Giving thanks for 2007

January 2007:
I am thankful we have moved back to North Carolina after a fruitful stay in London for 5 months.

February 2007:
I spent Valentine with Hubs finally after a two years break.
I met the nicest mummy I can ever hang out with! Susan and her two kids! I am so thankful that we have built a strong friendship despite such a short encounter. I am even more thankful that we are still in touch and talked often online!
I got myself rooted in the coolest Woman’s bible study group. Rene, my cell group leader has inspired me in so many ways, including housekeeping, baking and cooking!!

March 2007:
I went back to Singapore for a few weeks to spend time with my family and Jessica.
I celebrate hub’s birthday with him

April 2007:
Susie the coolest babe composed the ever best one time hit “A-Z love song” together with me! Thankful for friends who have been so helpful in my wedding preparation.
Thankful for the time I spent taking care of my niece, Shannice

May 2007:
Another chapter of Hub’s life. He graduated from Duke with a MBA and we had great fun with the in- laws when they were visiting us for three weeks and we traveled around in the Southern states
I spent Mother’s day with two great mummies!
I did my first strawberry picking!
I started driving for the longest distance in the states!

June 2007:
We had our traditional wedding in Shang finally! I did my first public performance and speech after 10 years!!
We had a family honeymoon in Phuket!
Spent time with Jess who left us for a greater other world.

July 2007:
Ron started his job in the Wallstreet.
I enjoyed my last few weeks of my “taitai” life.
We had great apartment with nice Manhatten view.

August 2007:
MUAK opened!!
Susie was here in NYC with me and Ronald. She was such a great comfort!
I met Cindy and she was another great lady whom I can relate to !

September 2007:
Began my dream in Columbia! Pursue my passion. Work in RGC. Met wonderful Singaporean friends and International friends.

October 2007:
Settled down in a American Korean Church and met more wonderful brothers and sisters in Christ.
Met Susan who drove up from North Carolina

November 2007:
Thankful for the surprise scholarship!
Thankful that god is with us in the midst of all trials and continued providence to encourage us.
A great Boston trip.

December 2007:
Private carolling and christmas quiz with hubs!
Wonderful Singaporean and cell group frens who helped us in moving.
Wonderful Chinese friends who helped.
Ivan Hohoho who is going to host us for three weeks.

November

November is still a trying time. Not much news from recruiter even though the man is still under the payroll of the bank. It’s a bad timing in the financial market during this period of time and the hiring is kinda of slow at the end of the year. The Lows were terribly stressed. One with school work and balancing all the responsibilities of a wife. The other with work and career. To make things worse, there was a small minor accident with the car and the Lows had to handle all the traffic tickets and insurance coverage. When things seemed to be going in haywire, you knew god always give you a ray of hope to hang on. First he was gracious through the supportive cell group who had been so encouraging and fervent in their prayers for the Lows. Second, the man and woman’s friends and alumni had been expressing concern and support and had been really sincere to help to reach out to whatever contacts they had. Thirdly, the Low’s family had been just so supportive spiritually. Well, those loving, caring relationships were what kept the Lows sane for this month. You still see them with smiles because they had reached a point when they knew that everything was temporal and transient but what most important was friends and family who stood by you when you were in trouble. Life was certainly as such , isn’t it. The Lows knew that things were pretty out of their own control and they had learned what “total submission” meant at this point of their life. Only the almighty God could make what seemed impossible to be possible now. As such, despite nothing concrete has happened, the Lows decided to continue to trust that the Lord would provide. They continue to do their best and still make an effort to have some small gatherings over at their place for some dinner at times. Life still has to go on for the Lows. They went to Boston for a Thanksgiving and had a good break in that little quaint city for a few days. The woman also went to a church retreat at the ski resort over the last weekend. The Lows kept on praying but of course like all other human beings, sometimes, their flesh gave in to worry and doubt. This was indeed a tough battle to fight.

October

October is a month when the Lows finally decided to settle down in Joy Christian Fellowship. The church has just opened up its second service in the Cineplex which is just 10min near their place. They find the church very homely and people are welcoming and nice. It is an American Korean Church so the Lows definitely has a fair share of conversation exchanges about Korean drama with their cell members. The pastor’s sermon was structured and easy to comprehend. The Lows decided to join the cellgroup which would be doing a book called “Gospel Transformation”. An excellent book which has been keeping them accountable to doing daily devotionals and keeping track of their spiritual life. Life in NYC was just too hectic sometimes. There were too many things which might distract and keep your focus on the lord. So , it was therefore good that the Lows were going through a book which had tremendous good exercises to work on that helped them to learn about the bible each week. Every Sunday, the Lows will spend almost the whole day involving in the fellowship and service. The Lows think that god has a purpose for everything. Just when they were all settled in the group and their apartment, they were faced with one of the biggest trial which both of them had ever experienced after their marriage. The man’s job was threatened by the Credit Crunch in the US market. This was the last thing they would ever think it could occur them. They were at a lost. The Lows was down for the last week of October. Everything seemed to be thrown in the vast ocean again. The atmosphere at home was no longer cheery. The Lows were thinking about their future, their next step. How could this happen to the Lows since they had been praying about their direction in life. After much praying, the Lows reckoned that this is going to be one trial the lord is putting them to a test. A test to strengthen the marriage even further to survive the ordeal as one, a test for greater faith and obedience in his sovereignty.
Photos of fellowship

September

School started for the woman in Columbia. She met a few good Singaporean friends and definitely some international frens whom she had gotten along very well. Being out of school for a long time, the woman found it pretty hard for her to get herself organized in such a short period of time. But surprisingly, she did better than she had expected having to juggle working in a school and taking courses. Despite having overloaded herself with 5 courses (which many have warned that it’s going to be intensive but she still go ahead and take it coz the man was told that he might need to transfer to HK anytime), she had managed to survive this semester triumphantly and came out alive!! Well it hasn’t been the best easiest time. She felt she had learned to be very discipline compared to her early days in the year, fully utilizing every second of her life. She learned a lot, seriously for just half a semester. Her mind is constantly challenged by people who shared the same passion as her, people who wanted to make a difference to this world by advocating for the right of a quality education to all children in this world, people who yearn for educational equity, people who were serious about what graduate work is. It was indeed a life time experience for her to be in NYC ,studying in a reputable organization ,learning with so many people from all around the world. She was really thankful for this opportunity. The year ahead continue to be trying as she continued to balance between work and school.

South Street Sea Port

Chanced upon this when I was waiting for my interview around John Street. I walked across to the other block on Fulton Street and came to this pretty lively place called South Street Sea Port.( Susie, I should have brought you here). Touristy but a nice place to hang around after you got tired of shopping at Century 21 in Lower Manhatten.:)

I am glad I went for the interview . It was a part time tutoring position with this school.I was hesitating coz i did not really want the job. Alright, I mean I kinda of decided that the position wasn't going to fit into my school schedule after I sent in the application and hence was hesitant about it.Anyway went for it in the end coz i thought why not gain some experience of having some interviews in America? Some parts did not go too well so i don't think I will get the position. But oh well, I am happy that I went through it at least.:)

ONE vs THREE?

