪，今天是父亲节，我指的是他们的父亲！

Lydia: Okay... today is Father’s Day, but what made you said that they don't realize how blessed they are?

Sarah: 因为他们的父亲是基督徒呀！打从母胎中，就不断为着他们祷告... 直到今天。真的是身在福中不知福！

Lydia: You are right! Unlike us, they have Christian fathers who pray for them right from the moment they were conceived in their mommy's womb.

Sarah: 虽然说我们的父亲不是基督徒，不能为我们代祷。不过我们还有一位属灵的爸爸,每天为着我们代祷。

Lydia: Oh yes, our pastor! He is our spiritual Papa who prays daily for us. I feel much better now, knowing that at least I have a father who is praying for me everyday.

Sarah: 经你这么说，我也感到很安慰！

Lydia & Sarah (together) : 诶... We have another Father! / 我们还有一位爸爸！

Lydia : Our Heavenly Father!

Sarah: 我们的天父！

Lydia: The greatest Father of all! Who loves not only us, but also our unsaved fathers, because "He so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son!"

Sarah: 今天我们就将这首“爱我们的天父”献给我们至爱的天父，属灵的爸爸（牧师）和天下的爸爸。特别是那些还没得救的爸爸们，有那么一天，能明白父赐给他们是何等的慈爱。

Lydia: Yes. Today we would like to dedicate this song "A loving Father" to our Heavenly Father who loves us, and our spiritual papa - Pastor, and to all the Daddies. Especially for our yet-to-be-saved daddies, that they may know how great is the love the Father has lavished on them.

~A Loving Father 愛我的天父~

I have a loving Father who never gives up on me,
His love's always there to restore me.
Yes, I know He will care for me.
I know He will care for me.

In times of many trials. In times of many fears.
And You never leave nor forsake me.
Yes, I know You will care for me. I know You will care for me.

Draw me closer to Your heart. Embrace me in Your arms.
I will love You my Father. You are my everything.

有位愛我的天父，祂永遠不放棄我，
祂愛的同在使我完全，我深知祂顧念著我，我知祂顧念著我。

在許多危難時刻，在流淚的過程，祢永不離開或丟棄我，
我深知祢顧念著我，我知祢顧念著我。

吸引我貼近祢心，擁抱在祢懷裡，
我愛祢我的天父，祢是我的一切。

Me and my dear sister, Sarah, presented this song on Father's Day. The dialogue you read was our introduction, an idea from my sister who is loaded with "drama cells"（戏剧细胞）。 Thank God that I managed to memorize the whole dialogue, it was no easy-peasy task ok, 死了很多细胞才把它给背熟的！ :P

My 2 year-old girl, Thaddea, could sing this song too! When I was practicing the song with the guitar, she would take up her toy microphone and sing along, "I have a loving father~ who never gives up on me~~~" haha, too cute! My three girls are truly blessed to have a daddy who prays for them right from the moment they were conceived. Thank God for answering those prayers. Hallelujah!

1 John 3：1a
Behold, how great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!

約翰一書 3 : 1a
你看父赐给我们是何等的慈爱，使我们得称为神的儿女..."

从巫启贤原创诗歌《被钉在十字架的祢》写起...

2010-08-01T01:34:00.016+08:00

不久前在游揽赞美诗网时，在推荐歌曲中看到排在前头的一首诗歌：《被钉在十字架的祢》，单单歌名就感动了我。看看是哪张专辑时，竟发现是巫启贤原创诗歌呢！专辑里只有两首歌；《被钉在十字架的祢》和《荣耀今看见》。奇怪了，老巫几时成了信徒阿？听了几遍后，觉得还挺不错的，就下载到手机里好慢慢的欣赏...

被钉在十字架的祢~ 让我心揪着为祢哭泣
听到祢呼喊着上帝~ 咬着痛苦说着真理

祢说过不舍不离弃, 为了赦免我让宝血流尽
虽然也有深深的恐惧, 在祢眼神中却只有爱和怜悯
祢说过该成就的事, 是为了成就我们在天上的父亲
虽然还有很多人恨祢, 祢却为了罪人付出了生命

耶稣~ 我爱祢!
耶稣~ 荣耀祢!
敬拜祢~~
因为国度权柄荣耀属于祢!

风中站着发光的祢~ 我满心欢喜无法言语
祢说祢要飞到天上去~ 将来一定回到这里

巫启贤把主耶稣的死，复活和再来遍了这首好听的歌，唱出了对主的爱和敬拜... 赞！

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

两个星期前，我的一位网友, Clement, 获得两张 Eric Moo 'Moments' 2010 Asia Tour 巫启贤《最初的感动》2010 亚洲巡回演唱会的入门票，过后写了一篇观后感@KiNiGu，从那得知巫启贤的一头白发竟是自然色，觉得好惊讶哦！这二十多年来他都必须把头发染黑？太不可思议了！

读了网友的长篇观后感，使我想要知道更多关于巫启贤的事，所以就在网上收寻，真的让我找到他信主的见证！好有能力的见证啊！！在这 “cut & paste” 与大家分享~

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

取自主内网：

一首福音歌词。若说作词作曲者不是其他熟悉的福音歌手，而是巫启贤，你是否感到惊讶？12月5日晚（2009）他在吉隆坡全备福音堂有一场“12月的星光”布道会。信主才1年的他，走上台，就闭上眼睛以“使徒信经”祷告：“我信上帝，全能的父，创造天地的主；我信我主耶稣基督，上帝的独生子……我信身体复活；我信永生。阿们”。他竟把整篇信仰宣告熟记念出，一字不漏！

巫启贤信主耶稣后表示，他过去走遍世界各地，人生经历比常人丰富，没有人能左右他相信什么。“不是我去找他（耶稣），是他先敲我的门。我现在才知道，过去我是多么心硬、背叛，主耶稣才是道路、真理和生命。”他在台上就一面唱歌，一面向听众分享。

“我曾以为，我没学作曲，却能写歌，我的歌声令许多人感动，我的吉他学3个月，就自己开班挣钱，就很了不起。这些成了我今生的骄傲。我认识主后，我才知道自己何德何能，拥有这些常人没有的才华，都是主所赐！”领悟到“一切来自主”的道理，傲气没有了，他心中惟有感恩。

他提起去年音乐制作人马兆骏在台湾去世的事。对这位基督徒挚友的骤逝，他感到很难过。他赶到太平间时，遇到马氏遗孀朱比（Juby）。她对他说：“你是他最要好的朋友，求你把他叫醒好吗？”当时，他前所未有地感受到人生命的脆弱、无助和无力，他实在无法叫一个死去的人起死回生。他就行了他有能力做的，开了一张支票交给朱比。另一方面，他也感受到一种特别的气氛：教会的弟兄姐妹都来到现场帮忙、安慰、组织，让所有的事情有条不紊地进行，让悲伤的家属得到安慰和人情温暖。神的大爱与恩典在人哀伤无助时显得格外珍贵！

去年3月，他人在北京，接到太太的电话：6月大的女儿在家玩，忽然整个人抽筋，趴在地上就没有反应。太太送女儿进院，医生救了过来，她仍然呼吸，却没有反应。医生作脑电波扫描、验血，作了所有该做的检验也查不出任何病因。他心中焦急，立刻买了机票飞去香港，转机台北看女儿。然而，到了机场，却传来香港有暴风雨，飞机无法降落的消息。他只好折回北京市区，当时想起一位姓陈的制作人，曾多次约他不果，索性就约他见面。谈话中，得知对方也认识马兆骏。他不经意提到马兆骏是基督徒。这位姓陈的朋友透露他也是基督徒，陈太是牧师，还到各地为人作医治祷告，那天她恰好在北京。想到在台北的女儿，他就要求安排陈太为女儿祷告求医治，他们就约见了。

陈太问他：“你是孩子的爸爸，你不是信徒，但你愿不愿意为你的女儿作你人生的第一个祷告？”

“我当然愿意。”

“好！你要诚心诚意，心里相信上帝，来为你的女儿祷告。”

他生平第一次祷告记得最清楚——为女儿的生命！

陈太同时把消息发出去，让世界各地的代祷者一同为他的女儿祷告。太太后来打电话来说：“真奇妙！今晚马兆骏的遗孀带了7位弟兄姐妹到我家来，为我女儿祷告。” 两天后，女儿醒过来。医生表示不明白为何她此刻醒了。他告诉医生说：“医生，那是祷告啊！” 福音的种子撒下、萌芽：他和太太开始考虑要信主。

不久，他再次去北京工作，因演出而在某城市过夜。那时，他已经开始读圣经。当晚却发生一桩怪事：大约凌晨两三点，他趴在床上时，突然发现整张床非常剧烈地抖动，感觉好象许多人在床上跳动般。他极力证明自己不是在做梦后，心想：“我长到这么大，终于碰到鬼了！”他非常害怕，就双手握拳，念过去所学的咒语。也不知念了多久，震动消失了。他好一阵子不动，确定鬼真的不在了，就赶快开灯，拿起床头的圣经来看。他一翻开，就看到一行经文，意思非常清楚：信主之前，魔鬼必来诱惑。“我后来想通了：魔鬼派小鬼来吓我。魔鬼希望我相信咒语，不必相信上帝。它要左右我的视线，诱惑我远离上帝。我没有上当！”

第二天，他打电给太太；“过两天后我回来，我们受洗吧！”

*依靠主成功戒烟*
他今年4月来到吉隆坡，与一些教会牧者聊了两晚，互相交流作见证。当时，他还在抽烟。“我从21岁起就抽烟，这问题多年一直困扰着我。后来，我每天要抽两包烟，抽到连自己都厌恶。我在家也抽，虽然我躲开太太和女儿，在远处的角落抽。我觉得自己很自私：不了解不抽烟者闻到烟味的难过和辛苦，家人成了二手烟的受害者！我也曾尝试戒烟，却太软弱，戒不成。”他坦言。当时，一位刘弟兄鼓励他：“你现在信主了，何不祈求天父助你戒烟？你是初信，说不定天父特别疼你呢。”他就祷告，求上帝解烟瘾。“说也奇怪，从那天起一直到今天，我一根烟也没有再抽！”妻子对他的转变和祷告的力量也惊喜不已。女儿还抱着他说：“爸爸，你好香，过去你臭得要命！”主耶稣为这家还原了一个“香爸爸”！

他曾在一首歌这么唱：“爱与不爱都需要勇气，于是我们都选择了逃避… 虽然你是我的最初、最后与唯一。”那么绝对的字眼肯定纯属巧合？或是他过去将一直逃避上帝的挣扎寄情于歌？无论如何，这些挣扎已经告一段落。他找到了他生命中最大的喜乐。

----转自基督徒明星名人博

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

的确，真是一个好见证，荣耀归神！

后来发现当中的 video 其实是一个节目里的片段，所以我在 youtube 找到这个“心靈不打烊~巫啟賢“ 的精彩节目。哇~~ 能够在读了有关他的故事后，听听他亲口见证上帝的真实，我实在是太高兴了！！整个节目 1hr23min16sec 我都是全神贯注地看和听，从他的头发，到他初到台湾，到认识上帝，间中还有演唱一些经典歌曲（有我喜欢的”至少还有你“！），整个节目真的让我非常非常的感动！节目尾声他唱了另一首原创诗歌《荣耀今看见》，我说呀，他的吉他是弹得好好听呢！啊，太感动了啦！！请你一定一定一定要看哦~~~

内容：本週邀請的來賓，紅遍兩岸三地，在台灣更是無人不知他的名字，所演唱的歌曲也是大家能夠哼唱幾句的紅歌星，他是－巫啟賢。巫啟賢，一個響噹噹的名號，可是初到台灣時並不是一切都如此順利，來台宣傳三次，最後一次竟是在飛機上蒙頭痛哭，但是熱愛音樂的他，選擇不放棄，仍舊持續邁向音樂之路，終於讓他走出一片自己的天空。走紅之後，卻也發生不少事情，直到認識上帝，生命的改變深深的影響他，他也為上帝譜曲，為上帝所用，在心靈不打烊節目中，巫啟賢也一一訴說，上帝如何拯救醫治他的女兒，也翻轉巫啟賢的生命，節目內容精彩，不容錯過。

我看了节目后除了感动之外，还是感动。上帝从来都没放弃过我们，在我们还没认识祂之前，甚至在我们拒绝祂之后，祂都一直在保守着我们，疼爱着我们，温柔的引领我们归回祂的爱里。我对我老爸的救恩，现在是充满着希望。我常常祷告求上帝开我爸爸的眼睛，看到上帝就是宇宙万物的创造主。求上帝敲粹我爸爸的石头心，让他打开心门来接受主耶稣成为他灵魂的救主。我常常跟爸爸说；“ 信耶稣，得永生！" 我相信总有一天，爸爸一定会信主！我也相信我的亲戚，朋友，同事和老板，都要在上帝美好的时间里来信主！Amen! :)

这是巫启贤在留他的自然白的头发时，做评委时戴帽子遮“羞”的照片：

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

另一个我所看的是巫启贤在佈道會里唱了三首歌和短短的分享，你可以跳过前两首歌，从09：00看他短短的分享和唱“叫阮的名“，到18：00时可看到他的漂亮的太太。都很感动，叫我都同他流出了眼泪呢~~ 从38：00开始，布永康牧師分享上帝的信息，鼓励您听一听这能改变您生命的信息~

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

好啦，最后加上这首我在就读义安理工学院时最最最喜欢的巫启贤唱的“我爱你” ：D

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

一直都很喜欢巫启贤的歌，很喜欢巫启贤的歌声，现在更喜欢这么一个全新的巫启贤~

这是取自网友在7月9日演唱会拍的其中一张我最喜欢照片：

我深深的被这全新的巫启贤感动了~

为这生命的改变，灵魂的得救，感谢赞美主耶稣基督！

約翰福音3：16
「神爱世人，甚至将祂的独生子赐给他们，叫一切信祂的，不至灭亡，反得永生。」

歌林多前書3:6-7
「我栽种了，亚波罗浇灌了，惟有神叫他生长。可见栽种的，算不得甚麽，浇灌的，也算不得甚麽；只在那叫他生长的神。」

You are the one Singapore!

2010-06-01T22:49:00.003+08:00

We were at CompassPoint last week and there was a made-aware promotion on Youth Olympic Games. Counters were set up for children to try their hands on different games like Table Tennis, Soccer, Basketball, Fencing and Handball.

Theophila was so brave to try out Fencing. Tiffany and my 2YO toddler, Thaddea, tried playing Handball!

Watch them in actions:

Look what I found on the internet when I searched for Handball games:

A super-cool picture of women-handball games in real action!

The TV, you can see it in the Video I took of my girls playing handball, was constantly playing the YOG Cheer - You Are The One Singapore, which I think is quite catchy for a cheer... OH YEAH, OH YEAH, OH YEAH, HEY! :D

All the Best to Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games! Blazing the Trail 14-26 August 2010.

1 Corinthians 9:25-27
Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

Sarah-Cat*

2010-05-31T13:48:00.003+08:00

Received these pictures of cat via MSM from my dear sister(大姐), Sarah, and that was in August last year!

I still remembered that I've got to retrieve them from M1 website as my mobile was not able to view. Altogether 6 beautiful pictures of mostly tabby cats.

A tabby is a cat with a distinctive coat that features stripes, dots, or swirling patterns, usually together with an "M" mark on its forehead.

I renamed each picture as sarah-cat1 to sarah-cat6.jpg... I know she definitely love to own one. You see, the place where we spend our childhood has many such cats and we love playing with them. I still remembered once we found two cute kittens at our void deck and begged our parents to let us keep the kittens as pets, but they cruelly said no. We then secretly kept the kitten at a small power-station(!) near our home, we put them in a cardboard box placed side-way as their home, put in some rags to keep them warm at night, and a bowl of water to quench their thirst... we even sneaked out in the evening with some rice and fish secretly saved from our dinner for the kittens to eat... but by the next day, those two kittens had wondered away and were nowhere to be found! :(

Thinking about this remind me of what Jesus said in John 14 that He had gone to prepare a place for us, and that He is coming back to bring us Home... I pray that before Christ's Return, I would not wonder away from this Blessed Hope. God helps me! :)

John 14:1-6
Jesus Comforts His Disciples
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going."

Jesus the Way to the Father
Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."

New Blog Skin!

2010-05-26T17:47:00.003+08:00

Welcoming new skin on the blog:

Farewell to the old skin:

Have been wanting to do this for the longest time... so happy that it's finally done. This sure gives me motivation to carry on blogging! :)

On... to the next project: New blog skin for Savouring the Girls!

Revelation 21:5
He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

What(Who) is LOVE?

2010-04-02T22:30:00.009+08:00

Love is patient.

Love is kind.

It does not envy.

It does not boast.

It is not proud.

It is not rude.

It is not self-seeking.

It is not easily angered.

It keeps no record of wrongs.

Love does not delight in evil

But rejoices with the truth.

It always protects,

Always trusts,

Always hopes,

Always perseveres.

Love never fails.

(1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

JESUS CHRIST

is

LOVE

personified
.
.
.
.
.
.

