Obi & Me

"We wouldn't realize it until years later, but he showed early signs of that condition that would later be coined to describe the behavior of thousands of hard-to-control, ants-in-their-pants schoolchilden. Our puppy had a textbook case of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder"

The paragraph above is taken out of the book Marley & Me by John Grogan. I read about it on my friend's blog and couldn't help it but borrow it for a read... I'm still in the middle of it... but MY OH MY, are they describing OBI??? MY OBI at home?? Hahaha... it was hiralious thinking about the similarities between Obi and Marley in the book. I always tell people that I diagnose Obi with attention deficit disorder!!! Haha, thought I was the only strange person who thinks that of a dog... but Josh Grogan thinks the same way!

Ok, I have concluded that Obi is probably a mix of Golden and Lab Retriever and prob 75% Lab Retriever... haha... cos his hair is a bit shorter than normal Goldens... take a look and judge for yourself. =)

The photo below is taken very recently... Yes, he doesn't look remotely like a Golden nowcos I just brought him for a shave few weeks back. His fur was getting all knotted up and he looked really warm... this is the picture of Obi with his new haircut. He looks even more like a Lab now!. I will say, he's 75% Lab and 25% stray. Haha... =) Obi has a longer "snout" and this silly bump on his head. That's one of his favourite thing to do- just biting on the cloth and looking at you with his dopey eyes... He's quite a handful really. Anyone who's even thinking of getting a big dog, pls go read Marley&Me first. Quite accurate depiction of Labs/GOldens! I wanna comment more on the book and dogs, but it's too long a list to start... haha... when I have more time in the future, maybe!

The Wedding plan part 2

Wedding Planning Part 2:

Update on my wedding plans...

Home: Thank God that we have bought our flat and are just waiting for the keys to our new place! It's quite overwhelming signing that loan from HDB of 6 digit figure... makes me feel like I've just signed my life away..... =( We're probably going to start renovating our place in Jul or so... hopefully we'll make it in time for the wedding!
Church wedding: K has agreed to be our overall coordinator! Thanks K! =) We're still in the midst of sorting out the details like the theme, the passage to be preached on etc. But it's coming along! Happy...

Gowns and stuff: We'll be doing our pre wedding photoshoot in Jul! Quite excited abt it I must say... have shortlisted some gowns which I'm using for the photoshoot... XLQ has already made his suit and it will be ready in Jun. Hopefully it won't rain on the day of the shoot... for those who purchased packages from bridal boutiques, you know how they try to get to you to buy more pictures, exceeding the ones they've given in the package and people pay astromical amounts for the photos! PRAY hard that I will not get trapped in one of those situations! Being such a photo person (I love flipping through pictures), i know i will prob be quite tempted... but I WILL NOT SUCCUMB to it!! I will get pp to hold me accountable... hehe. I can actually flip through my old photos over and over again, smile at the same old silly pictures... I never get tired of photos... that's why the danger is there and so real!! Haha, I think XLQ is super worried I will go crazy over the photos, but I definitely don't want to. It's just not worth the money. There are really better ways to spend the money!

There are still so many many things to do!! Hopefully I won't get too stressed out abt it.. knowing myself too well, I probably will! It's tough I guess when I have expectations of the way I want things to turn out, after all, this is a once in a lifetime event, and may not be able to have it due to various reasons... it can be quite disappointing at times, but I guess I'm learning to deal with it all and keep telling myself... it's just a wedding, it's just a wedding, don't be too obsessed! Sometimes I feel pressured to be like other Christian girls, who have such simple weddings. I feel like sometimes if I'm godly, I need to have a wedding as simple as possible... I shld spend as little as possible and just have a very christ centred wedding, focus on the eternal... Not that I want everything perfect, or extravagant or have a superstar type wedding, just that I have this internal battle on how i shld plan the wedding.. haha, i don't know pp will understand what I'm talking abt... I think basically, I just don't deal with differences very well. Whenever XLQ and i don't see things eye to eye, I get bit upset... i think it's my non confrontational and conflict adverse nature at work, just hoping that everything will work out and we will see eye to eye on everything... I know it's impossible, but u know, it's called hoping.. haha... guess i just need to learn how to deal with differences and conflicts better...

