21 Days to Christmas

In these 21 days, my prayer is that I will see Him all over again

Practice

This weekend, together with my sisters, I will be performing in a musical. The initial months of practice, we all disliked it. Especially the acting.

I didn't like staying back on Sundays to practice, nor was it easy rehearsing my lines and choreographing steps with a Chinese speaking lady. I needed a translator all the time.

But now that it's the last couple of days to the show, and we have only two rehearsals before, I've been wanting practice everyday! Nat and I keep saying that to ourselves and we laugh over it because it sounds absurd, considering we wouldn't say that two months ago, but where is practice when you want it?

We know if we nail this, it won't be us. Never could be anyway. Oh God, Help!!

Bread the Conventional Way

Made bread from scratch today...not awesome...but not bad either!

Hot bread with butter and raspberry jam on a rainy day brings satisfaction to some extent. =)

Reading Ephesians...

Waiting to be inspired, longing to be empowered.

Footprints

I love this story =)

One night I dreamed a dream.

I was walking along the beach with my Lord.

Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.

For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sands,

one belonging to me, and one to my Lord.

When the last scene of my life shot before me

I looked back at the footprints in the sand.

There was only one set of footprints.

I realized that this was at the lowest

and saddest times of my life.

This always bothered me and I questioned

the Lord about my dilemma.

"Lord, you told me when I decided to follow You,

You would walk with me all the way.

But I'm aware at the most troublesome

times of my life there is only one set of footprints.

I just don't understand why, when I needed

You the most, You leave me."

He whispered, "My precious child,

I love you and I will never leave you

never, ever, during your trials and testings.

When you saw only one set of footprints

it was when I carried you."

- Margaret Fishback 1964 -

In Search of Adventure

The past 2-3 weeks has definitely an adventure, and I'm just amazed how the time just flew. I thought we were just waiting for June to come bringing the youth conference, church camp, RAD summer school, and with lots of fun in between. But I'm already in the middle of all that, and I'm so glad I've had so many special people to spend my time with.

Church camp was a blast, - aside from the irritating itchiness on my mouth - I did enjoy dancing with the 'The Spiritual Geckos,' (the temporary name for our band??!) crashing the other girls' dorm, and not to forget, almost getting thrown in the pool, but it ended up being the other way. ;D

Having only two full days at home before leaving for Singapore, things are pretty busy and chaotic. But in the midst of all the preparation and errands, I can't help being excited!! Anyway, before I can blog about my first experience in dance camp, I have to BE in dance camp...so hopefully I can find the time to squeeze in something about dancing in Singapore.


Till then,

Love It!!

Just recently, a friend introduced this song to me and I love it!! I wanted to add a video into this post, but I don't know how to, so the lyrics will have to do.

Lay It Down

I've been lookin' till my eyes are tired from lookin'

Listenin' till my ears are numb from listenin'
Praying till my knees are sore from kneelin'

On the bedroom floor.

I know that you know my heart is achin'

I'm running out of tears and my will is breakin'

I don't think that I can carry the burden of it anymore

All of my hopes, and my dreams and my best laid plans

Are slowly slipping through my folded hands

So I'm gonna lay it down
I'm gonna learnt to trust you now
What else can I do?

Everything I am depends on you

And if the sun don't come back up

I know your love will be enough

I'm gonna let it be, I'm gonna let it go,

I'm gonna lay it down

I've been walking in this world like I'm barely livin'

Buried in the doubt of this hoe I've been diggin'

But you're pullin' me out

And I'm finally breathin' in the open air

This room may be dark but I'm finally seein'

There's a new ray of hope and now I'm believin'

That the past is past, and the future's beginnin'

To look brighter now

Cause all of my hopes, and my dreams and my best laid plans

Are safe and secure when I place them in your hands

So I'm gonna lay it down
I'm gonna learnt o trust you now
What else can I do?

Everything I am depends on you

And if the sun don't come back up

I know your love will be enough

I'm gonna let it be, I'm gonna let it go,

I'm gonna lay it down
I'm gonna lay it down

I'm gonna lay it down

- Jaci Velasquez -


Go look for it on Youtube or something...it's an awesome song!!

My Heart. My Mind.

On our way to Spearhead Training (Tia picked Nat and I up from our house) we were listening to "Just Stand Up" (by...yikes, a lot of artists! =D) on Tia's mp3 player.

