A Surprise Visit

It’s all a surprised visit…

From the Christmas story we learned that Zechariah the priest had a surprised visit by Angel Gabriel telling him that he and Elizabeth would bear a child and they are to name him, John (Luke 1).

As well, Mary, Joseph & the shepherds had a surprised visit by angels at various times informing them of the birth of Baby King Jesus.

Recently, my family also had a surprised visit, not by an angel, but by a “cake”.
On the eve of my nephew’s wedding, the family went out for a family dinner.
Two of my siblings had to excuse themselves to go and pick up a “cake”.
Everyone knew that a cake was needed for the pre-wedding celebration.

An hour or so later, lo and behold,  my two sisters delivered the “cake” to the restaurant, all the way from their international airport.  Everyone had a surprised shock on the arrival of this speciality “cake” aka yours truly; the looks of amazement on their faces were priceless… huh, they were well-tricked!!!

the speciality "cake" fresh from the airport

Until now, my nephew, still feels giddy upon my surprised visit. The other day he wrote and wowed that I had really given him & his wife a BIG surprise!

Can you spy the “cake” in these 2 pictures ;p

Today in my hometown, another family celebration is going on… another wedding!

One of my nieces, whom I used to babysit and play with, has grown up and is a bride today!

I so wish I could be there to give her a surprise visit too…

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All Our Hopes & Fears…

Joy to the World
The Lord is come,
Let earth receives her King
Let every heart prepares Him room
and heaven and nature sing, and heaven and nature sing.

It is often known that the first time people heard of Jesus is usually through Christmas celebration or Christmas carols.

They learned that baby Child Jesus was born in a manger, in the little town of Bethlehem.

Thanks to Angel Gabriel for proclaiming this Good News of great joy that a Savior has been born and He is Christ the King!

When it comes to Christmas, the children in our church always look forward to receiving these colorful and flavorful candy canes.  These  ‘J’ shaped candies often remind us that Jesus the King and that He is the Reason for this festive Season.

Since today is Christmas and we’re celebrating Jesus’ birthday, it’s good to revisit the granduer of His-story.

The following mural was done by our college students  from years ago in our church basement.  Most of them are now married and with kids.  They have  surely left us a legacy on the wall.  Now… I finally I understood the meaning ‘ if the wall could talk’ ;p

Jesus, our Miracle-maker

Jesus, our Deliverer

Jesus, our Provider

Jesus, our Redeemer

Jesus, our Mediator 

Thank you Jesus that all our fears and hopes can be met in Thee all the times… best time, worst time, and in between times.

Merry Christmas &

 Happy Birthday Jesus!

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Guardian Angel

The other day I was given this gift.  How wonder-filled it is to be reminded that I have a guardian angel watching over me 🙂 

 I think many of us knew that our Ultimate Guardian Angel is God Himself, the Immauel!

Ever wonder how Miss Santa Claus with the wings of an angel looks like…

Ta…da!

Yup, Angel of the garden!

This lovely card was given to me by my spiritual mentor.  She told me everytime she looked at the  picture on the card, she would think of me. (Aww.. how sweet!)   Ahh, no wonder she had sent me the same card for  two consecutive years!  

Anyway,  I considered it a double blessings for I adore the  image on the card as well as her words of  blessing which is always so anoiting.

She wrote, “If you have received the same card twice,  good!   You’re called to be who you truly are… showering seeds of love on little ones who grow up to be mighty men and women of God!”

The edifying words should go out to my wonderful ministry team as well. 

They labored so heartily, both on the frontlines as well as behind the scenes,  guiding and tending the children into God’s truth and pouring blessings on them with their God-given talents.  In fact, these unsung heroes are the guardian angels and the true garderners in this beautiful orchard of God!

Angel of the Garden ~ Bringing forth a garden of love & beauty.

Take for example, currently this class is studying on the fruit of the Holy Spirit. 

When we had the God is Light contest, the children with the help of their teaching team, came out with this fruit  project declaring that Jesus is their ultimate Sunshine who helps them  grow and bear the fruit of the Spirit.  Thus, this blossoming ‘Photosynthesis’.

