Life is Beautiful

Mere Words

2006-10-14T02:36:00.000+08:00

Mere Words

I searched among the card displays,
To see if I could find,
A little something that would say
Just what was on my mind.

However there was not even one,
That captured it just right,
For no one else can understand
Just what I'd like to write.

I even find it difficult,
To try to write it down,
For how do I portray to you,
The love that I have known?

I close my eyes and what I see,
Is someone I adore;
A person who is beautiful,
Right down into their soul.

Mere words cannot describe
The many qualities you show,
The love and caring nature that
You share with those who know.

Your kind and gentle temperament,
Your sweet angelic smile,
Your softly spoken sentiments,
That reach across the miles.

Your smile and laugh that sparkle with
The softness of your sighs,
The way your face lights up a room ...
That twinkle in your eye.

The loving gestures through the years,
That quickly come to mind,
For always you've a gentle word
To calm and soothe I find.

I struggle and I search to try
To find some words anew ...
And yet I cannot capture
All the things that make you you.

I shall therefore, be satisfied
That you must simply know,
Just how I feel about you,
For with words I cannot show

~ Kit McCallum

To all my dear ones,

You are special, my beloved husband, my dear children,
wonderful brothers and sisters in Christ ...
mere words isn't enough to express the joy or gratitude of having you in my life,
truly God is so wonderful to bless me with a supportive husband, loving children and wonderful friends like you. God bless you!

~justjessy~

Got ice-cream...don't know.

2005-12-08T23:46:00.000+08:00

Dylan partially buried by Jo...

Last Sunday we were at Julie's home for dinner. After dinner, Little Dylan asked for an ice-cream.

Little Dylan : Ice-cream, I want ice-cream...

Mummy : No ice-cream.

Aunty Julie : Sorry Dylan, there's no ice-cream.

Little Dylan : I want ice-cream. I want ice-cream.

Mummy : Dylan... there's no ice-cream..

Aunty Julie : Come let me show you.

(She carrried him to the refrigerator to show him there's no ice-cream.
Instead, she found one last mini ice-cream and gave it to him.
As I was helping Little Dylan to open the wrapper af the mini ice-cream, he spoke...)

Little Dylan : Got ice-cream....don't know...

Mummy : .... (no words left...)

It's true I didn't know, even Julie thought she ran out of ice-cream, how come Little Dylan knew there was ice-cream? No wonder he insisted that there was ..

Truly when he talks, sometimes I get a shock. His vocabulary and comprehension at times amazes me. Little Dylan learns at such a fast pace now. I learn not to unestimate you, Little Dylan for you are so smart. It's true, at times you understood more than I think you could.

Love you lots, Little D ... mum :)

Audrey..

2005-12-01T20:56:00.000+08:00

She's sweet
She's beautiful
She's blessed
With a lovely voice

A u d r e y

She's a precious jewel
She's a princess
She's a darling
She is my little girl!

Kuantan 2 days getaway

2005-11-29T13:32:00.000+08:00

Having driven by our anointed driver for the last 3 hours without pit stop, eager to have a cup of cuppa, we finally reached our destination for our usual homecoming rendezvous Kemaman Kopitiam.

The ladies savoured their freezy coffee, as we all digged into the local delights, best in town nasi dagang, nasi lemak, cucur sayur, egg tarts and fresh roti bakar.

Here's Andre waiting for his delicious nasi dagang...which he ordered whilst in the car two hours earlier.

Ten minutes later,

We finally checked in........the place

Tembeling Resort...

Can you hear the sounds of the waves crashing against the rocks? ...

Can you smell the seabreeze?...

I can coz I'm here for the past two days...
Mesmerishing and breathtaking view
fronting South China Sea

A wonderful place to unwind and destress...

A wonderful break from the hustling and bustling city life...a sheer pleasure just to relax and enjoy the company of those I love...

and to celebrate her special day.

We went to Teluk Cempedak also known as TC, the beach I used to frequent when I was a teenager, after all I grew up here. Coming back to TC brings back many memories.

