Fried rice and other stuff.

I thank God for the fried rice, pencils and my amazing Mum and sister, caring host parents and safe flights.

Yes, I am thanking Him for fried rice. Yes, I seriously am thanking God for fried rice. It's a funny story, really.

I had a craving for fried rice on Monday at lunchtime. I didn't want to cook...I wanted fried rice in a cardboard box lined with a plastic sheet. I wanted flash-fried fried rice. So I took a little walk. I had a little adventure searching for an ATM, and then my quest began. I walked into the nearest food court and surveyed the stalls...and there were none that had fried rice on the menu. I was confused. I'm pretty sure I'm living in Singapore, and this is a food court in a residential area...I did a double take and I walked around again. Really. No fried rice. Puzzled, I walked to the next food court, surveyed the stalls again, only to find none that had fried rice on the menu! I shook my head, telling myself I must have missed it. I searched again, inquiring at a few of the stalls. Really. No fried rice. I saw another food court and decided to scout that one out. I walked in, it wasn't very big. It had one stall for beverages and another for food. The menu was more localised but consisted of mainly noodles. No fried rice. By this time, I was getting a little annoyed. This is Singapore. The community is largely chinese, and there is no yong chow chow fun in three out of three food courts? Not to complain or anything, but really, that's not quite acceptable. I mean, I could get western cuisine, Italian cuisine, Korean cuisine, Japanese cuisine, Indian cuisine, Chinese cuisine....but the Chinese cuisine has no fried rice? I think fried rice is a staple. That may be subjective, but fried rice as a staple is only logical, no?

I saw one more food court. I was ready to just get something else but I decided to give it one last shot. I walked in, walked up to one of the stalls and surveyed their menu. I was about to order something else when...YONG CHOW CHOW FUN jumped out at me. I was so happy I did a little jig and the lady waiting to take my order furrowed her brow slightly at the crazy girl standing in front of the menu. I was too happy to care what she thought. I placed my order and paid for it, grinning like the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland while I watched the chef fry up my order. He put some oil in the wok, swirled it around and poured the excess out. Yay! No oily fried rice! He fried up my rice and put it in a cardboard box that was lined with a plastic sheet. The box then was put in a plastic bag, a little bag of fresh cut green chilli and a plastic spoon thrown in and then handed to the ecstatic customer.

I got home, and was thoroughly satisfied with my lunch. It wasn't oily, it wasn't too salty. Perhaps next time I'll eat it over two meals though. The portion was BIG, and it only cost me $3.50! I thank God for yong chow chow fun!

Pencils. A friend of mine 'borrowed' my favourite pencil one Friday. When I say 'borrowed', I mean she pulled it out of my hand while I was using it and I had to reluctantly let go. This pencil holds sentimental value. In memory of my first orchestra camp, the mechanical pencil with the blue barrel comes with a cap - perfect for carrying around in your pocket or instrument case without getting messy. Being in orchestra camp, your pencil is your best friend. So Little Trusty Blue was gently snatched from my hand (yes, that was on purpose) and subsequently lost. I was searching my bags, turning my room upside down when I remembered that she had borrowed Little Trusty Blue and I called her. I finally got hold of her and she searched her bag and couldn't find my pencil. I was pretty depressed. I told my Mum about it and she laughed at me. But then, she went with my younger sister to this little stationery shop that has been around forever back home, and they bought me a replacement for Little Trusty Blue!!! So yes, I may be the eccentric one, but Mum loves her eccentric daughter all the same and when she does little things like that...*happy sighs*. I can't wait to get back home!

My host parents. I couldn't have better host parents. They got back from a trip...and that evening, my temperature peaked. Lovingly, they took me to a clinic to see a doctor, they paid for the consultation and the medication, and then they would buy soup and rice home for my meals, they'd make sure that I was recovering alright, they would try to make sure that I'm comfortable (they always have) and I could just sum it up by saying that they really treat me as part of the family, as if I was really their daughter. We're having more meals together now, and that's really nice. I like being part of a family, feeling like I belong.

As for safe flights, lots of loved ones have been flying around, for mission trips, for camps, for major moves, and God has been good. They have all arrived safely, journeys going without a hitch, and soon I will be bus-ing and then flying together with my Da Jie and Jie Fu to join the rest of the family for Christmas!

This will probably be my last post for the year, so I wish you all a Blessed Christmas, wonderful times with loved ones, and a Happy New Year!

*Happy Sighs*

Four months since and I thank the Lord my God for His mercy and His grace and for His amazing, unconditional, incontestable love for me.

He has been doing wonderful things in stages, and I thank Him for the grace that comes with His reprimands. He takes care of the tiny minute things, not just the big things. It just blows my mind when I think of the number of His children crying out to Him, and the attention He gives to each and every one of us. A loving Father indeed.