♥ Jesus Never Fails ♥

Every Move I Make

2010-03-23T23:31:00.002+08:00

I've had this awesome thought of how my heart would beat without any assistance, no power supply or battery operating, but it beats alright. And because it beats, blood carrying oxygen is being pump into all my organs so I am still kicking(alive). Now, who keeps my heart beating??? None other than my Creator God, for in Him I live and move and have my being! Praise God!! :)

Tell me who make these teeny weenie hearts pump....

No clue?

Our Creator God, of course~ ：）*Philip took these pics at our rooftop garden

The children from the upper primary of the Children's Church Sunday School presented a very lively worship song: Every Move I Make.

At the start of the music, everyone was like "Wow... so hot!". Okay, maybe that's just me, haha! It has been a long, long time since there's such a lively, fast beat song being presented in our church. Even my little 2-year-old couldn't resist joining in the dance moves! The dance choreographer, Sarah Tan, had to literally drag Thaddea out, and of course, she cried so loud in protest! I was like, "OH NO! Please don't ruin the presentation!" I held her so tight in my arms and "dance" to the music on the spot at a corner trying to distract her, hehehe... We all enjoyed the presentation~

I'd like to think that the children did very well, remembering the steps and all. And thank you, Sarah Tan, for getting them to do this. May God continue to make you an inspiration!

Look out for my 2-year-old barging in at 0:14 and then cried the loudest, haha! :P

I went home singing "na-na, na-na-na-na-na..." in my head for many days! Then I went on Youtube to look for this song, there are so many clips of people dancing to this song! I found one which I like the best, watch the lady dancing with such gusto! And watch again the uncle dancing next to her, very cute!

I like the part which looks like they were "brushing off bugs from their heads" at 0:15, so cute! haha!! :)

Lyrics:
Every move I make I make in You, (You make me move Jesus)
Every Breath I take I Breath in You
Every step I take I take in You, (You are my way Jesus)
Every Breath I take I Breath in You
Chorus:
Waves of Mercy Waves of Grace
Everywhere I Look, I See Your Face
Your Love has captured Me
Oh My God this Love, How can it Be!

Na, na, na, na, na, na, na (x4)

Acts 17:24-29
"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'

"Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man's design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man(Jesus Christ) he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead."

Ezra's Wish Party

2010-03-10T22:57:00.002+08:00

Say if you are given a wish, what would you wish for? Well, I would wish to be given more wishes to make, he-he-he! :D

We were being invited to Ezra's Wish Party organized by Make*A*Wish Singapore

Ezra, by now is a charming 9-year-old(8+, to be exact), has victoriously gone through a year of chemotherapy, and now onto his maintenance phase. I wrote about how Ezra was diagnosed with first stage Leukemia in one of my post Not for Us Only... back in October last year.

When Make*A*Wish people came to Ezra and asked him what did he wish for, these were what he wished for:

1. To be a (successful) businessman.
2. To ride in a Lamborghini.
3. To play lots of games and win many prizes.
4. To be a Pilot.

Hey hey, that's more than a wish, haha! 5 wishes to be exact because Ezra wanted to open his own shop and sell things too as a businessman.

WOW! WOW! WOW! We were very impressed how Make*A*Wish people fulfilled every-single-wish of Ezra... to the point of flying a plane!

First, they tailor-made for him a business suit. Then on Wish Day, he went to "his" newly open Roti-Prata shop and then to "his" Car Showroom where he "closed" a deal worth US$1 million dollars... then, Ezra was given a ride in a Lamborghini before being sent to Suntec City Convention hall for his party... cool!! See the following video clip for the full story:

Can you see Ezra in "his" Lamborghini??

Ahh... that's better!

*Waves*

The youngest successful businessman & his Lamborghini~(Wish #1 & 2)

See Uncle Chris buzzing off...

Make*A*Wish flags

Poster outside the Party Room

Ezra's Wish Party!

Happy Wish Day, Ezra!

Interviewed by the "press" and giving out his "name cards"

Ezra's collections!

There were Wii and racing cars games.(Wish #3)

The party ended with Ezra winning many BIG prizes from the racing games, his little friends were in total awe as they kept hearing the announcement that "Ezra has won again!"

Ezra's thankyou speech and a song special；

Wish #4 was fulfilled on the following weekend when Ezra would fly a stimulated airplane! How cool~

I am very thankful to God for blessing Ezra with this Wish Party. What a memorable day Ezra's Wish Day was!

Thank God for Make*A*Wish Singapore! The fact that they didn't just fulfilled one of the 5 wishes that Ezra made even though it was suppose to be "Make A wish".

Thank God for all the sponsors(Temasek Holdings and some other which I didn't get it, but am truly grateful!) who made this event possible!

Thank God for all the wonderful volunteers! Their dedication is amazing!

The following Sunday after his maiden flight(as a pilot), Ezra, dressed in his business suit(which was given to him FOC), gave glory to God during Sunday Service in church.

We prayed through that one whole year of Ezra receiving treatments for his ALL condition. We have a Prayer Band in our church where we would receive SMS on prayer requests of members who need emergency prayer support. I have lost track of how many times the Prayer Band was activated to pray for Ezra, but I do remember some of the requests were quite frightening at times if not heart-breaking... beside the usual side effects of being nausea, vomiting, having poor appetite, there were occasions when Ezra had high fever(increased risk of infection caused by white cell abnormalities) and he cannot be given paracetamol(Panadol) because he has an allergy to it. So, imagine you having high fever and nothing you could take to lower the fever, nothing to relief your pain and nothing to ease your aches!

There were life-threatening occasions too when Ezra's blood platelets count drop to the lowest of the lowest... But, PRAISE BE TO GOD who heard and answered our earnest prayer for this little boy and preserved his precious life!

The most heart breaking to me was when we were called to pray for a procedure where a chest tube is inserted into Ezra's pleural space permanently for the administration of chemo treatments.... What can I say, thank God for seeing Ezra through every-single-day for the past year!

God will definitely carry Ezra in His Mighty Arms and bring him through this year - the last phase of his treatment. We are praying for a complete deliverance from blood cancer for Ezra. We are believing God for His complete healing touch upon Ezra Lim! Amen! And Amen!!

An extract from Tong Hak's(Ezra's mummy) testimony - Forever Grateful:

"Though this journey was tough, with much pain and tears, but with Christ in the vessel, we can sail and smile at the storm. With much loss, too, (financially, emotionally, socially, mentally and physically) - but nothing compared to the gain that we have achieved.

He increases our faith in Him.
He brings us to a greater height in our trusting Him.
He strengthens us emotionally and mentally.
He provides our finance.
His continual shower of grace and mercy has taught us how to praise and thank Him even more.
He enriches our life experiences.

Once again, "Forever grateful, forever thankful to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit!" "

Psalm 103:1-6
Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits-who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.

Overflow With Hope

2009-12-04T15:13:00.017+08:00

I Will Carry You: The Sacred Dance of Grief and Joy

If you have been reading my blog from the beginning, you may have read this post "I Will Carry You".

Angie Smith, a mother who discovered at 20 weeks that her baby Audrey would not survive, chose to carry her to full term and gave birth to her, only to lose her shortly after 2 1/2 hours....

Angie, her husband, Todd and baby Audrey

She wrote a book on her grief, and most unbelievably, her joy too. You can get her book now @ amazon.com!

Ever since I found her blog Bring the Rain, I have been checking back and to my pleasant surprise, she is DUE for another child!

What actually makes me write this post is her recent entry: PERMISSION TO HOPE. Please click on that to read and do look out for the picture at the end of her post!! ;)

An amazing piece of sharing, God gave her courage and permission to hope that the little life in her right now at 10 weeks, is going to make it! Amen!!

Romans 15:13
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may Overflow With Hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

I have always love this song written by Angie Smith for her baby, Audrey Caroline. And the video featuring memories of the life of baby Audrey:

I Will Carry You

There were photographs I wanted to take
Things I wanted to show you
Sing sweet lullabies, wipe your teary eyes
Who could love you like this?

People say that I am brave but I'm not
Truth is I'm barely hanging on
But there's a greater story
Written long before me
Because He loves you like this

So I will carry you
While your heart beats here
Long beyond the empty cradle
Through the coming years
I will carry you
All my life
And I will praise the One Who's chosen me
To carry you

Such a short time
Such a long road
All this madness
But I know
That the silence
Has brought me to His voice
And He says...

I've shown her photographs of time beginning
Walked her through the parted seas
Angel lullabies, no more teary eyes
Who could love her like this?

I will carry you
While your heart beats here
Long beyond the empty cradle
Through the coming years
I will carry you
All your life
And I will praise the One Who's chosen Me
To carry you

Job 1:21
"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised."

And I will praise the One Who's chosen me... to carry you...

祢是我的一切

2009-11-18T16:11:00.008+08:00

演唱：赞美之泉
词曲：曾祥怡
专辑：似乎在天堂

主祢是我所有的一切
我心深深地爱慕祢
耶稣，主耶稣
我的良人，我爱祢

You are everything to me, Lord Jesus
I'm so deeply in love with You
Come Lord, Jesus come
Be my Lover, be my King

Everything, Lord, in my life

嗯～～～～

我爱祢

芳心之弦

2009-11-12T15:36:00.001+08:00

是先有鸡呢，还是先有蛋？答案很简单：是先有鸡！因为起初，神创造天地和其中的活物．．．

創世記 1:24-25
神说：地要生出活物来，各从其类；牲畜、昆虫、地上的野兽，各从其类。事就这样成了
於是　神造出野兽，各从其类；牲畜，各从其类；地上一切昆虫，各从其类。　神看着是好的。

你是否有留意到我的博络格多了个华文名？

~芳心之弦~

如何... 赞吧？！：）

其实是先有“芳心之弦”的。当时被邀为教会华文部的《吗哪月刊》投稿，在投第三回时，主篇建议在月刊里为我设立一个固定的小角落好让我定期分享，所以我就取了这名。那，“芳”呢，是我的名嘛，“芳心之弦”就指触动我心弦的事。可惜当我取了这名后，却再也没有投稿了。。。其实，我是有东西要分享的，只是没时间完成每一篇。真是可悲！

前后只投了“三件事”和“芳弦之猫”，而那些写了一半就放弃的就有“芳弦之死”，“芳弦之信主”和“芳弦之神迹奇事”！

唉~~

后来要开始写博络格时，因为是以英文为主，所以就把这宝贝名字译成“Strings of My Heart”。

Strings 嘛，是指音乐器材的弦，比如六弦琴，手提琴，竖琴及二胡，都是我喜欢的 String Instruments! 弦的长短，粗细，通过不同的按法，用弹的或拉的，把一个个动听的音符编制成一首首动听的歌... 有轻快的，有忧伤的，也有激动的！

希望能借这博络格把所有触动我心思的事一一分享。

因为现在想要偶尔用华语写写博络格，所以就把原有的名给放上去。

就这样咯~

Maru!!

2009-09-17T13:51:00.002+08:00

I've always like this quote:

"God made the cat to give man the pleasure of petting the tiger." ~~Fernand Mery

If you haven't know me yet: I LOVE CATS!

Sorry for shouting, hehe! I really, really think cats are the coolest animal God ever created! Since I was a little girl, I like to play with the strayed cats in our void deck, pet their heads and tickle the chins, play "catching" with their tails while they sleep!

I don't understand how some of you are afraid of cats, haha!

Now that I'm a grown-up, and know that strayed cats are actually dirty as they sleep everywhere they go, I seldom pet them anymore... I even stop my girls from touching them :P

I do hope to meet someone who keep cats as pets... so I can always visit them and play with their cats!

I have been visiting this blog created by a Japanese girl who has a pet cat named Maru. He is a Scottish Fold and he is so, so cute! He likes to play, sleep and play some more! And just like my friend, ANgie, he has just published his very First Book, Title: "I am Maru."

He is so COOL~

I found this blog in early April and was glued to it! There is update almost everyday which I totally enjoy! The owner has also started to put in English subtitles for the readers. The little dialogue which she posted with all the fun pictures of Maru has always made my day! Just like this one:

ぴったりですよ。
This is fit for me!

Also, you get to see videos of Maru in actions! And my favourite of them all is this:

"I like Maru's folded forefoot before jumping."

Too cute!!! Oooooooh, he is quite a popular guy and got himself a trophy of YouTube Video Awards Japan 2008!

The trophy~

I shan't write any further... just go check him out: MARU

"Umm.. why not?"

Genesis 1:24-25
And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

I Will Be Here

2009-09-13T10:42:00.009+08:00

Philip, remember this song "I Will Be Here" by Steven Curtis Chapman?

12 years ago, today, you told me that you actually secretly practiced this song and wanted to sing for me on our wedding day... but you were not confident enough and instead, played the song on CD when we marched in for our dinner reception... Thank you, Philip, I was touched and still am... the fact that you had this thought of doing something for me and the fact that you had tried, I'm touched!

This song just melt my heart, I know that you mean ever word of this song, even till now.

12 years of marriage, you have always been here for me, even when the laughter turns to crying during my darkest moments; through the winning, losing, and trying, we have been together, you have always been here for me, thank you for loving me(it's not so easy, I know... :P) and I love you too :)

As sure as seasons are made for change, our lifetimes are made for years. Give us another 12 years, and I know that we'll still be together... 'cause you will be here.

I thank God for you, Philip - my dear, dear husband :)

Found this video uploaded by a mom dedicating the song to her children, the pictures are so beautiful! Except that it ended abruptly which might be a little distasteful to you who dislike abrupt ending of any song, hehe :P Anyway, it's still very nice~ enjoy!

Tomorrow morning if you wake up
And the sun does not appear,
I will be here.

If in the dark we lose sight of love,
Hold my hand and have no fear,
'Cause I will be here.

CHORUS
I will be here when you feel like being quiet;
When you need to speak your mind, I will listen.
And I will be here when the laughter turns to crying;
Through the winning, losing, and trying, we'll be together,
'Cause I will be here.

Tomorrow morning if you wake up
And the future is unclear,
I will be here.

As sure as seasons are made for change,
Our lifetimes are made for years,
So I will be here.

CHORUS
I will be here, so you can cry on my shoulder;
When the mirror tells us we're older, I will hold you.
And I will be here to watch you grow in beauty,
And tell you all the things you are to me;
I will be here.

I will be true to the promise I have made,
To you and to the One who gave you to me.

As sure as seasons are made for change,
Our lifetimes are made for years,
So I, I will be here.

We'll be together and I will be here.

I found another clip which embedding was disabled by the user, he dedicated this song to God. The interesting thing is, he uploaded pictures of benches, read BENCHES, many-different-types-of-benches, for the entire song!

Reminds me of the benches I placed in my FarmTown Maze Garden, haha!

I have always wanted to walk with you in the park, sitting on the benches, basking in the sun, listening to the bird singing, watching the ducks in the pond, and talking till the sun sets! Maybe we can do that when "the mirror tells us we're older" and when Mrs. Empty-Nest-Syndrome comes knocking on our door, haha!

Do click and watch it here: I Will Be Here by Gary Valenciano - Benches!!

Blessed 12th Wedding Anniversary!Luv you~

Our wedding verse: Song of songs 8:7
"Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away. If one were to give all the wealth of his house for love, it would be utterly scorned."

妈妈的宝贝

2009-09-03T16:55:00.039+08:00

今天无意中在听赞美诗网推荐的专辑“鲜声来了”的时候，被这首超感动的歌“妈妈的宝贝”给吸引住，重复听了好几回，听得我眼角都湿湿的。。。

歌里有一段很美的词：

宝贝，可知道你的笑，你的眼泪
是我一生中最大的幸福和伤悲

这段歌词让我想到我的三个宝贝女儿，当我看见她们开心的笑容时，我的确感到十二万分的幸福！而当我看到她们伤心流泪或生病时，我就会感到心好疼啊~

嗯，来个幸福的确据，就拿昨晚来说吧：
Tiffany 在面包片中央咬了个小圈圈，非常的兴奋！而当我要帮她和面包拍照留念时，Theophila 跳进来凑热闹，还比了个“得胜”的手势。

哈！哈！

其实，Theophila 当时正发着高烧且肚子疼，疑是患了stomach flu... 之前还在学校把刚吃进肚子里的蛋糕（同学生日）给吐出来。。。从照片里看不出她生病吧！感谢耶稣的医治，今早已完全好了。：）

前几晚和小宝贝 Thaddea 读（玩）一个“躲猫猫”(peek-a-boo)的玩具小册，她超喜欢的！在最后一页 Piglet 的“BOO!" 时，她就会放声大笑，可真是超级无敌可爱啊！！

我是幸福的咯！感谢主!！

Psalm 127:3
Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him.

