A Whiff of Lemongrass

So overdue, but still so close to my mind....

The lovely Phuket trip in June.

I'm a scrooge, so i put everyone on a Tiger Airways flight...

But once we got there, it was luxury all the way~~~~!!!

(thanks to Dad's friend!!)

A private ferry to take us to our duplex villa.

Step outta the room, into the pool!

View from our roof top massage hideout.

Great view in the room and bathroom (with private jacuzzi) too!







Yummy surprises delivered to our duplex ever so often =)
And our choice of aromatherapy scent each night!


people i love.
Kor, next time make sure u join us!!



Mummy, with a pyramid of rice.


Our daily freeflow cocktail and snacks!
We downed Magheritas and Bloody Mary's and champagne and wine everyday. Decadence!

Khian... still thinks he can fly.

Sigh... at least he no longer tells us the security guards are trailing him.

At Patong Area. Ermmmm...

Khian n Munch, our secret hor!!!!!

Similan Island... =)

Ahhh.... a piece of heaven.

Now I use a lemongrass-scented conditioner.

Somehow it takes me a lil closer to Phuket, to holidays, to leisure, to daddy n mummy n khian.

Better than a swig of whiskey to take me away from the humdrum of school.

Sooooo looking forward to the next holiday! Nothing fanciful, we're trying to get our retirement funds in order before we splurge....

The next trip'll probably be to Chiangmai with Ray n YT n Munch... we're gonna visit Brighton Chiangmai Church!! =) =)

And, perhaps, a trip to Vietnam with the gals?

I can't wait for the hols...

sigh... am i just lazy, or did God make me an uber-leisure-loving woman?

If only my job and calling in life is to go for holidays.

If only...

My Silent Scream...

Runaway Train ~ Soul Asylum

Call you up in the middle of the night
Like a firefly without a light
You were there like a blowtorch burning
I was a key that could use a little turning

So tired that I couldn't even sleep
So many secrets I couldn't keep
I promised myself I wouldn't weep
One more promise I couldn't keep

It seems no one can help me now
I'm in too deep, there's no way out
This time I have really led myself astray

[Chorus:]
Runaway train, never going back
Wrong way on a one-way track
Seems like I should be getting somewhere
Somehow I'm neither here nor there

Can you help me remember how to smile?
Make it somehow all seem worthwhile
How on earth did I get so jaded?
Life's mystery seems so faded

I can go where no one else can go
I know what no one else knows
Here I am just a-drownin' in the rain
With a ticket for a runaway train

And everything seems cut and dried
Day and night, earth and sky
Somehow I just don't believe it

[Chorus]
Bought a ticket for a runaway train
Like a madman laughing at the rain
A little out of touch, a little insane
It's just easier than dealing with the pain

[Chorus]
Runaway train, never coming back
Runaway train, tearing up the track
Runaway train, burning in my veins
I run away but it always seems the same
= = = @ @ @ = = = @ @ @ = = =
This song seems to be my silent scream right now... Why?
I don't know yet...
Rushing off to meet someone...
perhaps later i'll slow down...
and wallow a little...
and ask God...
and then, who knows,
i may understand me...

Reflections: The Discipline of Service

One great thing about having time off from work is that i get to immerse myself deeply and slowly in God's word and reflect - allowing my mind to be renewed not with worldly wisdom, but to allow His word and the Holy Spirit to convict me and correct me...
And man, do i need loads of corrections!

Was listening to Ps Benny's sermon on "The Discipline of Service" and was struck by his contrast of true service vs self-centred service.

1. Self-centred service is unduly concerned about impressing others. A sign of this would be a concern about numbers, size, scale, grandeur. Another symptom would be a tendency to somehow keep an eye on whether anyone's watching us serve, to manipulate it such that whenever we are serving, people who count see it or know it. We are only happy when our service is noticed.
True service says, "Don't look at me, look at my God." Like, when Peter raised Tabitha from the dead. Raising someone from the dead IS a big deal. Someone who serves selfishly would probably have released a few DVDs, write a few books, speak at many seminars, run a course on 7 Ways of Raising People from the Dead etc. But Peter did it quietly, then, as if nothing happened, stayed at Simon the tanner's house for a few days. How ordinary, without any fanfare.

2. Self-centred service demands to serve. When i feel like it, when i feel it is my time, i demand to serve in the place i want to. It is based not on the needs of those i am serving, but on my feelings of wanting to serve.
True service is given freely when needed, and can be withheld when not needed.

3. Self-centred service is love for the service, true service is love for the people you serve. Ps Benny spoke about how one day, Ps Kong Hee shared with him that City Harvest is a strong church because his sheep know that he is willing to lay down his life for them. Ps Benny reflected and found that he was willing, instead, to lay down his sheep for his life! And he realized that he loved what he was doing to them - preaching, teaching etc, rather than actually loving them. And that realisation prompted him to change.

It was this point that struck me.
How true indeed.

Do i love the kids such that i am willing to lay down my life for them?
Do i love my students such that i am willing to lay down my life for them?
Do i love my CG such that i am willing to lay down my life for them?

Or do i just love "playing" kids ministry, "playing" teacher, "playing" CG and church?

True service IS sacrificial and selfless.
Jesus was a true servant.
He laid down His life for me.
I want to learn to be a true servant too.