Back from Hyderabad, India!

Hello there regular readers who check in here on a regular basis,

Am back! It has been a faith-building & awesome trip as we saw how God moved powerfully in the lives of many!

Indeed, miracles still do exist today! If only we have the faith to believe!

Shall ty to update in here more often! :)

Helllloooo!!!!

Hi there dear all,

It has been more than a month since my last blog! Oh dear, the result of having an iPhone which makes it hard to get onto blogspot & no need to be in front of a desktop PC anymore.

Sincere apologies to those who check-in regularly.

The month of May was crazy with case conference & tons of reports to do. You all know how much I dread paperwork! Still, bcoz of the kids & the need to show how much they've progressed in the past 6 months, I will do it & keep on doing it for many many years to come!

And I barely recovered from easter's "The King"! God is good!

And by faith, I signed up for MIT to India! Oh my! What did I do? The trip draws near on 17 - 24 June. Please pray for protection, safety & good health for me & my team members. More importantly, for God to move mightily & signs, wonders & miracles to take place! Amen?

Off to collect my Silver Blood Donor Award at the Science Centre. Family's going to support me!

Cheerios! :)

North@PL, L-Summit

Always so wonderfully blessed by Patrick & Angela!
They blessed us with breakfast & homemade coffee. What a great pick me up on an early Saturday morning.

Aiyo! It was fun but we just could not complete the 250 piece puzzle in 10 minutes. Boo hoo!

Wah! Thank you Ps. Kenny for the yummy brunch treat! Heart's warmed & tummy's filled!

L-Summit this time round was very interactice & experiential & there was no way you can fall asleep. We took time to go through the various stations as we rediscover the joy of being in ministry.

Thank you Lord for refreshing, renewing & re-anointing us! Help us to stay close to You & that we will draw strength from You, the Source of All. Let us also never be too proud to receive grace from You too!

Thank you Sharon for blessing us with sweet & sticky treats from Taiwan! :)

Pig Trotters Anyone???

I was at the Teacher's Network at Grange Road for Reading Mastery Training the whole of this week from 8.30am to 12.30pm.

The place is an old place & the staircases steps were a little higher than usual. Busy reading an SMS on my HP (lesson learnt!), I missed 2 steps & fell hard. There went my poor ankle, I knew it was a bad sprain. This took place on Wednesday at 10.30am.

Immediately, I texted my regular chinese doctor who I go to for my back. Thank goodness she was able to see me at around 1pm. I almost died of pain! As you all know, I've a very low pain threshold.

In the evening, it started to swell & I could not put my foot down to walk at all. Had a rough night but keeping it elevated helped lots.

I thank God for His hand of protection upon me as it could have been so much worse! :)

Food in cell & August Bday Babies!

Mouth watering & tingling (sourish tart yet crispy sweet!) apple crumble. Dear Sharon, thank you for giving me such a HUGE serving hor! So blessed!

August babies.....2 cakes from Polar.....thanks to our faithful cake purchaser...Sheila!

Evelyn, Hai En & Isabel

So sweet hor?

Love the detailed white choc flakes in the cake, so pretty!

NDP Preview Tickets!

Much blessed by a colleague who passed me a pair of preview tickets to this year's preview on 3rd July. Such a pleasant surprise as my mom wanted to go for it badly but couldn't get the tickets at all!

Thank You Jesus for answering prayers! :)

A Heartfelt Email I write eons ago......

Hi XX & YY,

This is Fiona here, also from TCC & you might have seen me in church every now & then. I caught your family's blog from YX's & am very touched & encouraged by your simple yet honest sharing of God's grace & His hands upon both your marriage, lives & kids!

Also working in a VWO, I could relate to the low pay, restrictions placed by policy olders (i.e. Means testing) & frustration one face at work at times. Still, after 5 year of being in the system, I guess it is still the kids that I love & serve that keep me going strong w/o being affected to much by it. Otherwise, how to survive?

When I first started out in SPED, i kept asking God, why are there children with special needs on earth if He is such a loving & good God?

I didn't really get a clear, definite answer but after much pondering, traumatising my pastors & questioning, peace came into my heart with the understanding that we are after all in a fallen world. On earth, the prince of darkness has dominion yet God's Sovereignty still reigns.

My experience with the parents of the kids I work with has proven time & again that special kids are given to parents who are special b'coz they have the heart big enough to love & accept them unconditionally - no matter what!

