Genesis 22:1-14: December 2004

Friday, December 31, 2004

goodbye 2004

Praise God for all the wonderful things He has done for me! The year 2004 has been a really trying (and tiring) one for me. But without fail, and as promised in my favourite verse (Philippians 4:13 - I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me), the Lord has been my constant source of comfort and strength.

I thank God for all the important lessons I learnt through circumstances and the people around me. Thank God for a friendship that was almost lost because of pride. Through this incident, God has taught me to be humble when He convicted my heart to put away all pride and speak to that friend. I thank God that we are now talking and although we may no longer be the good friends we used to be, I thank God for a reminder that as time passed, the feelings of people may change, but God never changes.

This year, for the first time in poly, I failed one of my modules. I was filled with disappointment. I knew I had no one but myself to blame, and told myself that I would still be thankful to God that I failed. But during one youth service, the song "Day by Day" made me realise that subconsciously, I had been angry at God for not letting me pass. I went to God, asked Him for forgiveness and asked Him for strength so that in every tribulation, I may "lose not faith's sweet consolation, offered me within His holy word".

After taking the supp paper, I was very sure that if God does not intervene, I can never pass. I pleaded with God to allow me to pass because I was told that if i did not pass this time, I would have to stay in school for another semester when they offer this module again. I thank God for this trial, because it allowed me to see how many people cared and pleaded for God's mercy on my behalf. Most importantly, I saw God's power. I passed that paper - purely by the grace of God.

I'm grateful to God also for my internship programme. I had made a mistake by sending out my resume too late and when 2 firms finally called me, I was so thankful to God. But that was not all that God had in store for me. I totally lost hope in the first interview and put all hope in the second and only one that was left. To make matters worse, I had to make a decision between obeying my Dad or going ahead for an interview with that firm, which he did not want me to be at. Thank God for friends in GTF who reminded me that God speaks through my parents. It was a tough choice, but I am thankful that God gave me courage to obey my Dad, and ultimately, obey Him. I prayed and requested that if it was within His will, that I be offered a place in the first law firm. A day before the deadline, I recieved an email from that law firm, offering me an internship position. "Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." Philippians 4:6. Indeed, God keeps His promises.

Thank God also for an opportunity to go on a vacation-with-a-purpose in Chiangmai! This trip really opened my eyes and made me realise how much God has blessed Singapore with a wise government which has ensured most of us get an education. It made this year's national day a different one for me. This time, I wasn't just proud to be a Singaporean, but grateful that God made me one.

Thank God also for the burden He laid upon my heart to reach out to a friend this year. I pray that God will continue to give me the wisdom and words to say to this friend. Most importantly, I thank God that my family are of the household of faith and the blessed assurance that I will see them in Heaven.

The Lord has been so real to me and I want to give Him all the credit that He deserves. To God be the glory!

2 days to 2005

whhheeeeee...all ye ppl, u're welcomed to my humble yet cosy lil room from tonite onwards! hehhh...all thanks to my darling bro darrell...he moved my com up for me & set up this nice lil corner for me...so m actually typing this frm my bed now! woohooo *hugs darrell*
anyway...today's a pretty good day~ finally, one more day to go at infinitus. it's been a great experience working there...and thank God for really nice ppl : ) took some pictures today but yeah...m too lazy to upload them...
something interesting happened : ) this evening on the train, on my way to meet lydia & darrell at church, alvin msged me to ask how i was spending my new year...told him "no plans yet" and he asked if i wanna meet up for dinner. so i said "can, but i've got watchnight service at 8pm" and we exchanged a few more smses...when i reached jurong mrt, instead of walking to the interchange to catch a bus, i decided to walk to the bank instead...just after a few steps, i actually 'bumped into' alvin! wat a surprise...we ended up having dinner together of cos. but anyway, wat i wanted to say was, he was actually asking if i wanted to meet for dinner this evening, not tmr. sheesh. no wonder i didn't get it when he said "i tot u're at home? was abt to walk there to see if i need to wait or not"...hmm. smart. but theennnn...he really didn't mention "this evening" wat...(if u're reading this: still wanna argue with me just now!)
anyway, just wanna really thank God for friends.
to the one who msged me to thank me for being a fren and all tt u said: thanks, u've been a blessing in my life too : )

