Love Came Down

Wowsers, it's been ages since I've last updated...

So here's a quick recap from July till now

July

•  LIFEGAME!!!!! WAS AWESOME!!! Did a total 360 degree change in my life which I thought was pretty good. But no, no, no. God wanted it to be BETTER. I now have a clearer purpose in what I want to do and Who I do it for: God.
• Started new trimester, another grueling 12 weeks of classes.
• We've since stopped our girl group because one of the members (our leader, sorta) found a FT job! Something she's been praying for about a year now! PTL!
• The Cambodia mission team started to get to know each other a bit better. Plans and groups formed. Oh, yes, I'm going to Cambodia on a mission trip end of the year! Dunno if I've told you guys...now you know?

August

• Assignments begin to pile up...stress stress stress
• More responsibilities to handle as part of the mission team: evangelism training, distributing gospel tracts, meetings etc.
• Being a part of this year's AYC fundraising!
• Started this book called "A Love Worth Giving" by Max Lucado. Fantastic book, on the well-known "Love is patient, love is kind..." verse: 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 and have been incredibly touched by God's love that I cried after each chapter and I've only ever read like 3 so far. Not an easy feat I tell you, making me cry. But with God, anything is possible :)
• Lost my job...no, no...I wasn't fired. It's only a temporary thing because our store is moving to another area, so we'll be shut down for August until they set up the new place to be open in September! It's hard having no income. Sigh... 

September

• Still no job...getting a bit worried/annoyed that they promised to contact us 1st Sept...and a week later, still no news. Annoyed because if it's gonna take this long, I could have found another job while waiting! /:
• Assignment season..MORE stress!!! Spring = hayfever. Though I haven't felt the effects just yet.
• MORE assignments! Hair-pulling and white hair start sprouting out
• Mid-Autumn Festival; I'm organizing the 4-6yo kid's program for 'practice' before the Cambodia trip. God help me, I don't know how to look after 4-6yo...

BUT, by God grace through my friends/family, throughout all these stressful times, I am reminded of God's patience, love and peace...

Its probably the same for you guys too. Assignments, papers, tests or exams, problems with family or friends?? Remember God's love:

East to the West

A beautiful song of God's love and His sacrifice through Jesus Christ to wipe away our sins...

The show that never was and the 21st that has been

Hello! Wait, is my title grammatically correct? Ah, who cares...

Well, It has been a marathon these past few days: I finished my exams, worked a whole lot and slept not a whole lot. But I've finally found the energy and time to sit down to do this long-overdue post...

I am so glad exams have finished and I'm having my holidays now. I have 'freedom' now to work everyday, yay...hello early morning starts and 3-hour all rounder trips!

Anyway, I came into work today in a fairly good mood--well, better mood than I normally am (solemn and boring)-- and the reason being that I was going to go to Andrew Lloyd Webber's Love Never Dies showing later in the evening! In case you're like a frog under a coconut shell, LND is the sequel to the Phantom of the Opera I was rambling about months ago. The tickets were given to me for my birthday by four lovely ladies who I study Pursuit of Holiness with. So I hyped myself up, fully expecting an amazing night.

So I braved the wind, cold and rain and headed into city after work and waited for my friend, I'll call her RJ. I got a call from her telling me that the show's canceled. Here's a snipet of conversation that followed (paraphrased):

Me: What?? How come? Hey, don't play jokes on me...
RJ: *nervous laughter* I'm not, honest.
Me: What happened??
RJ: I booked the wrong date, I thought it was tonight...
Me: So when did you actually book it?
RJ: ...next Wednesday...
Me: Awwww, you got me all hyped up for nothing *sad face*. Well, you still better come meet up cos I'm starving. Let's have dinner at least.

Ahh, the show that never was...yet. 


Speaking of b-day presents, I had a wonderful day of surprises (good ones and bad ones) on my birthday last Friday.

I start with the bad ones first... the first was that it was a horribly cold and wet day, and because I was rushing to get to my exam, I wore canvas shoes and got my shoe and socks wet! So I had cold wet feet the whole morning...the other was that a question that came up in my exam was the part I wasn't well prepared for, but thank God I managed to spew out words and words of relevant (hopefully) information. I guess I'll find out how relevant when my results come out, hah.

