A Bookmark, Baubles and a Letter...

Ho! Ho! Ho! It’s my favourite time of the year again, where my heart just skips a beat just seeing the shiny baubles dangling from the ceiling and a romantic fireplace decorating the walls. I was walking through Metrojaya the other day over at Mid Valley and their deco was just out of this world. It was like walking into some kind of “Winter Wonderland”…Mmmmm… I felt like a small kid getting excited at the prospect of exploring my first steps in that magical ambience…was sure I even skipped a little!

Ok…back to earth already! With the new semester looming ahead and the frazzled busyness of constant ringing of phones and tight schedules, Christmas preparations and practices, my head is just spinning trying to gather my thoughts all at once. There is this saying that BUSY = Busy Under Satan’s Yoke. I think there is a certain truth to it. How many times have we been a victim of “Tyranny of the Urgent” where because of our busyness, we push aside the important things in favour of the urgent.

When Ps. Sandra preached last Sunday about evaluating and reflecting on our live in 2006, and to prepare ourselves for a great 2007, it was a timely reminder. And to really rub it in, I received a letter from the e06 conference a few days later. Inside was a Christmas e06 bookmark from Ps. Lee Choo with the main verse of John 10:10 of which the conference was based on. Together with it also was the letter I wrote to God during the e06 closing which I mentioned in my last post.

When I started to read back on what I wrote, I started crying…it’s all coming back to me now…

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to attend this conference. Many times I was tempted to pull out because it was too expensive, too inconvenient, too this and too that. But You have been faithful and provided for me every step of the way. You knew I needed to be here because I needed to stop and reflect on my life. My struggles were just signs telling me that there are deeper issues that I needed to struggle with.

I needed restoration and forgiveness for not being true to You and to myself. Sometimes I feel that I am short changing myself because I was just too lazy to ‘trouble’ myself to change. Heal me from my hurts and bitterness from the people who have hurt me, whether it was done on purpose or not. You will turn these hurts for my good because Your plans for me are not to harm me but to heal me and give me an abundant life. To turn my struggles into stepping stones that will help me achieve the dreams that You have planned for me. To use my passions and gifts to impact the world around me. Help me to respect each one’s personhood. To know and see each human being with Your eyes and Your love. That they are not inconveniences and stumbling blocks in my path but that they are lessons and gifts from You as I journey through this life. Let me experience fully each challenge or joy that comes my way. To embrace each pain or joy that You give me as a tool to make me whole again.

Daddy, help me to have a magnified perspective of you. To really know just what a Great and Mighty God You are. To know not just in my head but also in my heart that You truly love me despite of what I do or who I am. Help me to surrender my will and the urge to control my life and to give it to You willingly. To live a life of obedience and integrity that will reflect Your character. Whenever I serve You, I want to serve you in order to participate in Your work and not because I want to earn Your love and approval or because that’s what a Christian is supposed to do. Thank You so much Daddy! I love You.

Somehow, the busyness crept up on me and I seem to have forgotten the things were important. I’ve somehow left a crack unattended for the thief to put his foot in to destroy little by little, bits of my life. It’s a good time for me to stop now and reflect again…

Between the Devil and the...Angel?

And finally the final book of the trilogy, “The Devil and Miss Prym” is the most interesting of all. In this novel about temptation is a thought provoking parable of a community devoured by greed, cowardice and fear as it struggles with the choice between good and evil.

A stranger arrives at the remote village of Viscos, carrying with him a backpack containing a notebook and eleven gold bars. He comes searching for the answer to a question that torments him. Are human beings, in essence good or evil? In his sophisticated plot, he shows Chantal Prym, a young, simple girl in the village, where he buried his eleven bars of gold. After showing her the gold bars, he shared his plot to proof his theory that the nature of human beings when confronted with temptation, will always fall.

He explained to Chantal, “Everybody in this village is honest, starting with you. I showed you the gold bar, which would give you the necessary financial independence to get out of the village, to travel the world. The gold is going to stay there; you know it’s mine but you could steal it if you wanted. And then you would be breaking one of the commandments: ‘Thou shalt not steal'.

“As for the ten gold bars, they are worth enough to mean that none of the villagers need to work again. I didn’t ask you to rebury the gold bars because I am going to move them to a place only I will know about. When you go back to the village, I want you to say that you saw them and that I am willing to hand them over to the villagers on condition that they do something they would never dream of doing. To break the commandment ‘Thou shalt not kill'.

“I’m giving them a week. If at the end of the seven days, someone in the village is found dead, then the money will go to the villagers, and I will conclude that we are all evil. If you steal the gold bar but the village resists the temptation, or vice versa, I will conclude that there are good people and evil people – which puts me in a difficult position because it would mean that there’s a spiritual struggle going on that could be won by either side.”

For five days, Chantal struggled whether to present the crazy plot to the villagers or to steal the gold bar and run away from the village. There was once she got so close as to dig out the buried gold bar and as she stared at the gold bar, contemplating whether to take it. Then she discovered that she couldn’t go through with it; this inability, however, had nothing to do with honesty or dishonesty, but with sheer terror she was feeling. She had just realized there were two things that prevent us from achieving our dreams: believing them to be impossible or seeing those dreams made possible by some sudden turn of the wheel of fortune, when you least expected it. For at that moment, all our fears suddenly surface: the fear of setting off along a road heading who knows where, the fear of a life full of new challenges, the fear of losing forever everything that is familiar. People want to change everything and, at the same time want it all to remain the same.

Finally the villagers were presented with the tempting offer and they decided to take the bait and get rid of the old widow who could see and speak to spirits. And as we see the battle between the devil and the angel of Chantal and the stranger, Chantal finally takes control and tries to convince the villagers why they should not commit this atrocious act. Did she succeed? Well…read the book to find out!

This story reminds me so much of the “Screwtape Letters” by C.S.Lewis where we could see how the battle with the unseen world of spirits can affect our lives. And I liked the short story which was told at the end to kinda “sum things up”. This story was about a saint and a sinner. The saint wanted to spend the night at the sinner’s place knowing full well that the sinner has planned to murder him while he sleeps in the middle of the night. But before they went to sleep, the two of them talked together for awhile. The sinner decided to challenge the saint with 3 questions:

1. If tonight, the most beautiful prostitute in the village came in here, would you be able to see her as neither beautiful or seductive?
2. If I offered you a pile of gold coins to leave your home in the mountain and come and join us, would you be able to look at that gold and see only pebbles?
3. If you were sought by two brothers, one of whom hated you, and the other who saw you as a saint, would you be able to feel the same towards them both?
To all the 3 questions, this was what the saint answered: “ No, it would be very hard but I would be able to control myself.”