Wednesday, December 29, 2004

thanksgiving lunch

i thank God for a Christian boss who's not afraid to be open abt his faith. he invited everyone to a thanksgiving lunch today and shared abt how God has blessed not just infinitus, but also him. he even said grace before we ate! was greatly encouraged : )

met zer & dear at kallang to walk to geylang for dinner. thank God for a wonderful time of catching up...zer's flying off again. the next time i see her would prolly be after i graduate : ) oh well...m looking forward to tt already~


the year's coming to an end...i must say tt this has been a really blessed year for me. God has been and will always be good. amen. anyway...dear's gng to be at a chalet this new year's eve...i wonder wat's up for the rest of us? : D usual stayover, anybody??

Monday, December 27, 2004

heaven-bound

things to thank God for:
1. keeping singapore safe from wat's gng on in some neighbouring countries now...
2. strength at work today...really needed it badly. was so tired i felt unwell...indeed, He's my Strength.
3. dinner with alvin today. was nice catching up with him : )
"The world's biggest earthquake in 40 years hit south Asia yesterday, unleashing a tsunami that crashed into Sri Lanka and India and swamped tourist isles in Thailand and the Maldives, killing around 8,500 people. A wall of water up to 10m high triggered by the 8.9 magnitude underwater earthquake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra caused death, chaos and devastation among the region." -Streats, Monday, 27 dec 2004
my heart goes out to the many lives tt were lost, and to the bereaved families. wat struck me most was the no. of ppl that may have gone...without hearing the gospel. is this one of the signs of the end times? is Christ coming to take us Home soon? just reminds me again how little time we've left to tell our loved ones abt the gospel...and how i've been slacking...
the earthquake struck at 7.59am yesterday and...to think tt at tt very moment, i was still comfortably sleeping in my bed...totally unaware of the disaster gng on somewhere else in the world. and really near us. reading the papers, i realised how God has been so good to us. how blessed i've been...
just last nite, when dear was showing me the article...i was really afraid. really really afraid...but after much tot, why should i be afraid? even if i were to die this very moment, it's okay. becos i know for sure where m heading to...m heaven-bound. how abt you?

Sunday, December 26, 2004

blessed Christmas

so much to thank God for...the past few days have been hectic but well-spent : ) been able to spend time with ppl i love...and cherish.

24th dec
spent the whole day writing cards, wrapping presents, doing some packing at home (cos it's in a horrible mess) and met up with eve to buy presents. really thank God everything was settled on time again this year! haa...told myself tt next year, i shall start shopping for Christmas presents in june! : )

went for Christmas eve service at church and carolling on our roof gdn. tot the countdown was pretty cool. at 12 midnite, uncle john sounded our church bell, loud enough to announce to the whole neighbourhood tt it's Christmas day! after everything ended, quite a no. of ppl came over to my place for the usual Christmas stayover : ) who came over this year: dear, joanne, fiona, jaime, eve, mag, ric, alvin, nelson, the 2 davids & ss. thank God for a really wonderful time spent with them : )


25th dec

we watched anor vcd (windstruck) when we woke up and they left when my family & i had to go over to my uncle's place for my cousin's birthday celebration. was a pretty packed day. went over to khinmun's home & was glad to have met up with my sec sch friends : )

eve, mag & i went down to breko, hv. shortly after joshua joined us, i had to leave for family dinner and thank God, it was also in hv! haa...and i actually met up with jemuel : ) couldn't recognise him cos the last time i saw him, we weren't even in poly yet! anyway, jemuel & i ended up chilling with eve, mag, jeremy, joel & his fren at breko till 12 plus...was real glad jemuel drove & gave us a lift home...thanks jemuel!