Had a sumptous dinner at East Grill Steak House, we found the best lamb shank in town and managed to reserved a table for seven. Unfortunately did not reserve five serving of lamb shank and it was almost sold out by the time we ordered. We managed to get the birthday girl her plate of lamb shank much to Andre's disappointment coz' it was his favourite dish. So we ordered T-bone sizzling steak, mix grill, grill salmon and grill chicken. For desert we had pizza banana ice-cream.

After the dinner, we headed to the jetty for an half hour night cruise. The ferry ride took us past fishing villlages and seafood centres right to the mouth of the sea. Little Dylan enjoyed the ride so much than he dozed off. We enjoyed the cool air, it was so refreshing better than air-conditioning.

Later the night we gave Jo a surprise bithday cake. It was a blueberry cheesecake bought from the cheese cake factory which we managed to sneak in while she is busy SMSing in the car.

Blessed birthday precious beloved JO!

Day 2

Taman Gelora...

Here's Ivan swinging on the rope dangling from the tree...

Frankly I tried it once, it was fun... felt like I was a little girl again... swinging thro and fro swayed in the breeze.

The weather was fantastic...it's suppose to be a rainy season, but we were blessed with a wonderfully perfect weather...thank God for answering our prayers...we went to the beach, strolled on the bridge built by the beach overlooking the sea... had a leisurely walk at Taman Gelora.

We chanced upon a few tame monitor lizards and a squirrel, sighted a few eagles soaring above, a pair of wild boars and monkeys in abundance.

One of the monkeys even stole a packet of Dylan's snack, seaweed biscuits, out of our backpack which happened to be unzipped, whilst we were having a dip in the pool at the resort.

Thank God, they gave our wallets a miss or else imagine us having to climb up the roof scampering after them ...: )

As the sun sets, our tummies came calling, over the bridge we headed towards Tanjung Lumpur for succulent seafood; fish, squids,tiger prawns, crabs, veggie. We had a satisfying dinner. On the way back to the resort, we made about turn, heading towards the tantalising smell of famous satay Zul...

Yep! We decided our VIP mustn't miss it.... so we went to take-away counter and ordered chicken satay. The lunch on Monday was chicken rice at Hainan Restaurant was simple and fast before we hit the road for home.

In everything, It was such a good trip!

Praise the Lord for a fun-fulfilling holiday we truly had a good time and a good rest.

~justjessy

Coming soon...

2005-10-12T02:53:00.000+08:00

Mouth-watering indeed..
Philadelphia New York Cheese Cake
would be the cake I would like to bake
hopefully soon...
Who wants a slice??

~justjessy~

Apple pie...

2005-10-11T10:54:00.000+08:00

Yep...I baked my first apple pie yesterday, french apple pie to be precise. Enjoyed it with my neighbour,the Tans upstairs. Yummy! Dear hubby had 3 slices and well, verdict is I'll bake it again. Here's the recipe if you like to try bake one yourself too...

French Apple Pie

Pastry:
200g plain flour, sifted
100g butter
90g icing sugar sifted
1 egg yolk

Filling:
70g butter
70g castor sugar
1 egg, beaten
70g ground almond
20g plain flour, sifted
3-4 green apples, peeled, cored and sliced

Glaze :
2 tbsp apricotjam, heated until soft

For the pastry, rub butter into flour until mixture resembles bread crumbs. Add icing sugar and mix well. Add egg yolk and mixed until a dough is formed. Chill in the fridge for 15 minutes

For the filling, cream butter and sugar, add egg and beat till light and fluffy, fold in almonds and flour.

Roll out the dough to 3mm thickness and use it to line a 22cm pie dish, pour in the filiing and level up.

Arrange apple slices on top and bake at 190*C for 40 – 45 minutes (bake on the lower shelf to prevent the top from being too brown.

Remove from the oven. Glaze with apricot jam.

