Anne's Lamentations #1

It's so easy to get absorbed into our own world, especially when misery abounds. Even the slightest one. We tend to believe that we are the most depressed, most unfortunate and miserable soul there is around. Why do we lead ourselves to believe that? I guess it's true that we are born selfish and self-absorbed. Vain and conceited.

Why do we worry bout things we cannot control? Why do we allow ourselves to dwell in our own misery if it isn't doing us any good? Why do we subject ourselves to such pain? Why do we love to hate others and find someone to point a finger at? Why do we wait to condemn and judge others? Why do we choose to believe that everything is going wrong? It's so much easier to stay miserable than to choose to live in what we have and what we've been given. Perhaps we want to remain that way. Perhaps we want to stay connected to the past, so that we can remember. Why is it so hard to get over certain things? We are such a pathetic lot.

We build the dramas around our own life and blame it on circumstances. We reject and cry about the consequences of our own actions. Like children we sulk in misery bout our plight. When will we ever learn? When will we ever grow up? Our lives are so miserable by our own standards and we fail terribly to see the unsurmountable blessings and potentials and future that we have. Why is the cup half empty?

Why did God bother about us? Through the age of time, we have never proven better. If anything, we've only become worst. Never learning from mistakes. The human race is destroying themselves as they wage war against each other in selfish ambitions and vain conquests. I imagine that God could no longer bear us with the broken hearts His children have caused Him time and again. We never learn.

How awesome is His love and great are His promises from generations to generations He will keep. His grace and mercies are new everyday, and renewed everyday. Who am I that You should call me by name and placed in accordance to Your plans. That You would call me anointed. What kind of God are You? That You would still love me.

The Weed

Earlier today my mom decided my room needs major spring cleaning. The strange bites I've been getting for two weeks is going too far. And to our surprise we discover a major plant growing outside my window, with its black-ant infested branches touching my window. The last time i looked out that window was only a few months back and the plant did not exist.

We proceeded to chop the branches of and rid the plant.



Dad proceeded to seek out this parasite plant. And we discovered that it's root has been growing on our wall and behind the gutter, through the awning and branching out at my window. Less than a year ago my dad had "killed" the same plant but today it is here, taking root, doing damage.



So my dad forced the root out and tore a piece of the wall. We decided that feeding it weed killer was the best way to go. We had to kill it for real this time.

It's amazing, isn't it, how unwanted parasites grow so fast without any proper care. It's so much harder to nurture a 'good' plant to bear fruits. Yet these 'weeds' grew under your nose when you least expect it. But that's how it is with life? The good work takes a lot more time and effort to see fruition, but sin and destruction need no help. If you don't chop it at its core and solve the issue once and for all, it will come back and destroy you. How true it is! We need to be wary...

Biten

I've been biten!

Nope not by a vampire or anything.

My family believe it's the ticks. My dogs have been having tick problems and according to the Internet, ticks have a very short lifecycle, multiplies like crazy, and crawls upwards. And my room is vertically just up. And I know what you're thinking..... Eeeewwww!!!

Here's some of my bites. They are beginning to scare my hands, neck, body, legs! But pics dont do justice to the real damage.

And no it's not infectious!

Esther Steven Wedding

Esther Yeow...

I've known this "char-boh" since we were kids. Back then she ran in a different crowd, the older crowd. It was only when we started going to the same tuition that we found steadfast friendship. She even convinced me to study computers and then 'betrayed' me and did accounts herself. Hmph! But Esther has always been Esther - and we all love and 'hate' her just the same. LOL. She'll listen to any crap you want to tell her and of course, you gotta listen to any crap she's gotta say. (Since she talks way more than I do, I only listen to half of hers! oops... my mind has wondered away) And somehow, everyone always expect Esther to marry first. Like we won't ever need to bother bout that question till she is married.

And now, suddenly, she is.... ooops now what? Am I next in line? Why is there a line??

Wedding Preparations...
For months, we've been preparing for the wedding. Dieting to fit the dress, planning and getting things done, loosing sleep over it too. Esther and Steven barely slept the week before their wedding. Poor dears. Dress fitting, video making, car decorating, table arrangements... you won't believe the details that goes into a wedding. I couldn't believe it. It was beginning to seem that weddings are not for the newly weds - but to please everyone else! Perhaps... who knows. And it's so much more complicated in the chinese culture. I'm beginning to feel that I don't want all this when my turn comes around. It's just not worth it.

The Wedding...
The wedding day finally arrived. And I overslept. I overslept an entire hour! After a lot of panic and rushed moments, we managed to be all ready just as the groom hengtai party arrived. Though i'm normally not into ragging but I wouldn't completely call this ragging. The guys were pretty sporting!