26th dec

went to church in the morning for our last youth service of the year. was really disappointed when i was only told in the morning tt dad was flying off in the afternoon. but anyway, i had lunch with dear, fiona, mag, eve & surprisingly, joshua & joel : )


i spent the whole afternoon at the police stn. this lorry almost crashed into us and even threatened us to watch out when we were on our way to see dad off at the airport...well, long story so i shall not puke it all out here. but i just wanna thank God everything's settled now. i guess this whole saga wasn't a bad thing actually cos kor & i talked today.

met dear, mag and joel at a ktv and for the first time, i met paul who was there too! haa...i've heard so much abt this guy from ppl arnd me and well, i've finally seen him in person. pretty friendly guy, with a God-given talent. indeed God has really blessed with him with a wonderful voice : )


m glad i made it to grandma's home anyway : ) i used to tink we should either eat out or have the whole family come over for dinner so grandma wouldn't hafta cook. after a conversation with one of my aunties, i've changed this lil perspective of mine. grandma prolly finds it a joy to cook for all her children & grandchildren, esp when she sees them enjoying her cooking : ) besides...it's not forever tt we'd get to eat her cooking...m really so thankful to God for grandma...i really am.


anyway, thank God tt dad has safely arrived in vietnam. can't wait for chinese new year...a.k.a. his next trip back.

Thursday, December 23, 2004

HOORAY!

this morning, the lawyers had a discussion and decided to close tmr! so, yup...no work for me tmr...really thank God...i've been praying for this cos i really need the time to write cards, wrap presents etc. yup. so tt's one thanksgiving! : )

i really wonder how much calories i've put on just this evening! we had (what they call) frolic at work today...to celebrate Christmas. had stuff like turkey & well, the usual Christmas kinda food.
met my family at thai express, holland v. thank God for dad who's understanding & agreed to have dinner at hv cos i'd promised to meet allvina & dear for ice-cream. anyway, i tink it's actually my 1st time dining at thai express. one word to describe the food - aroy! : ) but i really miss chiangmai now...
while waiting for the food to be served, i took charlotte along with me across the street to meet allvina who was already waiting at haagen-daaz...she had actually called me to come over soon to catch stanley & his grp Agapella singing there! tot it was really cool...thank God for the out-reaching opportunity they had : )

had a wonderful time sitting at haagen-daz with allvina & dear (and l'il charlotte too, for a while). tot it was cute to see how my lil cousin feasting on my ice-cream when she actually said she wants to cut off all sugar intake...haa, so ironic (yet cute)?
anyway...just wanna thank God for today...it's been a really good day for me. m just reminded of how God has blessed me with family and friends...

Wednesday, December 22, 2004

impossible to please

hey...this is so NOT true okaaay...but still, it's so funny i just had to post this...haharz

Impossible to Please
A group of girlfriends is on vacation when they see a 5-story hotel with a sign that reads: "For Women Only." Since they are without their boyfriends and husbands, they decide to go in.
The bouncer, a very attractive guy, explains to them how it works. "We have 5 floors. Go up floor by floor, and once you find what you are looking for, you can stay there. It's easy to decide since each floor has a sign telling you what's inside."
So they start going up and on the first floor the sign reads: "All the men on this floor are short and plain." The friends laugh and without hesitation move on to the next floor.
The sign on the second floor reads: "All the men here are short and handsome." Still, this isn't good enough, so the friends continue on up.
They reach the third floor and the sign reads: "All the men here are tall and plain."
They still want to do better, and so, knowing there are still two floors left, they continued on up. On the fourth floor, the sign is perfect: "All the men here are tall and handsome." The women get all excited and are going in when they realize that there is still one floor left. Wondering what they are missing, they head on up to the fifth floor.
There they find a sign that reads: "There are no men here. This floor was built only to prove that there is no way to please a woman."