詩篇 127:3
儿女是耶和华所赐的产业；所怀的胎是他所给的赏赐。

这首歌也让我想到我的妈妈。歌的最后一段是我好想对她说的：

我会一直爱你,永远的爱你
爱我的，疼我的妈妈

我的母亲超疼爱我了！当然啦，她也疼姐，妹妹和弟弟，这是毫无疑问的。不过，在这就拿疼我的来说吧：

一次聚餐，因为我必须喂宝宝吃麦片，而无法动手吃大闸蟹。妈妈就帮我选了一个大闸蟹夹子，说要帮我去壳，无情的我却对她说 “不用了，不敢吃你的口水！”妈妈马上说“放心，我只用手剥。”随即就用尽全身的力气，又敲又打又用锤子砸，当中还不小心把爸爸的茶水杯子给打翻，弄湿了桌布和爸爸的裤子，还得麻烦侍应生把地拖干。。。好不容易除去大夹子的壳，把肥滋滋的蟹夹子肉递到我眼前，哇~~~ 你说，我怎么能不感动呢?! 打开大嘴，咻！一声把肥蟹肉给吞进肚子里，间中才咀嚼了两下下。心想妈妈在剥壳之前是否有舔了舔自己的手指。。若有的话，那这蟹肉不就沾满妈妈的口水？！啊~~ 我太没良心了，亏妈妈那么的疼我，我还嫌她不卫生！我太不懂得感恩了 :P

聚餐照片：老爸，老妈，和阿boy

照片里的妈妈并不是不开心，她的脸一直都是这样“臭”的，每每朋友见到她，都会说我妈妈很凶，但是她并不凶哦，只是不常挂着笑脸 :/ 看她小盘子里一堆的蟹壳吗？那就是妈妈疼我的证据咯。呵呵！

谢谢你，妈妈。我爱你！

Ephesians 6:1-3
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. "Honor your father and mother"—which is the first commandment with a promise— "that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth."

以弗所書6:1-2
你们作儿女的，要在主里听从父母，这是理所当然的。要孝敬父母，使你得福，在世长寿。这是第一条带应许的诫命。

就让我把这首歌献给我的三个宝贝和我的妈妈！

演唱者朱小山的声音好好听。曲优，词美，充满爱的一首好歌！值得听了再听~ 想重复的听这首歌？那么就学我点击这里：

NON-STOP PLAYING

赞美诗网也提供了“ 媽媽的寶貝（My Baby）” 的創作背景！
製作人　拾雨　詞／曲／朱小山
演唱　朱小山&佳音兒童合唱團 (蕭佳欣　蕭佳琪　安藤聖峻　張仲彣)

2004年初春，當我正在學校琴房練琴時，一位學妹得知我會些許簡單的創作，跑來找我，她說：「我的媽媽，生了很嚴重的病，她似乎隨時都會離開我，可否幫我寫一首唱給媽媽聽的歌。」學妹寫了一封十多頁給媽媽的信，在那堆疊濃厚情感的文字中，我看見學妹的媽媽曾說：「女兒呀，我親愛的小寶貝，妳可知道妳的笑妳的眼淚，是我一生中最大的幸福和傷悲…」上天所賜予人類這份偉大的母愛，令人為之動容。屬於此首歌的畫面，油然而生。

這首歌完成後，不只安慰了學妹與她母親的心，同時也安慰著我。

我的媽媽有一個百寶盒，那裡面有她最喜歡髮飾、原住民傳家的手環，以及她的結婚戒指。我曾問媽媽：「媽媽，妳最寶貝的是哪一件飾品呢？」媽媽在盒子裡翻了又翻、找了又找，最後拿出一個塑膠作成的手環。「哈哈哈!」我咯咯地笑了出來。「媽，這不是我小時後我送給妳的禮物嗎？」我不好意思地問著，媽媽看著我、手握住那塑膠的手環，回答我說：「寶貝，這是我最寶貝的禮物。」剎那間，我才發現，我是媽媽最寶貝的寶貝。

謹以此首作品，獻給每一位偉大的母親，以及每一位媽媽的寶貝們。謝謝我可愛的母親，以及疼我照顧我長大的已故外婆、祖母、啞巴奶奶，歌詞的最後一句，也是我的真摯回應。

宝贝，宝贝，不要怕
即使人生路途坎坷
我也会陪在你的左右
并轻轻对你说

一千遍爱你
一万遍爱你
爱哭的（Theophila)，爱笑的(Tiffany & Thaddea)宝贝

我会一直爱你
永远的爱你
爱我的，疼我的妈妈

Sun Above the Clouds

2009-08-28T11:18:00.001+08:00

Broccoli – Checked

Celery – Checked

Fruits (Navel Orange/Fragrance Pears/SL Grapes/Golden Kiwi) – Checked

Gain IQ Stage 3 Growing Up Milk Powder 1.8kg – Checked

Abbott 3+ Grow Up Milk Powder 1.8kg (Vanilla) – Checked

SMOO Packet Milk (Vanilla and Strawberry Flavor) - Checked

St Dalfour Spread – Pineapple & Mango – Checked

Kellogg’s Cornflakes – Checked

Nestle Baby Brown Rice Cereal Tin – Checked

Samba Chili Lemon Tapioca Chip – CHECKED!

ALMOND GOLD Milk Chocolate Bar by Whittaker's – CHECKED!

I LOVE groceries shopping!

I dislike the fact that I have less than an hour to get it done, plus carrying heavy FairPrice plastic bags in both hand, though.

98% of the stuff I get are all for my lovely girls, and I guess you know which 2% is for Daddy and Mommy – me.

Once a week I’ll have to make a trip to NTUC FairPrice which is about 5 minutes walk from my office, rain or shine, hot or cold, without fail. Sometimes I may need to make 2 or 3 trips there!

No complaint. I'm SO loving it! Ooooooooooh, the purpose of this post are these:

Check out the plane!
Love the clouds!

Aren't they awesome?? I saw those beautiful sun rays while walking back to the office after my grocery shopping. I had to put down the bags of groceries on the pavement in order to take these pictures... so glad I captured it! :)

I love looking up into the sky. I got really excited when I see the sun bursting through the clouds! I've forgotten how many pictures I took of such sighting.. and it always ring a "song" in my mind :)

I was so glad to find this on YouTube, it has sooooooooo many nice pictures of the sun behind the clouds with rays shining forth.. awesome!

Even when you feel dark and gloomy, the sun above the clouds is always shinning. It never changes.

God never changes! He is Faithful and True! God's love for us is great, higher than the heavens and deeper than the ocean! Praise the awesome God!

Psalm 108:4
For great is your love, higher than the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

千年不变的道理

2009-08-18T16:33:00.013+08:00

嗨！与你分享我所喜欢的一首歌：耶稣爱你

这世界　有个千年不变道理
那就是耶稣爱你
在世上　没有任何的逼迫患难
能使我们与神的爱隔绝

你是否愿意同为神的儿女？
一生让耶稣爱你
在世上　没有任何的困苦愁烦
能使我们与神的爱隔绝

Yes! The Truth is: JESUS-LOVES-YOU :)

And this Truth never changes and it happened some thousands of years ago, when the Son of the Living God, suffered and died and shed His blood and satisfied God that sins got its right punishment!

My sister used to have a T-shirt that she likes for the longest time! It has a print on it that read:

I asked Jesus how much He loved me
He answered, "This much"
Then He stretched out His arms and died for me.

Whatever trials you might have gone through, persecutions, tragedies, whatever difficulties or anxieties, Jesus understands and He is waiting for you to run into His arms of LOVE~

My deepest desire is that e-v-e-r-y-o-n-e, from the youngest child to the oldest man/woman, embraces this Truth~

Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Graduation Memory

2009-08-14T11:26:00.005+08:00

Today is the day my Firstborn - Tiffany, has her Kindergarten Graduation photo shooting. We buzzed around like the honey bees just to get her ready for the big SNAP, which will have her dressed in a graduation gown and cap!

I woke up early to get Tiffany washed and changed into her school uniform. Tied up her hair into 2 phony tails, combed her bang, and all the while teaching her how to *S*M*I*L*E* :)

Then I remembered my own graduation photo, so I went digging into my file and was so happy to see it in the very first plastic holder, I saw myself(some 30 over years ago!) holding a scroll and looking ever-so-smart in my graduation gown and cap!

Lydia @ 6 years old!

Looking Smart~

Check out that bandage on my index finger, lol!

Check out my ear rings, hehehe ;)

I'm so touched that my mom kept this for me, and I'm so glad that I'm keeping it too... it brought back memories and it warms my heart just looking at this pic... I'm gonna keep Tiffa's and make sure 30 years later she'd be able to see her Kinder's graduation photo like I did today.

Looking at myself in that pic, especially my eyes, I see such confident! Wish I have been that confident in all of my life :P

Check out that bandage, no Tinkerbell's print on it, haha! Just a simple plain brown plaster... Oh, looking at my left index finger now, there's this long scar round the finger tip... I remember it was quite a deep cut when I tried peeling a sugercane with a kitchen knife! Nearly lost my finger :P Thank God for preserving me!!

I was nearly drown in a swimming pool when I was in Primary school, still remember that vividly! God took care of me even before I came to know him some 10 years later from there... COOL~

Jeremiah 1:4
The Call of Jeremiah
The word of the LORD came to me, saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."

God may not have appointed me as a prophet.. but He did choose me to be His child before I was even born! That said, before I was being formed in my mother's womb, God already knew me and loved me... YAY!! *Happy*

Hey... YOU too! God knew you before you were being formed in the womb... do get to know this God who loves you so much that He gave His only Son, Jesus Christ, for you ;)

Ahh... I hope my Firstborn gives her best smile today!

Growing in Grace

2009-07-17T11:53:00.004+08:00

What is GRACE?

Someone gave a pretty good explanation:

GRACE is God's Riches At Christ's Expense.

"Growing in Grace" was the theme of our Church Camp this year. We didn't make it to the chuch camp because of obvious reason: "$ No Enough" :P

Still, thank God that we get to learn about the theme when sharings were overflowed from the camp into the prayer meetings and subsequence Sunday services.

Also, some campers were called to present the theme song and here they are:

edited for protection of members' privacy...except for Desmond, haha!

Theme Song: "Grace that is Greater than All Our Sins"

Heavenly!! (Recorded and uploaded by Pual Chua)

Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!
Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured,
There where the blood of the Lamb was spilled.

Chorus
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin.

Sin and despair, like the sea waves cold,
Threaten the soul with infinite loss;
Grace that is greater, yes, grace untold,
Points to the refuge, the mighty cross.

Dark is the stain that we cannot hide.
What can we do to wash it away?
Look! There is flowing a crimson tide,
Brighter than snow you may be today.

Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace,
Freely bestowed on all who believe!
You that are longing to see His face,
Will you this moment His grace receive?

Some of the brethren in this group were joking that they can be called the "100 Years Old Choir" as the age of all of them would add up to more than a 100, haha!

Pastor shared a humbling experiece about how he thought he had covered all the bases on the grace of God through Jesus Christ and was very happy with his work, but he came back from the church camp to discover that he has totally left-out the gracious God - our Abba Father!

The verse which Pastor used to greet the campers throughout the camp mentioned about grace from God our Father, which he totally skipped and only focused on the Lord Jesus Christ... quite a humbling experiece I must say so for our dear Pastor, but glad that he is humble enough to listen and learn from the Holy Spirit :)

Galatians 1:3-5
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

AMEN!

Grace, grace, God's grace,

Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;

Grace, grace, God's grace,

Grace that is greater than all our sin.

ABOVE ALL

2009-07-13T13:27:00.005+08:00

Above all powers, above all kings
Above all nature and all created things
Above all wisdom and all the ways of man
You were here before the world began

Above all kingdoms, above all thrones
Above all wonders the world has ever known
Above all wealth and treasures of the earth
There's no way to measure what you're worth

Crucified
Laid behind a stone
You lived to die
Rejected and alone
Like a rose
Trampled on the ground
You took the fall
And thought of me
Above all

Song presentation by Daniel Lau, our church Elder's one and only son :)

Gave a short exhortation before he sang...

Once again, Daniel played and sang so well... Praise the Lord!

That was a short clip I took with my humble-handphone. See below for the full version of the song, a LIVE worship with Michael W. Smith which interjected with photos that compliment the song. It helps to bring out the impact of this beautiful worship song:

Jesus is above all

and He loves us above all~

Enjoy!

Jesus...
Like a Rose
Trampled on the ground
You took the fall
And thought of me
Above all

2 Corinthians 8:9
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

Dear Lord Jesus,
You became poor for me, thank You.
Please help me to love You always.
And forever!
Amen!

An Invitation to Sing

2009-06-29T13:30:00.001+08:00

I received an invitation from Sarah Tan, who happened to be my sister and the one who led me to Christ, to sing a beautiful song!

Pastor has been asking around for people to give song presentation, he even invited a Jew who visited us twice, to give a song special! Let's hope that he won't be frightened off, haha!

Anyway, this beautiful song is entitled "祢爱永不变", which means "Your Love Changes Not".

And, WOW, I found a video clip on YouTube which was very nicely done. It uses scenes from "The Passion of Christ", which is a controversial movie full of violent and has a very strong Catholic background, which I am NOT for it, but I'm amazed at how it portrayed the sufferings of Christ. It rend my heart watching how my Saviour was willing to suffer for me in order to save me from hell.

Romans 5:6-8
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

羅馬書5:6-8
因我们还软弱的时候，基督就按所定的日期为罪人死。为义人死，是少有的；为仁人死、或者有敢做的。惟有基督在我们还作罪人的时候为我们死，神的爱就在此向我们显明了。

祢流出宝血, 洗净我污秽
将我的生命赎回
祢为了我的罪, 牺牲永不悔
显明你极大恩惠

我深深体会, 祢爱的宝贵
献上自己永追随
或伤心或气馁, 或生离或死别
愿刚强壮胆永远不后退

哦~
祢爱永不变, 从今直到永远
深深浇灌我心田
或天旋或地转, 经沧海历桑田
都不能叫我与祢爱隔绝

Romans 8:38-39
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

羅馬書8:38-39
因为我深信无论是死，是生，是天使，是掌权的，是有能的，是现在的事，是将来的事，
是高处的，是低处的，是别的受造之物，都不能叫我们与神的爱隔绝；这爱是在我们的主基督耶稣里的。

Thank You God for Your Great Love for us. You loved us when we were still sinners, ugly, sinful and undeserved.

Thank You Jesus for Your Sacrificial Love for us. You took our sins upon Yourself and died on the cross for us!

Thank You Holy Spirit for opening my eyes and heart to see and receive the Love of God!

Update: This song was later suggested by my dear hubby to let Peter and Tong Hak sing instead... because they have known what is "经沧海历桑田" and will definitely present it well.

I agreed to even though I have kind of "fallen-in-love" with this song, haha! Sarah even thanked me for "releasing" this song to be sung by Peter and Tong Hak... Hey, she really didn't have to, 'cos I truly agree with what hubby said: With they younger son, Ezra, fighting against Leukaemia, they really have been through storms~

I'll certainly take a clip of their presentation, but it would be next year then. Almost all Sundays until the end of the year were taken up by song presentations from the Music Dept. to teach us new worship songs and also by some special one like yesterday's Communion Special by Daniel Lau(started solo on "阿爸天父") who sang "Above All". I will write an entry on that this week, stay tuned! :)

Abba! Father!

2009-06-25T16:14:00.007+08:00

Last Sunday was Father's Day. When I was in the church, the term "Abba, Father" was mentioned extensively throughout the worship.

During testimony, someone stood up to thank God for her earthly father, and at the same time she wished God - her Heavenly Father, a blessed Father's Day too. How sweet was that, I thought.

The senior Youth gave a Father's Day song special: 阿爸天父(Abba, Father). It was a lovely song and I was touched by it... 阿爸天父~ 阿爸天父~ 从我心深处呼求你名字~

My thought were brought back to when I just accepted Jesus as my Saviour. That was the time when the Almighty God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, became my Abba, Father! Awesome!

This word "Adoption" came to my mind when I was pondering on the awesome truth of being able to call God my Abba, Father. I was being adopted by God when I opened my heart to receive the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm so glad that out of the multitudes, God chose me and saved me and brought me into His wonderful light. Through faith in His Son - Jesus Christ, I have received the Spirit of adoption and become a child of God. And I can call Him: "Abba"! WOW!!

Romans 8:15-16
For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.

Abba is an Aramaic word which means "daddy" or "papa". What Paul is saying is when we accept Jesus as our Savior we are adopted into God’s family. We become His children and He becomes our heavenly Father. The relationship is so deep and so personal that we can call him "daddy".

Some pics and clips from the special:

Daniel starting solo

The Senior Youth

Daniel played and sang so well~
(Hear Thaddea harmonizing in the background, haha!)

The group~

Hmmm... Thaddea didn't allow me to take a decent video of the presentation, so here's a clip of the whole song by SOP that I found in YouTube, enjoy!

The song that captivates my heart:

Thank You God that I can talk to You intimately, to have You as my Daddy, my Papa, One Who is merciful and loves me unconditionally.

Blessed Father's Day to my Heavenly Father ~ Abba
Thank You for loving me and taking care of my everything!

Blessed Father's Day to my earthly father ~ Dad
Thank you for loving me and taking care of my earthly needs!

Also...

Blessed Father's Day to my spiritual father ~ Pastor Joseph
Thank you for loving me and taking care of my spiritual needs!

Hey... I have 3 daddies! Yay!!

