Cure for Cancer...Faith

Her doctor said it’s time for her checkup
That she needed to pack up
To stay in the hospital overnight
For the procedure may be require over sight

She had a few days to think over
It was not the first time since she had cancer
Where she was put in a difficult position
To decide whether or not she should go through with the operation

In the mornings and where all is dark and solemn
She kneels down with a contrite heart and broken
Before God, crying for His will to be done
For she desires to put her trust in His Son

The Spirit of God descending like a dove
Came down to earth seeing her heart so full of love
Touched her heart and filled it with peace
Assuring that He is with her always even in this maze
And that His perfect love that casts out all fear
In the midst of confusion even when the answers are near

She made up her mind
She never felt so sure in her life
And with the confirmation of friends and family
She was ready to go God’s way
Putting her faith to the test
And not to doubt the healing power He has

Written by liss
Copy right 17 Aug 2007

Dedicated to,

A woman of faith,

A Mighty prayer warrior,

My role model,

My mom.

Love you lots mom! ^^

Loving God, Loving People...A vertical, horizontal relationship...

I have tons of work to do and here I am blogging. Hmm, I guess sometimes you just have to get your thoughts straight. Like something's been bugging you and you have gotta get it out. Even if it means blogging. Well, today Wendy's having a birthday celebration in our place, guess it's gonna be a long night again. haha. Not that I'm complaining, it's good to have people in your house not all the time!! once in a while...^^

My church, Richmond AOG has recently launched TOGETHER WE STAND, that is, 40-Days of Community, a sequel of 40-Days of Purpose by RIck Warren. We just did a session, during lifegroup on Wed. And ironically, we were taught about loving others, how it is a command, choice etc... Hah, just when I was talking about playing host to a party (technically not me, but Wendy =p)

During sharing, I've realised that I have been struggling in this area...of loving people. Not that I've been suffering from hurt and am unable to express myself but...in only loving people when it is convenient for me...and only to those who are 'loveable’. Sounds discriminative huh? But all so true.

We are just so caught up with the things of life that sometimes we forget to stop and 'smell the roses' as one of the pastors say. We do things out of our schedule, following plans (not that planning is all that bad), till it becomes a routine, a duty and done just for the sake of 'doing it'. Where has all the passion gone? The spark that ignites our sense of purpose and justice?

So, in conjunction with this program, I've decided to do some application of 'loving others' myself...Which includes, yes, finally catching up with all the people I've been wanting to catch up since the beginning of the year. Not because I need to, but because I WANT to!! And how do I accomplish this? By putting in EFFORT! And opening up my schedule (not that I have a tight one anyway). I’m just lazy not in the mood having to get out of my oh-so-comfortable-room, it's so cold outside. haha. Not gonna be an easy task, after all, it's only the beginning, lot more ground to cover!!!

1st step: get rid of the lazy bug!!!

For God so loved...

We rode into town the other day
Just me and my Daddy.
He said I’d finally reached that age,
And I could ride next to him on a horse that of course was not quite as wild.
We heard a crowd of people shouting and so we stopped to find out why.
There was that man that my dad said he loved,
But today there was fear in his eyes.

So I said Daddy why are they screaming?
Why are the faces of some of them beaming?
Why is he dressed in that bright purple robe?
I bet that crown hurts him more than he shows.
Daddy please, can’t you do something?
He looks as though he’s going to cry.
You said he is stronger than all of those guys,
Daddy please tell me why,
Why does everyone want him to die?

Later that day the sky grew cloudy and daddy said I should go inside.
Some how he knew things would get stormy, boy was he right.
But I could not keep from wondering if there was something that he had to hide,
So after he left I had to find out.
I was not afraid of getting lost
So I followed the crowds to a hill where I knew men had been killed
And I heard a voice come from a cross:

And it said: Father why are they screaming.
Why are the faces of some of them beaming?
Why are they casting their lots for my robes??
This crown of thorn hurts me more than it shows.
Father please can’t you do something?
I know that you must hear my cry.
I thought I could handle a cross of this size,
Father, remind me why.
Why does everyone want me to die?
When will I understand why?

My precious Son, I hear them screaming.
I’m watching the face of the enemy beaming
But soon I will clothe you in robes of my own.
Jesus this hurts me much more than you know,
But this dark hour I must do nothing.
I’ve heard your unbearable cry —
The power in your blood destroys all the lies,
Soon you’ll see past their unmerciful eyes.
Look there below see the child trembling by her father’s side.
Now I can tell you why,
She is why you must die.

Such a meaningful song, and is so true. I just picture myself as the little girl, and how Jesus, and even God had to bear pain just to save me, a small insignificant girl, I am. And not just me, saving everyone who believes. To each one of us personally. Yes, no matter where we come from, how our past has been and our future, God doesn’t discriminate. All we have to do is just to receive the salvation He’s given us…

Was so touched by it. I LIKE!!!

Slaves to sin...

Do you know how sometimes we know that something is right and not do it? Or even when we know we ought not to have done that wrong thing but we do it anyway? I am not saying I have recently been in that situation, but don’t we struggle with that everyday? Even with us and our daily lives and sometimes not even realizing it? We have become too comfortable with routines that we have to stop and think of what if we have done things differently. Just by helping someone in need, knowing it’s the right thing to do but somehow letting it slip off your mind. Such act is unforgivable but yet, unavoidable.

"for what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.
If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good.
But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.
For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.
Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me."

