Reconnecting..

Last night, I had a wonderful time with 3 of my secondary school classmates.  We have not caught up with one another for a long time esp after our marriage and when the children came along.

Although food was horrid at the Indonesian restaurant, we enjoyed ourselves nevertheless as we updated one another on what's happening in our lives.  Fortunately we chose to sit at the patio (non aircon), coz we laughed so loud.  Nothing has changed, we often laugh at ourselves over our silly actions or awkward circumstances.  Later, when we had our drinks at T.G.I. Fridays, we spent more time reminiscing our school days - going into abandoned houses or big drains, climb trees, dance parties & doing things which the teachers were unaware of. Once in the lab, an explosion took place when I mixed the wrong chemicals tog coz we didnt pay attention to the teacher.  Fortunately, my eyebrows n fringe were still intact! I heard of a girl whose eyebrows & fringe 'disappeared' after an mini explosion when she opened the oven (the old type) during a cooking session.

There are so many changes in our lives.  First, I discovered all of them smoke but 2 had already quitted by sheer determination which starts in the mind.  They said no other way could kick the habit.  Thank goodness only 1 smoked yesterday; I often get a headache after inhaling smoke from cigarettes after a while so I always have to get away from a group of smokers. 

Anyway, some of their marriages were not good, but one managed to find happiness in a 2nd marriage after divorce.  The other one had not been too fortunate and was left to take care of 5 children all on her own.  Her husband refused to take up that responsibility. Such a jerk!  I have never trusted him when he was a boyfriend to her back then. However, I couldnt back up my intuition with facts so.. she went ahead to marry him anyway.  No doubt that decision had brought lots of hurt and I could feel her loneliness as she sat beside me.


One of the ladies managed to get a job at Tiger Airways as a Supervisor in charge of the young stewardess on the plane.  Wow!  She's going back to flying again after 18 yrs, at her age!  Impressed!  Of course, she doesnt look her age with light makeup on.  Not only are we happy for her, we are also thrilled that she will pass some air tickets to us- FREE :) ; after all, she gets unlimited tickets from Tiger - 5 tickets at any 1 time throughout the year.

They are not fair-weather friends. Although we dun meet frequently, coz of our own family commitments, we would be there if anyone needs help.


I hope that one day, I'll be able to bring the gospel of salvation to them; I wouldnt want to miss seeing them in heaven. It maybe hard to get it across to one who is a Muslim but then God specialises in the impossible.  Already, there are Muslims who turned Christians in my church.
The bible says in Proverbs 17:17 "A friend loves at all times."  speaks of loyalty as the evidence of genuine friendship.

My Word!

My Dears

I want to share what's in my heart. Remember the Word of God is important above all else.

Hebrews 4:12 "For the word of God is living & active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul & spirit, joints & marrow; it judges the thoughts & attitudes of the heart."

John 14:4 "You may ask me for anything in MY NAME and I will do it." 

 

The Word of God is life changing & dynamic as it works in us. With the incisiveness of a surgeon's knife, God's Word reveals who we are & what we are not. If only Christians realise the power of God's Word, they would have supernatural peace & joy amidst the chaos around them.

I met this lady who has been a Christian for 2 years but she has yet to taste victory in her life. When she came to see me, her damaged self-image seemed beyond repair. She was put under a curse by a sorceress whose son she had offended many years ago. It seems that the sorceress does not intend to let her go and almost every day & night, my friend has to endure severe itch caused by invisible worms crawling all over her. The sorceress has performed a form of witchcraft using voodoo. You can pour worms over the doll which represents my friend & through spoken evil words, the curse will take place. There is no power in the dolls, curses come to pass because of the demonic power that is operating through the person speaking forth the curses.

This curse can be broken by using God's Word to defeat the demonic forces and by believing in your heart that it will happen. Apparently it did not work on her becoz she likes to talk about defeat & lament that it's no use praying. She has more faith in satan's authority & power than in God's! Moreover in prayer, she uses the Word more like a 'charm' to ward off evil spirits. I recognise that this is satan's constant manipulation of men's minds as in previous past cases, & that is the 1st area I have to deal with so that her mind will be freed & able to digest what the Word of God says.