To all my friends: God can be your "Abba, Father" too~

Talking eCard

2009-06-09T16:42:00.009+08:00

Philip sent me an eCard with the following message:

"Dear Lydia, blessed birthday. One more year and you'll be turning into a flower. Woman 40 is a flower. However, beauty is fleeting and charm deceptive but the woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Though we are losing our outward beauty as time passed, may we grow inwardly to be more like Jesus. Lastly, just want to say that you'll always be beautiful to me. I love you. Muah! From someone who'll love you always, Philip, your lover."

Sweet~ Didn't know I'll be turning into a FLOWER next year, though!

Anyway, Philip wanted me to copy the message and paste it in a link which has a cat who can talk! (Choose a male voice and preview!) Very cute! The part when it goes "Muah!" was too funny!

If you have time, try it out!! You may like to type in other message instead. I type in the following, chose a female voice(Valerie!), preview it and it was hilarious!

"Aww... thank you Philip, you are so sweet! Smoochie! I love you toooooo!"

Here's the link: BlueMountain Talking eCard

Have fun!

Update: Okay... we just made the cat speak in Mandarin(ni how ma, wo i ni.) and Teochew(lur ja ba buay), haha!

I'm 39!

2009-06-05T00:02:00.002+08:00

Today I celebrate my 39th birthday~

I look forward to what God has instored for me as I step into the last year of me being in the thirties. I hope to do something exciting for the Lord before I enter into the BIG four-zero... something that will make me smile whenever I look back at my 39, something that would be sweet and savoury :)

I remembered when I turned 35, I was feeling sober by this verse in Psalm 90:10 - "The length of our days is seventy years — or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away." If my life span is 70 years like what the Psalmist said, then I would have lived(used up) half of it... what am I going to do with the other half left??

I wonder would I have the same sentiment again when I hit the big 40 next year, being sober thinking of having left with another half of my entire life span if I were to have the strength to live a neat 80 years... hmmmm...

ANYWAY, if God called me home today, then all these thoughts are but just a waste of time! Being SOBER is GOOD, as long as I move on and stop dwelling on it and rot, that is, nope!

I neeeeeeeeeeeeed to LIVE LIFE to the fullest by LIVING LIFE FOR MY GOD! What have I been doing with my past 38 years huh? HUH??

Seize the year, Lydia!

Seize the time!!

Seize the moment!!!

My prayer, O God, on this my 39th birthday, according to Psalm 90:12 onwards:

Teach me to number my days aright, that I may gain a heart of wisdom. Have compassion on me - your child. Satisfy me in the morning with your unfailing love, that I may sing for joy and be glad all my days. May your deeds be shown to me, your splendor to my children. May the favor of the Lord my God rest upon me; establish the work of my hands for me — yes, establish the work of my hands.

In Jesus' gracious Name I humbly asked.

Amen and Amen!

Blessed 39th, Lydia!

Have fun in the Lord with your dear husband and children today :)

Perhaps Today!

2009-06-04T13:54:00.002+08:00

~ The Rapture ~

"For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words." ~ 1 Thess 4:16-18

Titus 2:13 says "while we wait for the blessed hope — the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,"

"You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him." Luke 12:40

The Rapture, which is the Second Coming of Jesus is an established fact. It is a promise that Jesus gave us when he said in John 4:1-3 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."

I may not have the priviledge to be at His First Coming which had happened some 2000 years ago when Jesus was born in a manger in Bethlehem, Israel, but I have the greatest definite priviledge to participate in His Second Coming! Glory!!

Even if I were to died before the Rapture takes place, I would still be a participant, in fact... "the dead in Christ will rise first!"

Totally Awesome! =)

The Imminent Return of my Savior, my Lord Jesus Christ, means that He could return at any moment, at any time, it is even at the door!

Perhaps today is the 2nd Coming! While there is no "Perhaps" in regards to the event of His return, the "Perhaps" here is refering to the TIMING~

Following is a super-nice poem written by J. Danson Smith. I SO love it! Hope you like it too :)

PERHAPS TODAY
(The unedited version)

Today? Perhaps! Perhaps today!
The Lord may come and catch away
His ransomed Church, His blood-bought Bride
To take her place at His blest side,
When dead and living saints shall share
One trumpet summons to the air.

Perhaps today! Yes! He may come
And call us to our Heavenly Home,
That wonderous place beyond compare
Which He, in love, doth now prepare--
Our Father's House! How sweet! How blest
To be forevermore at rest!

Today? Perhaps! Tis true! Today!
Ere nightfall we may be away,
Transported Home! How blest! How grand!
Transported Home to Gloryland!
One twinkling moment, then to be
With Him for all eternity.

Perhaps today! Then why the fear?
Tomorrow we may not be here!
The thing so dreaded may not come
Till we are safely gathered Home!
The threat'ning storm-cloud may not break
Till, in His Presence, we awake.

Perhaps today! Oh, lonely soul,
Thy heart shall reach its longed-for goal;
The fellowship, the joy, the bliss,
Which now thy heart doth sorely miss,
Perchance may be thy heart's delight
Ere closes in another night.

Perhaps today! Then much-tried saint,
Look up, nor let thy spirit faint;
The stretching road thine eyes may see
May never be traversed by thee--
One moment's space and then above,
To find thyself in cloudless love!

Perhaps today, afflicted life,
Thou shalt be taken from the strife,
From all that hatred to thy word
Which comes as thou dost please thy Lord.
And then, ah then, how shall the pain
Compared with all thou then shalt gain!

Perhaps today the fight will cease,
And then, eternal wondrous peace!
The evil hosts which rage and roar
Shall reach us there? NO, nevermore!
O blessed hope, to them be free
For ever through eternity!

We'll meet again - perhaps today
The dear ones who have passed away--
The loved ones who now softly sleep
When Jesus now doth safely keep,
Oh wondrous joy to meet them There
At that blest union in the air!

Perhaps today this mortal frame
With all enfeebled nature's claim
Shall be exchanged, and we shall own
A "temple" where shall not be known
A sense of weakness or decay,
Or strength that surely ebbs away.

Perhaps today we all shall stand
At Christ's tribunal, wondrous grand--
There gathered through redeeming love,
All ransomed, yet to have Him prove
Life's service, and to gain reward
Where life or labour pleased the Lord.

Perhaps today! He'll come most sure!
This hope He means to keep us pure--
To have us watching, ready, free,
Untrammeled with iniquity,
That we may meet Him without shame
Or conscious sense of guilt or blame.

Today perhaps! Perhaps today!
Yes, He may come! Then watch and pray!
This "blessed hope" keep much in view,
Nor deem it dead, though taught by few.
And be as urgent as you may
In winning souls, while 'tis "Today"!

~ Written by J. Danson Smith~

Published in the book, Maranatha Bells,
by Arno C. Gaebelein,
Copyright 1935

I SO look forward to meet the Lord in the air and the transformation of my lowly body to that of Christ's glorified body at the Rapture!! Can't wait~

We are called to be ready at all times for we do not know when Jesus will return for us. What is known is that He promised to return. The Lord keeps His promises.

May we be ever ready to meet the Lord Jesus in the air.

May we expectantly await to meet the Lord in the air.

May we pray fervently from our hearts, "Come quickly, Lord Jesus."

不住祷告! Persistent Prayers!

2009-06-01T15:13:00.010+08:00

A very nice song that reminds me to pray, pray, pray! :)

我以禱告來到祢跟前，
我要尋求祢。
我要站在破口之中，
在那裡我尋求祢。

(副歌)
每一次我禱告，
我搖動祢的手，
禱告做的事，
我的手不能做。
每一次我禱告，
大山被娜移，
道路被鋪平，
使列國歸向祢。

主我是軟弱及無助，
祢卻是我的力量。
祢以親切的手引導我，
那就是我的得勝。

A simple translation of the song:
I come before You in prayer, seeking You.
I stand in the gap, there I seek You.

Everytime I pray,
I moved Your Hands.
Things that prayer can do,
I can't do it with my hands.
Everytime I pray
The mighty mountains are removed
The paths are made straight,
And the nations turned to You.

Lord, I'm weak and helpless,
but You are my Strength.
You lead me with Your Hand
and that is my Victory!

Very nice song indeed! Pastor was sharing in the prayer meeting about "The Parable of the Persistent Widow" in the context of Jesus' Second Coming.

Luke 18:1-8
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: "In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared about men. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.'

"For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care about men, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually wear me out with her coming!'

"And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?"

Dear Lord, I want to be found faithful in praying for my children, for my loved-ones, for the salvations of my friends, for the world, for everything that You have put in my heart to pray, when You come again for us. Yes, faithfully and persistently praying until Jesus returns at the Second Coming!

I don't want to be fooled by the devil who has been discouraging me to pray. Lord, please help me to never give up praying. Help me to be persistent!

Satan hates to see us praying because he knows that prayers move the mighty Hand of GOD that's why Satan is trying his utmost best to distract us from praying, making prayers look boring and pointless... But, NO! I don't want to be fooled by the devil! So Lord, this is what I pray:

Help me to be "be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."(Romans 12:12)

Help me to "pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."(Ephesians 6:18)

Help me to "devote myself to prayer, being watchful and thankful."(Colossians 4:2)

Help me to "pray continually" (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

In Jesus' Name! Amen!!

Life Without Limbs

2009-05-25T15:39:00.008+08:00

~ Nick Vujicic ~

Philip came across this video which is very inspiring and shared it with me, needless to say, I was inspired! Hope it blesses you too. This man is a christian born without limbs and by the grace of God, he is now serving God and has become an encouragement to others. God can use our adversity for His own Glory. Amen!

You may like to visit his website here at The Official Nick Vujicic Web Site.

Also, I copied and pasted his Life Testimony here so you can read.

A Remarkable Story of God's Grace

It says in James 1:2, "Consider it pure joy, my Brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds."

It seemed like a tall order to “count” hurt, pain and struggle as nothing but “pure joy” when my birth date arrived. My parents were Christians; my Dad was even a Pastor of our church, so that verse was quite familiar to them. However, on the morning of December 4th , 1982, in Melbourne, Australia, the last two words on the minds of my parents was "Praise God!". Their firstborn son had been born without limbs! There were no warnings or time to prepare themselves for it. Having no answers at all, the doctors were completely shocked and taken off guard!

The whole church mourned over my birth and my parents were absolutely devastated. "If God is a God of love, “ they questioned, “Then why would He let something like this happen, and especially to committed Christians?" My Dad did not think I would survive for very long. But, tests proved that I was a healthy baby boy with just one hitch, I’d been born without any limbs.

Understandably, my parents had strong concern and evident fears of what kind of life I would be able to lead. The first big hurdle was for my parents to be at peace, trusting that God was still fully in control. It took a number of months and a lot of tears, questions and grief before coming to terms within their own hearts. God provided them with the strength, wisdom and courage they would need through those early years. Soon after that, I was old enough to go to school.

School was really enjoyable for me and I really tried to live life like everyone else. But, it was in my early years of school where I encountered uncomfortable times of feeling rejected, weird and bullied because of my physical difference. It was very hard for me to get used to. In spite of this, with the support of my parents, I started to develop attitudes and values which helped me overcome these challenging times. Though I knew I was different, on the inside, I was just like everyone else. There were many times when I felt so low that I wouldn't go to school in order to avoid all the negative attention. With encouragement from my parents, I began to ignore the bullies and tried to start making friends by just talking with some of the kids. Soon the students realized that I was just like them. Starting there, God began to bless me with new friends!

Many times I felt depressed and angry because I couldn't change the way I was, or blame anyone for that matter. In Sunday school, I learned that God loves us all and that He cares for us deeply. At that stage in my childhood, I could understand His love to a point. But, as you can imagine, I still got hung up on that fact that if he really loved me, why did He make me like this? I wondered if I’d done something wrong and began to feel certain that this must be true. Otherwise, I thought, God wouldn’t have made me the only weird one out of all the kids at school. Feeling I was a burden to those around me, I sensed the sooner I’d just go away altogether, the better it would be for everyone. So, at a young age, I wanted to end my pain and my life. But I am thankful, once again, for my parents and my family who were always there to comfort me and lend me their strength. Thankfully, a real turning point arrived!

Due to the emotional struggles I had experienced with bullying, self-esteem and loneliness, God began to instill a passion of sharing my story and experiences to help others cope with whatever challenge they might have in their lives. Turning my struggles into something that would glorify God and bless others, I realized my purpose! The Lord was going to use me to encourage and inspire others to live to their fullest potential and not let anything get in the way of accomplishing their hopes and dreams.

As I grew older, God continued to prepare my heart and teach me to seek Him. One of the first lessons that I have learned was not to take things for granted. With a wake-up call around the age of twelve, I realized just how much God had blessed me. My foot, what I’ve termed “my little chicken bone” I had been taking for granted. But it serves me well. God had freely given to me and so much with my loving family, and so many other blessings, I realized “Why should I still complain?” God directed me to Romans 8:28 and there I found this, "And we know that in all things God works for the best for those who love Him." Wow! That verse really spoke to my heart. It convicted me to the point where I’m confident that there’s no such thing as luck, chance or coincidence and that these "bad" things happen in our life to make us more like Christ.

In James 1:3 & 4, it reads, "...know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." Enlightened through God’s Word, I felt complete peace rush in, knowing that God will not let anything happen to us unless He has a good purpose for it. At the age of 15, I completely gave my life to Christ after reading John 9. In this chapter, Jesus said that the reason the man was born blind was "so that the works of God may be revealed through Him." I truly believed that God would heal me so I could be a great testimony of His awesome power. As I grew in Christ and in spiritual maturity, the Lord gave me the wisdom to understand that if we pray for something within His will, it will happen, but in His timing…not ours. And likewise, if our prayers are not within God's will, then I know that He has something better. His purpose became clearer to me and now I’m fully convinced and understand that His glory is revealed as He uses me just the way I am. And even more wonderful, He can use me in ways others can't be used.

Now twenty-five years old, I’ve completed a Bachelor’s Degree in both Financial Planning and Accounting. Also, I’m active as a motivational speaker. Again, my number one passion is for souls. I just love to go out and share my story and testimony wherever opportunities become available. Over time, I’ve developed messages that relate to and encourage students through topics that challenge today's teenagers. The Lord has used me to speak in the corporate sector as well. For more information on Nick's presentations, go to "Nick's Ministry".

In recent years, I’ve learned to become independent and can now take care of all my personal needs. I’m able to do everything from brushing my teeth and combing my hair to dressing up and taking care of my personal hygiene, including shaving. I get around the house by jumping around and, outside the house; an electric wheelchair assists me. For recreation, I enjoy swimming, fishing and playing soccer.

Passionate for reaching out to the youth, I’m constantly ministering in schools from elementary to high school. Ultimately, I make myself available for whatever God wants me to do, and wherever He leads, I follow, for I’ve learned to trust Him fully.

Achieving goals and pursuing dreams is something I’m actively pursuing on a regular basis. Some of these include becoming the best witness I can be of God's love and hope, to become an international inspirational speaker and to be used as a vessel in both Christian and non-Christian venues. These goals are, even now, being realized. Other aspirations of mine yet to be realized is my desire to modify a car that I can drive, to be interviewed on the "Oprah Winfrey Show" and share my story, and to write several books. With anticipation, I look forward to starting on the first of these this year. Not surprisingly, the title will be, "No Arms, No Legs, No Worries!"

Many would think these goals were too far-fetched. However, I believe that if you have the desire and passion to do something, and it's within God's will, you will achieve it in good time. As humans, we continually put limits on ourselves for no reason at all! What's worse is putting limits on God, who is well able to do all things! We put God in a "box". The awesome thing about the power of God is that if we want to do something for God, we must refocus. Instead of concentrating on our capability, our attention needs to shift to our availability. For, the Word of God is clear; it is God working through us. Without Him, we aren’t capable of doing anything on our own. Once we make ourselves available for God's work, guess whose capabilities we rely on? God's! Philippians 4:13 highlights this point well, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." God has a truly great purpose for your life!

As far as your unanswered prayers, remember that God is Faithful. What are we to do when we are seeking but not finding? Jeremiah 29:12 states, "Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the Lord.

Take courage my friend for the Battle is the Lord's. Let me urge you to keep striving for the truth. The truth, found in Jesus Christ, is what will set you free. It’s His peace, reigning in your heart, that will give you true freedom from the fear and doubt that has previously resided there. May the Lord bless you as you diligently seek Him and grant you Godly wisdom and strength through your journey.

Lastly, if you know of an audience which may benefit from hearing Nick's story, please contact us at support@lifewithoutlimbs.org. Also, watch the updates on our websites and see if I’ll be speaking your area!

In Christ’s Service,
Nick Vujicic

"As far as your unanswered prayers, remember that God is Faithful."

I really like what he said about God's faithfulness and our unanswered prayers. Many times I focused on my unanswered prayers and silently complaint in my heart... O God, please forgive me! Please help me to remember that You are Faithful!

Dear God, please help me to be faithful to You till the end. Amen!

