ONLY BY GRACE

I know I have disappeared momentarily from the blogging world but ...NO EXCUSE...just plain lazy! :) In any case, it's now August; more than half the year is gone. Down to 4 more months of 2012!  2 years of teaching have gone by...just like that. Wheeeee.... Well much have happened since May and honestly, I cannot depend on my memory these days to remember events of 3 months ago. So it shall just be about August! MAJULAH SINGAPURA!  LOVING SINGAPORE, OUR HOME.  I do not see myself as a patriot but I won't deny if I am asked if I love Singapore. I LOVE SINGAPORE! Truly. Sure, there are the not so beautiful aspects but at the end of the day, I don't see myself being rooted anywhere else, at least for now.  This year I am so thankful to be able to get a free ticket from Buddy Kevin to watch the NDP live. I tried balloting but to no avail and I was resigned to just watching it over the television. Then the pleasant surprise came few days before the 9...

This is seriously OUT-OF-DATE! Procrastination has led me to be 5 months overdue in updating my blog. Ok I am just L.A.Z.Y. On hindsight, there have been key moments in each of the 5 months and I hope to be able to put them all down as succinctly as possible. Alright, let's go! THE UPs JANUARY 1. CNY was quite different, yet again. We went for a movie, all 8 of us at AMK hub after lunch at Miramar's Peach Garden, which didn't really impress us unfortunately despite its reputation! Nevertheless, we managed to have a good time bonding and I guess it is really not about what we do but who we are with that matters.                                                                                                  F.A.M.I.L.Y.  FEBRU...

What a trip it was! Despite shortening the trip from 10days to 7days, resulting in me paying an extra $780 (airfare), I never once felt I was shortchanged throughout the one week in Turkey. From having a luxurious car to be driven around with, a very experienced & knowledgable guide and awesome weather, every of our needs (& wants occasionall) were all met. I know the Big Daddy had things all planned out and all things work out beautifully...in His time. First Leg - Cappadocia (14-15 Dec) The highlight has gotta be the hot-air balloon tour. Prior to the trip, it was an option we left open but when the guide told us that the weather has been wonderful and he could charge us at a lower price (US$150 instead of the usual US$200), we said "YES". Boy... were we glad we went ahead with it. The experience was just unspeakably wonderful. It was so surreal to be up in a balloon amidst the azure blue sky and taking shots from an aerial view, a scene which is typically replicate...

The very reason why we can celebrate Christmas. All because of One. Blessed Christmas world! :) "Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." - Isaiah 53:4-6

If Not For Your Grace..... I would have been blind to such beauties. I would not have crossed paths with a whole lot of amazingly crazy people! I would not have been loved by many and be able to love many in return. As the song goes: Where would I be If not for your grace Carrying me through every season Where would I be If not for Your grace Came to rescue me And I want to thank You For Your graceGrace that restores Grace that redeems Grace that releases Me to worship Grace that repairs Visions and dreams Grace that releases Miracles Truly truly..where would I be...if not for His grace.

I highly doubt that I can put all that has happened over the last 2 months "in a nutshell". I'll try. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A. BYE JO In my last entry, I wrote about Jo who left for BKK to do her Masters. Never in my wildest dream would I thought I would actually have to pay my tributes to her 1 month later. In a way that I so least expected. Barely 2 weeks after sending her off, she came down with a brain infection that left her unconscious for a whole month and on the fateful 25th of October, she left us to be with the Lord. This came after receiving very optimistic reports from the doctors the night before - she was transferred out of ICU to the high-dependency ward after being given the clearance by the medical team. I was rejoicing and musing about how I was planning to "irritate" her as she returns onto the path of recovery. Alas, I was to receive the heartbreaking ...

Many came and quite a number left. Only a few, in the past few years, managed to stick through thick and thin with me. Even in friendships, there are stayers & goers. I am honored to have this few good friends, whom I can safely say will be my confidantes till my twilight years. After dusting the dust off my blog, I decided to dedicate this entry to 2 pals, whom have been such a big part in my life that no words can quite describe how I'm feeling as they are heading to different nations this season. But I know they are living out their destiny and I'm more than honored to be able to walk with them in this journey call LIFE. ANAIS LEE YAN LING As I blogged, she is already on her way to catch her flight to HK to embark on her DTS stint for the next 6 months. Truly a connector at heart to all peoples. She has been the glue that binds different ones together for as long as I've known her. Unchanging and steadfast in her pursuit of what God has placed on her ...