I got to know Jesus when I was studying overseas at Murdoch, in 1999. Attended TICC which later merged with FCC in Perth. Oh well, it was a rollercoaster ride as my mom threatened (at that time) to terminate my studies & asked me to return to S'pore immediately since I want to follow Jesus. May as well don't waste time & their precious money studying so much.

My years in Perth were the foundations being laid for greater & better things to come when i returned to S'pore. (I didn't know it then)

The 1st few years upon my returning were fighting battles - one after another. To the extent whether i should return back to Perth to "escape" my family. It was not the right thing to do & my granny was seriously sick then. Thus I has to be with her as I was her favourite granddaughter. She was the one who lovingly took care of me when I was born premature at 7 mths (another thing i am grateful to God for).

When I sank into depression b'coz of some medication & work related pressure in 2005, i experienced for myself what it meant when the Bible said the devil's aim on earth is to kill, steal & destroy. Whatever lies I could believe, i did! (still can't believe i did!) But still, our God is a faithful God as He sent people to minister & comfort me & His Word slowly walked me out of those dark, unforgettable & hideous times.

As He did His restorative work in me throughout the whole of 2006, i relearnt alot of things about myself, my Heavenly Father & those around me. my walk with Him has taken a new dimension of faith & of who He is & what He can do. Indeed, He is the Rock that I can absolutely cling onto when trials come!

Sorry for this long sharing! Thanks for reading! Just want to let you know you & your family's journey of faith is a reminder to me once again that He never fails!

God bless!

Cheers, Fiona :)

How Blessed! Thank You Jesus! :)

Dearest those whom God has brought into my life in my darkest times of pain & grief,

Brought comfort & joy to my heart....yups, I love you all lots! You've been such a great blessing to me! Here's what you all did.....

Thank you for making me laugh when I could no longer laugh on my own, thank you for nourishing my body with nutritious food when I had no appetite (but I needed to for sustenance, thanks for "forcing" me to eat!), thank you for brightening my dark moments with the light of Christ in you!

Thank you for staying up to talk with me, hearing me out, allowing me to vent, for making time for me, for holding my hand & walking me through when I was lost & didn't know what to do or felt as if I could not go on anymore.

Thank you for having a heart big enough to make me feel comfortable enough for me to openly share what's in my heart w/o ever feeling judged or small. For this, I appreciate lots.

In your wisdom, thank you for teaching & guiding me how to walk in the ways of the Lord based on His precepts by modelling it yourself to me, for practical hands-on advice & tips in ministry & in life in general.

Thank you for those who went into their prayer closets & prayed, interceeded & travailed in prayer on their knees & waged spiritual warfare on my behalf when I was too weak & weary to do so myself. It made a difference! Otherwise, I would not be writing this entry now! Praise God!

It is from the excess that is within me that ministry is able to outflow so that I can be a blessing to others. Just like I have been blessed, impacted & mentored by the people God sent into my life, out of thankfulness & gratefulness to Him, instead of keep saying thank you, what better way to show it than in practical action to love God even more, serve Him & His people ya?

Of coz I need to make sure the issue of pride & self does not come in & start relying on my own strength. That's where some of you have the responsibility to keep me on my toes & keep on speaking into my life as you all deem fit. (You all know who you all are!)

Through the ups & downs, the good & "bad" times, beloved Abba Father, You have proven Yourself faithful. Your loving kindness, goodness & mercies endures forever. You reached out & picked me up from the miry clay when I was in the pits.

(Psalm 31: 21) Praise the LORD, for he has shown me his unfailing love. He kept me safe when my city was under attack.

For this, I will praise You all the days of my life! Amen! :)

(Psalm 40: 3) He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be astounded. They will put their trust in the LORD.

(Psalm 23: 6) Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD forever.

Miracles in Class! (1)

Words later...the fact that this boy managed to even sit nicely & do the below activities with me w/o too much outburst is already a miracle.....I believe more to come! Amen?

I am so loved! :)

I was eyeing this RED bag from EDC since 3th of Jan when I first set my eyes on it! Have been drooling over it & dreaming about it. I usually do not get bags from Esprit coz I find them overpriced.

It came attached with a S$79.90 hefty price tag. Even with Celeste's (bro's gf) 10% member's discount, it wld still be quite a considerable sum to part with & it's not something I really need at the moment. It's a want.......

There's even a matching wrislet.....

Matching coin pouch too.....*faint* Oh man, talk about temptation! Flee! :P

Guess what? My beloved siblings, Fanny & Fabian, & Celeste, chipped in to bless me with it as my bday gift! Woo hoo! I am so so happy & pleased as punch with my new red bag!*utterly high*very very high*

Not only that, when Celeste when down to get it, there was an additional 30% off storewide thus total of 40% off! Wow! I am so blown away!

