It's funny how you think of things at the weirdest times...but a great time for self reflection and introspection is when you're exercising.also a good time to speak to God.
what do I mean when I say I love you? [as Christians, the love we speak of should be the love we are called to love others with right?]
we say "I love you" many times in our lives to many different people. love has 7 types, so does this mean that we mean a different thing each time we use this ubiquitious phrase?
to love is...
to accept regardless of their idiosyncracies
to forgive and give grace without end
not to judge or form opinions
to listen and understand
to comfort, support and build up
in the weirdest of times, i suddenly feel as though i can't say those words, because i don't know what i mean when i say it. its scary to doubt yourself like that, when things seem to be a bed of roses...
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
growing up's not fun
Had a nice conversation with T the other day about taxes...
Child relief is only $2000 per child ! I'm worth so little haha.
It was nice to discover that income tax on married couples is on the individuals, apparently that works out to less tax....
funny how framing can change ppl's answers to lifes important questions...
Girl: Dear, will you still marry me if I don't want to have kids?
Guy: Er....[stunned look n pauses for very long] Depends.
Girl: [gives him the shocked look]
Guy: I want to have kids dear...
Girl: I was kidding la, just wondering...
a while later
Girl: Dear, will you marry me if i can't have kids?
Guy: Ya, no choice right?
GIrl: What's the difference if I can't have kids or don't want to have kids?????
Guy: This is boh bian ma, that one can force wat....
Child relief is only $2000 per child ! I'm worth so little haha.
It was nice to discover that income tax on married couples is on the individuals, apparently that works out to less tax....
funny how framing can change ppl's answers to lifes important questions...
Girl: Dear, will you still marry me if I don't want to have kids?
Guy: Er....[stunned look n pauses for very long] Depends.
Girl: [gives him the shocked look]
Guy: I want to have kids dear...
Girl: I was kidding la, just wondering...
a while later
Girl: Dear, will you marry me if i can't have kids?
Guy: Ya, no choice right?
GIrl: What's the difference if I can't have kids or don't want to have kids?????
Guy: This is boh bian ma, that one can force wat....
Friday, May 11, 2007
God what are you trying to tell me?
Loving Out The Fear By Jon Walker
All of you should be of one mind, full of sympathy toward each other, loving one another with tender hearts and humble minds. (1 Peter 3:8 NLT)
God enables us to love the fear out of one another.
We drive fear from our families and friends by loving one another so supportively that every one feels safe inside the group (1 John 4:18). This safety allows us to bring our humanity into the open, including all our pain and joy, our ups and downs, our victories and defeats.
It means you give to others the same uncommon safety Christ gives you – to be real, to be sad, to be messed up and confused, yet to be loved.
God challenges us to create a Christ-community where we love like our lives depend upon it (1 Peter 1:22) and where we can each “live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28)
We’re to weep as one and celebrate as one, caring for each other equally (1 Corinthians 12:25-26) as we comfort and confront, warm and warn, cherish and challenge within an atmosphere of supportive safety.
Loving the fear out of each other requires that we develop:
Tender hearts – We give support to each other because God gives us support, and we’re to encourage others with the encouragement we receive from him. (2 Corinthians 1:4) In the New Testament, the word ‘support’ can literally mean “to increase one another’s potential.” (Romans 14:19 NJB) We strengthen one another by extending love, instead of fostering fear, and we do that by offering relationships that are safe and sympathetic.
Humble minds –True humility focuses on the worth of others. We understand our value in Christ, and we understand that God shapes each of us for a unique purpose.
Godly eyes – Loving the fear out of our family and friends – in fact, loving the fear out of the world – means we see others for what they can be, not for what they appear to be now. Jesus called Peter a rock when the fisherman was still acting on impulse (Matt. 16:18), and God called Gideon a mighty man of courage when he was hiding from the enemy among piles of grain. (Judges 6:11-12) God calls us to encourage and affirm each other (1 Thessalonians 5:11), seeing those around us in terms of their purpose and mission in life.
So what?
· God enables us to love the fear out of one another. You can love the fear out of others, and you can allow the fear to be loved out of you.
· We exhibit tender hearts when we say to one another:
· It’s OK to have a bad day.· It’s OK to be tired.· It’s OK to admit your mistakes.· It’s OK to say your marriage is failing.· It’s OK to confess your addiction.· It’s OK to share you’re scared.· It’s OK to want a day away from your toddler.· It’s OK to grieve this loss.· It’s OK to doubt, to be confused, to cry.
