Christmas Mood

It's my favourite time of the year.... brightly lit Christmas trees everywhere, Christmas carols playing in the shopping malls and lots of people in holiday mood. December is a time to be thankful for all God has blessed me with :)

The Christmas decorations in Kuala Lumpur are getting better each year. Here's what I've seen so far...

Snow @ Pavilion

Giant Christmas tree @ The Curve

Reindeers @ Pavilion

Cosy little Christmas town @ 1 Utama

In the midst of all the activity around me, I must never forget the one and only reason for the season...God coming to earth in the form of Jesus Christ to bring salvation to us.

Footprints of Faith

It's been nearly 2 months since I started working in the advertising industry again.  Pretty exciting I would say, and challenging at the same time. There's so much for me to catch up on! Nevertheless, I think I've settled in quite comfortably.  Met some nice colleagues too.

There were times when it was particularly challenging, especially when meeting difficult and demanding clients. I was quite turned off by a few of the irate and rude ones, but am getting used to it - reminding myself not to take things too personally.

I'm glad I took this step of faith.  I did look back initially, thinking about the comforts of being where I was, as opposed to being in an unfamiliar place and out of the comfort zone.  It was scary at times, especially when demands were high and I didn't really have a clue about what I was supposed to do.

It's during these times that I've prayed the hardest and really had to depend on God.  And to take tiny steps as He leads, knowing that He was and is always in control.  There have been pleasant surprises along the way, and God is opening my eyes to new experiences each day.

New Chapter Begins

The past 3 months has been quite a whirlwind. Not chaotic, but just really exciting and fun! The 3 month break after resigning was very timely for me as it enabled me to rest and do the things I enjoyed - travelling, cooking and even starting a guest house. I'm starting work again next week. It's quite a surprise actually, I didn't expect myself to start a full-time job so soon. However, I felt that this was an offer I had to take and a blessing from God as it was much better than my expectations!

It's nice being able to relax, read and watch tv at home alone on weekdays but I realised that life is more meaningful and colourful when you share it with others. Having people around makes you appreciate life more and see things from a different perspective. I know I have a lot to learn at my new workplace and I'm looking forward to this new chapter of my life.

God is full of surprises! I asked him for new experiences, and He told me to empty my cup. So I did, and now He's given me more than I imagined. I've learnt that when God says something, we have to obey Him and step out of the comfort zone at times because that is when growth happens.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Holiday Home Malaysia

When I was young, I had this dream of running a guest house. After I got married last year, a friend took short breaks at my house for her 'quiet retreats'. It was then that I realised I really enjoyed hosting people.

Recently, hubby and I invested in a property near our house, and we thought of moving there as its a class higher than our current place. I really like where we're staying at as we have a great view of the forest now, and the air is so fresh! So we decided to stay put.

We didn't want to just rent out the new place, but use it to be a blessing to others too. So introducing our new endeavour, Holiday Home Malaysia, a holiday home for people around the world.

The Courtyard

The bedroom

The Kitchen

The Living Room

More details at http://www.holidayhomemalaysia.com and http://holidayhomemalaysia.blogspot.com

Nepal

I'm back! Haven't written for the longest time. Quite a lot has happened over the past month or so, the most exciting being my Nepal trip.

There were 6 of us in the team and we were there for 9 days. This was my fourth Nepal mission trip, and the toughest of all - physically and spiritually. I can't possibly relate everything that happened there.. so here are some highlights.

One of the places we went to was Bhugdeu, a small village in the mountains. We endured 2 hours of a gruelling bumpy jeep ride to get there. Like all other villages in Nepal, the houses were made of mud by the men of the house with the help of their neighbours.

The kids were adorable as always, and most of them had large holes on their soiled clothes, which seemed thin and not warm enough for the weather there. One thing was consistent throughout the days we were there - the beautiful smile on their faces and the clothes they wore. They didn't seem to have ever changed their clothes. They were dirty too, and didn't seem to have bathed for a long time. When we stuck stickers on their hands, a layer of dirt would be peeled off when the stickers dropped off, revealing much fairer skin!

