set your heart on the things above

There are moments when you laugh


Moments when you cry


Then there are those moments where you simply can't help but smile.

You fought the good fight of faith and you're now in a better place.
Farewell Aunty Rebecca. Cya soon.

At the moment, at that time.

I was out in the garden one afternoon doing a bit of this and that when i heard footsteps down the path and the sound of distant music. I looked up and saw a teenage guy in school uniform listening to his ipod. Without much thought i returned to my gardening when i heard him start to sing. I smiled to myself admiring his bold personality and thought back to when i use to work at the High School; remembering what punks they were.

As he got closer he caught my attention again because i realised he was singing a christian song. As i stopped in the midst of my gardening, i turned around and smiled at him and thanked God for youth like him. What a living testimony he was, just at that moment, at that time. I didn't know him, i had never seen him, yet he made such an impact on me from simply through his actions. For all i knew, he could have just been another teenage guy listening to his emo/rock/screamo music. Instead he sang out aloud a Christian songs and warmed my heart once again reminding me that there is still hope in the youth in the lost generation.

What a difference we can make through our everyday actions.

What now?

30 days ago my European journey started. In short i can say it was a trip of a life time! I don't know if words can describe the emotions that run through you while seeing the world. It's a big world out there with so much life, beauty and awe. Seeing parts of it has left me breathless and only wanting more.

I came to London knowing who i was and what i wanted.. leaving this trip has left me itchy and unsettled. Not that i've changed but i've realised being in a smaller city, only opens up small horizons(well kinda). But when you get out there, you get a taste of the bigger picture and your mind starts ticking and new paths start opening.. oh well Shrugs* all that deep stuff can wait. First thing first, get home, see the family, hug the boy friend, call up the besties and start the laundry.

Day one - half way around the world

8th July First day in London

Touches down at 5:05am. Reaches the sister's flat at 8:00am.

Em is dazed and wonders if she really is in London...

Em = Jet lagged

Em wakes up.. headache..

Hello.. bonjour.. hola

Ok.. seriously, im having a freaking ball!

On another note, this blog will also seriously cost me 6 bucks!

So just wanted to drop a quick line saying hi and im missing you all.

When im not in Scandinavia where everything costs an arm and a leg, ill try to post photos! The world is a bootiful place.

BTW, where on earth can you go swimming on a warm beach with the sun shining down and still have mountains in the background with snow on them?

Answer - NORWAY!

xoxo
Emerjie

golden puffs of heaven!

It wasn't until today did my taste buds first make contact with the almighty 'Krispy Kreme' donuts. Indeed, nods* there's nothing quite like these round sugary puffs of heaven!


Everyone use to always brag about how DAM GOOD these donuts were.. since working at a donut store, i would be like.. "Really? How good can donuts get? I don't even like donuts."


Tak, who i love so much more now haha pre-ordered a box of Krispy Kremes for my family from an American Fair. As Mike and I got home today, we opened up our box of Krispy Kremes and looked at them in wonder. Could they really be that good? Could these little golden yellow round puffs really live up to our expectations from what everyone has told us? We looked at them for a while longer and decided, what they heck, lets taste one.

We halved one and chucked it in the microwave and each took our half. Looking down at our little golden puff we took a slow small bite... within a split second we looked observing each other's reactions and both started laughing because OMG THEY WERE SOOOOO DAMMMMMM GOOOOOOOD and NOTHING could hide it from our faces.



I shall never look at a donut the same way again. Krispy Kreme donuts has just officially made it on my, 'i don't care about eating healthy or my short lived diet, i must eat it now' list. =)


So have you tasted Krispy Kremes?

We are so much more similar than we are different

I truly praise God for his creation.. not only in places, but in people.

This clip really warmed my heart and put a smile on my face. It's a must watch. EnjoY!

http://www.wherethehellismatt.com/?fbid=fffKq

Though there is so much chaos out there in this world, it's moments like these that remind us we are all created by God and made equal. We are so much more similar than we are different.

lately...

The past few weeks have been nothing short of a roller coaster ride. There has just been so much on my mind, so much that has been happening that i feel i'm emotionally, physically and spiritually drained! But it hasn't all been bad. There's been great news too. But i sure have reached a point where i truly just need a break!