The only way when time seemed to run short and you want to make sure your husband has something to eat when he is back is to cook the one dish meal like my all natural mushroom vermicelli soup ( Stock base: Ikan billis;soya bean;scallops, brew for a minimum of 40 minutes) and Aglio Oglio. I am in the midst of discovering more such recipes because lazy me can have more time to do other things.Somehow, i have not reached maximum efficiency in terms of whipping up meals. SImple dish like this , it can take me up to 20 minutes of preparation time, 20 minutes of cooking and all in all 40 minutes!!!Somehow, chopping the garlic,cilantro,ginger and stuff can take up so much of my time.

But then , there are times when i feel like just taking my time to cook. IS pretty theraputic actually. So when that is the case, you can see me preparing portions beyond what two people can eat!!Three or four dishes in a meal.Now , people who came to our house will understand why our fridge is always stocked up with so much food for just two people!

I feel pretty accomplished whenever I whipped up something nice coz I rarely did:P how about you?

How to make Chocolate Fondants

Since my last attempt to make Oats cookies last Thursday was a success ( after many times ), I decided to try making Chocolate Fondants.Slurp Slurp. After looking at the video, I was even more encouraged to do so.Check out!
If this is a success, it will be on my list for the Thanksgiving Dinner Menu!

Smilez at Ferry terminal

I love BB's new pose for the day.And one of our favourite daily commute to the city takes us just 5 minutes. Lately, we have discovered more ways to go the city. We can take a bus which goes to 42nd Port Authority for just 10minutes and thereafter you can take the subway to anywhere u like ( Most likely will opt for this way to go to school). We can also take the lightrail to hoboken and thereafter change to Path. This will probably be great if we are going to WTC or Lower Manhatten.if not, we can just drove in straight to the city using the Lincoln tunnel which costs us 6 bucks each time.Or the last resort, drove up to edgewater ferry terminal and took a ferry across to to upper west side!!

Potato Marshy just like us!

Yesterday, both of us worked in the kitchen together to whip up the dinner. Though there were small squabbles about how things should be done, we enjoyed the process of doing something together. So yesterday, the man did two pan fried salmon ( got them from Chinatown at a good deal) and I did my first attempt in whipping up mashed potato from scratch. Quite a successful attempt for the first time and I must say is easy to make. So everyone can give it a try.We deliberately moved our little dining table to the window ,lit up some tealights and while having our little homecooked dinner, we marvelled at the beautiful skylines of Manhatten and enjoyed each other company. I wished we could do this more often

We loved our new loft!

Asbury Park

This weekend was pretty busy for us. On saturday, we decided to drive out to the beach since summer is going to end in two weeks time. After researching online for a while, Asbury Park is our pick!Being out in the Sun is definitely good for me. I am feeling so much recharged after working on my job search at home for the whole week.The gentle breeze and not so blazing sun coupled with some soothing Mediterreanean music from the nearby Carbana Store was heavenly.BB and I are such beach bumers.On top of that, BB has his AC fellow mate who will join us every saturday for some weekend retreat. "HoHo hocklicks" as I will like to call him is a super hilarious guy who likes to entertain us with his jokes.The day ended with a late evening dinner. The weekend chef whipped up delicious fish curry and stirred fried asparagus with minced meat and drowned his guests in his bottle of 2005 Califonian Zifandel. Our Chinese friends came over to our place to chill and the entertainment was our wedding video.Time flies, it has been two months since the dinner!




Sunday was our usual routine which we are still trying to refine. Church in the morning followed by marketing in Chinatown. I decided to shop in Chinatown because is way way much cheaper and I can get all my groceries done for the week at just 40 bucks.Good deal i will say coz the last time, i did it at the supermarket ard my neighbourhood, it cost me a 100 bucks!Henceforth, every weekend , we will be dragging our groceries, take the ferry and subway to head back to our place.BB is starting to complain that this is not an effective way and there is no way he will do this every week. So there we go again, trying to find a better way to do our marketing. Maybe is time to invest in a old granny pushy-trolley?:)or maybe I should start exploring other kinds of crusines...?:)

Suggestions please.

Thanks everyone who has written to me the various ways we can improve MUAK. So far, the reviews have been good and we are working hard on getting our site to have more publicity. Sales are definitely coming in due time.Please drop any suggestions or comments over here.Not too sure the best suggestion will get to have free stuff from us though.:P
Love this beautiful write up about MUAK from Ellie.
Thanks Ellie san!

Do you want to be organized too?

Lately, I discovered a change in me. Or should I say it seemed to be my Old self resuming. Getting pretty organized in all the little things in my life.( Urghh..wasn't like this for a pretty long time) Started getting happy in just putting ticks on my to-do lists. Drawing up little schedules of expenditure,grocery inventory stock lists.Lists of weekly,daily and monthly schedules to do cleaning of bathroom,kitchen and laundry. Planning my weekly menus so that I will be doing my marketing in one shot in the weekend.Started labeling all the little folders for the vast amount of mails we received.SO far so good, have been getting things done.:)
Gosh,I wonder how long can I sustained these? Anyway, thought that once school term starts for me, I need some systems to get going in the household in order for me to balance both family ,study and work.Having some systems in your life do so good when you try to multi task between various roles. Help to remove clutter in your thoughts, your space and lead to getting things done efficiently. I called it PRODUCTIVITY! I have prayed and priortized that lord will guide me in balancing my role as a wife and pursuing my passion. Never to compromise my BB's mealstime and cleanliness of the house when I got more responsibilities coming in!
And today when i was doing my quiet time, God affirmed me that in many areas of Jesus's Ministry, there is organization. The way the stories are being told, the way he instructed disciples to go in teams to evangelise, the way he gave out the bread to multitudes.Being organized will help us to make time off to do his ministry and work!!
So am I still a right brainer or left brainer?I hope I am still right!

Build Him Up

A virtuous woman builds her husband up. She offers praise and kind words that make him feel like the man he wants to be.

You have probably heard the saying, “Behind every good man is a good woman.” The woman of Proverbs 31 had a good husband. He sat at the gates with the elders of the city. He was respected in his field. He was a successful business man. He could not have been all that he was had she abused him with her words and sliced him to the core with her disrespect.

Whether your man works in an office, likes to putter around the toolshed, or use his hands to work hard, he wants to know that he is the man you desire. He wants to be your knight in shining armor, your hero, your big strong, hunk of a guy.

When he fixes the sink for you, tell him how clever he is. When he builds the kids a swing set, tell him how strong he is. When he saves money on a purchase, tell him how much you appreciate his concern for your family’s financial well being.

Don’t tell him what an idiot he is, or that you could have done a better job. Don’t make him feel like a failure. Tell him you need him around, that he provides well for you. He will work hard to live up to your praise!

Photo by: Josh Armstrong. You can visit his ministry site at: www.globalyouthnet.com.