Romans 7: 15 – 20

The only thing we can do now is to lean on our Father and He will give us the strength to do what that is right and to resist any temptations along the way, for…

"i can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak…

MOUNT BULLER

It all started with a dream, which turned into a plan, and then to reality!!! It's amazing how God just grants the prayers of your heart, even without you asking for it. And yeah, I'm so thankful to have gone on this trip, to Mount Buller.

There were bout 20+ of us who went, all of which were friends of friends, so technically I didn't know just about everyone who went for the trip. But it was fine, since we were on a tour anyway. Waking up that morning at 4 was difficult, with me having a rough night the night before (partly, because of some people who decided that it was still early and made noise) presumably from being excited over the fact that I'm finally going the next day.

The ride was not the best; it never is when travelling up to the mountains, with a few people having nausea. But once we saw the snow on the way up, everyone was only focused on getting to the top. It seemed like forever when we had to follow a crawl all the way up, and when we reached the skating rink, waited on a few shuttle buses before we actually arrived.

With the place swarming with people, we had to find our way around, booking lockers, borrowing gear and getting everyone organized (which was not easy, btw, given the number of people). And me, anxiously waiting to conquer the mountains! haha. But it wasn’t easy trying to walk with the bulky boots and hauling the long and heavy skis plus poles at the same time. We were led by an instructor, who taught us the basics of skiing and snow ploughing. It was later on that I was getting the hang of the sport and ready to go down the slope.

There was a belt-sort-of-escalator that led us up to the top (no, I wasn’t ready enough to go all the way up using a chair lift). We had fun, ‘zooming’ down the slope and catching the wind, even ice on our hair! (Although not all made it all the way down, while others too far down where it’s restricted!) haha. By the end of the day, I became the ‘snow queen’, from having my hair all frozen even to the point where my sunnies were stuck to them as well! My friends were having a bad time trying to detach my sunnies and skis from my hair with me shouting back at them in pain.

After the ‘scene’, I just had to stop and take a deep breath in of the magnificent picture right in front of me. It was truly a white, winter wonderland. The beauty surrounding me looked almost surreal with leaves of trees frozen so ‘perfectly’, it looks unnatural. And to think that all of this was created by God, reminds me of how great and awesome He is ^^

I would have liked to stay on a while longer if not for the fact that the bus was leaving at 4. So, all of us, reluctantly returned our equipment and headed back to the bus. It was on the bus that I realized;

I HAVEN’T SAT ON MY CHAIR LIFT!!!

I guess I was just too engrossed in getting up and down the slope as fast and as many times as I can that I just forgot about it T.T Oh well, I guess I’d have to make another trip again somewhere else, maybe to Switzerland? haha. In my dreams! *Sigh*

Walking in a winter wonderland ^^

Internet on and going!

Yea, as the title suggests, my internet has been down for what, a week? So, I was not able to do much, what more updating...But I've learnt to appreciate the Internet more, even when it takes ages to load a page...

Things have been going just... normal. That's good, right? Or plain, boring. haha. Getting used to the workload and getting down to the serious stuff. Fortunately, I don't have many assignments this semester which makes it a whole lot easier for me.

Oh, and I went to this restaurant, Lucky Chan where Serena's god dad spent us dinner. That's nice of him ^^ I felt so jakun the whole time while in the restaurant when having to 'tackle' so many delicacies in one night! We had abalone, lobster, duck, beef and I think it was bird's nest for desert? Now you can imagine how overwhelmed I must felt the whole time. Talk bout etiquette!

That aside, we just had a birthday surprise party for Zhen Han. He has turned the BIG 2! Happie birthday!! ^^ So much for the my-housemates-would-never-do-anything-for-me huh? Anyway, we cooked up a meal for him, Yao in charge of the main dishes, and Wendy, our desert expert. Had prawns, lala soup with winter melon, beef and tomatoes, Nutella cheesecake, honeydew sago etc... Makes you wanna drool, ay? ^^

Oh, and a big thank you to Adam for making the surprise a success. haha. It was a good thing he left his glasses (which he needed to play poker) at home, otherwise it would have been difficult trying to convince him to go home without being suspicious. No need to resort to our many other back up plans! (which btw, would NEVER work, especially Plan B!).

And, my housemate's and I have started sharing cooking together. Which is a good thing, after planning for so long! But it was super stressful, especially when I had to cook yesterday since no one else was around. Thinking bout whether it tasted alright and whether it suited their taste buds. haha. So I'm learning. Well, gotta start somewhere, don't I? ^^

Finally, finally, finally! We're going to Mount Buller!!! Been wanting to go for a long time but haven't gotten round to planning it so when Serena's friend Bryan invited, I was more than happy to be in!

With the hype of actually going to Mount Buller, Wendy and I made a must-do-list in Australia before we leave. I'm not sure how we're gonna manage to do everything, but we're do our best. So here's our non-exhaustive list, feel free to add on to it... ^^

Puffing Billy
Frankston Beach
St. Kilda
Philip Island
Dandenong mountain
Gold Coast?

Eat Hogsbreath steak
Go cherry picking
Watch flowers as they bloom in spring
Shopping (isn't it always on the list?)
Watch a footie match

*bout Great Ocean Road, we've been and we've decided that as time goes by, the attractions are getting less there as the Twelve? Apostles disappear slowly one by one. haha.

Suggestions, suggestions!!!