snapshots of life

cos today's been one of those 'blah' days, i thought i'd unearth this blog and write about what i feel about teaching... then i decided that it won't be wise, and i might as well give thanks instead... cos as much as these past 3 months has been difficult and roller-coaster-ish.. there've been too many blessings to count

December 2012

just to leave the country

i had fun... can't believe one of my class kids said it wasn't age appropriate for him

beautifiul wedding of two amazing friends

my bf spoiling me for christmas

somehow all the stash for christmas was girly - i think it's a ploy to make me girlier

finally took the time to go to gardens by the bay with the bf - blessed to have free tickets!

 January 2013

signed up for the 2XU run... so started running more intensively and dropped my phone. thank God the new year came already and i could use my LDS to pay for it

 February 2013

homemade rose with love =)

yet another friend's wedding - and a hilarious picture taken at their photobooth

March 2013

the most amazing birthday present i've ever gotten - and yummy too

i got to eat myself...

and play with LEGO

and got a huge and awesome surprise from a friend =) think the postage cost a bomb... so blessed to have friends like her

fake lego... just got it on a whim cos of the fun we had making the big ben.. this was difficult and tiny though!

good food with good friends

 Iggy's (an awesome birthday treat by the bf)

Just yesterday @ 2XU run

i survived the 10km run! next goal - half marathon

had Macs bfast after the run and took this just to commemorate this hilarious moment where i disfigured his pancakes on a whim

I am tired. 

There are so many things that i'd like to write about... but just have too much work and no bandwidth - and then i'd probably forget to write entries in the times when i actually do get a break (therefore the silence on this blog heh.) it's been a blessed term, hectic, with an incredible amount of favour...

3 days of hols left till term 2. I desperately need to recharge my soul and see His supply in my life.

bye bye Rock Auditorium!

it's so much easier to post a status on facebook or even a photo on instagram nowadays but reminiscing always needs a long wordy blog post.

today at the 'farewell rock party' (if you're wondering, it's cos NCC is shifting out of its current auditorium and into the Star) there was extended 4th service worship, all the pastors made an appearance, people were busy snapping photos...

and amidst that i was meeting old friends, people whom i grew up with in youth ministry, meeting the friends of these friends (albeit awkwardly cos the church is so big don't really know half the people you recognise) and thinking about how i've spent the last 12 years growing up in the ministry and attending services at this very auditorium

i'm not really a sentimental person so didn't really spend time taking photos: much prefer to look back, take stock... and forge forwards knowing that God has gone ahead and each step of the way will be better.  so... i ended up people-watching and just seeing how God has so impacted the lives of the people i've grown up with - esp. all those who've become leaders and stuff... He is just so faithful.

best of all, i got to drink a cup of teh tarik 'tarik-ed' by Pastor Dan himself (and took a pic of him making it... which i won't post haha).

not that the cup was impt... or cos he is "Pastor"... but it just warmed my heart to know that in the midst of this growing ministry, the people whom feel 'furthest away' on the platform simply have that heart for serving God and serving others. the personal touch from pastors has perhaps disappeared with each additional thousand that has entered our doors... but the heart of service and love remains. and that's our true calling isn't it? to serve others with the gifts and callings He has placed in our lives - just as Jesus serves us.

haha and at the same time i saw my generation of leaders serving others in just the same way... my friend Christine who serves in RSM (our usher ministry) went to flip prata and serve people while the prata man was off busy doing something else. crazy!

it's just such a different spirit and so precious... may i keep growing in it and keep walking in His love for others whatever the capacity i'm in. there's no time to look at these people in their current greatness and feel envious... but its time to sow seeds in the lives that i can touch with all He has given me. and hey! one day i'll perhaps be in their shoes wondering how in the world God brought me there... and filling teh tarik for people =)

Happy Children's Day!

Awesome relaxed past two days... so blessed!

Thurs:
half day in school helping to facilitate the ACES day programme and just hanging with the kids. granted the night before was a mad rush to prepare their gifts. but twas fun going around being a blessing =). Then got to spend unplanned time with the bf due to a series of unfortunate events happening and all our other plans being cancelled.

in the midst of cutting cards and sticking chocolate

Fri:
Went for a swim with the boy... then had my first EXCELLENT lunch in Singapore. So far all the good food has been just -good- and not comparable to the things i've had a chance to try in London. Well this lunch was comparable in price too ($60++) but food and service was top notch. Where? Les Amis @ Shaw Centre.

So in commemoration of lunch... photos!

First there was bread... white, walnut, and sea salt, of which i have no picture. the sea salt bread was something of a cross between a croissant and a brioche and marvelously fluffy

fresh butter, tomato butter and crushed sea salt

Then the amuse-bouche...