Indeed our ministry is like what Apostle Paul said,  “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.” (I Corinthians 3:6)

May we be like the angels from the Bible bringing GOD news that will cause great joy for all the people.  (Luke 2)

Happy  Christmas eve!

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Arise, Shine!

Arise, shine, for your light has come,

and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.” Isaiah 60:1

Recently we had a contest on the theme on “God is Light”.

The contest rule was simple:

Each class had a month to complete the project while I went on a vacation ;p and the criteria is to come up with a word or phrase that projected “God is Light”.

Here’s a sample we shown them:

It was jolly to see the enthusiasm from the children and the teaching team.

Some of the brilliant titles they came up with were:

Stars of God

I’m God’s firefly

Kaleidoscoped snow flakes

Team Luminesence

Spiritual photosynthesis: Growing from God’s light

God the Creator of Light etc

Look at those adorable shiny fireflies!

Now the grand prize goes to…

The de”light”ful prizes the winners received were…

‘Smarties‘ chocolates for being so smart

‘Life saver’ candies echoing that Jesus is our Life-Savior

‘Candy Cane’ the “J” shaped candy reminds us of Jesus

“Sour” key candies for all those who participated and “did not win” the contest…  it’s like when life gives us lemon, let’s make lemonade out of it.

Prayer of light by J Philip Newell…

May the Light of God illumine the heart of  my soul.
May the Flame of Christ kindle me to love.
May the Fire of the Spirit free me to live
this day, tonight and for ever.

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Festival of Lights

Thank you God for giving us the first gift — the gift of light.  Genesis 1:3

Christmas is all about light.  One of the most magical moments around Christmas festive season ought to be enjoying Christmas tree lighting .

Instead of roaming ’round town to see the Christmas trees, I’d invited my creative consultant to come and help decorate our very own Christmas tree this year.

and CHRISTmas is about Christ.

Thank you God for giving us Jesus Christ who is the Light of the world (John 8:12).

Thank you Jesus that You are King of Kings — the Mighty King where the government is upon His shoulder (Isaiah 9).

Thank you Jesus because of You we can have communion with the Heavenly Father.

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Alleluia…

During the Christmas season, one can hear the sacred Hallelujah Chorus  resounding everywhere.

The word “hallelujah” reminded me of a conversation I had on a plane recently.

I was chatting with this lovely Japanese family.

This young mom possessed a pair of very mesmerizing, attractive and sparkling eyes and so did her little girl.  They looked so happy.

While I was playing with the daughter, I asked the mom what the name of her toddler.

She said, “Alleluia.”

To my amazement I responded, “You’re Christian?”

She replied, “No.” She then explained how the name Alleluia came about.  She shared that she used to be a very sad person … literally from morning to night.

So when she gave birth to her daughter, she decided to name her ”Alleluia”. She gestured toward the sky with her hand and said, “It’s like ‘Hallelujah’.” And we both chuckled with understanding.

She said looking at her daughter every day and calling her “Alleluia” has brought much hope and happiness to her life.

I was humbled by her sharing. Even though she is not a Christian yet, she believes in the “power” of Hallelujah to transform life.

I felt compelled to give her something that represents “hallelujah”. As I searched through my purse and pockets, I found a dainty beautiful and sparkly crystal cross that a friend had given me and which I treasured very much. To give or not to give was my struggle at first… but the power of the symbol of the cross prevailed and the family received the gift with delight.

A few minutes later, this young mom handed me a similar dainty gift.

Though we might not see each other again, I am sure that when we look at our exchanged gifts, they will definitely remind us of God, the Transformer of lives. Hallelujah!

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The Dance of the Snow Geese

No snow yet so let’s talk about something related to “snow” —  snowgeese!

I enjoy watching snowgeese activities very much.
I love watching them flying over my head and always hoping their droppings won’t fall on my head!

When these birdies are not flying they usually park themselves on the big field feeding themselves with swamp food.

They are often very still and alert  but get startled easily by any little movement.