At 1 of my recent CNY steamboat gatherings, I met a troubled guy (happened to sit beside me) who after discovering Peter & I are marriage instructors & counsellors, he told me that he has a lot of problems with his present 'wife' (they are not married) with whom he has a baby daughter now. His 'wife' has 4 children from a previous marriage & she is now going through a divorce which he's not sure if her marriage was legal in the 1st place. I feel so sorry for this guy coz he just cannot handle his emotions anymore. As a result, he slashed himself. He showed me the cuts on his arms. They were deep but healed.

A couple came to visit us last night to arrange for solemnization. His fiancee spoke about their problems they have with his 2 teenage sons from a previous marriage. Life has been tough. The man could not talk coz of the pain. I saw him wipe away his tears twice.

These people are people we do not know. We hope that by helping them, we will introduce to them the greatest love & healer of all, and that is, Jesus Christ when all else fails. Of course, we know all other ways will fail eventually except God. The only way is to go through a personal Encounter with God.

Today my QT talks about faith-filled prayer. We must look to the Mountainer Mover - God. We should not look at our own mountain that just would not move : a destructive habit, a character flaw, an impossible marriage or work situation, a financial problem or a physical disability. My QT reading taken from John 11:17-27 challenge me to shift the focus of my prayer. I should not spend a lot of time describing my mountain to God. He already knows what it is. Instead from now on, I will take that extra time to focus my attn on Jesus, the Mountain Mover.

So children, focusing your attn on Jesus will mean reading the bible & that's where He will speak to you.

What is your immovable mountain? Shift your attn to the Mountain Mover and then watch your mountain step aside.

Isaiah 41:10 "Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you & help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

With lots of Love,
Mum

An Entrepreneur's Journey of Faith & Obedience

Our friend, Datuk Edward Ong, chairman and founder of Sutera Harbour Resort of Sabah came to Spore 4 a short visit last wk. He's a really funny man when he talks. Back in the 1980s, he recalled how he came to know Christ while still working in his family's biz, OCK Construction Pte Ltd, a well-known & successful construction co. at that time. Before tt, he told himself that he wld never become a Christian, but a buddhist forever.

He had a lot of personal & work problems. He was so troubled that he decided to find something to read in his hotel rm on 1 of his trips overseas. The only thing he could find was a bible so he took it & randomly turned to a page - Isaiah 33. Vs 6 was the 1 tt struck him. "..the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure." That treasure refers to a rich store of salvation & wisdom & knowledge in the preceding vs. That reading gave him unexplainable peace & tt night, he slept well.

Came back to Spore & got himself in a church & received Christ. He broke the news to his parents who vehemently objected to his new faith. He was ostracized by his parents & 5 siblings at the dinner table. So, for 3 mths, the poor guy had to sit with his maid in the kitchen to have his meals. Meanwhile, he was enjoying church & esp scripture reading. It brought him great peace, joy & guidance. But he had to break this silent treatment with his parents & so he invited them out for a 7am breakfast. He asked them, " Didnt I become a better son after I was converted?" His father said yes, coz Edward used to shout at them & his siblings before that. So peace was finally restored in the home and Edward moved back to the dining table to eat with his family :)

When Edward finally sold his biz, God led him to build a (384 acres) renowed 5-star resort out of a swamp in Sabah in 1994. He wanted God to show a sign. A bird of paradise flew into his Orchard Rd penthouse from the Bird Park. A quick check with the internet told him this bird is only found in Sabah. He caught the bird which is now back in the Bird Park.

