>GOD IS LOVE <3

Sunday, June 22, 2008

exams are long gone.
MERDEKA!
school's out this winter.
MERDEKA!
holidays are here.
MERDEKA!

we did a bit of ciao-italia-ing to celebrate haniksha's early 21st..

before exams, we had a chicken themed bs dinner (i duno if ive mentioned it before but hey it was really YUMYUMYUMMY)

SARALEE'S RABBIT!!!!!!! SO CUTEEEE!!!!!!!!

steph, liz n i did some baking and cooking for the stressed up ocf-ers having exams

i just finished watching HANA KIMI and..

NAKATSU!!!!!!!! nakatsu nakatsu nakatsu!! so cute!

awwwwwwwwww

we also celebrated ivan's birthday

i have more photos but they're not rotated yet.

METEOR GARDEN! IM COMING FOR YOU!

pei ni qu kan liu xing yu!!! hahaha

happy holidays!

Labels: happy holidays

& there she goes,
chasing her fairytales ;
6:04 PM

Friday, June 13, 2008

bring me back to the good ol' cedar days..

the blue and grey, the naps we take whenever we can,

the choir singing and harmonising

camps, dances, cheers..

we heard a canadian (i think) choir sing this song at the Pacific Basin Music Festival '05 in Hawaii. really really pretty song! but we didnt know the lyrics so we had to make them up...

I see a cheekopeh go "WHEEET!" when he sees my pretty face

"what's up babe? what's up babe?

wee-ooo-weet

what's up babe? what's up babe?"

BUDDY BUDDY STICKERBOOOK! i rmbr u had problems keeping ur luggage closed when we had to pack to go back home! HAHA too much shopping seriously!

we were trying to take a photo of the cute guy in green HEHEHE

ah the good times the good times, i wanna go back and relive those moments!

Labels: reminiscing

& there she goes,
chasing her fairytales ;
11:28 AM

Thursday, June 12, 2008

i was just revising for my foundations of OT exam on monday when my phone buzzed.

a message from my mum, who's in Japan with my dad n sis:

" Mummy daddy n jodie love jeannie (a cute animation thing here) (another cute animation thing here)"

i knew straight away that they are at the airport, returning to Singapore.

my parents, and sometimes my sister, never fail to send a simple text message of love whenever they are leaving singapore or returning from another country, especially mummy nowadays since she's travelling to india and london for work so often.

i suddenly remembered how blessed i am.

how blessed i am to have such a loving family!

i can imagine qinyi imitating them on the phone when we were on our short term mission trip in thailand in primary five "daddy love u ah! mummy love you ah! jodie also love you ah!"

not much has changed, has it? =)

and i can also remember kristi laughing at how she thinks my honeymoon in the future would end up a family holiday. HAHAHA well i really dont know.. its probably a 50/50 chance that it would happen hehehe.

i remember being annoyed for the many reasons they give me for not wanting me to sleepover at my friends' houses since young, not very approving of me going to jakarta for the end of year mission trip with YWAM, not allowing me to go to the beach.

coming to Perth to study, which for many would have been a big change where they are on their own and have to be independent, wasnt quite that bad for me, considering i had my dad with me in Perth for practically the whole of year 2006 while i was settling in and getting used to everything. instead, he was the one who was facing more difficulties i would imagine. he stayed in hotels for quite a while, waiting for suitable houses to come by, having to search for internet cafes to do stuff, stayed at a friend's place, eventually found an apartment to rent, got furnitures, set up the phone stuff, internet stuff.. all alone in Perth while i was at the boarding house, well fed, sheltered, well taken care of in the company of other boarders. i was even more fortunate than the boarders cus i could come out of the b/h every weekend with my dad, eat at nice stuff at nice places, use the internet, watch tv, go shopping, visit vicky for sleepovers and fishing, attend ballet lessons, go for OCF etc.

