"Worship is the submission of all our nature to God. It is the quickening of conscience by his holiness; the nourishment of mind with his truth; the purifying of imagination by his beauty; the opening of the heart to his love; the surrender of will to his purpose - and all of this gathered up in adoration."
William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury (1942-44)

reality is larger than we are, and when we insist that reality conform to our perceptions, we have the same mindset as the 2-year-old who sees her parents as hateful because they wont give her a piece of candy. - Dr henry cloud, dr john townsend, it's not my fault

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i m thankful to have a group of galfriends. my thots as i read the 18 or thereabout emails sent in the morning: me friends r cool! haha! i cant wait for our christmas gift exhcange with leen back from chennai. n soon, it'll b CNY wif ning back too. my best friends fr primary, sec n jc n working days all in a group. way cool. my life is good. 

ok ok. i admit. i have become rather lazy about blogging these days. there s so much going on in my life right now n i should tell you about it... but i m juz too preoccupied with 2 thing: getting myself sort out and getting my work done. haha. 

let me type out some stuff to placate you guys:

i m sick. from the staff summit in M'sia. the same bug that plagues me is the same one that has gotten alot of my colleagues down. such a sharing community eh? presenting complaints: sore throat, stuffy noses, fever. 

im reduced to much coughing and unclogging the green phlegm from my system. not much voice to sing/shout with. i ve just handed in my medical costs for insurance claim. i love travel insurance!

actually hitched a ride from a lorry driver (who is God-sent) to the bus stop after a long n tiring run. he kindly offered since he saw us (note: i wasnt alone. i wouldnt dare get onto the lorry if i was alone!) walking n there's no bus/taxi at the stretch of road and he u-turned back to wherever he was going to after dropping us. dat, my friend, was a very cool, way better answer to my prayers for a taxi. 

my bro had his birthday. i m proud of my bro (and sis!) for the persons they have grown up to become - God-seeking, God-pursuing people! 

my good old friend had her birthday on the day her sister threw her wedding banquet (or rather it's the other way round) and i sat at the table with her relatives and maids. i realised we had been good friends for so long that her parents and siblings (and even maids!) dare to ask me what only relatives are entitled to. and i ve begun to know her distant relatives too! sigh. 

i cant wait for stand chart this year! so looking forward to it. so glad next day is a pub hol for me 2 rest sore muscles!

now, the heart stuff:

i've come to reckon with myself in a deeper level. I thank God for tutoring me and leading me to know Him and myself alot better these past weeks. 

i've learnt more about the Father heart of God, been assured of my standing, been overwhelmed by His love.

I've learnt that i m a "blanket optimist", not unlike the ostrich who puts its head into the sand and says to itself, "all will be well." and that has caused me so much dissonance. i cannot truly rest in the sovereignty of God without examining my thoughts, emotions and aligning them to the truth. 

i've learnt that i still go about life wondering "when the other shoe will drop" or when the good things will come to an end. 

and i've been called to rest assured in a loving, unwavering relationship

thank You God!

you know you have "arrived" when you celebrate your birthday in a chinese restaurant, the kind that people go to celebrate birthdays of OLD people. haha...! 

it was my idea. it is a great restaurant. have to "call to reserve place or else no seat" place. what stood out was the outstanding service. i love great, prompt, courteous service. then again, who doesnt? so here's a salute to all service staff who takes pride in serving well! 

my family doesnt do silly things like getting cake and getting the restaurant to play "happy birthday" song over the sound system.

but... it didnt stop them from "pirating" some1 else's when it was played. n i had to shish them to stop being such "cheapskates"... it's some1 else's birthday song for goodness sake!

but then, we broke out in fits of laughter when an employee walked in from outside saying that they didnt manage to play it on the speakers outside (the huge group of people celebrating that person's birthday was outside) so the birthday person didnt get to hear any of it when his/her cake was brought out to him/her. indeed, the song got played out for me instead. haha. 

yes i had a great birthday so far since the celebrations started. 

here's a summary of what happened so far-

key highlight: i OD-ed on tiramisu. the coffee liquor and cream in those things are near lethal!

finding a nice dress that is not too revealing is so very tough! it takes hard work and commitment to not compromise! 

went to restaurants with great waiters and waitresses. 

eat and eat.

slept alot

spent half day with God

got overwhelmed by His love and blessings. 

touched by the MANY MANY got b'day greetings from many many people.

am pretty booked up till b4 i leave for staff summit. it's an impossible task to rest or lose weight during this period!

b'day celebrations will continue till i m ready to give way to Christmas preparations. HAHA. 

see what i mean when i blogged about self-absorption during birthdays? sigh...

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"RESOLVED, NEVER TO DO ANYTHING WHICH I WOULD BE AFRAID TO DO IF IT WERE THE LAST HOUR OF MY LIFE" - Jonathan Edwards

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sometimes we get so caught up with the task of evangelisation that we failed to love the person into the kingdom. while setting faith goals, timelines, getting commitment, strategies, dividing up the job...be careful not to dehumanise. 

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what is an axolotl (pronounced ACK-suh-LAH-tuhl) ? 

"water monster" and the "Mexican walking fish," 

has amazing traits, including retaining its larval features throughout its adult life, a phenomenon called neoteny. It lives all its life in the water but can breathe both under water with gills or by taking gulps of air from the surface, and the ability to completely re-grow lost limbs. Axolotls have played key roles in research on regeneration, embryology, fertilization and evolution. 

is near extinction. 

evan is overwhelmed by love - God's and her family and friends. 

it's amazing. thank you all of you!! thank you for loving me.