Melissa Ringstaff is theP Founding Director of A Virtuous Woman. She lives with her husband and five children in the beautiful Appalachian mountains of Harlan, Kentucky.

MUAK opens!

Hi all,
Finally, our little online store has been launched.Thanks Jocelyn for doing such great work with the website. So , friends and my dear readers, please help me to do some advertising, word or mouth..or whatever!We are selling internationally and the goods are located in the States. Singapore customers can contact us directly for other methods of transfering funds but the goods will still take about 1 week to arrive from the States.We are going to have more promotions coming along. So check out now and then for them. Remember to MUAK us!!!Click on the picture below to get to the site.

Jittery Spider

In times like this, when your heart just can't stop beating fastly,when time seemed to tickle by slowly, when the whole world seemed to revolve just you and him, you know LOVE is Empowering. LOVE transcends all things.

Blessed Child -Shannice

Shannice, my lovely niece who was the main highlight of my wedding coz she dressed so well in the morning and in the night. This little one who just passed her 3rd year birthday this May was such a bubblejoy to everyone around her. She has amazing linguistic abilities, able to speak up what she wants clearly. I am amazed how intutively she seemed to be able to connect with the adults, somehow like her mum, she has high emotional intelligence. She was able to comprehend black humor and able to tease you back.I would say "A" in her cognitive abilities and comprehension. She could rattle on and on for hours. She was the only child who could conduct conversation with me about three hours. And i said a decent logical flowed conversation about fish " for three hours. She was really loveable and you just couldn't smother her with lots of kisses and hugs.She loved to read and write which was innate in her since she was young.I couldn't count the number of times she has asked me to read when she was just two and yes, she woahhh me with her super long concentration of two hours in the library, sitting on my lap doing reading.

I have been wondering what has contributed to this high level of reasoning and understanding, amazing concentration and linguistic abilities. Then recently, while helping to clear her mummy's stuff, i realised my dear cousin has been so diligent doing the flashcards to her . Kudos to J who has been so committed in parenting despite her busy schedule. Even though you are somewhere in the heaven looking at us, i am sure all these efforts have helped her in her development.I reckon this could be one of the factors which has led to her wide explosion of vocabulary and knowledge but of course, i think she has some innate abilities which could rub off from the good genes...like being talking and sociable like J.

So Nature vs Nurture? Which is which?

The worry antidote

Anxiety and worry can lead to an extremely negative attiude. Ephesians 2 tells us this kind of thinking gratifies the craving of our sinful nature. Negativity keeps us busy with "self obsessions. The enemy uses these as distractions to keep us from experincing the peace of god which leads to a positive attitude and a life that glorifies God.
When you are involved in a task that cause you to be irritated, "praise focus" becomes a delightful challenge.
Colossians 3:17
" And whatever you do,in word or in deed,do everything in the name of the lord Jesus,giving thanks to God the Father through Him."

A boy meets girl

Got this from Susie's blog.Think she has done a good review of the book which i have bought for her.Enjoy this interesting review on relationship between man and woman.

"My dear sister in christ got me this book as a gift. This is a sequel to the author’s bestseller “Kiss dating goodbye” which I mentioned in my previous entry that I’m gonna get my hands on. This new book is an excellent read. I couldn’t put it down since I started reading it on the train ride to work this morning. I was totally immersed in it and wasn’t at all bothered by the sardine packed train. I read it every moment of free time I had. I met Weig during BSF lecture and she told me she read this book twice cos it was really so good! She is also an avid reader on christian relationship books and she strongly reccomended it. True enough. I think it’s another good book to study on.

Few random points that struck me throughout the first few chapters of the book:

Wisdom complements romance. Current trend in relationships now is guided by impatience, lack of purpose and misguided emotions - which are all expressions of foolishness.
Courtship is a relationship between a man and a woman who are actively and intentionally together to consider a marriage. It shouldn’t be rushed though but involves commitment to each other by willingness to explore the merits of lifelong commitment.
Courtship is a season for two people to grow in friendship, to get to know each other’s character, and to see how they interact as a couple.
Two central priorities in God-glorifying, wisdom-guided courtship. First, to treat each other with holiness and sincerity; second, to make an informed and wise decision about marriage.
Learn to grow and guard through these 3 stages: In friendship (Learning about each other through qualitative and quantitative time together), fellowship (Biblical fellowship, spurring each other on in righteousness etc.) and eventually romance (showing genuine affection).
God knows all things and knows the plans He has for us. Our responsiblity is to love Him, study his word, deepen our relationship with Him and learn to evaluate our choices in light of biblical wisdom.
Now, the important part on the author talking about the role of MEN. Haha. I very much like his perspective on the definitive roles of men with close relation to biblical terms. I quote, “God calls men to be servant initiators - firm but gentle, masculine yet caring, leaders yet servants. Called to be protectors, not seducers.” There are 4 important main points pertinent to the above quote:

Assume the responsibility of leading and intiating in your relationships. ( Setting direction, proposing ideas but at the same time listening and taking others’ interests into account)
Be a spiritual leader in your relationships. ( Strive to set an example of passion for God)
Do little things in your relationships that communicate care, respect and desire to protect. (Goal is to show through the actions the noble status of women)
Encourage women to embrace godly feminity. (Be the biggest encouragers and prayer warriors for women who are seeking to glorify God)
There should be a balance in the roles played in the relationship. To show impartiality, I will present the definitive roles for WOMEN as well. It’s for all to learn. These are the four practical ways to practice Godly feminity:

In the relationship with Godly men, encourage and make room for them to practice leadership. ( During times when the men initiate in conversation, in fellowship, in activities or any other areas, be sure to show appreciation and cheer him on)
Be a sister to the men in your life. ( Pray for them. Be natural. Be a friend.)
Cultivate the attitude that motherhood is a noble and fulfilling calling.
Cultivate godliness and inward beauty in your life. (1Peter 3: 4 - the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight)
Talking about the heart of women, I’d recommend John and Stasi Eldredge’s book called ”Captivating” which is a touching book that feeds the souls of women and unleases the feminity that God created and wanted us to be. I teared a little while reading this book. Girls, go grab this book ya. Haha. Think all the guys must thank me for advocating feminity through recommending such readings huh. Hahaha. So, back to the book. I sort of summarised the crux of it, or at least those which I thought spoke to me. Im eager to read the rest of Joshua Harris’ other titles after finishing this.. Will do the updates…"

Beautiful Women

Is always good to have a fellowship group with women who were much more mature than you.Though they were way older than me but they were so young in heart!My beautiful Wednesday Woman's group especially Renee the cell leader, she is one woman whom I looked upon. Gentle in spirit, she almost fits perfectly to the Proverbs 31 Women.I learned so alot from her.

I want to do this more often!

Strawberry picking!!!I love doing this.April -June is the season for picking strawberries.Before the in-laws came, I went once with Susan and the kids and thought this would be a fantastic activity to to do with the in-laws. Furthermore, the strawberries were so cheap and fresh in Lyon's Farm . Look at the the two full tubs we had. They only cost 4 us dollars.And on top of that, you can pick your own vegetables like pumpkins, zuccini,tomatoes..so healthy and theraputic getting back to the nature.