The good ones are really good!

After the exam, I went to sort out my library fees and thankfully, I only had to pay $22 because I returned my two overdue textbooks. If I didn't return them, I woulda had to fork out $220. No thank you.

I then collected my assignments and found out that I got a HD (high distinction) for an assignment that was half-arsed, rushed and handed in late! Whew, don't think I'll be so blessed next time round...

When I got home, Esther 'suggested' that I should go read Jan's blog. So I did and words cannot describe how touched I was to read what she (YOU) wrote. I don't think that I can adequately respond, but know this Jan, you and your family has been such a huge influence in my life back in MTS and even now! Seeing how you are eagerly absorbing God's word and equally eager in serving Him really pushes me to strive harder in my own relationship with God. So THANK YOU for the unspoken and spoken words and acts of discipleship, of love and of friendship. You are an amazing friend and role model, truly.

Another surprise came in the form of a surprise 'party'. It wasn't really a party per se, there wasn't food or drinks or flashing music and streamers--no. It was more of a gathering with a surprise: I got serenaded!! Wow, my first time being serenaded! They sang Michael Buble's Everything, but changed some lyrics to suit the occasion. It was combined with a slideshow showing photos of me from young  till now--embarrassing! I was touched my their effort in finding the song, changing lyrics, practicing it and singing it...



I was then forced to make an impromptu speech...and I surprised myself...and everyone else...by getting emotional and crying like a baby. Oh gosh, I don't think I ever cried in public in like FOREVER!

I told them of how it was hard moving here 5 years ago in 2006. And around that time was also a big milestone in my life: my 16th, which was a farewell party as well, so it was a sad occasion. It was extremely difficult leaving family and friends of whom I shared my childhood/teenage years with. I was worried that I wouldn't fit into the youth or church...but this time round, on my 21st which is another huge milestone in life, it was filled with joy. I thanked them all for their acceptance into the church family, and wished that we'll all continue to grow bigger and closer together.


That was the gist of what my speech was...but oh goodness, it felt like I took forever to get those words out cos I was trying too hard not to cry, and failed horribly so I was struggling to talk and get words outa my mouth. I am really thankful to God for this 'family'. It's small in numbers but BIG in love.


That Friday evening will be etched into my memory forever...

Here's some of the gifts I got:

• A mug that changes colour and reveals pictures when you add hot water (SO COOL!!!)
• Tickets to Love Never Dies
• Loads of chocolate (they have a secret ambition to make me even fatter than I am! Really!)
• Being serenaded :)

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thes 5:16

:D

Some random card tower Esther made from Monopoly Deal cards...I love the colours

D&D

Dinner and dessert: my two favourite meals of the day! Dinner is where everyone comes together after a long, busy day to have a lovely, warm, home-cooked meal. We use that time to do some catching up; to share what’s been happening in each other’s lives. Dessert is a rare treat; and a home-made one rarer still.

I’ve always loved to cook, bake and make. But the weekly routine of cooking simple three-dished-meals (one rice, one vege, one meat/tofu/fish) really hampered my love and desire to try new recipes…that is until I started watching Masterchef and My Kitchen Rules and Alive and Cooking! My favourite cooking show is James Reeson’s Alive and Cooking. James is such a charismatic chef; his humour and easy personality makes the show enjoyable to watch. I find myself waking up before 9 so I can eat breakfast in front of the TV whilst savouring the food he whisks up.

So, armed with a new determination to cook, coupled with a desire to eat healthier (blame my nutrition course) I decided to do something I’ve never done before for my family. Cook them a Western-ish dinner with something more Asian for dessert: a proper two-course meal. So what better dish to cook than ‘Asparagus Stuffed Chicken Breast’ for dinner and ‘Watermelon Tapioca with Watermelon Mint Sorbet’ for dessert?! For the chicken breasts I used James’ recipe found here with slight changes here and there. As for the dessert, I combined several different recipes (I think I used 3) into one.

