A Strawberry filled life: August 2005

Teacher's Day is just like my 2nd Birthday! Heaps of presents! Muah ha ha... these are only the 1st batch!

Woo! Finally Teacher's Day! *Clap *Clap *Clap

Very funny students working on the magnolia project again. working or rather playing?!

CoCo's new cushion!

Nites out collecting our wedding photos and catching up more.

Limited

Wondering how come we are so so so limited. in terms of resources, in terms of how much we can do, in terms of our abilities.

i was talking to a dear friend yesterday. she was really upset because people she loves don't seem to take her advices or counsels, and in the end, still remain the way they are. this happens a lot of times, especially when the other party is not open to receive or change. i know it's tough and i never like people "lecturing" me too but i came to realise the importance of godly counsel and with that, i can find refuge! i want to be accountable and not to play tough saying "oh i don't want her to be worried"... oh well, imagine yourself as a leader or someone committed to you.

We have to trust God that He places the right people over our lives to act as guardian angels. although they may not have the ability to turn situations around, they can offer wise and godly counsel and ofcourse pray and intervene for us! we have to trust them, if not trust God!

there's always a limit to how much we can do for someone. the rest, let's leave it to God. We can't always carry people's burdens because there will never be an end to it. If we have done our best, one day, at least when God asks you "Did you tell him its wrong?" you can answer "Yes God"...

Take off your tinted glasses

this friend of mine puts on her tinted glasses way too often. the way she looks at things and perceive it, is all based on that pair of "special" glasses. nomatter how good or nice somethings are, and worse, the things doesnt even offend her at the slightest bit, she'll find it detesting and will always have a say. why? because since the beginning, she choose the tinted glasses. she doesnt believe what others tell her about the things... because thats not the way she sees it! we see it as blue she sees it always as red. hmm.... perhaps she really hate that thing which she sees thats why she want to put on the glasses whenever she sees it but to our amazement, she likes it pretty much! *blur.... THEN WHY DO YOU STILL LOOK AT IT WITH SUCH A SKEPTICAL MINDSET?!

Let me give you an example. For example, i like this breed of dog very much. some people told me the flaws of this breed then i became skeptical and puts on the tinted glasses. I would pick on that breed everytime i spot something wrong though in my heart, i still like this breed and hope one day, i would own it! Contradicting but yes.... whenever the dog squat in a weird position, i would go like "eeee why its like that!?" even the slightest thing about it which perhaps nobody would bother, i would talk about and make a hoo-haa among my peers. Now...its not fair for the poor fellow right?

Tinted glasses distort our views of the truths. you will never be able to open yourself up for anything good should you refuse to let go of it. If in your mind, you perceive God as someone whose unfaithful, He will always be in your eyes! nomatter how good He has been to you, it wont change your mind! If you are reading this and seriously dun know what i'm blabbering about, think about some times when you stereotyped. think about some times when you labeled someone even without knowing the person. think about some times when you group people in certain categories of your little book of definitions. Isnt that all because of the ugly tinted glasses?

Day out buying shoes and with my best friend!

Brother Bruce's beautiful marine environment!

A day of self bible study

It was a rather peaceful and quite sunday. Gary went to bro bruce's place to help him fix up his tank. He has BS in church too so we'll only meet around 5pm. i have a lot of time to myself.

Took out this cd by pastor kong and listened to disc 5 and 6 on the roles and responsibilities of a wife. tomorrow we'll be discussing this with bro khen theen so i better get myself prepared.

this self study is really great! as if i am in the congregation listening to pastor kong preach. some of the ideas are really revelations and i am so inspired and challenged to really fulfill my role and responsibilities of a loving wife. friends, you should really listen to this cd! knowing the purpose of marriage from God's word will really encourage us to walk towards a godly and fulfilling marriage!

Let's be healthy!!! Exercise...exercise!!!

TuTu keychain! my favourite capsule hobby! Gary turned 2. I wanna give brother bruce this orange one because he used to have a TuTu in his car!

Different sides of CoCo when she just woke up!

What else can i say??

What does the bible say of Marriage?