The moral of the story? Both the saint and the sinner had the same instincts-Good and Evil struggled in both of them, just as they did in every soul on earth. When the sinner realized that the saint was the same as he, the sinner realized too that he was the same as the saint. It was all a matter of control. And choice. God gave us all a free will. A choice to do good or to do bad. Use it wisely…but the best thing is God gives us grace. In the song below by Steven Curtis Chapman, it talks about the privilege we humans have to have experienced the "grace of God and the redemption of sin” that angels only wish they knew.


Angels Wish
~ 1 Peter 1: 12 ~

Was God smiling
When He spoke the words
That made the world
And did He cry about the flood
What does God’s voice sound like
When He sings, when He’s angry
These are just a few things
That the angels have on me

Well, I can’t fly
At least not yet
I’ve got no halo on my head
And I can’t even start to picture Heaven’s beauty
But I’ve been shown the Saviour’s love
The grace of God has raised me up
To show me things the angels long to look into
And I know things
The angels only wish they knew

I have seen the dark and desperate place
Where sin will take you
I’ve felt loneliness and shame
And I have watched the blinding light of grace
Come breaking through with a sweetness
Only tasted by the forgiven and redeemed
And someday I’ll sit down with my angel friends
Up in Heaven
They’ll tell me about creation
And I’ll tell them a story of grace

Death by Suicide

“I’m alive”, thought Veronika. “Everything’s gonna start all over again. I’ll have to stay in here for a while, until they realize that I’m perfectly normal. Then they’ll let me out, and I’ll see the outside world again.”

In the second book by Paulo Coelho I have been exploring, “Veronika Decides To Die” talks about a 24 year old Veronika who seems to have everything – youth and beauty, boyfriends and a loving family, a fulfilling job. But something is missing in her life. So, one cold November morning, Veronika decides to die. She takes a handful of sleeping pills, expecting never to wake up again. But she does…in a mental hospital where she is told that she has only days to live.

And as she thinks about her situation now that her suicide was unsuccessful, an inner monologue continues on in her head:

“Since people always tend to help others-just so that they can feel they are better then they really are-they’ll give me my job back at the library.

Since I only take sleeping pills, I’m not disfigured in any way: I’m still young, pretty, intelligent, I won’t have difficulty getting boyfriends. I’ll make love with them and I’ll feel a certain degree of pleasure, but the moment I reach orgasm, the feeling of emptiness will return. We won’t have much to talk about, and both he and I will know it. The time will come to make our excuses-“It’s late” or “I have to get up early tomorrow” – and we’ll part as quickly as possible, avoiding looking each other in the eye.

I’ll go back to my rented room, read a book, turn on the TV to see the same old programs, set the alarm clock to wake up at exactly the same time I woke up the day before, and mechanically repeat my tasks at the library. I’ll eat a sandwich in the park opposite the theater, sitting on the same bench, along with other people who also choose the same benches on which to sit and have their lunch, people who all have the same vacant look but pretend to be pondering extremely important matters.

Then I’ll go back to work; listen to the gossip about who’s going out with whom, who’s suffering from what, how such and such a person was in tears about her husband, Then I’ll go back to the bars at the end of the day, and the whole thing will start again.

My mother who must be out of her mind with worry over my suicide attempt, will recover from the shock and will keep asking me what I’m going to do with my life, why I’m not the same as everyone else, things aren’t as complicated as I think they are. “Look at me, for example, I’ve been married to your father for years, and I’ve tried to give you the best possible upbringing and set you the best possible example.”

One day I’ll get tired of hearing her constantly repeating the same things, and to please her I’ll marry a man whom I oblige myself to love. He and I will end up finding a way of dreaming of a future together: a house in the country, children, our children’s future. We’ll make love often in the first year, less in the second, and after the third year, people perhaps think about sex only once every two weeks and transform that thought into action only once a month. Even worse, we’ll barely talk. I’ll force myself to accept the situation, and I’ll wonder what’s wrong with me, because he no longer takes any interest in me, ignores me, and does nothing but talk about his friends as if they were his real world.

When the marriage is just about to fall apart, I’ll get pregnant. We’ll have a child, feel closer to each other for a while, and then the situation will go back to what it was before.
I’ll begin to put on weight. And I’ll start to go on diets, systematically defeated each day, each week, by the weight that keeps creeping up regardless of the controls I put on it. At that point I’ll take those magic pills that stop you from feeling depressed; then I’ll have a few more children, conceived during nights of love that pass all too quickly. I’ll tell everyone that the children are my reason for living when in reality my life is their reason for living.

People will always consider us a happy couple, and no one will know how much loneliness, bitterness, and resignation lies beneath the surface happiness.

Until one day, when my husband takes a lover for the first time, and I will perhaps kick up a fuss and think of killing myself. By then, though, I’ll be too old and cowardly, with two or three children who need my help, and I’ll have to bring them up and help them find a place in the world before I can just abandon everything. I won’t commit suicide: I’ll make a scene; I’ll threaten to leave and take the children with me. Like all men, my husband will back down; he’ll tell me he loves me and that it won’t happen again. It won’t even occur to him that, if I really did decide to leave, my only option would be to go back to my parents’ house and stay there for the rest of my life, forced to listen to my mother going on and on all day about how I lost my one opportunity for being happy, that he was a wonderful husband despite his peccadilloes, that my children will be traumatized by the separation.

Two or three years later, another woman will appear in his life. I’ll find out – because I saw them or because someone told me- but this time I’ll pretend I don’t know. I used up all my energy fighting against that other lover; I’ve no energy left.

He will continue being a considerate husband. I will continue working at the library, eating my sandwiches in the square opposite the theater, reading books I never quite manage to finish, watching television programs that are the same as they were ten, twenty, fifty years ago. Except that I’ll eat my sandwiches with a sense of guilt because I’m getting fatter; and I won’t go to bars anymore because I have a husband expecting me to come home and look after the children.

After that it’s a matter of waiting for the children to grow up and of spending all day thinking about suicide, without the courage to do anything about it. One fine day I’ll reach the conclusion that that’s what life is like: There’s no point worrying about it; nothing will change."

For moment, it read like one of those Dear Thelma’s letter. A bitter, disillusioned woman who spent so much energy on trying to ensure that her life continued exactly as it always had. A woman who had given up many of her desires so that her parents would continue to love her as they had when she was a child, even though she knew that real love changes and grows with time and discovers new ways of expressing itself.

When she decides to get a job, she rejects a tempting but risky offer in favour of a job at a company, where you didn’t earn much money but was secure. She went to work every day, always keeping to the same timetable, always making sure she wasn’t perceived as a threat by her superiors; she was content; she didn’t struggle, and so she didn’t grow: The most important thing was that she gets her salary at the end of the month.

When she has achieved almost everything she wanted in life, she reaches the conclusion that her existence had no meaning, because every day was the same. And that’s when people start to die inside.

What would you change about your life if suddenly you found out that you had only days to live? Would you still continue to live exactly the same rountine as always? Or would you start to live your life to the fullest? When Veronika was faced with the only 24 hours more to live, she asked the doctor at the mental hospital for two favours:

First: For some medication or injection so that she can stay awake and enjoy every moment that remains of her life. She was very tired but didn’t want to sleep. She wanted to do a lot of things, things that she always postponed for some future date, in the days when she thought life would last forever. Things she’s lost interest in, when she started to believe that life wasn’t worth living.

