Soli Deo Gloria

i feel so honoured that pete n i were approached to help out with benny's wedding... we knew each other 2 years ago =)

helping them out makes me think about my own wedding preparation. we are now sharing resources, passing on to them what we had went through - what are the things that help us. Going through the excel file with the time schedule just makes me wonder - did we do that? or rather, dearie is so organised and detailed ... he managed to fill in lots of gaps in the excel spreadsheet. =)

can still remember that i was real busy with work during the preparation for my wedding. thankfully dearie was around to look after most of the stuff...

as it is my friend's turn to tie the knot, i hope that dearie n i are able to help them just as much as how the many nice people had helped us out for our wedding...

may our heavenly Father watch over them and bless this couple that they will walk with you forever and ever as a single unit, united by you.... amen. =)

Labels: Life

ohhh... this is definitely one exciting week =)

last nite - went home to see my mama and grandmama ... it has been a while .. i could feel that they missed me... and i felt bad that i can only go back after two weeks - being dearie sick and we being busy with work and housework (i know, busy should not be an excuse... i would have still make the EXTRA effort to pop by ... sorry Mom)

tonight, i will be attending a corporate dinner - my company has won an award and our bosses decided to buy a table and we were invited to go. Though there were complaints like argh, must buy new dress, wear what? must paint nails a not etc, apart from 'worrying' abt being underdress or overi guess it will be quite fun - to see all this business bigwigs. =P

wednesday night - our TGM (Thanksgiving Mass)... dunno how things will flow (yea, we are really a disorganised bunch) but through the preparation, i had learnt about how to love one another, how to let go of certain things, realised that each and everyone has a different way of doing things. Whatever it is, if the focus is right, God will lead us to do the rest...

thursday - hopefully a rest day

friday - supposed to meet sarah and gang for dinner .... yea

saturday - rest day/housework day/planning to take sunny to east coast - well, let's see abt it...

sunday - attend a wedding dinner .... but just received a message that the groom needs our help ... let's see how we can help ... =)

Labels: random tots

Received this email from a brother-in-christ... hope to share it with you all...

=)

The Gifts of Pentecost: The Charisms of the Holy Spirit
Dr Marcellino D'Ambrosio





As a teen, I thought the clergy were supposed to do everything. We laity were just called to pray, pay and obey. Oh yes, and keep the commandments, of course. The original 10 seemed overwhelming enough. Then I discovered the Sermon on the Mount and nearly passed out.



This is why many inactive Catholics (as well as Baptists) are so resentful of their upbringing in the Church. For them, religion means frustration, failure, and guilt.



Somehow they, and I, missed the good news about Pentecost. OK, we Catholics celebrate the feast every year and mention it in Confirmation class, but lots of us evidently didn’t “get it.”



Because if we “got it,” we’d be different. Bold instead of timid, energetic instead of anemic, fascinated instead of bored. Compare the apostles before and after Pentecost and you’ll see the difference the Spirit makes.




The gospel is Good News not just because we’re going to heaven, but because we’ve been empowered to become new people, here and now. Vatican II insisted that each of us is called to the heights of holiness (Lumen Gentium, chapter V). Not by will power, mind you. But by Holy Spirit power. Holiness consists in faith, hope, and especially divine love. These are “virtues,” literally “powers,” given by the Spirit. To top it off, the Spirit gives us seven further gifts which perfect faith, hope, and love, making it possible for us to live a supernatural, charismatic life. Some think this is only for the chosen few, “the mystics.” Thomas Aquinas taught to the contrary that the gifts of Is 11:1-3 (wisdom, knowledge, understanding, counsel, piety, fortitude, and fear of the Lord) are standard equipment given in baptism, that all are called to be “mystics.”



