Best worship session…it has been such a long time

We had such a wonderful worship today. Old songs were sang…When David sang, You shall go out with joy, Lamb of God…

It wasn't pitch perfect, in fact, the drummer kind of went off-beat but the worship was fantastic. The worship leader didn't need to do anything, he just worshipped.  The worshippers were spontaneous. Sometimes, it is like that. You don't need to sing the latest songs, you don't need pitch perfect singers, professional musicians…you just need to touch hearts. Even Kai enjoyed it!

When the music fades
And all is stripped away
And I simply come
Longing just to bring
Something that's of worth
That will bless your heart
I'll bring You more than a song
For a song in itself
Is not what You have required
You search much deeper within
Through the ways things appear
You're looking into my heart

 
I'm coming back to the heart of worship
And it's all about You
All about You, Jesus
I'm sorry Lord for the thing I've made it
When it's all about You
It's all about You Jesus

 
King of endless worth
No one could express
How much You deserve
Though I'm weak and poor
All I have is Yours
Every single breath
I'll bring You more than just a song
For a song in itself
Is not what You have required
You search much deeper within
Through the way things appear
You're looking into my heart

She maybe young…

In the morning, I was telling the kids that don't always assume that life is always comfortable…good food, good home, good school…Nothing is for certain. An economic crisis, a political instability, natural disaster…all these events can take place and they are all beyond our control. It is not negative education but giving them a lesson in reality. I told them they must always be prepared to live simply. Of course, while we have, we appreciate them, we enjoy them and if we don't have, we must still live a happy simple life.

We were having our lunch in a restaurant which serves quite  good  chicken wings. Ann loves them. She was thinking and thinking if she should have one more serving of the wings. You know why she was thinking so hard? She ran out of her drinks. If she eats another wing, she will have no more water to drink. Looking at her and knowing her (Ann is pretty much a foodie like me), I asked her…

me : would you like to have another wing?

she : but I don't have any more water.

me :  we can always order another cup, do you want?

she : if it takes too much money, nevermind lah

awww…..I gave her a big squeeze and told the waiter to give her another cup of drink

(so melt your heart when you know that your kids have been listening and remembering)

Long lost friend found via yearbook

I still have my secondary and pre-university school magazines. Yes, I told you before, I am a sentimental freak. It is always nice to pick them up once a while and recall the wonderful carefree days of being a student. Beautiful memories are not what you have experienced but what you can remember.

I was reading the kids' yearbook from school and…lo and behold, I found a friend which I have not seen since I left my secondary school. Almost 30 years ago! She is now one of the teachers from SSIS. I have not met her in school because she is teaching in the other campus.

I emailed her and she replied. Yes, she remembered those blue-singlet days!  Oh wow, what a way to reunite. She is currently coaching all the students doing the iPSLE.  That's really wonderful cos' Kai will be doing his iPSLE next year and it would really be helpful to listen to her advice and her experience. God sure has His way of connecting people.

Now,  Facebook is not the only way connect. *wink*

Marking days are packing days

The kids have two days off. Marking days for the teachers. I made the kids cleaned up the study room. During examinations period, the study room was turned into a mad scientist office. Textbooks, notes, papers, stationeries…all over the room. Finally, all notes were filed, books kept and lost stationeries finally appeared. It was a good time to sort out all the books we have, we wanted to keep, we wanted to donate, we wanted to sell to the book uncle. After the study room has been cleared, the kids moved on to the family cum playroom. Suddenly, long-lost toys became fun again. Unseen toys became treasures. The kids also had a fun time finding their beloved Batman, Charlie Brown, Mr Freeze, Lego, Play Mobil…..

Packing days are fun!

累
自从来到上海，我尝试读中文书。效果还不错。我已经读完一本书。我是一个爱看书和图书爱好者。有时，即使不感兴趣的书，但书的封面设计吸引了我，我还是会买。最后，我还是把它看完。在上海买的第一本书是“不要活得太累”。书名曼可爱得就把它买下了。我很高兴买了这本书。学了很多。让我和大家分享吧。



常常听人说，“我真的很累了”。是真的吗？不管我们做什么，我们总是抱怨我们累了。
玩到累
吃到累
走到累
跑到累
睡到累
做到累。。。

唉，不管我们做什么，我们仍然喊：“累呀”！想一想，如果，天天不做事，那可不是　－　没事做到累啊！

不要活得太累，你需要平衡。最强大，最富有的人，还是没有一个平稳的生活。人的一生是不可能事事一帆风顺的。一个人只能活一次！(The clock of life is wound just once!) 这是常被人们遗忘的常识。只有一次，就快好好得活吧。