But I'll share a little bit about my day today. This morning i had an exam. Tak and I left the exam early to attend a funeral. Though i wasn't close to the person who past away, it did sadden me to see a life lost of someone who was so well loved. I went to the funeral to support Tak and to pay my respects. It was a Buddhist ceremony which we were aware of. Now, i've reached a point in my spiritual walk with Christ where i know attending a Buddhist funeral, wont affect my faith. My beliefs won't be jeopardized because i know where i stand. But in saying, at one point of the ceremony, joss sticks were handed out to everyone and I was a bit taken back because i didn't know what to do and sure wasn't expecting it. Everyone had taken one and at such a place and time, i didn't want to offend anyone! I had to be really sensitive to those hurting around. So many thoughts were rushing through my mind but personally between God and I, i knew i couldn't have taken it. Just on a note, if i had taken it i wouldn't have used it as part of the ceremony, it would have just been out of respect* But i realised i didn't have to explain myself to anyone but God. I knew for me it would have been easier to have taken it. To have followed others because being under the scrutiny of others isn't exactly the best feeling, especially in those conditions. But i knew between God and I, I had made the right decision and my spirit was lifted from it.

Since attending bible college i've grown to become more sensitive to the spirits calling. To have a spirit of discernment and to really take note of the bigger picture of the warfare that is going on around. I've learnt overtime to discern between my fleshly emotions and to my spirits yearning. There have been moments where i have felt overwhelmed with burdens even though there had been nothing significantly wrong in my life. I've come to realise in time like those that it is my spirit that is burdened. And i find the deeper i grow in my faith, the stronger this spiritual warfare wages because good and evil is always in conflict with each other. But of course that is why we can't fight this fight on our own. It's why we turn to Jesus for strength and help.

Today during the ceremony my heart bleed, because my spirit was crushed with the words which came from the Buddhist monk. He spoke in slow english and told everyone to 'pray.. to.. the.. Buddhist.. God.' With each word he spoke i could feel my spirit sinking deeper and deeper. On the flip side, my everyday emotions would have past it by quite easily. Sure i may have been offended by it but knowing my faith, it wouldn't have affected my personally. But it really got to me because i know there is a greater purpose in life than just living it out day by day. There are soul out there to save and bring into the light and it's my spirit which reminds me everyday of this. What we have to remember is that we are not believers that are a part of a church, but rather Warriors part of the Holy Kingdom which reigns. When we start to realise and grasp that, we can begin to see the bigger picture in life. Our life shouldn't be boxed in and decided by our scores in exams, our jobs or our future. There is a war waging and we need to be prepared. A time will come when we are judged. Now is our time to fight the good fight of faith while we can. Now is the time to be saving souls.

Happy 24th Birthday Kee Kee

I think back to the young days when you would come over

and purposely mess up my room, just so i would have to clean it up.

The days where you would pick games to your advantage knowing you wouldn't get out... but i would.

The days where you would threaten me

with not being my friend anymore and make me cry.

And i wonder why we're still friends? =P

OH yeah, it's because you really do have a good heart.

A fun, outgoing and bubbly personality.

Always the first one to put a smile on my face,

followed by roaring laughs.

What would i do without ya?

You mean the world to me!

God bless

Loving you always

xoxo

NOOOOOO MY BABBBBBY! # 2

ARgh.. i'm now thoroughly depressed!!! Apparently so was my pregnant Mummy fish. She committed suicide today at around 2.00pm. She, along with all her babies.


My Mum walked into the lounge and she yelled out, "what's this mess on the floor?" Looking closer she screamed out, "YOU'RE MUM FISH IS ON THE FLOOR! There are babies everywhere!" I got to the living room, there was my Mum's horrified look on her face looking down at the little fish. "OH MY GOSH MY BABY!" I picked it up and placed it gently back in the water. My Mum and I watched her and for what seemed forever her gills started to move... both my Mum and I breathed A HUGE sigh of relief. When we looked down again ARGHHH she was laying on her side. It was just too hard to watch! We figured it was best to let her be and check up on her a few hours later to get the final verdict..


I must admit, the sight of her on the floor with dried up baby fries everywhere was quite horrific... her fall must have been quite a hard hit on her head as well considering how far she was from the tank. I feel like such a bad person for moving her into her confinement area. She must have hated it and wanted out...


Well i can only hope she makes it through the night. Wonder how Daddy fish is feeling atm?

My baby!!!

I am so happy to say my little babies are having babies!



Around a year ago i started up an aquarium with the help of Tak and Wei. I have 40 odd fishes consisting of twelve different species in there happily swimming around. On most nights after a long day, ill flop on the couch next to the tank and just watch the little guys do their thang. It's so relaxing and it's become quite the little hobby of mine. Amongst them i always hoped there would be breeding pairs... and to my surprise, a pair has risen even at such a small size!