Vatican II also taught that every Christian has a vocation to serve. We need power for this, too. And so the Spirit distributes other gifts, called “charisms.” These, teach St. Thomas, are not so much for our own sanctification as for service to others. There is no exhaustive list of charisms, though St. Paul mentions a few (I Cor 12:7-10, Ro 12:6-8) ranging from tongues to Christian marriage (1 Cor 7: 7). Charisms are not doled out by the pastors; but are given directly by the Spirit through baptism and confirmation, even sometimes outside of the sacraments (Acts 10:44-48).



Do I sound Pentecostal? That’s because I belong to the largest Pentecostal Church in the world. Correcting the mistaken notion that the charisms were just for the apostolic church, Vatican II had this to say: "Allotting His gifts “to everyone according as He will” (1 Cor. 12:11), He [the Holy Spirit] distributes special graces among the faithful of every rank ... These charismatic gifts, whether they be the most outstanding or the more simple and widely diffused, are to be received with thanksgiving and consolation, for they are exceedingly suitable and useful for the needs of the Church" (LG12).



Powerful gifts, freely given to all. Sounds like a recipe for chaos. But the Lord also imparted to the apostles and their successors a unifying charism of headship. The role of the ordained is not to do everything themselves. Rather, they are to discern, shepherd, and coordinate the charims of the laity so that they mature and work together for the greater glory of God (LG 30).




So what if you, like me, did not quite “get it” when you were confirmed? I’ve got good news for you. You actually did get the Spirit and His gifts. Have you ever received a new credit card with a sticker saying “Must call to activate before using?” The Spirit and His gifts are the same way. You have to call in and activate them. Do it today and every day, and especially every time you attend Mass. Because every sacramental celebration is a New Pentecost where the Spirit and His gifts are poured out anew (CCC 739, 1106).



That’s why the Christian Life is an adventure. There will always be new surprises of the Spirit.

Labels: Journey

Check this out people

http://pleaseparkproperly.blogspot.com/2007/05/sgg6472l.html


I hope I won't make my way to this website =P

Labels: random tots

Dear Girl

Cry if you want.

Scream if you feel like it.

You have made the choice.

No one knows if it is right or wrong.

I feel sad to see it come to an end but I am sure you know best since you are in the situation.

Let me know how I can help ... afterall, you have been there for me all these while.

Life is full of ups and downs and surprises ... just let go and let God lead you =)

Hug hug hug.

Labels: Life

25th Sunday of the Year [A] 2005

The homily from this sunday came back to me ... you know, i had this habit of scribbling down homilies back in 2005 (when I first attended Church) ... then i also used the same book to scribble down notes when i go for my RCIA class. The book is more or less used up but i still have not buy a new book to replace.

That Thursday, I was feeling not very happy - disgruntled maybe.... and during class, while looking for a blank page to fill up my notes, i turned to this page and the homily that i wrote was looking back at me. It is as if God telling me to just do whatever tasks that lie ahead. Focus on Him and not on the noises.

He said ... When two or three are gathered together, I am in their midst.... Father's homily was abt focusing on Jesus

Yes, FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS ... that's what I need to do...

Labels: Journey

after a long while, i have finally managed to watch the vcd "be with you" ...

http://www.tbs.co.jp/movie/english/bewithyou/

this is a must-watch ... several scences had left me teary-eyed ...

"My happiness is just to be with you ..."

have you ever felt this way towards that someone special?

Labels: Life

I wonder ...

i) why do people come late for Mass?

ii) why do they still walk in so slowly when they are late?

iii) some will turn up before the gospel reading, some will turn up just before the communion? How can you turn up late for such an appointment with God?

iv) if you are late for the 9am Mass, there is still the 11am Mass ... if you are still late, there is a 6pm Mass ....

v) why do parents allow their children to (a) do colouring during Mass, (b) crunch on cereals during Mass, (c) do all sorts of funny things except sitting still during Mass ....

Ok, these are just some of the questions that I have been asking for sometime ... I hope that when I have my own kiddos, I have the wisdom to educate them to respect God and to see that there is lots more to walk away with from each Mass rather than to spend that one hour doing colouring/drawing/eating cereals ...