· We exhibit humble minds when we say to one another:
· It’s OK to be happy you got a new car.· It’s OK to celebrate that you got a huge raise.· It’s OK to joyfully tell us you lost 17 pounds.· It’s OK to say you won the sales competition.· It’s OK to shout “Hallelujah!” because God’s presence in your life is so good.· It’s OK to tell us these things because we will be as happy for you as if these blessings had come to us, and we will join you in hearty celebration.
In HIS time
Tertullian (150–220 AD) wrote, “[Do not regret] a thing which has been taken away . . . by the Lord God, without whose will neither does a leaf glide down from a tree, nor a sparrow of one farthing’s worth fall to the earth.” (Our Daily Bread)
Is this a step of faith??
I said to the man Who stood at the gate of the year, “Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.”
And he replied, “Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God That shall be to you Better than the light And safer than a known way!”
So I went forth And finding the hand of God Trod gladly into the light.
- by M. Louise Haskins
And he replied, “Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God That shall be to you Better than the light And safer than a known way!”
So I went forth And finding the hand of God Trod gladly into the light.
- by M. Louise Haskins
In His time, in His time,He makes all thing beautiful in His time.Lord, my life to You I bring,May each song I have to sing,Be to You a lovely thing, in Your time.
In Your time, in Your time,You make all thing beautiful in Your time.Lord, my life to You I bring,May each song I have to sing,Be to You a lovely thing, in Your time.
In Your time, in Your time,You make all thing beautiful in Your time.Lord, my life to You I bring,May each song I have to sing,Be to You a lovely thing, in Your time.
In HIS time
Tertullian (150–220 AD) wrote, “[Do not regret] a thing which has been taken away . . . by the Lord God, without whose will neither does a leaf glide down from a tree, nor a sparrow of one farthing’s worth fall to the earth.” (Our Daily Bread)
Is this a step of faith??
I said to the man Who stood at the gate of the year, “Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.”
And he replied, “Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God That shall be to you Better than the light And safer than a known way!”
So I went forth And finding the hand of God Trod gladly into the light.
- by M. Louise Haskins
And he replied, “Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God That shall be to you Better than the light And safer than a known way!”
So I went forth And finding the hand of God Trod gladly into the light.
- by M. Louise Haskins
In His time, in His time,He makes all thing beautiful in His time.Lord, my life to You I bring,May each song I have to sing,Be to You a lovely thing, in Your time.
In Your time, in Your time,You make all thing beautiful in Your time.Lord, my life to You I bring,May each song I have to sing,Be to You a lovely thing, in Your time.
In Your time, in Your time,You make all thing beautiful in Your time.Lord, my life to You I bring,May each song I have to sing,Be to You a lovely thing, in Your time.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Nails, Swimming Pools and school Sports
I'm heeding R's advice to blog about my own complaints - especially if the newspaper won't publish it !
For those contemplating getting a mani/pedi done - please give Dashing Diva's a miss! it's definitely not worth the high price for that level of service - you're much better off going to any other nail spa !
i bought my mum a mother's day voucher to DD last year which she finally used, and i was totally disgusted with their service (for $100 plus - go somewhere else ). Firstly, their colour selection is limited, secondly their nail polish doesn't stay on. Even after 3 hours, my mum's nails chipped. I know a few salons out there use the 'mushroom' dryer thingy. but DD doesnt use that. furthermore, the service staff really need to learn what quality service is. they may hav served celebrities overseas, but obviously these service standards have not filtered down here. if a customer wants to purchase a bottle of nail polish , why not offer to let the customer test and try ? not stand there like a barbie...
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was at bishan swimming complex with my other half n his friend...where we encountered a really nasty ang moh! as you probably know, sunday evenings are not the best time to go to public pools cos of the swimming lessons and all. its was 6pm too, when most lessons just start or midway through. so anyway...we were swimming, n obviously its crowded in the lane- n some ppl swim with their eyes closed...so my dear has to avoid this swimmer, n swims to his right temporarily- which is in the way of this big burly ang moh... now this ang moh accuses him of not having common courtesy- or being blind or something . firstly, its a public pool. he paid $1.20 for entry, just like everyone else. so he should be considerate to other users too. secondly.he doesn't own the freaking lane ....get in line mister! mapparently he's always there, and this scenario repeats itself almost all the time. young children aren't spared the tyrant's ranting either.
wat pisses me off even more was that this nearnderthal went over to the lifeguards to complain apparently - making himself look victimised. but these lifeguards engaged him in conversation for about half an hour or more!
ssc ! what are u doing about the state of our public pools - read Today 23rd April - sardine swimmers. what happened to the different lanes for different swimmers. i think that was a better arrangement . lifeguards are there to ensure water safety- but clearly people such as this ang moh pose a physical risk to small children and other users... if he sat on me i think ill be flattened. so shouldnt they have the right to ask people who behave in such a manner to leave too?