Salmon canapé 

ZQ's appetizer, the eel had just the right amount of seasoning while maintaining its original flavour - and not fishy at all

Lightly smoked eel "tiède", garlic croûton, ratte potato salade

my disassembled appetizer - every bite had a different and distinct flavour, and every bite was perfectly balanced with each other

Confit "Bengal Bay" prawn, marinated red beets, celeriac, horseradish cream

ZQ's main course - which he liked but i thought wasn't very exciting. i must say the dish really brought out the flavour of each individual ingredient in a ... for lack of a better description... natural way

Crispy skin guinea fowl, savoy cabbage, coco bean, smoked onion ragout

from the dish above - this was the cabbage, bean and what we think is mashed potato

my main course, again looking disassembled - what i thought was mashed potato was actually cauliflower lol!

Pan roasted Challans duck breast, brussels sprouts, cauliflower purée, speck-onion glaze

And then there was dessert:

coffee that we asked to be served with dessert

didn't think ZQ's dessert was very special, but it was very well done

Tarte tatin, hazelnut and aged sherry liqueur

and mine... effectively a disassembled lemon meringue with ice cream. with awesome rich individual flavour

'A fancy lemon tart', thyme ice cream

white space

here in the Singapore education system the creators of the curriculum have created something called 'white space'. supposedly it's free time in the curriculum for teachers to spend time with the kids, prepare fun activities/ carry out said fun activities (which take up huge amounts of time). it's particularly useful for science teachers who have tons of experiments to carry out but only have about 6 periods a week (i.e. 3 hours) -about half the amount of time that teachers have with the kids for math/ english.

i think on the whole teachers need this white space - not just in the curriculum so that we can 'do more stuff with the kids' but real free time to properly plan and think about the things we care about. just read an article recently that says to 'take all the vacations you can' cos it's when you're fully rested and your mind drifts back to work that you start to want to learn and try to find ways to improve your productivity. tell me about it man... i haven't the time to think beyond what i would be doing in the next hour.

anyhow today on the way home i was feeling quite pleased with myself cos i created some artificial 'white space' for myself. i put down that red pen and ignored the pile of marking that was beckoning... and just left.

so here i am blogging about what i was thinking about on the way home

- i really should know the rationale behind everything that i do in school - but i don't actually know (my poor kids... if i don't know the rationale, how do they find purpose in what they're doing?)


- it's not sufficient to plan your time such that everything fits beautifully, your schedule is within your comfort zone where you know you can do well in everything you agree to do.
that's probably self effort - effort that demands minute control over everything such that everything can turn out in a perfect manner akin to one's expectations. (i must say at this point that this is something that i tend to do and get stressed out over cos i find that i "can't cope" with my own standards)

trusting God's grace on the other hand is to know that none of this can be done in the first place without  Christ in you. for if God doesn't bless your work then all is in vain. commitment-wise... 'commit your works to the Lord' - know your limits, don't overcommit your time, but trust God that He will cause you to surpass your wildest dreams of success. He will bless the works of your hands (even when you're rushing and never feel that it's good enough... haha i'm speaking to myself here)


- i need to do my marking... i wonder if i balance everything i need to mark/ plan in a single stack on the floor if it would end up taller than my table. maybe i should try it tomorrow. hahaha.



ok back to work, and time for a run =)

counting blessings

haven't had enough time this quarter of the year to really appreciate all the things that have happened. and so many awesome things happened amidst the busy-ness. i just wish there was more time to really savour every moment and blog about em as they come... ohwell.

some snippets from this season (boy not included haha). really see God's hand in everything... in the midst of the problems and the demands, and moments of awesomeness like these. just wanna stay thankful for all He has done =)

Chor leaders meeting celebrating Crystal's bdae 

meeting oldtime lovely friends (i stole this photo off whatsapp haha)

my teachers' day stash on the last day of school =)

women's leaders gathering... and making this was the bonding activity - awesome creative stuff!

the dessert that crystal made and brought for the potbless

too fast too furious

it seems like this not having time for myself is becoming a recurrent thing with my current schedule - thus the silence over here

was just lamenting that it's a public holiday and a long weekend but it's been so busy i actually have trouble remembering all that i did these last 3 days.

but just as i was complaining to God i was prompted to think about how fruitful my life is - all the projects at work (there is always an overwhelming number of things that must be done as a teacher), being a leader at church (which also means more growth/ responsibility/ things to do), newfound love... and just living life with people

with every demand on my life and my time - it seems that there's a fruit

so i guess the real challenge for my walk with Him is to have that awareness of His presence and a dependence on Jesus... to just be in that state where i can ask before every decision or starting on a piece of work - to wait for the still small voice and direction... and to remember it's not about me, but about his provision

it really is a NEED to prioritise time with Jesus so that everything works smoothly man.

“The Lord God has given Me
The tongue of the learned,
That I should know how to speak
A word in season to him who is weary.
He awakens Me morning by morning,
He awakens My ear
To hear as the learned.
~Isaiah 50:4


He HAS GIVEN... :) need to meditate on the provision man!