count your blessings

thought for the day: count your blessings

i realised how easy it is to brood over the bad things that happened and whine about, spreading the news and getting people to sympathise with you. well, i did that today at least. i might as well say the bad stuff for memory sake.
1) big tear in my shorts (butt area) how apt
2) parking fine cuz i seriously forgot it was a pay zone
3) fused bulb in my room
4) car batt died 1145pm at caltex

now as i head to bed, the thought of count your blessings came to mind. it's easy to get tangled in the negatives of life and take for granted the blessings given to us. i should learn to count my blessings day by day.

tomorrow will be a better day =)

such freedom, such love

Matthew 6:33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."

If we seek first God's kingdom and righteousness, which is the will of God for our lives, then whatever choices we make concerning the future become the will of God for our lives. There are many pathways we could follow, many options we could pursue. As long as we are seeking God, all of them can be God's will for our lives, although only one - the path we choose - actually becomes his will. -Jerry Sittser (the Will of God as a Way of Life)

as i read this for the very first time, i felt the immense love of God wrapping around me. who am i that He should entrust me with the ability to choose from soo many paths, and believe that i'll choose wisely, choose something that will bring him honor and glory.

could it be that he loves me soooo much that he'd trust me to make a good decision? and could it be that he loves me so much to grant me such freedom to choose WADEVA i want, even when he knew/knows that sometimes i may choose things that may hurt him. could it be that he wants all things good for me? could it really be that he still watches over me with tender loving eyes even during times when i falter and beckons me to try again. could it be that his love is really THAT unconditional, giving and sacrificial?

I stand here amazed. totally in love with my loving God.

christian pumpkin.

"Being a Christian is like being a pumpkin. God lifts you up, takes you in,
and washes all the dirt off of you. He opens you up, touches you deep
inside and scoops out all the yucky stuff, including the seeds of doubt,
hate, greed, etc. Then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light
inside you to shine for all the world to see." -mike ruffin-

the God of my youth is my God of today. dear God, i want to grow old with you.

wonderings...

i wonder if it's wrong to feel energized after leading bible study when i used to feel so drained attending bible study....

master chef

i've been cooking more now since i've moved out and i really enjoy it =) i love trying out new dishes and just having the satisfaction that even though you don't really know what you're doing, it still comes out tasty! hahaha. that's the beauty of cooking. you can add this and add that, and if you skip a step, don't worry, just add it in. =P you know how you go to your mums or aunts and ask them "how do you cook this dish???" and they'll go "aw! it's easy! just add a lil bit of salt, a lil bit of sugar, a lil bit of water....." etc etc and they NEVER tell you how much to put in.

when i was in the states, i asked my peurto rican friend, franklin how to cook the delicious pasta he made. he then dragged me over and he showed me step by step, with lots of hand gestures. he said: fry garlic and some coriander until it smells good. then add tomato paste, about like that (points to the bottle), fry it and add pasta sauce about this much... add in some shrimps....put some salt (uses fingers), some honey (waves his hand over the wok like as though casting a spell on it) then some coconut milk. like that. okay? haha. and that's how most cooks do it. it's all about the FEEL. about how much you think is right. for a person who likes specifics, like my dad... cooking is NOT for you. hahaha (by the way, i tried the pasta here and totally failed. =P)

here are some of the dishes i've cooked. pretty decent, but of course not top notch.


minced beef with long beans and chilli padi! =D


my failed pasta =X


steam egg! smooooth and silky.


some chicken dish using ALL the remaining food we had left in the fridge. HAHA

and thanks to my loving housemates who eat everything i cook, wash the dishes and encourage me everyday! hehe! <3

the "perfect" car

today i am gonna collect my car from the dealer. omgg. can't believe i'm using the word "MY". hahas. well, having lots of mixed feelings now. i'm excited, yet kinda feel like it's nothing really THAT big to fret about. but the more i think about it... i think it's big lah...