It's soo cute! That particular breed is a mouth brooder. Meaning they hold their fries in their mouth rather than laying eggs. So just imagine a fish with a bad case of double chin. That's how a pregnant fish looks like. Eventually she will spit out her fries.. and unless they act fast( or i act fast and remove them ), they'll most likely never see another day because they'll become dinner for the other fishes. Well... let's hope i'll be around during the spitting birth!

Can't wait to see the little guys! I'll post some photos of them in due time.

What about that dance?

The other night Tak and i were talking about camp. He was like, "it's coming up in 4 weeks!" We were both like, "yay!" Then i was like, "so that means im also leaving in 4 weeks," and my initial reaction was 'YAY.' Smiling from ear to ear i looked at Tak and Tak looked back at me smiling.. and amongst our smiles i wondered if he was thinking that same thing i was?

It's pretty much safe to say that Tak and I have seen each other
e v e r y s i n g l e day for the past few years, give or take a few days. During the week days, we go to school together, if not, we work together, on weekends we go to the same church and activities together. And despite seeing each other every day, we still manage to talk on the phone on a daily basis. Now some would cringe at such a thought! "Don't we get sick of each other?" i hear some of you saying.. haha Well, no. Not at all. We still live our separate lives and do our own things and funnily enough, even though we see each other so much we somehow still find it hard to actually HANG OUT! But besides all that, this will be the first time i will be away from Tak for a period of time, 4 weeks infact. That is just WEIRD in comparison to the amount of time we spend together.



When i was planning this trip to Europe, Tak was hesitant on whether he could have gone because of work. I use to joke around saying i was jetting off with or without him! We talked about it for months and eventually it was confirmed that he couldn't go. Even though i knew for a while i would have been going alone, it hadn't clicked that i wouldn't have been going with him. Same concept i know, but different perspective with a world of a difference (to me anyways). I said to Tak that night, "i know i always joked around about going with or without you, but i don't know if i really can do this without you.."



My thoughts went a little further back to when we first met 10 years ago. Looking back I've basically spent my teenage years growing up with this guy. Man, who was i before i met him? Do i even remember.. not really! I was only a child! OK, the thought is scary but heart warming at the same time! And before this sounds like i'm complaining about going to Europe, im not. I realise how blessed i am to have this opportunity. I know the world won't stop either not being by Tak, but my point is that was definantly one of those defining moments. Although i always knew it, i was reminded again just how much this guy meant to me and what a big part he plays in my life. How i thank God for him.





I guess that dance by the shores of Greece will have to wait...

Then bursting forth

Following my previous blog about my love for fog, what it really comes down to is my love for nature. As i was coming home from my College Anniversary today, the sun was setting and was shinning gloriously through the clouds. Oh how i love God's creation. There is something indescribable and undeniable about it... and i gazed into the wonder and mystery of God, of his mighty fine works.

When i wake up some mornings, i walk out of the house and its sad because the first thing i see is another house infront of me. At times i'll sigh.. because i miss seeing grass, trees, birds and open land like i use to back at my old house. I use to wake up to an oval of grass.. I loved the fact that i could smell the damp cool grass in the the mornings and see the grazing pink and grey parrots in the afternoon. I would also spend my afternoons chilling out watching the sun set and just the feel of the wind against my skin. Sure it was an actual school's oval with an ugly gloomy school close by but what i loved about it was the all natural aspect of having such a wide open green area. Because of society and the times we are living in we can easily forget about the simple beauty of life. Life is getting faster and busier and we forget about the sun rising, the birds chirping, the cool gentle breeze. We get so bogged down by our daily chores and worries we loose sight of the simple things, which are often the best things.

How i wish many of my friends who don't know Christ could see the all awesome glory and majesty in his creation. When i saw the sun this afternoon with it's rays of light bursting forth through the dark clouds painting golden patches everywhere, how could i not praise God? But everyday that sun rises and sets and we all move on day in day out, through traffic jams, road rage, rising petrol prices, broken relationships, personal issues and brokenness that we miss the wonder of it all. When you see the beauty of nature from the little caterpillar chewing away with no worries in the world just enjoying his daily mountain dose of green leaves, to the rising sun, blowing wind and falling rain; how it works ever so effortlessly and constantly; you'll come to know that that is the work of God. His creation is wonderful and it was made for us to enjoy and appreciate.





