shoulder ache

recurrent shoulder ache on the right fr dental work. bad posture? hmm.. this week is funny. bad is got a school trip for cancelled last minute which was disappointing but we got over it. good is we had 3 special visitors. :) n i joined a p meeting which was just what i needed.

sermon

this week sermon was on how the cultures of the world are built on 3 main themes.

in the garden of Eden, when sin entered, 3 things happened. Guilt, shame and fear entered the garden. What was missing in the garden.. Repentance, which has to do with taking responsibility. the man blamed the woman, the woman blamed the snake.

the western culture: built on innocence and guilt, ie right and wrong

the middle eastern and asian cultures: honor and shame

animistic culture (fear of the spiritual realm): power and fear

what it means; ie in middle eastern culture, what is more important is maintaining honor. the qn asked is not what is right, but what is honorable. what is honorable is not always right (ie a country harbouring a terrorist and not giving him up because he is now a guest in your house and honor dictates u look after those under your roof) (or, in Genesis, Lot offering his daughter to the men in Sodom as long as they leave his guests alone)

i thought it made a lot of sense. because we are taught a lot about christianity from the western culture, thus when we present the gospel, we tend to focus on what is right and wrong, (the 4 spiritual laws etc) which can leave us feeling a bit cold. There is not 3 gospels, but only 1. We often forget to present the gospel in its fullness.. that at the cross Jesus disarmed all the forces arrayed against us (colossians), removing our fears and anointed us with honor, removing our shame (brought on by sin).

the speaker made an interesting point. he say guilt is feeling bad about something we have done. whereas shame is feeling bad about our person. sometimes shame is put on to us by other pple. and it is possible to feel shame while doing the right thing.

reminds me of a qn posed to me before: if u catch someone cheating in class, will u tell on him. while it is right to report on the person, the shame of being labelled negatively by your peers may stop u.

yes i think in our society, honor and shame and power and fear play a significant role.. pple are always v interested to discuss about supernatural things. Feng shui, superstitions, fillial piety, honor, and shame (often hear parents trying to motivate their kids using shame).

Praise the Lord that in Him we need not fear and we have no condemnation. We have honor restored to us, the power of God in us, and we are seen as innocent through Jesus.

sometimes we get distracted by the accessories and trappings we forget what is the main thing..

That we were lost and dead in our sin.. and God saved us.

O precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow
No other fount I know
Nothing but the blood of Jesus

serving Him

if there is love in my heart, it doesn't matter what i do..

in that moment, i feel the pleasure of God. i feel God. n my heart is happy.

i treated 4 kids fr DL's home today. they were adorable. 3 extractions, 2 shots, it was all smiles. only 1 nervous little boy with tears that dried quickly. 1 little girl even said she hoped she got a shot! so i told her congratulations she is gng to get one :P

Isaac cooked tonight! not bad :P

sermon

heard an analogy today at church. thought it was interesting.

Unforgiveness is like drinking poison yourself and hoping the other person dies.

well put.

He also talked abt keeping ourselves clear like a conduit/channel of God's blessing. keeping watch that we dont get clogged up (w anger, bitterness etc) and hence unable to work as a channel. Also how a dam starts w one log, then ano log getting caught. or how our bathtub gets clogged w 1 hair which then v quickly traps the next hair and it goes on.

scotty!

scott macintyre!!!!!! woohoo!!

crystal

i put a crystal on CY's tooth today! haha. fake crystal she got off a sparkly shirt..

cheap malaysian tickets!!

http://www.malaysiaairlines.com/sg/en/home.aspx

:)

i'm glad we got to speak with a patient today. :) prayerfully, we can do it more often. i'm also glad when we can serve pple from the family who are fulltime. And also pple who need some encouragement.

my cat 2

we are so gng to spay kiki when she gets out of heat.. the pet clinic nearby said they can do it for 200RMB. 1 hour op. need anti-infection shots for 3 days after.

she's momentarily quiet now.. but we are so gng to do it next time.

my cat

my cat is in heat and the constant mewing is almost driving me nuts.

i wonder if the constant crying of a baby is like that too. i hope not..

was reading thru my past 2 yr blog and.. i like what i wrote.. and.. i understand myself n where i was coming from.. i think i'd be a good fren to myself.. haha

i miss my friends in sg.

been watching american idol.. my favourite is Scott MacIntyre! the young man who is blind. they dont show much of him tho.. he's 19, super talented, super smart (he won scholarship and has finished uni at young age), lovely voice, and has released recordssss of original piano cds!! n he has super nice sincere humble attitude.. aww.. i hope he gets thru to top 36 ( heard rumor that he did..)

split pants in China

for easy doing Number 1 and Number 2..

tulips at the green lake!

i like pretty flowers.. :)

i read Wanping's blog :)

i also read Nelson's :)
a lot of nice pics.