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if you are a foll0wer of school sports or an athlete yourself, im sure you find the local media coverage of school sports be it at primary,secondary, jc or tertiary level- grossly inadequate. take the ST for example, sports are summarised each friday - and there is no relevant news the day after the event. after the national schools cross country, the article that was featured provided no info about the results - it was centred upon the raffles institution team. well, it makes for an inspirational read - but is that really useful to readers ?
look at the US, where college sports plays such a pivotal role in a student's life. but what do we have here? how to make singapore a sports hub if we can't make the culture as strong as that ? thankfully, we have some individuals who share the passion to do this..check out...http://www.redsports.sg
we need to do somethign about this ! even our national sports get little coverage as compared to EPL and all the international sports !
For those contemplating getting a mani/pedi done - please give Dashing Diva's a miss! it's definitely not worth the high price for that level of service - you're much better off going to any other nail spa !
i bought my mum a mother's day voucher to DD last year which she finally used, and i was totally disgusted with their service (for $100 plus - go somewhere else ). Firstly, their colour selection is limited, secondly their nail polish doesn't stay on. Even after 3 hours, my mum's nails chipped. I know a few salons out there use the 'mushroom' dryer thingy. but DD doesnt use that. furthermore, the service staff really need to learn what quality service is. they may hav served celebrities overseas, but obviously these service standards have not filtered down here. if a customer wants to purchase a bottle of nail polish , why not offer to let the customer test and try ? not stand there like a barbie...
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
was at bishan swimming complex with my other half n his friend...where we encountered a really nasty ang moh! as you probably know, sunday evenings are not the best time to go to public pools cos of the swimming lessons and all. its was 6pm too, when most lessons just start or midway through. so anyway...we were swimming, n obviously its crowded in the lane- n some ppl swim with their eyes closed...so my dear has to avoid this swimmer, n swims to his right temporarily- which is in the way of this big burly ang moh... now this ang moh accuses him of not having common courtesy- or being blind or something . firstly, its a public pool. he paid $1.20 for entry, just like everyone else. so he should be considerate to other users too. secondly.he doesn't own the freaking lane ....get in line mister! mapparently he's always there, and this scenario repeats itself almost all the time. young children aren't spared the tyrant's ranting either.
wat pisses me off even more was that this nearnderthal went over to the lifeguards to complain apparently - making himself look victimised. but these lifeguards engaged him in conversation for about half an hour or more!
ssc ! what are u doing about the state of our public pools - read Today 23rd April - sardine swimmers. what happened to the different lanes for different swimmers. i think that was a better arrangement . lifeguards are there to ensure water safety- but clearly people such as this ang moh pose a physical risk to small children and other users... if he sat on me i think ill be flattened. so shouldnt they have the right to ask people who behave in such a manner to leave too?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
if you are a foll0wer of school sports or an athlete yourself, im sure you find the local media coverage of school sports be it at primary,secondary, jc or tertiary level- grossly inadequate. take the ST for example, sports are summarised each friday - and there is no relevant news the day after the event. after the national schools cross country, the article that was featured provided no info about the results - it was centred upon the raffles institution team. well, it makes for an inspirational read - but is that really useful to readers ?
look at the US, where college sports plays such a pivotal role in a student's life. but what do we have here? how to make singapore a sports hub if we can't make the culture as strong as that ? thankfully, we have some individuals who share the passion to do this..check out...http://www.redsports.sg
we need to do somethign about this ! even our national sports get little coverage as compared to EPL and all the international sports !
Friday, April 27, 2007
little feet...
Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."Matthew 19:4
i saw a sweet little girl on the bus on my way to work this morning. really cute. was trying to button her sweater with her tiny little fingers. i realised that i don't crave motherhood like i used to anymore...i definitely don't want 4..but now 2 isnt' even appealing to me at all...none sounds more realistic...
triathletes peak at a much later age...but if u look at all those who are successful- michelie jones...she's married but no kids...if that's how far we both want to go, how can we bring another life into the equation? like R said, maybe its better to wait n really have the opportunity to live life as a couple first.travel, do an MBA..
“My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” (Psalm 139:15-16 NIV) [taken from God's great idea]
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