Second: She wanted to leave the mental hospital so that she could die outside. She needed to visit places where it’s always been there but never had the curiosity to go and see it at close range. She needed to talk to the woman who sells chestnuts in winter and flowers in the spring. They passed each other so often, but never once spoke to each other. She wanted to walk in the snow without a jacket, to find out what extreme cold feels like, for she was always so well wrapped up, so afraid of catching a cold.

She wants to feel the rain on her face, to smile at any man she feel attracted to, to accept all the coffees men might buy for her. She wants to kiss her mother, tell her she loves her, weep in her lap, unashamed to show her feelings, because they were always there even though she hid them. She wanted to give herself to one man, to the city, to life and, finally, to death.

So do we only start living when death starts to stare us in the face? Or do we live our lives doing the things we’ve always been doing but never really lived at all? Well let me end this thought provoking post with a song by Steven Curtis Chapman:

Last day on earth
~Matthew 25:21; James 4:14~

I pull over on the side of the road and I
Watch the cars pass me by
The headlights and the black limousines tell me
Someone is saying goodbye
I bow my head and I whisper a prayer, “Father, comfort their broken hearts”
And as I drive away there’s a thought that I
I cannot escape, no I, cannot escape this thought
I can’t get away

Oh, if this should be my last day on this earth
How then shall I live
Oh, if this should be the last day that I have
Before the air of Heaven
Let me live it with abandon to
The only thing that remains
After the last day here on earth

If this should be my last day here on earth
If this should be my last day here on earth
If this should be my last, last day here on earth
And if tomorrow comes to find me
Looking in the face of Jesus
Will I hear Him say the words “Well done”?
If this should be my last day here on earth
If this should be my last, my last day here on earth
‘Cause this could be my last, this could be my last
This could be my last day

Between Love and God

My book review journey continues…and this time it’s a book entitled, “By The River Piedra I Sat Down And Wept” This is the first part in Paulo Coelho's trilogy "On the Seventh Day". The other two parts are “Veronika Decides to Die” and “The Devil and Miss Prym”. This trilogy revolve around a week in the life of seemingly ordinary people, all of whom find themselves suddenly confronted by love, death and power. Linking these stories together is Coelho’s belief that the profoundest changes take place within a short time. And while these intense changes shape the lives and decisions of the characters, they also challenge the reader, testing our strength, courage and willingness to adapt. After all the challenge will not wait. Life does not look back. A week is more than enough time for us to decide whether or not to accept our destiny.

“By The River Piedra I Sat Down And Wept” is essentially a story about love. It also includes elements of Catholicism and particularly focuses on the female aspect of divinity.

The story focuses on two adolescent lovers who reunite after eleven years. Time has transformed Pilar into a strong and independent young woman but who is frustrated with the grind of university life and looking for greater meaning. Life has taught her to be strong and to hide her feelings. After eleven years she meets up with her childhood sweetheart, grown into a handsome spiritual teacher, with a reputation as a healer and miracle worker, who turned to religion as a refuge from his inner conflicts.

Together they take a journey that is initially fraught with difficulties as blame and resentment resurface after years of being hidden. But by the River Piedra, in a small village in the French Pyrenees, they find a way to discuss many of life’s big questions and re-evaluate their relationship.

One very funny thing I noticed was that the name of Pilar’s childhood sweetheart was never mentioned at all in the book. So for the sake of convenience, I shall refer to him as “The Seminarian”. Why? Apparently it was a major issue for their relationship because he had come to a point where he had to make a critical decision. He loved Pilar and would give up everything for her. If he chose to become a priest and continue his religious mission as a spiritual healer and miracle worker, he would have to give up Pilar. If he chose to stay with Pilar, he would have to give up his gift of healing, and his religious mission to continue to live his life with Pilar like every other person.

Finally The Seminarian decides….well if anyone plans on reading the book, to avoid spoiling the ending for you, I will not reveal his decision. But this story did raise one very good question. If I had to choose between God and the love of my life, which one would I choose? It reminds me of the life of Jim Elliot where he obeyed God’s call to do missions, leaving behind the love of his life, Elisabeth. But God finally reunited the two of them together and was married after many years but their marriage was short lived for Jim was killed while trying to bring the gospel to the Aucas.

Having to choose between the two people we love most isn’t an easy decision. I can still remember when I was a very young Christian, I had the burden to go for missions. But in the back of my mind, I wondered, what if I can’t find a life partner if I go for missions? What about my hopes and dreams of finding someone to share my life with and to start a home together? And as I wrestled with these questions, God spoke to me in John 21: 15-22. In the same way as Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him, God asked me if I love Him above all these. God knew my heart. So then, what is it to me whether I find my life partner or not? Just follow Him. After all, there is no better place on earth than to be in the will of God. There is this particular song by Steven Curtis Chapman (now you know who’s my favourite singer) that reflected how I felt at that time. The songs is entitled:

Believe Me Now
~Psalm 119:89-93; Isaiah 41:10; Romans 8:31-39; Hebrews 13:8~

I watch you looking out
Across the raging water
So sure your only hope
Lies on the other side
You hear the enemy
That’s closing in around you
And I know
That you don’t have the strength to fight
But you do
Have the faith to stand and…

Believe Me now
Believe Me here
Remember all the times I’ve told you loud and clear
I am with you and I am for you
So believe Me now
Believe Me now

I am the One who waved my hand
And split the ocean
I am the One who spoke the words
And raised the dead
And I’ve loved you long before
I set the world in motion
I know all the fears you’re feeling now
But do you remember who I am?
Do you…

So believe Me now
Believe it’s true
I never have, I never will abandon you
And the God that I have always been
I will forever be
So believe Me now

I am the God Who never wastes a single hurt
That you endure
My words are true
And all My promises are sure
So believe Me now
Oh, believe Me now

After my struggle with that question, I can still remember my brother, who believes himself an atheist, observed that my life seems to revolve around the Bible, church and mission trips. So one day he sarcastically said to me, “Maybe you should marry a pastor one day!” Although he said it to irritate me, I was like “What’s so bad about marrying a pastor?” Being a naïve and very young Christian, I thought marrying a pastor was like marrying the “perfect guy”. To me being a pastor = a man who loves God = a man who obeys God = someone who will love and be faithful to his wife.

Then when I grew a little older and a little wiser, I realized that pastors are human too and nobody’s perfect. They still get tempted, they still make mistakes. I also have the opportunity to see my ex-colleague get married to a pastor and shifted to Macao to pastor a church together. My ex-colleague and I are like total opposites in personality and when I saw her ministry and life as a pastor’s wife…I started to wonder, “Am I qualified to become a pastor’s wife?” To me being a pastor’s wife is like being the “The role model wife” aka “The Proverbs 31 woman”. If you ask me, I don’t think I’m near anywhere like her!!

