Missing Nepal

As I was taking Spottie on a short walk this morning, enjoying the perfect weather, tranquility and greenery around me, I was suddenly reminded of Nepal. And at that very minute, that thought triggered something in my heart, and I started missing Nepal...a lot.  The more I reflected on my trips to Nepal, the more I missed it. I've been to many other countries, but I don't miss any of them like I miss Nepal. 

I began to process what I was feeling in my mind, and I wondered whether it was remotely possible that for some reason, I had some kind of calling there at a certain point in my life... possibly in the future. When I think about Nepal, I feel joy, awe, excitement and a mix of nice feelings! 

Is it just that I had 'out-of-this-world' experiences in my 3 mission trips to Nepal over the past 5 years... or is it that God has planted something special in my heart for that country? Is this why I often feel restless and frustrated at the work I'm currently doing, feeling that I should be doing more? 

My hope is that at the end of my life, I would be able to say that I have done what God intended me to do in my lifetime. And I hope and pray that I will be obedient and courageous to do what God asks, because nothing else matters except walking in the perfect will of God.

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2

Sentimental me

I don't say it very often but I'm quite a sentimental person. I'm always touched when people do little favours for me and I appreciate it greatly.  I'm deeply thankful when the 3 different Dew Crew leaders (Julia, Fui Ping and Melvin/Emily) buy me my favourite nasi lemak and 'yau char kuai' every Sunday morning when their team is on duty in church.  I eat my breakfast with a deep appreciation of my friends who bought it for me.

Today Fui Ping called me at about 6 pm and asked whether I wanted to share an O'Briens sandwich with her.  I was greedy and said I didn't want to share one, I wanted a whole sandwich to myself.  I had fallen in love with the sandwich when she shared one with me a few weeks ago. 

I regretted not sharing, because I think I really stuffed myself and couldn't eat the delicious wasabi potato chips that she also bought. But I ate a few anyway :) Here's the picture of the delicious sandwich - it contains walnuts, raspberry spread, lettuce, crispy chicken and cheese....yummy!

Snapshots

I take my Lumix camera everywhere I go so that I can just snap whenever something catches my eye.  Here are some shots I took recently.

Above: I was more amused than shocked to see this at Ken III Condominium last Friday.  Isn't execution a bit too much? I think they meant 'prosecuted'. Malaysians should pay more attention at English class.  

Above: How adorable! My friends and I saw this car next to us while waiting at the traffic light at Section 14. There were 3 shih tzus in the car, one was sitting in front :) They all seemed to be really enjoying the ride. I love seeing happy dogs.

Above: I took this while exiting to the highway.  A bit dangerous I know, but I could not help taking a snap of the massive golden cloud looming above me at dusk. Reminds me that God is an incredible artist.

The Sabbath

I'm currently reading a book about a priest who leaves church for a secular job.  She writes:-

"If my first lost upon leaving church was my regular Sunday job, then my first gain was the Sabbath." 

- Barbara Brown Taylor

She talks about how inconceivable it was for her to not 'work' on her off day. She had to pay the bills, do the laundry and a whole list of other things. I can relate to that. Yet long ago, Jews with many children and aged parents managed to observe the Sabbath and kept it holy. 

I think that nobody really takes the Sabbath seriously nowadays. That includes me. Pastors preach about it, we read about it in the bible, we discuss about it and we pray about it.  But we don't practise it.

On our 'Sabbath' day, we have a whole list of 'things-to-do' like repairing the sink, grocery shopping, washing the car and countless other activities. Churches have extra events and meetings on a Sunday and public holidays. Volunteers come in to serve in church for hours on their Sabbath day.

If God rested on the Sabbath, what makes us think that we don't need rest? I think that the lack of Sabbath observance in our lives today has resulted in many defeated Christian lives. The truth is I don't know how to observe the Sabbath in my hectic daily routine, but I know I have to do it!

I feel that if Christian leaders take the Sabbath seriously, they must not only practise it, but allow and teach their sheep to practise it too.  After all, Christianity is not all about working for God, its about a relationship with a loving Father and getting to know Him through His Word and His awesome creation. 

Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy.  Six days you shall labour and do all your work. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work - you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it. Exodus 20:8-11

Make-up Artists

I've been busy searching the internet for make-up artists for my wedding day. There are just a handful of them with portfolios online in Malaysia. I've received quite a few recommendations from my friends, but I find it too risky to commit to any make-up artist without seeing their portfolios first. I'm not a risk-taker and seeing one beautiful bride is not enough!

Thankfully, there are bridal forums and after reading countless pages of threads online, I have found a few highly recommended make-up artists in KL. Their prices range from RM500 - RM1000, largely depending on their portfolios. A good make-up artist must also be good at doing hairstyle!

I think the bride's make-up and hairstyle is very important for the wedding day because all eyes will be on her and hundreds of photos will be taken and probably posted everywhere, like facebook. Haha. So avoid a disaster here. Besides having make-up and hair skills, its important that the make-up artist arrives on time and doesn't get lost on the way to the bride's house. Haven't heard of that happening before though!