Your Unfailing love

2005-10-01T23:34:00.000+08:00

You chose
To love me
Oh Lord my God

When I am unloveable
You hand-picked me
When others left me
Out
You accepted me
Completely
Within and without

By Your blood
You have redeemed me
Cleansed me, moulded me
For indeed I am
But a broken vessel
Unwanted and worthless
Until You found me
Out

JESUS my LORD and KING
You have loved me
As I am
You have loved me
Deeply
You have loved me
Unconditionally
You have loved me
With Your unfailing love

I am changed
In Your presence
You renewed my heart
Filled me with Your Holy Spirit
I am Born Again
By Your grace
I am Who I am today
All because of You

Let me always choose... to do Your Will
Let my eyes behold... the beauty of the cross
Let my heart purposed... to live a life
Worthy of Your calling ... and to glorify You

JESUS my LORD and KING

I am who I am because of You
~justjessy

Peek-a-boo

2005-09-28T16:30:00.000+08:00

You can't see me...

N O P E !

You can't see me...

1 2 3 ...

Peek - a - boo!

I am two and

I can see you!!

2 years old Dylan
cute and adorable
simply loves
peek-a-boo games...

(Picture taken when he is two enjoying his oreo cheese cake made by mummy)

Friendship

2005-09-28T01:33:00.000+08:00

To one and all my dear friends,
Here's a thank you for warming up my day
especially when the day's dark and gloomy.
It's your love, your care and warm thoughtful ways
which are like the sun that shines after a downpour.
Your furnee jokes and touching SMSes often make my day,
releasing endorphins, making me laugh,
what a fun destressing way.

Thank you Lord for
Friends like you filling my heart with TLC.
Truly you are the diamonds to be cherished
which I've found along the way.

~justjessy~

Friends leave...

2005-09-28T00:43:00.000+08:00

Most people walk in and out of our lives...

but FRIENDS leave

f o o t p r i n t s

in our hearts.

Food for Thought

2005-09-27T01:05:00.000+08:00

Success in Life

is not measured by what we are
or what we have done,

but rather

by what we are and have done
compared to what we could have been and could have done.

A person's attitude toward himself

has a profound influence on his attitudes towards God,
his family, his friends, his future,
and any other significant areas of his life.

The size of our God

is greatly determined by our ability to see how
He is able to work through those
in authority over us.

Freedom

is not the right to do
what we want
but
the power to do what we ought

The ultimate goal of a Christian Life is love
Out of a pure heart
Out of a good conscience
Out of unfeigned faith

A toddler communicates...

2005-08-16T02:09:00.000+08:00

My little Dylan would be turning two this Thursday, one night as I was chatting with him, I asked him what he would like for a birthday gift...a ball or a dog?

Dylan immediately said, "Dog!" Excited with his ability to express himself, I told him to tell dad.

He climbed up the bed where his daddy was resting and said, "Dog!"..."Dog!"... Sensing no respond from dad, Dylan went on all four and said, "Wow- wow!"

What a genius!

Tell me...what's on my face??

2005-08-11T15:38:00.000+08:00

Thursday , 11 August 2005

Dear hubby just step out to go to work about noon...and came back, rang the doorbell because he forgot to take his car keys...and he left. In less than 10 minutes, he gave me a call on my handphone and asked me if something was wrong with his appearance. Apparently, I can't seem to think or recall if he looked different from any other days.

He asked me, " You noticed anything different?" I began to get a little bit worried. Was it my lipstick on his cheek? I do not normally put on lipstick at home but somehow I did this morning. Oh...oh.. was it my lipstick?

I recalled an amusing incident about a year back. My dear hubby went to work, walked everywhere with a clothes peg on his pants. He was unaware of it until a guard at the bank pointed it out to him. What actually happened was since some of his pants are so slippery I would peg them on the sides to hang them on the hangers, to prevent them from slipping off the hangers. Dear husband overlooked the peg and went to work with it dangling on...It was so funny!

