Big 40

Well, .. the image shows like we know what we doing .. but actually no. 

We started it off rather shakily, quite frankly almost 'crashing over the cliff rails' and unto a rocky end below, but JESUS got hold of us and taught us the steps; we learnt to move to his rhythm. It took a loongg while and inspite of the many mis-steps, stumbles and hard falls he picks us up.*adjust our postures , eased our awkwardness, sync our movements until we learned  to respond  to his unforced Rhythms of Grace. 

The eyes, ears, arms, legs, hips and feet ..  it's a miracle we made it this far. 

But here we are.. after 40yrs. 

We still here!

(can't think of anything I've done longer!) 

And STILL learning to lean into Him for the sanctity of our vows. 

(sanity too!) 

We getting there.. 

(and to everyone whose ever been a part of our journey,  long-standing amd/or short, near or far, current or past, we want you to know you are much loved and appreciated. 

We are thankful for you, and thks for being part of our journey). 

Pls do drop a comment how/ where we met. 

Photo credit: joey tze

Tncc couples nite 2019

Cheers!

RAIN

Habakkuk 3:17

Even though the fig trees have no blossoms,

and there are no grapes on the vines;

even though the olive crop fails,

and the fields lie empty and barren;

even though the flocks die in the fields,

and the cattle barns are empty .. 

( to be continued)

This particular verse from Habakkuk, at this moment describes very well how I'm feeling in my real estate journey ...  a low time "when the barns are empty" (no stock in hand ). How to sell when one has nothing at hand. It's been a quiet 4-5 months.

Yet I've known God s miraculous provision that can come out of nowhere. 

Still the looming question, how to go on when our hands are (seemingly) empty..

But oh God only YOU can deliver miraculously .. you've created food for 5k ppl from 5 loaves and 2 fish. (this feeding happened not once but TWICE to underscore his hand is not short to repeat again and again..) He can .. and will do it again for us. 

Meanwhile yesterday (Sunday) while walking into the church santuary and thru the main door, a brother in Christ walking beside me said almost casually (like as if to himself), "fuhh, I feel rain all over you", as we walked in together..

Rain? 

I was quite stunned.

So I goggled it last night. I was so encouraged with what I read. 

"Rain depicts God as your source of physical and spiritual life".

That's it. I love it!

It was exactly what I needed. He is my source of Physical AND Spiritual well being. The barren months has stretched me.. even though spiritually I'm armed with a fresh revelation of his Big Love, this word of assurance just resonated deeply within, and brought comfort as I feel a new season is beckoning me to trust him even more.

Via this precious brother, God sent a picture message and a timely encouragement to me; God knows exactly what I'm going thru ..
Then as an addendum, the Holy Spirit impressed to me, if you have no challenges then how will  God show forth his miraculous works in your life. 

hmn,,..ok!

Every challenge is an opportunity for God to answer from heaven.

(below is a continuation of the rest from Habakkuk 3:17 )

.. yet I will rejoice in the LORD!

I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!

The Sovereign LORD is my strength!

He makes me as surefooted as a deer,

able to tread upon the heights.

Truly we can be joyful in the God of my salvation and the sovereign Lord is our strength. 

He is faithful and will come thru (and again) for us always!

We just have to stay the course, to put our hope upon Him.

*meanwhile thank you for those of us who are operating in the gifts of the Holy Spirit. You are a blessing to the body of Christ. A timely word  conveyed from our personal God and loving savior

Supernaturally NATURAL

I may hv heard the term before but I hv never pondered how it's application in our daily lives.

But of late I seem to have a more acute sense that His works in our lives does not always come with the spectacular, the unmistakable signature of a miracle from God ( and I've witnessed those too!), but rather God's 'workings' can come to us so naturally that we can often mistake it as.. well, a natural happenstance. Nowadays, I tend to think our circumstances may all  have a shade of divine engineering so naturally woven we don't even take notice at all.