There was this line that went "If your mind keeps thinking you've had enough, but your heart keeps telling you don't give up..." so Tia asked us, "are you a mind person or a heart person?"

At first we didn't know exactly what she was talking about, but I think this is what I got out of her explanation, or question in the first place : what motivates you to do things, what gets you going, or what decides what you do.

Initially, we both said, "it depends" so Tia made the question focused generally on playing floorball. At first I said heart. Then after a while I thought otherwise. Of course we use both some of the time, but other occasions we tend to lean on one side. So now, I'm not really sure about myself!

Tia suggested I blog about it, so here I have tried to pen down (tapping away, rather) my thoughts...

So are you a heart person or a mind person?

The Defibrillator

Quite recently, a friend introduced the word "defibrillator" to me. Even then, I did not think that it was an actual word until I looked it up on the Internet and here is Webster Online's response: Defibrillator - An electronic device that applies an electric shock to restore the rhythm of a fibrillating heart.

This friend knows I'm plenty ticklish, so supposedly I go through defibrillation when pokes me in the sides. =P It's quite irritating (ahem...) mainly because he does this quite often, and also because he thinks his hands make absolutely fantastic defibrillators. xD

I do recall one time when I happened to be next to Nat when he decided to try his "defibrillatoring" skills on her. I suppose it was her natural reaction to move, but why she whacked me in the face, I don't know =D I think I was tearing because I was laughing so hard, not because it hurt. apparently, he did not expect that to happen, but either way it was funny.

So for those who for whom I talking about, the next time you see him around... I will leave the rest for you to find our yourself.

Bring It On!!

Have you ever seen any of the five Bring It On's'? I think that phrase is sounds rather cool asking for the challenge, this season that really isn't the line that I can be saying.

I have been asking God for His strength as the past week have been full of floorball. After the first coaching session with Jill Quek, (Don't know her? Find out!) I was tired out! I didn't think the drills were that hard actually, but waking up at 6 am and coming down from Tanjung Bunga all the way to Balik Pulau is definitely NOT my cup of tea! Her sessions and the friendly Trailblazers had against FireBrands was told to be a training for the league.

Since last year, I have been so excited for PFL (stands for Penang Floorball League, for all whom has no idea whatsover that means =D) and being able to play in Division 2. Anyway, to end the awesome (but awfully achy) week, we played our first game in the league!!

Guess what! We won!! What an awesome first game to start the season! The score was 5-2 and although I really wanted at least one goal (and expected it) none were from me =P But my wrap ALMOST went in ;D

So Trailblazers, are we ready for the challenge the next 3 games are going to bring? Remember girls, BE STRONG AND COURAGEOUS! Way to go Traiblazers!!


"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

~ Joshua 1:9 ~

An Original Fake

Last Tuesday, after ballet class and dinner at Ah Ma's house, (dinner was delicious =)) Chrisa and Ashton wanted to follow our grandparents out first, so Nat and I had mum to ourselves for a while.

As we were coming downstairs, a young man entered the lift. When he turned and faced the doors (as almost everyone does when they enter the lift) we saw the back of his white T-shirt with black printing that said: Original Fake.

Original Fake?! What is that supposed to mean?! We all noticed it at the same time, but Nat was the first one to show her quizzical expression, with Mum and me following. I don't know how I looked like, but anyone who knows Nat and Mum well enough, would know that the faces they had on meant the same thing.

We all knew what each other were thinking, which made everything funnier still. I tried to stifle my giggle, but as a lot of you would guess, I didn't. The guy must have heard, because he threw a glance backward which made me laugh even more. When we exited the lift, all three of us started giggling uncontrollably.

We stated that we must blog about this, so here I am writing (more like typing down, but anyway...) that funny moment. It actually still makes me smile at the memory, and if it is mentioned amongst the three of us, we start laughing all over again.

So, has anyone got an idea what an Original Fake is?

A New Look

As you can see, my blog has been transformed! Lately, mum and I have been in a blog craze. About to weeks ago, we got bitten by a blogger bug and since then, whenever we can, we are exploring the world of blogging...or making them beautiful anyway. If there are any of you out there whom have any useful advice, please leave a comment. It would be very much appreciated.