been searching on the net for cars intensely for the past 2-3 weeks. some good deals have come and gone, and the more u look, the more you realize that there can never be a PERFECT car. there will always be one or two things that do not fit right to your criteria. maybe the mileage is abit high? or the year of the car is too old? or the colour is not red... hahas. or maybe just when u think you've found the "perfect car", you realized the bonnet has been slightly damaged. =P

this current car that i bought is really one of the better deals i've seen out there. almost perfect. low mileage of 42000km, a 2008 toyota corolla = cheaper servicing, cheaper parts if need to replace, fuel efficient, nice comfy medium car with abs breaks, many air bags etc etc. but why do i say almost perfect? cuz... of all colours. it had to be white!!!! ahhh. but you know wad? though it may not be the most ecstatically pleasing to the eye, i am thankful that God helped me through the bargaining process to get this deal. hehehe! 15k yo! not nice nvm lah! what's more impt is that it can bring me on many many adventures from today on.. =)

i guess this whole car process is kinda similar to life. you gotta do your research, put in loads of precious time, talk about it with different ppl (the more expert ones) etc. and at the end of the day, when you are sooo almost very certain, and you realize that you're gonna get it. you freak out again. hahas.

God's love revealed

i know, i know i'm a irresponsible blogger. hahas. but i really have no mood to blog. a lot of things have happened/are happening, but there is just no motivation to write anything.

2010 was a goooood year but not an easy year.. however i believe things have changed inside of me. i thank God for all the lessons He's taught me. for all the sifting and pruning. through the relationships and friedships i had, i saw a part of me that i've never seen before. it wasn't the most pleasant and at times when i felt so disappointed, i knew that my Creator was holding me in His hands. After the first half of the year, i had almost hit rock bottom, drained, and delusional. i struggled believing in the love my friends had for me, and i questioned their intentions of loving me. i tried to stand strong, tried to put on a front that everything was alright, but subconciously i had drawn away from people.

i went to America, not totally excited and not hoping for much. instead i saw it as an opportunity to run away. to run away from reality, and to run away from friends. i wanted to be "alone", to be by myself, to be myself. i went there also thinking that God will teach me how to trust Him even through the loneliness, but God having a better plan, provided soooo soooo sooooo many friends, who supported me throughout my time in America. He showered His love upon me through these friends, and I cannot deny that He loves me, and knows my inmost needs. over those few months, he slowly peeled away the hardenered layers of my heart that i've built towards ppl. He restored my trust in ppl. He healed me of my disappointments and hurts. He showed me that there was still hope in the church (not that there isn't, but i FELT there wasn't..) He showed me that the church (body of believers) still loves, and that the church is still the hope/salt/light of the world.

there's so much more, but through 2010, God never failed to love me through the good times and the bad and I don't take that for granted.

am i ready??

"I can read the Bible a hundred times, read Lady in Waiting fifty times, but if my heart is not ready to give Him my desires, nothing in this world will help. Therefore it is for those who are ready to give the King all their dreams, desires, and wishes and go with their “Naomis” to the unknown that they will find in the end God’s promised land. Such following may look good to us or not - but God, His ways are perfect, and He protects those who hide under the shadow of His wings. We must trust God during our time of waiting, during moments of loneliness, and must fight the best we can with God’s help to guard our hearts, for from our hearts come the issues of life.”

- Keren, middle eastern single girl
(adapted from A Man Worth Waiting For)

happiness

just spent some time listening to RiverLife sermons. and it makes me feel very very happy. i feel so much closer to home, and i realised it's so easy to connect with the speaker even being so far away, either by watching him (ps phillip huan) on video or listening to him (joachim) on itunes. =)

joachim really made me laugh non-stop. so embarrassing cuz i'm in some common area. and laughing and smiling retardly to a computer is a no-no. anyways, i especially love the part after he cracked a joke and said something like "joachim is back! too bad" hahaha. yeah and we're all happy you're back joa! so happy you're back in action, alive and kickin. "after i tell a joke, jing en will roll her eyes, but because it's so dark, i cannot see!" hahahaha. still so proud of it. can't wait to hear more funny stories =P

about 2 more months and 1 week before i get back to the sunny island Singapore. not much time left, guess i gotta get my priorities straight too. did up my list already and i'm pleased. it's going to be an exciting 2 months here in cold and rainy pennsylvania. (it's like 9degrees outside now.. and it's in the day O.O yikes)

also spent some good quality time skyping with car in the morning. never take for granted the special ppl that God has given you. never take for granted how good friends are always there to lend a listening ear. and how they never judge you no matter how terrible you might be.

i love fridays! where it's just me and God <3