Jolly Good Christmas!

It's my 2nd Christmas here in The States. I know it's a tad too late to wish people "Merry Christmas" since it's already Dec 27...LOL! So I shall wish all of you a "Blessed Belated Christmas!" I was really wrapped up with the hustle and bustle of getting last-minute Christmas gifts, wrapping them up, baking fruitcake and pecan cookies, and also pineapple tarts with my aunt for family, friends, and neighbors.

We had a Christmas Musical performed by the kids but we weren't allowed to take pictures because it might be a disturbance to the kids performing and also other people. But the kids were sooooo adorable with their cute outfits! Some forgot their lines, but nonetheless, it was a great performance after all! Kudos to Miss Amber Ferguson for organizing and directing this musical! She really did a superb job!

Here are some pictures taken at church during this Advent season:






























On Christmas morning, my family called me to wish me Merry Christmas. That was one of the best gifts, I must say. It's really great talking to them and realizing how much I miss them and everyone in Malaysia. For lunch, we were invited to a friend's house. She collects antiques and here's a picture of an antique Christmas tree that she has! Below that picture is her 'modern day' Christmas tree...notice that most of the ornaments are pink in color. Well, for those who do not know, pink symbolizes breast cancer awareness here. Yes, she's a breat cancer survivor. This explains the reason for the pinkish Christmas tree. She's a very nice lady and I thank God for the opportunity to have a friend like her.
































After lunch, we came home to prepare our Asian feast for some close friends. Since we already had American food for lunch (turkey, smoked ham, mashed potato, sweet potato salad, green beans, dinner rolls, and lots of pies!), we decided to have an Asian delight for dinner. Coincidentally, we were inviting some Asian friends as well. One is from Thailand and another friend is from Taiwan (I've mentioned her name on this blog before...her name is Yu Chen and she's my clsoe friend here). So we ate white rice, Mee Siam, sushi, mixed vegetables, fried eggs, char siu (BBQ pork...chinese style), fried seafood wantons, and more pies! Gosh, we were really stuffed on Christmas day!

After that, we exchanged presents among ourselves... Then Yu Chen asked me to check the showtime for Eragon at one of the cinemas. She gave me a movie treat and we went to watch Eragon at 9:30pm with her hubby, Jonathan. the movie was great and exciting and the main character, Eragon (the dragon rider in the movie) is so good-looking! *ahem*ahem* However, we thought that it was kinda short... oh well, I'm looking forward for the next sequel. You guys should watch it if you get a chance. It's something like Lord of The Rings... By the time I got home, it was already midnight.

Overall, it's been a jolly good Christmas for me. Let us not forget that the 'Reason for the Season' is God's precious gift to us, His one and only Son, Jesus. I was browsing through some Christmas e-cards as I saw this Christmas message:

"May the gifts we share this season be a reminder of God's precious gift to us. May your Christmas be filled with His love."


MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR 2007 to everyone!!!

With God, All Things are Possible!

As I was reading other people's blogs, I came across Jason's blog and I found this story. This is a very inspirational and awakening story. It's a daily reminder that we all need.


Brenda was almost halfway to the top of the tremendous granite cliff. She was standing on a ledge where she was taking a breather during this, her first rock climb. As she rested there, the safety rope snapped against her eye and knocked out her contact lens. "Great", she thought, "here I am on a rock ledge, hundreds of feet from the bottom and hundreds of feet to the top of this cliff, and now my sight is blurry."

She looked and looked, hoping that somehow it had landed on the ledge. But it just wasn't there.

She felt the panic rising in her, so she began praying. She prayed for calm, and she prayed that she may find her contact lens.

When she got to the top, a friend examined her eye and her clothing for the lens, but it was not to be found. Although she was calm now that she was at the top, she was saddened because she could not clearly see across the range of mountains. She thought of the Bible verse "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth."

She thought, "Lord, You can see all these mountains. You know every stone and leaf, and You know exactly where my contact lens is. Please help me."

Later, when they had hiked down the trail to the bottom of the cliff they met another party of climbers just starting up the face of the cliff. One of them shouted out, "Hey, you guys! Anybody lose a contact lens?"

Well, that would be startling enough, but you know why the climber saw it? An ant was moving slowly across a twig on the face of the rock, carrying it!

The story doesn't end there. Brenda's father is a cartoonist. When she told him the incredible story of the ant, the prayer, and the contact lens, he drew a cartoon of an ant lugging that contact lens with the caption, "Lord, I don't know why You want me to carry this thing. I can't eat it, and it's awfully heavy. But if this is what You want me to do, I'll carry it for You."

I think it would do all of us some good to say, "God, I don't know why You want me to carry this load. I can see no good in it and it's awfully heavy. But, if You want me to carry it, I will."

God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.

Without God, I'm nothing, but with Him... I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Phil. 4:13)