The Chias

You're right, it's more earworms. It's true, meaningful and poetic. Another excellent song to keep humming, to keep reflecting, to keep praying.

In the Valley
Words and music by Bob Kauflin
As recorded on Valley of Vision

When You lead me to the valley of vision
I can see You in the heights
And though my humbling wouldn’t be my decision
It’s here Your glory shines so bright
So let me learn that the cross precedes the crown
To be low is to be high
That the valley’s where
You make me more like Christ

Let me find Your grace in the valley
Let me find Your life in my death
Let me find Your joy in my sorrow
Your wealth in my need
That You’re near with every breath
In the valley

In the daytime there are stars in the heavens
But they only shine at night
And the deeper that I go into darkness
The more I see their radiant light
So let me learn that my losses are my gain
To be broken is to heal
That the valley’s where Your power is revealed

© 2006 Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI).

The Power of the Cross
Words & Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend
Watch it

Oh, to see the dawn
Of the darkest day:
Christ on the road to Calvary.
Tried by sinful men,
Torn and beaten, then
Nailed to a cross of wood.

Chorus:This, the pow’r of the cross:
Christ became sin for us;
Took the blame, bore the wrath—
We stand forgiven at the cross.

Oh, to see the pain
Written on Your face,
Bearing the awesome weight of sin.
Ev’ry bitter thought,
Ev’ry evil deed
Crowning Your bloodstained brow.

Now the daylight flees;
Now the ground beneath
Quakes as its Maker bows His head.
Curtain torn in two,
Dead are raised to life;
“Finished!” the vict’ry cry.

Oh, to see my name
Written in the wounds,
For through Your suffering I am free.
Death is crushed to death;
Life is mine to live,
Won through Your selfless love.

Final Chorus:This, the pow’r of the cross:
Son of God—slain for us.
What a love! What a cost!
We stand forgiven at the cross.

© 2005 Thankyou Music.

Charis was invited to 2 birthday parties last month and she enjoyed them both.

It's Jacaranda season again. It's the season of exams. It's a season of reflection.

And when I thought the Jacaranda season was ending, the trees flourished, and the blanket of purple flowers are sprinkled on the magical pathway. Causing me to discover that what I thought was coming to an end, was actually just beginning.

What a pleasant surprise.

Another one for the grandparents

Pa, Ma, click on the photo. =)

SMBC mum's BS group. See how much the kids have grown!

On a recent warm spring day in college, Roger observed that those who were sitting in the sun were caucasians, and those who were sitting in the shade were asians. The Causcasians love the sun, many flock to the beaches in warm days. Many, suntanning on the beaches and at the swimming pool.

I remember the scorching days in Ho Chi Minh City. Bike-riding ladies dressed in long-sleeved shirts, long pants, with gloves, cloth masks and Non La on. The locals said that they are trying to prevent their skin from getting dark.

What a contrast.

With gale-forced winds outside, I'm feeling thankful for the roof over our heads. (And also thankful for a cup of warm almond paste.)

From One for the grandparents

Pa, Ma, click on the photo. =)

Some of you might know that one of the pleasant side effects of joining the MEET com is to be infected by the love of birding. Of course, there are a few who have been immuned to this side effect, to which till this day I still can remember their 'insensitive' one-liners when they hear me saying something about birds I see. I will continue to pray for them. *just kidding*

I recall fondly the days of waking up at 6am during a public holiday, excitedly making my way to Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve by 7am to catch sight of the early birds feeding. Sights of the stork-billed kingfishers, purple herons, Blue-tailed Bee-eater, yellow-vented bulbuls, white-bellied sea eagles, brahminy kite and the migratory shore birds would send thrills up my spine. The sightings were the bonuses. The real deal was the opportunity to take a nature walk with friends.

My best loved birding spot is still Fraser's hill, Malaysia. Where else can you birdwatch in nice cool weather (=no mossies) with silver-eared mesias, chestnut-capped laughing thrushes and spider hunters appearing up-close nearly everywhere you go? =) Fraser's hill, my playground. I can write another entry about Fraser's hill alone.

When Charis came along, birding took a different turn. She survived the commando mossies in Sungei Buloh at 17 months, but have yet to pass birding 101-the most basic skill. No, it's not how to use a pair of binoculars, it's the skill of observing quietly. Sometimes, when we are birding at our backyard, all I'll hear is Charis shouting "Mummy, Berd---Fly!", her footsteps as she runs along the driveway. When the birds know where you are, they would not want you to know where they are. Charis has a lot to learn. =P

Nevertheless, after being here for some time, I've sighted some of the following birds without deliberately going to a nature trail.