再过几年，我就半百了，人生短站，现在，我只是做我需要做的，我爱做的，我为我生边家人和好友所需要做的，才去做。不然，真的会活得太累。无委的事，就不理了。

A tribute to fathers

My earthly father
Father is the typical traditional Chinese man. He doesn't help out with the house chores but he cooks a mean Hainanese mutton soup and fish slice soup ,鱼片汤.  When I was younger, I didn't like father a lot because he was the strict and authoritarian type. It was only when I grew older, have my own family that I began to understand and admire him a lot. Father dropped out of school at eight years old, (only primary two!) By 12 years old, he was already working at Shenton Way, serving the office clerks their daily coffee. He was a kopi-boy. From there, he found his niche, like what they always say, the rest is history. In my opinion, father is like the rich dad in the book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. He has a very sharp mind and he counts faster, I dare say, than some of the great Mathematicians. It is amazing, without even completing his primary school education, father could raise all of us. My sister and I studied till pre-university. Worked and paid for our own university education. Father saw my brother all the way through his university.  Although he was fierce, he didn't deny any of us a proper education, a roof over our heads and three decent meals everyday. In every way, he is a very responsible father although his idiosyncrasies sometimes, do get on my nerves. Father's greatest virtue is his punctuality. He cannot tolerate tardiness. Hahaha, among the three of us, I think I am the only one who has inherited this genes. But, I am more gracious. I will wait till you turned up. My longest waiting time was three hours! For father, he is not just punctual but he is early. If the appointment is 6pm, he will be there at 5.30pm. If you are late, he made no apologies in telling you off.

Now father spends most of his time taking walks, playing a little mahjong and fetching his favourite grandson from school. Always wearing his Indiana Jones' hat. It was a Christmas gift from my brother. A leather cowboy hat which looked very much like the one Harrison Ford wore in Indiana Jones. Actually, Kai was the one who noticed it first.

Father doesn't smoke at all even among his brothers who are all smokers, he has never picked up the habit. He is a great father in his own way.

My heavenly father
Words cannot describe how He is like. It takes a personal experience with Him to know Him. When I said, it is a personal relationship with Him, others who have not experienced Him said things like, "all are religion". Oh how myopic are the thoughts of some people. But really, no point arguing cos' what do I gain in winning an argument about my heavenly father. It will only draw them away from this experience. I have known Him for 30 over years, that's a long time. Some friends have given up the relationship along the way, some have built even stronger love relationship with Him. As for me, I cannot see myself without Him. He has always been there, not seen but always felt. Not heard but always read. This song best described my journey with Him

You are my strength when I am weak
You are the treasure that I seek
You are my all in all

Seeking You as a precious jewel
Lord, to give up I'd be a fool
You are my all in all

Taking my sin, my cross, my shame
Rising up again I bless Your name
You are my all in all

When I fall down You pick me up
When I am dry You fill my cup
You are my all in all

Jesus, Lamb of God
Worthy is Your name
Jesus, Lamb of God
Worthy is Your name

You are my strength when I am weak
You are the treasure that I seek
You are my all in all

Seeking You as a precious jewel
Lord, to give up I'd be a fool
You are my all in all

When I fall down You pick me up
When I get dry You fill my cup
You are my all in all

When I am sad you dry my tears
When I am scared you calm my fears
You are my all in all

When I am with You I'm alive
When You seem gone feels like I've died
You are my all in all

Jesus, Lamb of God
Worthy is Your name
Jesus, Lamb of God
Worthy is Your name

My children's father
The spouse is my children's father. The greatest father to them. I remembered on dh's birthday, Kai was very busy with his homework that night that he didn't have time to do the birthday card for his father, he started crying. That's how much his father meant to him. Yes, he is a great companion to Kai and Ann. When they were little, they loved to climb all over him. He was everything to them, a swordsman, a super hero, a doctor, a teacher...everything. Sometimes, I wonder if he has forgotten to be THE spouse. *wink*

A journey through the years…

To all fathers, while your kids are still demanding for your time, do give it to them. Cos, the time will come when they will no longer have the time to demand for your time. Do not allow work to rob your  time with your kids.


A simple father's day cake, making use of whatever that's available. Happy Father's Day to all fathers!

Things we take for granted
Wanted to bake a pandan cake. Went to an imported goods supermarket to look for pandan leaves and yes, I found them…

6 leaves for RMB 4!

When I was back home, the auntie living downstairs would have allowed me to pluck these pandan leaves from her pandan plant, without having to pay for them.


Steamed panadan cake. Love the smell of pandan leaves, reminded me of home.

