Who am I, that You are mindful of me?

I cast all my cares upon You
i lay all of my burdens, down at Your feet
And anytime i don't know what to do
i will cast all my cares upon You

If there is one question, or one challenge posed to us every season, for this one, mine would be

"Do you trust Me?"

Today at CG, someone commented "Many see Christianity, or religion for that matter as a crutch for the weak."
To which Joanne replied "Then ask them la, you so strong ah? Can stand on your own ah?"
(yes, Joanne was kinda in a feisty mood today)

Well, Lord, I for one cannot. I need You.

Was very inspired by what Ju Lee shared today. (she led the CG). Referring to John 21 : 15-19, she had us remember what Jesus asked Peter :

Do You Love Me?

15After breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?"

"Yes, Master, you know I love you."

Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."

16He then asked a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?"

"Yes, Master, you know I love you."

Jesus said, "Shepherd my sheep."

17-19Then he said it a third time: "Simon, son of John, do you love me?"

Peter was upset that he asked for the third time, "Do you love me?" so he answered, "Master, you know everything there is to know. You've got to know that I love you."

Jesus said, "Feed my sheep. I'm telling you the very truth now: When you were young you dressed yourself and went wherever you wished, but when you get old you'll have to stretch out your hands while someone else dresses you and takes you where you don't want to go." He said this to hint at the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. And then he commanded, "Follow me."

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"Do you love Me more than these?" He asks us, everyday. "Then feed My lambs. Tend to and feed My sheep"

"Do you love Me? Then give up everything and follow Me"

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Who am i that You are mindful of me? That You hear me when i call?
Is it true that You are thinking of me?
How You love me, it's amazing!

You took my place

Someone told this story yesterday at easter@perkeb and i want to share it (as best as i can recall) with you all :

A man was on his way to attend the church he usually attends. He reaches the church and turns to park at his usual lot, the one he parks at ever Sunday. But to his surprise, he saw another car in 'his' lot, and in it, someone he didn't recognize, a visitor.
Pissed off, he got down and went and tapped at the other car window saying "Excuse me, you took my place!"

To his further agitation, the visitor refused to budge, so not wanting to be late for church, the man parked at another lot instead. Still fuming, he walks into church and towards his usual seat, the one he takes every Sunday. But this time, who does he see in his seat, but the same guy who took his parking lot!
Tapping the guy on the shoulder, and this time not bothering to disguise his annoyance, the man says "Excuse me, you're in my place!!" The other guy again refused to move, so the man found another seat, fuming over what just happened.

At the end of his sermon, the preacher called for an altar call. From where he sat, the man could see the man who took his place walking up to the front. Something about the man was changing as he walked. His clothes which was white before now had blood-like stains on them, and they were torn. Scars started to become visible, particularly on his wrists and legs.

The man called out "Hey you! what happened to you?" The other man turns around and says to him, "I took your place".

Okay, its quite a scary story i think. But, well...the point is, Jesus took our place. He took death upon himself to give us life.

So let us live.

"And anytime i don't know what to do, I cast all my cares upon You".

What a friend we have in Jesus
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!

O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear...
all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer!

Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged;
take it to the Lord in prayer.

Can we find a friend so faithful, who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge, take it to the Lord in prayer.

Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
take it to the Lord in prayer;
in his arms He'll take and shield thee,
thou wilt find a solace there!

Thou wilt find thy solace there!

We fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim, You are amazing, God

This shows me how small i am, and puts everything into perspective.

Check this out :

This is home, the third rock from the Sun.













Out of an infinite number of galaxies, this is ours; the Milky Way. The small yellow words you see at the bottom says 'Sun', that is, our Sun.














This is what Voyager 1 photographed from a record distance, showing it against the vastness of space. That tiny pale blue dot (click on picture to enlarge if you can't see) is planet earth.













And these pictures only show what we know against the vastness of what we don't know.

The Bible says God holds the whole universe in the span of His hand.
And this is God who created all things into being, every star, every particle in the course of the universe. This is God Who defies time, space, thought. And I am but a 'blimp in the course of history', a vapor living for a blink of time on the tiny pale blue dot.
And I am called by name by the Creator, this creator:











Jesus Christ, LORD of all,Creator and Master of all things, seen and unseen. He came as Man, died a criminal's death on the cross, so that WE might live.
HOW can this be, that a God this huge would be mindful of me? That He would love me and you?
And how can we, knowing this, still live for ourselves, not acknowledging Him?