I really love the new look of my blog and I'm so proud that I did it. =D I admit, I haven't got much skill in this area and like I said, I'm just experimenting with what I can do. I haven't actually done up any blog before, so mixing and matching different headers and backgrounds for this one was very fun.

Of course, the background and header I took were someone else's designs, but still....I can say I put them together =P As you probably have already noticed, there's a tag at the top left corner of my blog. Although the designer would want her mark to say she created the background, I would have very much preferred if I could have used one of her buttons rather than a tag that really contrasts with my blog. I hope I do not sound mean, because I really don't mean to.

Anyway, Thank You to Shabby Blogs for the "princessy" header which my family says (and so do I) suit me very much, and to Hot Bliggity Blog for the awesome background which goes wonderfully with my header.

I think I shall leave the design like this for quite a while.....

For a Cause

Last Friday my Mum received message asking if my sisters and I wanted to be part of a dance. It was very last minute, for as we got the message on Friday, the performance was to be the next day.

We had declined a few other projects before this one, so we thought we should take up this one(we are by now quite used to last minute dancing) although expected to be dead tired considering we were having Spearhead training right before that.

We learned that the dance was part of a whole day program fighting sexual abuse on children. We were told to meet my teacher and the rest of the kids we were going to work with at at 3.30 in 1st Avenue. The program was there, by the way.

So, after training we rushed to my Ah Ma's house and got ready as fast as we could. We reached there st 4.15...yikes! The rest had started practicing and had gotten a few scenes, but our teacher said they also just started, and we didn't really miss anything. We met the kids - who were from the Children's Protection Society - and tried to blend in wth the steps that they had already created.


In the end, we rehearsed for probably only 10 minutes, and while we were making our way down the escalators, the emcee announced our entrance. We were like, "Oh no!" but we got down there fine. We danced for only for about 3 minutes and although most of us didn't really know what we were doing, I think the dance went fairly well. (Remember...we only had ONE run-through)

Overall, I think I did what I should have been doing and so did Nat (Chrisa didn't want to dance.)
I am glad that we did it for a cause and was able to be in touch with the community.

I Am a Dreamer

I am a dreamer
Take me higher
Open the sky up
Start a fire
I believe even
If it's a just a dream
(Chorus of Dreamer by Bethany Dillon)

This song was played at the credits of the movie Dreamer (starring Dakota Fanning and Kurt Russell) and as I heard it, it reminded me that I am a Dreamer.

Strong and Beautiful

The name of the child build her character and carries her destiny. That's why my parents took the effort in seeking God when I was conceived. I take pride in my name,

- STRONG AND BEAUTIFUL -
- DREAMER (IRISH) -

Therefore, my life's desire and prayer is to be Strong and Beautiful in the Lord and Dream Big in making God famous.

End Note: I know I have an awesome name, but All Rights Reserved. Do not use my name for any purpose whatsoever, for yourself or anyone else. With thanks and appreciation. =D

You Know You're a Homeschooler When...

You Know You're a Homeschooler When...

You forget your booster doses.
You wake up at 12.30am for supper and do not have to worry about being late for school .
You get the entire skating rink on a school morning.

You read fairy tales in the airport at 9am on a weekday.
You wake up at 4.30am to pray and read your bible because you had a nightmare, then sleep in for the rest of the morning.
You can study one subject to your heart’s content without worrying about the school bell.
Your intelligence as a student is not graded with points.
You enjoy off-peak holiday bargains.
You study at Botanical Gardens(then get chased by a bunch of monkeys=P)
You dance to memorize times tables.
You teach your brother math with plastic soldiers on your bed.
School is in the car when mum has an emergency to attend.
People forget you study on public holidays.
The world is you classroom.
Your friends talk about exams and you wonder why people's education is dictated by it.

You’re in a prayer meeting when others are at tuition.
You read Little Women as English Literature when others read textbooks.
Your 2 year old brother listens attentively to 8 chapters of unabridged Pinocchio.
You’re asked to do things last minute because you are not in “school”.

Other kids' paintings are restricted to piece of art paper, you have the whole church wall.

You’re shopping for Christmas presents when others are only thinking of Christmas presents.
Your mum is cooking lunch, feeding the toddler, and teaching 3 different grades at once!

Written by the 3rd, 7th and 8th Grade Students of EN Academy