Tuesday, December 21, 2004

l'il christmas dinner

today's been a pretty good day! i got to knock off at 5pm cos i was sent down to tt shop again to check out if the boogie handbags are still on the shelves...the shop was closed but thank God i could see thru the glass and yup, no bags tt infringes our client's~ so i happily went off to shop for my stuff and later met my colleagues, elizabeth & steph at P.S. elizabeth treated steph & i to dinner at cafe cartel...it's actually my first time there you know! haa...the food was not bad!~ was really touched too...elizabeth actually had christmas gifts prepared for us...
just wanna thank God for my colleagues. i've never grown this close to any colleagues in my former temp jobs...so this internship hasn't been tt bad afterall cos i've made good friends! : )
finally got myself a baby-g watch : ) haa...time to start scrimping and saving! anyway...daddy's home!!! thank God for bringing him home safely for Christmas! : )

Monday, December 20, 2004

are you dumb?

http://www.asiantown.net/blog/fla/are_you_dumb.swf
heh heh heh

Sunday, December 19, 2004

racial harmony, please.

alrite. nobody cept those i hung out with at ecp today would know wat my title's abt...so if u're not one of them and reading this...just ignore it! heh :D

just a few things to thank God for:
(a) got to spend quality time with joanne when she came over after church to learn how to bake cookies & cream cheesecake frm me : ) it was a messy session cos (i dunno why) the mixer just keeps flinging the cheese everywhere! but still, thank God for all the fun & laughter we had throughout : )

(b) a great time of catching up & getting-to-know-better outing with a few of my ex-classmates! went to east coast park with miaoqin, eve, ric, chor wei & khin mun (who brought his whole gang of frens)...i actually dun really like gng for class gatherings cos i somehow would start feeling left out...but a small grp like tt was wonderful : ) really got to talk to them...and yeah...m missing sec 4 days!

hmm. lots of other stuff to thank God for actually...but m a lil too tired to type on...anyway... . ..

blessed 19th birthday to you, dear! *hugs*

Saturday, December 18, 2004

christmas celebration'04

thank God for a wonderful Christmas celebration at church this afternoon...really thank God for each guest he brought today : ) i thank God also for the 1985s who came together to present an item "Christmas isn't Christmas...". i pray tt those who heard this song would be touched & be willing to welcome Him into their hearts, so they may experience the real joy of Christmas...

got to talk to my ex-kindergarten student's mom during refreshments and came to know she actually was ready to recieve Christ...auntie shelly & i brought her to a kindergarten room & shared with her the gospel. i was really excited cos it was actually my first time...sad to say, after we shared with her, she told us she was not prepared to ask Jesus into her heart...i felt tt it was such a pity tt she was holding back becos she was afraid tt she'd be sinning if she got angry at her son when he's naughty, despite us explaining to her tt as Christians we are still sinners and it is thru the grace & strength of God tt we are able to overcome sins like anger...to be honest, i AM disappointed...but this just reminds me tt everything happens in God's perfect timing...the fact tt she was ready to hear the gospel already shows tt God is working in her life...so darlings, pls pray along with me for this lady...for courage to welcome Jesus into her heart...

anyway, was at jurong pt with joanne & mag after the celebration & stuff...eve went home to get her stuff to stayover & when we met up, we bumped into khin mun & miaoqin...decided to have dinner together & there, we met sebastian & elmer (all my sec schmates)! how cool...i really marvel at how God can bring abt a reunion in a place and time like this...haa...thanks for today, God!

*lay's salt & vinegar chips rocks!*

Thursday, December 16, 2004

just what i need...

"o soul, are you weary and troubled?
no light in the darkness you see?
there's light for a look at the Saviour,
and life more abundant and free!

turn your eyes upon Jesus,
look full in His wonderful face,
and the things of earth will grow strangely dim
in the light of His glory and grace..."

i know God's there for me. needed a song of comfort...opened my song book & He turned it to my fav song of comfort...indeed He knows my every need...

Jehovah Jireh, my Provider! His grace is sufficient for me...