For the longest time (decades!), I've been struggling with an eye allergy.
It involves my eye lid itch usually triggered by something I've consumed (could be 101 things and still guessing.. ); it can develop into an irrepressible  itch (sometimes debilitating ) to which no amount of rubbing can ease.
It was affecting my vision, maybe even a misshapen eyeball with all that rough rubbing knuckle abuse. Out of desperation I even visited a reknown homeopath/dermatologist in Tangkak, even subscribed to his  treatment  regimen of oral drops, which actually cost a bit.
But in the end for lack of immediate result,  I didn't have the patience /perseverance to continue. 

All the eye rubbing .. and the itch still doesn't go away. 
Good riddance to it now!

Finally, I resigned myself to prayer for a complete healing.  Relying on communion, and daily management with OTC antihistamines (zyrtec, pollaramin) that offer some relief. But on bad days even the zyrtec can't help; I just resign to live with the uncomfortable episodes of flare-ups, itchy, swollen and sometimes tear-ry eyelids.

It was awful.

It's a little stringy but the taste isn't bad esp with the mustard n soy sauce. 

I'm not sure how 'natto' came into the picture (Linda says she suggested it), but I remember trying it bcos it provided Vitamin K2, an important and  necessary nutrient missing in most modern food .. was surprised to hear my friend's wife also takes it with kim-chi.  Anyway I would take it three times a week (as it is sold in 3s per pack).
After just two weeks I noticed my eyes seemed a lot better. Passing it off as the normal 'ebbs and flows' of the allergy journey, I didn't even think it had anything to do with natto. But after a month of no flare-ups I began to suspect differently.
A quick search on Google confirmed that among many other benefits it has .. it is also known to help with allergies.

Wow! PTL

The answer to prayer could not have been more emphatic. JUST like that my seeming life long struggle gone!! (Good riddance!) Somehow, this natto provided the kind of pro-biotics that my gut-biome needed (and I've taken other probiotics before but they didn't help). Since then I've not had any episode for the last 2 months and from my perspective THAT already is a real miracle .. the type accompanied with signature bolts of lightning. Amazing!

Why didn't I just get healed miraculously and directly from prayer? 

..don't know. 

But even as I'm writing this, the Holy Spirit brings into mind and  'connecting the dots' in many other instances, He has guided me thru casual conversations, uncanny situations, and yes even words from unlikely sources which positively changed the important outcomes in my life. (Aleph Tav)

I think the key is not to focus on the answer we so desperately want, but instead to keep focus on our Chief Shepherd (and his constant supply of Grace towards us). We need to only keep our eyes on Him trusting he leads us into green pastures and quiet waters (Psalm 23)

After all, if Christ is in you and me (and He is..) we can trust he is working things out for us.

Meanwhile, its good to be conscious how God moves in such 'ordinary' ways. 

Stay the course. Keep the faith!

God bless! 

Bye bye Zyrtec, we had a stormy relationship
but i am ditching you for
a'Natto 
*another

Yesterday,  tested meself with this highly known allergen (to me) .
No bad reaction at all
It's no problem AT ALL. Yay!

Weekend plumber

So recently I had to become a 'tukang paip' (plumber) as I finally had a go at the kitchen sink facet, already 10yrs old, it had sprung an irritating drip which I've ignored until the kitchen master (wifey) brought up this drippy issue again. 

To prep,  I had taken a flash picture of the underneath to analyse what it looked like.  Looking at the pic I noticed what looked like a 'crack' in the cylindrical cement hole. That picture froze me. 

It played into my fears that somehow the foundation has shifted and the cement crack just played into my fears. (too long a story..) 

In the end when I finally got under the sink to 'cho kang',  I saw it wasn't a crack but just an uneven finish which gave an illusion it was a crack. 

Haiyah!

The point of this post is NOT to actually believe everything we see;  our eyes and emotions can deceive us, play havoc and amplify our fears. We shouldn't fall into this trap. 