From the highest of heights to the depths of the sea
Creation's revealing Your majesty
From the colors of fall to the fragrance of spring
Every creature unique in the song that it sings
All exclaiming

Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God
All powerful, untamable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God

Who has told every lightning bolt where it should go
Or seen heavenly storehouses laden with snow
Who imagined the sun and gives source to its light
Yet conceals it to bring us the coolness of night
None can fathom

Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name
You are amazing God
All powerful, untamable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God
You are amazing God

Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God
All powerful, untamable,
Awestruck we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim
You are amazing God
Indescribable, uncontainable,
You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name.
You are amazing God
INCOMPARABLE, unchangeable
You see the depths of my heart and You love me the same
You are amazing God
You are amazing God

Of 21st's, family, flowers and memory.

Ahh...home. Its good to be back home. Home is where my heart is. PJ is where my heart is.

I heart P.J. :)

Last Sunday was another reason for the Family to wineand dine (as always..hehe).

Lunch at Oriental Palace to celebrate mua's 21st ;) . Thanks, Pa.












(sorry, Jo Lyn, couldn't find a better picture)

We had one table, and the rest of the restaurant was occupied by some baby's full moon (i don't mean to sound spiteful, its just that i don't remember the baby's name).
Twas a good lunch, good food, family (there's nothing like family), good wine, presents ;) . But the kill came in the form of this:













Mummy bought this, and left this with Ah Ma, who eventually passed it to Papa, to give to me on my 21st. It was surreal.

Anyway, more pictures...

We went bowling after lunch.









Family conferencing to discuss bowling strategies.


















And from my Cousin-with-the-same-hands-as-i, i received:










:)


i love my Family.










Thank you for a wonderful time.

Today and last night.

Just (okay, not just - more like 3 hours ago) got back from Summer Palace. Pooi See and Chew got hitched today...it was all so...awwww.

i didnt snap many nice photos, cos i don't a nice camera to snap with. *ehhem*, so i did what i could with my 2.0 MP on my SonyEricsson k750. And this is what i got :












thats the..erm...ceiling in Summer Palace restaurant. I like it.

Haha...i told you, i need a proper camera!
Tried to take some photos last night at Malam Perdana (thats the rip-off of a course dinner i attended at Pan Pac yesterday. PLUS parking cost me a bleedin' 17 moolahs ok!! what the heck. i'm boy-cotting Pan Pac d, i'm not getting married there! Thieves!)

p/s : it was fun cos we got to go kai kai in KLIA for awhile while waiting for dinner to start tho.

- the artis jemputan was Dina from Malaysian idol (remember her? She came in 2nd after Jac). She's not bad, she did an Alicia Keys number, No one, and did quite well i thought.
someone commented to me "eh she's not bad wad. How come she didn't win ah?"
Cos Jac's better la.

nyeh nyeh nyeh...sorry, i hope no Dina fans read my blog.

anyway, here she is, amongst the crowd :











can see? so ugly la that picture. thats with flash on u know...haha...kesian me lar...i need a proper camera! *ehhem*

anyhoos,

today's wedding was the first ever to be held on the premises of PPBC. So it pretty much makes history. It was a beautiful wedding :) Beautiful.

Was so nice to see Chen May, Jin and Uks-Chipsmore again :) :) (Thats double smiley)









*picture courtesy of Lisa Tan's photography and Tien Ming's yummy DSLR .

"Catch for us the foxes,
the little foxes that ruin the vineyards,
our vineyards that are in bloom."
-Song of Songs 2:15

We should have caught the little foxes.

:)

Who shall say that "I am mine?"
Who shall not be humbled;
In captivated awe,
In His captivating light?

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Take now all that is broken;
fill these empty vessels with Your love.

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For with You is the fountain of life;
in Your light we see light.
(Psalm 36:9)

When Malaysia Decides

Its 3.42 a.m. The reason i can't sleep is because of the coffee i took (again) at 9 pm. So i'm watching as the press unveils the collective result of Malaysia's decision.

Apparently, we are advised to stay home tomorrow, just to be safe. So Malaysia has decided she wants change.

But you know, ultimately
"the earth is the Lord's, and everything in it"

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Bye Bye, Samy

Samy says ‘goodbye’ - 3.37am

After defending the seat for nine terms since 1974, MIC’s 71-year-old president S Samy Vellu made a quick exit upon learning his defeat. According to nstonline, on his way out, Samy Vellu could only muster a "goodbye" to reporters and supporters present at the convention hall.