Let us move away from computers(ironic i know), worry less about work, school, money and petty issues and get outside more often. Let's trust in God to provide and protect, help and heal and open our eyes with the love of Christ in us and see the beauty that this world has from God's glorious creation.

Take a moment and be still.. take a deep breathe and let the sun shine on your face. When you feel that warmth sink into your skin, know that that is just the beginning of God's love.. and there is so much more warmth and love He can and will bring into your life, if you just let him.


Give it a go. Take a chance. Maybe one day you'll understand the freedom you can have in Christ.

What a tripper!

As i was driving home from work one night there was fog covering a section of the road and as i drove through it i was reminded of one of my childhood memories. When i was just a little girl, during the winter months i would wait for nights where fog would settle on the oval across from my house. The moment i saw it i would run outside and just.. well i suppose play... by myself!


Some nights i would whisk around in circles throwing my arms out feeling the cool wet air. Other times i would try to eat the fog. Just imagine a kid bobbing their head forward and back trying to gobble up air! Yeah, that was me! -_-' And other times i would run and just keep running for the sake of running through white fluffy fog. But my mind brought me back to certain nights when fog would settle around 1 metre high and you could be above it or under it. During those precious times as a child I would be out there on the oval and i would stand above the fog and look around and see the oh so familiar scenery, the one that would never change. But then i'd go underneath it and it would become a whole new world! It was where magic happened!


Now there's something wonderful about being a child. Because when you are a child you think like a child and your mind knows no bounds and your imagination has no limits. You see under that fog, Aladdin was waiting for me to whisk me up on his magic carpet. It was the place where tinker bell and i would talk and laugh and she would sprinkle her fairy dust on me and lights would sparkle everywhere. It was where i would find the end of the rainbow and talk and play with the little animals that lived around there. I would also lie on my back and look up at the mystic fog above, swirling and floating ever so effortlessly. It was magical, heart warming and captivating.


Actually looking back, it was quite dangerous, scary and plain wrong!!! 6.30, almost dark and a little girl out on her own outside tripping under that thick fog in an open field! That's CRAZY!




But i guess that's the beauty of being a kid! How i wish though i could go back to one of those nights.. just one more time and be lost in the moment.

Happy Birthday Li Li

A big happy birthday to my very precious Leonie who's now 22!

I wish you nothing but the best!

We've had many awesome years together..

& when i look back gosh its been wacky & fun!

Through the tears & tantrums, fears & loss..

but more importantly the triumphs & new beginnings!

Through the many laughs... few snorts =P & plently of smiles,

I have a feeling this l o n g journey has just begun!

And it's going to be a w e s o m e !

xoxo

Loving you long time!

Time is money, money is time.

My sister use to say to me all the time when i was younger "time is money, money is time." I never gave much thought to it apart from the fact that it annoyed me because she would randomly say it out loud for no apparent reason and i never got it!

But I felt the full force of that saying yesterday. For those who don't know, i've been planning on going to London. For the past few weeks I've been getting quotes back and forth and i just couldn't decide who to go with. Seats were getting booked out by the day and taxes were increasing by the week so i had to make my decision fast.

My first concern was the length of time on the plane! My best bet would have been going with Emirates. 8 hours to Dubai, 7 hours to London. A beautiful 15 hours at the ugly cost of $2800. Sigh* So that option was out!

In the end after much talk it came down to two airlines.

AIR MAURITIUS & MALAYSIAN AIRLINES.

Pros/Cons

Air Mauritius (whom i've never flown with let alone heard of )
20 + hours on the plane
4 hours transit
But cheaper flight


Malaysian Airlines ( and have peace of mind having flown with them many times )
spend 18 hours on the plane
1 1/2 hours transit
BUT pay an extra $400 on top of what Air Mauritius was asking.


Now it would have been fantastic given the opportunity to see Mauritius. But my other issue was that i would be flying solo for the first time. Had i been flying with someone else, SURE i would have taken Mauritius airlines no problem with the great price! But alone?

Ok, i know people travel solo all the time and they do just fine! But knowing that i would be tired beyond belief coming straight home from camp then straight to the airport, it would be bad combination, especially being in a foreign country. In such a state i could just imagine myself in Mauritius airport exhuasted and jet lagged, not being able to understand anyone.. lost in an airport on a little Island next to Madagascar, south of Africa, crying with luggages in both arms!

Cringes* What a sad state to be in.

And so since time is money, money is time, I decided to go with Malaysian Airlines. Well as it turns out, peace of mind is costly too (great i still need insaurance!). And so how much did it cost for this peace of mind and less hours to London?