The Americans love to pick their own vegetables and do their own jam, ice-cream.So fun! I want to try to make my own jam too. I manage to get this cool site where there is a list of all the farms in the states and some teaching tips on canning and ice-cream making.I am so happy that there are more farms nearby to the new place where we are going to be . Hooray!!!

So besides the juicy strawberries which made me happy that day, I received a call from the admission office of TC that I was accepted for my application. Hoo HOO!!!Double happiness for that day!Friends who have been patiently hearing my rambles on this issue for the last three years.haha, the dream has finally come true.

Mother's Day Celebration

Flowers do make women happy and definitely these mummies.I invited Susan, my dear fren in Durham over with her family to have a mini Mother's day celebration.MIL was extremely thrilled by the dozen roses and kept asking me to take a few pictures of her with the flowers. Plus, the pink Kenneth Cole's handbag i got for her from NYC was to her liking that she started carrying it for the last week since she was here.
I am so happy that she liked the little gifts I got for her. I had been wondering how to celebrate this day for her.




Being a bad cook myself,I couldn't whip up a sumptuous dinner as many would be. Instead, the task of whipping up the dinner was assigned to the three men of the family, the FIL ( fantastic cook!),Mason( "HK Chef") and Ron( "Rfamily's co-chef). I felt so bad but I reckoned that the task should be outsourced instead of torturing everyone to try my cooking.Till the day I master the art,I will definitely be more confident to whip up meals for the family.Right now, BB has to be my guinea pig.:P

BB's Graduation

Happy happy!!!So proud of him while he was standing on the stage receiving the scroll. BB has finally graduated!What a roller coaster for these two years. From his application to his graduation,I can't really describe the feeling of sharing this special moment of someone you love dearly. It was one great milestone in his life chapter which i was part of it.Glad and thankful. Coach K's speech was enlightening and motivating. He reminded the Class of 2007 to balance ( family and career),do simple ( small moves towards your goal)and to follow passion ( not do something for the sake of money.FYI, Coack K is the master coach for the dream team many years back ago.Can you believe he is the teacher for Michael Jordan, Majic Johnson etc??

The graduation ceremony


Finally!


Proud and Happy Parents!

SC from TC

Third entry in a day. Forgive me. Too many thoughts going through today.
Met up with the professor in TC.Gosh. Enlightening. Heart-warming. SC is just such a dear mentor. Said things which probe you to think more.
Striking a balance pursuing your passion and other parts of your life like your husband and children.
Be practical with money matters and stay open and welcome any opportunities which come along the way.
Staying focus and delighting in the work you are doing.
Things may change in your course of your life and embrace changes.
Treat every work you do as learning opportunity.
Take a step to try and you never know what is lying ahead.
There are always way out. No dead end.
I am glad I met such a helpful and patient professor.

Silent of the night

Journaling from NYC right now.I have so much mixed feelings today about the city. Driving towards the BIG APPLE was exciting initially. NEW YORK...here i come...Yes, in two months time, this will be the place where I will be living for the next few years. I love the energy of this place , the endless bustling activities which run through the wee hours of the night, the rich and diverse population living here but I can't stand the dirtiness, the rats running across the streets, the old run down buildings and METROs, the sirens of NYPDs.Verdict?Unknown.Leave it up to God to provide and protect.
My brain was tuned to " high alert" automatically whenever I stepped into this city. It is pretty safe as compared to the 1970s but the usual blursotong me will be super alert in this city whenever I walked along the streets.So not me. Eyes will be roaming, to ensure that no one was following me, no one is trying to get near to me to rob me or any weird people trying to be funny with me. Don't let me scare you. Things are not as bad here.In fact, is pretty safe. I am just too use to COUNTRY LIVING now.The SIMPLE way of life in Durham. I am a COUNTRY mouse and not a CITY mouse. Every New Yorker seemed to be so strong ,so tough, so shrewd and so independent, not people you want to mess with. I am just stereotyping,so take what i say with a pinch of salt. Of course , there will be nice people out there, somewhere in the city,someone who just want to be SIMPLE like me. I just need to meet them to make my life even happier. PRAY.TRUST.OBEY.
This is a highly competitive city. The hungry, the driven,the talented ones from all over the world will try to make a mark here. Both of us came here by chance, by god given opportunities. We thank god for it because we knew there are new things for us to learn, new things for us to explore and definitely a new chapter in our lives.We gonna come out stronger after these few years, taking away valuable lessons God wants us to learn.Is exciting in a way. We said to each other" it will be colorful like the rainbow".
Interestingly, despite the hustle and bustle of the city, it made you even more contemplative about what was going on and what will happen.Anchoring and keeping true to yourself and God.I like this feeling. Contemplative. And pening my thoughts in the middle of the night in one small apartment at Wall Street. Off.

Good training

I must pen this down!I drove the longest distance ever in my life for the first time.And the first time in torrential heavy rain which blurred my vision that I could not even see a single thing in front of me. Scary , isn't it? A new driver driving in such terrible conditions.
The rain came unexpectedly when we were in Richmond, three hours after the sunshine weather in North Carolina.Caught me off guard...but the daredevil side of me wanted to challenge myself to overcome this. I was already having butterflies in my stomach. Of course with some secret prayers and 100% concentration , I managed to brave through this ordeal and arrived safely with my hubba!!!
Gosh, I hope after this trip, i will be a better driver!

Paintball

Last weekend, I had plenty of fun because we joined the Chinese for a Paintball session. Gosh,it was exciting but I was so weak that my energy was depleted after just two battles. Thank god that there was a team of trustworthy members who just concentrated on feeding the soldiers with delicious barbequed food. I rested a while to replenish my energy before joining my mighty comarades again. I was one of the last few who survived in the "war" because I was too afraid to charge and mainly just hide behind the trees to fire.Hee.It was fun.But I am not too sure if I will play again because I thought it seemed to be promoting "violence".:)

Drinking water in Durham

Shocked was I when bb passed me this leaflet which stated that there were too much lead in the water in Durham. That probably explained why I have been dropping so much hair ever since I moved here. And yes, as much as I am reluctant to be unfriendly to the earth , we have to switch to buying mineral bottled drinks.Gosh, god knows how much lead has been accumulating in our bodies? I missed Singapore clean and safe drinking water. We can drink it from anywhere!!!

And check out how much calcium oxide are there in the water??After leaving the water in the room for a few days, it has been oxidised to a thick layer of calcium carbonate???!!!

The Big Massacre

"In times like this, we can find comfort in the grace and guidance of a loving God," the president said. "As the Scriptures tell us, 'Don't be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.'"


I was in the dark of this alarming news till I called back home to report safety to Dad.He asked me about this incident and he reminded both of us to be careful about such things happening around in the states.I soon got to know more about this from the news .This is probably one of the greatest breaking headliner after Anne Nicole Smith's case.