He looked perfectly okay to me today and as concerned as I could be I asked him, what actually happened. What was wrong with his face or his appearance anyway. Then he related to me that as he was walking to his car in the basement he met two women who were sisters staying in the same block as us and casually greeted them, "Hi". Right away one of them asked him saying, " Are you a pastor? Which church? Calvary or Tabernacle of Glory?" It was so funny and of course he told them he wasn't and that he was merely a layman.

Praise God for the opportunity to inform them that we do have a cell group meeting in our home on Fridays and the opportunity to invite them which he did. He also found out that one of the sisters used to attend church about a decade ago.

My husband... a pastor? It got me laughing. But what an honour to be identified as a servant of God and truly let the light of God so shine through us to those around us. We are called to be a light to the world and shine we must...so that those who do not know Him may come to know Him through us. His commission to us is to make disciples of all man, baptising them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Let us not lose sight of our calling and the purpose he put us on earth, to glorify Him and make His Name known, to share our hope, our strength and our faith which is rooted in the Lord Jesus Christ.

2005-08-10T21:11:00.000+08:00

You know, this is my favourite beach...oh I'm having so much FUN right here with Dylan!! Oh Yeah!!

2005-08-10T20:27:00.000+08:00

Ivan's 7th Birthday on June 13, 2005

2005-08-10T19:27:00.000+08:00

Andre, Ivan, Audrey and Dylan loves the beach!

2005-08-10T19:18:00.000+08:00

Andre: Pishon is my friend.
Pishon: Andre is my friend.
Location : Legend Resort, Cherating...

2005-08-10T19:15:00.000+08:00

My first pizza! Crabmeat, pineapple, mozarella cheese, mushrooms, sausages, tomatoes. YUMMY! 22nd June2005

An accident!

2005-08-10T02:09:00.000+08:00

15 July, 2005

It was evening and both my husband and I was busy changing two ceiling lightbulbs. Audrey had put on black pantyhose pretending to be a ballerina. Unknown to us, she also put on socks on little Dylan. We managed to change the lightbulbs and I proceed to the kichen to dispose off the bulbs which were fused. At this point, both children were completely quiet and suddenly I heard Dylan crying as he walked towards the kitchen to look for me. To my shock, I found him bleeding, his mouth full of blood. Upon checking, I found out that he had a cut on his upper gum right above one of his front teeth! I quickly alerted my dear hubby. I also discovered that Dylan had motioned in his diapers as a result from the shock of the fall.

Oh God what should I do... I know how to treat fever, cough or cold, or a tiny bump on the head, but now his is still crying frantically for more than half an hour. I had given him the panadol syrup and gave him an ice to stop the bleeding. We prayed and prayed yet my heart is so burdened and heavy as he cried on and on. He couldn't even feed as the pain was excruciating.

I wanted to send Dylan to the emergency ward but my hubby refused saying that it is a small matter. Small indeed to an adult, not to a child who is not even 2 years old. I did what I could. I called Pastor Jo, related to her what had happened and asked her to pray. I called Julie, she told me to send him to the doctors but upon hearing Adrian point of view, she said, "Submit to him!" I also called Collins who further SMSed both Ruth and Belinda to pray. Yvonne was at the movies when I called her, she offered to come. I was so touch by the way she cared. Nevertheless,I told her that she need not come, just pray. Finally, I called my foster mom who happened to be the dentist and she agreed with Adrian that indeed nothing much could be done and that since the bleeding had stop, Dylan would be alright, that the doctors/dentist would just clean him up and leave his milk teeth alone.

About an hour after the incident and lots of prayers, Dylan finally calmed down and could play again. At 8.30pm our PDL group came and we resume our video session as usual. Dylan was back to normal. Julie told me to give him the panadol syrup every 4 hourly so as to avoid the pain which means that I would have to give hime a dose at 10pm. I forgot. Everyone left about 12 midnight and Dylan was alright he did not cry and I did not need to give him any medication. God had taken away his pain and shock. He had answered our prayer. As he slept that night I thank God he could have his feed, I need not spoon feed him or give him milk through a straw.
God is good. On Saturday, his lips was still swelling a bit but on Sunday the cut on his gum had completely disappeared.