Another thing I look for in a make-up artist is their friendliness :) I called up a make-up artist yesterday and although her portfolio was really good, I was put off by her abruptness over the phone. I didn't get the impression that she was friendly, so I decided on another make-up artist after that.

Looking forward to my make-up trial next week :)

2.5 months to go!

I think the last 3 months to a wedding is most stressful! I've been saying 'Its still a long way to go' when people asked about our wedding plans, but now... it is fast approaching.

Suddenly, I have a whole list of things to do by the end of next month. Get the cards printed, organise our pre-wedding photo shoot and do the childhood video (doing it myself). I really like Oli's storyboard for our wedding shoot! Our attire is all done (except for final fittings) so that's a relief :)

Am really grateful for our co-ordinators, helpers, parents and friends who have advised and helped us along the way the past few months. And God of course! What can we do without Him? Thoo's apartment is in pretty good condition so I'll just move my things in little by little. He's got 3 plants that are half-dead and I hope to improve their condition when I move in, with the help of my good friend and plant consultant, Stephanie.

Our honeymoon will be in Hong Kong, and we had already decided on the hotel to stay at, but we might have to change our plans because a hotel with the same name (maybe different branch, not sure) recently had a guest with the H1N1 virus.

We can't be in control over everything in a wedding, so I have to just let God take care of things that I cannot! God has taken us this far, I'm sure He's got wonderful things planned ahead for us :)

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalm 100:5

Money back week

I received a letter from the income tax department 2 days ago.  They said they have received my request and will send me a cheque for what they owe me (over a thousand ringgit) in two weeks! I'm now quite impressed with the Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri for their efficiency. Thank God :)

My dad also dug out a letter I had been waiting for for over a year (he had kept it conveniently!) from my bank in UK.  I had asked for a telegraphic transfer of my money in my UK account that had become dormant over the years to my account in Malaysia. It was quite a tedious task of calling UK, sending them my details and original documents so I was quite frustrated when I didn't receive a reply. Little did I know my dad had kept the letter.  Since its been over a year, I will have to go to my bank and request for last year's statements to check whether the money has been transferred. 

I really thank God for His showers of blessings this week. Although there have been ups and downs as usual, I must remember to be thankful instead of complaining.

Cruelty to dogs in Malaysia

I read about the exile of stray dogs to a deserted island today. I can't believe there are people who can be so cruel... leaving innocent dogs to die like that. This is one aspect of Malaysia that breaks my heart. I really hope our authorities will not take this lightly anymore. Dogs are God's creation too, and they deserve to be treated with respect, dignity and mercy. When will Malaysia change? If you want to help, click here.

Cell Wedding

I attended the wedding of a cell member on Saturday. Most of us were roped in to help out - Brenda, Kevin, Lizzie, Thoo and I were part of reception. Andrew was the guitarist, Perrine the MC and Alvin the sound guy! We had a lot of fun doing what we did, and the weather was beautiful too. We were worried that we'd all be sunburnt as it was a garden wedding and it had been about 33 deg. Celcius the past week - heatwave!

A wedding like this is what makes cell group really fun. Its not just about meeting on Fridays to do worship and read the bible together, its having a sense of belonging and trust, knowing that there's a group of people you can always count on.... inspite of our differences and weaknesses.

Brenda, Lizzie & myself having a drink before our reception duty. It was really hot!

Our cell group occupied 1 table... we squeezed in an extra person at our table. Everyone having less to eat is better than having 1 cell member sitting somewhere else!

Everyone grabbed the dessert real quick. To our embarrassment, one of my cell members 'ta pau-ed' (doggie bagged) some from other tables.. in a transparent plastic bag!

The whole cell group. Chelsea looked radiant and Alistair... charming!

I now pronounce you husband and wife....*music plays*

City Life

I have been thinking about the problems of city-life recently. Its not just the sicknesses that we are all aware of - swine flu, cancer and all that. Its the stresses that we go through, rushing from one thing to another and hardly spending enough time with our families and people we cherish in life.

Its constantly being hounded by workloads in office, and even after trying our best we still have a sense of failure when we cannot finish all that we have to do or when the boss doesn't seem to appreciate all our efforts. And whilst we are giving our heart and soul to our work, the people we love and who loves us... our parents... our spouses... our children.... are waiting for us to go home.

Its tragic that we don't realise what's happening because we think that that's the way to go, to work hard and earn a living so that we can have a 'better life' - a bigger house, a nicer car, a new handphone like everybody else, a new notebook and all kinds of material things. We rush about life frantically and don't see the things God has put around us - the beauty of His creation, the blind person crossing the road, the ones who are alone and hurting, the old ones who have no one to love them and the sick who have lost hope.... the people who love us... God.

I want to slow down, I really do, but its like I'm caught inside a machine that cannot stop. I think its like being on a conveyor belt destined for somewhere, and if I want a change, I need to hop off this conveyor belt and hop onto another one.