In Motion

One thing I both love and hate about groceries in the States is that they always come nicely packaged. A lot of stuff come in plastic containers, paper boxes or glass jars, but I feel that THIS amount of packaging cannot be environmentally-friendly. I mean, buy a jar of spaghetti sauce for 2 dollars, and you get a glass jar. Keep buying that, and you'll end up with tons of glass jars, some of which will inevitably end up in the trash because nobody needs SO MANY GLASS JARS. (Back home I never had this dilemma because store-bought spaghetti sauce was too expensive, and we didn't eat pasta all that much. But when something is so cheap...you just can't help it. =P) I guess this puts the onus on the consumer to be aware about the environment and recycle whatever's recyclable. Personally, I make it a point to recycle everything I can because the little efficiency monster in me doesn't like to waste things. I love that the recycling bins are just next to the trash disp...

Today, the skies rumbled and rained the whole day. It reminded me of Kuching. Nice, warm (figuratively speaking) familiarity. Right now we're about mid-spring, and the weather is lovely for the most part. It's usually either raining or 20 odd degrees Celsius (because I can't convert to Farenheit yet for the life of me), so now I have no problem taking out the trash on my own (guess who did it during the winter? =P), or getting the mail, or just feeling comfy and not like I live in an icebox. You can take me out of the tropics, but I guess you'll never take the tropics out of me. Spring is lovely. Here, the trees are covered with blooms, something you don't see in Malaysia because of the lack of seasons. Imagine a whole tree filled with white or yellow or pink flowers, and now imagine a whole row of such trees along the road. Absolutely beautiful and a really nice change from the dead, brown trees I've gotten so used to seeing in the winter. (Yeah, just keep...

How do you make a house a home? Yes, we're finally moving out after sharing an apartment with a wonderful apartment mate (he will be missed) for the past five to six months. Being me, I've already started sourcing for cheap, used household essentials so that we'll be prepped for a comfy stay once we move into our new place. It's so much fun! I think it's more fun because there's that challenge of living within a tight budget and getting the best value for money, i.e. buying used stuff. Believe me, it takes a lot of research and scouting round for good deals, and that's right up my alley. And we need to strike a nice balance between creating a cozy home and just spending on the basics. When I'm through with spending my husband's money, the place will (hopefully) have a woman's touch! Gone will be the days of the utilitarian bachelor pad, muahahaha. There are always sacrifices to be made, though. You can't get a perfectly decorated living r...

Ok I'm back. I missed writing so much, so I decided I HAD to set aside some time this morning to blog. It's been a hectic past 2 weeks, what with all my cooking adventures, serving in the Kids' Ministry, volunteering to do Sticky Note bibles at the Pregnancy Support Services, small group, a never-ending book list and the like. I like the fact that my small group meets mid-week, so it feels like I have activities throughout the week instead of busy weekends. Long story short, I feel like I'm becoming increasingly fruitful and productive with my time, not least due to Karen's willingness to take me under her wing to participate in all these volunteer ministries. Karen's part of my small group, and she's so vibrant and inspiring with her passion to minister to single mothers or women with unplanned pregnancies. And she's 60. SIXTY. I didn't even know that kind of energy exists at SIXTY. She makes ME feel like I'm the old one. If that's the k...

To provide you with some context, this parable was told by Jotham in protest of the coronation of his evil half-brother, Abimelech, who had killed almost all his other half-brothers in a bid for the throne. "Once upon a time the trees decided to choose a king.      First they said to the olive tree,      ‘Be our king!’   But the olive tree refused, saying, ‘Should I quit producing the olive oil      that blesses both God and people,      just to wave back and forth over the trees?’   “Then they said to the fig tree,      ‘You be our king!’   But the fig tree also refused, saying, ‘Should I quit producing my sweet fruit      just to wave back and forth over the trees?’   “Then they said to the grapevine,      ‘You be our king!’   But the grapevine also refused, saying, ‘Should I quit producing the wine  ...

#1 Older people who are still faithfully serving the Lord. So Jia Wern and I were looking to serve with the Summit's Kid's Ministry since a month ago, so we were given opportunities to shadow in several different age groups. Of the three age groups that we shadowed, two age groups were led by couples in their 50s - 60s. It's just amazing to see them lovingly interact with the preschool and elementary school kids as grandparents would. I asked one couple how long they've been in the ministry, and they said two years. They serve three Sundays a month, and would even prefer to serve four Sundays if they could because "the kids can get scared of strangers and a lot of change", but the administration wanted them to take a week off. It's just wonderful to see older couples so joyfully serving. I've always imagined myself as an old, tired lady by the time I hit retirement age, but these people are still bouncing up and down happily as they teach the child...

What do you do when you're locked inside a quadriplegic's body and can only communicate by blinking one eye? How do you retain your humanity and perspective? This book spoke to me because there are times I feel useless, insignificant and lonely here. A job would provide me with a sense of purpose and productivity, but take that away and it can be challenging to define my worth. This real-life memoir of a paralyzed man is inspiring because his spirit never dies and his imagination soars to beautiful places even in the midst of trying circumstances. It also challenged my perspective of wasted time - if I don't make a significant difference in the two to three years I will be here, will it be wasted? Because if it is wasted, then the lives of quadriplegics and human vegetables are technically wasted as well. But we know nothing ever goes to waste in God's economy, and His ways are higher than our ways. Brings to mind a worship song: God I look to You I won't...