Saturday, December 11, 2004

sisters' appreciation nite'04

from the bottomless bottom of my heart, i thank God for all the brothers who made this evening so special! i must admit they've really done even better than the sisters did 2 months ago, for brothers app. nite. i know tt they've been meeting up to plan this evening's sisters' appreciation nite & lots of effort has been put in...they even took time to come up with a video to express their appreciation to the sisters! m really really touched. i really m. God has definitely blessed us girls with many wonderful brothers...m really impressed by the love, effort & time they've put in to make us feel so appreciated on this special nite. memories frm this evening would definitely be etched in my mind for a pretty long time...to the brothers (darrell, ss, youren, daniel, josiah, jonathan, johnathan, reginald, shaun & alex) who were so sweet to us: m really grateful to you - and of cos to God who gave you all to me - for all tt you've done! i can never pen down how grateful i m, but i just wanna say, i love you!


check this out! dear & i "wow"ed real loud at this...haa


appreciation & gifts presentation time...sorry, wished i could put everybody's up...but tt's a lot of space


the sisters: (from left) dear, me, 'cher, adeline, candice, fiona & eve. missing joanne, lydia & jaime!


cold dish prepared by the brothers! we had a 6-course chinese dinner!


waiters serving us pasta. the 6-course chinese dinner wasn't all. everything was quickly transformed into italian style after the last chinese dish.


dessert...so pretty rite?


me - enjoying my dessert!


rose given to me from ss : )


my beloved ss & me


wonder wat he was trying to prove.


my darling brother & me


me & josiah - among our grp, whoever dare say they've been 'brother-sister' longer than we have...can suck their own toes! *bleah*

P.I. in the making

i played P.I. today...was sent to pretend to look for stuff in this particular shop for 1 of the lawyers and well...it was pretty exciting actually...haa...and thank God joel was in town den! the shop was closed till 3plus and i really thank God for his company : )

thank God it's the weekend! just got home from a date with dear...and a lightbulb named joel tan. haa...kidding. (anyway, to joel: we're NOT lesbians, just very good frens, fyi) and my, it seemed like the whole of singapore was at orchard this evening...it was really really mad. i so thank God m safe at home now...anyhow, i really enjoyed myself this evening...it's been so long since dear & i hung out!!!

before m off to take a bath...just wanna really thank God for my l'il brother who waited for me at the bus stop - with an umbrella - cos he didn't want me to walk home alone!~ how sweet is tt rite? :D *winks*


angels we have heard on high, sweetly singing o'er the plains...


thanks joel & dear, i really enjoyed myself with you guys!

Thursday, December 09, 2004

tracting with dear

...this evening was good : ) the ppl were receptive and m pretty encouraged. m sure dear is too : ) i really pray tt these familes who recieve the invitations would join us and if they were given tracts, be touched by God's love for them...it was pretty sad to see this man with a christmas tree in his home (well, just show tt he kinda celebrates christmas) and yet isn't open to the Reason behind the season.

talking abt Christmas...i just really don't understand why ppl have to be lazy (according to them) when it comes to spelling out C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S. most ppl tink tt " x'mas " is just short for Christmas...but unknown to (some of) them, it's actually simply crossing out Christ.

why, seriously...do your friends celebrate your birthday without you?

Wednesday, December 08, 2004

tracting with keith : )

was wonderful teaming up with keith liang during tracting this evening. even more wonderful was seeing him so enthusiastic abt sharing the tracts & inviting the ppl to our christmas celebration as we went door to door. best of all was seeing keith, kevin, ian & darrell being so zealous abt serving the Lord : )

yeap, God works wonderful ways and He makes all things beautiful...in HIS time.