Isaiah 53:5 ~ He was pierced for our transgression, bruised for our iniquity and chastisement of peace was upon Him and by His stripes we are healed!

The Case of the Plier & Wire..

2005-08-10T00:43:00.000+08:00

16 July 2005

It was a rather busy Saturday for Adrian as he was helping out in setting up of booths and banners for the Ministry Fair which was to take place the very next day, so being handy, he had some tools in his black sling bag, his plier, wire and scissors.

At 3pm, the Healing and Deliverance Ministry started as usual with Worship followed by word of exaltation. An altar call was then given to those who seek to be prayed for. Many responded to the altar call, among them was a teenager who was both cheeky and had a froward and perverse lips. He was standing for prayer and the following took place.. a lady was slained in the presence of God and when the teenager was asked to move aside to provide more space, he reluctantly complied. As usual, Adrian would seek the Lord for discernment and allow thewonder working power of the Holy Spirit to move. After a while, Adrian decided to minister to the teenager.. and the following dialogue ensued.

Adrian: May I pray for you?

Teenager: Nothing to pray.

Adrian: Why did you step out?

Teenager remained silent.

Adrian: Which area do you want me to pray for you?

Silence... teenager looked puzzled.

Adrian: What is your name?

Silence..In order to break the ice, Adrian decided to introduce himself..

Adrian: My name is Adrian, what is your name?

Teenager remained tight-lipped. Adrian continued to probe... after much coaxing, teenager finally spoke up.

Teenager: Call me "Man"

Adrian: So many man here, how to call you, "Man"

Teenager: (Cheekily replied) Call me, "All man"

Another brother serving in the ministry chipped in to help..

William: You mean you don't have a name?

Adrian: Where do you live?

Teenager: KL

Adrian: How did you get here?

Teenager: I walk here. I know this place very well.

Adrian: Do you know Jalan Kangkung?

Teenager: I know KL, I'm from KL.

Adrian: Do you attend Youth Church?

Teenager: Yah!

Adrian: What is your pastor's name?

Teenager: "Ah NEH NEH that Ah NEH NEH lah"

Interuption ... Sister SL approached and wanted to talk to Adrian.
Adrian & SL had a brief chat and William took over. Then Adrian came back and minister to the teenager. At this juncture, the teenager began to get cheeky and among what he said was that Jacob had two wives, Rebecca and Leah, and that he would also follow suit. Sensing that this teenager is restless and to cut off the aimless chatter, Adrian decided to switch channel ..

Adrian : Tell me, which area you want me to pray for you?

Teenager wittingly clasped one of his index finger onto his palm and feign pain.

Teenager: Pray for my finger, it is stuck.

Adrian having observing the teenager knew that it wasn't so and he was only pretending. Digged deep into the pocket of his trouser, Adrian pulled out something and clasped it in his right hand.

Adrian: Are you afraid of lizards?

Teenager paused and replied.

Teenager: No.

Adrian put back his hand into his trouser's pocket, walked over to retrieve his black slingbag. He hung the bag unto his shoulder, took out a plier and looked at the stunned teenager who is still freezing his finger onto his palm. At this point, both Y and myself were looking and wondering what was taking place...

Adrian: Do you think I can release your finger?

Teenager: Serious ah?

Adrian: Serious! (Looking serious)

As the plier approached the teenager's finger, a miracle took place. The teenager's finger instantly snapped open. No prayer was required. Digging again into his bag, Adrian took out the wire and enquired further...

Adrian: Any area.. needs tightening or loosening?

The teenager quickly shook his head and went back to his seat.

The interesting tools of H&D: boxes and boxes of tissue paper, plastic bags and small round containers, big colourful hair clips, purple cloths and bottles of olive oil.. that afternoon however, Adrian introduced two new tools of H&D, the plier and the wire.

Thank God for lots of wisdom and alertness so as not to be made like a fool by those who are out to outwit . Always minister and pray with your eyes open

The incident when retold to FL was even more hilarious. When she related it to her husband KC, he was rather impatient. He wouldn't to let her finish the story without interrupting, in fact he went on guessing...

