(7) Make Me A Servant

This is one of my very favorite songs.

I have been thinking lately, about friendship. I feel I have not been appreciating my friends enough, nor putting enough effort into maintaining some, or making new ones...Been anti-social lately, very anti-social...hehehe....Oh dear.

I have been stressed, and lacked sleep. But it is no excuse to neglect my friends, however patient they are with me (and they have been, they are so much like family now, and I love my family to tiny little pieces) (Oh, daddy called today, and my brother's piano playing has improved haha (This is big news, he's one of the slowest learners ever lol)! My uncle's cancer has spread though...and mummy was disappointed when I told her I spent Valentines with a group of singletons (sounds like skeletons @.@) haha...MUMMY!!! *Rolls eyes* I am an architecture student!!! Plus, I'm NOT mature enough!!!!

Oh this reminds me! Bible reading at home was 1st Peter 2:1-3 (Get rid of malicious behavior and deceit. Don't just pretend to be good! Be done with hypocrisy and jealousy and backstabbing.2You must crave spiritual milk so that you can grow into the fullness of your salvation. Cry out for nourishment as a baby cries out for milk,3 now that you have had a taste of the Lord's kindness.)

OUCH....

Anyway, I like this song because it is about serving others, and being humble and meek. And being kind to those who are weaker or less well off. It describes a character that I hope to achieve one day hehe....

Make Me A Servant

C         Am7      Dm7        G7sus G7
Make me a servant, humble and meek
Dm7           G7      F/C    C  F/C C     E7
Lord, let me lift up, those who are weak.
Am          Am/G          Gm/F#       Fm6
And may the pray'r of my heart always be;
C/E       Dm7      C/E         F6/9
Make me a servant, make me a servant,
C/G       G7sus    F/C    C
Make me a servant, today.

Youtube!

Such a nice song to remind me to serve...

Mark 10:45
For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

2 Corinthians 4:5
For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.

I had a good sleep just now, and suddenly I am wide awake. Sigh, my hours are messed up. I wonder how to put it into some semblance of order when we have crazy crits and submissions every week T.T Have to figure it out quickly or I may lose a couple of years off my life, I think.

Oh, a rather interesting subject suddenly popped to my mind just now. It's CHIVALRY. Hehe, severely lacking in most Singaporean guys I have met. Seriously. I mean, I may have been a little spoiled by Pastor Noah's training of YA boys, but SG guys are hopeless. It was submission day today, and we were carrying a lot of things over to the exhibition hall. There were lots of things. I can't help being reminded that if I were back in CEFC YA guys would be the ones offering to help carry things (at least, Pastor would make them do it, hehe: Guys, please carry your bags into the bus, and take the girl's things in too...) And this time, after I carted my things over (in two trips) I went and helped a guy carry his stuff over...Sigh...And got barely a thank you...

The roles have switched.

Maybe I haven't met enough Singaporean guys and this is a hasty generalization..but I do miss chivalry sometimes...hehe...maybe I'm just the romantic type (trust someone who quotes Romeo and Juliet in her blog to be such)...Anyway, I better go to sleep as I have to run around the school tomorrow (Why I signed up for the thing I have not the slightest idea.)

(6) I've Found A Friend In Jesus (Lily of the Valley)

Nice song!!

I've Found a Friend In Jesus (Lily of the Valley)

The song on Youtube (Chinese)

I can't find it in English! But the tune is there :)

Family, The Act of Worship and Friends

Well, I've been home and had a wonderful time with my family! I do like being with family. Somehow there is a warmth here I can't define, an acceptance of myself as who I am. And there's love. Hits me the moment I step in the front gate. :)

Well, i guess there's a kind of literal hitting here haha! My pet dog Pooch runs up to me and tries to knock me over, my brother Isaac attacks me with a hug...Pooch is a jealous thing, won't let Rambo get near me! Rambo is Isaac's pet doggie. A small, dwarfish looking mix. Then there is a kind of commotion where my family's three dogs get into a semi-fight and my dad will then 'exert his authority' as 'head of the family (just the dogs, my mom is THE head of the family LOL)' and separate them. Then the dogs are tied up in their respective 'corners' (really! :D) to think about what they've done and then I hop into the house.

