From the Rising of the Sun to the Place of its Setting

Isaiah 45:5 -7

5 I am the LORD, and there is no other;
apart from me there is no God.
I will strengthen you,
though you have not acknowledged me,

6 so that from the rising of the sun
to the place of its setting
men may know there is none besides me.
I am the LORD, and there is no other.

7 I form the light and create darkness,
I bring prosperity and create disaster;
I, the LORD, do all these things.

~~~

Photos taken at Kijkduin during sunset on 28th July 2008 and a passage from Isaiah which the Lord has placed in my heart.

Recovery II

He he..!! I know most people dislike to see photo like this, but I just can't help but to journal my recovery . I promise this will be the last one.

Achievements so far...

(1) The pain has subsided a lot

(2) I can now stand up and walk a little more freely now.

(3) I have also taken my first shower 2 days ago and removed the plaster.

However, the bruise is getting bigger and spreading just underneath my navel, but the good thing is there isn't any pain though.

With this progress, I hope to be back to normal life in a week's time.

The Harvest of Lavender

The really warm and fine summer days finally arrives in Holland. With me getting better, I was able to sit at my garden and harvesting the Lavender yesterday afternoon. It is about time to harvest them if you still want to have the fragrant to last for a few more months as they drying up slowly.

The Wisdom about Fishes

“Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime”—Confusus

But Jesus fed not just our physical bodies but also empowers us to fulfil His Great Commission. "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4:19

Photos: Above – fishes at Sapi Island, Below – fishes at Manukan Island

Mighty Mountains

Above: Mount Pinatubo, Philippines

Below: Mount Kinabalu, Malaysia

Psalm 121

1 I lift up my eyes to the hills—
where does my help come from?

2 My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

~~~~

P/S: This is a thought about the 2 mountains that I have seen recently.

Sunset

Psalm 113:3 From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the LORD is to be praised.

Photo taken on 6th July 2008 at Tanjung Aru Beach, Kota Kinabalu where many local people are enjoying the splendid colour of sunset together in harmony.

Be Strong, my sister-in-Christ

Yesterday, we received a SMS text about a sister in our FMC church, who is already in full term for labor but the baby is stillbirth and died in mother’s womb. I feel very sorry for this sister and family, so much more that my own pain becomes insignificant.

Lord, I pray specially for this sister and the family that You remain in control in their lives and make them strong and this family continues to find joy in You.

Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Thank You

I received 2 banquets of flowers in 2 consecutive days. Thank you, my employer and especially my HR representative who take time to care for me.

Another banquet of flowers received today from my CARE group. Thank you all... I feel blessed because of you all.

God bless you all!!

Recovery

Everything went fast, so fast that I have no time to think or fear at the operation preparation room. It was also kind of relief that I only realised that there will be incisions to my abdominal at the very last moment. I always thought that I was supposed to go through the surgery that I been through 3 years ago, hysteroscopy, but it turned out to be laparoscopy that requires incision.

By the time I woke up everything is over, I was that the out patient for another 2 hours and was a little shock when I saw the wounds at my navel and pelvic.

I am still taking pain killers but thanked God that I no longer feel the pain. Movements are still limited as I cannot use the muscles at my waist or abdominal. But the recovery is progressing....

Jesus is my Healer

Very soon, at 12:15pm, I am going to go through a microscopic operation.

This verse from Isaiah 26:4 'Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal', gives me strength. I have the peace from God for I know that this is a process that I have to go through and I know that God will be with me and my care group and church leaders are praying for me....

Hopefully I will return home swiftly and the recovery process will be speedy.

May God bless me and be with me, my HEALER!!!

A Gift of Time

This is my birthday gift I got from my honey!!

A GIFT OF TIME

It carries over no balance.

It allows no overdraft.

Each day it opens a new account for you.

Each night it burns the remains of the day.

If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours.

There is no going back. There is no drawing against the "tomorrow". You

must live in the present on today's deposits. Invest it so as to get from

it the utmost in health, happiness and success!

The clock is running. Make the most of today.

Treasure every moment that you have! And treasure it more because you

shared it with someone special, special enough to have your time . . .

And remember time waits for no one . . .

Yesterday is history.

Tomorrow a mystery.

Today is a gift.

That's why it's called the present!

Longest Birthday

Today is my 37th Birthday, it also marks the end of our holidays in Asia. We been to many places and have done many new and interesting things and also experienced special blessings/favors from our good Lord these 2 weeks. Now we are sitting at the airport lounge awaiting for our departure back to Amsterdam.
It would be interesting to spend my birthday on the flight and crossing the different time zone which makes 15th July 2008 extra longer for me.
Happy Birthday to me.

3rd Wedding Blessing Anniversary

3^rd July is also marking our 3^rd marriage blessing ceremony. Although we have married or almost 6 years now (25^th Oct 2002), the last 3 years of marriage life has significantly improved after the blessings of God has showered upon us. With Him presents more stronger each day in our lives, we are growing towards each other. We didn't celebrate this in a special way here in Manila but a remembrance of the occasion is enough to mark a celebration and further more we are on our vacation in Asia, that itself is already a great treats from the Lord. May the Lord bless us with many more fulfilling years and multiplication.

A day in Manila

3^rd July 2008

Weather: 32C, cloudy, humid with occasionally sunshine

This is our 2^nd day in Manila, we slept so well the night before and by the time we woke up, it is already past 10am. Feeling a bit more energized and adventurous, we decided to walked to another malls within Ortigas area i.e. the Podium and the SM malls. SM malls are huge and covering 2 big buildings which is a bit overwhelming and made us feel lost in the mall. The brands are primarily the same but this place is definitely lack of charm but huge in size. We didn't spent very long here but head back to the hotel with a coffee pause at Starbucks located at the Podium.

Makati City

Having enough of Ortigas, we took a cab to Makati ciity which is may be 5 to 8 km away from Ortigas. The taxi ride experience was okay, not as scary as what described in lonely planet or hotel warning. Makati is a new blooming commercial and financial centers where most of the five stars hotels are located here. This is definitely a better part of Manila where again boasts of more shopping malls. We walked around the Greenbelt square which is like an oasis in the midst of the concrete jungle. In the center of the park,, there is a church and surrounding the church is a man-made ponds, plenty of leafy greens and fauna. The 5 Greenbelt shopping malls are evolving around the park. We spent most of the time walking at the park than actually going inside the malls (we already had enough!!). The place and concept reminded us very much of Florida, Miami. Partly due to the humidity of the weather, but mostly is due to the merchandised brands are predominately from the USA. Banana Republic, Bubba Shrimps, Guess, Nine West, outdoor cafe concept etc you name it, they most likely have an outlet here.

Mabuhay Manila

2^nd July 2008

Weather: 32C, cloudy, humid and drizzling

After slightly over 12 hours we finally arrived at Manila International airport (including a missed landing). The flight was almost full but passengers were quite polite. I watched August Rush, Atonement, Charlie Wilson's war, Linger (Cantonese movie), Micheal Clayton, Match Point and etc. The immigration and custom were quite welcome. We were greeted by the pick up driver and directly transferred to the hotel. The view along the ride were quite depressing, even though I already kind of expecting it, perhaps the recent after typhoon effect worsen the city view and the cleaning up is definitely still in process. This is particularly clear at the slums nearby the airport.

Once checked in to the hotel, the Lord blessed us with an upgrade to a suite. We slept for hours as soon as we saw the bed, although the original intention was for a quick nap, the jet lag is definitely after us.

We spent the rest of the evening checking out Galleria Robinson which is a relatively small (big to western standard but small compared to other shopping malls in Manila) and discovered that things are really cheap here.