He was preparing for semi retirement but he rose up to God's call & God opened doors for him to raise millions of dollars for his project. His was a journey of faith, a journey of brokenness, of humbling himself & believing God for the impossible. He had to go through the Asian Economic Crisis of 97 & lost $400m in 1 day. Next was Sept 11, SARS, Avian Flu & the Bali bombing. When the people asked him about the effects of H1N1 swine flu in 2009, he'll reply, "What flu?" God protected him from the global crisis as well.

Today, he employs 2,000 employees in this beautiful marina, golf & country club & 2 5-star resort hotels with 956 rooms & suites. He even dedicates 1 of the floors to church 24/7 & pays his full time intercessors. I've walked through his resort; it's beautiful and we even took his luxurious boat out to 1 of the islands for half a day of swimming, snorkelling, relaxation & eating.

Now God has given him another sign with a Word fm God to work on the East Timor lake, to build a similar resort like Sutera. This man is abt 62 yrs old but challenges in life seem to give him supernatural energy.

God has great plans for us & this plan can only become a reality if we are transformed inwardly to follow God no matter what. God will use our skills, & like Edward, God used his construction skills but the end result may not be what u think it is. He constructed 2 hotels but he never dreamed that God wld make him a hotelier. Through this, Edward has impacted the nation. He never takes credit for this awesome task, he'll say, "It's God, it's not me."

In his own words, Edward says that "Faith is the power that GOd uses to create, while fear is what the devil uses to destroy."

I am very encouraged by his life. God can do the impossible if only we trust in Him, & His Word totally. Fear then will have no place in our lives.

Decision & Focus Make a Lovely Couple

Dear BIG little Chungs

To you CHUNGS and all those brave souls who have the courage to make difficult or major decisions and remain focused in your decisions, I dedicate this page to you!

I was pondering over a major decision that I made years ago when I was pregnant with u Calvin and Tabby was only 2+. It was to quit my job and stay home to look after the both of you. It didnt sound to me like it was going to be very exciting back then... doing housework, changing diapers, going to the market, cooking to feed all the hungry bodies in the house 24/7.. well almost. No more interesting interaction with adults, be in the know in the corporate world and opportunities to advance in my career. As much as I disliked staying at home, I must say that was the wisest decision that I had ever made.

Child-rearing is demanding, difficult & discouraging. But it is not impossible! And it is worth every bit of sacrifice & effort. As daddy and I glance back over our shoulders & pick out the most important achievements of our past, nothing comes close to the joys of rearing both of you. Was it easy, free of conflict & consistently rewarding especially during the teenage years? No. Did it require flexibility, availability, sacrifice & cooperation? You bet. Still does.

Never overlook the obvious - the nature & direction of your life change the instant you decide what goals you want to pursue. I could not imagine how both of you would turn out if I had decided to work full time or overtime. If I had decided I wanted to marry someone else & look at his life now, my spiritual life would have been stale and not enjoy the blessings & protection my intimacy with God has now brought me. Your dad has helped me in many ways to grow as a Christian & for that I'm grateful.

You seal your destiny with the choices/decisions you make. Wise decisions come from God and your quality of life is a direct reflection of the quality of your decisions!

Risks & costs accompany every decision but it's better to make a decision than none at all. When it comes to decisiveness, squatters have no rights. A decision is never made once. A decision to lose weight or to cut off a harmful habit must be remade everytime you feel hungry or tempted to fall into that bad habit. FOCUS then is the glue that holds your decision in place. Focus is a mental pic of something that you want. The most important aspect of focus is single-mindedness.

Over the years, I had to refocus repeatedly on my decision to build a strong family-God's way whenever staying at home was mundane. I could do that for almost 20yrs partly because God gave me a successful home-based business. Most important, I could commit unwaveringly because I love my family.

Decision & Focus - they feed off each other. Decision makes focus possible. Focus makes decision easier. They make me and you successful in life. Whenever you need to make a choice in your career, your marriage partner or walking with God all your life no matter what, just remember that DECISION & FOCUS do make a lovely couple !

Proverbs 24:3-4 "By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding, it is
established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare & beautiful treasures."

Much Love
Mummy