And another thing I found out about pastors or any church leaders. They and their family are common targets of criticism and gossip. Of course being leaders in any organization, there is a certain expectation and standard that their subordinates expect of them. Life as a pastor or a pastor’s wife is definitely not an easy one. So if God should choose to matchmake me to a pastor or a missionary or a full time worker, I pray He gives me the extra grace needed to live up to that role, although that doesn’t mean I’m not open to guys of other vocations.

Honestly, guys who give their lives wholly to God have my respect and admiration for they are a rare breed. I have had the honour of capturing the interest of a pastor before and though he pursued me, I was reluctant to start a long distance relationship again after what happened to my previous relationship. It was not an easy task trying to discourage him gently for he was a great guy and I was never good at this even though I’ve done it a few times before. The last thing I want to do was to hurt him but I felt like I was distracting him from God’s work. So my fervent prayer is that the next time a great guy approaches me with more than friendship on his mind, I hope I won’t need to crack my head for an excuse to squirm my way out without causing any casualties.

Love in Unexpected Places

I was still very hesitant about writing this post due to the delicate subject of those “Harry Potter books” and the last thing I want to do is open up a can of worms. There are still many differing viewpoints on whether Harry Potter books should be banned, burned or maybe…recycled? Or is the church overreacting about this particular series of children’s fictional books? I am not advocating that Christians should or should not read/watch Harry Potter but this is just to share my viewpoint and encounter with Harry Potter books.

The first time anyone actually asked me whether I had any problems with Harry Potter was when I was applying for a job as a facilitator for a children’s development centre. Since they use Harry Potter to make things more interesting in their science experiment classes, they actually asked me if I was comfortable using him in the classes since I told them I was a Christian. That was 2 years ago…and I had to admit, I have never seen or read any Harry Potter books or movies. Being ashamedly ignorant of the said character, I actually don’t have a stand on whether I was okay with it. And since this was a job interview and wanting to get the job….of course I said I had no problems even though eventually I declined their job offer.

Recently my college library obtained the first four books of the HP series, so I thought I might as well just read it and judge for myself or at least have an informed opinion.

I managed to finish the first book, Harry Porter and the Sorcerer/Philosopher’s Stone in one day. (Sorcerer is the Americanized version to appeal to the American market more). It was pretty engrossing book, pretty similar to Enid Blyton books. Although I wouldn’t approve of witch crafting and spell spinning, I was actually touched by one particular passage which spoke to me more or less like an analogy of God’s love for us.

Okay, before I go on, for those who have not read/watch this book/movie, what I’m going to write is going to be an ending spoiler. Therefore you have been warned…

Right after Harry’s encounter with the villain, Quirrell who allowed Voldemort inhabitate his body, Dumbledore, his principal came to visit him. Harry asked Dumbledore why Quirrel’s skin blistered red and raw when he tried to touch Harry. Dumbledore explained that his mother died to save him and if there’s one thing that Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. Voldemort didn’t realize that love as powerful as a mother’s can leave a mark…not a scar or visible sign. But a love so deep that even though the person who loved is gone, gives their protection forever, in the very skin of Harry Potter. Quirrell who was full of hatred, greed and ambition, sharing his soul with Voldemort could not touch him because of this reason. It was just agony to touch someone marked by something this good.

That particular passage touched me and made me cry because it suddenly reminded me of God’s love for me. In the same way Harry’s mother loved him so much that she died to save him, Jesus died to save me from my sins because He loved me. And though He did raise up from the dead and is alive today, He protects me from evil and only allow things that are beneficial to me to happen. He makes all things good for me if I love Him and obey Him. If the evil one wants to “touch me” he needs permission from God before he could do so. Isn’t that more amazing than a mother’s love!

I did a bit of reading on J.K.Rowling’s biography which kinda helped me understood life from her perspective. Her mother died at the age of 45 while still working on this book. She and her family was devastated. Desperate to get away for awhile, she went to Portugal and met and married a Portugese man. The marriage didn’t work out and she struggled as a single mother when she tried to finish writing the book.

Looking at her life, her mother was one of the important figures in her life and now that she herself is a single mother, it was understandable that in a way she projects herself as Harry Potter and his deep longing to know his mother and the love of a mother and a family. I felt that the book was more of a reflection of her life playing out “fantasies” with her sister and missing her mother rather than a book of witchcraft and wizardry.

So what do I think of Harry Potter books now? Well, to be honest, I have personally no problems reading those books. Plus they are highly entertaining, but of course children can be highly influenced and find it difficult to differentiate fact from fiction. But as long we guide them and keep level-headed, I believe books like this will not be able to shake our faith. After all, the last thing I expected was God to speak about His love to me through that book.

Holidays, Birthdays...and Happy Days!

“Are you getting married?”
My colleague asked me as she eyed the book on Decorating for newly weds curiously on my table. I just laughed and shook my head. Apparently I had the itch to redecorate my bedroom so I had been borrowing all the books on interior decorating from the library. I actually didn’t notice the title of the book until I was taken aback by her question.

Well since the unfulfilled desire to own my own place is still not within my reach, the best alternative goal within my reach was to redo my bedroom…hence the book on my table. And probably also the creative bug in me is starting to itch having been neglected for too long…doing other boring stuff!

So my plan was to get all the inspiration and ideas as much as I could before the DeepaRaya holidays looms near. It’s seldom that we have two major national holiday celebration back to back so when it happens, it’s usually a long break. It also happened that Deepavali was right smack before my birthday too. So with the long break ahead, most of my friends and colleagues would be joining the exodus back to their ‘kampung’. I wasn’t up to joining the crowd and was looking forward to the long break of solitude.

Being constantly “disturbed” by my students and colleagues, I really treasured that time alone. Since my housemates were also away back to their in-laws’ place, I practically had the whole house to myself…at least for that short time. So on my birthdayI had a very busy day at the office and really wind down the quiet evening at the gym doing my favourite classes and spending some time with a few good looking hunks who were also very gay!

But I did spend the next morning of Deepavali visiting my colleague and student’s open house in Rawang…don’t even mention the jam. I was pretty knocked out by the time I got home but I had a good time eating those delicious Indian concoctions. Next in line would be….that much needed MAJOR SPRING CLEANING and REDECORATING!!

I never realised that cleaning just that one tiny bedroom took nearly two days to clean up and clear up all that clutter. And I haven’t even started on the bathroom yet. That took another day. I actually had nearly 6 bundles and one box of rubbish by the end of the spring cleaning! I was amazed at the amount of stuff I collected during my 6 years in KL. So I kept throwing away whatever I had not used for the last 2 years and kept what I thought was important to me….even that didn’t help lessen the clutter. Gosh I need to stop collecting STUFF!!