I have another eight months for this chapter of my life. To be honest, I don't want these remaining eight months. Yes, that's right. To be submitted to Him, I know that these eight months are the last few pages of this chapter. How then, I ask myself, do I make these eight months into something sweet that would bring glory to Him? There have been so many recounts of the lives of different people in the Bible that have come to me, and I asked Him which were from Him and which were just me. Would I try to escape? Jonah. Would He take me out of the situation? The children of Israel. On that note, (the Children of Israel, I mean) He has provided manna and quail for me.

Actually, I'm going to take that spin off. There's this book called The Journey of Israel, which talks about the parallels of the Journey of Israel and our spiritual journeys. I'm still wandering in the wilderness, and it's pretty amusing to see how it pretty much came down to Him providing 'manna' almost literally. It's kind of cool. Anyway, back to what I was saying, He revealed a little more of His purpose for me this morning in church. I was planning on going for the first service and then leaving but the way He spoke to me during the first service made me stay, and I was truly blessed. I was confused about a few things. I knew what He was saying to me, but how was I to go about getting there. Should I drop out of college?

Should I drop out of college?

Should I drop out now?

Why should I even have to go through the coming semester exams if-



"Oh, shut up, my daughter"

*looks around, startled*

*squeaks* "Okay, Daddy God"



No, that's not what happened.  I got home after picking up my favourite sweater (which my Mum lovingly sent through a church friend who was traveling this way) and I had a chat with my host parents. Oh, how could I not mention this. They are such a great blessing to me, loving me the way they do. It's truly amazing I tell you. So in the chat with my host parents, they confirmed a few things that DG impressed upon my heart this morning, and they addressed the whole college issue (which I didn't even mention) and well, it's always encouraging to know that you don't have to walk alone. That's what they keep reminding me.

"You don't have to be superwoman. You can cry, you can come talk to us. We were there once too."

Could I ask for better host parents?

So much to be thankful for, but also so much work I have to step up to. It's exam period for the next three weeks. Say a little prayer for me!

A Call.

All praise to Him who inspires.

It's been a downward spiral for a bit. Well for the whole of last semester, actually. I have pretty much been on my own without inspiration, without passion to propel me forward. Yes, God has been speaking, and He's been good. He's a source of inspiration, and looking back at how He has provided for me over the past year...do I really need more convincing?

Yes, there are Selah moments, but there also comes the time when the moment is over and it comes time to rise up. Final year is approaching. I'm girding up and I'm going forth.

There is much to do. The harvest is plentiful but the labourers are few. This is a season where the Christians in this nation are being tested. I urge those who are reading this, to war in the prayer closet and not out in public. To rest in assurance in Him. To let Him fight the battle for us. Does this mean we sit back and do nothing? Certainly not. This is a call to rise up, to equip ourselves in Him. Let us be grounded in His Word, for even in the temptation of our beloved Saviour, it was the Word that was twisted and used against Him. Submit to Him, and He will give us the grace to stand for Him.

I'm polishing my armour and putting it on. Are you?

Selah

I thank the Lord for the rest that He gives.

Being away from home isn't easy. Not for me at least. There's so much that I miss...mostly my family, but yes, my family counts as MUCH! My parents are away, my Dad serving our Daddy and Mum's with C4, C4 being ultra-talented and making it to the finals of a nationwide classical ballet competition. Looking at my siblings, I know that God has blessed us.

C3 is a hard worker, she's bright...there's so much that I could envy about her. There's something about her that catches you if you take a moment to talk to her. While she may seem curt at times, there are those other moments when you look over and see her curled up with a classic read or just watching selections from BBC Series. Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Little House on the Prairie...she's really quite sophisticated although she may not see it that way. I'm not talking about being sophisticated with social status, I'm talking about a sophisticated maturity. Makes me smile when I think about it.

It's interesting. I should be distressed over the results that just came back. I should be freaking out. But I'm not. I'm asking myself, "Could this be it? Could this be the roadblock?". I said before that it's scary, I said before that it's exciting. It's really both I suppose. All about walking by faith. You'll never know where He'll take you next. To tell you the truth, I don't really know what I'm thinking about right now. I can't quite put a finger on it. Perhaps I need to get back into that secret place.

There's been talk about returning to the secret place, there have been causes to intercede for, there have been Selah moments that call for just me and Him. Thinking about it now, I don't think I really have taken the initiative to do anything about everything I've been hearing, what people have been telling me and speaking over my life. It's been "Why? When?" but never "Here I am." There are so many parallels I can think of now, so many incidences where God has been waiting for me to answer "Here I am, Daddy." Will I say it now? Today?