Fears, anxieties, and doubt is not what our Father wants us to 'see'. Instead we should intentionally see and focus on His goodness over our lives. 

Bcos He lives and has a good plan for us,.. we also live in his blessings. 

A simple life lesson played out under the sink. If you feel like life is sinking (no pun intended) and hopelessness has taken hold, it may not be what you think ...turn your eyes.

Our Hope is Jesus. 

Sekian terima kasih!

The Lalamove delivery guy.

Do you believe things happen by chance at random or is there some divine hand at work that bless/ help us even ahead of time.

Just few days ago my sister who is visiting from Canada texted to let me know that she'll be spending a few days at our house after cny, which is a nice welcome for us. . She is in spore now and  hasn't visited Malaysia since pre covid and I looked forward to spending some time with her.
But the problem is the only 'guest' room was Mike's old room which has a working air cond ( it blows cold) but rather loud as result of some hardened rubber bushing on which the a/cond compressor sits on.
Knowing my sister is very averse to any noise at bedtime I was prepared to change for a new aircond. But the problem being just a week before CNY, all the air condition service ppl are no longer available. My usual air cond guy even on any normal period would require 5-7 days pre booking in advance. Over the phone,  all he said was that the bushing which the compressor sits on is hardened and therefore can no longer cushion the vibrations effectively..."change your a/cond lah so old already", but even that had to be .. "after cny"
Yeah, they are that busy !
Thanks a lot, but by then I wouldn't need to as my sister will only be here a few days.

I mulled over this problem.
And I'm am stuck for a solution.

Even ordering for a new air condition at this time  ( so near the festive period) is going to be a big ASK for them to install.

Should I go hunting for any a/cond guy able to come at a moment's notice.. suddenly the days to cny seem very short and  everyone is just rushing. An air of frenzy everywhere .. they always say the Chinese New year rush starts 10 days before already.

Only a few days ago,  I used Lalamove to transport a item. In passing, the delivery guy, an Indian man mentions that he's only doing this part time as he is actually an air con man.

I retrieved his number and  took a chance to give him a call  and to my surprise  he said  he'll come to look at it, which is already more than what my regular guy was willing to do.
When he came he took time to open up the compressor,  examine the unit.  Alas he confirmed both the bushing AND the compressor were the culprit (even though it was blowing cold).
Its just makes a noticeably loud drone sound.

While he was mulling the problem,   I mentioned to him I had a spare compressor just sitting idly. Immediately he was keen to look at it to see if we can switch the compressors.
And after taking some time to check that the compressor worked, he did exactly that. He switch the compressors.
(Ppl who  are willing do that extra mile are just so precious, few and far between.Today's contractors rather they spend YOUR money purchasing a new air cond instead of taking time to examine a problem to see what is the best solution. (They just want to solve our problem the quickest way for them, holding us at ransom since we need their help).

To cut the long story short he solved my problem! The air cond runs much much quieter  now and cold too, and I've won over a situation without having to fork out unnecessary money to get a new one installed.

A new air cond would hv cost at least Rm1300. In the end, he only charged me Rm200. I happily gave him extra, for his uncommon attitude.

Frankly,  I think he is God sent.

Take no thought.

Some sermon notes I jotted down 
and printed . 

Sometime in 2023 I must hv  jotted this lil sermon note and i printed for keepsake at my workstation. I wanted to have it in front of me so I may ponder on it regularly, that it might sink into my spirit.

Today is the 2nd day of the 2024. As I cleared the work station .. it was staring at me (again) the words no less weighty.

"Be anxious/care for nothing. Take no thought"

How does one function on this mode?

We are all creatures of planning and preempting the outcomes with plan A, B, and C etc etc. It is opposite to our human nature; we want to dissect, analyse our problems cos we want to be in control and navigate the outcomes with our ability, strengths and influence.

That's just who we are.

But God's ways are completely the  opposite to our human ways.