King of all fruits – durian
This was what was given out at the Singapore Day. Durians, Singaporeans' favourite fruit. It is famous for its really super pungent smell. Its loyal fans will love it to bits but its detractors will flee miles before coming near it. Hahaha, it is a love-very-much or hate-to-the-core kind of relationship with it. Anthony Bourdain, celebrity chef was able to eat it but Andrew Zimmerman, bizarre food traveller could not swallow it. Well, at least he put it into his mouth.

During the Singapore Day, it was a free for all. It was not limited to one per entry or two per family…I believed we were not the only family who didn't get it. It was a big scramble for it but it was not our way of doing things. In the end, we didn't get any of it but the group in front of us got more than they needed. Well, the reality of life, if you don't fight, you don't get. But for us, some things are not worth fighting for.

Yesterday, we were at this nice little restaurant having our lunch and we weren't expecting it (life's little surprises is God's way of saying "I love you")….


Were they good? Of course! Were they "smelly"? Of course not! To us, it is sweet aroma. Hmmm…ahhh…

Life's little enjoyment. Savouring a home delight with your soulmate in the comfort of your house  The kids? They went into hidding cos' they couldn't take the smell. Bwahahaha. With summer vacation coming, perhaps storing some durians at home  may be a fantastic idea to retain my sanity!

True love found
In one of my earlier post, I wrote about the search for a potential son-in-law in a TV programme. Where true love no long exist but only material wealth matters. The other day, on TV, there was another programme. It was more of a discussion programme. The topic was "Is it really necessary to spend so much on a wedding ceremony". Yes, at least in Shanghai, wedding is a very lavish event. These figures were based on expenses made in 2010.

1. Decent housing (80 square meters and above) with an average price of RMB 20,100 per square meter; RMB 20,100 x 80 = RMB 1,608,000.
2. Renovation and interior design for a 100-square-meter floor area; RMB 150,000.
3. Household appliances and furniture; RMB 100,000 (though some women get this in the form of dowry).
4. An ordinary car; RMB 100,000.
5. Wedding banquet with 25 tables in an average-star hotel; RMB 1,000 x 25 = RMB 25,000. Subtract to that the RMB 1,200 average wedding money (hongbao) you will get per table. You get to at least keep RMB 1,200 x 25 = RMB 5,000.
6. Honeymoon to Hong Kong or Macau with the main destination to Hainan; RMB 6,000 travel expenses per person thus for both husband and wife- RMB 6,000 x 2 = RMB 12,000.
7. Courting stage for 2 years. This includes going out on dates, buying of gifts, entertainment, travel, giving of gifts to girlfriend’s parents. Average of RMB 1,800 per month. So for 2 years- RMB 1,800 x 12 months x 2 years = RMB 43,200.
In summary, total cost is RMB 1,608,000 + RMB 150,000 + RMB 100,000 + RMB 100,000 – RMB 5,000 + RMB 12,000 + RMB 43, 200 = RMB 2,008,200 (S$401,640) *eyes pop-out*
(http://chinachallenges.blogs.com/my_weblog/2010/09/how-much-does-getting-married-in-china-cost.html)

I think these figures are very conservative. I have a local friend who is trying to get married by next year, he said, right now, it has to be at least a five-star hotel!

In this discussion programme, parents of the lady all insisted on having a good wedding ceremony as it is an important event. Most ladies also agree that nothing should be saved for a once-in-a-lifetime event. I am often mad by this very myopic thought of the locals. Due to this thinking, often, the man has to spend all his savings and all his parents' savings just to have him married.

The host of the programme asked if it was ever possible to not have a lavish ceremony and still love each other. They invited a couple who have only registered their marriage and have lived together for the last five years without even a simple wedding ceremony. Under the eyes of the law, they are still legally married. It was a very touching real-life love story. 

The couple were supposed to have their ceremony. Unfortunately, the man found out he had leukaemia just before the ceremony. All the savings for their wedding were channelled to his medical expenses. He was finally cured when he had a bone-marrow transplant. All this while, his wife did not leave him but stayed by his side. There was no photograph to even remind themselves that they have been married. Their only document was a marriage certificate. It was an awesome love story made in China….Anhui, a poorer province compared to Shanghai.

The lady was right when she said in her parting words to all the parents of all brides-to-be. "Even if you have the most lavish wedding ceremony and with no true love, the marriage will still end."
“for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness or in health”…. True love found.

Ann, the artist
I am beginning to feel that Ann is more of an artistic girl than anything else. She may be super active, playful and a handful but inside her, lives a very different person. Someone who loves the finer things in life…


Ella, the little fairy drawn by Ann, the little princess