My mom will be sitting at the dining table teaching my brother Gid his Maths or Chinese, depending (These are the only two she cares about, thinks that if you master a language and maths, you can do anything) on whatever he's weak at at the time. And then she will look at me and say 'You're soooo skinny!!!" (Sigh)

And my sis Jasmine will look up and say dryly: "She's always like that." And go back to her book. (Most of my family are bookworms, except Gid and Isaac (Who can't read properly yet, so doesn't count)) And then I run up to my room. On the way, I pass my sister Esther, studying, as usual hehe (A-levels coming up!) and I say: "Hoi, what happened to your hair?" by way of greeting, and she glares at me, says: "Oh, you're back..." and then "Nothing's happened to my hair." And then she ignores me.

Oh well.

And then later I attack the piano! My brother Gid is taking lessons, so I oversee his practicing (His timing is off, our whole family have no musical talent lol...) And then as soon as he's done, I attack it! I miss banging on the piano even though I play very badly and there are only about 3 songs I know by heart hehe. There is such a beauty in music.

After that I adjourn to the dining table again where my mom and dad are arguing about something (They are always arguing about things LOL, it's really funny to hear them...can get a bit childish sometimes...) and then they suddenly agree to disagree and decide to update me on everything!

About my eldest uncle in particular! He got diagnosed with lung cancer recently, and him having been a kind of 'father' to my dad (who was the youngest in a family of 7 kids O.o) made him extra important. My family decided not to go visiting this CNY even though we initially planned to. Apparently my parents made a trip recently already and it was not necessary to drag the whole family up to Ipoh again this time. (My family is difficult to drag around haha, we tend to split up sometimes and come back together later)

And apparently during that trip certain things happened that they felt could only be by God's grace. I won't elaborate here, but a series of very coincidental things happened! Could only be God's hand at work.

And dinner! Dinner is always a special time of the day for my family. My daddy HAS to come back for dinner, and if he's late we wait for him, unless it's really late :) We had all the special CNY stuff (Lots of fish, prawn, duck etc). I can't believe how much I've missed home-cooked-food! And I can't believe how bland hall food is haha!

And after dinner there is the usual Bible Reading Time (which I think we all love but everyone pretends to hate) (We read 2nd Corinthians 9 (The one about giving generously) on CNY day) and I had a shot at a couple of questions that had been bugging me! I find now I am more on my own on spiritual matters, and I think it's time I moved from asking my parents to asking God Himself to teach me. Yeah, suddenly my parents answers don't fully satisfy me anymore, there is a lot more to know, and only I can find out. :P

I asked about worshiping in spirit and in truth, and what it meant. My father explained that the spirit (in popular opinion) was the part of a human being that could communicate with God. The soul, on the other hand (in popular opinion) was the seat of the mind, will and emotions. So when it says worshiping God in spirit and in truth, it would mean that we worshiped God with our spirit (which is something we have to do, if we are really worshiping God) and in truth (which means we do it in sincerity and with our hearts and minds right with God) Kind of like having confessed all our evil thoughts and deeds to God first, so that we can come to God in a proper manner, in a way that will be pleasing and not repulsive to God!

All good in theory! :) I have much to learn. Thank God for my parents who are so strong in faith though, and have done so much study that they can help me! I find now I lap up everything my parents say like a sponge, wringing out their wisdom and knowledge for my own use :P Parents are very wise people, and I'm so glad to have realized it early. Sometimes they can be annoying, but they only want the best for me.

You never know what you've got till it's gone! For me, I found I missed being able to come to my parents with questions whenever I had them! Anyway, I think it is time I moved on to my Father in Heaven for real help :D I have to grow up!!!