Labels: random tots

Received this email and can't help but feel that i had gone for the cup.

New job - note easy here as in there is no fixed system, new team to work with and a new team to build.

i feel bad that i am unable to stay back and contribute (coz i wanna have life after work) ... somehow, i dun feel bad if i leave on the dot in my previous job... hmm. hope i wont become a workaholic.


read the story below:-

VERY SIMPLE STORY BUT VERY PROFOUND MESSAGE

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university lecturer. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.
Offering his guests coffee, the lecturer went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups: porcelain, plastic, glass, some plain-looking and some expensive and exquisite, telling them to help themselves to hot coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the lecturer said: "If you noticed, all the nice-looking, expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. "While it is but normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress." What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the better cups and are eyeing each other's cups."

"Now, if life is coffee, then the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, but the quality of Life doesn't change. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee in it."

Don't let the cups drive you... enjoy the coffee instead.

Labels: random tots, Work

Nice hor? hahaha

Labels: random tots

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MISS GOH!!!! MAY ALL YOUR WISHES COME TRUE!!!


Had a gathering cum mini-bdae celebration for ms goh - my friend since JC ...

how we became best friend - long story ... i didn really like her face at first - looks like those "act sweet" kind of girl *pui ... hahha

but i really got to know her after she kindly called me out for drink (bubble tea?) after i was wallowing in self pity at home for flunking my Literature (O levels)(I got E8!!! and that sort of dashed my entire dreams of going to SAJC .. haha.. i was so silly back then) ...

but this is my friend - ever so helpful and showing care and concern to the people around her ... she has always been my listening ear and being the rational one, she would give me sound advice but i am the irrational one - always like to do things based on feelings and ended up going back to her to borrow her listening ears ... hahahhaa

the other two girls in the pic - well, also my close friends - we always hang out in a group but i would be talking to ms goh and BL will go with cryst (ya, the pinkies ... they are so closed to each other that they wore the same colour that day - telepathy. hahhaa)

hmmm, these girls are really great friends - there were there to help out at my wedding, at my rite of acceptance and baptism ... =) thanks be to God for these beautiful girls... =)

Labels: Friends

Everyone around me is busy studying for their exams, except me.

Dearie - doing his papers required by his work

Fides - upgrading herself for a better future

XP - also upgrading herself for a brighter future

Me - watching tv, watching all these people studying, doing nothing

I really need to do something but... but .... BUT .... for what?

ever heard of this story where the grasshopper was playing all the time during summer while the ants were busy storing up their food supply before winter comes ... the grasshopper was laughing at the ants for being a fool to waste away the good summer by working ...

when winter comes, the grasshopper has no food to eat coz he did not prepare himself for winter and had to starve/freeze to death ... while the ants survived the winter...

moral of to story? my friends are the ants while i am the grasshopper ... hahaha

see, sometimes, it is easy to know how certain decisions one make in life will affect the later part but we just choose to ignore the consequences or just procrastinate and procrastinate and procrastinate ...

p.s dear friends & dearie
pls jia you ok ...=)

Labels: random tots

Finally!!! Our house has been blessed!! =)

we shifted in in Feb but due to the busy period leading up to our baptism and preparation for Lent, Father wasn't free to do out house blessing ...

Labels: random tots

is my maternal instinct kicking in?

been reading blogs about mums and mum-to-be and wondering when is my turn? will i be able to cope? hahaha

plus today, there is blessing for pregnant mothers ... when would be my turn to go up there?? hahhaha.... while the blessing was going on, matilda was asking if we can ask priests to bless us to have babies ... i told her is it possible lor as i heard of some people who managed to conceiveafter being bless by father ...

anyway, just some ramblings before going to bed ...

read this blog

http://babysung.blogspot.com

Labels: Family life, random tots

Started work last Thurs - feels shiok to have my own office but then i sensed some under current office politics between my boss and other departments...

dunno what she is trying to do or how she is like but i cant be bothered ... i am there just to spend my eight hours and get my salary to finance my hobbies ... ahhahaha ...

work wise, i feel that life is easier in my new environment - less reporting, more straight forward kind of reporting ..i think human beings are strange - when the reportig is too complicated, they want something simple... when things get too simple, they want something more challenging .. hmmm, hope i will enjoy my stay here ...