When I finally finished redecorating my bedroom, I was pretty proud of my effort. My favourite spot was…the bed! I did a hanging “headboard” for my bed using roses and butterflies hung on a white wire lattice.

And since I’ve always wanted a four poster bed but couldn’t afford it, this was the next best thing that I could think of. I always loved the romantic look of the four poster bead with the wispy organza curtains hanging by the sides of the bed so I hung the organza curtain on one side of the mini make-do four poster thingy.



And during the weekend, my lovely Acts Pink PG girls celebrated my birthday with me with a cake and a surprise present. It was a lovely pink fur pillow with crosswords on it. It went so well with my deco that I put it together on my bed. Kinda brightens up the whole place don’t ya think? Thanks so much gals! I’m so happy with it!



Not bad for an amateur redecorating her bedroom on a shoe string budget…hehe.

Hyppo Barney Rocks!!

The ActsGames results were finally out after the long awaited two weeks. And the winner goes to....Hyppo Barney!! It was quite unexpected since the team didn't win alot of games, but did they score big time on the merit points!

I was just chatting with one of the committee members and she said that most of us were so focused on the games and superpower that they forgot that what happens behind the scenes are just as important. I guess we learnt a lesson from the Hyppo Barneys...Hip Hip Hurray! Hip Hippo Barney!

As for the winner of the cheerleading, the Red Hulks walked away as the champion while Pink Panthers came in second with very close marks. Pink Panthers were the Iron Team for being the team who was the strongest...surprise! surprise! I thought we did were around second or third.

The best Sportswoman went to Aunty Molly from Mata Kerbau and best Sportsman went to Alex Au Yong from Red Hulks. Way to go!

Finally, well done to all the teams out there, and thanks for that great support, spirit and fellowship! Can't wait for next year's ActsGames.

Pink Panthers Dynamite!!

After a month of sweat and glory, ActsGames finally came to the finale last Sunday with the highlight of the event...the cheerleading event. If you're wondering what's ActsGames is, this is just a sports event held yearly by Acts Church to create "Unity through Diversity".

With the the different coloured power groups combined, we had 4 teams namely, Hyppo Barney(blue & purple)...not Hyppo Bunny as some mistakenly called it...but it sounds kinda cute. Then we have Mata Kerbau (white & yellow) as in the "Bull's Eye fried egg". If you don't understand...ask someone else!! And also our adorable Red Hulks (red & green)which at first glance reminds you of Christmas. Last but not least, Pink Panthers(black & pink) which is also my team....is the winning team for cheerleading last year. Go Panthers! I heard they did some cheerleading stunts that bowled the judges over last year. I wasn't around then...so no comments on that :) Besides cheerleading, we also had other games like badminton, bowling, pool, futsal and many more exciting games.

This year I am part of the cheerleading team and after a month of late night practices till midnight...phew! We finally performed in like, 5 minutes and it was over. One of the members actually recorded our stint and emailed to us...so I would like to share it with the rest of you. It's not very high quality(too large to upload) but at least can see what's happening lah! Nope, you won't see me much cos I'm mainly in the middle except for the third stunt part...if you can catch it. Enjoy!



Btw, the results for the cheerleading will only be announced on the 15th October...and the cheerleading round is 80 points! Don't play play hor! Till then...

Splish Splash...it's a Different World down there!

White sandy beaches, clear blue skies, water so clear you can see the bottom…sounds like a taste of paradise isn’t it? Yup, I had a taste of paradise during the weekend at Pulau Redang as part of my company trip. And like my friend, we didn’t want to go back home. It was so much fun just swimming at the clear shallow waters, lazing around, snorkelling, more snorkelling and did I mention snorkelling?



The excitement started on Thursday night when I boarded the coach which will take us all the way to Marang Jetty. We reached the jetty at about 6am on Friday morning and dozed off while waiting for the first boat to depart which was around 9.30am. The trip on the ferry to Redang took us about 45 minutes so we looked at the beautiful scenery outside through the little port hole windows. When we finally arrived at the Laguna Redang Island Resort where we were staying, we registered at the lobby and while waiting, the first thing we did was to explore the beach. My roommate and I were so excited at the sight of the tempting clear waters that we couldn’t wait to jump in!



We dumped our bags and quickly went for lunch. The first snorkelling trip would be at 2pm so after lunch we rushed up to change and went to get our snorkelling gear. Our first snorkelling spot wasn’t too far and I thoroughly enjoyed the speedboat ride. We stopped at the open sea not too far away from the resort and pretty close to the shore as well. Since I was a “virgin snorkeller” I swallowed quite a lot of sea water, until my nose and throat was in pain but I really enjoyed myself and was just amazed at the different kinds of fish and corals under the sea. I don’t know most of the names but I learnt quite a bit along the way. Hehe..so clever!


The next snorkelling trip was to the Marine Park which was further away on Pulau Pinang (this is a different island from Penang). We departed at 9.30 the next morning and collected some bread when we reached there to feed the fishes there. The moment me and my friend waded into the pool, we could see schools of fishes swimming around our feet. We screamed in delight and excitement and started feeding the fishes with the bread. The fishes were so fierce when they saw the bread that one even bit my finger which was holding the bread! So “ganas”! Actually one of my friends even got bitten by a baby shark which was swimming about. Since he was so bony, the shark didn’t actually managed to get a bite out of him! But the baby shark actually took a bite and tried to shake a piece off of him…can you imagine what an adult shark would do? I don’t even want to begin to imagine. My friend didn’t provoke it but must have smelled blood on him or something.



It was pretty crowded near the jetty and I even saw a school of glass fish swimming around me in circles. I was so excited and tried to touch them but they kept their distance while still keeping together in a school…reminded me of the school of fish in “Nemo” which grouped themselves to shape words and arrows. I decided to explore further at the ship wreck
and managed to take underwater photos, a service by the resort people actually. Wish I had a underwater camera as well, just to capture all that beauty under the sea and take it back with me. Words are just not enough to describe all that I saw.







We came back from the Marine Park to have some lunch before going for the next snorkelling trip after lunch. My room mate and I were pretty tired but we still wanted to go and we didn’t regret it.

The last snorkelling trip was the furthest and we even saw a school of silver fish jumping in and out of the water together on the way. This time we could see a lot of soft corals especially “nemos” hiding among the anemones.

This last spot was the best but we had to swim pretty far from the boat to see the exotic soft corals. My room mate accidentally brushed her hand against the anemone and got stung. She ended up with red rashes along her forearm. She was concerned and asked the guide who said that it was not venomous and not to worry because he was stung many times before and that makes them “blood brothers”! Our guide was a real joker too…haha!

I nearly brushed against a sea urchin and that could have been serious though. We finally called it a day and I went back with a heavy heart.