《生命的内容》

2009-04-06T18:13:00.018+08:00

生命何其短暂，刹时就消失无踪
好像云雾，也如流水
没有人掌握它

灵魂却是永远，得永生或是沉沦
在于今生，正确选择
你是否有把握？

来！快信耶稣，他能除去你罪
赐你永生活命，免至灵魂沉沦

生命不计长短，在于生命的内容
信靠耶稣，灵魂得救
生命就有意义

最近传来许多不好的消息。。。不是这位朋友开刀，就是那位同事重病。顿时使我想起以上的这首诗歌《生命的内容》。

初信主时，好喜欢这首诗歌，记得那个时候，一直唱，一直唱！在房间里弹着吉他大声大声地唱。在洗澡时也放声唱。和弟兄姐妹聚集时，也一定一起唱着这首好听又有着极大能力的诗歌！

因为好希望全家人，全座组屋的人，全世界的人，都来信耶稣，得永生！

雅各書 4 : 13 - 14

你们有话说：「今天明天我们要往某城里去，在那里住一年，做买卖得利。」其实明天如何，你们还不知道。你们的生命是甚麽呢？你们原来是一片云雾，出现少时就不见了。

James 4:13-14

Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.

I have been receiving some bad news recently, either this friend of mine is going for an operation, or that colleague of mine was diagnosed with cancer. I thought how fragile life can be...

A song came to my mind which I loved to sing, again and again, when I first believed in Jesus Christ and became a Christian. I sang it in my bedroom playing the guitar, I sang it in my showers, I sang it with brethren in our gatherings! It is so meaningful and so powerful!

I just love it because I wanted my whole family, all my neighbours and the whole world to come to faith in Jesus, to receive life everlasting!

The song went something like this:
LIFE is so short, suddently it disappears.
Like a mist, or a rushing river, none can control it.

But SOUL is eternal, salvation or demnation.
It's this life's decision, do you have the confident?

Come! Believe in Jesus! He can wash away your sins.
And give you eternal life, that your soul escapes demnation.

"Eternity is but a breath away"... let's make the right choice before it it too late~

永恒就在一息之差，让我们做对的选择，以免为时太晚啊~

Before a word is on my tongue...

2009-03-23T17:42:00.004+08:00

Psalm 139
O LORD, you have searched me
and you know me.

You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.

You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.

Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD.

You hem me in—behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.

Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?

If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,

even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.

This is one of my favourite Psalm. It tells me how wonderful my God is and how He knows me and loves me! God is omniscience; He k-n-o-w-s all things. He knows the secret thoughts in my heart and is familiar with all my ways; even before a word is on my tongue, He knew it already! How awesome! God is omnipresence; He is e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e, I can never run away from Him! God is omnipotence, He can do all things; nothing is impossible for Him!

My God is a God of blessings and I have many sweet encounters of His wonderful blessings. I took pictures of the blessings to record what He has been doing for me and the most recent one was the Sugar-Roll-Blessing :)

Sugar roll is my favourite! That afternoon when I went past the bakery shop during lunch hour, I was eyeing their sugar roll. It used to be $0.80 per piece, but now it is $0.90, an increase of 10cents. I know it's not much, but I just couldn't bring myself to buy it for my own indulgence. I need to spend less for my children's sake. So I walked away with saliva pooling in my mouth, haha! Then, back in the office, to my pleasantest(if there's ever such a word) surprise, my colleague, Max, came over to my desk and gave me this:

He said, "Nahh, give you half, I can't finish all." HUH?! He couldn't finish it all? Such a small piece of sugar roll, and which man could only manage to eat half of it?! I was speechless! WOW! I made myself a cup of coffee and savour every little bite of my precious sugar-roll-half :)

MORE from last year:

July 2008. I told Philip that I suddenly developed a strong liking in green apple flavour Vitagen, but it seems like they only sell all purple grapes flavour in a pack which is more popular. I wonder they ever sell green apple flavour in a pack.... Then we forgot about our conversation. During that same week, when the Vitagen auntie came knocking on our door in the afternoon, instead of taking out 2 mixed-flavour packs which we usually would buy from her, she took this out and asked Philip whether he fancy to buy all green apple flavour Vitagen pack:

I came home to this wonderful surprise and I just have to snap a picture of my all-green-apple-flavour-Vitagen-pack! :)

August 2008. It was near mid-autumn festival and I was thinking of eating a green-tea red bean paste mooncake on my way to work. Then I saw it in the office pantry!! Can you see the round redbean paste embraced by the green-tea flavoured paste covered with brown skin?!

I was so touched that I was near crying when I carefully sink my teeth in... what more could I ask?

Nov 2008. Xmas came early when everywhere you turned you could hear either the jinggling song or the dreaming song, lol! I love fruit cakes, top with icing please! My favourite desert of the season. And I have it again, in the pantry again!

No icing this time but almond slice, why not? I like crunchie almonds too! :)

Dec 2008. Went to work without taking my breakfast. A female colleague, Juliana, came to my desk and with two hands she presented me this nutricious beancurd in soya milk by Mr bean:

Either she bought extra or she didn't feel like taking breakfast. She never tell me why, just said, "Eat lah." haha! Thank you, Juli! And thank YOU, God :)

CNY 2009. Usually my colleagues would bring the goodies, that they couldn't finish, to the office so we could help them clear the stock, but to have difficulty in finishing the ever-popular cum expensive BBQ pork slice and the ever-crsipy prawn roll?? Can't be! But it was so:

Here is a song composed using the words from Psalm 139, Simply beautiful! I like to listen to it over and over again, and think about my wonderful, wonderful GOD!

主耶和華，你已經鑒察了我。
我坐下，我起來，你都已曉得。
我行路，我躺臥，你都細察，
你也深知我一切所行。

我舌頭上的話，你沒有一句不知道。
你在我前後環繞著我，按手在我身上。
這樣的奇妙，是我不能測透，
你的至高你的尊貴，是我永遠不能所及。

我可以往哪裡去躲避你的靈？
我可以往哪裡去逃，可躲避你的面？
我若展開清晨的翅膀飛到地極，就在那裡，
你的雙手也必引導我。

Nods!

2009-02-26T17:48:00.003+08:00

Thaddea @ 12 months!

I have more clips on Thaddea nodding her head to questions like "Is mommy pretty?" LOL!

All of Grace

2009-02-04T12:47:00.002+08:00

Last year's theme for our church was "ALL OF GRACE. ALL OF GOD."

Yes, it was a year of God's wonderful grace, magnified particularly in my life and in the live of little Ezra Lim.

God graciously healed me of breast cancer, it is a MIRACLE that has given me a chance to live for my Lord and I'm very grateful for that.

For Ezra Lim, it is also by God's grace that he is still living today. Diagnosed with ALL(blood cancer), he had gone for the 3rd round of chemotherapy. It is tough for a 7-year-old boy, the side effects of vomiting after the treatment was too much for him to bear. He was angry with God initially, but now he thank God for His grace which saw him through and will see him through many more treatments to come.

The testimony of little Ezra was amazing. His mommy shared how they were able to reach out to many foreigners whose children, some as young as 2-year-old, are also having ALL and came to Singapore for treatment. Ezra made friends with the children and showed them around and telling them not to be scare of the hospital. And his mommy would talk to the parents, encourage, pray and share with them about God's grace.

Tong Hak(Ezra's mommy) testified how her life was changed from busy giving tuitions, sending Ezra to school and going on vacations during December holidays... to reaching out to people as far as from Vietnam! It is bitter sweet for her, seeing her son suffering is difficult, but being able to reach out to other souls with God's love is so wonderful.

Ezra came to the Watch Night Service on New Year's Eve, he is still the same active boy just like before, only that most of his hair has fallen off from the treatment and he needs to wear a mask to protect himself as his body resistance is low. You can spot him in this video clip, he appeared briefly at the 30th sec.

The musicians were practising for the worship and the song was "Power of Your Love", Daddy was playing the drum-machine, it's a machine because it is not the real drum, just some key pads that you hit with your fingers, haha! I was actually taking a video of Thaddea drinking water, I love that she likes to drink water, so not like her two sisters whom we need to pester them to drink more!

Ezra's daddy gave a song special with a group of brethens that night which I didn't get to record it down. But thank God that they presented the song again on Sunday.

Jonah, Ezra's only brother played the 二胡 which sounded so NICE! I was in the Chinese Orchestra when I was in Secondary School and I played the 二胡 too! So imagine how I melted listening to this song... even Thaddea who was sitting on my lap was so still, she was captivated by the 二胡! :)

若不是主的恩典
If Not For The Lord’s Grace

若不是祢的恩典
(Nah Um See Le Eh Woon Diam)
If not for Your grace, O Lord

我根本不敢来见祢
(Gua Goon Poon Um Kha Lai Gi Le)
I will not dare come before You

若不是祢的恩典
(Nah Um See Le Eh Woon Diam)
If not for Your grace, O Lord

我想我活不到今日
(Gua Xiu Gua Wah Buey Gao Kin Jit)
I would not live till to this day

是祢的恩典使我得救
(Si Le Eh Woon Diam Sai Gua Teck Giu)
It is Your grace that has redeemed me

是祢的恩典给我能够更爱祢
(Si Le Eh Woon Diam Ho Gua Eh Dang Keng Ai Le)
It is Your grace that makes me love You even more

副歌
主耶稣我感谢祢的恩典
(Zhu Yah Soh Gua Gum Xia Le Eh Woon Diam)
Lord Jesus, I really thank You for Your grace

主耶稣感谢祢每次给我机会
(Zhu Yah Soh Gum Xia Le Dah Bai Ho Gua Gi Huey)
Lord Jesus, thank You always for giving me a chance

主耶稣感谢祢赦免了我的罪
(Zhu Yah Soh Gum Xia Le Xia Bian Liao Gua Eh Zuey)
Lord Jesus, thank You for pardoning all my sins

是祢的恩典, 是你的恩典
(Si Le Eh Woon Diam, Si Le Eh Woon Diam)
It is Your grace, it is Your grace

因你的恩典, 一生奉献
(Yim Le Eh Woon Diam, Yi Seng Hong Hien)
‘Cos of Your grace, I offer my life

My Hokkien is less than a bucket of water, haha, but I really like how the lyrics of the song came with the english pronounciations for the hokkien words... pretty interesting!

Ahhhh... thank You GOD... for your GRACE!

2 Corinthians 9:8
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

Watch Night Service

2009-01-16T12:40:00.000+08:00

It's our custom to attend the church's Watch Night service every New Year's eve. Service starts at 9pm and we were encouraged to fast on that day which was suppose to be our church's quaterly fast and pray day. Usually we'd go for supper after the service but now with 3 kids on-tow, we'd rather go home and eat instant noodle(our very first meal of the New Year, haha!) after tucking the children up, by then it was 2am in the wee hours of the new day! :)

We have thanksgiving time opened to the floor after worship. Anybody can go on stage to thank God for the year that was about to end. Some may also give a song special. There were no fireworks when we count down into the New Year but glorious Praise and Worship unto God for the brand New Year! After which we entered into covenants with God. Very meaningful and very nice. I like the idea of being in the House of God at the dawn of the new year :)

Not many attended...but the presence of God is so wonderful!

Daddy wrote the following and intended to go on stage to share but he didn't get a chance to do it. He was able to thank God still on the first Sunday of the New Year during testimony time in the service. I'm gonna copy and paste it here for memory and for the glory of God :)

A thanksgiving for the year 2008 by Daddy, Philip.

Thank God for...

Thaddea. She is an unexpected gift from God. God is Sovereign.

Lydia(mommy truly =D) who is still with us and healthy.

Surgery I had that taught me to take care of my body, the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Providence which teach us to learn faith.

Humility to accept help and gifts from others.

Lesson learnt to be thankful and to appreciate what we have when we are in need.

Mountain and valley in spiritual life. God is faithful.

Music Ministry. Thank God that I can return to serve in this ministry after a long period.

All the people who have been a great help and encouragement to us.

Timely word when I felt so directionless and had achieve nothing all these time: "To be successful in God’s kingdom is to be faithful in where God has placed me."

Year(2009), though there is much uncertainty, God is faithful and we trust that He is holding our tomorrow.

Yes! Thank You Lord!!

他們哭了

2009-01-12T16:59:00.010+08:00

I was reading James 1 this morning and verse 27 stood up...

James 1:27
"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."

Every baby deserved a loving parents. If not a loving parents, then at least a caring nanny, or a doting adoptive parents. To love, cuddle and take good care of them. I cannot imagine us without our baby Thaddea, or worse, Thaddea without us...

I always wish that I have more money to sponsor a child or two in an orphanage or fostercare. Right now, I can only pray for them. May God brings every orphan into a forever family who will love and care for them forever~ Amen!

These children sang of the invisible Hands of Jesus. Though they cannot see Him nor touch Him, they knew that He is always there, wispering ever so softly to them. O, they knew deep in their hearts that their Lord Jesus is always there with them.

It was the nail-pierced Hands of Jesus that have touched and comforted their broken hearts. It was the soft gentle words of Jesus that once again filled the hunger and thirst of their hearts.

Praise the Lord!

雖不見祢，觸不到祢，
但是我知，祢正在對我低語。
哦！主耶穌，哦！主耶穌，
我深知道祢一直就在這裏。
　
是祢的手，釘痕的手，
重新撫慰我那破碎的心田。
是祢聲音，溫柔話語，
再度填滿我心靈中的飢渴。

记得初信主时，我也哭了。是主的大爱感动了我，叫我的眼泪一直流，一直流。主啊，谢谢祢救我灵魂，赐我永恒的生命。谢谢祢为我被钉十架，流宝血洗净我。

詩篇 103:1-2
我的心哪，你要称颂耶和华！凡在我里面的，也要称颂他的圣名！我的心哪，你要称颂耶和华！不可忘记他的一切恩惠！

寶貴十架 ~ Precious Cross

2009-01-08T13:29:00.005+08:00

On the first Sunday of the new year 2009, a Communion Sunday, I was deeply touched by the love of my Lord, Jesus Christ.

Throughout the service, as I prepared myself to participate in the Holy Communion, even though Thaddea was quite a handful, she always is, :P, in my mind I kept thinking of Jesus dying on the cross for me.

I must have been on Jesus' mind when He braved the cross. His love for me was so great that He bore with the pain when the nails were being hammered into His hands and feet.

Lord, thank You for bearing the cross for me. The punishment that I deserved, You took it upon Yourself. This is too much for me to grasp... I'm overwhelmed!

When I think of the cross, I see Your great love for me. I see the blood You shed on the cross, so precious and so powerful! Your blood washed away my sins and gave me life everlasting!

You are God's perfect sacrifice, once for all, to reconcile me to God. Thank You Jesus, my Lord, my Saviour!

1 Peter 3:18
"For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit."

Makoto Muramatsu

2008-12-09T12:17:00.001+08:00

I LOVE CATS!

I wrote about my passion in 吗哪月刊(church's chinese department's publication) many years ago, yes, it was in chinese... if I can find the script, I'll definitely post it here ;)

Makoto Muramatsu(村松誠), a Japanese artist who makes super cute images of cats (many kitties) and other animals with a lovely and silly expression. I love his works, they are all so sweet and cute!!

Images of cats:

Images of other animals:

My very first encounter with his work:

My profile picture:

Tiffany and Theophila wish they could go out and play.
Thaddea snuggling up with mommy.
Daddy has gone to church for prayer meeting.

I chose this as my profile picture because it protrayed our recent family adjustment to spend less due to a super-tight financial budget... no more going out on a Saturday: we saved about $50 for travelling out, lunch at the mall, coffee at the library, taxi to church, dinner outside and taxi home. Sure hope we won't have to be like this for too long... I miss Cafe Galilee and prayer meeting!

My favourite:

someone bought this for me...

Jigsaw puzzle for my sister's b'day

Tiffany wrote the birthday greetings at the back of the puzzle. She also drew something for her aunt - her all-time favourite skeleton-man(haha!) with a very colourful background!

Notice a missing piece at the bottom left corner of the jigsaw puzzle? We made-up by quoting this to her:

"Life is like a puzzle.
JESUS is the missing piece!"

My sister is also a cat-lover!

No Words. Just Tears.

2008-12-02T18:11:00.001+08:00

My Life Testimony

2008-11-25T23:16:00.006+08:00

Have been wanting to post this...

"My Life Testimony" is about how I came to know Jesus and why did I embraced Him as my Lord. It was written way back in year 2000 when I was being asked to share in a gospel evangelistic meeting about my faith.

It's amazing how God works. I started to re-type it 2 months ago because I lost the soft copy in my office computer. I was happy that I still have the hard copy with me... but re-typing it out is very time-consuming, so it was kind of 'abandoned'.

Yesterday as I was searching for Tiffany's earlier birthday photos in my home computer, I saw this folder 'LYDIA' in the C drive, because I seldom work on my home computer and, because it is screaming out my name, I open it out and saw my script!!

So, right now I'll just copy and paste and go through it again to fine-tune the words, you see, I used a lot of abbreviation which you might not understand ;) SO, here we go:

MY LIFE TESTIMONY

I am glad that you are reading about me at this God's appointed time. I would like to greet you in the Name which is greater than any other name, and that's the great Name of Jesus Christ!

I am giving you an account of my life testimony. That is to share with you how I came to know Jesus and why did I embraced him as my Lord.

I was born into a Taoist family. My parents pray to ancestors and worship a statue-god called "da-bo-gong". Mom would ask me to help her every 1st and 15th day of the lunar month to offer food and burn incense. I was just a little girl then and knew nothing much except that all these rituals were performed so that our ancestors and the statue-god would in turn protect and bless us.