GL's version: 'Asparagus Stuffed Chicken Breast'

And oh my word, the stuffed chicken breasts were delish, it had the perfect combination of sour (marinated asparagus), sweet (semi-dried tomatoes), salty (cheddar cheese) and crunchy (breadcrumb-ly outer layer) with juicy chicken meat: yum! It’s a healthy, well-balanced meal that ticks all the boxes. As for the dessert, well, it was a bit of a disaster, I guess watermelon didn’t really go well with tapioca pearls (mango would’ve been perfect) and the sorbet was way too sweet (I got a bit lazy with measurements and whatnot :X). Sigh, oh well. Next time, next time.

'Watermelon Tapioca with Watermelon Mint Sorbet'

Now, onto melon pans!

2011

I thought it was about time to get my act together and update my blog!

So another year has gone by. The Labour Party with Julia Gillard as PM has been doing okay...not too many qualms about it so far. But we shall see. We shall see. PTL that the Coalition (the lesser of two evils) has won the recent New South Wales state elections!

I finished my 2^nd yr of my 3-yr Health Science degree with above average results (yay!); I also managed to get a job at one of my favourite retail stores – Esprit! Again, all blessings from Him above! PTL! 2010's AYC has been spectacular! Visiting Brisbane and Gold Coast was an amazing experience. The weather was lovely, reminded me of Malaysia. The people were equally amazing! It was also the first time in a long time I've been to such a spiritually rewarding and refreshing camp. The last one being the prayer camp in '06 in Mukah (remember?) Coming back from camp, I've been challenged to re-examine areas in my life that needed a huge revamp; namely in my attitude and conduct as a Christian in my own home/family.

I think, like most people (might just be me), as a Christian...especially one that’s always under public scrutiny – youth leaders, mentors, role models etc – I tended be all ‘goodly’ and ‘right’ and ‘holy’ in front of church members and leaders, the other youths, in front of my friends… I say all the 'right stuff': I can give perfect, sound, quotable advice; I can walk the talk and do it so well that even professional models get jealous; heck I’m the Number #1 ICHIBAN example of a Christian there ever was!^††

However, when I'm at home and free from scrutiny, I don't do the Godliest things. I know… *hangs head in shame* I say degrading things to my sibling; I try my utmost to be unhelpful at all times^†††; I am an impatient twit; I throw terrible tantrums (Childish much? Yeah, I think so too); I -- well, I think you get the picture: I am not the most lovable, adoring sister or daughter to have around.

But slowly, by God's grace, mercy and much prompting of the Spirit, I came to a realization that this needed to change if I was to live a life that totally glorifies God and pleases Him, I have to live a holy life. And thus began my pursuit of holiness (PoH) for 2011 and beyond.

I am grateful to God for speaking through situations and people that helped me continue once more my PoH. I say ‘continue’ because my spiritual growth has been quite stagnant these past few years and now, finally has it been starting to angle up again. This started when a sister-in-Christ suggested that we (a couple of the girls in the junior youth and English youth) do a weekly bible study based on the book ‘The Pursuit of Holiness’ by Jerry Bridges as a continuation of 2010’s AYC theme of ‘Holy, Wholly Holy’. I signed up right away. It was going to be a new experience for the organiser and for the attendees as it was the first time we’ve done something like this. But we put a bold foot forward and stuck with it (with God’s help of course) and boy oh boy, eight weeks, four lessons later, I’m loving it!

I found a renewed sense of hunger and yearning for His word and for holier living. There have been ups and downs in my journey but hey, at least I’m growing! I find myself more conscious of what I do, say and think.

I want to do the things that please Him.

There are about five or six more lessons to go. I will start updating more often with how I’m going. In the interim, go do something really helpful and buy a copy of ‘The Pursuit of Holiness’ for yourself!!

And I shall leave you with this:

But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy’.

1 Peter 1:15-16

Allons-y!

Remarks:

†† It was just an exaggeration of how I was. Honest!

††† Again, an exaggeration. I ain’t that bad…that’s not the point. Point is. I’m not that lovable at home.