Labels: Work

I had a good time at Mass today ... dunno why ... the church organ sounds good, the choir sounds good ... even the homily is good ... it talks about love one another ...

i have not had such an enjoyable time at Mass for a while - coz for the past few weeks i was really worried about playing badly during Mass as i tried to understand the new organ.

after each Mass, i have people coming to me and asking me why the organ sound like this and not like that, comments like i still like the old organ...

hai, poor me gave up explaining but just gave them a look that says "i am still trying to figure it out/ get used to it .." sometimes, they may just be concerned but still, i prefer constructive comments and some advice ... though a bit hurt, i just take it in my stride to reflect and improve...

thank God, that i think i had finally got the sound - thanks to Matilda & Steph spending one afternoon with me trying to figure out the "best mix" ... and also thanks to the Holy Spirit who guided my hands today =)

the night before, i had a nightmare. i dreamt that there was no priest at the Mass. Choir sang so badly that the congregation walked out!!! so scary ... thankfully, it was only a dream ...

Labels: Journey

Dear People

if you are keen to read on the life of mr sunny bunny, please go to this url ... =)


http://mrsunnybunny.blogspot.com/

Labels: Sunny

Brought Sunny out for his usual morning walk ...

later, brought him to a coffee shop where he just sits down quietly while dearie and i drank our coffee and had our brekky ...

a while later, brought him to my mama's house where he roamed about happily ...

a while more, brought him to my MIL's house where he roamed more in the park as dearie and MIL went to see the doctor ...

he was tired & thirsty ... and slept on his way back home ...

reached home, ate his tidbits, drank lots of water and is now lazing round the house ...

watch him resting ...




p.s it quite a "joy" to bring sunny for car rides - coz he has the tendancy to sleep/sit still in the car ...

Labels: Sunny

Sunny has expensive taste *sighz ... *

we gave him a raw hide bone (those 2 for $2plus) and he just gave sniff and walked away ....

then dearie went to pets' lover and bought him a lamb and rice bone ... he sniffed and walked away ... however, after a while, he went to his play pen, picked up the bone, walked to our carpet and began devouring his bone ... the bone was gone within 15 minutes!

see the pics below:-

Labels: Sunny

My holidays are ending ... it has been both fun and bored to wake up to think about how i am going to spend the day when all the others are at work ...

the holidays began last thursday ... began the day by making agar agar for the rcia class ... kena suaned by Fr for "making only this in the entire day??" - "duh"... i started to clean my house - a clean house means i can laze around more comfortably ... haha ... it is hard chore cleaning the house ... i vaccumed, watched tv, vaccumed, watched tv, then mopped, then watched tv, then mopped... hee ... some tips for your - mop the floor with tap water and a bit of white vinegar - sure to make your floor smooth and clean =)

Friday - got a last minute call from my mum to bring my grandma back from her visit to her doctor...for the trip, i am really thankful that my FIL can walk about without any problem, thankful that my brothers/father/uncle/mum are around for my grandmother to bring her for her medical appointment and thankful that i have a car to ferry her around when no one is available... the trip makes me realised that my grandma is really old .. and she has problem walking even for a short distance (it is really short - like the distant of 3 provision shops took her a long time) ...later, went out with my mama to jurong point to shop, then laze around at my mum's house before pickig pete up and heading to spca...

it was my first time to spca ...quite sad to see those dogs being left by their owner in spca... and that was also where we met and pete fell in love with Sunny ...

we left shortly as it was closing time and my gang of friends were coming over to my house for a 'look-see' ...spent the night chatting and eating and catching up ... thankfully, i had mopped the floor coz they went round inspecting ..hahaha

Saturday - accompanied my FIL for his weekly fix - ba kut teh ... his favourite stall was not ready so we went to our favourite stall ... he doesn't really like that stall - kept complaining about fatty meat ... hahaha ...but he knows that it is out of no choice that we did not patronise his favourite stall ... then we went to SPCA again ... this time, we played with sunny ... he seemed to like pete lots and my FIL also seemed to like sunny ... but but but ... sunny does not seem to like me ... he didn bark but just walked away each time i tried to touch him.