The MIC stalwart lost to Dr D Jeyakumar who has been contesting against him since 1999. In the previous polls four years ago, Samy Vellu defeated the latter with a majority of 10,349 votes. This time around, Jeyakumar, who stood on PKR ticket, garnered 16,874 votes to Samy Vellu's 14,408. - Malaysiakini

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Your Name is above all Names
Your Name is above all Names
Teach our hearts to sing Your praise
Father God the Ancient of Days
Your only Son You've sent to die
Your Name we glorify
and our hearts forever sing
Your Name is above all Names!

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*Note to self - do NOT drink anything caffeinated at night.

That was what i told myself Thursday night (or rather Friday morning). After drinking teh-ais kurang manis at Shakers, I went back to my room, brush my teeth, got into my kun-sa and turned on my laptop. That was at 12 a.m. My roommate asked "You slept 2 hours in the afternoon, thats why you're not sleepy now ah?" - maybe

Got some work done, 1.30 a.m. i turned off the light and got into bed (in Spanish, that would be acostarse. Got into bed, i mean. Cehh). Closed my eyes, and rolled around in my bed from left to right until i got quite warm and threw off the blanket.

3.00 a.m. Got fed up with rolling around. My roommate was snoring like Sleepy the Dwarf by now. Turned on the light and tried to read Mere Christianity. Got bored, turned off the light again and tried to sleep, again. Rolled around some more.

4.30 a.m. Felt tired from all that rolling. (i rolled to occupy my time, its boring, trying to sleep) Got up and watched Transformers on my laptop.

5.30 a.m. Got bored of Transformers (it was my 5th time watching). Decided to go home. Brushed my teeth, changed my clothes and drove home to PJ in the dark. Reached home at 6.30 a.m. Went to sleep.

*There is no place like home.
*Its 4.02 a.m. on elections day. I drank coffee after dinner. Sigh. I never learn.

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Ooh boy, what now?

Khalid to meet Selangor sultan soon - 4.05am

PKR secretary-general Khalid Ibrahim said they will meet with the Selangor sultan "soon" regarding the formation of the new state government.

However, he told Malaysiakini that he did not wish to jump the gun when asked whether he would be the new mentri besar. The deputy mentri besar is likely to be DAP’s Teng Chang Khim, who is former state opposition leader. - Malaysiakini

One Day at a Time

Was queuing up at the soup table at the Bakery, waiting to get soup when J "chak!"-ed at me from behind. Then he said "you know, Yvonne, to find you, i only have to come to the Bakery".
Hahaha...what a thing to say.

(yes, i am at the Bakery as i type this)

Maybe its the PJ in me that always draws me here (they have bread, pizza, pies, lasagna and coffee here, all that ang-mo food). Not to mention, they have good music.

Was bored yesterday...had a lot to do, but still i was bored. Felt fidgety and restless.
-antsy- is the word. There ARE alot of ants in my room.

Speaking of ants, i asked my roommate that day if there are alot of ants crawling around on her desk. She said "Got...more that yours i think. Cos you always kill them, but i think, aiya, just let them walk wherever they want la"

Watched The Notebook on Monday. It made me cry. Its so romantic! Sigh. Almost as romantic as Pride and Prejudice, only the characters talk slower and with less words.
~The Notebook is a prequel from The Wedding, by Nicholas Sparks which my cousin Wai Choong brought all the way to Melaka during CNY to lend to me.
But let me tell you, The Notebook is not a good movie to watch if the romance in your own life doesn't surpass that of the movies.

i really should stay off those romantic films.

And take one day at a time.

My time in the Bakery is up, will most probably be back here tmr..hehheh.
I'll sign off with this pome by G.W. Frazer;

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Have I an object, Lord, below
which would divide my heart with Thee?
Which would divide its even flow
in answer to Thy constancy?
O teach me quickly to return,
and cause my heart afresh to burn.

Have I a hope, however dear,
which would defer Thy coming, Lord?
Which would detain my spirit here -
where naught can lasting joy afford.
From it, my Savior, set me free
to look, and long and wait for Thee.

The Thou the object bright and fair,
to fill and satisfy the heart.
My hope to meet Thee in the air,
and nevermore from Thee to part;
that I may undistracted be
to follow, serve and wait for Thee.

:)

Love Is

Love is patient
Love is kind
It does not envy
It does not boast
It is not proud
It is not rude
It is not self seeking
It is not easily angered
It keeps no record of wrongs
Love does not rejoice in anger,
but rejoices with the truth
It always protects,
always trusts,
always hopes,
always perseveres.
Love never fails.

-1 Corinthians 13:4-8


"Love is not love that alters, when it alteration finds"
- William Shakespeare