Oh, and something very nice happened! My old buddy Meei Yunn messaged me! She's been in the UK for 3 weeks already, and then just yesterday she thought of me. And she messaged me on my Malaysian number! It's so nice to hear from her again (Meei Yunn! You kept my favorite Phases magazine, you know!) (Of course I kept your novel 真男人不哭泣 as well...haha!) We sat together in Form 4 and Form 5...laughed like mad together, cried together, suffered together...hehe...She was the Head Librarian, and the signature on the Head Librarian's note in the yearbook was really mine lols...I don't know if anyone found out hehe...Wow, I still remember a lot of those times! Oh, and she could sing! I remember her bursting into song many a time (Reflection, remember? And Go The Distance) Drat, should have got that friendship toe ring when we could hehe...Did too few crazy things..should have done more. :)

Wow, written a lot leh hehheheheeh....My longest post yet! Haha, I don't think I'll ever beat this post lol...

And...I still have pics!! Lol (Aren't my parents great cooks?)*

Prawns on 'sheng' (Hehe, and they call it leek in English, get it??? =P)**


Expensive shellfish :)


Pomfret cooked 'daddy' style!


Duck cooked 'mummy' style!


My plate before I gorged! :)

*Mummy got creative with broccoli :)
**'sheng' means 'lots of money flowing in' in teochew

Come Unto Me

I have been going through a tough time recently hehe...haven't been feeling well. It's mainly my fault really, cause I've been totally neglecting my health. Messed up sleeping hours and inconsistent eating habits...recipe for disaster? Haha, and certain problems (emotional stuff, don't ask me) cropped up that kind of overwhelmed me recently. Anyway, I am so glad for wonderful friends like Gail, Alicia, JanJon and Jiun Ming who were so kind to me yesterday when I was feeling all wrong in the stomach...And many many other people who have been patient with me although I must have been acting like a selfish spoilt kid totally engrossed with herself! :)

I was at studio today, going through pictures of the site (St George's church in Dempsy area) that I took a week ago...and suddenly one pic stood out, and it wasn't one of of my possible sites! It was a plaque on the side of the church (It looked interesting at the time xp) and on it was written:

Come unto me all that travail and are heavy laden and I will refresh you.

A verse from the bible (Matthew 11:28)

Isn't it coincidental? Well, I feel that recently God is trying to make me turn my dependence on Him completely and not on myself. Unless the Lord builds a house, it's builders labor in vain. I am still not feeling very happy! But there is a bit more peace in me now. And I got some much needed sleep. Did badly for crit today, but am grateful for rest.

It's not an easy thing to do. I really feel quite awful now. Sad. There is a lot to do, and no time to do it! And so difficult to let go...

(5) Everything Is Beautiful

This song sounds like a song my daddy used to play in the car last time...rather more his generation than mine hehe, but still, it's such a nice song i have to put it here. Ok, thanks Faffyhead for the song. Appreciate it despite simply scolding me for nothing >.<

It's nice cause I am feeling really stressed now. I'm sorry everyone. I am really stressed. So much to do T.T And all the lack of sleep is killing me. Gah, so much about not worrying, i am stressed anyway, and I don't think it's stopping. I wish I were back in dear old comfortable Malaysia. Sometimes. Hehe. Thanks Gail for sending me the lovely song "Still"...It really is calming. I feel kind of ashamed because my troubles are so small and I can't cope properly. Sigh. Small person, big problems. Hehe.

Well, here it is:

Youtube!! :)

Everything is Beautiful

Jesus loves the little children,
All the children of the world;
Red and yellow, black and white,
They are precious in His sight;
Jesus loves the little children of the world.
Refrain
Everything is beautiful in its' own way,
Like a starry summer night
or a snow covered winter's day.
Everybody's beautiful in their own way,
Under God's heaven, the world's gonna find a way.