I also discovered a favourite past time activity while I was in Redang during the nights. My room mate and I walked to the neighbouring resort through the beach and discovered some hammocks there. So we decided to try it out and slept there under the coconut trees. We were so comfortable and didn’t want to leave until we discovered that we spent about 2 hours on that hammock already. I could have slept there all night! Hmm…another feature to add to my dream house. The scuba divers also fascinated us and we even met friendly Mr Squirrel among the scuba diving gear. This is as natural as you can get.



Finally we had to say good bye and I was reluctant to leave because there were still so many things I have yet to try. There was the archery, the banana boat, the scuba diving, the kayaking, the beach dancing, the Jacuzzi….I must come here again. Or at least go snorkelling again so next stop would be Langkawi or maybe even …the Great Barrier Reef! Now I understand how Steve Irwin could be so passionate about wildlife….it’s so fascinating.




My snorkelling "kaki"


Look at the size of that brain!

The soft clam...saw some giant hard ones too...




This Christmas tree closes up and hides when you touch it!

Abundant Life...Do you have it?

"E06? What's that?"
I had people asking me this question when I told them I am going for a conference at SIB KL. I actually not sure what the "E" stands for so I actually asked Ps. Lee Choo and she said it stands for 'exist'...which has a long history behind it. That's another story.... I nearly didn't go because the people who were supposed to go, all pulled out and I was the only one confirmed going. I had some trouble with finding transport as well, but I felt that God wanted me to be there and He provided me with all my transport needs...God is so good!

"So how was e06?"
This was the second most asked question to me when I came back from the conference. So to save time...and breath I decided to answer all these questions refering them to my blog. Smart eh?!! Hehe...I am excited to share with everyone what I've learned at the conference so I 'm going to share about each session. I will try, I said TRY to keep it short and sweet but hehe...not so sure I have been successful! There are actually 3 streams during the conference which is the youth, college and uni students and finally the stream I am in, the young adults. Let's start with...

Day One:

We had the morning message with Ps. Danny Guglielmucci entitled, "How Big is your God?" based on Psalm 139. In his message, Ps. Danny talked about how God has a plan for each of us. He doesn’t lose it or forget about it. And if we obey His commandments, we are walking in His will. Therefore His will and plans for our life will come looking for us. We don’t have to go looking around for the will of God for our lives.

So how big is your God depends on how you “see” God. Just like when things get magnified when we look through the magnifying glass, we need to see God under “our magnifying glass”. We must “magnify” God in order to get a bigger view of our God.

We also need God to search us for any sins in our lives. He doesn’t want to hurt us but to heal us. Do we trust God enough to have full control over our thoughts, our being, our life? When God calls us, He doesn’t compare us. Each of us are unique and God loves each and everyone of us because He just can’t help it.

In order to serve God effectively we need:
1. Revelation
We need to know who God is and what He has done.
2. Transformation
We need to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. We need to love our Bibles. Some may say the Bible is brainwashing people…so choose who washes your brain, the Bible or the world. It’s just not enough to read the Bible but to act on it be transformed by it.
3. Activation
There are 7 motivational gifts given for us to serve and activate our faith (Rom. 12:6-8)
4. Separation
We need to be separated from the world’s value system. The world wears branded stuff in order to have an identity but we have been branded by Christ.
5. Demonstration
We need to be loving people. If I don’t love people, I can’t lead them. We will be a Christian of demonstration when we have all of the above in order.

In Genesis 22, God told Abraham to kill his son to test his faith. When God tests parents, the kids get involved. The pastor carries the burden of the vision, the church have to carry the wood. Isaac knew how to follow and partner with his father. He didn’t have to be tied up or struggle but he helped to carry the wood. So the reason we serve is not because we want to earn our Father’s love and approval, but because we want to get involved with what our Father is doing. And in doing so, we have to die to self. And when we die to self, God will raise us up.


Opening Workshop: Stop and Look – What is this life all about? ~John 10:10~
This workshop started with a skit on a girl called Jane and her struggles with her career, relationship, family and faith. After that we had a group discussion on what happened in the skit and also to reflect on our own struggles. Every young adult begins life with their dreams but experience struggles along the way.

This session highlighted on how we respond to our struggles and how it affects our outlook in life. Young adults mostly struggle with their values, priorities, expectations and insecurities. These struggles expose a deeper issue which is basically a search for our own identity. Struggles are also like a crack in our life where the thief can come in and destroy but God also allows these struggles to build in us perseverance, then character and hope which gives meaning to our life and struggles.

So what is an Abundant Life? Is it a life or a lifestyle? An abundant life starts with the Bible. Life is not about the abundance around us but the abundance in our life. So the question is “Do you seek a “Life of Abundance” or an “Abundant Life”? Life is a journey. Struggles opens doors…but to whom? The thief or Jesus?

Love of Christ that never leaves me
Identity in Christ
Freedom from the law of sin and death
Eternal perspective of life

Workshop A: Look Out 1: Love thy neighbour: Negotiating the tension between Dogmatism and Tolerance by Ps. Sivin Kit

I chose this workshop mainly because of my daily encounter with gays and lesbians. And sure enough most of the group discussions chose to talk about this issue as well. Though there are no easy answers for each situation is different, but we as Christians should practice love in all our relationships with gays and lesbians.

Ps. Sivin actually posted on his blog about his experience during the e06 conference and I’ve also linked some interesting articles which he passed out to us which you can also find on his blog namely, "Uncommon Decency”where they addressed Christian civility and also a transcript of a videotape with Tony Campolo and his wife, Peggy in “Is the Homosexual My Neighbour?” The interesting thing about Tony and his wife is that Tony believes that the Bible does not allow for same gender sexual marriage nor is same gender sexual intercourse permissible. While Peggy, his wife believes in monogamous relationships, and within the framework of evangelical Christianity, gay marriages are permissible. With such extreme viewpoints, it’s amazing how the couple can still live harmoniously in a marriage relationship.

Day 2:

Workshop B: Look Out 2: What is Success? Living faithfully in a status-anxious world
by. Ps. Timothy Loh

We started off by discussing about what success means to each of us and who is our success hero. Of course each one will have their own definition what is success to them. But at the end of the day, we need to look at what the Bible have to say about success. Success begins with the Bible and God wants you to be successful!

We covered 4 sections which are:
Concept of Success
Component of Success
Charting Success
Challenges to Success

“Success is living life to the fullest potential in Christ without doing harm to any other parts of your life” ~ Ps. Timothy Loh~

Workshop C: Look Up: The return of the prodigal son

This is one of the most meaningful workshops for me. Ps. Lee Choo headed the session by showing a replica painting of Rembrandt’s Prodigal Son, painted by one of the church members. She also recommended the book by Henri J.M. Nouwen who did wrote his personal reflections on this painting. Good stuff! Must get the book.

We had group discussions within our group to talk about the struggles that the younger and older son went through in the parable and what were their choices/responses and ultimately the consequences. We also discussed about how the two sons viewed their Father. But ultimately the Father was good irregardless of how the two sons behaved.

