My First Valentine

This is the time where boys are rushing to buy roses for their love ones and girls are getting chocolates wrapped up in beautiful boxes to give in return. Flower shops are blooming with business this season and love is in the air. Or so we think =)

For many of us, Valentine is about gift exchange between couples and it is the time to get all lovey dovey and romantic. Singles try their luck with their targets and sends them beautiful roses with notes and poems. Some write songs and some sing it in front of their crush’s home at midnight. Oh how romantic.

As for me, this day is different. It is a day where I look at couples and see how similar they are with my first love. I remembered how my first love comforted me when I was down. I remembered how my first love gave me so much peace when I was all stressed up and worrying. I remembered how my first love would tell me how much I am loved in spite of all my flaws. I remembered how my first love told me I will still be loved no matter if I am good looking or not. I remembered how my first love shared inspiring stories to lift me up in times of uncertainty. I remembered how my first love gave me hope when I saw none. I remembered how my first love died for me…

My first love is Jesus Christ.

He will be my valentine each and every day of my life.

Talk about roses.
Jesus was the most beautiful rose, thrown on the ground and trampled on and broken and destroyed. So that its aroma may come out and the scent may be captured by those who love him.

Talk about love poems.
Jesus wrote us tons of love poems telling us how precious we are and how much he loved us. Lovers said, “I will not leave you.” They stole Jesus’ words saying, “I will be with you always, until the end of the age.”

Talk about songs.
Jesus taught us to pray a prayer that has been sung as a song for centuries. “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name, thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven…”

Talk about love.
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son (Jesus) that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

Knowing this. Have a lovely Valentine you all.

Blessed Birthday, Grandma!

Last month we celebrated my Grandma's birthday at a restaurant in PJ. The whole family from my mother's side were present except for my father who couldn't make it. We had a good time eating and chatting and laughing. I was especially glad because I managed to chat with my cousins whom we have kind of lost contact for many years now. They were my mother's elder brother's children. We grew up together but somewhere in history we lost contact. We did meet up two years back for my grandma's birthday but didn't chat much. Only that night we did had a good chat. Good to know that they are Christians as well and they are faithfully serving the Lord. Couldn't believe that God turned this family of staunched Buddhist into faithful Christians. Only the love of Jesus could do such things. Amen to that.

Pam, Petula. May you grow deeper in your relationship with God and fulfill the call of God upon your lives. Let go of the past, look forward and fix your eyes on Jesus. Also don't forget to pray for our uncle's family yea =)

God bless!

My happy grandmother with her second generation offspring!

From left: Charlene, Alwin (my brother), Pamela, Celine (the little one with the finger sign), Jolene (at the back), Petula, and me.

Pam, Grandma and I.

The Tay family. The uncle is my mother's elder brother.

My grandma and her children! So sweet. =)

From left: Hillary Tay, Ronny Tay and my mother Lily Tay.

People Who Say Such Things...

Romania
1960s

The Communist torturers came towards Pastor Florescu again, this time with red-hot iron pokers. “Who else believes as you do? Give us their names!” Florescu would not speak. They had already cut him again and again with knives and beaten him very badly. When he refused to cooperate, he was returned to his prison cell.

Starving rats were driven into his cell through a large pipe. He could not sleep, having to defend himself at all times. If he rested a moment, the rats would attack him. He was forced to stand for two weeks, day and night. The Communists kept asking him to betray his Christian friends, but he resisted steadfastly.

In the end, they brought his fourteen-yea-old son and began to whip the boy in front of his father, saying that they would continue to beat him until the pastor told them what they wanted to know. The poor man was half crazy. He bore it as long as he could. But when he could stand it no more, he cried to his son, “Alexander, I must say what they want! I can’t bear your beatings anymore!”

The son answered, “Father, don’t do me the injustice of having a traitor as a parent. Withstand! If they kill me, I will die with the words, ‘Jesus and my fatherland!’”

This enraged the Communists. They grabbed the young man and beat him to death, his blood splattering over the walls of the cell. He died praising God.

Hebrews 11:14,16
People who say such things show that they are looking for country of their own – a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God. For he has prepared a city for them.

This true story was taken from the book Jesus Freaks: Voice of the Martyrs by dc Talk.

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Reading stories like that makes me wonder will I really be able to do what these heroes of faith did. If someone points a gun at my head and threatens to kill me if I do not deny Jesus, what would I really do? Would I deny and then later go to God and ask for forgiveness? Or would I shout, “I love Jesus!” and get my head blown off in front of my loved ones.

Too far-fetched.

This kind of thing wouldn’t probably happen to us on a daily basis unless we live in countries like Saudi Arabia where there is a constant threat on Christians. But for people like you (who sits in front of the computer reading this), a thing like that won’t happen. So then, do we really know the meaning to die for Christ? Or do we know what it means to give our lives for God?

Do you know that you face life or death situation each day in your life?

Your decision not to spend time praying and talking to God is similar to denouncing the name of Jesus when a gun is pointed at your head.

Your decision to follow your ambitions and dreams and not do what God calls you to do is similar to saying, “Wait! Don’t shoot me. I want my life. I don’t need Jesus.”

Your decision to live the life the way you want and not bothering to be a Jesus Freak is similar to claiming, “Jesus is not real. God does not exist. It is just a wishful thinking.”

You ask, “Go on talking, Mr. Preacher. I still have my life to live and you are not going to shoot me. So what does it matter?”

Fireworks...

Fireworks.

You hear lots of them during the Chinese New Year season and also some religious festivals. You see them flying up into the night sky in all kinds of beautiful colors. They make so much noise and rob off your sleep. And they stink up the air with burnt smell. Then in the morning you see the residues left by them in the streets. And in front of some Chinese house you see piles of red papers on the floor and no one sweeps it away for at least 5 days because it is considered an auspicious thing.

Fireworks have very brief lifespan. They are made to be burnt. In them are lots of gunpowder and firepower that allows them to make so much noise. People light them up and see them go up in flames for a few brief seconds. After that, they are remembered no more. They attract a lot of attention and all eyes look at them on their last moment of life when they blow up in the sky producing a beautiful display of lights and sounds. And we humans are in awe to see such beautiful night amusement.

Fireworks live a life so brief.
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Last week, a group of us gathered at Jolene’s house for a CNY meet up and we had some fun playing card games, chatting, blowing off fireworks and doing some minor vandalism haha.

I have been really busy this season to constantly update my blog. However I would love to update it more often once I am more settled and know how to use my time well. Will update this space as often as possible.

As for my new blog design, it is incomplete. I am not the one doing it, my friend Christopher Cheong is doing it for me and he is so “nice” to leave his work half done. I am chasing him to complete it as soon as possible so bear with me ya =)

Lighting up the mini bombs and placing the orange cone on top of it and watching it blow off sending the cone flying up into the air =) was fun...

When Sheng Giap farts...

Harry Potters wannabes.

And then they kidnapped my camera...

And did this.

Happy CNY. =D

This Blog is under construction =)

Please stay with me yea.