even now when all of them are in singapore, they will still take the time out to ring me frequently to see how i'm going, if i miss any food from singapore, if uni is difficult, if geri is doing more cooking than me, if i am feeling okay or stressed or tired..

i really need to appreciate my family more.

the special and unique family, where the dad sees and announces the presence of a cockroach, where the mum's the one to kill the cockroach while the daughters scream and hop and hide anywhere they feel is safe from cockroaches. the family that stays up together to watch stupid shows like X-family (a favourite of the younger daughter), or long and neverending korean serials. the one that looks forward to midnight movies like CJ7 or ah long and cannot stop laughing about it during the whole car ride.. well until all the females fall asleep, leaving the driver lonely and bored. the unique family where the annoying driver picks strands of the our hair to tickle our noses while we're asleep. where the annoying driver becomes the screaming nervous wreck when his daughter takes the wheel. the one where the mum gets her daughter to take before and after photos of her face when trying out new facial products, or floods the house with korean serials. the family that snores like theres no tomorrow. the family where the daughters would anytime choose to eat beard papa cream puff with their last few dollars even if it meant they had no money to return home. the family that gets all hyped up about taking neoprints together x)

there's so much more about my family i could talk about, but i'm gonna stop here.

i've taken my family for granted so many times, preferring to spend my time with things i think are more fun and 'hip and happening', giving more thoughts and concerns to my own life while day still love me unconditionally, supporting me as much as they have since the moment i was born. i can be confident in saying that when all things fail me, they will still be there to catch me, welcoming me with warm hugs and showering me with love.

thank you Lord for this wonderful gift you have blessed me with <3

Labels: family

& there she goes,
chasing her fairytales ;
9:55 AM

Saturday, June 07, 2008

we made a trip all the way up to stirling today for brunch with nicolepotato and tedjemulja-aiyaya at IKEA. =)

after a hearty meal consisting of chips, gravy and 7.5 meatballs each, we trekked towards Greater Union cinema to watch PRINCE CASPIAN!

although i've been feeling so guilty about it all week with exams looming.. REALLY LOOMING.. like in 1.5 days.. i don't regret making that decision to watch it =D

i shant go into details of what actually happened in the movie but i thought it reminded me so much about our relationship with God.

it reminded me of how difficult but important it is to have a child-like faith, like Lucy's; as we get older, after having experienced many setbacks, becoming more and more selfish as we get caught up with all the troubles of the world, refusing to pin too much hope on something we can't see, losing faith and failing to see the main thing that really matters.

it reminded me of how many a times, things will come between us and God, pulling us away in the wrong direction and how many times we succumb to the temptation to depend on things that don't last instead of keeping our eyes on God, just like the wall of ice from that icy witch (i dont remember her name) which formed before prince caspian and peter, calling out and hypnotising them, trying to convince them to 'resurrect' her so she can help them kill King Miraz. the wall was later on smashed by edmund to reveal Aslan's face (maybe body too i dont remember) engraved on the wall, and it just struck me that how easy it is to lose focus on God and how important it is that we should keep having faith. Lucy's child-like faith: believing strongly and not doubting, always seeking God.

anyway, great movie! amazing sets and scenery, like seriously breathtaking. watch it!

oh yea we had a chicken themed dinner before bible study last night! hehe it was good good good! photos coming soon....

study time! haha

Labels: movie, swedish meatballs

& there she goes,
chasing her fairytales ;
5:20 PM

Sunday, June 01, 2008

today, Nishita is leaving.
my first uni friend whom i met on the first day of school when she was lost and i was lost and we made our way to curtin together from the esplanade bus port and continued being lost on campus. and then school work kicked in (like immediately) and we became busy with our own lives, occasionally sending a text message to say 'hi' or 'hope ur well' .. then we decided to meet up for lunch and then we decided to meet up for lunch every monday : Nishita, Christie and me =) and after a few monday lunches, SHE TELLS US THAT SHE'S GOING BACK TO INDIA! =(
but i guess it's good. firstly, she's gonna do a doctorate instead of physio (which she did in curtin) . secondly, she'll be back home with her family and friends so there's no need to get homesick =)
anyways, we had a 'farewell' by bringing her to harbourtown to shop! guess what! i was the only one who bought stuff! =( geez..