The scriptures tell us.. "when i am weak, then I  am strong.." 

In all practicality, it is only when we are weak (in resources, in our influence, in our mental fortitude) ONLY then do we depend on Jesus.

Thus only when the carnal mind knows its limits, only then we allow the spirit- man to take preeminence. Only then, we start to put our tripartite man in the correct order,  the spirit (1st), soul and body. 

But there another prong at work and that is to be at rest in him. "Be anxious for nothing". 

We can rest in him and not be anxious when we are convinced of his grace (goodness) towards us. 

It's wonderful to establish that "truth" in our minds, but when facing dark periods will our mental ascent  (agreement) be sufficient..?

Rather we will only experience this truth when the peace in our spirit spills over to the soulish (mind). 

Grace at work. 

 

To feed the spirit is life. To feed the carnal mind (flesh) is death.

And when we practice this (ie.faith) we simply magnify His place in our lives. 

And it pleases our Father. 

For the most part, 2023 has been challenging for me when at times in my real estate business, I was exasperated and felt the losses. Inspite of what my eyes and emotions were telling me.. I constantly encouraged myself of God's faithfulness and his Grace towards me. I was deliberate NOT to dwell on the negatives but instead strengthen my spirit man every chance i got.. i spoke in tongues and fed on  sermons that fortify my spirit.

Then towards the end of the year, things suddenly turned around and i ended year well. And I marvel at how it all came about. 

Dwelling on the carnal mind activity adds nothing to us, in fact it only depletes the trust we have in our ONLY source and hope. 

Jesus. 

When we understand and embrace the above truth, we glorify the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross, and it empowers us ( as believers) to pursue our race well, and to bear and to overcome all of life's  circumstances, bcos it is GOD who is bearing it with us (and for us). 

As we begin this new year, let remind ourselves again we need to be deliberate to live our lives from our spirit man, then we will hv peace. The enemy will war at us from within but we will prevail when we fight from the place of victory.

Jesus' got this. 

Blessed 2024! 

Christmas eve 2023

Grace and Linda in a video call to Korea chatting with her parents. 


This picture makes me smile when Grace just decides to pull out her phone and make a video call to her parents in Korea.  Although our communication (with her parents) is limited, Grace's dad is very sporting with his little, but expanding vocabulary of English. Apparently its very cold and snowing over there and he's gone to pick up his car from the service shop. That's the kind of spontaneity that technology connectivity  brings to us.

Christmas Dinner was very chilled affair as the boys decided to make their specialty food dishes which they took turns preparing at the kitchen,  meanwhile leaving us lots of time to  talk , and yes.. even a video call to Incheon, korea..
i ❤️ it.
This Christmas we got a coffee machine from Grace and the boys.  Even though we drink coffee everyday this seems a luxury, but it's a thoughtful gift and we are happy to receive their love .. they've pooled together to get us something we probably wouldn't ever buy for ourselves. I guess that's the practical side of Christmas "gifting".
In that sense the gift of Jesus afforded us the gift of forgiveness ie. something we couldn't afford (or produce for ourselves). He came to gift us the forgivesness (by his death) which brings us  'life' . So ya, we kinda  hv a loose analogy here.

But even if there is no gifts,  the gathering of family is already a-gift enough.
In a world that is increasingly polarised and brokenness in so many lives, we are ever more grateful to our family still intact and together.

Going by our new coffee machine, it does seem 2024 is going smell a lot better. (aah.. the smell of fresh ground coffee in the air! ).


Well, here's to wishing you a great and wonderful 2024. May our Lord Jesus' presence continue to bless our going out/ coming in , seek his guidance. Keep our focus on him. 



Peace out and signing off for 2023. 

Mike did this dish. Nice work and doesn't taste too bad either.  Actually it was very good. 

Bryan surprised us with this shrimp oil thingy with bread.  Good! 

Linda's pie of course is outstanding as usual. 

Lil Glenlivet on ice - Jared .