It doesn't matter where we are right?The world is just filled with so much evil things happening .Is true our world is filled with such evil things. We see increasing amount of war,strifles,diseases,indulgence ,self centredness in our increasingly intoxicated culture.Everybody wondered why a Korean student who is just 23 years old will do such a thing."He is sick, he is a loner,he is weird.." all those accusatory remarks...they are from the devil.

My heart reached out to those who died innocently in this gunfire.Their families.Their love ones.But my heart also reached out to Cho whose heart has been hardened by the devil,who wasn't able to receive help to get himself out of his loneliness, depression and bitterness in his heart.The devil has successfully conquered him.Cho's parents, god knows how hard they will take this incident upon themselves.The sadness,the guilt....

When tragedy like this occurs, sometimes people look to the Lord, and I pray that all will do so and find the comfort that only He can bring to their hearts," Page said in a statement to Baptist Press. "At the same time, Southern Baptists stand ready to help in any way that we can to assist and encourage these victims and their families. We are all shocked and horrified at this egregious expression of violence. Our prayers and love are with all those affected by this tragedy."

All i could to do was to keep all these people in prayers and of course,the world as a whole in prayers.Today, I reminded myself to grow even stronger in faith in times like this.The world is changing and probably degenerating but there will always be light and salt in the world to these darkness. i will be the light that shines and the salt that preserves. God, I prayed that your strength will be upon me and my family to resist all evil temptation and be a good comfort to the people around me.

Why does god allow evil things to happen in this world ? Human understanding is way to shallow to understand what is happening around. Only God the almighty knows.And we know and stand strong that he will save us and brought us eternal joy and peace in the time to come

Richard Land, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, called the massacre "a brutal reminder that life is fragile and that evil exists in our world" and pointed to the hope found in Christ's resurrection during a time of intense trial.

New revelations from my heavenly father today ( Edited to be personalised for meditation):

2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, I am a new creature; the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.” (NASB)


Colossians 3:10, “… put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge, according to the image of the One who created me.” (NASB)

2 Corinthians 5:18-20: “The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between me and him … God has given me the task of telling everyone what he is doing. I am Christ's representatives.” (MSG)

Isaiah 43:19, “Behold, I will do something new; now it will spring forth; will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert.” (NASB)

Colossians 2:12, “For I was buried with Christ when I was baptized. And with him I was raised to new life because I trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.” (NLT)

Salvation

Before I went back to the states tommorow, I tried to make an attempt to invite my dad and my brother to church last Sunday. It was a big reaction from Dad and I guess he still needs some time. I was a bit disappointed but I knew i had to continue to keep their salvation in my fervant prayers.Many of my bible study mates have shared how miraculously their grandmothers and dads receive Christ even at the age of 80. As long as you pray hard, god will touch their hearts in his own timing.

I sow the seed and will leave the rest to the lord. Is interesting to know what are the reasons keeping dad from trying to know more about Jesus . I guess sometimes you will just feel so eager to share your faith and the joy that you take this whole process upon yourself.

Release your burden and let the lord lead his way!

Don't let the cat out of the bag.You guyz are the best!

I teared four times today over an hour. Amazingly, I did not know I would be that emotional. I thought it was an incredible feeling when you saw your work being manifested into some fruits.Human instincts and intellectual capabilties are beyond understanding. How interesting that the same masterpiece produced two different results. All would not be possible without a group of dear friends.You know who you are and I can't tell what is it at this moment.Is a big secret. Till that day, I will reveal it.Thanks so much, I am so touch and have such fun tonight. I thank god for all of you.You guyz are simply amazing.:)

Exhorbitant Cab Fares!

Phew, just almost a week more in Singapore and I will be back in the states.I am trying to squeeze up all the time I have to meet up with allmy close frens. Yesterday was a fanatic one coz i woke up early to do my weekly nannying for my baby niece at Tampinese.

Cab cost number one: $8 ( from Serangoon to Tampinese)
What a cute little one, brought her to the library, did story telling to her for three hours and she fell asleep after that. And so i was stuck in a position ( she was lying in front of me while i read to her on a sitting position) for another hour before she woke up.Then brought her back home and showered. Felt so tired.

Cab Cost Number 2: $15 ( from Tampinese to Bugis Junction)
Because of the mad rush, the babies refused to give my auntie a break, i have to stay a bit longer and was late for meeting. Rush down in cab and met up with my uni frens and have a nice chat. Amazed at how the topics you used to have with friends were switched from boy bands, boys schools, hostelite living to housing, investments and Babies!!!Gosh, everyone is really moving on!

Cab Cost Number 3: $ 15 ( from Clark Quay to Serangoon )
So after the dinner, at about 10.30, I joined my Sunday gang for drinks at Brewerks.. Gosh i felt i am so out of touched. It was so happening at Clark Quay. Very lively and very energising!!!I wonder when was the last time I have a late night out. I felt really good as I walked along the river towards Brewerks.You just felt so much younger again..just like the good old days!Called my dear baby this morning and told him the fun I had...hhehe...

Of course, i also reported that i have spend $38 bucks on cab fares..highest record of all time.Last time, I don't even take cabs at all!!

I told him," You must stop pampering me. Stop driving me around. I am getting lazy!"

Little discoveries

Sometimes is quite a good experience to wind through the little streets in Singapore and realised there are more interesting places other than the big shopping malls in Orchard Road. On my way to hunt for some nice fabric for cheongsam in Arab street from Doby Ghaut, I came by some interesting shops near Selegie Road which sold real exotic stuff.And I discovered a shop which sold real delicious traditional pastries which will literally melt in your mouth along Middle road called " Le Cafe Confectionery and Pastry Shop " Everything is perfect today asides from the weather which i still find it hard to adjust.
Oh...by the way, i am going to be back in SIngapore for a month

INFJ

Guess one could change over time, my Myers-Briggs test was so different from what i took 10 years ago. I was a ENFP last time but now i am a INFJ now!!!Wah...i couldn't believe it which means I am an Introvert,Intutive, Feeling and Judging now!!!Taking some time to process the analysis, I guess I could find some answers to why some people said i am complicated like in thoughts and expressions and they said they did not understand what i am talking when i tried to explain my thoughts process on certain issues...Hahaha. some even commented I seemed to be living in an alternative world..which i found myself not hahahah. Now after reading this ..i finally could put a more concrete explanation to this. But don't play play huh, people who shared the same INFJ traits like me are Gandi , Mother teresa ,Martin Luther King..
My dear friends, check out the analysis below and tell me if this is true to me

Another thing to share and rejoice is that i am pursuing something which is equivalent to what i should be doing according to the Myers Test!!!Hahahah, two days ago, I received the good news from BB that I got accepted into my grad school.I am in heavens..is one step towards my dream. I am definitely going to make use of this opportunity to be involved with the research work and helped the world's less privileged children.Is not going to be easy...but I will perservere.

