i shall come up with a list of things to do in usa
- exercise regularly
- read books
- read dental books
- pray
- learn malay/guitar
- learn driving
- look for volunteer work
- write to overseas friends
- monitor the house and market

who knew chopping veggies could be so fun. haha. esp doing it w friends. :)

i think there is a certain kind of timing and destiny when it comes to making friends. God's timing and destiny, that is. some pple come and go, some stay, even when it is no longer convenient. and when you do come across these precious ones, it is heartening.

read in a fb post recently;

"God opens millions of flowers without forcing the buds.. reminding us not to force anything, for things happen perfectly in time."

i guess this speaks also about us having rest while we wait for the flower to open in its own time. in all our hopes for others and ourselves.

i like watching tv with Isaac. it is always interesting to find out what makes him laugh. and many times it is some American pop cultural nuance that would escape me and he would have to explain it. haha. it is fun thing to do, to discover more about your partner.

Listening to Josh Groban "To where you are"
and here are all the parts I find applicable to a love song to the Saviour :)

'Deep in the stillness
I can hear You speak
You're still an inspiration
Can it be
That You are mine
Forever love
And You are watching over me from up above'

'As my heart holds You
Just one beat away
I cherish all You gave me everyday
'Cause You are mine
Forever love
Watching me from up above

And I believe
That angels breathe
And that love will live on and never leave'

'A breath away's not far
To where You are

I know You're there
A breath away's not far
To where You are'

no matter what background we come from, whatever we think we have or do not have, God is the Great Equalizer.

Praise the Lord!

here is a pic of me and Isaac :)

went to Universal Studios yesterday. Free tickets! Thank You Lord. walked ard a lot and rained a bit so a bit of cold today. Love the Sesame Street! All the structures inspire a sense of make believe so that makes it fun. :)

i kinda like my little corner of the internet here :)
gng USS this sunday!!
waiting for Wanping to finish her busy time..  den can go out!! :)

Mark 14:3
While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.

⁴ Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? ⁵ It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.

i remember a speaker once said, those pple said it was a waste, it shows they don't think Jesus is worth it. and sometimes we do things, pple may say, why u do this, why u do that, why u spend time and money. 

But Jesus is worth it. He is worth more than what we can ever give to Him. And it is an expression of worship, when we can give our best parts to Him. We are unworthy. He is worthy of more than we can give. But He doesn't look down on us. The same way a father would not look down on a biscuit his son saves for him from school, in fact he cherishes it.

And it is the best thing in the world, to be able to give your best parts to Jesus.

Like A said, God is a mystery.

so maybe we are gng to usa. maybe. ok most likely.

everything is so uncertain. sigh. i thought i left that kind to lifestyle behind when we returned to sg.

and interestingly, of all the things he could be interested in, he is into one that has a v uncertain career path. and one that doesnt easily translate to other pathways. and i cant work in usa. so flying back and forth etc etc... dunno.. really just need to keep praying about it.

i think that when we were in China, eventually we try to live some semblance of normalcy in a v different environment. so we are stressed out on some level, but we are used to being stressed all the time it becomes a normal thing which we then work our activities, plans, actions into. we are not even aware of being stressed anymore. but i feel it when i return to sg. cos i dont operate on that level anymore. however, sg has become crazy over the last few yrs so that is ano type of stress.

anyhow. i hope it wont be like that when we go to usa.

sigh.

guess what.. a few weeks ago, i was looking at my bank book transactions. and i noticed that throughout my time in China the past 3 yrs.. there was this person ( i think it is one person) who would transfer money into my account every month. there were other transactions too, made by other pple, who also greatly encouraged me by their support, but i more or less knew who they were as they had let me know beforehand.

but there was this one person, i did not know who, he/she would transfer ard $350 to my account every month at around the same date. and sometime it was more, like $500.

i do not know who he/she is.. but i was v encouraged. encouraged by the Lord, who provided, who cared, who let me know over and over again that i'm on His radar.. Encouraged by this unidentified person, who loved me and allowed the Lord to use him/her.

who says faith cant be seen? my bank book, in those years i spent in China, has faith written all over it..

im not sure why there is such a wide gap between pple who live in poverty and pple who live in seemingly excessive riches.

the pple who are 'rich'; well, many of them worked hard, took risks, invested wisely. maybe some of them inherited their wealth.

the pple who live in poverty; well, maybe some of them made bad choices, or just did not have many opportunities due to circumstances. all kinds of reasons..

im not sure why i find it disturbing. but i do know the thought of some spending excessively on seemingly frivolous things while others struggle to put food on the table, to give their children an opportunity at education etc.. that is disturbing. perhaps there seems to be some kind of injustice in this. though exactly how, I would not be eloquent enough to articulate. This is not how it is supposed to be. In His Kingdom, everyone shares so there is no lack. Like in Acts.. surely at least everyone should have enough to eat and to cloth their family and have opportunity for education. and also not have to work so much that their family hardly see them at all..

One day, He will ask for an accounting for what we have done with what we have been given. and those given much.. are in danger of being speechless on that Day.. that is a sobering thought.

and maybe there will also be some.. who thought they didnt have much.. who will find they had more than they thought they did after all..

'... From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.' Luke 12: 48

was just thinking.. typical sg family mthly expenditure:

housing loan installment: $2000
car expenses: $1000
domestic helper (many pple seem to have one): $500
1 child Montessori kindergarten: $200
modest groceries for 3 plus helper plus utilities hp bill etc : $2000

how do sg pple do it..

sometimes its nice to stay at home and not have to go out and pay service charge or gst.

maybe i am stingy that way. haha

was thinking the other day.. if i attend a wedding dinner and give $120 for ang pao.. wow.. i can do a lot with $120.. i can give to a charity.. i can support one of many missionaries i know.. i can give to a missions project.. i can make someone's day ( like an uncle or auntie selling tissue paper etc..). just food for thought.. so many things we spend money here in sg without a second thought..

tried doing pilates supposed to be a 30 min things.
1st time : lasted 7 mins.
2nd time : 23 mins

:p  hopefully can keep it up..
on ano note. here is a pretty song..

"Living alone here in this place
I think of you, and I’m not afraid
Your favorite records make me feel better
Cause you sing along
With every song
I know you didn’t mean to give them to me

Cause you went away,
How dare you?
I miss you
They say I’ll be OK
But I’m not going to ever get over you"

its nice to hv frens. esp the ones in Him.

signing signing bank loan things today. good that things are moving along. Hope its all done by the time the next installment is needed.. found out i can get my stamp fee refunded thru CPF! good to have more liquidity. oh boy.. i can potentially foresee a lot of planning and things ahead.. but not much to be done now i guess except make some general notes here and there.. next yr is still a question mark. kinda stressful. but still carrying on. and experiencing His grace.

not many meetings this month. in fact i think we have not met for a mth. Things sure are different in different places. or is it also cos of our age grp. not sure how new pple r assimilated.. still observing how things work in this new place.

Trust Me.

another reminder i am too old to stay up past midnight. woke up this morning feels like ive ran a marathon. (ive never ran a marathon.)

or maybe it means i need some regular exercise.. haiz.

in love with Him..

everyday try to find some time to be.. in love with Him.

like when i look at IAJ and we twinkle at each other.

Catch His eye and *twinkle*.

i guess just as marriage takes time and effort to nurture.. so do we and Him..