I guess God is also teaching me about myself more and more through the wedding preparation. It's just not easy putting 2 people together, given the different upbringing, family culture, personalities... I can't imagine if we don't have a common belief in God, I think the arguments will probably be very aimless and be very self centred... I guess sometimes they still are, but having God in the picture is a constant reminder to myself that there is definitely more to the wedding event...

We'll keep praying for the wedding and the marriage to come! =)

Tombsweeping Weekend (weeks ago...)

For those of you who are not familiar with Chinese traditions, tombsweeping is a time when chinese people remember their relatives/ancestors who have passed away by visiting them at their burial site, or where their ashes are kept after cremation. As a Christian, I used to struggle with going to such events because I am asked to hold joss sticks and bow to my ancestors. I shall not write to much about the Christian principles and all behind all this, but I shall just say that I am quite ok going to such things now. It's part of respecting and honoring my parents that I go with them. My dad knows that I am a christian and going to these events won't change the fact that I am a Christian. As long as he understands, I'm totally fine going to such things. In fact, tombsweeping has become a yearly family event where the 2 families get together and spend some time together, which is quite nice... =)
Just wanted to write abt something I saw at the cemetery... when we were at my grandmother's tomb, I looked over my shoulder and saw another family who was at this old lady's tomb. The family members were busy laying out the food, joss sticks and all. Then, I noticed slightly further away from the tomb was an old man... he was almost bald, wore a pair of dark rimmed glasses... think he must be around 75 years old or so... he was just standing silently at the side and weeping. His eyes were fixed on the old lady's picture and he was brushing his tears away... =( I presume that the old lady was his wife.. When I saw him weeping, I felt so so sad for him... losing your best friend, companion, partner at this age must be really tough on him. I can only imagine the loneliness that he has to go through now. It was so sad... Even though as a Christian, I know that this life is but temporal... we have eternity to look forward to in heaven with God, I can't help but feel sadness at the thought of losing a loved one... As christians, we should be secure about our future, that we will see our loved ones again in heaven. I think the toughest part is the thought of not being able to see our loved ones who are not believers... in times like these, we can only trust that God is sovereign over all things.
There's a family in church who got involved with a car/train accident in California last year and they shared about it over the Easter service. It's quite amazing to see how they can praise God despite the fact that her father got paralyzed as a result of the accident. Her father also went up to share about his own experience. And it was so encouraging to see how they drew strength from God day by day and simply trusted in God's character and faithfulness. It doesn't mean that they know for sure her father will be healed completely, it also doesn't mean that they are happy clappy abt the episode, but it's the trust and faith that God is in control and sovereign over the whole situation despite the fact that things may look gloomy at the moment. And they are able to do this because they know that they have an eternal hope in CHrist. It's so tough, there are many times when I ask myself how I will react when such things happen to me or the loved ones around me? Will I be able to say that God is good? Will I be able to praise God and be joyful for what He has given me still? Will I be able to trust that God is sovereign over all things? Will I lost my faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ? It's really hard to say how we will react in times of tragedies when we haven't experienced them ourselves... Many times, people swing to either extremes in face of bad things: love God and trust God even more through the difficulties, or lose faith in God altogether... I hope and pray that God will be gracious and that I will respond rightly by loving and trusting God even more through difficulties..

Photos and more photos!

My friend from overseas has requested for some photos cos we haven't seen each other in years! So, here are some family photos for you! =)


This was taken on Jojo's 2nd birthday! =) She loves Sesame Street, that explains the cake.


This picture was taken at one of my cousin's wedding. Whole family was present. The one with the cool white hair is my granny! She's the best baker in the world- egg tarts, kueh lapis, pineapple tarts... YUMS!!!! That's my bro to my right in the picture and XLQ to the left. My dad in batik shirt. Hehe.

This picture was taken along Orchard Road, probably the busiest street in Singapore... after a brunch!

Frivolous and random things

I actually have a draft entry saved in my work computer... wanted to post it but keep forgetting! Haha... anywayz, will post next week. Realize quite a no. of pp read my blog ever since it's been on shadowlands... so weird and paiseh to have pp coming up to me and say, "I read your blog!" Erm, no idea how to react. Haha... is it better to have pp secretly reading it and never telling me? Or is it better that I know who's reading my blog? Haha... I have no idea which I prefer... anywayz, a few frivolous random things on a Saturday morning!!
Warning: They are really random AND frivolous.