"And the Lord God said, 'It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him'" (Gen. 2:18)

"Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." (Gen. 2:22-24)

"Houses and riches are an inheritance from fathers, But a prudent wife is from the Lord" (Proverbs 19:14)

"He who finds a wife finds a good thing,And obtains favour from the Lord" (Proverbs 18:22)

"Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.." (Matt 19:3-9)

"Nevertheless, neither is man independent of woman, nor woman independent of man, in the Lord. For as the woman was from the man, even so the man also is through the woman; but all things are from God" (1 Cor. 11:11,12)

"Marriage is honourable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge" (Heb. 13:4)

Union of 2

I never thought i would face spiritual attacks on my wedding, my marriage, my relationship with gary. the devil attacks in all kinds of ways...never would i thought he would try to lay hands on my impending wedding..

it was a fierce fight..i almost went crazy! one moment i thought of burning all the wedding invitations, another moment thought of falling real sick.... and i was on leave today cos i really cant work... it was really bad... i know the devil is trying his best to ruin everything, i dun wanna lose everything God has made and i asked God to stop it! STOP IT! i fell asleep in the afternoon, after much tortures by the attack...tiring...amazingly, after the sleep, God delivered me out of the painful situation.

now i understood why such terrible spiritual attacks happen. in a month's time, gary and i will unite in marriage. with this union, we will become an even more powerful pair for God and carrying out greater things for the Kingdom. The devil cant stand this! anything that is God ordained, he cant stand! this one month will be really tough for gary and myself but we will still press on until the day when we'll stand together and declare victory against all odds, and finally to be joined as one. We will be a strong pair who will impact our community as one. can one make a difference? Yes, a strong one can!

"Then the LORD God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.'" Genesis 2:18

The Many Sides of Dear Dear :)

Making HDB sculpture using magnolia milk cartons...really fun!

haha sounds funny! saw this from a friend's blog! great! i'm gonna give 100% from now on! (from a naughty strawberry :P)

I am redeemed...in Christ

"The LORD redeems his servants; no one will be condemned who takes refuge in Him." Ps34:22

I felt so condemned...so unworthy of everything good.... so uncapable for being an angel to those I love.... i could not turn back the clock to prevent things from happening...if i can...i wanna be the perfect angel....

the many thoughts flooded my mind...i have never felt so condemned before! i know its the devil at work and i can literally see an angel in a tug of war with the devil, with my heart in the middle. i felt suffocated by the tugging, i prayed for a deep sleep and if possible, God, take me...

a deep sleep did happen, but i am not in heaven. I could no longer remember the result of the tug of war. needless to say, my God triumphs. I don't feel as bad though a tinge of unworthiness still remains. I flipped the bible to Psalm 34:22.... I know i have been redeemed and no one has the right to condemn me, including myself. its hard to think of it that way, but i know God will always comfort me and i will definitely try.

The devil always makes use of what happened to condemn us, making us feel lowly of ourselves. God wants to break the bondage and He wants us to be able to step out of the shadow. That's precisely why He came seeking for us, the lost and the confused. We can never erase that which had happened...but we can look towards the light to know that God who loves us more than anyone will never put us down, that leaves no other people the right to do so too... I truly thank God for loving me so much...

World won't collapse

It was suppose to be a happy day for me but my parents ruined it all. I dun hate them, i was not angry too. Just a little bit upset...just a little..

i know from day one that this day will come, but like what Bro KT and Sis Kless said, miracles can happen. Bro KT said God can move in such a way that we might be taken aback! If He wants, even Coco can talk some sense into them! If God can use a donkey, if God's hand could appear to men physically..i have no doubt that God will make everything well for me. Sis Kless said even if they really don't turn up on that day, we have already done our best. Like what i always tell my kids, its not the result that matter, its whether you have put in your best...

on one hand, i wish everything to be over now...or not to even have any wedding ceremonies, just pack and go with gary. i know its not possible so i still have to go on.... jia you strawberry!

Day of Celebration for Primary 2/4

Finally CA2 is over! Phew.... guess my kids feel nothing and i am more anxious than them!

I finished marking the scripts too and i am really thrilled at their results! i remembered waking up early and praying for them to do well in this exam. ofcourse they may not know God now, but i know children are precious to Jesus and one day, they will surely know the God who loves every single one of them.