Right now, I need to source for more financial aid and scholarships and beginning to prepare myself to work and study at the same time.Busy Busy Busy...besides this, I am now in SIngapore for a month preparing for the BIG DAY and most importantly helping my beloved cousin who is down with cancer. Please help me pray for her that she can overcome this trial soon.

Promise more updates soon.

Results of the test

You can also take the test here if you want.

O Lovely Spring is here!

I know is crazy. I have been late in my entry again and here I am trying to summarise all the various events which had been going on for the past few weeks.

Spring is definitely coming. You can literally feel it. Is interesting how you just instinctly know it. the weather just suddenly get warmer, you can hear birds chirping once you wake up . And if you started realising that the cherry blossoms are blooming, that will definitely add a big smile on your face. Gosh, Spring= Happy!!Everyone started to dress in bright colours too!And is also a great time for outdoors!My first picnic of the season!

The Bluedevil Kids

Did I tell you that basketball is a BIG thing over here in Duke? Well not only was it exciting to watch a live match in our homeground when our team is playing, it was definitely a good thing to participate in all those cheers and do those silly facepainting and wear the BLUEDEVIL wigs and T-shirts. Gosh, i love it !It made me high and I felt like i am back in high school while I was doing those silly booing cheers. The school spirit was strong.The undergrads were particularly crazy while the graduates were kinda of mellow but still couldn't contain their excitement when the whole stadium started roaring.The Cameroon celebrated when the woman's team beat the UNC team last week and guess what even though the men's team suffered a bitter lost today to UNC, there are two devils celebrating the lost at home just because COACH K ( Duke's men basketball team)was their most terrified man. Look at how mad they become.

Kids Part 1

This is one of my first entry of the series on children. Well, my last conversation with carolyn on phone was pretty interesting. She was telling me how god was in the process of moulding me to become a mother and then shared her BIG PLAN in FALLS with me.I told her about the recent events which evolved around me and BB.Too many kids!!!Too many fun with them!! They glued to us like a sticky bug that their daddies and mummies love to have us around. Just because they can take a break while the children were busy climbing all over us. " Uncle Ronald , Auntie Raine, what's this ? what's that? " Our heads were all fried by them!!

They were whole lot of fun yah and all the mummies and daddies said Ronald and I were ready to become parents. Geez...can you believe this, we din get this from our parents but we get this from our friends while we were overseas??/Man, is this a calling? I let god decide.

Snowshoe Mountain!

I suppose is time i need to challenge myself to step out of my comfort zone. Last three days were whole lots of adrenalin pushing. The speed was amazing. I used to like that but now i will prefer slow and easy something like golf. Is interesting how I used to like skiing. The speed excites me ,rejuvenates me but now it made me fear. What has gone wrong? Risk adverse? Less adventurous? Age catching up?Every little steep slope was a hurdle for me. Well, no one around to help except Ron who was way ahead of me. The rest was snowboarding!

I paused at one of the steep slope.Everyone went down the slope.I was hesitating. I was afraid. I waited there like the night will come. I knew i needed to overcome this.I knew I need to be a overcomer in order to see a brighter future over this slope. I prayed.I took a deep breathe and wheeee....I swayed from one end to the other end, like a graceful swan dancing on a pond.I wasn't wobbling but you can see that my legs were trying hard to control the speed. It was way too fast for me!

I was glad I overcome it. I gave a small invisible pat on myself and thought: " Isn't life suppose to be like this? You can't just stop trying because you are afraid. Sometimes, you just need to be an overcomer. "

It was a love hate relationship with me and the skis. I love the way the sport challenge myself to go beyond my limits but I also hated it because I have to be fast.

Snowshoe was a fantastic place. You felt like you stepped into a little garden of eden. The weather was great. The drive was scenic.The cabin was cosy. And more importantly, the crowd was great!!Nothing beats to have a fun rock holiday with a group of friends!

More Pictures here

BB's Birthday

When you are seeing each other everyday, there is no way you can lose sight of each other when every single event in your life is so closely related. I felt i can hardly move myself out of Ron's sight to get a pressie for his birthday. I felt so bad . Maybe we share the same car and there is no way you can move around over here without a car. I hv been thinking of what to get for his birthday this year and arranging some surprises since this is his first birthday to be spent as a couple.Cupcakes was the initial idea but i dismissed that since I sucked at baking. And guess what, today, when we gathered for a CNY gathering,his fren's wife baked him some cupcakes and we sang him a birthday song. Then he said," it has been a long time since i hv blowed candles and have a cake." gosh...can you imagine how bad I felt???I wish i had just baked the cupcakes ....I reallie wish...
i hope he will like what i get for him..I will pass him the pressie when the clock struck twelve tonight.

What's a Mandarin???

h2>I'm a Mandarin!

You're an intellectual, and you've worked hard to get where you are now. You're a strong believer in education, and you think many of the world's problems could be solved if people were more informed and more rational. You have no tolerance for sloppy or lazy thinking. It frustrates you when people who are ignorant or dishonest rise to positions of power. You believe that people can make a difference in the world, and you're determined to try.

Talent: 51%
Lifer: 33%
Mandarin: 62%

Take the Talent, Lifer, or Mandarin quiz.

Mazda Miata

I'm a Mazda Miata!

You like to soak up the sun, but your tastes are down to earth. Everyone thinks you're cute. Life is a winding road, and you like to take the curves in stride. Let other people compete in the rat race - you're just here to enjoy the ride.

Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

Mini celebration

So the second day, there was a new year celebration for all the Chinese in the school. Ron and I geared ourselves for some exciting time!We did not see any of our frens around but the program was entertaining enough to keep us feel warm and fuzzy. There was a chinese dance being performed,peiking opera and Lion Dance. So with all those blasting ,cherrio chinese new year songs, that certainly helped to make us feel more at home and happy. We even got to taste some new year goodies which we have been craving.

After the performance, we head off to Mason's place to have another round of feasting. Coz this guy is a great cook!!His crab was delicious and we were not hesistant in finishing them as we missed seafood so much. The Sri-Lankan crabs are so hard to find over here. After that, we were shocked when the yu shen was brought out. Man, I couldn't believe this could find it over here. So, we went mad and began our messy stirring of the yu shen. But i thought that was still not as "rough" and "vibrant" compared to back home. Gosh I missed those fun!

Missing home

I missed home so much. My first time spending CNY out of the country. I miss those big gatherings when all the cousins will just hop in a few cars and go home visiting.Those new year goodies, those nice exchanges of updates in each other's lives..i miss that.

It's quiet here. You can easily forgotten it is CNY. Ron just got back from NYC on the new year eve. I bugged him to invite his friends over so that we can have a celebration.I am too used to having many people around during CNY.8 in total was the head count. So we whipped up a few Singaporean dishes. Not the authentic crusine we have back home coz my hotpot has not arrived yet.I missed huoguo.

Felt happier to play the host. Games followed after dinner. No guessing the riddles ,just some drinking games but everyone was merry.the night was dark. Everyone left. We called back home. It's chuyi1.have a short chat with dad and he asked " You remember is my birthday today?"
I said ," yes .That's why i call home."