Birds seen in my backyard
Magpie
Common Myna (lots in S'pore too)
Pied Currawong
Red whiskered Bulbul
Noisy Miner
New Holland Honey-eater
Willie wagtail
Silvereye (I thought they were olive-backed sunbirds!)

Birds seens elsewhere
Rainbow Lorikeet (they're bursting with colours!)
Crested pigeons
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
Laughing kookaburra (distinct call)
Australian Pelican
Silver gulls (think 'Finding Nemo', mai-mai-mai)
Australian White Ibis (aka 'rubbish birds' according to KT)

For pictures of the above birds, you can click here.

Not as long a list as I would have liked, but still, am thankful for these sightings, some on a very frequent basis outside my kitchen window. =)

In God's grace, I guess birding for me, really started when I was 14, donning my blue and grey uniform, looking through the classroom door, at the white-collared kingfishers perching on the tree outside, obviously not having a clue what my teacher was saying. They were the first pretty birds I saw which led me to question about how this world is created. And then one thing led to another.

Birding reminds me of what a great and lavish God we have.

Roger and I spoke about Lenny last night. Extremely bittersweet. We felt like crying.

Dear brother, thank you for teaching us how to live and die. We pray that we may live to what you have challenged us, and we look forward to the Day when we will meet.

We will never forget.

The passage of my week:

希 伯 來 書 7:23-25 (Chinese Union Version (Simplified))

那 些 成 为 祭 司 的 ， 数 目 本 来 多 ， 是 因 为 有 死 阻 隔 ， 不 能 长 久 。
这 位 既 是 永 远 常 存 的 ， 他 祭 司 的 职 任 就 长 久 不 更 换 。
凡 靠 着 他 进 到 神 面 前 的 人 ， 他 都 能 拯 救 到 底 ； 因 为 他 是 长 远 活 着 ， 替 他 们 祈 求

"The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing, but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them." Heb 7:23-25 (NASB)

Amidst the flurry of discussion on Melchizedek during Hebrew Exegesis lecture this Tue, the above verses stood out for me.
...continues forever..., ..holds...permanently.., ..save forever.., ..always lives..
What assurance there is of the permanence and infalliable nature of salvation through Jesus!

Being a teacher (my previous job before being a stay-home mum) gave me insight to how God feels towards us. I had earnest students, wayward students, treading on the edge students. I'm thankful that I'm still in touch with some students and sometimes feel a bit old when I realise that they are 18-20 years old already. Looking at their pictures on facebook, meeting them in person, to see how much more 'adult-like' they look surprises me at times. Somehow, images of when they were 14 years old (uniformed, braces wearing, hip-hop dancing, running down school corridors) are still stuck in my brains. Now they are on internships, exchange programmes, 1st year in Uni, working... Wow...


But I digress... now being a mum, I've been given greater insight to how God feels towards us in a different dimension. And one of such learning moments took place a few weeks ago.


I was at another mum's house and she has a 2-year-old as well. So the typical fightin-for-toys-saga happened. I can't remember what they were fighting over, but I sat Charis down on my lap (she was still clutching the toy) and told her to share the toy with her friend. Honestly, at that time, I was just going through the motions of encouraging Charis to be unselfish. In my mind, I was quite sure Charis was not going to budge because she was tired (tired=unco-operative) and cos it was her favourite toy (ah...now i remember...it's a doll's pram!). Charis was crying when she sat on my lap and complaining when I was going through the motions of encouraging her to share. I was ready to apologise to my friend's child when Charis did the amazing. She actually stood up, gave her friend the pram gently, and came running back to my arms, still crying.

Somehow, it seemed that she understood that she had to do what was right, but doing what was right was difficult.


I was proud of her, yet I felt so much compassion for her, because I understood what it is like to give up something we want so much, even though I know that it is the right thing to do. And in marvellous ways, her small sacrifice reminded me of how my heavenly father looks upon me when I struggle with temptations to be self-reliant, discontent, envious, anxious. He looks upon me like a loving father, ready to discipline. To discipline because He loves. (Heb 12:7-11) He looks upon me with compassion (Ps 103:13), mindful that I am but dust (Ps 103:14), knowing that the difficult times are for the purpose of building perseverance (Jas 1:2-4).