Sunday - asked all our other friends about how to keep a dog ... booked Fides to go SPCA on monday ...

Monday - went with Fides, my FIL and ah pete to spca ... looked at the other dogs - pete n fil still like sunny ... i was attracted to a maltese ...sunny still doesn show any interest in me ...*worried....* fides was really sweet ... mobilised her brother to search for a pet shop with grooming service in woodlands ... the folks at spca were very nice as well ... =)... tiring day after settling the dog, brought him to my mum's house so that my brother can look after him while we went out for family dinner ... thankfully, sunny was ok at their house ... well behaved ...

Tuesday - brought sunny out for our first walk .... tried to leave him at home while pete n i attended a team mass for our next ee weekend ... i learnt a lot from the other couples ... nice evening ... went home and sunny was ok in his play pen ... good ... thanks to st. francis for looking after him ... hee

Wednesday - i was ALL ALONE with sunny ... got me mad a few times when he climbed onto the sofa, he even peeed on the carpet in the common toilet ... duh ... he did that tiwce today and both times, i was on the phone!!!... thankfully, fides was around today to talk to me, we had lunch - she was nice enough to buy me lunch - LJS ... .havent had that in a long long long long time - thanks sis ... hahhaha

cooked our own dinner today and went to pick pete from ikea ... sunny was a good boy in the car .. but he was really excited to see his daddy ... more excited than seeing me ... but ok la ....haha

lessons learnt:-

i need to work - not a career woman but something to keep my occupied for a few hours each day ....

i want to play but can i not be responsible? hahahaha especially wrt taking care of sunny - i got to pick up his poo poo ....

the idea of baby - ya, not be easy taking care of baby ... but i suppose sunny is a good experience ...

hmmm .... going to zzz liao - back to the "normal" life tomorrow ....

Labels: Family life, random tots, Sunny, Work

Eh, my holidays are ending soon ... time flies when one is having fun ...boo hoo ....

brought Sunny Bunny out for a walk this morning. He is a curious doggy - sniffed here and there ... along the way, we met a golden retriever - super beautiful and extremely huggable ... and sunny bunny was super duper cool - he wasnt afraid of her and even leapt up to play with the dog ... can tell that the golden retriever was slightly afraid of our sunny bunny ...

right now, sunny is lazing round the house - i think he has got character - cool ... he gives me the impression that he is a cross between a cat and dog .. haha ... we are still trying to figure out what is his favourite tidbits - my brother asked me to give him ice - he said most dogs like ice - i gave him, he sniffed and walked away ... duh ....

Labels: Sunny

Let's give a warm welcome to a new member in my family - Mr. Sunny Bunny.... haha

We had adopted him today and because of his short tail, we decided to give him a middle name - bunny. =)

The dog has been a good boy today - quiet, not barking and just followed us where ever we go. He is especially sticky to Pete and my FIL...he doesnt stick to me ... maybe he doesn likt girls ... =P

Right now, he is whining in his play pen... haiz. he is probably conserving his energy for whining at night ... guess he just likes company and doesnt like to sleep alone...

Special thanks to Fides who went with us to SPCA and stood under the hot sun looking at the dogs and getting the help of her bro to track down most of the petshops in woodlands... haha - thanks Sis =)

Right now, the doggy has stopped whining ... i guess it's papa has taken him out of his play pen ... hmmm ... so much so for disciplining sunny....

oh, i also realised that this dog is selective about the 'tidbits' being offered to it ...

Labels: Sunny