Happy birthday Oppa!

An early celebration with the HOMIES; The birthday boy with boozy cake by FBB at his favourite crabby restaurant! - Photo courtesy of Yee See -

Surprise celebration at the office. He was so blessed and honoured to have the whole office to celebrate his birthday. - Photo courtesy of Samuel Siew -

A blessed birthday to my dearie oppa, who turned 3X on 16th August! May you have an awesome and blessed year ahead!

I Want to Win an Awesome Tropical Island Holiday with Cikipedia!

 I’m participating in Cikipedia’s Healthy Getaway Weekend!

In my school days, I used to do a lot of sports, ie, basketball, volleyball, cycling, hiking, etc. As much as I would like to say that I keep a healthy routine daily, I can't - that's just what I wished I would do but physically doing it would be a challenge. Now, the motivation is to keep my glucose level as low as possible - yes, I'm living with diabetes.

Here goes my 'healthy' routine:

• Workout on my cross trainer for 20-30 minutes every morning and evening. (If I'm not too tired/lazy/sluggish :P)
• Every Monday, spent my 2 hours watching hubby play futsal (is cheerleading counted as exercise too?)
• Walk/'Pak toh' with hubby at the park near my house on weekends for about an hour.  

Next aim: to start jogging!


p/s: Oh God, I really need to win this as I badly needed a BREAK, away from my parents - currently staying with them! :P

Oh gosh, I'm already dreaming of myself chillax by the seaside in Pangkor Laut!

With God in Our Hearts

We Are Never Alone

We praise God when we realize our blessings. We shout "Alleluia!" when our prayers are seemingly answered. When a crisis is narrowly averted we say "Thank you, Lord." However, with the good times we must also face the bad. And there's no doubt that life can be tough at times. In fact, it can be so tough that we don't know how we'll make it through. What faith gives us is the knowledge that, no matter what, God will never leave us. Listen to that small, still voice and know that within your faith in God lies the power to overcome even the most trying times... even if He must carry you.

We need Mary and Martha

-Shared by Paul Scanlon-

In the story of Jesus at Mary and Martha’s house (Luke 10) we read that Mary sat at Jesus’ feet whilst Martha was busy feeling stressed out in the kitchen.
Martha never comes off well in this story, tending to be judged rather harshly whenever it is told.

I want to show you another side to this story, which celebrates Martha as much as Mary.
Jesus loved both Mary and Martha (John 11:5), valuing them equally. It’s also clear from the text that the house actually belonged to Martha not Mary (Luke 10:38). So it was Martha who received him into her home.

‘Mary’s’ want to simply worship Jesus but it is the ‘Martha’s’ who build homes where that can happen.
Behind every worshipping Mary there’s an exhausted Martha who takes care of all the things that would prevent and dilute the focus from Jesus.

If the church is all Mary and no Martha, it will be all worship and no structure, but if it’s all Martha and no Mary, it will be all work and no worship.
Martha’s work makes Mary’s worship possible, but if we don’t appreciate this, the Martha types resent the Mary types for not being more practical, and the ‘Marys’ project guilt on the ‘Marthas’ for not being more spiritual.

The reality is that Mary became famous for pouring oil on Jesus feet but it was Martha who burnt the midnight oil for him! We need both; one is not more spiritual or necessary than the other.

I’ve been to ‘all Mary’ churches and, whilst they are very devoted worshippers they can be awful timekeepers, poor organizers and terrible hosts. I’ve also been to ‘all Martha’ churches, highly organized, very hospitable but lifeless and unresponsive to God.

Just as these sisters lived in the same house, we need them both together in God’s house; we need the worship of Mary and the hospitality of Martha.

The church is like a restaurant where everything happens in the kitchen.

People don’t choose a restaurant for its kitchen but rather for its atmosphere, ambience, decor, location, service and food.

The restaurant is calm, peaceful, candlelit. There are wine glasses, white linen, silverware and music.

The kitchen is more like hell than heaven! It’s loud, sweaty, stressful and hectic.
There’s no linen, music or candlelight, and yet that’s the heart of the restaurant. People fall in love with the restaurant not its kitchen.

They recommend the restaurant to their friends and leave others to dine in this new place.

Our problem is when we get more diners – more Marys – who just love the restaurant and we ask them to help in the kitchen; they can get offended.

People may even sign up to work in the restaurant not realising that there’s no real work in the restaurant, it all happens in the kitchen. Marthas live in the kitchen so Marys can enjoy the restaurant but we need more and more Martha’s if we are going to serve more and more Marys.

It’s time to let all the Marthas in your world know just how much you appreciate them.
Paul

Take Delight in the Lord

When we stop and survey all the blessings in our lives, it is the perfect moment to take delight in the Lord. What does this mean? It means we are expressing our sincere gratitude for all of his wonderful gifts, from the beauty of a simple sunrise, to the love that fills our homes. Through our thankfulness the door is opened to experience a special awareness of the abundant goodness that is all around us.

                                   

Through prayer, we commit our hearts, our minds, and our very lives to God, and then we are truly able to delight in Him!

For they comfort me

I know His Word is as trustworthy as the magnetic poles of the earth.

I know He feels your pain when your world falls apart.

I know He can find a friend who understands your sorrow.

I know He won't let you loved one's memory die.

I know He will hold you up so you can let down and let go.

I know His strength will carry you even when you face the incomprehensible.

I know He will enable you to survive this imperfect storm.

I know His "windows" can take any angry rocks you throw.

I know He wants to use you to comfort others.

I know He can create beauty from ashes, turn mourning into dancing, and change weeping into joy.

I know His promise of Heaven changes everything for believers.

I know you don't have to fear tomorrow because God already is there.

I know He will empower you to continue on when it doesn't seem possible.

I know He wants to lead you to the exact calm center where you relax in His divine control.

-Closing words by Lynn Eib, author of When God & Grief Meet-

Faith, Hope and Love...

-Text taken from Precious Moments Newsletter-

These three words are used quite often, so often that we might forget what they truly mean. Our faith is reflected in the depth of our trust in God. Our hope is the strength of our confidence in His plan for us. And love is not merely a feeling, but rather expressed through the ways we act, in how we treat others.

We look to love for the greatest happiness in life, but let us never forget that love is energized by our faith and hope, and so all three are essential to our overall joy. Whether in times of abundance or times of need, we must always remember that we are not self-sufficient, nor are we ever forgotten by our Heavenly Father. Let us always be aware of the signs of faith, hope and love that are all around us.

It is these three things - faith, hope and love - that allow us to live purposeful lives of generosity, joy and gratitude.

Valentine's Day Special

A lil surprise from hon for Valentine's Day. Nothing fancy but it melts my heart; exactly how I would love it. Thanks hon for the mini bouquet!

 

Here's my treat for him since he does not like my gift for him. Ice cream always work, for the both of us! :D

 

 

See how reluctant he was to pose for me.