One of my favourite sounds has been Charis saying

As I am typing, Roger is busily editing his sermon for Friday's chapel. He had a Hebrew test this morning and has an assignment due next week.

Charis and I fell sick 2 weeks ago. She's well now, I'm still trying to shake off the cough that only strikes at nights. I've also been trying to shake off my latest earworm - 《代替》 by a Singaporean composer. Little did you know that the chias are actually fans of Chinese music! Roger and I had our cantopop days too! There was this crazy night when we reminisced of 黄舒骏's songs and I started looking for them on youtube. There's just something in Chinese songs that I find so much more poetic than English ones.

Charis may be following in our footsteps too. She has been quite hooked on a Chinese VCD that my mum bought. The VCD has many children's songs and she never fails to 'drag' me to dance with her when it comes to 《当我们同在一起》, she would hold my hand, drag me to the front of the TV and chant "一起". I hope to catch this scene on video soon.

Monday was SMBC's annual International Day. As usual we have been encouraged to wear something distinctly from another culture, bring food from another culture and to put up a performance from a different culture.

I missed the outdoors and sunshine of the international day last year. Because of the rain, the event was held in the dining room. (Which explains the dark photos) It's not less exciting, but there was definitely less space to dance.

We bought some (Taiwanese-made) Japanese mochi to share, and we tried borrowing outfits from our church friends to wear for the event. Alas, Roger had difficulty getting something to wear and hence wore this T-shirt. Super international hor? =)



The first performance was by 3 students who played some Brazillian piece. They introduced the music and welcomed us to their rehearsal. =P I also took part in a turkish dance, (where I stepped on the foot of others most of the time, and Roger hung out with Charis near the food. Heh.) Lecturer Kirk Patston performed some tap dancing 'stunts' (in my view).


The most touching performance was to see my 3 caucasian aussie friends singing 2 Mandarin songs with 2 aussie chinese college mates (photo above). The aussie guy who played the guitar is himself going to minister in Taiwan with his family this November. They sang <<耶和华的心>> and taught everyone to sing <<在耶稣里我们是一家人>> which everyone gamely attempted.


Here's Kristen in a Tanzanian outfit. Look at Irwan on the right background. He's from Indonesia and he looks so natural in the sarong! =)

Ella (left) Dave (centre) and Hayden (right) dressed with a pirates theme. Hmm...are pirates considered a people group? =)

Julie and Daniel (left) with the tired and distracted Charis

We tried getting Charis and Sarah (right) to pose for a picture, but they had a different agenda altogether.

International Day has once again reminded me that my view of the world is so small. When I looked at unfamiliar international outfits, I realised that the world is truly bigger than what I imagined. There are really many many different cultures, languages and peoples. And all people need to hear about Jesus.

Here's Charis at a little animal petting enclosure. We could walk among the sheep and goats. There were ducklings, chicks, chickens, rabbits and a pig. Charis was trying to pose for a picture. Look at her keen attempts to smile =P She had a good time talking to the sheep (She walks near to them and says 'baa-baa' to them) and trying to pull goats' ears. Just look at the little gal at the right bottom corner. She hugged every sheep and goat she saw! Animal lover #1. =)


Three little gals with their books. Ok, ok, I made little Naomi look like she had something to do with the book. =P Just for the picture.

Here you see Chloe, the diligent, focused primary school student, and Charis, the class kaypo queen. Naomi? I can't quite tell yet. Just look at her sweet innocent face!

Daniel, Mitchell and Justin, 3 young people in church came up with a Mother's Day video and it was screened in church last Sunday. A few mums and a dad from church also took part in the filming and photos of all the mums in church with their kids were submitted to make up the rest of the video. It was a surprise for me cos apparently, Roger kept it a secret and submitted the photos without my knowledge.

The video brought laughter and tears of joy. And for those who have been a part of cornerstone north, who knows the kids and the mums, this will be more meaningful for you.

The video will be here for a limited time only. Enjoy!

I don't like vetting Roger's Greek exegetical papers.

More than half of what's in there is not English...

During Principal's Hour every week, we would sit at the foyer of the auditorium in SMBC listening to the sermon. At the foyer are stairs leading up to the library, and last week, guess what these cheeky monkeys have been up to.

Zoe (left), Charis and Felicity (right) climbed up to the top of the stairs to the entrance of the library, and Aaron decided to put Zoe into the pigeon holes meant for bags. The rest were similarly shelved. =)

Sorry that it's a poorly taken shot, Roger took the shot with his not-so-flashy mobile phone.

