it's been a while... yet again.

haven't been updating coz i feel there's nothing much to write abt except what's been on... reflecting the lack of reflection in my life since my last post. haha. oh well...

anyway, it has been a good month.

here're some highlights worth highlighting...

(1) phantom of the opera!!
my, i've been longing to watch this musical for like years. pity i couldn't catch it in london while i was studying in the uk, so i just had to wait. and it finally came!! thanks to my dear hub who bought the tix, the arty farty side of me was content.

i really enjoy musicals. and i love the classics. i think it's so smart, brilliant.. work of music and dance at its best. words can't express how much i enjoy these things. but phantom is not my favourite yet. thus far, i'd have to say that 'singing in the rain' is my all time fave. not to mention there're also musical cartoons that i watch over and over again.

aww... i love stories with a cheesy happy ending. sometimes the ending is like so duh.. so expected... but it's the development of the story that gets me. =) *dreams*

(2) easter miracle weekend
and then came easter. the children's carnival was great. i enjoyed myself. i hope my kids did too. hehe. i think the skit was good. and i think the games were good too. had a go at them during the set up the day before. hahaha!! oh well.. there's always the part in us that just doesn't grow old. =)

and over this weekend, there was a healing service. many testimonies. it was amazing. i was reminded again that God really really desires that we are well. not just physically, though that was the focus of the service, but also emotinally.

and as i sat there i think abt the people i know who struggle with feelings of hurt, rejection, fear, disappointment, insecurity... and it pains my heart. and all i have to say is, there's hope in Jesus. just like the title of the song "there can be miracles... when you believe..."

(3) vietnam!!
as some of you know, i've been to vietnam and back... went there for work, not for play (sadly) but i still did manage to catch the night markets after work. nothing much to buy there.. but things sure was cheap..

the people there are really polite and nice. and traffic was horrendous. our vietnamese staff told us that when you cross the roads, don't look at traffic and don't wait (or expect) vehicles to stop for pedestrians. the rule is: just cross. haha.

the food was fantabulous. i've never had such yummilicous vietnamese food before. authentic and very healthy. and i had the much-craved (by me), avocado milkshake. ooo.. heavenly.

and now i'm all stressed out at work coz our system can't take in the vietnamese language characters.... really praying hard for God to shine through for me!! before i fly back in 2 weeks time... *prays hard*

(4) QQS meetings!!
yes, the time of the year is here again.. QQS stands for qian qian shou (千牵手). it's a community project partnership with charities in both countries to raise awareness toward community efforts in china. very meaningful project where in 3 yrs (this is already the 2nd yr in running) 1000 youths from singapore will join 1000 youths in china to reach out to the poor and needy in china.

so the QQS meetings has just started. i missed going to the one in july last year (coz i just got married) though i went for the smaller scale follow-up trip in december.

it was a fun time. and i look forward so much to this one coming up in july. nothing warms my heart more than being able to reach out a loving hand to touch someone's life.

(5) meet-up with friends!!
met up with two friends i've not seen for nearly half a year. we had a great time catching up.

(6) vas and pris won the dance floor!!!
so cool!! i think only vas and pris and melvin and sharon could dance. the rest are just pas fais. they're more street dancers than really stage dancers. skill and interpretation of music was not there for the rest of the groups.

i love dancing. and yes, once again, classic dancing. that's art to me.

so that's april for me =)

hoping to post more reflective stuff and soon. haha. hope this post finds you well. =)

{ Monday, April 30 }

once again, another significant christian festival is coming. and it's the time where i ask rhetorical questions again. haha... and the most common of which is... what is good friday to you? what is easter to you? a holiday? easter bunnies and eggs? or Jesus' victory over the grave?

and once again, because the festival is named good friday and easter that many fail to relate to it the significant event of Jesus' death and ressurrection. we got distracted... just like we did during christmas.

what does christmas suggest? what does good friday suggest? what does easter suggest? no wonder we all take it to be just a holiday... but the chinese language puts it through more bluntly.. so in mandarin, christmas is 圣诞节 which literally translates to holy birth festival (you might wanna refer to an earlier post where i talked abt this) and guess what good friday is?

耶稣受难日

and easter?