And though I didn't think green was a good theme colour at first but I can't deny that the bridal party was absolutely beautifully colour coordinated. And yes, I was the maid of honour. Looking at this picture, I don't regret my dress one bit. Good on you Esther!

It was a beautiful wedding. The whole day was just so natural. It was possibly the longest wedding I have ever attended. But it was so beautiful. The deco was simply lovely! Steven, I want the video! God made everything go so well and everyone was just so ... touched by the entire event. I don't know what it was.. perhaps the sincerity of it all. Perhaps the support that was given, the love that was poured out. FC and sally said that it was the sincerity of love that us girls shared that was most touching. I guess since we ended up crying on stage. It shall be forever remembered as the day Lavinia and Szet Anne cried on stage! (in front of 500+ people)

I mean every word I said in the speech, Esther. =)
And though I was stuttering, I meant everything I said on stage too, Steven. =)

I'm gonna miss you so much Esther. Steven, I know you are a good man, so take good care of Esther.
It's gonna b so hard to begin explaining the friend Esther is to us.
And no words can suffice the pride and love we feel for each other.
There are some friendship bound in the past that cannot be broken, cannot be explained.
Bonds that are more than just a past, but a commitment to the future and everything it holds.
A friend forever I have found, blessed am i among people.

For more pictures, click here or on Su-Ann's photo album

God is Faithful

I've always said that the greatest sight is to see people worship God. And I really desire to see the youths being able to fall on their knees and worship God out of their own willing heart.

God is so faithful. We sow and sow and sometimes wonder about the results. But now I know God is so faithful. He has made himself known to the youths.

In the wee hours of the morning, when there's noone else around but the screw-loose youths, something happened. God came down.

Coversation with Larissa this morning:

====>L@r!s$@<====Jesus blood never fails me... says:

u know we had like worship session

====>L@r!s$@<====Jesus blood never fails me... says:

that was so amazing

====>L@r!s$@<====Jesus blood never fails me... says:

we sang songs

====>L@r!s$@<====Jesus blood never fails me... says:

then prayed for each other

====>L@r!s$@<====Jesus blood never fails me... says:

so nice man

====>L@r!s$@<====Jesus blood never fails me... says:

all cried during it

====>L@r!s$@<====Jesus blood never fails me... says:

most la

@nne says:

i wish i was there

====>L@r!s$@<====Jesus blood never fails me... says:

was so amazing

====>L@r!s$@<====Jesus blood never fails me... says:

joel played the guitar

====>L@r!s$@<====Jesus blood never fails me... says:

then we prayed

====>L@r!s$@<====Jesus blood never fails me... says:

was so like woow

Conversation with Joel this morning:

+ Difference 17 + 10th ; 16th Day says:

i wasnt expecting all these to happen though...

+ Difference 17 + 10th ; 16th Day says:

so to me it's still surprising.

@nne says:

sometimes GOd moves when we dun expect it

@nne says:

He has His own wayhs

+ Difference 17 + 10th ; 16th Day says:

yeaaaaaa.

+ Difference 17 + 10th ; 16th Day says:

and all the prayers go on from 1 till 3....

@nne says:

remember tat nite for as long as u can

@nne says:

so i heard =)

+ Difference 17 + 10th ; 16th Day says:

it's embeded.

@nne says:

its good

@nne says:

good to know

+ Difference 17 + 10th ; 16th Day says:

it;s 'funny; just to think of this happening after midnight.

God is faithful to Aspirers. His mercies endures forevermore.
He watches over His children and holds them close to His heart,
He answers the prayers of the faithful
He calls His children back to Him, back into His saving grace.

Dress Fitting

Esther's wedding is coming and dutifully we met up with our designer/tailor to get our dress/gown fitted. Since I did not want to drive (and did not know the way around PJ very well), I took the train. And if I can say this, traveling by public transport in this country is no walk in the park. argh!



Here's a funny story:
I arrived at the lrt station after sundown. Thank God it was a busy station, and every 5 minutes more than a handful of people walked in and out while cars came, waited and went all the time.
I waited for Lavinia. She was late......
Esther called. She asked if she should pick me up.
I told her my situation.
After quite a few trains have came and gone, Lavi showed up and we headed to Steven's place (which was a stone's throw away)
Upon arrival, we saw Esther's car leaving. Did they see us?
Oh no! Were they going to pick me? Ronnie, Steven's brother, thought so.
I called both Esther and Steven. They both left their phones at home.
Lavinia drove back to the station to catch them. They weren't there.
Daniel, the designer, had arrived by then.
Lavinia came back, frustrated. Esther and Steven were missing.
Ah bothers! They must have gone to pick up their laundry.... (and they did)

Finally we're ALL TOGETHER and we tried the dresses. I went all the way up just to try on a dress! Though it costs a bomb, I love it. I love my dress. Don't we look lovely? I think Daniel, the designer, must be pretty proud of this.