Will there ever be too many? =)

Sang this in church today. So apt as I was rostered to teach the little ones (0-4 year olds) today, and the lesson was 'God is always with us'. Let us sing this with joy. =)

Immanuel
By Michael Card

A sign shall be given
A virgin will conceive
A human baby bearing
Undiminished deity

The glory of the nations
A light for all to see
That hope for all who will embrace
His warm reality

Immanuel
Our God is with us
And if God is with us
Who could stand against us
Our God is with us
Immanuel

For all those who live in the shadow of death
A glorious light has dawned
For all those who stumble in the darkness
Behold your light has come

Immanuel
Our God is with us
And if God is with us
Who could stand against us
Our God is with us
Immanuel

So what will be your answer?
Will you hear the call?
Of Him who did not spare His son
But gave him for us all

On earth there is no power
There is no depth or height
That could ever separate us
From the love of God in Christ

Immanuel
Our God is with us
And if God is with us
Who could stand against us
Our God is with us
Immanuel

Immanuel
Our God is with us
And if God is with us
Who could stand against us
Our God is with us
Immanuel

Our mission team led the service on both Sundays when we were at Lakeshore. We sang Jesus, thank you on both occasions and right after the first service, Roger spoke about how much he liked the song, both its words and its tune. May we always be grateful, for Christ's work on the cross that saves us from sin.

Jesus, Thank You
Words and music by Pat Sczebel
As recorded on Worship God Live (Track 7)
Lyrics

The mystery of the cross
I cannot comprehend
The agonies of Calvary
You the perfect Holy One, crushed Your Son
Who drank the bitter cup reserved for me

Your blood has washed away my sin
Jesus, thank You
The Father’s wrath completely satisfied
Jesus, thank You
Once Your enemy, now seated at Your table
Jesus, thank You

By Your perfect sacrifice
I’ve been brought near
Your enemy You’ve made Your friend
Pouring out the riches of Your glorious grace
Your mercy and Your kindness know no end

Lover of my soul
I want to live for You

© 2003 Integrity's Hosanna! Music (ASCAP)/Sovereign Grace Worship (ASCAP).

The Angs (Arthur and Minli) and the Chias

Ready for another 11 years?


PS: I'm trying to get my hands on the bigger reunion (aka pic with the Tohs+Chias+Angs) Akan Datang...

Spending our day off from missions at the beach.

Thank you so much for praying for us. We're back! By God's grace, in one piece! (our car nearly didn't.) and we've been really blessed by the warm church members at Lakeshore Church of Christ. The team was involved in many activities involving different age groups. Roger gave a talk at a senior's lunch and co-ordinated the services on both Sundays. He was a part of puppet skits during kids' club, drama skits during the youth event and the many many other tasks in running the activities.

Charis and I participated in most of the activities. I'm thankful that Charis warmed up to the team, and even allowed some of the church members to carry her. =) Being inexperienced drivers, we had many interesting situations with our dear old Ford. It kept us praying, and we're thankful that all such situations happened and were resolved when we were at Buderim (instead of happening along our way to and fro)

The drive down was great. =) We only planned at most a 4 hour drive each day cos we didn't think Charis (or I or maybe our Ford) could endure anymore. So we stopped by at Gold Coast, Bellingen and Forster. We even saw dolphins at Forster beach. So many of them, we saw 6 at one go, they were riding on the waves. Roger commented that they were the best surfers. That was one of the highlights of our trip. The other highlight was when we were at Dorrigo National Park. The rainforest was so beautiful, the mountains-majestic. Gold Coast gripped us by the endless stretch of beaches, the never-ending sound of the waves crashing at the beach. Each place we visited reminded me so much of God’s creation. The wonder and splendor of God in creation-the ocean, mountains, rivers and trees. Truly, all these declare God’s glory.

So, with magical moments, we return to cold, wet and dreary Sydney. (Queensland is really the sunshine state for a reason! We really enjoyed the weather there) Nevertheless, the heart-warming thing is that my best friend and her husband is visiting us, and staying at our place for the whole of their visit! I'm so looking forward to their arrival, am counting down the hours. As for Roger, he'll be back to his books come Monday. More Greek, more Hebrew, more continental reformation, more theology ....and the list goes on...