I did children's work together with Andrea and Fui Ping and we had fun teaching the children action songs, bible stories and doing a puppet show! The children at that village seemed a little slow to learn but I was really touched by their enthusiasm. They were so excited when we gave them little gifts like a miniature harmonica, pens and hairclips.

Meanwhile, Dr Jade, together with Alvin (her husband) and Steve did medical work. It's tough for many of them to get medical help when they're located so far away from the city, so we brought the doctor and medicine to them instead. We also had the help of 2 translators from Kathmandu, Dipesh and Kanchan.

A few of us, including myself, fell ill towards the end of the trip. Moreover, I was itching from over 100 bed bug bites on my body. However, God sustained us throughout and we were still joyful and managed to do some shopping on the last day!

When I came back to Malaysia, I appreciated my life a lot more - the education I received, the comforts of my home and my family. At the same time, I missed the kids in Bhugdeu...

This trip opened my eyes once again to God's great love for the weaker, the poorer and the forgotten. We can never comprehend the awesome depth of His love and I thank God for the opportunity to be used as His vessel to bring His love and truth to the people of Nepal.

Busy Busy!

I haven't written for awhile because I'm pretty busy at work (my last month), attending weddings and preparing for my trip to Nepal.

Anyway, just want to share this awesome drama I found on the internet. A powerful way of communicating the power of Jesus Christ. At the name of Jesus, all demons flee. May you be blessed by it.

Little Miracles

Sometimes little miracles happen in our lives when we least expect it, putting a smile to our face and a splash of colour to our daily lives. It happened to me last week.

I went for Andrew and Lizzie's BBQ last Sunday night, and their house is a short drive away from my parents house.

Whilst we were chatting, Lizzie mentioned that a dog had been hanging around her area for the past 2 days, and she seemed to be lost. We searched for the dog and found her afraid, keeping a distance from us. I thought I recognised the dog as one of Spottie's friends that he visits everytime he goes on his evening walk.

I finally got her near me, and she seemed quite friendly. We fed her some sausages and water as she was very hungry. She went off after we fed her and we went home after that.

The next day I visited my parents and thought I'd look for the house where there was a similar looking dog to the one the night before. I went to a few houses, and the owners said they didn't lose a dog. Then I checked the photo I took of her recently, and matched the gate design to find the right house.

I finally found the house, and asked the resident whether he had lost a dog. He said he did! I quickly drove them to find the dog, and they were joyfully reunited! Everyone including the dog was jumping with joy!

This has been a really awesome experience. I believe that God gives us divine appointments in ways that make us happy :) And this reminds me that even little actions that are kind can bring much joy to people and animals. We must never turn a blind eye when we have all it takes to make a difference.

CNY Travels

Haven't written for over a week! CNY was pretty hectic with all the travelling from the 1st day till the 5th day. Hubby and I travelled to Seremban on the 1st day, then Bukit Tinggi on the 2nd day, and Penang on the 3rd day. Thankfully traffic wasn't that bad on the highways.

I began to have a mild cough before CNY (possibly because I ate 1 mandarin orange a day) so I bought a cough syrup from the pharmacy so that it wouldn't worsen. Unfortunately, the cough worsened and I nearly lost my voice. Went to a clinic on the 1st day and got charged RM70 for a 1 minute consultation. I'm not exaggerating. While I was still waiting for my medication, the doctor went home!

CNY was fun nevertheless... here are some pictures.

Below: Penang - Oli & Jon at a coffeeshop having cendol

Below: Hubby & me at another cendol place

Below: The beautiful sunset at Teluk Kumbar

Below: Brenda, Oli & myself having a fun time taking pics

Below: Seremban - Grandma's house

Below: Playing mah jong with my relatives

Below: Hubby's side of the family

Below: The reunion dinner

Happy Chinese New Year!