I used to tease them by flagging a white towel not too far from them and they would literally hop up and down in unison… either they got panicking or were dancing to the rhythm of the towel movement…

It was quite a sight to watch the many thousands of snow geese’s bewilderedly call as they flew off to the sky when chased by their predators such as the eagles.

Snow geese usually migrate here around Oct to Dec from Siberia and then fly down to the South and winter there; they would make a transit here again around March and April before heading back to Siberia.

Encountering the snow geese doesn’t come by easily but once spotted, it’s a  treat of a lifetime.

I had been telling Amelie countless times about these amazing birdies of mine and she always thought it was just a legend.  Seeing is believing… 

Anyway, here’s Amelie’s recent asthetic encounter with the birds.

We were welcomed by the dance of the snow geese
there were hundreds or thousands..
it was like a white patch of grass seen in a distance,
but they were really chubby in the close-ups.
When they took flight,
it was phenomenal to see the power of many,
the group effort,
the movement of freedom,
the sprinkling of snow on a mountaintop,
a white blanket flowing in the air…. you name it,
their dance has be to coupled with human imagination,
or captured by Janie’s camera,
or heard by Lynne’s poem,
to complete the joy.
Is this one with creation?

I felt elated by their dance,
and Lynne said Janie and her could stand there for 2 hours watching,
me too…
It is like worship when watching the snow geese,
you need silence, to drink that in, to feast your eyes,
to let the spirit soar with them,
to let them bring your eyes up and mind high
to see the vision of the far end …

O, I love the sight of it, yes, I will go back and be their quiet beholder again…

BTW, Happy Birthday to Amelie today; may you have many more sightings on the true legend of the snowgeese!

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The Window

I am very fond of the word “window”.  To me, it connotes hopes & promises. ‘When God closes a door, somewhere He opens a window (fr The Sound of Music), the ’10/40 Window’, ‘Window of Opportunity’ or ‘Window of the Soul’, are phrases that bring much delight to my soul.

I enjoy gazing at sun-ray pouring through a window which brings much warm and freshness to one’s spirit.

I also love sitting by the window and staring outside… a glimspe out the window usually brings colorful images and great imaginations.

I was visiting a dear friend and her family recently.   One early morning while getting up, I was intrigued by the soft and gentle sunlight piercing through their various windows and was delighted to capture some moments by the windows.

And here’s ‘The Window’ story which I greatly adored.

A young couple moved into a new neighborhood.
The next morning while eating breakfast,
the young woman sees her neighbor hanging wash outside.

“That laundry is not very clean”, she said.
“She doesn’t know how to wash correctly.
Perhaps she needs better laundry soap.”

Her husband looked on, but remained silent.

Every time her neighbor would hang her wash to dry, the young woman made the same comments.

About a month later, the woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband:

“Look, she has learned how to wash correctly. 
I wonder what has happened to her.”

The husband said, “I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows.”

And so it is with life. What we see when watching others depends on the purity of the window through which we are looking!

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J’adores kompia…

I love eating this crusty and chewy bagel-liked stuff called ‘kompia’ since I was a child. 

Kompia bakers were so friendly and allowed me to mingle with them while they were busy baking this delicacy at the hot stove.

These days there are so many flavors to choose from…

But when it comes to kompia, I am just not that adventurous…

for I prefer the traditional kind, just the way it is!

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A Hair-y Day

Some like it straight, some like it wavy.

Some like it long, and no one likes it short!

Ahh… too many conflicting voices regarding my hairstyle.

On the way to the salon

Heart thumping… for my hair is presently at the mercy of the stylist’s scissors.

Snaps… chops… trims… thins… layers…

Ouch, my precious hair…  scatter all over the floor.

Take a sneak peep in the mirror… pretty decent trim ;p

Today at church, the congregation was asked if they knew what the bible says about long hair.

No one responded and so the preacher teased that no wonder everyone has short hair.

He said in biblical time esp in the Jewish culture, long hair is the symbol of a woman’s glory.

I am delighted to hear that since my hair is pretty bountiful and long now which means I am experiencing the glory of a woman ;p

I rejoice that the very hairs of my head are being numbered by the Lord. (Matthew 10:30)

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