Melbourne Air 2013

I really praise and thank the Lord God for this time I have right here in wonderful Melbourne! The cold fresh air is so good for the soul! LOL. Well, for my soul that is. Really helps to uplift one up and give a renewed fresh perspective on things.

Living in Singapore can be rather crappy but life in Singapore don't have to be. Read that again and again, until you get it. Whenever you find yourself complaining about this and that, stop yourself. Start thinking of what you will now do to make things better. Note to self: Complaining and whining is NOT ATTRACTIVE.

With that said, I'm going to do my best to give my best, until this soul of mine gets ol' and weary, it's probably then time to book another flight out for a recharge session :) For now, it's back to the super-duper Target Store! :) wheeee! Thank you Jesus! :)

♥♥♥

Leave the Light On

"Your eyes are like a lamp for the body. When your eyes are sound, your whole body is full of light; but when your eyes are no good, your whole body will be in darkness. 

Make certain then, that the light in you is not darkness. If your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, it will be bright all over, as when a lamp shines on you with its brightness."

Luke 11:34-36

This gospel text caught my attention during a retreat earlier this year in Jan. For some reason, it resonated with me and I scribbled the whole verse into my notebook. I never looked at it since then till today when I flipped through my notebook and there it was. 

We all have some darkness in our lives, it is not good and what makes it worse is that we have become so comfortable with it that it becomes 'nothing wrong'. We accept it as the 'norm' and give up fighting against it. This should never be the case. "When your eyes are sound, your whole body is full of light; but when your eyes are no good, your whole body will be in darkness." 

I attended Penitential Service on Wednesday and the truth is I cannot remember when my last confession was! That's how long it has been I guess. It can be daunting to tell your sins to a priest but the absolution he gives, the act of contrition you make, and most importantly, the forgiveness you receive from God the Father will set you free.

So as we welcome Jesus on Palm Sunday and we enter the Holy Week ahead, let your light shine and let darkness flee away. As long as your heart is in the right place, it's never too late to make this coming Holy Week a good meaningful one with your acts of penance, fasting, almsgiving and prayer. 

Wishing one and all a Holy Week ahead.

Crazy Christmas 2012!

Wow. Where did the time go? I looked up and it was already the 12th day of 2013. Just today I was humming to a christmas tune and my colleague commented that 'hey! Christmas is over ya know.' Where was I?

It suddenly dawned on me that I had missed Christmas. I mean yes, I was physically present, busy with my job, the Advent programme and party for kids, gift-buying and wrapping for everyone, christmas dinners and luncheons, weddings, church meetings, even my weekly personal gym-time had to stop (for 3 weeks, oh the horror!! LOL).

• I remember being at my grandma's house for our annual family Christmas dinner and whilst I enjoyed everyone's good company, my mind was on the big party for eighty kids to be held the next day and the 101 things that was yet to be done. This is not good, I thought to myself. We only get to meet like this once a year and I'm not even 'here'!

• I remember being on repeat mode, as I kept saying how tired I was, can't wait for this to be over, can't wait for that to be over. I guess it really came to a stage where I was really just going through the motion.

• I guess also when too often your friends SMS or IM you and starts off each time with "hi hi... sorry to disturb you ah.. but just wanted to ask.." , it just means that your "BUSY HEADLIGHTS" must be on so bright that they are fully aware of how busy you are!

• I remember thinking to myself of how I now fully understand and grasp the meaning of the word 'hectic'.

So... Christmas has come and gone (ended last Sunday on Epiphany ie 12th day of Christmas). In spite of all these busy-ness and upon reflection, I have to say that I did learn a couple of things:

1. Something's gotta give - When your plate is full and you start feeling overwhelmed, something has got to give. This means you can't do it all. You have to take a step back to prioritise and see what can be done now and what can be done later, and what are some of the things you can actually do without. In my case, I had to postpone all dinner appointments with friends to a later time and totally give up my gym time for 3 weeks. 

2. Support from around - Truth is, I couldn't have gone through the crazy month without the support of the boyfriend, family, close friends, and children's ministry team. These are people who probably couldn't fully understand how I ended up taking on so many things but yet they loved me enough to stick around with their support and care. I praise and thank God for each one of you! 

3. Spirit Wings - Last but not least, all of the things I have accomplished in the last month and the whole of 2012 would not have been possible without the abundant graces, blessings, wisdom and providence from Jesus God the Father. He had given me the strength to get through it all and although I know I complained alot to Him, I know He listens and stands by me always, for He is ever faithful. 

So yes, it is very very important to have a prayer life. No one is asking you to pray 24hours a day but keep that relationship with God alive. Start talking to Him, turn to Him with your troubles and let Him take the lead and center stage in your life. Very often we get caught up with the busy-ness in our lives, just like what I've described in this blog entry. Put God first and everything will fall into place. Wishing one and all a blessed and fruitful new year 2013!! :)

Let go and Let God

I was tasked to source for a song that we can use for this coming weekend's session with the kids. So in order to do that, I had to first read up on this Sunday’s gospel (Mark 13:24-32), find out the theme etc and find an apt song that we could teach the kids. Well, praise the Lord for He provided me with a wonderful song called “I PROMISE YOU” (performed by Trevor Nerva, CD: Walking with Jesus). 

As I was listening to the song on repeat mode, trying to get the lyrics down on PPT slides, it slowly became quite apparent that the song was really intended for me. Faced with more downs than ups lately, coupled with pure exhaustion and a massive burnout waiting to happen, I pretty much needed to hear what was right there, playing to me. 