So loved & heartwarming coz even such a mundane & small want such as this, my Abba Father sees to it that it's met. Awesome! :)

(John 15: 7)
But if you stay joined to me and my words remain in you, you may ask any request you like, and it will be granted!

The things my kids do during snack time! *faint*

This particular kid has to dissolve & soften his food in his milk to ensure optimal chewing & swallowing.

Still, the orange peel in milk was quite amusing!

Yups, for those in the know, we survive by every 15min block on the 1st day of sch last Fri. It got better bit by bit as rules, boundaries & consequences were set FIRMLY in place.

Gradually, we relaxed abit & survived by the hour. Slowly but surely getting there. Just don't laugh when you see my hair in a mess & roll your eyes at me outside my class door when you peep in & it seemed as if a tornado has swept past Class 13P! Quite a normal occurrence I tell you!

Still, am thankful & grateful to God for His protection & safety in class everyday! Praise God for no major/serious injuries & we even survived our 1st hydro session on Wed in 1 piece with no major hoo-ha! :)

Gals Nite Out!

Why so shy gals?

Lina my HR Executive & Pauline my trusty social worker....

My fav. dish...brushetta...the one at Earl's Swensons was not too bad...

Gleefully tugging into it!

Getting ready to tuck into our free Earthquake, thanks to Pauline!

What a huge one!
Hey gals! A heartfelt thank you for the laughter, fun moments, cheesy actions & great memories. It has been a long time since dad passed away that I've been able to laugh so heartily until tears rolled down my eyes leh....

Goal to cheer me up achieved! Good job well done gals! Thanks too for the catching up on each other's life. Let's see how things goes ya? *wink* Love u all lots! *hugs*

Brokenhearted :(

Unappreciated? Trampled? Hurt esp. by those closest to you & those you hold dear...the words hurled at you cuts deep right into the core of your heart....bleeding but no one sees & can do abt it....so painful it feels as if I can't go on anymore coz I can hardly breathe.....

Makes me wonder whether I've done anything wrong or is it worth it going all the way out in the 1st place! *sigh*

But you know what? I take comfort coz the LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those who are crushed in spirit. (Psalm 34:18).

More importantly & of greatest comfort to me, He heals the brokenhearted, binding up their wounds. (Psalm 147: 3)

No one can heal those emotional wounds except Jesus! Amen?

Yups! Whine whine abit, feel abit sorry for myself, then shake off the dust, pick myself up & move on! Am not giving up! No way Lord! :)

Fresh Fire Conference 2008!

Way cool ladies! Thank u for blessing me wif yr great company! I sure enjoyed the fellowship, laughter & fun! :)

U all noe me la...sure must take photos of food one....

Nourish our physical bodies we did!

Aunty Doris! I can't resist...u are SO cute! *grin* :P

Hungry...for beef bee hoon.....still missing my Chef's Salad badly leh, no chance to eat it yet!

The fried rice was quite unpalatable! Yucks! No taste one....

Drank from the rivers of living waters we sure did! Oh, what a great & awesome God You are! :)

How Great Is Our God! :)

Life has been super exciting, roller coaster-like, heart-stopping aka skip a beat, painful at times, powerful & definitely very humbling experience. Everyday is different with our God. I have been forced to walk by faith & not by sight.

I stand in awe of His awesomeness & greatness, a new dimension that I am experiencing. I now fully understand & am able to comprehend what it really means to be a willing & fully surrendered vessel for God. It takes lots of emptying out of myself, a daily dying to self so that He can be glorifed & praised!

Dad's demise has not been in vain. He has left behind a certain kind of legacy. By having a Christian wake, the body of Christ (the church & care cell) was able to minister to my family in our time of bereavement & need. Well done Trinitarians for the excellent level of Care & Connecting!

You know what? The devil may have taken one (my dad) away from me but I (by God's strength & wisdom) will snatch back 4 or more back from him! Amen? I seal the salvation of the rest of my unsaved loved ones in Jesus' name!

Pressing in...there's no holding back...I will fight this battle well no matter what...victory is mine for sure for Jesus paid the price for ALL of us at the Cross!

Bible Verses that Minister in Times of Need

Thank You Lord, for giving me the opportunity to do so. And giving me a 2nd chance to minister to those who are going through what I've gone through.

Indeed, You are a God of grace & mercy. How great & awesome You are! None can be compared with You!

My heart is humbled & in awe at what You have done & will be doing in & through me! :)