FL : You know : Adrian had to use a plier and wire at the H&D session last Saturday. You see, he was ministering to a boy about 13 and....

KC : Wah! You mean, the boy was so violent, Adrian got to tie him up with a wire?!! ( Imagine KC looking shock.)

FL : No...you wait first, you wait first... let me tell you what happened...(Imagine FL laughing at her husband's imagination)
And then, when she finally came to the part where the boy stuck his finger unto his palm..

FL: Adrian asked the boy, "Are you afraid of lizards?"

KC: Wah! Adrian has a Word of knowledge from God? This condition.... is caused by lizards ?

FL: No! No! Let me finish!
And when he finally let her finish the story, I was told that KC laughed and laughed non stop..

Authencity

2005-07-04T19:33:00.000+08:00

In real fellowship... people experience authenticity.
Until and unless we are open about our lives can we begin to experience true friendship and real fellowship. Think about it... if we truly care for one another we will go a level deeper, not surface,

Hi... and Bye. (Period)
How are you? ....Fine! (Really?)
See you again. (When?)
God bless you! (Lip service Christian Greeting? )

Authencity is not superficial surface chit-chat just for courtesy or chit-chat to pass time...We truly need to get pass our fears, past hurts and rejection in relationships in order to gain more in present friendship with one another. Anyone in fact everyone, can differenciate between a person who is genuine, compassionate, sincere and honest in relating to others and another person who merely speak out of courtesy and though you enjoy the conversation, unfortunately it merely surface level chit-chat. It's difficult to know her better because she's not ready to share her life ups and downs with you for fear of rejection or at times she just want the past to be the past.. However, at times, our experiences in life can be used to touch lives, renew hope in God's unfailing love and give strength to those who are struggling with similar situations.

Let our lives be authentic witnesses for God. Authenticity is love shared in real true fellowship laced with tender loving care enjoyed be those who seek it and acknowledge its nutrients in building lasting friendships which would last the test of time. If you value one another, let authencity preserve your friendship and deepen your relationship, you would find much joy and love in sharing your life with those who seek the same ingredient in relationships.

Engrafting Scriptures...

2005-06-06T15:52:00.000+08:00

At a point of time, we spent much time studying and learning to pass exams, to get good grades. For relaxation and entertainment, we read countless novels and magazines, we watch movies after movies.

To keep fit, we put aside time to exercise, to swim, play badminton, tennis, squash etc..
To keep in touch with happenings, The Star informs us on a daily basis and news on the TV...
To keep healthy, we eat nutricious food and vitamins, health supplements.
To keep in touch with friends, we call, visit and email them...

And recently, I've learnt that to keep living a victorious life, going to church is not sufficient, it's more than that, it's realizing that our body is a temple of God... and that we must fill our temple with the Word of God...which means memorizing and engrafting God's Word into our soul.

Memorizing scriptures requires effort... but I believe that in order to live a victorious Christian life, memorizing and engrafting scriptures into our soul is liken to having a weapon within us to overcome strongholds and temptation.

Engrating Roman 6 happens to be our project at the moment:

ROMAN 6

What shall we say then?
Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?
Certainly not!
How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?

Or do you not know that as many of us
as were baptised in Christ Jesus were baptised into His death?
Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death,
that just as Christ were raised from the death
by the glory of the Father,
even so we also should walk in the newness of life.

For if we have been united together
in the likeness of His death,
certainly we also shall be
in the likeness of His resurrection,
knowing this,
that our old man was crucified with Him
that the body of sin might be done away with,
that we should no longer be slaves of sin.

For he who has died has been freed from sin.
Now if we died with Christ,
we believe that we shall also live with Him,
knowing that Christ,
having been raised from the dead, dies no more.
Death no longer has dominion over Him
For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all
but the life that He lives, He lives to God.
Likewise you also, reckon yourself
to be dead indeed to sin,
but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body,
that you should obey it in its lusts.
And do not present your members
as instruments of unrighteousness to sin,
but present yourselves to God
as being alive from the dead,
and your members
as instruments of righteousness to God.
For sin shall not have dominion over you,
for you are not under law but under grace.