In giving the younger son his inheritance, the Father was literally giving his son “a part of his life”…giving him the license to live as he wants to. The Father gave him the freedom to live and he squandered away his life. As a result, he lost his status, dignity, freedom and identity. He thought he understood life better than his Father. As a matter of fact, we struggle with giving our will to God because of the very same reason. But the younger son finally came to his senses and was restored and reconciled with his Father. He recognized him as Father and called him “Father”.

As for the older son, he was trying to earn his Father’s love instead of enjoying his Father’s love. He focused on WHAT he has done rather than WHO he is. He saw himself as a SON yet a SLAVE. He viewed his Father as “You” rather than as “Father”.

Actually this session reminded me of an old favourite song that I makes me cry every time I hear it. The song is entitled “When God Ran” by Craig and Dean Phillips. The lyrics were very meaningful. Good song.


Day 3:

Workshop D: Look In – What am I looking for?

We had Playback Theatre in this workshop, where someone from the audience tells a story from his life, chooses actors to play the different roles, then watches as their story is immediately recreated and given artistic shape and coherence. It is meant to help audience see their own experiences from the outside, including what happened and things they did to others. This is a way to initiate a shift of attention away from blaming the other to taking responsibility for the attitudes and actions of one’s self.

The main purpose of the playback theatre is to use this creative tool for the process of reconciliation, particularly in situations where relationships have been severely damaged by hatred, mistrust, oppression and discrimination. For our session, we had a girl who has a fractured relationship with a domineering mother and frustration over her timid father.

It’s not easy to forgive those past hurts especially done by those who should have loved us. We need to forgive and be reconciled with our past in order to reverse the curse of past generations and release God’s blessings and salvation to our family and future generation. This is essentially important especially for young adults who are the majority of people who will be getting married and starting their own family units.

Closing workshop: How then shall we live?

In this closing workshop, we walked through a tunnel of past sessions which we had done during the conference. We spent some time reflecting and writing a letter to God, sealed it and address it back to ourselves which the e06 committee will then post it back to us later.

We were also given goodie bags and “bread and wine” to have communion with our group members before going up front to be prayed for. Ps. Lee Choo prayed for me and gave me a word from the Lord. What she said to me…well, it’s kinda personal though meant to help change me and I’m slowly but surely being perfected day by day. It’s a promise!

“One Life One World” Concert – Great concert with lots of great music and free goodies! Special appearance of Superman A and Superman B…haha!



Day 4:

Community Carnival at Prima Selayang

This is where the “rubber meets the road”. A chance to make an impact in the community, in our world. Prima Selayang is a community of lower income group in this particular area where gangsterism and crime was rampant there. It was an outreach that SIB KL started a few years back and this is the third phase of the work. During the carnival, we had fantastic prizes for our Prima Idol, Treasure Hunt and Food Contest. We also gave out goodie bags containing food supplies and tins of milk powder…FOC!! The people in Prima Selayang sold food in the carnival and the 3 of the best tasting ones won prizes like microwave ovens, toasters, etc.



We had a special guest appearance by Juwita Suwito who also helped to train the contestants of the Prima Idol. The Prima Idol winner and first runner up were actually siblings. The title went to the elder sister and the prize was a personal computer. As for the Treasure Hunt the group who won got a mountain bike each. We also had face painting, balloon sculpture, games, and photo taking where they’ll take your picture with a colourful background of balloons, get it developed and they can come collect later all framed up. We also had a special guest appearance of our e06 Superman and the kids had a great time taking photos with him!





I was helping with the Treasure Hunt and literally explored the whole place! Humbling cos the kids knew where to look for the clues better than us cos they know the place like the back of their hands. But one incident that struck me most throughout the carnival was this elderly Indian man. On first sight he was an eccentric character which under normal circumstances I would think twice about approaching him. But as I observed him and his odd mannerisms, I was touched by him because out of all the people in Prima Selayang who came and participated in the carnival, he was the only person there who took the time and actually shook the hands to as many of the e06 people as he could see, recognized by our bright orange e06 T-shirt we had to wear that day. As he shook our hands, he thanked us and was so grateful for the work we are doing for the community.

When we announced the free tins of milk powder to be given out, there was a mad rush for the table and this man actually helped us to control the crowd and made them line up properly. In a way, it was like he wants to help give us back something as a way of showing his gratitude. He was truly an unforgettable character and shows us that the most unlikely character can have the biggest heart. Man may judge us by our looks but God knows our hearts. Like the 10 lepers, only one came back to thank Jesus. May we be like that one leper.


“One Life One World” Concert – another great night of good music, more free goodies. We had a special guest star who sang “Jesus loves me” and is only about 3 feet tall! As usual, Superman A and Superman B made their appearance to lighten up the atmosphere.



Conclusion:

"Can one man make a difference? Sometimes I believe I can. Some days I lose all faith..." ~Matt "Dare Devil" Murdoch~

Sometimes I can identify with what "Dare Devil" (a comic character) said. The Dare Devil was known to be "The man without fear" but "a man without fear is a man without hope." But we do not fear death's sting and our hope is in God. With God, we can do all things in Christ who strengthens us. And this e06 conference is about our lives making an impact to the world around us. To have an abundant life and redeem what the thief have come to steal, kill and destroy.

So if there’s one thing I learnt from e06 after all those workshops, it is that the reason I serve God is not because I want to earn his love and approval. I serve Him because I am His child, not His slave. My identity as God’s child is not dependent on WHAT I do. A child of God wants to participate in the Father’s work, not under compulsion, but out of love for the Father. Maybe this was the reason why I lost the joy of serving Him…I had a wrong perspective of my relationship with God.

I always struggled with the fear that God will not be pleased with me because I’m not as good a Christian as I should be. I feared disappointing and failing God in whatever I set out to do for Him. “God loves you” becomes just a cliché for me until I forget that He loves me not because of what I do. He loves me…period. And like the older son in the parable of the Prodigal Son, I have anger and resentment when God doesn’t “bless” me for my “hard work and faithfulness” to Him. So many times we forget that God’s blessings are all around us and are ours for the asking. The thief has stole my joy of serving God and tried to destroy my loving relationship with my Father. This has to stop and as I continue my journey in life, I will continue asking this question, “How Then Shall I Live?”

Step Up...the movie

After "Take the Lead", here comes another one of those dance movies that just makes me want to get up and dance. The latest buzz that everyone seems to be talking about is "Step Up"...not the Bloom conference, but the movie.

I can't wait to see the movie...but when will it appear on our Malaysian cinema screens, that is the question. In the mean time, to whet your appetites, I've put some of the movie clips and music videos...and they are so cool! The dance moves are like a fusion of Hip Hop and Ballet....hmmm, seems a bit like the Funky Jazz I do in my gym. But anyway...the female lead, Jenna Dewan, also happens to be one of the actress in "Take the Lead" where she did the "threesome" at the dance competition. Now is her turn to be the female lead in this movie. To give you a glimpse of what is in store, here's a brief synopsis of the movie. Enjoy!