复活节

wow!

and literally, good friday translates to day of Jesus' suffering and easter translates to returning to life festival, which we also call ressurrection.

so how're you going to celebrate the holiday this year? remembering that the One took your place so that you can live again... live without fear, without bondage... live in freedom.

well, then you've to ask yourself.. what does freedom mean to you then? is it the allowance to do anything you wish? let me draw a scenario for you...

just think, imagine i am a liar. i can lie whenever i what about anything i want. well, i reason, the tongue is mine and i control it. one day, i find myself caught in my own lies. (has that ever happened to you before?). and when that happens, it no longer is freedom. you're caught.. you end up telling more lies to cover the lies you told previously.

addiction is not freedom.

freedom is the ability to live freely, to always be exposed and don't feel shame. that's freedom. at least to me.

Jesus came that we might have life... and life in abundance. Jesus came so that we can be born again, so that we can proclaim that the old has gone and the new has come. Jesus came so that we can have new life, living free from the bondage of sin and fear.

He was the sacrificial lamb. He was sacrificed so that we can live.

well, maybe you ask, since God loves us so much, why can't he overlook sin? but we often forget too, that God is a just God. in his holiness, he cannot overlook sin. there needs to be a penalty.

Jesus was that penalty. He suffered... He died but He rose again, signifying the overcoming of death. so that all who call upon Him can live... and live eternally. He wants us to know Him.. He wants us to return to Him, to know how much He loves us, to have a relationship with Him.

sometimes i do find it difficult to understand how can a loving God administer harsh punishments (at least they seem harsh in my own earthly eyes) and why... why would God... die for us??? people who stray... people who reason and doubt... why??

and i'm reminded of a phrase i saw at a service one day...

"in His justice, He cannot overlook sin. in His love, He cannot overlook you."

He just cannot overlook you... He is unable to... He loves you too much..

that's why He was willing... that's why He had to do something about our relationship... that's why we have good friday... that's why we have easter...

doesn't that make your heart resonate with His love?

{ Thursday, April 5 }

every time i'm starting to write a new entry in my blog, i'm so tempted to say that i'm so tired.. which is always true and that's why the regularity of updates is also affected.

tiredness is really a killer.. it kills reflection. and reflection is really a very important and essential part of life. it causes us to look deeper into ourselves through God's perspective and in that finding new ways to look at things that may seem so dreary and situations that looks unsalvagable.

tiredness also kills any resolutions that i've set for myself, discipline giving way to the need for more sleep... and i get frustrated at that. and in a lifestyle like that of singaporeans, our to-do list never seems to come to an end. so then there comes priorities... and when i think abt priorities sometimes i feel sad that the things i feel are important, i have so little time to do. and sometimes i find no way out of this busy cycle.

but i guess in times like these that i feel challenged still to have a heart of thanksgiving. and it is at times like these that i thirst so much for God... to hear Him, to know He's there and to know that my labour is not in vain. nobody likes his labour to be in vain... to be wasted.. and so now, when i get tired, i'm always reminded of this verse:

"Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labour in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stands guard in vain. In vain you rise up early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat -- for he grants sleep to those he loves." Psalm 127:1-2

it reminds me on my reliance on God. and it reminds me that he has a plan for me too. well, it's not saying that God is going to be the one doing all the work, but it's a partnership with Him that He delights in and it is our reliance on Him that we can truly find the meaning and purpose in all that we do. and as i read verse 2, i am reminded that He loves me and desires for me to find rest! not to go about anxious and worrying and fretting whether things would come to be or not. but rather, just knowing that He desires for us to rest... to spend time with Him... to know Him... otherwise, how else will we trust Him? how else will we believe what He says? would you believe in someone whom you hardly know?

so who are you labouring for today? for yourself? or for God? for something that the rust can corrode away or something that can last forever?

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal." Matthew 6:19-20

maybe one day i'll fail or lose everything... but where will my heart be? i believe that is what's most important.. will your heart also be destroyed?

and so i question... in the midst of my busy-ness... am i allowing God to build my heart? am i willing to have it built?

for they say, the very heart of the matter, is the matter of the heart.

{ Tuesday, April 3 }