We achieved 100% pass in Mathematics and 90% pass in English. I smsed my HOD telling her the results and she was too, very pleased. She challenged me a few months back to maintain the 100% pass. Our class was awarded the most value added class with the best results overall. For this CA2, we did it once again!

I am really very grateful to God, i know its not about me, or anyone. Its because of the anointing. Being a teacher, i hope to carry the anointing in my class and touch the little lives every day.

Visiting our big brother

Yesterday night we went over to Brother Khen Theen's house for a short discussion on our wedding. It was like going to our big brother's house for visitation! Bro KT was, as usual, very motivating and inspiring! every words that came out from him were like revelations to us. He challenged us to press in and see how God is able to move mightily in our wedding and in our marriage itself.

getting married is one thing can going on into the marriage covenant is another. we have to be accountable to each other now. now i have to curb my craves for new handphones, new shoes or new clothes, at least discuss it with my dearie before we give a nod to it. Sounds funny! all my 25 years is so liberal! buying or going wherever i want. Guess marriage disciplines one too! I am glad still because more than all these, i will be enjoying a greater life, not one, but with another person! i no longer have to wake up facing my toys but a real and living guy! And when two come together, there is greater power in achieving things, another one to share all burdens and worries. Truly, there is no greater joy in getting married!

Haha that's me??

Busyness is a sign of life...

Monday again...back to work...many of us may feel overwhelmed sometimes and i am of no exception. Especially with the wedding round the corner and most of the stuffs are done by me single-handedly, how i wish time would stop here for me to do nothing and think of nothing!

I remembered reading or hearing it somewhere that "busyness means you're still alive!" so be grateful for that! Guess we just need to push ourselves a little bit and try to overcome all the busyness. well, i wanna make every dollar i earn worth it!

Jesus was very busy too in His earthly ministry. He didn't stop and asked Father God if He could take a rest or perhaps walk down the streets of Jerusalem to window shop or something. He was focused. Not say that rest is no good, we have our well deserved breaks here and there. Think about it, how many more years do we have before we retire or gets promoted to becoming a full time mum? not too many i guess. thereafter, you can have more time to rest and take break.

I thank God that i have a job to do, to earn my own salary, to feed myself and to be capable of feeding someone if anyone should go hungry. i want to be a blessing to others and if i have no work, how can i do so? not only having a job, i wanna work hard too, focus...focus.....

honey trying to put on weight...Jia you!

Day of buying suits for the brothers :)

Potter and the clay

Heard so much about the potter and the clay...wonder how it's really like to be a potter? i had a chance today! Went to Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts for a ceremics sculpture workshop. spent 3hours there and my school paid $140 for me!

It's really an eye-opening experience for me. for a lot of my course mates there, its just another entertaining and interesting workshop. to me, its a step closer to seeing how my God works!

The clay is very hard. to get started, you need to slam the clay hard on the table. very hard! after that, knead it until it becomes soft. havent we been hearing so much about this? that when a clay such as you and i are selected to be made into something, God needs to slam us hard to begin His work. does it mean He is no good? does it mean He wants to see us suffer? No! Its a necessary step, just that simple. slamming it will compact the clay to prevent air bubbles which can be disasterous because they will explode in the firing process and hence making the pot unusable.

after moulding, the clay has to be left on the shelves for a pretty much time. I moulded a few things today. i will only get them back in a month's time. after leaving it on the shelf for a short while, i picked up one and add water to it and goes back to square one again because it doesnt look as great as i thought and i want to make a better pot out of it. God leaves us on the shelves for a long time sometimes. when He finally comes, we thought we're heading for the kiln but who knows He simply adds water and off we go to the slamming again. Why? to make us a better pot! ofcos He can choose not to and move you on to the kiln but what's the point of making something you don't deem as perfect?

the firing is done under the temperature of 1000 degrees. so hot! and worse...firing has to be done not once, but twice! after the first firing, the pot will be glazed and coloured. colouring is the nices part! cool, beautiful. then, off you go to the kiln again. this second firing will ensure the strength of the pot. after this, a perfect pot emerges!

now i know why certain things have to happen in life...its just necessary! being a potter now myself, i can always encourage myself, imagining me kneading myself...why? because i want to be a perfect pot at the end of it!

A Day at NAFA doing ceremics ;)