There is none so blind as he who will not see.
We must not close our minds,
we must let our thoughts be free.
For every hour that passes by,
you know the world gets a little bit older.
It's time to realize that beauty lies
in the eyes of the beholder.

Refrain
Everything is beautiful in its' own way,
Like a starry summer night
or a snow covered winter's day.
Everybody's beautiful in their own way,
Under God's heaven, the world's gonna find a way.

We shouldn't care about the length of his hair
or the color of his skin.
Don't worry about what shows from without
but the loves that lives within.
We're gonna get it all together
And everything's gonna work out just fine.
Just take a little time to look on the good side
and straighten it out in your mind.

Refrain
Everything is beautiful in its' own way,
Like a starry summer night
or a snow covered winter's day.
Everybody's beautiful in their own way,
Under God's heaven, the world's gonna find a way.

Everything is beautiful in its' own way,
Like a starry summer night
or a snow covered winter's day.
Everybody's beautiful in their own way,
Under God's heaven, the world's gonna find a way.
Under God's heaven, the world's gonna find a way

Papa Phea is Leaving!!!

Juliet:

'Tis almost morning, I would have thee gone—
And yet no farther than a wan-ton's bird,
That lets it hop a little from his hand,
Like a poor prisoner in his twisted gyves,
And with a silken thread plucks it back again,
So loving-jealous of his liberty.

Romeo:
I would I were thy bird.

Juliet:
Sweet, so would I,
Yet I should kill thee with much cherishing.
Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow,
That I shall say good night till it be morrow.

This is a bit of dialog from the balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet. It sounds nice and poetic and vaguely appropriate...I guess very vaguely appropriate O.o...But still, parting is always a sweet sorrow when a person you like very much leaves...sweet because everything you do with the person is sweet, but sorrowful because we just don't want him to leave. Oxymoronic, in a way.

Oh btw, however obituary-like this may sound, it's not. Haha, Papa Phea is leaving RH, but he's most certainly not going to vanish from our lives! Maybe we'll see him a bit less in hall...but certainly not anywhere else..

Gah, will miss having teas, lunches and dinners with our papa. And our block six gatherings just won't be the same without him T.T

Well, thought of compiling all the pics I have of Papa Phea here...to remember the nice times we had in RH! There will be more in the future, maybe not at RH but this is for now.

He is really in a lot of pics hehe...Shows how big he has been in our lives!


Papa Phea on Zhi Jun's Birthday, the guy in the IBG shirt


Papa Phea on Shu Lin's birthday (The guy in the white shirt)


Papa Phea on my birthday haha!


Papa Phea on Swee Yee's and Ee Hiang's birthday (guy in the maroon shirt)


Papa Phea bullying Alex on Alex's birthday


And more recently...Papa Phea eating something on the Threesome's birthday!


Papa Phea is a great pasta cook! He worked in an Italian restaurant before! For one entire day! O.o


Our chef in action!


And this pic of him picking limes at block 2! We couldn't have done it without Papa...

Speaking of the last pic, this was done around 2am at block 2...We had just had a ciku supper at block 6, and then Ah Boo and I came back and looked longingly at the sweet ripe limes on the lime tree outside my room and dreamed of lemonade hehe...inspired by Shakespeare. We tried all sorts of means...and they all ended up failing (Don't ask me what we did, they aren't brilliant lol) And then we called papa at 2.30am and will you believe it? He came! That's what papa is like...And then we tried some more strange methods...finally Papa applied his genius and we got ripe luscious limes for breakfast the next day :P

We will miss Papa. Sigh. But he's got a great deal out there (free room leh)...and sometimes if we love someone we have to let them go!

Had a great long quality time with Papa tonight (Or morning O.o) and found out all sorts of things! Oh well. Have to go to sleep now. Got to wake up at 8am to complete an aux sigh.

Will miss Papa!!!

Hmm, for more information, visit the following blogs:
Gail
Zhi Jun
Block 6 Blog!
:)