Recently i have been asking God for more specific direction about what to do here.. i have not been hearing very well. What is it about, Lord.. the staff.. the patients.. the special friends?.. how should i proceed.. what am i to do here that You desire.. i can't see the next step v well..

i had an inkling tonight.. i think i need to renew the intimacy of communing with Him before He will tell me what He wants me to do.. like.. i cant work for Him unless i am His friend first.. sigh..

Thanksgiving

i've not been waking up the middle of night the past week to 'ahem' go bathroom.. for the first time since the time i was preping for the wedding.. :) it stopped during our last trip to singapore. i take it as a sign my unconscious stress has let up.. :)

great service last sunday. lovely sister from India who shared. We can't do anything worthwhile unless God gives us His love to do it with. And we need to ask Him to give us His love. she says she begs God for His love everyday so that she can do the work of the ministry. she said something about becoming the preaching.. the wordless gospel of love.

interesting

there is a topic that i have been feeling q strongly abt and angst abt the past few months.. mayb it came to a climax last mth. interesting thing is.. we were having dinner and actually talking abt it a few weeks ago.. and i found myself not being able to say anything.. tho i had q a lot to say. something held me bk. i think He held me back. i resolved that night that perhaps talking about it is not something He wants me to do. it would not do me any good. Whether to repeat positives or negatives.. no need to say anything. because its something that needs to be revealed rather than told. i hope i will remember this. there is a time for everything.

book

was reading Isaac's book.. 'revolution in world missions' by K.P. Yohannan

v good book.. but more on that ano time..

this comment was very interesting to me.. it was a piece of advice given to the author by an esteemed brother

'No matter what you do, never take youself too seriously'

:)

Its like don't be so stressed out about the ministry until you burn out.. because His burden is light.. and He is at work together with you.

you need only do your part.

and allow God to be God.

.

John 17:3
Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

i dont like cults.

if we begin to liberally interpret the Word to serve our message

what are we left with

shopping

want to thank God today, because i went shopping for a tambourine.

at first all my internet research and friends tell me seem to say that it would cost $43.

but i went to bras basah and found one that was $20.

then i went to peninsula plaza and bought my tambourine for $14!! its not as pretty as the branded one but its just what i was looking for. :)

Thank God, He answered my prayer this morning.

shopping!!!!

i had a rather fruitful day of shopping today! so happy. prayed in the morning before setting off. bargaining makes me feel frustrated as i'm not v good at it and i always wonder if i paid too much. today i didnt need to bargain at all cos either its not that kind of shop or the prices quoted were already v low (mayb cos i look like student today, as 1 shopkeeper says)

here's wat i bought!!! conversion rate: S$1 abt 5 rmb (now a bit lower i hear mayb 4.4)

at walmart
jeans 50 rmb (some shops sell 80 to 100 rmb)
2 pairs of rabbit wool socks 19 .9 rmb

on the way to bus stop
track pants 29 rmb (some places sell 70 rmb)
wooden comb 4 rmb

we bought a water boiling flask thing at Guomei for 108 rmb! its 1.2 l and uses the heat fr the bottom device which is better and usually costs 130 and above!

met Jean on the way home and finally went to the 2nd hand clothing stores!
so many cheap winter clothes! it seems they bring bags fr guangzhou to sell there. the clothes all still v good and mostly new looking! i wld only buy a winter coat tho cos other clothing seem to intimate to me.. :)

my favourite buy today!
winter coat for 30 rmb!!! (costs usually over 200 rmb in shops) been looking for one these few days :)

then later..
thermal pants 30 rmb (v good ones!)

then q happy cos the gloves i bought recently for 18 rmb was selling for 30 rmb at some other shops and their quality look worse then mine.. mayb i didnt buy them too high after all.. oh well at most it's only abt S$4.. but i sort of still think i cld have bought them for 15 rmb? 12? i'll never know so shld stop thinking abt it. bad habit..

Thank God :)

happy blog w fabulous pics

http://happyhomebaking.blogspot.com/2007/01/strawberry-jellyhearts-cheesecake.html

i feel so inspired to try the recipes. its like baking demistified.

Thanksgiving Day 2008

our 2.6 kg turkey :) hard to find in Kunming.. 60 RMB (~ S$12)

mashed sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top.. need to put in oven..

all our thanksgiving day food! (Clockwise) Bread rolls, mashed potato, corn, cranberry sauce, turkey and sweet potatoes w marshmallows. :) it was fun. Isaac cooked most of the stuff. I helped boil the potatoes n corn :P..

Thank You God. :)