Tuesday, December 07, 2004

"mr & mrs daniel tan"

heh, zer's so gonna kill me for this title...but well, wat's done cannot be undone. anyway, look for allvina! her title gave me this idea! hee...

down with anor scene of filming! whhee...just wanna thank God for the progress tt we've made : ) met up at zer's place in cuscaden & watched them 'argue' abt how the carpet should be placed before gng off to tanglin mall for dinner...was a pleasant surprise to see keith & kevin liang having dinner there too.


thank God this scene's completed. felt real tired during the filming back at zer's place & aiyoh, this daniel & zer had to keep laughing...m glad they didn't break the record, but they needed 6 takes! *lol* okok, no laughing for me now. had enough from just nowwwww...

wanted to go straight home after filming but felt bad cos everyone else wanted to go for ice-cream...well, i couldn't really resist the temptation either, so off we went to venezia at 6th avenue...yoggi with cookies & cream rocks.

Monday, December 06, 2004

the incredibles

the incredibly noisy. haa...alan was prolly right when he told chill "just come to the noisiest table at the food court". anyway, i thank God for today's dinner with luvena, alan, jenny & her fren, allvina, zer, daniel tan & chill...this has definitely added some colour to my week!

jonathan & matthew came just as the rest (cept daniel and me) were gng to catch "the incredibles". just wanna thank God also tt some youths who didn't used to be active in church are trying to be more involved now...and even coming out for stuff like dinner on a weekday : ) and...just to make a point. i AM shaun's sister...daniel tan asked me for the 2nd time today, if i was shaun's sister. my reply: "are u auntie peggy's son?"

ok. those of u who get it, yeah...shoot me - tink carefully tho. *bleah*
anyhow, prayer request: for my back...it hurts pretty much today.

Saturday, December 04, 2004

campfire nite '04

thank God for a really great campfire last nite...God indeed is in control. despite the threatening-to-rain skies in the late afternoon, God gave us really good weather - no rain, with a gentle breeze - just nice for a campfire : )

seeing how much my l'il darling bro has grown up & learnt to take care of the even l'il kids in his grp as i/c the past 4 days...i felt really proud of him...

it's been a long week for me...missing camp was a horrible feeling but tt made me appreciate the time spent with friends last nite even more. turned in pretty late & got up early this morning...but thank God for strength to keep gng the entire day! having tiramisu at 11am over at mrs heng's was good too. a great start to the day? *winks* 'cher brought us to sks warehouse & i got myself a bible, called mommy and told her, "hey mom! i got a christmas present already! from you to me! haha~" oh well...m i thick-skinned or wat... *bleah*

anyway, i thank God also for today's filming session. finally, anor 2 more scenes down!~

exactly 2 more weeks to d-day for us...but still fully trusting Him... : )

Thursday, December 02, 2004

thanks mag!

thank God for nice l'il things tt He puts into my day to brighten it up : ) mag came all the way to shenton way to have lunch with me. tot it was really sweet of her to even take the initiative to meet up for lunch! but this silly pig...it was only her 1st time meeting my colleagues, elizabeth & steph...and she's already collaborating with them to 'suan' me. boo hoo hoo.
also thank God i got to pop by at camp this evening...mrs heng's shepherd's pie was good : ) seeing everyone at camp was best. only sad thing is tt i ain't able to join them throughout the 4 days this year...just realised i have actually never missed sunday school camp even after i graduated from ss, cept for the time i was away in japan! sheesh. tt's internship for you. i mean, me.
but it's okay, at least it's now thursday! less than 20 hours before i get to join all of them for the campfire and stayover for the last nite! woohooo...sunday school camp 2004, wait for me. here i coooooooooome!

Wednesday, December 01, 2004

sunday school camp '04

...started today. i so wanna be there...anyway, today was a pretty rough day at work. but i just really thank God for ppl He uses to make my day better...like elizabeth who listened to me this morning & gave me advice regarding some probs at work...steph who made me a cup of ribena and brought it all the way over to IP dept after lunch...was really touched.

thank God also for dear & fiona who dropped by...m not a singapore idol fan but well...it was just the laughter, and joy of being in the company of ppl i love & enjoy having arnd...thanks guys : )

just tot tt philippians 1:21 was an encouragement to me today... "for to me to live is Christ; and to die is gain."