Chinese New Year is just around the corner.. in 2 days time to be exact, coinciding with Valentines Day. Here's wishing all my Chinese friends around the world a Happy Chinese New Year and Valentines Day :)

This year's CNY is gonna be quite different for me as I will be having the reunion dinner with hubby's family (instead of my family) on CNY eve. I will miss being with my family and relatives, but am also looking forward to this new experience at hubby's side. Of course, I'll see my family and relatives on the first day of CNY. I'm thankful that our families don't live across the seas, so we get to see them pretty often.

I'm looking forward to get to know hubby's relatives more, and hopefully try to remember how to address them accordingly in Cantonese - first aunty, second aunty, first uncle's wife, etc etc. Really hope I don't embarass myself since my Cantonese is 'one of a kind'. I like to refer to 'kau fu' (uncle) as 'lou fu' (tiger) so 'tai kau fu' (big uncle) becomes 'tai lou fu' (big tiger). Similarly, hubby's gotta remember how to address my relatives in Hokkien! He always gets them wrong...and cracks me up.

Gotta pack ang pows tonight... first year of giving ang pows too!

Eukanuba Prebiotics

My dog Spottie has a strange hobby and skill. He enjoys catching flies and gobbling them down...alive. This skill requires great precision in timing and leaping. Spottie's hobby amuses yet exasperates my family at the same time. Due to his rather large quantity of fly consumption, he gets diahhrea once in a while. Recently, he got a serious bout of it and thankfully, recovered in a few days.

Eukanuba has recently introduced a new line of dog food that helps Spottie's kind of situation -Prebiotics. Prebiotics help the intestine better absorb nutrients to keep out toxins and viruses and promote overall health and wellbeing. This results in a healthier digestive system and reduced incidence or severity of irritable bowel syndrome. Prebiotics also combat bad bacteria, thus increasing immunity.

Its vital that dogs are given the extra immunity when it comes to their diet. They consume large quantities of bacteria everyday through licking floors, eating grass (when they're ill), gobbling wierd substances while out on their walks, etc. Like the saying goes, prevention is better than cure.

Thanks to Eukanuba, my dogs can continue to be strong and healthy! To know more about Eukanuba Prebiotics, click here.

Smiling Dog

2 dog videos for today! Here's a very cute video of a dog in Japan that can actually smile :)

Surf Dog Ricochet

Was looking through my mailbox today and saw an email from last month that I had missed out. I accidentally clicked on the link and saw this amazing video!

It's so inspiring to see that even a dog could achieve great things with his God-given abilities. It would be awesome if I could become a dog-trainer too. Wonder whether there opportunities to do that in Malaysia.

Rat! (It's a long story!)

I spent last night at my parent's house because Spottie wasn't well and I wanted to spend time with him. He was having diahhrea on Monday and he ate grass while on his walks. We suspect that he must've accidentally eaten some poison too, because he started purging blood that night.

My parents took him to the UPM Veterinary Hospital in the morning. Spottie didn't want to eat anything but instead drank lots of water. I was really worried and prayed like crazy! When I went home yesterday evening, he was already back to his normal self! Praise God! :)

I hadn't been staying at my parent's house for the past few months so Spottie doesn't sleep in my room anymore. Instead, he's moved to the space in front of dad's home office.

I went to bed around midnight, after watching lots of Astro (deprived of it after marriage) and went to my room. I closed the door, and suddenly noticed something black scurrying around! I had locked a rat in with me in my room. I was mortified! I jumped on my bed, opened the door, closed the door behind me (like an Olympian) and ran to tell my parents that I had locked a rat in my room.

So my dad took a mouse trap and put it inside my room. Meanwhile, I watched some more tv, hoping that the rat would quickly go inside the trap. An hour later, I went to check. No rat in the trap. Dad said that he's going to leave the mouse trap in my room, and I can just go to bed. Horror of horrors! But dad was serious.