A picture of my deceased grandma was placed on the altar and also a list of our ancestors' names. I was not close to grandma at all because she passed away before I was even born. I used to wonder where had she gone to and did she really hear us praying to her?

But as a little girl, I have more faith in my deceased grandma than the statue-god, because once my Dad was washing it and it slipped off his hands and was broken. Though I was still little, I wonder how this god is going to protect us when he couldn't even wash himself or protect himself. I remember Dad got to use superglue to fix him up before he gets another new one from the temple.

After I grew up a little. I was in primary school when I heard stories of a historical man called Jesus. I was fascinated by His stories. The 1st story I heard about Jesus was how He rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" He was in a boat when a storm broke up. With just one command, the wind died down and it was completely calm. I thought to myself, WOW-WEE, this Jesus must be somebody, because even the wind and the waves obeyed
Him.

Shortly after that, I got a chance to attend a children's Sunday
School with my sister, Sarah. From there I heard many more cool stories about Jesus. How He healed the sick, made the blinds see, the lame walk. The miracles He performed, feeding the 5000, causing the dead to rise and delievered those demons possessed. I don't know why BUT something inside of me just know and believe that this Jesus is for REAL.

My parents came to know about us attending church and they stopped us. They even beat up my sister because she had converted to christianity. I was afraid and I told myself never to become a christian, if not my Dad would definitely beat me to death.

Time passed and I grew up a little more, prettier and taller(haha!) and was in my secondary school years. But then, I was a troubled soul. I was bound by spirit of inferior complex. I tend to pity myself a lot. And I mean REALLY A LOT, so much so that I attempted
suicide.

Yes. I thought life was NOT fair, why my friends were all better off than me? Why A's parents were so rich? They could lived in a terrace house and had a garden, but mine was just a 3 rooms flat and could only put a few flower pots on our 5-foot-way. Why B was so clever and scored so well for all her subjects but I could only managed a pass and even fail some subjects no matter how hard I studied? Why C was so pretty but I was just a plain jane?? Why? Why?? Why???

It may sound silly now but then it was terrible, envious and jealousy and self-pity clouded my mind and I often hide away and cried. Once, I nearly popped 2 moth-balls which my Mom put in the wardrode to keep away crocoaches. I thought death could put a stop to all my so-called 'sufferings', but the other part of me was afraid, I didn't know where would I end up and what would happen to me?

I began to ask many questions about life and death. Why I was born into this world and into this family. Why people died. I mean it is so meaningless, the moment you born into the world, every minute that passed makes you closer to the day you died. *SIGH*

Then Jesus came into the picture. At the darkest moment of my life I would say, my sister, who continued attending church though my parents were strongly against it, had began to share with me about Jesus' 2nd coming and that how the world is preparing for His return.

The Bible predicted that there will be an increase of natural disasters like earthquakes, floods. Increase of wars and rumors of wars. How this world would become a cash-less society. Mark of the beast 666 on the palms and foreheads of men for transaction. I wonder whether you people heard of the recent development, a professor tried implanting microchip into his arm!

Hmmmm.. how interesting I thought. Whatever the Bible predicted regarding the events before the coming of Jesus, the newspaper was reporting on it. This created an interest in me that I wanna read the Bible which itself claims to be the Word of God.

SO, from my sister's sharing and from reading the Bible, I began to understand many things about life and death. That death is the result of sins. I realise I have sins, tons of it and that I sin naturally. I don't need to be taught how to tell lies, how to steal, how to hate, instead I need to be taught otherwise.

I learnt that it was appointed for men to died once and after that judgment. I realized that those who died could no longer protect us as they are waiting to be judged by God. Therefore, ancestors worship is totally out. About being filial, I think I should demonstrate it while my parents are still around, not only after they died.

Then, I came to know of this Creator God, the God of the Bible, and how He loved me by sending His Son, Jesus, to died on the cross for my sins. I felt the love of God for me is so real.

Whenever I read the Bible, I could almost felt like God is speaking to me. Like for instance, in Jeremiah 1:5, God said that before He formed me in the womb He knew me, before I was born He chose me! I felt so special and slowly that spirit of inferiority just left me. No longer I pity myself, I began to count my blessings which God so graciously bestowed on me through His Son, Jesus. I began to thank God for my family, my life, my friends and even my appearance.

In 1985, I was 15 yrs old then, I made up my mind to accept the sacrificial love of Jesus. I went to a rally. The preacher was talking about the narrow gate.

Matthew 7:13 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it."

I know that if I become a chrisitian, my Dad would beat me to death. But I was certain that I need Jesus, who is the narrow gate, though it may be tough to walk on the narrow path, it leads to life and I wanna be those few who find it!

Hence, at the end of the rally during the altar-call, I slipped up my right hand and went forward. I confessed my sins to God and asked Him to forgive me. I believed and received Jesus into my heart, into my life. Instantly, I felt all my sins were washed away by the blood of Jesus. I was reconciled with God and abundant joy just flooded my heart.

No words could express how I felt. It was the glorious moment in my life, tears just streamed down. I remembered the song they sang at the rally: "He is Lord, He is Lord. He has risen from the dead and He is Lord. Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord." I tell you, I couldn't agree more with the song ever so strongly!

Yes, my parents got to know about my conversion, and Dad did beat me up badly(though not beat to death, but with water-hose, the bruise was on my right thigh for the longest time!) but I was willing to suffer for my Lord, because God is faithful; he never let me suffer beyond what I could bear. He always provide a way out so that I can stand up under it. Guess what? Slowly I was able to attend church.

Finally, I would like to conclude here that it is the love of God that draws me to Christianity. Christianity to me is not just another religion, it is a LIVING relationship with the God of the whole universe, which made possible by Jesus Christ who paid the penalty of sins on my behalf when he died on that awful cross.

I love Jesus very much and the fact that He rose from the dead, I believe He is the begotten Son of the Living God and that He is coming soon.

Now, God loves you and has given you ample opportunities to know Him. God wants you to know Him more intimately through His Son Jesus Christ.

With this, I end my sharing and may Jesus be so real to you, like He is to me, that you cannot, but to receive Him into your heart to be your Lord and Saviour.

Praise the great Name of Jesus. Amen!

Congrats! You've finished reading my very long testimony! Now you got to know a little more about me, ya?

Thanks for reading!

I will update this post again with a picture of myself at 15 years old, I hope I can find one!

Go Bible!!!

2008-10-29T18:31:00.003+08:00

Last Sunday, a very kind brother uploaded a FREE Bible viewer in my handphone, with 2 translations NIV and KJV! I find it SO convenient for looking up bible verses and for reading.

Later I realised that it can be downloaded from the internet. The people who did this said it's for the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ and the furtherance of His Kingdom. And I think it's really COOL!

Also, there are 22 different languages to choose from!! You may wanna download it in your handphone too ;)

Click GO BIBLE!!! Some details:

Go Bible is a Free Bible viewer application for Java mobile phones (J2ME MIDP 1.0 and MIDP 2.0).

Go Bible 2.2.6 Features:
Christ's Words in red
SMS scriptures
Bookmarks
History
Coloured themes
Fast search

Enjoy!!

PS. Philip help me to download a chinese version too... hehe!

Not for us only...

2008-10-12T23:48:00.006+08:00

My last entry was about God's timely message of Health and Healing for us as we all fell ill one after another, from the youngest babe, little Thaddea, to the oldest "babe" - mommy, haha! I have just recovered from Upper Resipratory Infection... Thank God for healing all of us and thank God for good health for everyone in the house now :)

2 days after the Fast and Prayer, we received a sms from the church's Prayer Band requesting us to pray for Ezra, a 7 years old boy, was diagnosed with first stage Luekaemia and is going for a bone marrow test.

Leukaemia is a type of cancer that affects the white blood cells. In leukaemia, white blood cells become abnormal, and divide and grow in an uncontrolled way. Ezra's mommy noticed that Ezra's hands and feet were yellowish and he seems to have increased bruising... so she asked elder Hong Choon who is a doctor and he recommended a specialist for her. That was how they discovered it. Doctor told them that Ezra had Acute Lymphocytic Leukaemia. "ALL" affects lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell) so they cannot work properly. This may cause a serious infection. It also causes many abnormal lymphocytes to be made, which crowd out the normal red blood cells and platelets. ALL is the most common type in children.

In acute leukaemia, symptoms develop rapidly and the leukaemia can quickly become life-threatening if it's not treated. Thank God that they found out early and right now, little Ezra had undergone his first chemotherapy. Due to the side effects of the treatment(weak, nauseas & loss of appetite), Ezra is quite difficult to handle. He has also developed a fear for doctors. We are praying for the parents to be strong and that God would lessen the side effects of chemotherapy.

For the family:

2 Corinthians 4:8-10
"We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body."

Ezra Lim, Jesus Christ heals you! Amen!!

The Great Physician

2008-09-28T23:35:00.005+08:00

"Chief of the Medical Staff"
By Christian artist Nathan Greene

The only man in the house, Philip, was sick and needed to be hospitalised for a minor surgery.

During the week of his surgery, I took urgent leave from work for 5 days to care for the children. We didn't go for the prayer meeting on Saturday. When we went to Church today, it was a Prayer and Fast Sunday which we would stay back after Sunday Service and continue with the P&F till 5pm. I was pleasantly surprised that the Sunday message by our guest speaker, Rev. Johnnie Tan, was about Health and Healing.We needed to hear that, really! Thank God for a timely message!

I was told by SK that yesterday's Prayer Meeting was focused on healing too. The worship leader, sis. Apphia, led an opening song about healing. And the closing song led by Pastor was also a healing song.

God knows our need. God assures us of His Power to heal. Praise God for that! One thing for me to take note is that there are hinderances to our healing and one of it is "Idolatory". There are modern idols which we need to check ourselves and rid of it for healing to flow. Could 'blogging' became an idol to me?? I wonder.... Okay, I will make sure that I put God first before I blog ;)

Pastor taught us to proclaim this which I would like to make this my confession everyday : I confess that Jesus Christ is my LORD, the HEALER! Amen!

Oh yeah... the picture, that piece of artwork "Chief of the Medical Staff" by Nathan Greene, the christian artist which I mentioned in my last post.... When I prayed for Philip during the time when he was going into the operating theatre, I was praying for Jesus to guide the hands of the surgeon, after praying I was reminded of this artwork which I remembered seeing it while I was writing about "Ever Interceding".

Praise God that it was a successful operation!! In fact, it took only 5 minutes. Even though it was a minor surgery, I admit that I entertained the fear of losing my husband... what if he couldn't wake up from the GA? With GA, there is always a risk... Thank God that not only Philip woke up from the GA, he is recovering pretty well, just need some times for the wound to be completely healed. And thank God for assuring us with His wonderful Word through His servants. Indeed, Jesus is our Great Physician! Hallelujah!

During the Prayer and Fast, Pastor also led a prayer for healings and encouraged us with the following verse:

Isaiah 58:8 "Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard."

We were so comforted and re-assured when we came home from church today. *BIG SMILE*

Ever Interceding

2008-09-19T12:26:00.004+08:00

of Jesus praying...

Lydia! Lydia!

Satan try to destroy you with cancer,

but I have prayed for you,

so that you would not died.

So that your husband, Philip,

would not be deprived of a wife.

So that your young children

would not be deprived of their mother.

I was sitting right at the back of the church as Thaddea was sleeping in my arms, when I heard over the speakers, right from behind the pulpit, this prayer which Pastor mimic what Jesus would have prayed for me. It was so loud and so clear. It was so touching. It sent tears to my eyes and still does...

Pastor's message for that Sunday was: Jesus is praying for us, what are we going to do about it? It was a revelation given by the Holy Spirit to Pastor in the last week of August, that Pastor realised that we must say "Thank You Jesus."

Pastor shared that even though he knew this doctrine of Christ interceding for us, he never did say thank you to the Lord, until the Holy Spirit revealed to him. That's why Pastor stressed that just by knowing in the head is not enough, we must be touched by the Holy Spirit. The other thing is : We must ask Jesus to pray for us.

Acknowledge.

Appreciate.

And Appeal.

Lord, please continue to pray for me, I really appreciate that, I really need that!

After the service, I went up to pastor and said, "Pastor, may I shake your hand please? I want to thank you for the message you shared today on Jesus interceding for us. All this while I only thought that the church had prayed for me and you, pastor, my husband and my children prayed for me, but I never thought that Jesus would pray for me too. And I thanked everyone except Him..." Pastor reached out his hand to shake mine and said, "Oh, I also didn't know until the Holy Spirit showed me."

Ever Interceding

Now, what do you think of this piece of artwork? I think it is very very nice, lor! I was searching for a picture to go with this post and found this piece of excellent christian artwork by Nathan Greene! The moment I saw it, I wanted so much to purchase it for my dear pastor... but then hor, my budget too tight, lah.... anyway, if you are interested to own one, you can buy it from here or here

Though I may not know how to appreciate arts, I think this piece of artwork really portray what the Lord is doing even right now... It reminds me of how Jesus Christ is Ever Interceding for us... I could almost see the intensity! What a wonderful High Priest we have!

"Oh Jesus, our High Priest in Heaven, please pray for us."

"Thank you Jesus for praying for us."

Romans 8:34b "Christ Jesus, who died - more than that, who was raised to life - is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us."

Answered Prayer

2008-09-12T12:07:00.007+08:00

Tomorrow!

Yes! Tomorrow is our 11th Wedding Anniversary!

11 years ago when two had become one, my prayer was answered so beautifully ever in my life :)

This morning I took pictures of our wedding pictures, blurry but great for looking back :)

Exchanging vows

Rendition of our wedding song
~ Answered Prayer ~

Philip & Lydia

To be exact, we have been in love for 21 years! 10 years of courtship and 11 years of life together as husband and wife, with 5 years of being parents to our beautiful girls, the 'fruits' of our love together... Wowwee, definately a 'Love-Long-Run' (爱情长跑), haha!

Still remember the wedding song we chose? Yes, it's "Answered Prayer" by Lisa Beville & Bob Carlisle.

Still remember how I was quite disappointed that the song does not have an accompaniment track? Yes, we need to make do with just the guitar.

Still remember how you surprise me when Desmond and Denise sang with the accompanied music track? Yes, George managed to get it oversea at the very last minute!

Still remember I was almost in tears half way through their singing? Yes, when I suddenly realised they are singing with an accompaniment tracks!

Yes! Yes! Yes! God made everything so beautiful, it was answered prayer upon answered prayers!

Hey look what I found here: An Interpretative Dance of our wedding song. I believe it was at a Filipino Wedding. The dancer so beautifully danced out the words of the song. I like especially these few lines:

It's times like these I thank the Lord for the life that we share... I like the way she looks up to the Lord :)

And every day I spend with you is another answered prayer... I like how she puts her hands together going up to Heaven.

When your heart touches mine... so so beautiful and touching!

You have shown me the power of what love can do ... powefully stunning!

I see glimpses of heaven with your simple 'I Love You' ... so so sweet!

Simply beautiful! You got to watch it!!

Here is the lyrics of the song:

At the end of a long day, can't close my eyes
Watching you as the sun sets as it slowly waves goodbye
It's times like these I thank the Lord for the life that we share
And every day I spend with you is another answered prayer

Answered prayer, when your heart touches mine
We've found a love only few ever find
Answered prayer, now that you're here
Our love grows richer year after year
And if life should end tomorrow, I'd leave a millionaire
'Cause in my heart, I'd take with me
A life of answered prayers

You have shown me the power of what love can do
I see glimpses of heaven with your simple 'I Love You'
And every time I think of you, it almost seems unfair
For a man like me to have so many answered prayers

Answered prayer, When your heart touches mine
We've found a love only few ever find
Answered prayer, now that you're here
Our love grows richer year after year, after year
And if life should end tomorrow, I'd leave a millionaire
'Cause in my heart, I'd take with me
A life of Answered Prayers

Answered Prayer

老公，能够嫁给你是我一生所想的。
感谢上帝应予了我的渴望。

Thank God for fulfilling my desire.
Philip, you are an answered prayer to me.
I love you, forever!

我爱你，永远爱你！

I just can't get enough of our Wedding Song! Here is another one sung by the chipmunk/chipette, Simon Seville & Jeanette Miller, it's a classic! Enjoy!! :)

Here is my post last year on our 10th WA.

Finally, our wedding verse:
Song of songs 8:7 "Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away. If one were to give all the wealth of his house for love, it would be utterly scorned."

《耶稣是谁？》Who is Jesus?

2008-09-10T16:03:00.007+08:00

多数不同信仰的人都承认耶稣基督是2000年前生活在以色列的一位好人。有人认为他是一位先知，也有人认为他是一位道德家，还有人认为他是一位宗教改革家。但是透过《圣经》的教导，我们不得不承认他不仅仅是一位先知，一位道德家，或是一位宗教改革家。

实际上，如果我们仔细查考《圣经》，我们便不会只把他当成好人，而必须承认他在这世上的存在是整个人类历史的中心，对他的适当的回应是我们永生的盼望。

您想要更了解谁是耶稣基督？他将如何改变你的生命吗？籍着唐崇荣牧师2008布道会《谁是耶稣？》，我们诚挚地邀请您与我们一同分享福音的好处！

People of different faiths generally accept that Jesus Christ was truly a good man who lived in Israel about 2000 years ago. Some consider him a prophet, while others regard him as a moral teacher; yet others see him as a religious revolutionist.