Imma have a date with Dad when he gets home. Maybe after Gawai. There's so much I want to ask him, so much I want to hear about. I thank God that he was called to the mission field.

"Here I am, Daddy. Use me as You please"

The March of the Invasion.

It's been a month since I last wrote and I thank the Lord for prayers answered. (Whoops. This was supposed to be published a few days ago. And I forgot about it. Still. Better late than never.)

I was at the Kingdom Invasion conference earlier this month and well, God's been so good. Allow me to ramble. Insecurities - an issue every musician struggles with constantly, especially if one is pursuing it at this level and surrounded by many who are better than said person (yes, you hardly ever look at those on par with yourself. It's almost always a comparison with the big boys)...sighs. Even now, as I write, there is someone else in the room playing an exercise so fluently...and I am struggling with that exercise.

Often times, playing music in a more demanding setting becomes a hazard to those who serve with the music/worship ministry (ie. me). Rather than letting my playing be an expression of worship to Him, I become so conscious of the technical details, the perfection that is demanded of me outside 'me and Him' time, and then I fall into that trap of feeling insecure and completely unworthy of playing before Him. And I let that affect my everyday playing as well.

Day Two of the conference, that's when it happened. I was backstage after serving for the morning session and S came and sat down next to me. We were just having a conversation when I just blurted out how I felt. To my complete surprise, he turned to me and said "I know exactly how you feel". He went on to relate a dream that one of his lecturers had shared with his class once upon a time.

There was a big concert organised in honour of the King. There were millions of people watching. Performer #1 made his grand entrance. He was a professional, a world renown musician. He performed and when he was done, the audience burst into thunderous applause. Performer #2 was no less, and again, when he was done, the audience erupted in cheers and applause. There were still remnants of the applause when the third performer stepped onstage. The hall fell silent.

A little boy in dirty clothes, tattered and mended over countless times, stood centrestage. Lifting the mic to his lips, he began to sing. There was nothing spectacular about this little boy. He sang off-key, mixed up some of the lyrics even. When he sang his last note, its echo could be heard. Not one person clapped. The little boy looked down, dejected and discouraged. But then the King stood up and started clapping. He picked the little boy up and said, "Son, I love it when you sing to me".

What I learnt from this is that God loves our simplicity. He loves what is offered to Him from a sincere and genuine heart. It's difficult to type this because I'm tearing up. Just like S told me he felt like doing when he shared this with me. It was when S was sharing with me that the tears welled up and began flowing. They refused to stop. I shared about Jireh and when I was done, he was just staring at me, baffled, and he asked, "With that assurance of how much He loves you, how could you POSSIBLY feel insecure and unworthy??" The waterworks continued pretty much from then till the end of the conference. He shared one of his testimonies with me after I shared about Jireh and myself, and that evening, interestingly, Ps. Bill Johnson spoke on the power of testimony. How cool is God's sense of humour?

Food for thought. When we serve God in the little that we have, as long as it's from a genuine and sincere heart, God loves it. God loves us. And with a love like that...really...think about it. With a love like that, how could you - or me rather - feel inadequate and insecure?

So that is my testimony, my point of breakthrough. That was the point where I said, "Okay, Lord." For if He chooses to bestow His gifts upon me, He has made me worthy of them and He loves it when I use what He has given to me to glorify His name.

Tribute to Mr. Bach.

I thank God for this man...an amazing composer who wrote some very beautiful music.

I'm not going to bore you with a whole history, but Johann Sebastian Bach composed mainly for the church. He gave glory to God on each of his manuscripts :)

Here's a little something for your entertainment!

Halfway Through!

I thank God that He has carried me through this season of my life...and that He is faithful and will continue to carry me to the end.

It's been four months since my last blog post, so my apologies to those who have been coming here only to find nothing new.

Halfway through. That I am. Well, it's more like seven twelfths of the way to the end of this chapter and the beginning of a new one. Yes. Soon I will be at the forked road of continuing with the books or as some say, out of the pan and into the fire.

I will be baking a banana meringue pie come Tuesday. Yes, I have been baking more frequently. I think I'm just going to let this be a Delighfully Yours post. Here are some photos. 

Oreo Cheesecake.

Crossiants, vanilla ice-cream and strawberries.

Pretty peach galette :)

Cookie pile!

My coping mechanism. I am most definitely making the peach galette again. I loved every bite I had! Have to make some improvements though. So for a start, I will be trying a different recipe for the banana meringue pie. I need to organise my thoughts and come back to write a proper entry.

Hmm. I need to bring some of my other CDs over here. The jazzed Bach, for instance. Till the next post! (That hopefully will not be too long from now...) Oh, and on a side note, I would like to walk down my wedding aisle to Bach's Air on a G String.