Monique Lhuillier- A designer introduced to me by my boss. =) Her wedding gowns are lovely!! Go check it out... one of my favorites is the Bridal runway collection Fall 2005 Gown NO. 5. Hehe... I actually saw a gal auctioning her wedding gown on Ebay!! Totally love the dress but it's way beyond my budget... but anywayz, it's so pretty to look at! It's probably my favorite gown among all I've seen. Too bad the back of the gown can't be seen, cos it's very special... Wanted to post the picture here but it can't be saved as a picture (prob some copyrights thing)... gals, if you're free and have nothing else better to do, go check it out!
http://moniquelhuillier.com

Mjewels- My good friend from Sec school started her making her own jellewery and selling them online. I like her designs quite a lot and am a great supporter! =) Do take a look if you have time and browse through her things.
http://mjewels.blogspot.com

Andrea Bocelli- He's one of my favorite singers!!!! One gifted and talented man. Fell in love with him when I heard him sing "The Prayer" with Celine Dion and "Time to say Goodbye" with Sarah Brightman. He's appearing on American Idol this Wednesday! So watch for him!! =) I remember watching his concert in Singapore and the gal sitting next to us was like sobbing away and letting her friend listen to his singing over the handphone... haha, it was quite scary actually!

Ann Arbor, Michigan- The coolest college town in the whole universe!! Haha... actually, let me make change that to on the whole earth, just in case there are cooler places in the other parts of the galaxy. The picture on top is a part of the school... I can't seem to put it in this part of the blog entry. It seems to only be able to appear on top!

I MISS AA!!!

Ok, enough random things! =) Have a good weekend everyone!

Ministry thoughts...

This was written way back in mid March I think... just thought I post it anywayz.. =)

Haven't written for quite a while and that's cos I've had crazy weeks, bringing work home very often and working on Sundays... but thank God, things are much better now! And I actually didn't do ANY work this past weekend! Almost felt guilty about it... but I was like... "It's perfectly fine and reasonable not to work on weekends rite?!" Haha... oh wellz, had a real good weekend where I simply took Sunday off... slept in on Sunday morning and the rest of the day was very relaxing... normally on Sundays, I will try to have a one to one session... but have been taking a break for a while... will resume soon! But feel bit more rejuvenated now. =)
Realize that ministry is tough... it can be emotionally draining and challenging... but it's meant to last a lifetime. I really admire people who just keep plugging at it. Feel ashamed when I think of myself at times... but I guess it does motivate me to go on, looking at other people... knowing that all of us do struggle in the midst. Sometimes, I think it boils down to whether or not I do understand the extent of love God has shown me such that I Will want to share it with other people... if I do, I should keep going on! But it's real tough... esp when I wonder "Does spending so much time preparing for bible studies and all help the PUNJers?", "Do I really know what I'm doing?", "Am I qualified to handle God's Word?", "Am I really convicted by the lessons myself?"
Sometimes i feel like slacking and just not do anything! Haha... sometimes I wish I can have more of my own time to do my own things... eg. running, spending time with family, hanging out with friends and stuff... so I have to always remind myself that it's such a great privilege to be able to serve God in that way! And I think the best rewards of serving in PUNJ is when I witness how people have grown in their understanding and love for God... sigh, those are times when i think... it's so worth it! I think a lot of it involves me understanding that it's God doing the work and not me... sometimes, I feel so much pressure is cos I feel that people's growth pins on me, but it's really not the case!
It's great to have a ministry partner alongside... =) XLQ never fails to encourage me in times of tiredness or disappointment. I think we both get tired out sometimes, feeling disappointed with people and stuff... but I'm thankful that we have each other, that we can nudge each other to continue running this race... not only XLQ, but having the fellow PUNJ leaders help a lot... I know they're all busy with their own stuff as well, but they're also plugging on! Makes me appreciate them even more...

Super unglam jumping shot! But I LOVE jumping shots! =)

Pictures!