Through the song, I was assured of His love for me and it reminded to lean and rely on God’s promises. Yes, we all go through trials and challenges, disappointment and hurts, knocking us down and out. When things just don’t go your way, the only way left (which should have been the only way to go in the first place!) is to let it all go and lift it up to the Lord, for He will take care of things. You will then see how everything will just fall into place, as you see how things start to unfold, all beautifully and wonderfully made, in His time. 

May the Lord bless each one of you abundantly and guide you in all you do always. Remember to turn to Him in good times and in bad, for He will always be there.

Full Circle

Two weeks ago, I moved back in to my old work cubi, where I had sat previously before I left (two years ago). It's complicated to list the chronology of movement but to keep it simple, returning to the old cubi after all this time, it feels surreal and I feel so blessed at the same time. It's coming full circle for me, especially after 'surviving' what life had in-store on the pretty rough roller-coaster ride. The Lord has been with me every step of the way and I am eternally grateful to God the Father for all that He has blessed me with.

To those who are going through a rough patch or feel stuck in a rut, lift it all up to the one who cares for you. Cast your burden unto Him and let Him carry you up on His Spirit wings. Remember to keep the faith and keep going. 

Need inspiration to get started? Go catch this DVD movie 'FACING THE GIANTS' or 'SOUL SURFER'.

May the Lord bless you and lift you up on His Spirit Wings. Amen!

Spirit Wings

Some birds live in cages
They never learn to fly
And like those birds, I never found my wings
But Lord, your love released me
So I could see the sky
And now my heart rejoices as I sing

Chorus:

Spirit Wings,
You lift me over all the earth bound things
And like a bird, my heart is flying free
I'm soaring on the song your spirit brings
O Lord of all, You let me see
A vision of, your majesty
You lift me up
And carry me on your spirit wings

Now when I'm feeling lonely
I just look at You
And soon my heart is soaring high above
Everything is clearer
From Your point of view
Lifted up on spirit wings of love

My 1st Prison Run - 16 Sep 2012

My first challenge was having to wake up at 0445hrs just to make sure I do not miss the six o'clock shuttle bus to the run venue in Changi. So yes, I made it to the bus and found myself headed bright and early to Changi. Of course, the main challenge was the run itself! This was my first 6KM run and the route was not a breeze, not to say that the runs completed at East Coast Park was any easy but this one right here really was the ultimate! It had many ups and downs, a lot like life. Yes, you can't help but to let your mind do the reflection and critical analysis on life when you're struggling to 'run' uphill with the wind blowing against you. Also, in the midst of the uphill trudging, I couldn't help but envy the cyclists enjoying their fun and easy ride downhill on the opposite side of the road. 

I've participated in mostly 5KM runs before and they usually have at least 2 waterpoints; one at the 1.8km mark and the other maybe 3.5km mark thereabouts. At this run however, they had just one waterpoint at the 3km mark and I was sooooo close to giving up. Well, I couldn't give up the run no matter how tiring and close I was to throwing in the towel. Firstly, it was because the bf was there to make sure I kept going, in spite of my irate state and eye-rolling glares in the midst of the buckets of perspiration and legs that started to feel led-heavy. Second reason why I had to complete the run and not give up? They had transported all our deposited baggage to the prison grounds aka the Finish Point and so I had to finish it now, didn't I?? :p 

It was also interesting to see the inside of the prison grounds, a huge big open field, surrounded by high walls and the cells were all in buildings that looked very much like HDB blocks on the outside, but only with highly-placed grilled-bar windows. The Yellow Ribbon Project does help to raise much awareness on unlocking the second prison (ie society) for ex-convicts. For more information, do visit http://www.yellowribbon.org.sg/

Praise the Lord for the strength and grace for me to complete my 6KM run :)

Proud Finisher :))

Fit to Run

This week, I am inspired by the strength, determination and tenacity of two very outstanding women. 

One would be my aunt, who in her sixties, had climbed and reached the base of Mt Everest just two days ago. We are very proud of her and we await her return for her to share with us her experience. 

The other, a female colleague of mine, had returned last week from climbing Mount Kinabalu. Out of the many who dropped out along the way, she was one of only three people who managed to scale to the peak of Mt Kinabalu. When asked what kept her going during this grueling experience, she shared how she had envision herself completing the climb and posing happily at the top! Having that positive image in mind kept her going and that in itself to me, is as real as it gets. 

In the past two years, I had started to get serious with keeping fit and healthy. I guess when you reach a certain age, realisation just hits you that life is indeed short and with whatever number of years you're left with, you had better make the most out of life. And to do that, you will need to have a fit and healthy body. It doesn't matter what size or shape you are, what matters most is you take the first step, show up and get it done. Everything else will fall into place.

I recall the day back in 2010 when I started out with my first gym experience at a workplace that came with free gym access for staff. So excited and foreign to this facility, I had packed in my father's shoes by mistake. What's a girl to do? Like Nike would say, 'Just do it!' right? So I put them on, and prayed no one noticed 'what big feet I have' and that was how I got started. For someone who disliked running very much, I decided that I was going to brisk walk on the treadmill. One thing led to another, I started jogging and then increased the speed a little and today, I'm still a work-in-progress :)  Practice makes perfect and you can't rush perfection. 

I have a 6km Yellow Ribbon run this Sunday and I hope to do my best. Can I do it? Just like what this good article here says, "it's not really a question of 'can you' - it is more a question of 'WILL YOU?'. 

Stay tuned ;)