But when we honestly look at what the Bible tells us about Jesus, we would realize that he was definitely more than a prophet, a moral teacher, or a revolutionist. In fact, if we were to closely examine the claims of the Bible, we will no longer see him as a mere good man. We shall have to acknowledge that his presence on earth was the central event in all human history, and that our eternal destiny has everything to do with our response to this event.

You are sincerely invited to come and gain a clear understanding of who Jesus really is, and to learn what Jesus has to do with your life.

The speaker Stephen Tong is a servant of God who is powerfully used by God, you can take a glimpse of him preaching the Gospel, also a testimony of a man who was touched by God through the ministry of Stephen Tong, watch it by clicking here.

Though the message will be spoken in chinese, there will be English interpretation along with it. I have invited my dad to go on this Friday night... he hasn't give me an answer yet. If you sincerely want to find out who this Jesus really is, but ain't want to go alone, you may like to join me, a group of us are going on Friday. Send me a sms 97928159 :)

Venue : Singapore Indoor Stadium
Date : 11 - 14 September 2008 (Thursday till Sunday)
Time : 7.30pm

Also, there is a Q&A Session on 13 September, Saturday, 6.30pm to 7.30pm. You can ask the speaker whatever question you have concerning Jesus.

This is gonna be great!

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

My Father's World

2008-08-26T00:01:00.005+08:00

Hymn: "My Father's World"

Last Thursday I completed my birth story and at the ending I inserted a welcome note to my little baby Thaddea. I typed:

"Welcome to the Father's world!"

And guess what?! This hymn, "My Father's World" was led by the worship leader, bro. Paul, at the Saturday Prayer Meeting. Pastor himself also led us to sing this hymn again at the closing of the Sunday Service. It was sung twice shortly after I welcomed Thaddea to the Father's world. Cool~

Baby Thaddea's hand on the song book.

Thaddea joins in the worship too, except that she "slams" her hand on the song book more than singing the song, lol! And here's the lyrics:

This is my Father's world;
And to my listening ears,
All nature sings, and round me rings
The music of the spheres.
This is my Father's world;
I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas,
His hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father's world;
The birds their carols raise,
The morning light, the lily white,
Declare their Maker's praise.
This is my Father's world;
He shines in all that's fair;
In the rustling grass I hear Him pass;
He speaks to me everywhere.

This is my Father's world;
O, let me ne'er forget
That though the wrongs seems oft so strong,
God is the Ruler yet.
This is my Father's world;
Why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is King; let the heavens ring.
God reigns: let the earth be glad!

Yes, I like this hymn a lot. It reminds me that the world belongs to God, my Heavenly Father. And I'm glad to bring forth children(together with my beloved/charming/God-fearing husband, Philip) to this world - my Father's world :)

Welcome to the Father's world,
Tiffany, Theophila and Thaddea!

"This is my Father's world." Such simple words, the simpler things like "rocks and trees . . . skies and seas", all are masterfully created by God. God's creation is so, so beautiful! Philip and I, we love to visit places like New Zealand and Australia. We travelled on my own driving through the National Parks, stopping by the coasts, taking time to bask in God's creation.

We went whale watching twice in Australia, one at Warrnamboo Logans Beach(Great Ocean Road) which is known as “Victoria’s Southern Right Whale Nursery”. From the Whale Viewing Platform we spotted a mom and her calf!

about 100 metres from the shore and 150 metres from the lookout!

The second time we went to Moreton Bay(Brisbane) for a whalewatching cruise out on the Redcliffe Peninsula, I still remember the Captain is the only woman captain. We saw a few southern humpback whales, all so magnificent!

Captain Kerry!

We went snorkeling in the most incredible underwater world of the Great Barrier Reef at Lady Musgrace Island.

Lady Musgrave Island in the background

In New Zealand, we drove all the way up to the northern tip of the North Island, the lighthouse at Cape Reinga and saw where the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean collide.

The top bit of NZ!

We climbed up and slide down the amazing sand dunes! I still remember God led us to drive by Te Paki Giant Sand Dunes and we were the only living souls there! We had a blast playing and taking numerous photos at the giant sand dunes! That's how crazy we are, going places to see God's wonderful work! Ahh... memories!

Te Paki Sand Dunes, in Northland, New Zealand.

I must add that all these pictures are copied from other sites. Even though we took pictures too but they are not digital. They all look the same though, except that we are not in the pictures, haha! Thanks guys for the contribution! :)

We just love to admire the wonder of God's creation! And this is also one thing I want my girls to do: To know that God created the world, to love and admire the beauty and wonder of it all and hence, to adore and worship God alone, the Creator of heavens and earth!

The second thing I want my girls to know is about God's Sovereignty. "This is my Father's world." speaks of God's ownership. I want my girls to never forget, that even though the wrongs may seems often so strong, God is the Ruler yet. God reigns: let the earth be glad! Our heart should not be sad because the Lord is King! King of kings and Lord of lords!!

I remember when I was young, I told myself that I will never want to bear children, because I don't want to bring them into this world and suffer. The second they enter the world, as time ticks away, they are nearer to their death bed... Yes, I was that negative, haha. But no more now, I have hope in God. Maybe my next post would be "My Life Story"... how from a hopeless girl to a hopeful Child of God ;)

"This is my Father's world, I rest me in the thought." Take that rest my girls, knowing that no matter what happens in this world, your Creator God is in control. He is sovereign.

I found a music video from YouTube on this hymn, in fact, quite a few of them, but I like this particular one. Besides video and pictures of scenery, it has pictures of the 911 tragedy and such, it also has pictures of lovely children and cute babies... it sure goes well with what I have just shared here :) Go ahead, listen to this beautiful hymn!

"The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it." Psalm 24:1

Blessed Assurance

2008-08-07T14:02:00.019+08:00

Stunning! Isn't it??

Can you believe this, I snap this stunning picture with only my K530i Sony Ericsson Camera phone($0 for 2 years' contract with M1), compared to Philip's Sony's Cyber-shot DSC-H2($700+) which he used to capture the first Sliver Lining. Also, I took this picture through the window of a taxi!

We were on our way to church in a taxi when I happened to look at the sky and saw this magnificent sight! The cloud, the sliver lining, the ray and the silhouette trees, simply breathtaking! I thought I won't be able to capture it's beauty so why bother, just admire it will be good enough, but somehow, since I have my handphone with me, why not give it a try... and SNAP! There you go, a good shot! Praise God!!

More...(I was asking Philip why I have been so longwinded in my blog recently and you know what he said? That age is catching up with me, that the older you are, the more lor'sor(longwinded) you'd become! Oh noooooooooo... :P) Yes, more to write on this picture. Who cares if I'm really getting old... mind you, OLD is GOLD! haha

I was pondering why the "silver linings" we have been seeing so shortly one after another, 1st was Philip, then me. For me, I was in the midst of a "suspected" health's crisis. I was down with a recurrent infections and doctor suspected that I might have diabetes, so she sent me for blood test last week. I am very sure that I do not have this problem because I passed the blood-glucose test during my 30th week of gestation.

Another part of me was worried, this infections occured more than 10 times now, if not because of diabetes(which I strongly believe I'm not diabetic) what could it be?? So I googled and found some horror suggestions that it could be the infamous cancer! Oh no, not again, please!

My mind went back to Nov'2007 when I was heavy with child (Thaddea) at 25weeks gestation, I discovered a painful lump in my left breast and the lump was H.U.G.E. Thought it was pregnancy-induced and would go away so I didn't bother until Philip felt it and alerted me to better get it checked.

Here is what I posted in the 3rd Trimester Forum that I frequent throughout my pregnancy :

Title: 29 wks and found a 4cm lump in my left breast
Posted By: Lydia fr Singapore Mommy to Tiffany 112503 Theophila 102705
Wednesday, 28 November 2007, at 02:54AM

Yup, I need your prayer support, ladies.

4 weeks ago on 1 Nov, I posted in 2nd tri board that I woke up with quite a bad pain in my left breast, which felt like blocked ducts that I had before when bf'ing my DD1 in 2003. I tried to massage it while taking hot showers when I notice that there is actually a lump there. I thought it might go away if I just massage it during every shower. Until my DH felt it and advice me to go see a doctor. So yesterday I went to see a GP and she immediately refer me to see a specialist at NCC(National Cancer Centre) tommorow. Now that got me frightened...

I did a research over the internet and now we are praying that it is just a cyst which can be drained using a fine needle. Pray with me that if I need a biopsy, it would be just a mininal procedure and that it is just a benign lump. Will post again tomorrow after my appt. Thank you for your prayer support :)

Lyd

Yes, the doctor was VERY concerned when she felt the lump and immediately refered me to the specialist at the earliest date available! They call up KKH, CGH & SGH but their available dates were either 2 weeks or much later. Finally they called up NCC and they could get me in within that week, which was 2 days later. It was then that I became aware of my situation... that I'm going to the National Cancer Centre... that the doctor is suspecting I have breast cancer. Oh NO!! What am I going to do if it is for real?? What will happen to my baby? I cannot and must not have breast cancer, because I have 3 girls and I don't want them to inherit this if I really have it. Many things went through my mind...

I googled on breast lumps, breast cancer, breast lumps during pregnancy, characteristics associated with lumps - cancer or benign (non-cancerous), breasts ultrasound scan, biopsy, etc... and found that 70% and 80% of the breast lumps detected during pregnancy are NOT cancerous(happy but sober), could be cyst or Fibroadenomas. The next day when I went for the checkup I requested the Wives' group of my church to uphold me in prayer.

And here is the next post I posted on my checkup at NCC :

Title:Thanks for the hugs and prayers, guess I need more...
Posted By: Lydia fr Singapore Mommy to Tiffany 112503 Theophila 102705
Thursday, 29 November 2007, at 05:23 AM

Firstly, thank God that it was a female senior consultant who saw me so I know I'm in good hand. Also, I had priority due to my pregnancy, I had the consultation and an ultrasound and a biopsy done within just 3 hours.

She felt 2 lumps measuring 6x4cm and 5cm in my left breast (both are huge!), the right breast is OK. She was sure that both lumps are not cyst because they are not round-ish but oval and felt bumpy too. (Not good...)

The ultrasound findings are suspicious for malignancy. The mass is rather ill-defined with a round lymph node which is not good. They scanned the right breast too but thank God it is OK.

The biopsy result would be out next Thursday. If it is malignant, they would have to deliver my baby early (at 30weeks) inorder to remove the lumps in case it spread. I really don't want that to happen, I want my baby to stay-put till full-term. Please pray that the lumps are benign despite the u/s findings. I need a miracle! If benign, we would wait till baby is born to remove the lumps.

Right now, I am not afraid for myself, except for my unborn baby and my children and DH's future if anything would happen to me...

SO, keep me in your earnest prayer.

I'm trusting God to lead us step by step :)

Lyd

Changed into NCC's suit for ultrasound scan

Biopsy specimen

The nurse was so nice to allow me to snap a picture of my (ahem) extracted breast tissues, 5 strips of the fatty tissues soaked in some preservative solution. With all the negative findings, the biopsy result would be the final to tell whether I have cancer or not.

I went back to work with quite a heavy heart, I didn't know what to think of... My mind was still in a swirl when I receive a sms from my sister :

"Lydia，已从 Philip 知道你的事。无论怎样，大姐鼓励你去面对，主给我一个最大的安慰就是你永远在主慈爱的手中，我无需担忧，教会与牧师也必定会为你祷告，相信主必成就美好的事在你的生命中。"

My reply to her was :

"谢谢大姐。其实我不怕，只是担心腹中的宝宝，还有放心不下孩子。Please pray that God will lead us step by step as we trust in Him."

After the reply I realized what was going on in my inmost being.... one part of me was not afraid because I know my God will see me through, be it removing the lumps or the breast, be it having to go through chemotherapy, be it losing my hair, come what may, I would be OK with God by my side. But the other part of me was anxious of what would become of for my family, my girls still need my attention, my husband, and my 30 weeks baby(2 more months to go) who is still in my womb!

It took one week for the result to be out, and I tell you, that one whole week was the most difficult week of my entire life! I googled on the staging of cancer, and it was very frightening... according to the tumor size which is more than 5cm, with Lymph Node Involvement on the same side of the breast, I would be in Stage III! And 5-year Relative Survival Rate for stage III cancer patient is 54%!! How scary was that! I was devastated!!

During that week, I was assigned to be the worship chairman(to lead God's people in praise and worship with songs and exhortations) on that Saturday's prayer meeting, even though I was weak emotionaly and mentally, I didn't call up Pastor to get a replacement, I still went ahead to prepare for it and I was glad I did that because it was then that God strengthen me. Songs I choose were "Healing Grace", "Your grace is sufficent for me" and "Awaken my heart"

Merciful God and Father
Loving us like no other
Hear our prayer the cry of our hearts
As we come to You
We acknowledge our transgression
We confess to You our sins
Show us mercy and compassion
Touch our lives with Your Healing grace again

Release us from our past
As we seek Your face
Wash us free at last
We receive Your love
We receive Your healing grace

Your grace is sufficient for me
Your strength is made perfect when I am weak
All that I cling to I lay at Your feet
Your grace is sufficient for me

I'm no longer striving to merit Your love
I rest in Your promise to me
That all of my sins have been washed in Your blood
Your mercy is all that I need

You see me as righteous because of the blood
That made the atonement for me
Your mercy has triumphed where I should be judged
So now by Your grace I am free

Awaken my heart
To love and adore You O my Lord
Awaken my heart
To pour out before You O my Lord
Awaken my heart
To know Your love and to love You in return
Freely flowing from an awaken heart

God spoke to me through the songs and ministered to me, before I could even minister to His people in leading the worship. It is so comforting to know that God will touch me with His healing grace. No matter what the outcome might be, God's grace is sufficient for me, His strength is made perfect in my weakness. All that I cling to , my baby, my children and my husband, I just have to lay them at His feet, He will take care of them. His grace is sufficient for us all. I cried through the worship, through the songs, through the exhortations but I emerged victorious and comforted and strengthened. I was brave to face the outcome in the coming Thursday for the result of my biopsy. Thank God for that!

Here is the post on the result of the biopsy :

Title: Negative for malignancy! Hallelujah!!!!
Posted By: Lydia fr Singapore Mommy to Tiffany 112503 Theophila 102705
Friday, 7 December 2007, at 12:44 AM

(Thank you Christina35 and Laurie for praying and asking about me)
Praise be to God who heard and answered our fervent prayers. The lumps are benign which means not cancerous. Indeed God is good and merciful. he has filled our hearts with unspeakable joy. Thank you all so much for your prayer support and words of encouragememnt. May the Lord bless you richly. Amen!

Yesterday I got my biopsy result and when I saw those 3 wonderful words "Negative for malignancy" my tears immediately flood my eyes and I was soooooooooooooooo very thankful to God for His mercy upon me and my family!

God heard my deepest cry, my greatest desire is to carry my baby to full-term (I'm 30wk now), and be able to breastfeed her. I'm granted my wish and this, because of His great mercy. I'm so full of thanksgivings!

I felt I was given a new leash(sp?) of life. That God has forgiven all of my sins and healed me of all my diseases. Now I want to live my life anew first for Him and then for my Dh and children. I want to love God more each day and show love to Dh more too. I'm so thankful to God that I can live to enjoy my children and to see my children's children.

Waiting for the result with a "suspicious for malignancy" u/s findings was like walking in the valley of death. I cried at every kick of my baby girl in my womb, I cried when I look at my children sleeping peacefully, how my heart ached to think that I might not be able to see them grow, to love them, to cuddle them and to care for them. I felt sorry for DH. I was so down in the pit... The only things that kept me hopeful is the word of God and the prayer support of my church and you ladies.

I trusted the Lord that He is good and that all He does is good. I took authorithy in Jesus' Name and prayed against the lumps. My DH fasted and prayed for me. My children held my hands and prayed with me.

I was quite peaceful on tues and wed. Until thurs when I was on my way to the clinic and waiting for my turn outside the room, I felt like I was waiting for my sentences: Life or death penalty, I was expecting the worst but hoping for the best. Afraid but courageous. All mixed up. Then when I saw the report, I was so so thankful to God.

Sorry for being so long winded. So many things went through my mind just for the past few days...
Another prayer request here, they did a Fine Needle Aspiration Biopsy on my lymph node which appeared to be adnormal and they just want to rule out cancer completely. As for the lumps, either they will shrink if not I'll have them surgically remove after my delievery. The lumps could affect my milk production, so we are praying that the lumps be gone so I can fully breastfeed my baby.

So, continue to pray along with me please. I really appreciated that :)

Praise the good Lord!