A tinge of sadness surged. I miss the yearly cake cutting with him and brother on every chuyi .

Pictures of the guests

A surprise

Thunderstorm on the 13th February, eve of Valentine.Rain pouring heavily.
Ron: I got to pick up some notes from one of my fren .So let's drive there before we head back home
Raine : Why is that so?
Ron: Remember I skipped my lecture that day so I have asked him to pick up for me
Raine: Alright.
(About 20 minutes later.....)
Raine: How come your fren stay so far? Since we are heading towards the cheesecake factory, why don't we pop by and have a slice of cheesecake and dinner...oohh...i have been craving for that..
( No reply...then he turned into the lane heading towards the cheesecake resturant)
Raine: Hey how come we are here??I thought we are suppose to go to your fren's place.
( Silence for a moment and he said...}
Ron: Wait in the car for a while..i will be back soon.
( 10 minutes later..)
Ron: For you.(and then hand me a cheesecake paper bag)
Is it my vday present???I open it...my gosh it was a 8kg GODIVA CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE!!!!!!All by myself.....!!What a pleasant surprise and such great telepathy we have yah?
Raine: You order this in advance?
Ron: Yes, I am afraid it will be gone on the 14th.

How sweet isn;t it? Simple but it warmed my heart.
My present for him has not arrived yet.Shooz.

No more daughters of Babylon!

I like Berth Moore's bible study on Daniel.It made me reflected how much today's world is like the ancient Babylon who is self absorbed ,ego stroked and over indulgent.The Babylonian Empire in Daniel represents symbolically of today's world of materialism,image building ,excessive and indulgent culture. I am convicted sometimes, how i was being influenced by these as well.

Today my devotional is :God forbids superiority. We all know that.I esteem you highly as I am pondering the same questions right beside you.King Nebuchadenezzar of Babylon who build his golden image so that he has the greatest kingdom which makes servants of all heralds some loud questions:

1.Do we feel important when surrounded by those we deem important?
2.Do we feel more important when someone important notices us?
3.Do we like to be seen with those who seem important?
4.Are we name makers or name dropperes?

Any timid yes to any of those questions nods its head to Babylonian indoctrination.The need for identity and sense of significance is as human as our DNA. We begin his search in pursuit of ourselves only to arrive solely disappointed or cavernously empty.I prayed god will lead the RR family to be more like Daniel to resist this modern babylonian lure and temptation and be more consistent in the walk in his kingdom.Amen.

1 Peter 5:6 (New International Version)Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.

Blogsphere

We all knew that blogging has been getting more pervasive throughout the world. Even BB has to do one case study on blogging in Korea in his MBA program. This afternoon, I was going through some websites during my research and gosh, some of them led me to more blogs' links and more. Very interesting to hear how teachers ,educators from all around the world have blogged on their research findings and publications. Finally, i have managed to find some blogs that are related to education.And yes, they are all relevant to my areas of interests: Mind-Brain education , learning disabilities etc.

I have just started a new blog on wordpress.It was launched earlier this year, a channel which I can keep track on my readings and findings.( One Step towards my resolution.) I will summarise some of the papers which I have read. On this blog, you will find links to many associations that deal with brain and education. I am ony members of two associations and hopefully when things are more positive in March. i will join more associations to keep me in touch with all the recent issues. I hope this will be a good way to motivate me to be more concientious in keeping myself updated with all the recent research works and of course the education scene in Singapore in general

So far this site has not many entries as I found it pretty hard to summarise what I have read. Is a challenge for me now to learn how to do some critical thinking and then summarise and write.

Here is the new blog link: BeBehaven

By the way, I also happen to chance upon this article which said that VJC was one of the winners to the college blog!!Yipee!!So here is the campusmoblog initiated by Singtel to promote learning.

Hotpot!

I got hooked to ebay and amazon. They really have lots of good deals.
I just ordered our HOTPOT for the chinese dinner!Dah dah!!Here it is!We have been trying to look for this kind of 2 in 1 hotpot but couldn't find any around here.Finally, on amazon, I find it!!Online shopping is the way to go!

Spin And Spin!

So weekend was so packed with activities,I was drained and couldn't get myself gg on a Sunday morning. Either, I have become so lazy or I have grown older. I just did not have the energy level which I used to have.

Saturday was energising!I went for my first spinning class at 9.30am. Gosh, it was a great workout for me. I totally worked my butt off on that morning for an hour. The music was motivating, the instructor was inspiring.She used visualization techniques to spur us and gosh, I feel like I am a competitive cyclist trying to make it to the finish line. The rest of the students in the class are so determined and focus. Literally, the girl besides me is just pedaling with all her might. So with each exhalation and inhalation, I tried to pace myself to get in the game but sad to say, I have to take a 5 minute break after 30 minutes of cycling. What a weakling!! I am so embarrassed when I have to get off my bike and have a drink.I am determined to build up my stamina now!!!

So after a great work out, the afternoon was spend in the Grand Asia Market with Ee Leng where I was just literally trying to stock up for the CNY dinner. We were intending to invite a couple of friends to celebrate.Evening was followed by two dinners. One with Susan and her family who has kindly invited us to her house. A pig out on hainese chicken rice and rendang.The other one was a birthday party celebration for Terry. I ended the day with more calories:)

Pump it up!!!

I finally got my Duke Spouse Card being made.I wish i have done this earlier so that I can keep a healthier regime.But nonetheless ,is better to be late than never.Now, I just fixed my schedule for the classes i am interested in so that I can fully utilised the recreation centre facilities for free:

Monday:Gym
Tuesday 5.30pm: Indoor cycling classes with power pact music
Wednesday 6.30pm : Cardio Tone class
Thursday 6.30pm: Pilates class and then indoor cycling
Friday 5.30pm : Pilates
Saturday: Hiking or swimming with BB

This is looking good. At least i am getting my new year resolution to exercise more than three times a week going. And with the classes set in the evening, I can have the time in the afternoon for my research work to be done in the library which i just found out that they have a really good selection of databases and publications....ooohhh...things are looking good!!

I kinda of regret not joining dear Ron for his ski trip today. Now i am all alone at home. No pictures and no workout. Don't ask me why...i think i am just a scrimp and want to save money lah!!

