Living out Faith

Recently a friend told me that she had to call a mutual friend of ours because she was so sick that she could hardly get food for herself. It was this incident that got me thinking of my friends when I'm living overseas or when I'm living alone. The first time that I lived alone was when i was at uni in Gold Coast. Sure, there were times that I wonder would anyone know if I fell sick and died alone. Oh yes, love my morbid thoughts! But I had Eve. She would come around or call me every couple of days to make sure I'm fine. I remember once there was a blackout and of course I was a little concerned and scared. I called Eve and she came straightaway and picked me up to go to Broadbeach for coffee. Miss those times. Then I got married and moved out. And again, there were times that Babe had to go away for work or go for reservist training. But at that time, living alone wasn't that daunting as I was still in Spore and always have family and friends. Soon after that, I moved...

JC came to Hong Kong last Friday with her parents. Dad came from Zhuhai to join us on Saturday. It was a real nice weekend with family. It was especially nice spending time with JC. I'm really thankful that my sister realize how important JC is to me. She gladly let me carry, cuddle and spoil JC the whole time. It was also nice to see Dad light up with JC. Even Babe was enchanted by JC. Enjoy the pics! JC playing with my pegs hanger. A few days before she came to HK, I was on video chat with her and I showed it to her. She laughed and chuckled. When she came to our home, I showed it to her. She loved it! JC interacting with Happy. JC had a puzzled look trying to figure out what Happy is. Not quite sure if she's really a dog or a toy that she can bring home. Lunch at Caramba. JC was so well-behaved at the restaurant. She didn't cry or scream or spill anything. Hopefully this continues. Oh yes, I put her on the table. Doesn't she look cute and adorable? Dad was so happy w...

A couple of days ago, I was chatting with Babe about stuff and he said something to me which finally dawned upon me, almost like a 'ting' moment, he said that I've the tendency to allow or let others make use of me. In the past whenever he says that, I'll be annoyed with him. But that night, it finally sank in. A couple of things happen over last few weeks that made what he said was real. Like I wrote in my last post, things happened but people at work were very supportive and caring. Not trying to bring up the past but in my previous workplace, whenever I ran into issues, people were less caring and it was almost like 'better you than me' kinda attitude. And I realized that while I did try to make time for some people whenever I'm back in Spore, it was more like, 'let's see how well you're doing in life' or 'let's show off what we have' sort of attitudes. In other words, they are 'friendenmies', friends that are enemies! ...

A couple of days ago things happened at work. I'm not going to go into what happened at work. All I'm going to say is that I was at fault. But what I was surprised at is the care, concern and support that my colleagues have given me. To be really honest, I really didn't expect my colleagues to lend me a supporting shoulder and hand. Teachers that I don't really teach with actually came and comforted me. And even teachers that don't teach English gave me words of encouragement. I'm also in awe that even my deputy principals came to me with words of encouragement. It's nice to know that I'm working in such a loving, caring and supportive environment. I know that things happen for reasons that I may or may not know. But whatever it is, I'm glad to see and know that I do have wonderful colleagues. Very thankful!

A couple of days ago, I was feeling a little discouraged. It was a couple of things that got me a little discouraged. A little of this and a little of that, coupled with a little of others, got me down. But God send encouragements in ways that I didn't expect. First encouragement was from Mr Brown's blog. He wrote about being happy. It was his simple faith in being happy that cheered me up and got me to look at things in different perspective. The next encouragement was from a quote that was posted on the stairs of work. The quote was simply, Contentment makes a poor man rich, discontentment makes a rich man poor.' When I read that, I pondered a little and thought further. Well, I'm not asking for more money or for more material goods. I've got heaps, well, not heaps of money but enough but I've got heaps of material goods. Way more than I ever needed. But rather the discontentment comes from not knowing what the future beholds. I had not having control over my ...

Babe's been away since Tuesday. He's in Spore and he'll be back tomorrow or rather tonight. My days have been filled with socializing with the girls. But it was interesting when Mel said that it took her 3 years to find a nice group of friends and I thought about it, well, it's true. And I'm glad with the friends that I've now. Not asking for more. I'm really thankful for the friends and the life that I have now. God has truly blessed me. This morning I went to work and we had a professional development day. The pastor in charge of our school started the day by sharing this story with us. I truly felt inspired and blessed and at the same time, there were many thoughts running through my head. Hot Chocolate A group of graduates, well established in their careers, were talking at a reunion and decided to go visit their old university professor, now retired. During their visit, the conversation turned to complaints about stress in their work and lives. Offe...