Golden Gate Bridge on a rainy misty day... beautiful nevertheless! =)

Christian Relationships

Recently, I've been wondering about what it means to be a Christian couple... =) Cos there are more and more couples amongst us in church... maybe cos many of us are reaching that "marriageable" age... I think it's definitely important that as Christian couples, we try to live out God's model in Ephesians 5, even in our dating-hood. For those of you who are not as familiar with the bible, Ephesians 5 talks about how the guy should lead the gal and show sacrificial love as Christ did for the church. His priority for her should be to help her grow in her godliness. The gal should submit to the guy and support and respect him. (Of cos we're not talking abt submitting to ungodly decisions here). And both will have to put the other person's interest ahead and above his/her own. With these principles laid down for a christian couple, what are the implications that come along?
Example...

1. Does it mean therefore, the guy has to be a bible study leader (to lead in the relationship) and the gal will definitely have to be a co-leader?

-- I get this feeling from many couples in our midst.. that if you're a godly couple, you will definitely serve together... most ideally in the same ministry, ministering to the same group of people. It will be esp good if you can lead a group together, with the guy leading and the gal being the co-leader.. isn't that the perfect model of a christian couple? I'm not too sure about that... personally, I'm wonderfully blessed that XLQ and I are able to serve God in that area... real privileged to be able to click with the young adults in PUNJ and be able to minister together. I think it's a real blessing and it's a bonus, really! But I don't think every couple should force themselves to be equally effective in the same ministry... many times, I think they will end up giving themselves undue pressure. Firstly, GOd has given us gifts in many different ways... sometimes, as a couple, we just don't have the same type of gifts to be serving in the same ministry... which I think it's actually ok... =) I think sometimes we all try to fit into this mould that we see in church... especially from older couples we admire a lot, who are serving God together. I think as long as we're serving God in the ways that we can, we really don't have to worry too much about intentionally serving as a couple. In simply sharing your struggles with people about trying to have a godly relationship, we're also serving God that way. Of cos I think in terms of time, it's great as a couple to be able to minister together, cos there's only so much time in a week and serving together helps you to have common friends and time to hang out together as a group. Though XLQ and myself spend so much
at PUNJ that it's hard for us to find quality time to spend together... hmm, will it even be worse if we're involved in different ministries? I dunno.. but i guess my point is that there may be times when it's really tough for one party to be serving in the same capacity as the other and if that's the case, maybe they shld take it easy... am not fully decided on this, just thinking aloud...

2. How can a gal support a guy practically? (cos the bible doesn't spell out explicitly what it means to support a guy)
Here are some which I think I learned and observed from other couples as well..
-listening to him when he needs to talk about stuff
-supporting him in the decisions that he makes (hopefully not blindly... but after talking through stuff)
-respecting him in public, not to put him down
-encourage him to utilize his strengths
-reassure him of his strengths and gifts
-reminding him of the priorities a Christian should have
-being there emotionally

I guess it also differs from couple to couple... maybe for some couples, some forms are needed more than others... and I think it's an ongoing process, learning how to help each other better... things to think about...

I've learned that sometimes the bible isn't all that clear on the hows of man and woman's roles... but I guess the basic principle is always the same... to put the other person's needs above your own... really tough call! Cos when the tough gets going, we always think about our own needs first... but that's when we can always look to Christ as an example for us...

Free

One of my favourite songs from Corrine May! Support her! By her orginal album! =) Would LOVE to watch her concert... but found out that it's sold out.. *sniff sniff*


I see the morning glory
It winds upon the tree
It tells the untold story of how things were meant to be
You saw the universe
Caught up in desperate dreams
You came and changed the ending
Changed it to save my fate
You led the revolution
You left your legacy
Embraced the struggle
in the face of mortality
I know I'm not alone in this
Help me believe

I can be free
I can be free from this place
Beautiful healer
Beautiful grace
Help me to see
Everything fall into place
Wake me from dreaming
No more deceiving
Break these chains

It's still the same old story
This great divide
Between the want and waste
And all the hunger inside
I heard the news today
Now I'm trying to find my place
I'm just a single voice
What can I do to erase

All this misunderstanding
All this anarchy
Six degrees of separation
Sometimes it's so hard to see
That we are not alone in this
I need to believe

Chorus