Everyone deserves a chance to follow their dreams, but some people only get one shot. Tyler Gage (Channing Tatum) is a rebel from the wrong side of Baltimore's tracks - and the only one thing that stands between him and an unfulfilled life are his dreams of one day making it out of there. Nora (Jenna Dewan) is a privileged ballet dancer attending Baltimore's ultra-elite Maryland School of the Arts - and the only thing standing in the way of her obviously brilliant future is finding a great dance partner for her senior showcase.

When trouble with the law lands Tyler with a community service gig at Maryland School of the Arts, he arrives as an angry outsider, until his skills as a gifted street dancer draw Nora's attention
Now, as sparks fly between them, both on and off stage, Tyler realizes he has just one performance to prove that he can step up to a life far larger than he ever imagined. .Featuring the directorial debut of leading choreographer Anne Fletcher, the film also stars R & B superstar Mario, Drew Sidora as well as rap legend Heavy D.

Note: Due to the long suffering my friends have to endure to download the video, I have removed the clips attached to this post...BUT you can always watch them here Have fun!!

My first trip to Lagoon!

I think most people might not believe this but today was the first time I actually went to Sunway Lagoon Dry and Wet Park after living in Subang for 6 years. My dance 'kaki' had 2 free tickets to spare so she, me and another dance 'kaki' all went to have a day of fun courtesy of her boss.

The first thing we saw was the 'hooking the floating ducks' stall. The big prize was all those giant soft toys attracting everyone's attention. We wanted to try but finally found out that it wasn't that easy cos we had to hook the duck with a no. 1 written under it...which naturally you can't see. And to add to that, out of all the many ducks there, there is only one no. 1 duck. So what are the chances? You calculate yourself. No prizes for the right answer!

We saw the cage with a few tigers lazing around and they looked quite cute and cuddly...when they are in this docile mood of course. We explored further into the limestone exhibition site where they highlighted an expansive collection of limestones.
They even had a corner where the head of a dinosaur comes roaring out among some wooden carvings. Very artistic!



Later we decided to walk across the long hanging bridge...and boy was it long. No mean feat so grandmas and grandpas, make sure you have the heart and energy for it. We could get a great overview of the park there and it's amazing to see how the waterpark was designed and built up.

We walked on towards the wet park but each of us didn't bring any change of clothings, so we avoided getting wet. We caught a quick lunch there and finally went to see the speedboat ride at the Extreme Park. The main attraction was a cute guy who looked abit like our dance instructor...but our conclusion at the end of the day was that he was probably gay cos he hung around with 3 other guys who looked liked they were too....or maybe it was just "sour grapes"? Haha...

We finally went to explore the dry and not so dry park. I was game to try the rides but there were a long queue for most of the rides and my other two friends were not very "young at heart"...to put it more politically correctly, they didn't want to join in any rides at all but instead just wanted to sit down somewhere and chat. So I went at it alone and just went on any ride I could.

Finally we went to the souvenir shops and koi pond on our way out. It was an uneventful day but nevertheless fun...at least for me. Now I can finally say I've been to Sunway Lagoon!!

Sticking his nose in the wrong place?

Oooh...isn't he cute??!! Probably being naughty and sticking his nose between the fence panels. This is just one of my colleague's golden retriever...the naughtiest one actually. His name is Sheriff and supposed to be the "beauty king" of the lot. Got the looks but not the brains...just like humans.

The rest of the gang ...she's got THREE okay...are below. On the left is Muffin and the right is Hunter. Both of them got the brains but not the looks...haha. Hunter and Sheriff was bought back from the shop but Muffin was picked up from the streets. They advertised for a month and since nobody came to claim her, she decided to keep the dog. Well, Muffin didn't look that good when she picked her up...but just look what a little TLC can do :)







And now for the group photo! Ain't they just adorable...how I wish I could keep one. Sigh...Goldren Retrievers are one of my favourites in the DOGdom. And my colleague is just lucky she gets to spend her time with all different mongrels during her weekends...she trains dogs during her weekends. Wouldn't have thought that she was that type of person since she is the IT whiz among our staff...like the say, "Never judge a book by its cover."

It's All About CONTROL...

It was right after the Unboxed Event that I encountered this temptation…the temptation to know my FUTURE!!! One of the diploma students was doing some tarot cards reading with some lecturers and students right outside the courtyard where we had our event.

So as the saying goes, “Curiosity killed the cat”…well, I was curious enough to stand there and listen as one by one sat down to have their “fortunes read”. And sure enough one thing led to another, I ended up in front of the girl too, wanting to know what my “fortune held for me”. After hearing all the spicy details that my students and colleagues had in their “fortunes”, I was hoping to hear some spicy details about mine too.

When the cards were finally shuffled and laid out to be read, all she said was, “Nothing major is happening in your life right now. Everything’s under control. There are minor problems here and there but that’s part of life.” I was like, “That’s it? Gosh my life is so boring!” She gave me a look and said, “I didn’t say that. It’s just that you have your life under control. Everything that comes your way, you are able to handle it. If you keep what you are doing now, you will eventually be able to fulfil your dreams.”

Then my student who was standing next to me started getting cheeky and asked, “What about her love life? Or her sex life?” I gave my student a warning look but he just kept on encouraging the tarot reader. So she said, “Nothing major is happening in her love life. Or in her sex life.” Of course there’s nothing happening in my sex life…I’m not married yet!! Then she said something that gave me a shock… “Her boyfriend is not doing anything major about the relationship either.” I looked at her and said, “What boyfriend? I don’t have a boyfriend.”

She just shrugged and said, “Well the cards say there is definitely someone who is in love with you. Maybe he hasn’t appeared in your life yet or he hasn’t made known his feelings to you yet.” By now I don’t know whether to believe her or not anymore. I mean anyone can say anything in general and we just believe them and make all these “self-fulfilling prophecies”. Well, forgive me but I am a sceptic about a lot of things and it turns out that I was not the only one because my colleague wanted to do it a second time just to see whether the cards will be the same as the first time a few minutes ago. Well it turned out a little different but the majority of it was the same. Coincedence? Well, you make your own decision.

Well, after going through all the things that were said that night, I felt so bad, I repented and prayed for forgiveness. God told us to TRUST HIM and nobody else about our future. He is the one that holds our future in His hands and nothing is going to happen to us that He has not allowed it and He does it in our best interest because He loves us more than life itself. I know we like to know our future so that we can control how we want it to turn out. But I have come to the conclusion that I am never and never will be in control of my future and the only way I can have a life which is under control is a life under His control.

So I will still continue to dance to my heart’s desire and it doesn’t matter if I don’t achieve my dreams, I’m just doing what I’m passionate about. Below are just some pix (tho quite blur cos it was taken from my handphone) taken of two of my dance ‘kaki’ who helped to perform for our Unboxed Event. The main dancer couldn’t make it last minute due to fever but I thought the red fans were cool!