Off I went to Spottie... begging him to sleep in my room (the best rat deterrent). But he was comfortable where he was, in front of dad's office. I begged and begged, but Spottie would have nothing of it. He's a big dog so if he doesn't budge, you can't make him.

So I mustered all my courage, crept into my bed whilst looking suspiciously everywhere... and went to bed. I don't know where the rat is, but I hope its not in my room anymore!!

Grandma turns 92

My parents, hubby and I travelled south to celebrate grandma's (dad's mum) 92nd birthday yesterday. Relatives from different states gathered at grandma's house first, then off we went to a restaurant nearby for a 10 course Chinese dinner. My aunt baked a delicious Black Forest birthday cake.

I met Maggie, grandma's new adorable puppy that my aunt had given her from a new litter of puppies at her home. I thank God for blessing grandma with long life and for placing me in this family where love is so abundant.

End of Chapter

I resigned from my job this week. I have been praying about this issue for over a year and not a decision I made rashly. I sense God leading me to something new and I have to take a step of faith out of the comfort zone. I will definitely miss my wonderful colleagues at DC but will continue to see them as I will still be serving as a volunteer. And I'm also glad that my senior pastor gave me his support to move on and make a positive change in the world.

It's a big step I'm taking but I feel God's assurance that I am doing the right thing and walking in His will. To put it simply, its time for God to uproot me and plant me in a bigger pot in order for me to grow further.

I have a blank canvas ready for God to paint and I'm pretty excited. My last day will be at the end of March. I'm also looking forward to going for another mission trip to Nepal in April.

It's time to end another chapter of my life and begin a fresh new one. I am fully confident of God and will put my complete trust in Him. After all, He has never failed me.

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

ChargeUp 2010

I had an awesome time at ChargeUp Conference 2010 organised by Livewire last week. This year was the first time they had a Visual Effects stream and I signed up for it. Was really excited to finally learn Adobe After Effects because I felt it was the missing link in my video projects. Special effects play a big role in video production these days.

Pr Sivin Kit's messages were very refreshing and relevant too, and I felt God speaking to me through his simple yet powerful messages.

God is indeed a creative God, and I've been inspired to continue to be creative for Him in touching the hearts of the people around me.

Oh please....

The beginning of 2010 hasn't been that great for Malaysians as a whole. On the last day of 2009, the High Court ruled in favour of Christians using the word Allah for God. This sparked protests all over the country from some Muslims, and even caused division amongst Muslims - some supported the decision, some did not.

Over the past few days, there were arson attacks on 8 churches across the country. Thankfully, nobody was hurt. Political parties quickly condemned the attacks, and the government and Muslim NGOs offered to help and contributed towards the church rebuilding fund.

I kept wondering how God felt about all this...He must be sad. God sees our hearts and motives, and I think He would prefer it if we used all our time and energy to worship and get to know Him, do His will and learn to love each other instead of fighting over what we call Him. And He knows that though we may be passionate about fighting for justice or our rights, once this is over and done with, we might not even utter His name with a heart that loves Him.

Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. Matthew 22:37-38

2010, Here I Come

I woke up on the 1st of January 2010 with a sense of excitement that it's going to be a great year with lots of changes and surprises.

I've been asking God for new experiences in my life and I feel that He will unfold them for me this year. The condition is that I have to empty my cup, because God cannot fill a cup that is already full. And I have to trust and obey Him wholeheartedly and know that His plans are much greater than anything I can imagine.

God assured me that He can use anyone and He doesn't always choose the strongest, smartest or most beautiful ones. He chooses the ones who don't think they are good enough, and He makes them top of the class. God can use me, as long as I am willing and follow Him every step of the way.

Below are the pictures of the begonia plant that I propogated last year, a little shoot has grown out from it! It is the year of new beginnings :)