Lyd

PRAISE THE LORD! Such good news! Before the result on Thursday, every night I would stay awake and hope that all these was just a nightmare and that when I wake up all would be fine, no lumps, no cancer, no need to deliever my baby early.... Indeed, thank God that it is just a nightmare, I am so thankful to wake up from it!! I really felt so relief that my nightmare is over. Later I receive another good news that my lymph node is fine, no cancer is found in there. Praise God!! It is a miracle no doubt about that and I am very thankful to God for His mercy upon me and my family. HALLELUJAH!

I finally gave birth to my beautiful baby on 5 Feb 2008, a full-term baby and she is purrrrrfect! She is now a healthy(8kg!) 6 months old baby :)

The lumps did affect my breastfeedings and that requires another story which I might write about it much later, along with what happen to the lumps which are now G.O.N.E! No traces of them, no surgery, no medication, they just disappear! God is Good!

Phew~ This is the longest post ever! (I'm getting old really) Anyway, thank God that I could just copy and paste my former posts which make it so much easier to share my story. And these posts contain my actual feelings at those tender moment of my life.... the best way of sharing, don't you think so?

I've always wanted to write about this, thank God that I did it! This Silver Lining(x2) has moved me to write about God's great mercy to me, the miracle that God performed in my life.

More... haha! Remember the blood test I was advised to take to test for diabetes? It was out yesterday : I HAVE NO DIABETES! Hurray! The infections were treated with double dose of antibiotics and I'm trusting God for complete healings! Out you go, infections of whatever kind, in Jesus' Name! Amen!

So, once again, thank God for a clean slate of health! Looking at the 2 pictures of silver linings we took, I cannot but have to exclaim : What Blessed Assurance!

"Praise the LORD, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

Praise the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits -

who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,

who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion"
Psalm 103 : 1 - 3

Thank You, God! Thank You so much!

Children in Heaven

2008-08-04T23:00:00.004+08:00

Baby Even with 妈咪和爸比

Last week I happened to come across lyrics of this song My Pride (Proud of You) - Fiona Fung and listening to it again brought back memory of 2 years ago when Theophila was only 5 months old. Strangely, this time when I listen to the song again, my baby is also around 5 months old... I wonder if I ever have another baby, that will I hear the same song again when that baby turns 5 months?? haha!

I think it was in a baby forum that I was led to this site 上帝的宝贝- Even. A heart-broken mommy lost her baby at 8mths. Baby Even was born with a heart condition and needed immediate treatment. But he was doing well after that and was able to go home. For 8 months the parents were able to love and enjoy taking care of baby Even until that fateful day.

I still remember seeing pictures of Even 妈咪 giving her baby the last bath, trimming the fingernails for the last time, hug and kiss the baby for the last time... my tears just couldn't stop flowing! An eight months old baby, so chubby and adorable, but was no longer alive... it was my first time seeing such pictures and it rended my heart. I remember I went home that day and hug my Theophila, then a baby, the longest time ever!

It was reported in the taiwanese broadcast too as the site hits 500,000 readers.

The death of a loved one is always a time of great sorrow, but the death of a beloved child is perhaps the keenest sorrow of all. Everyday I would go to her website and read her diary and sometimes I would leave a note of comment to encourage her. Even 妈咪 has long stop writing for more than a year now. The last was that she had a miscarriage...

Now for the song, My Pride, it was been mentioned by someone who was encouraging Even 妈咪 in one of the comment, that Baby Even knew and felt his mommy's love and he is now an angel, flying and singing in the sky... I remember that I listen to the song for over a 1000th' times, I like the piano, guitar & violin playing, the girl's vocal was pretty nice too, but most of all, I thought a lot about baby Even, and many other babies who are transported into heaven because of death.

Yes, baby Even, who died before the age of accountability, is now in heaven. Children in heaven, although there are few specific Scriptures on this subject, what we do know, both from the love of God and the Word of God, suggests that the souls of all deceased little children, including the stillborn and those who have been cruelly aborted, since the world began, are with the Lord in heaven.

May all the mommies who had lost their precious baby be comforted. And may all of us who still have our little ones, love, hug and cherish them every moment in life.

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14

I was sick...

2008-07-31T21:20:00.001+08:00

I was down with an infection on Monday and took half day off work to go to the polyclinics and they gave me a queue number that was 40 from the now serving number... plus a mask. I was having fever, 38 degree celcius. I choose to go there as I wanted to collect my girl's Vaccination Certificate, even though I know the waiting time would be loooooooong.

On the second day when I was really weak and feverish and all I could do was lay on the bed, I felt so useless... couldn't take care of baby, couldn't relief Daddy of the girls, couldn't go to work, couldn't do anything at all! It was awlful! Daddy was so sweet and understanding, he comforted me that I should just rest since I was sick. Come to think of it, I was the heartless one who expected him to help with the children when he was not well.... :P

Right now I'm feeling much better, even went back to work (I miss my work! hehe) but I stayed home (with baby) while the rest went to Faith Jiejie's house for CG meeting. The house is so quiet now with baby finally sleeping (I carry and rock her, then place her on the bed and pat her, she cried so I carry and rock her again, then place her on the bed and pat her again, sang lullaby, all for almost an hour! Oh my aching back... and Daddy told me that she would definately sleep early tonight as she didn't sleep well in the day... Really huh?) I kinda miss my little song bird and Miss Enfa A+, lol. Daddy wanted me to rest so I better go lay in bed now.

Dear Lord Jesus, how you healed the sick 2000 years ago, I believe You are able to heal me today. Because You are a God who changes not. Thank You for healing and making me whole. Amen!

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." Hebrew 13:8

Tour Israel

2008-07-24T13:00:00.006+08:00

I have not been to Israel, yet. My pastor did. He went to Israel, the biblical Holy Land of God, with his family in May this year. They joined the local tour group Pilgrim Tours together with international tourists. I think it was the 15 days package known as "The Exodus" touring from Egypt, to Jordan & finally Israel. How exciting! I wish I can go too. I wonder why it was not in my plan to tour Israel on my honeymoon(we went to Europe instead)... probably due to the security. But I believe it is safe, many went and came back still in one piece. At least for my pastor :)

Anyway, thank God for the internet! I did a search on Israel tours and found many nice sites where people post their tour experiences on YouTube, Apple.Mac, etc, and by looking at the pictures they took and videos they taped, it was as good as "Been there. Done that." haha.

Going through the itinerary, they would have an early morning walk up Mt. Moses, pastor said only his daughter who is physically capable climbed Mt. Sinai, while he and his wife went by bus. I wonder how on earth did they make it by bus? Any way I found this video clip "Walking down Mt Sinai in Egypt". I would love to go for the hike! Right near the end of the video is the St. Catherine's Monastery, claimed to be built around the area of Moses' Burning Bush. Pastor said some of the tourist tried to grab some bushes for souvenir, oh man....

After which it was followed by a short ride to the Red Sea. I found this very very very interesting link on the finding of The Red Sea Crossing... They even found Chariot Wheels, human and horse bones at the crossing site in the Sea. From the link I also saw this fascinating documentary on Sodom & Gomorrah where the ash and brimstone remain from when God destroy the cities. Good readings!

I went through the itinerary day by day and search the internet for the places, I was like touring Israel by the World Wide Web instead, haha. I finally found this photo album of Rev. Neal's 2006 Pilgrimage to Israel which has all the pictures of the places :

Caesarea - where Gentiles first heard the Good News from Peter and were baptized.
Mt. Carmel - where Elijah challenged King Ahab and the prophets of Baal.
Megiddo - the Armageddon Battlefield, where archaeologists have unearthed 20 levels of civilization.
Nazareth - the boyhood home of Jesus.
Sea of Galilee - where the Disciples worked as fishermen, where Jesus walked on water, and where our Lord "calmed the stormy sea." A relaxing cruise brings to life the experiences of Jesus and the fishermen disciples.
Capernaum - Jesus taught in the synagogue in Capernaum on the sabbath days. In Capernaum also, Jesus healed a man who had the spirit of an unclean devil and healed a fever in Simon Peter. See ruins of an ancient synagogue and Peter’s home.
Caesarea Philippi - where Peter made his confession of Jesus as the Messiah.
Mount of Beatitudes - the multiplication of 5 loaves and 2 fishes. Traditional site of Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount."
Jordan River Baptism Site - This site is believed by some to be the actual site where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist.
Beth Sheanthe - most magnificent archeological site in Israel.
Jerusalem, the City of God - overview shots, taken from different places around and within and above the city.
Garden of Gethsemane - Gethsemane was the garden where Jesus watched, prayed, and suffered for the sins of the world the night before he was crucified. It was also where Christ was betrayed by the disciple Judas Iscariot.
Caiaphas' House - where Jesus was beaten and spit upon.
The Via Dolorosa - According to one tradition, this path is the way Jesus took from Pilate's Court through Jerusalem and up to Golgatha.
Garden Tomb - The alternative site for the crucifixion and burial of Jesus.
The Western Wall - The Western Wall is the Temple Mount retaining wall that dates from the time of the Jewish Second Temple (515 BCE - 70 AD). It is the only part that remains from the Second Temple.

Thank you soooooooooooooo much Rev. Neal for all those nice pictures you took and posted with descriptions and notes! I really appreciate your effort! May God bless you!

Looking at some of the pictures, I find that some traditional sites are being idolized and "shrinified", like Bethlehem: The Church of the Nativity... True enough, when Pastor came back from the trip, he did commented that it was quite eerie seeing those places, he even had goose-pimples when he went in there! I think some of the places are just set up for tourism-sake. But of course, my Lord did walked the streets of Jerusalem. If I were to tour Israel, it would be more for the scenery and archeological sites.

And of course, the Dead Sea! How can I forget the lowest place on earth. I would love to splotch those mineral-rich mud all over my body and float on the sea with a newspaper in my hands ;)

I would also like to start the tour from Cairo, Egypt, where I can see the wonders of the ancient world, the pyramid Cheops with an original height of 496 feet! The Sphinx and tour the Egyptian Museum, location of Tutankhamen's treasures and ancient remains. Gee...good stuff. Got to be prepared for the heat though, pastor said he was almost "chao tah" (burnt) standing under the hot blazing sun for hours listening to the tour guide, haha.

I'd like to see PETRA too. Found a video clip on it :) Pastor said he walked the longest, to and fro, just to see it and it was SO hot and thirsty that he need to "ration" the mineral water just so to wet the lips! Well, still got to go see it for myself. Maybe would bring more $$ for a camel ride there.

Pastor's wife commented that going from Egypt, to Jordan and finally into Israel, she could literally see that the Promise Land which God gave to His people is really a "Land flowing with milk and honey." So much greenery compared to the dry and deserted land...

I wanna go to Israel! I wanna journey through the Bible while touring the actual biblical sites in Israel. Going to the land where Abraham, David, Jesus and His disciples lived, it will definately be a life changing experience!! Yes, Holy Land Tour! Until then... I will be happy to do just this :

"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: 'May those who love you be secure.' " Psalm 122:6

I Will Carry You

2008-07-18T17:58:00.009+08:00

Baby Audrey in mommy Angie's hands

I chanced upon this blog Bring the Rain~The Story of Audrey Caroline by a mother who discovered at 20 weeks that her baby Audrey would not survive even if she is born. But she chose to carry her to full term and gave birth to her, only to lose her shortly after.

Here is a very touching letter she wrote for her baby : A Letter to My Daughter

And here is a very touching song she has written for her baby (with her husband and a friend). Listen and see pictures of her and her family in the slideshow.

I Will Carry You

There were photographs I wanted to take
Things I wanted to show you
Sing sweet lullabies, wipe your teary eyes
Who could love you like this?

People say that I am brave but I'm not
Truth is I'm barely hanging on
But there's a greater story
Written long before me
Because He loves you like this

So I will carry you
While your heart beats here
Long beyond the empty cradle
Through the coming years
I will carry you
All my life
And I will praise the One Who's chosen me
To carry you

Such a short time
Such a long road
All this madness
But I know
That the silence
Has brought me to His voice
And He says...

I've shown her photographs of time beginning
Walked her through the parted seas
Angel lullabies, no more teary eyes
Who could love her like this?

I will carry you
While your heart beats here
Long beyond the empty cradle
Through the coming years
I will carry you
All your life
And I will praise the One Who's chosen Me
To carry you

"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." Job1:21

And I will praise the One Who's chosen me... to carry you...

Inflation

2008-07-18T12:33:00.006+08:00

OUCH!

I felt the pinch of inflation. Finally. I had read news about it and saw pictures of people in other countries protesting against it, but it never felt so real until recently when the amount in my bank account is getting painfully lesser and lesser, and I have been receiving red notes and fines.

I thought we over-spent on something... but checking through the bills, we have been very careful in our spending, infact, it was as per normal or less. We stayed home the whole of June School Holiday, we seldom eat supper now and we never switch on the air-conditioner at night, ok, just a couple of nights when it was super hot.

YUPPERS! It was because of the rising prices of rice, breads, oil, vegetables, meats, fruits, milk powders, and so on. All are but our basic needs!

I thank God for the profit sharing my company gave, it kinds of ease the pocket for now. I am so afraid to think ahead, where can we find the money if we run out of it... Most of our gold were sold. Shares? I dare not even read the news on the market.

I find myself looking for cheaper lunch recently. Thank God for the $1.50 chicken rice! I also try to eat noodles which cost the most $2.50. I gave up my favourite malay rice which cost $3.50 and sometime more if you wanna add another dish of vege... Once I tried to order one vege and one tofu and it cost only $1.70 which I was so so so happy, as I can eat my favourite malay rice and still spend less!

I don't order drink anymore as I'll have it back in my office. Now I really appreciate my company which provide drinks like coffee, tea and milo.

Dear God, please heal the situation. Please provide for those who are in need. For Your Name is Jehovah Jireh, our Provider. God shall supply all our needs. Amen!

"The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want." Psalm 23:1

Simply no time...

2008-07-15T11:00:00.007+08:00

Look, a year has past and I have not even posted a single thought. I simply have no time. The only time that I have I'll be at my girls' blog, posting pictures upon pictures, trying so hard to keep steps of their every moment that touched our lives... I left with only my lunch time at work, which is but a few minutes left after I come back to my desk from the hot afternoon sun.

Last Sunday I was suppose to memorised a Bible verse and present it infront of the church. This verse hit right into my heart....

"Blessed is the man who always fears the Lord but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble." Proverbs 28:14

I made a promise, decided, vowed, to fear God and love Him with all my heart.

That was last year when I was in the most difficult moment of my life, God delievered me.

I was at the edge of death and wished so much that it was just a nightmare.

I cried so hard and shouted out loud in my heart of hearts to God that I will fear Him and love Him with all of my heart, with all of my mind, with all of my soul and with all of my strength, if He deliever me from my distress.

God did.

God set me free from cancer.

7 months have past, and God reminded me of this promise, this decision, this vow that I made, to fear Him.

So here I am, Lord. I want to fear You. Whatever I do and wherever I am, I will be in reverence of God and to please God, my great Deliverer, my life Saviour.

I love you God :)

Strings Of My Heart

2007-05-23T13:21:00.002+08:00

I have been wanting to start this ever since I created Savouring The Girls. I have many thoughts that I wanted to write them down but not in my girls' blogsite, hence this new blog and I entitled it ~ Strings of My Heart.

In here you will find things that strum and tug at the strings of my heart. It is a heart of a sinner saved by Grace, a mother of 3 beautiful girls, a wife, a daughter, a sister, a daughter-in-law, a sister-in-law, an aunt, a design executive (electrical engineering), and of course, a woman! So much for a heart *Phew*

I hope to one day compile what I have written here into a BOOK, for keeps and for inspirations. Maybe for sales... okay, just kidding!

Until the next post, yup, that's about it.

Strings of My Heart ~芳心之弦~

Thank You Lord!

可爱图片

Thank you Lord for the trials~

给爸爸的简讯

Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy

Made for Heaven

Daddy's Camera

"Did You Know"

Hachikō - Dogged Devotion

You've Got Message...

FREE Desktop Wallpapers!

Beholding Jesus Christ

New Family Sticker!

A Loving Father 愛我的天父

从巫启贤原创诗歌《被钉在十字架的祢》写起...

You are the one Singapore!

Sarah-Cat*

New Blog Skin!

What(Who) is LOVE?

Every Move I Make

Ezra's Wish Party

Overflow With Hope

祢是我的一切

芳心之弦

Maru!!

I Will Be Here

妈妈的宝贝

Sun Above the Clouds

千年不变的道理

Graduation Memory

Growing in Grace

ABOVE ALL

An Invitation to Sing

Abba! Father!

Talking eCard

I'm 39!

Perhaps Today!

不住祷告! Persistent Prayers!

Life Without Limbs

《生命的内容》

Before a word is on my tongue...

Nods!

All of Grace

Watch Night Service

他們哭了

寶貴十架 ~ Precious Cross

Makoto Muramatsu

No Words. Just Tears.

My Life Testimony

Go Bible!!!

Not for us only...

The Great Physician

Ever Interceding

Answered Prayer

《 耶稣是谁？》Who is Jesus?

My Father's World

Blessed Assurance

Children in Heaven

I was sick...

Tour Israel

I Will Carry You

Inflation

Simply no time...

Strings Of My Heart

《耶稣是谁？》Who is Jesus?