A lump sum of $2400


London baby, here i come!

Parents Day and the golden boat!

Every year for Mothers & Fathers Day our church celebrates it as being 'Parents day.' It's the day where the youth organise practically everything... apart from the actual sermon. They do choir presentations, hand out flowers, gifts, food and the youth have the option of giving a little thankyou speech up the front for their parents. When i was asked by precious Jade to say something i was like SURE! Then it dawned on me.. oh *beep* it's meant to be in chinese isn't it?

Now if its anyone who's truly a bit GG about their own culture & cultural background, it's me. Even though i went to chinese school and speak to my parents in chinese, my chinese seems to be going down hill by the second!

I remember in China once, Tak's Aunt was making those paper gold nuggets for Chinese new year. Now i battled with Tak's relatives trying to prove to them i was Asian enough for them. Just when i thought i was winning the race, she asked me what it was... i went blank and said..


its a boat! ^_^




GOSH! I wanted someone to shoot me!




ARgh.. i still cringe at the thought! But back to parents day! I asked Jade to translate my speech for me verbally so i could write it out in english with hung yin ping yin. Mike and I practised and practised and it was truly worth all the effort. Afterall this day was about our parents whom we're eternally thankful for. We've been blessed with such wonderful parents.

Lastly... I told my parents that i loved them for the first time that day(apart from when i was little). They both cried! The moment was so precious... it will stay with me for a good while!


Happy Parents Day Mum and Dad. Da jie Mike and I love you.

Fare well Annie.. Welcome home Jie, we're all so proud of you.

My cousin is the second person in my family to leave Perth for a working holiday. Last year my sister left for London. She contemplated and rambled on to the family about going for years. I don't think anyone of us really thought she'd go... infact i don't even think she believed she' d go. But the events that went on in her life a couple of years prior to leaving really confirmed to her that this trip was just what she needed! She needed out! She wanted to move out of her comfort zone, gain some independence, she needed some space, but most of all she just needed to prove to herself she could do this. And so she did it! She achieved one of her life goals and how awesome is that!

She always said to me she didn't want this to be something she'd look back on and regret because she didn't go through with it. I really admire her bravery! If it were i, i'm not sure i could have gone through with it. I'm just too comfortable where i am. Is that wrong? Hmm that was one of the reasons why she left.

Oh well who knows, maybe it's a path i may cross one day...



But in the mean time, farewell Annicals...

Take the sunshine with you over there.
God bless.
See you soon.

Saturday 12th September 1998

Its been 10 years since we first met... i still find it so hard to believe it's been that long. When i was just 13, he suddenly popped into my life and history was in the making! I met him at JMYF (Junior Methodist Youth Fellowship). He was Wei's friend from school, he was just 14, his name was Tak.

He had his back towards me when i first saw him. He was crouching on the ground and i started to walk towards the lower section of the church. As I walked past him i had a sudden thought. It was like a light bulb that just turned on. Now wherever the thought came from is still a mystery, but i knew at that moment this guy would be a part of life in a big way. A while later as i walked back up towards where Tak was, i saw him.

OK! This isn't some love at first sight story. Infact, when i first saw Tak i thought he looked scary, a bit of a try hard and not friendly that's for sure. Haha but it didn't take long for him to grow on me because he became one of my bestest friends, my crush, my boyfriend.. and boyfriend again years later.

Saturday 12th of September, 1998 was the day i first met Tak. Little could words explain how much he means to me still after all these years.

Hey i could get use to this..

Ok truth is, the reason why my past attempts at starting a blog have failed is because of my OCD with having things perfect! The banner, colours, template, settings. It drives me insane trying to get things done just the way i like it. But after much struggle i've decided this is it. This is my blog. Its not perfect, but it will do..

So yeah.. stuff the fact that my banner is too big and covers the boarder of the heading.. and the fact that i even have a boarder around my heading (how do you get rid of that?).. and the fact that the pictures aren't CUT OUT EXACTLY how id like it seeing as i don't have photoshop so did it MANUALLY with DODGY PAINT!!!

Ok breathe... breathe breathe...

Hmm, yeah i really can't stand it. I guess it'll have to be a working process.



Runs to Tak.. how do i do this...

what a joke!

Okay i have little hope for this blog surviving in this big blogging world! I touch the computer for around 10 minutes a day and that's just to check emails and maybe reply...

So Good luck to me to the start of this new blog journey! I doubt i will be back here again.