Whiling away the time

I feel like I'm whiling away my time by reading too much.
Should just get my butt out of the house!!!
And stick to timetables. And exercise. Seriously need to get fit again. My fitness freak boyfriend either plays tennis or goes to the gym every day. I feel like such a slob now! Ahhh

Playing badminton today. Perfect rainy weather now. :)

going around the world

Maureen is coming to stay with me this Saturday! She will embark on her whirlwind tour of Singapore and Malaysia. Whoa super fast... Hehe exciting.

Vincent coming next month. :)

And I will be in Cambodia from 25-27 Aug. We were supposed to go a week earlier but tickets were sold out. Done my research on Siem Reap and Angkor already. Whee! I wanna go to Penang too...

Cherry blossoms: I miss him

Wishing you were somehow here again.

I serve a warrior God

Learnt some French today; I'm still not sure if it's something I wanna pursue as my external module. It's a completely NEW language; the last time I've had any contact with it was 7 years ago at the MOE language centre. It's a beautiful language, but one which will require much effort. This or Psychology? It's alot more appealing to me now after my sister's pregnancy. I can apply whatever I learn once the baby is born. How a wee babe makes its first contact with the world around it and how it gradually matures, finding its relation and making its contribution to society. Birth and new life- fascinating.

Li Kai passed me a total of 10 Christian CDs yesterday. Thank you! Timely and greatly appreciated. :) Got to catch up with Ephraim too, really miss this brother, full of wisdom and advice! Haha.. he taught HuiXian and I how to initiate spiritual conversations. The 1st step is that God must be relevant in our own lives. Then make Christianity relevant to the lives of our loved ones. Also shared with us how to answer difficult questions like our stand against pre-marital sex etc. The key is relevancy. Prayer is also important. I feel alot more fired up now... :)

Also started reading this book passed to me from Cheh "Becoming a Woman who Listens to God". It's very good and impressed me of the need to "abide in God's word". He/she who does so are then disciples of Christ, with knowledge of the truth which will set us free. People often dangle the verse "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free". But how will you know the truth? Where is its source? And we have to look at the preceding verses to know the answer: "If you abide in my Word". Read from the book of Joshua today too; and I got to see the warrior God, fighting for His people, delivering into their hands victory afer victory. He is not meek, passive, distant or out-of-touch, as is the common notion of God, but directly involved, intervening to give His people hope and victory.

Brownies

Blogging so much recently. I just baked the 2nd batch of brownies :D Hopefully the texture will be better and not so sweet. Have to perfect it then I will move on to mango crumble or mango shortbread. Still, very happy that Xinxin and my family like the brownies!!! Hahaha my very first baking attempt (with Jiamin) in a very long time. This time I will bring some for the YA. The LT aim is to bake some for Vincent's birthday. :) Preparation starts now!

Last night's Bible study on Joshua by Ps Philip Huan was excellent, like the previous week. I'm very glad I went for it; it spoke to me, challenged me and fulfilled the need for good, in-depth study of God's word. Have I given that fundamental love commitment to God? Going to church, reading the Bible, and other Christian activities is not enough.. They are just add-ons which flow from the basic commitment. It's time to get back to the basics.

Do I value other things/people more than God? Very honestly, yes. It's time for God to be first place in my heart again. "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also".

heartache

After hearing sharing from a good friend/sister of mine, I'm quite glad that I already have my significant other so I will be spared all the match-making and whatever insensitivities that other people may display. I feel for her because I've been through what she has and it really sucks to have things blown completely out of proportion. Shudders.. Some things should just be kept private.

Anyway, jiayou to this sister of mine: You are special and loved. :) Things will get better soon.

But being in a relationship has it's own problems too. People, well-intentioned as they are, tell me conflicting things. Some to be serious and work things forward while others say to play safe, guard my heart and keep my options open. Don't know.. I'm happy as things are. Anyway I'm not even 20 yet! Still have plenty of time.. This aside, I can't wait to for him to be here. :)

Daddy called me just now, excited like he had a secret to share. He asked me whether I wanna go to Cambodia. 17 August. Definitely!!! LOL I will grab any chance to travel.. Vincent will be visiting around that time and maybe, just maybe I will get to go back with him. Jason is with him now, they're having so much fun in Penang! Lucky lucky lucky.. Nice to see the 2 best friends joking around together again.

visitor this xmas?

Grace Tan may be coming to visit me this Dec in Nottingham! All the way from Kenya! How cool is that?? We've not met each other face-to-face for 2 whole years now! My oldest and bestest friend. Ahhhh can't wait to see her and show her around! :) And of course meet and interrogate the boyfriend, like how we've discussed many years ago before she left for NZ. Hehehe..

Other happy visitations being made around the world: Jason (Msia) is arriving in Penang soon, to visit Vincent. Lucky Bluebird! Wished I could go too.. Maumau (HK) is going to stay with me this end of July. And Vincent is coming to Singapore next month!

So many joyful reunions being planned... :)

Life is beautiful.




P.S I just uploaded some new photos online.
http://picasaweb.google.com/carolannekoh/LifeIsBeautiful

no more lazy holiday

Alrighty, I've finally finished most of the important stuff on my holiday to-do list.
Redeemed the points Daddy accumulated to book my flight back to London in September, after much trouble. That's what I don't like about online bookings, because they can't and don't tell you what's wrong. Apparently I couldnt book a return flight because the dates were more than 6 mths apart so I needed to book a more expensive ticket. Only found that out after numerous attempts to book different dates, 3 calls to the customer service hotline and a "I need to talk to you now" sms to the boyfriend. Sheesh!!! So anyway, I'm going back to the UK on 17 September. 2 months more in Singapore..

Other things to do:

1) Learn to cook/bake
Part of preparation for next year!

2) Learn French

3) Read more
- Bible
- Christian lit
- The Economist

4) Volunteer my time/effort
- In church?
- Charity?

5) Make chrysanthemum tea for family everyday

6) Exercise!

7) Clear room and belongings for easy moving out this Dec

8) Spend time with family

9) Practice vocals

10) Spend time in prayer


Yes, no more lazy holiday but a constructive and refreshing one!

sentosa outing

A day out in sunny Sentosa

Wei and me in the fairytale old woman's lived-in shoe. Wei is still pretty much the same; a very loyal friend and girlfriend!

ROAR :)

Thong jumping lots and lots of times for e camera. He has changed so much.. it makes me sad. Especially thinking back on the old VJC days when he was so passionate for God. Perhaps in a good way, it has made me alot more determined not to lose my own faith in God.

Love

The heart is the happiest when it beats for others.