College mission starts this Sunday. It's special cos we're going together. Roger and I have been on mission trips separately and now we're going together, with little Charis. =) We'll be attached to a church in Buderim, Queensland.

We are in a team of about 14 college students. Last year, Charis and I stayed home when Roger was on mission. We weren't sure if the college welcomed families on mission, (it didn't cross our minds to ask) and we were still trying to settle in as mission happened just slightly 3 months after we arrived in Sydney.

I do not have any task specifically assigned to me, and I think being on missions, now that I'm a mother, is going to be very different from my previous roles in mission teams. Different = fluid + undefined. Maybe it'll just be conversations with strangers who think Charis is cute, praying, cooking, cleaning, and caring for Charis. (Like what happens here... Hee..)

Please pray for us, the people in the church, and those who will hear as we share the gospel and encourage the believers there. Pray for safety as we drive to and fro Buderim (13 hrs one-way) in our somewhat-elderly little red Ford.

A peak at the deco and His Royal Highness

A closer look at shy little Charis with His Royal Highness

See? I'm touching His Highness' feet!

I mentioned about not being diligent about taking photos, then recently when some friends gave us some photos, we realised that we have been diligent about posing for photos. Thanks very much to Roger's college mates! Here are some shots taken during the basketball match we went for.

This photo described very aptly how we were during the match. I enjoyed the atomsphere, Charis was in a blur, and Roger (on right) was watching the game intensely.

Here are some of the Singapore supporters! Young (on left) and Amy (on right).

We're thankful for a cool summer this year, with rain every 1-2 weeks. Nice sunshine with light breeze on some days.

We're back to our usual college routine. Roger's into his 3rd week of term. I've made a few new friends at college (Fancy meeting a Japanese at an Australian bible college!) and Charis has been enjoying the simple joys of running around and imaginary play. We still go to college for dinner on Thursday evenings even though Roger doesn't have night lectures anymore. We feel that it's a good way to get to know the residential students, and also some of the part-time students. A church cell group has also started meeting at our place. We are currently studying the book of Galatians.

On top of the usual stuff, there were pretty interesting things that happened in the last month. We went to watch a basketball match between the Sydney Kings and the Singapore Slingers! One of Roger's college mates organised this outing, and about 25 of them turned up! I enjoyed the atmosphere. Although I felt weird cheering on a team that hardly looked Singaporean. Charis was clutching on to me for the first 2 quarters of the game, not knowing what to make out of all the loud cheering and clapping. She warmed up to the atmosphere later, but she was more interested in interacting with the kids seated behind us rather than the game. Roger was annoyed with the Slingers poor team work, playing as individuals rather than for a team. I had to sit through various Rogerian commentaries on how the Slingers should have spotted a certain tactic used frequently by the opponent, or how the Slingers were just passing the ball to each other outside the semi-circle (opps, Roger corrected me, the semi-circle is called the '3-point line') without 'off ball running' (huh?) and how so-and-so is not a good shooter...blah blah blah... you get the picture... Well, at then end of it, Derek, (one of Roger's classmate) summed it quite aptly 'I hoped to comfort you by saying that it was a close match, but it was not.'

Something else that I found blogworthy was what the single guys at SMBC did on Valentine's Day. The residential single guys actually made breakfast for the residential single gals! The guys left invitation notes in the gals pigeon holes the nite before, inviting them for breakfast at the dining hall. When morning came, the guys, all dressed in suits (!), served the gals breakfast. So sweet! =) And to express their thanks, the gals sang them a song during dinner. =)

There are many things lined up for us in the coming weeks. Roger's preaching a sermon in church, I'll be at children's church every week for the next 3 weeks, helping and teaching, and giving a children's talk in mid March. SMBC's biennial missions conference is also beckoning. All full-time students will be slated to attend the conference. We are thankful for the many things we are learning here and we pray that we may grow to be godly people.

Sorry no pictures to post here, will be more diligent in taking photos! =)

We've been back in Sydney for a week now. It was a bit strange to enter our Sydney apartment again after being away for 2 months. It was familiar, yet foreign.

Having a yoga session with Gong-gong

Fun with Chinese poetry (May Hsin's mother was reading a verse from the painting on the wall)

We are truly thankful for the love and care showered upon us while we were in Singapore. Thank you so much for your generousity in terms of time and gifts (Charis had more clothes then we did on our trip back).

And with endearing thoughts of family, friends and food from Singapore. We look ahead, praying that we'll be faithful in what we have to do. Thank you for being with us in this journey.