International Wife Fellowship

This morning, I am terribly excited and happy again!!!
Went for my first International Wife Fellowship at the First baptist Church. Wahhh...I wish i have done this earlier!!So for the first 45 minutes, i chose a stamping class. Well ever since I am here, I am learning how to do scrapbooking and blah blah and now i am so pleased with the stamping class. I know how to make envelope with lining ,design cards using stamps,bookmark and beautiful place cards.Oohhoo...I am so happy!!!Of course, there will be more to come in the future lessons.

href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW1Lb6ehczqdRkDPVXh2VfKk_6eiwGBv_pG1jGUNtOiWPV61AsugLHImHDhsLrbzlr1chpSX0vHvqvujP2A2aoWKwOSKQXsSPH2hQ1UQbxWpdRTdMSxm-tc0AQolMDQ9wZzBdWcg/s1600-h/jap+party+003.jpg">
My butterfly purplish card and envelope

After the class, we had a short break and then we proceeded to our bible study . It was only four of us while the rest of the internationals went and took english classes.I think it was a nice way to reach out to people.The leaders were so nice and guess what, i finally met some Singaporeans. This mum is the coolest mum i ever met. Susan is here with her husband who is working in Duke Hospital as a doctor and yes she is going to introduce me to 6 other singaporeans' families .Ooohoo, I have more friends to hang around with and Singaporeans who will realli make me feel at home!! Is always great to meet friends in such activities!!
After class, Susan invited me to her house for lunch and her two lovely kids are just so adorable. very intelligent and obedient.Check out Vanessa and Brandon!


Hahah , and my banana wanut muffins which looked good but not soft enough

The SWING

More activities coming up now.
BB and I have signed up for Ballroom Swing Dance classes on every Monday Evening and yesterday was our first class. It was fun as the music was catchy and the steps were pretty simple. But since both Ron and I are totally new to dancing, we are the slowest learners in class. We had a hard time remembering the dance steps. There's no stepping on feet but there were a fair share of times when he swirled me to the other end of the room. It was fun and relaxing and I thought it was a great activity for couples to join . Dancing and in particular partner dance requires both of you to synchronise in your steps and movement to create a very gracious movement spartially. I think it will help both of us to have better telepathic communication. Dancing helps us to develop a different kind of language communcation!!!I am so excited about it and now there will be a new activity for us at home. Yesterday straight after class, we went back home and have half an hour of dance practice together. Of course this time round, i think we sort of cheated and modify the steps to make them simpler!

I don't love my husband anymore?

I like doing devotionals!Like what the bible says, the word is like the living word which refreshes your spirit and soul. I feel dry when I am not worshipping the lord each day. Is amazing how the word nourishes you. Is addictive. Is rejuvenating. God's word is forever true. It is the true living compass to your everyday life.

I Don’t Love My Husband Anymore
By Lysa TerKeurst
Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure…” Hebrews 13:4 (NIV)

I was saddened by what my friend was sharing. She was tired of her husband so she was leaving him because she found the man she dreamed of being with. I was shocked by my friend’s decision.

I had been in their wedding and heard the lifetime promises made from their hearts. I had been with them to celebrate their first anniversary. I had been with them just after the births of their first and second child. I had shared their laughter, encouraged them through their tears, and enjoyed doing life with them.

While their relationship had not been perfect, they did love one another. But something had gotten broken in their relationship and neither of them knew how to fix it. It led to a stale quietness that seeped into their home and made each feel lonelier and isolated than they ever knew was possible for a “couple.” He had grown distant. She had grown frustrated. Life was busy, finances were stressful, and they stopped making time for romantic conversations they used to enjoy. They used to be a team and felt they could beat anything life sent their way. Now they just fought against each other. Then she met an attentive, financially secure man who seemed to be the answer to all of her unmet longings.

She traded her life for the thrill of something new, the lure of something she perceived would be so much better.

But just two years later I ran into this friend and was stunned by her confession. With tears in her eyes she admitted that she’d discovered fairy tales don’t exist. Every relationship feels exhilarating at the beginning but then real life happens and marriage is hard work no matter who you are married to. When I asked her to tell me about her new husband she smiled shyly and said, “Well, he’s hairy.”

What?

What did she just say? My mind was spinning. Of all the words, all the descriptions, all the romantic terms I expected her to use, “hairy” was no where on the list. How telling that the man that was once so irresistible that she traded everything for him, had now been reduced to one word…hairy!

I’m convinced that in marriage the grass isn’t greener on the other side. The grass is greener where you water and fertilize it.

Dear Lord, please help me see my marriage as a sacred thing. May I always understand that being married was not meant to just make me happy but make my character more holy. Help me remember being married is less about having the right partner and more about being the right partner. Shape me into the wife my husband needs and deserves. Help me to pause before I speak so I don’t react out of anger, frustration, or selfishness. Show me how to respect, love and give to this man in a way that honors You and brings joy to our home. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Related Resources:

Marriage Life Coaching Call with Lysa TerKeurst

What a Husband Needs from His Wife by Melanie Chitwood

Capture His Heart by Lysa TerKeurst

Application Steps:

Write a list of all the things you love and admire about your husband. If you can’t think of any now, list what you liked about him when you married him. Find some time today to share the list with your husband. Spend some time in prayer for your marriage and for your husband.
Consider signing up for a marriage coaching conference call for women with Lysa TerKeurst. Follow the link in the resources section above to learn more.

Reflections:
As a wife, is your goal to help your husband become all that God intends him to be, or all that you intend him to be?.

Have you bought into the cultural idea of marriage being some sort of fairy tale?

Sometimes, being a helper is actually a lot of work. How can you better fulfill your God-given role as a helper to your husband?

Power Verses:
Genesis 2:18, “The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.’”

Matthew 19:5-6, “’For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”

1 Corinthians 7:13, “If a woman had a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him.”

Good weekend

On Friday, I passed my theory exam and was able to drive around with a learner's permit now.I almost got into some accidents since i am a novice and that got me tramautised. But Ron was a very strict instructor and he said you would never overcome your fear if you never practised. So after much pushing and scolding, I have been driving around with sweaty palms and legs on the highways for the past few days. I wasn't able to gauge properly when to cut lanes and that was super dangerous as there were a few times, I almost crashed into someone else.Hopefully this week, I will be able to take the driving test and pass to get my legal driving license! More importantly, to pass with good driving skills and be a safety driver!



Saturday was eventful. Early morning, we began our usual routine of waking up to have a walk in one of the parks. And so this week was Eno State Nature Park which was just 30 min away. We loved this park. It has great trails. We went to the Cox Mountain Trail which was 3.5 miles in total. Very nice walk which took us across the hill and then making a return loop along the river. The park has about 82 trails and so we were mentioning that we would come back again.



Night time, we went to Kensuke's place for a Ramen Party with the other Jap folks. Gosh, i finally know what is Dashi stock after asking the Iron Chef Shigeto who was being applauded by everyone for his fabulous culinary skills. Gosh, the dinner was good!!We had some small dishes as appetizers and then all kinds of miso, salt,soya ramen with pork and egg!!We slurped the soup and noodles and did not care about making noises since we are with the Japanese.Mai was very hospitable. After that,they had sake drinking session which was followed by the dessert--green bean soup which was prepared by both Ron and I. Wahahha it was a simple dish ( we were so tired after the hike that we could not prepare anything )!!!But the Japs love it so much and kept asking for recipes!!On top of that, we still had the double chocolates chip ice-cream.

I am super full at the end of the night but I really enjoy the night as they were really nice bunch of people to hang out with.I look forward to more parties like this.I think next week , there will be a Tapas party. I am really looking forward to it.