i made choc brownie butterfly! its premix. HEHE all i had to do was stir. but it was yummy!

we had bubble tea in northbridge!

we took neoprints!

we danced amazingly on the DDR. hahaha

oh yea we did some drumming too.
and we made a notebook for her which i forgot to take a photo of but its so cool =D
byebye Nishita! thank you for being my first uni friend! WE'LL KEEP IN CONTACT ON MSN!
i hope u had fun! u havent seen many parts of perth yet so rmbr to come back! =))

i dont know where to fit this in, but... I HATE AWKWARD SILENCES. I ALSO HATE THE FEELING OF DRIFTING AWAY FROM PEOPLE I USED TO BE CLOSE TO. I HATE NOT BEING ABLE TO DO ANYTHING TO HELP SOMEONE BUT I HATE EVEN MORE NOT DARING TO OFFER A HELPING HAND OR SHOWING MY CONCERN WHICH I ALWAYS DO

Blessed Be Your Name
by Matt Redman
- - -
Blessed Be Your Name
In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name

Blessed Be Your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed Be Your name

Blessed be Your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's 'all as it should be'
Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name

we sang this song in worship today and Timon shared about how Matt Redman wrote this song during the time when he and his wife wanted to have a baby but could not.

i get my fair share of things that annoy me. the assignment due tomorrow. the thoughts distracting me from study. stuff that people say. busy life. boring life. feeling lonely. feeling offended. just the smallest matters get on my nerves and sends me whining, getting angry, frustrated, pissed, and claiming the spot for complain queen.

it is time to learn to thank God even though nothing seems to go my way, having the confidence that He is in control, knowing that He has His own purpose for placing us in different situations- to challenge us, to mould us and grow us, to teach us or to use us to administer to others. it is time to thank God for even being there for us, giving us the strength to pull through tough situations, coming out stronger and wiser and experienced.

im feeling kinda i-dont-know today. but i have things i want to give thanks for!

-i thank God for placing me in Perth, where i think i have been growing spiritually especially this year, since my life just involves uni and ocf. it gives me more time and opportunities to serve God and reminds me to not just be a Sunday Christian.

-i thank God for OCF and how they make me look forward to wednesday girls prayer meets and friday bible studies or public meets and sunday sports. where i am given the chance to serve, even as a bs leader trainee, i think it has given me a chance to talk to people more even though i dont think i have been doing a good job at that. but that means i'll be working on it and hopefully get better by God's grace! and also for judy and joel's kimchisoup and prawnmee and satay and apple crumble and chocolate molten! seriously, grow fat! how to diet!?!?!

-i thank God for family friends who so generously invite us over for meals once in a while, offering transport or any help if need be, even though they have their own busy lives to tend to. its just so nice to know that ppl care =)

-i thank God for friends in curtin! they make school more exciting! esp the lunchtime part! HEHE. although i havent got to know them so well yet, i know we'll get closer, so its quite exciting =))

-i thank God for the chances i got to talk to ppl on msn, phone, over meals etc etc. to just catch up, find out what's going on, share, encourage, complain, laugh, talk.. i really like the feeling of talking to people... when theres no awkward silences haha.

-i thank God for saturday's pouring rain and strong wind. although it could have annoyed me, geri and i were having fun and laughing so much trying not to get blown away, hopping over puddles, screaming when the cars drive past cus we were worried about water splashing, watching the poor umbrella flip over time and again. =) when the exams are over i will dedicate one day to playing in the rain! and star gazing!

-of course theres many other things i thank God for but really it will take forever to write them here....... so yesh =D

have a good week everyone! GOD LOVES YOU!

Labels: blessed be Your name, nishita, thank God

& there she goes,
chasing her fairytales ;
7:50 PM