Despite being told to watch our weight from now on (to fit into the dress), we went to have a scrumtious, major dinner that span over 3 round tables. Because we had overseas guest, we ordered everything we could think of. Such pigs! (too bad i did not take a pic of tat)

After a VERY late night, I had to wake up extra early to catch the train back to Seremban for work. I was late though. Again.

Games Carnival

It was the battle of the age groups: young adults against the older adults. Though deep inside we knew the older adults would win, we battled it out anyway. There were 9 games altogether:

One-Eyed badminton,
Three-handed pingpong,
Mixed gender Basketball
Mixed gender Netball,
Humming Tug-of-war,
40minutes Monopoly,
40minutes Boggle,
40minutes Scrabble,
Draw and Act,

(Note: pictures to be uploaded later)

By chance, I played against my parents in Monopoly. We created havoc.







The young adult won a total of......... 2 games! PingPong (cos we have state players) and Boggle (cos we have frequent boggle players) yayyyyy....

We were squashed like bugs. Like BUGS! It was a landslide. Literally sliding across the field on our butts. What an embarrassment!


My theory on why we lost:

1. Most young adults spend more time indoors, in offices or on computers. And our workout includes the gym.
2. Most of us stayed away from the sporting arena during our school days.
   
3. We didn't do housework either (which we now realise makes the aunties very strong)
4. We depend too much on Microsoft Words for spelling and thesaurus.

Well that's my theory... ;) We'll battle it out again NEXT year!

Why I blog?

Why do i bother blogging even though I know barely anyone reads? Besides I'm long winded and the stories only appeal to myself. So why bother?

1. I like blogging. I like the idea of putting things down into words. Journaling. I like how you could merge words and pictures and video. Am not into traditional journal or diary where ppl could draw nice designs and hardworking enough to cut pics and put. Cos I dont have that kinda skill I guess.
   
2. So that friends far away can still know what's going on in my life. And at anytime i could point anyone (online) to a certain entry about a certain event in my life. More efficient.
   
3. And most importantly, so that I remember. Forevermore. Or maybe cos I need to remember.
   

|NSP!RE session

"We need to teach the youth to pray," pastor says. Yea, I thought. I know deep down that that's the right thing to do. But I wondered how. It's hard for me to keep my own concentration while praying. How do I teach another to pray? I struggle with my own devotion time, I thought, how do I tell another to keep theirs? I know prayer can move mountains. I've heard. I've seen. I've prayed. But how do you teach the youth to pray?

Then there it was on pastor's table "Praying the Lord's prayer for spiritual breakthrough". Hmmm, I thought. I'll need to read that entire book. I thought I should probably be devoted enough. But I didn't finish the book. *grin sheepishly* However, with that book, I managed to produce the syllabus for a "Lord's Prayer" |NSP!RE session.

Response was overwhelming but it was the last day that caught hold of my heart. We spent some time in prayer - for people, for each other. As we earnestly prayed, I felt something caught fire. The youth went around praying for each other - those sitting for major exams - and they prayed for each other. sincerely, earnestly.

There is something... that cannot be explain... when people pray...





You know if you teach one child of faith to pray, mountains can be removed. When you teach a group of innocent young people to believe and to pray, nothing is impossible. What are the things that we are teaching our young ones? What do we wanna leave behind in their lives? We won't be around forever to guide them.

Cell Steamboat Night

Cell was to be canceled and I thought it the perfect opportunity to just bring the youth out. It's fun to go out once in a while and just hang. It brings out the true human nature which can be observed at its very nature. Plus I always feel it's good to expose the youth more, enrich their lives with more memorable and beneficial experiences. And so we went for a Combined Youth Cell Steamboat.

With youths, you need to always expect the unexpected. (check the pics to understand) Big time posers!

Here's a video clip of the "wasabe" game that the youths took to far too much. I still don't 'get' the game. But I'm sure they made enough noise and havoc for us to be forever banned from the restaurant ever again. LOL! But it delights my heart to just watch them. Excites my heart to see the good things that God is doing among them.



I think the most enriching part of this steamboat was:
1) to simply be with the youth and seeing them so crazy - and being there without them feeling threatened.
2) the place overcharged us and when we brought it up they returned too much cash. I came back a few days later in order to settle the account, there were lotsa confusion with the calculation but when they realize ours was right, they were amazed that we would return the money (it was 70+ extra). I just smiled.

Where to next I wonder?
Visit orphanage ... checked.
Sports ... checked.
Waterfall outing...
Eat Korean food...
Go on a mission trip of some sort...
Visit a factory or a farm or plantation...

*smiles*

There's so much I wanna do... wanna show... wanna teach... is it possible to do them all? There's so much more to life to show. It's jus bout learning things. It's also bout experiencing... about living.