What then?
Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace?
Certainly not!
Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves to obey,
you are the one's slave whom you obey,
whether of sin leading to death
or of obedience leading to righteousness?

But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin,
yet you obeyed from the heart
that form of doctrine to which you were delivered.
And having been set free from sin,
you became slaves of righteousness.

I speak in human terms
because of the weakness of your flesh.
For just as you presented your members
as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness
leading to more lawlessness,
so now present your members
as slaves of righteousness for holiness.
For when you were slaves of sin,
you were free in regard to righteousness.

What fruit did you have then in the things
of which you are now ashamed?
For the end of those things is death.

But now having been set free from sin,
and having become slaves of God,
you have your fruit to holiness,
and the end, everlasting life.
For the wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God
is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

2005-05-14T03:06:00.000+08:00

freshly baked cinnamon rolls !!

Baking ...

2005-05-13T12:00:00.000+08:00

I love cakes and have been trying to bake lately. What have I baked so far? Pumpkin pie, the recipe which I got from Sook Ching. Hmm it was delicious, that pie, Christmas pumpkin pie... so I attempted it twice, thrice? Trying to get it right baked a lot lately and not put on a lot, my secret well thank God, I've some guinea pigs, people like Elliot and Jo... haha and also my cell group members, my little children who are always keen to try, not forgetting my dear husband,who is very sporting. He'll always appreciate my efforts so no matter how my cakes turned out to be, he will still eat them up and that is so encouraging.

Thank God for all these cake tasters and cake eaters coz imagine the calories I would have put on should I gobble up all that I've baked this year alone. The other time, when I baked the carrot cake, one of my guinea pigs, faithful Jo,happened to be fasting so my waist line were expanding as well coz... Elliot find the cheese topping too sweet and so my dear hubby cum personal image consultant commented that it would better to limit my baking to only one cake a week.. :)

All these years, I've only baked two things in my oven, apple crumble and banana bread pudding. Then this year, I decided to fly, my baking journey began with pumpkin pie and these are the cakes I've baked so far:

pumpkin pie
suji almond cake
apple crumble
chocolate walnut cake
moist chocolate cake
banana cake
banana bread pudding
lemon cheese cake
banana lemon poppy seed cake
tuna and sausages bread pudding
pineapple paste bread pudding

Yesterday, I decided to try a new recipe, cinnamon roll! Got the recipe from Sook Ching, but somehow misplaced it and followed another recipe for the dough. While the dough was still being prepared in the bread machine, my dear hubby came home and convinced me to join him for badminton. So off I go with the rest of the family and the dough was left home alone in the bread machine till midnight. I came home , tired, had a look at it and decided to leave it there overnight.

Nest morning the experiment began with my little toddler, Dylan as my assistant, his job was raisin sprinkling and under his curious supervision, the cinnamon rolls were finally chucked into my oven. Presto... guess what my cinnamon roll wasn't cinnamon roll, it was cinnamon rock and roll! Crunchy, and edible but not the way I like it, so I chopped it all up , added some milk , egg and banana with more butter and rebaked it. Yep, modify salvage whatever just to make it edible. So cinnamon rock and roll was now banana cinnamon bread pudding! Was it edible?

Yep! Peter went for it and sink his teeth into it thinking that he was about to eat his favourite pecan pie! I made a second batch of cinnamon roll and this time it was much better, than the first batch. Julie suggested that I use another type of yeast and I think I'll have to cut down the baking time as my Smeg oven is really super hot! Thank God I managed to bake an extra stand by, a chocolate walnut cake which was a seller.

There you are, refreshments for a Friday night meeting, baked with love for my friends and loved ones...

EVERYTHING

2005-05-10T16:11:00.000+08:00

Everything
You're the air l breathe
Everything to me
Everything
You're the one l need
For everything

l affix my eyes on You Lord
l align my ways with Yours
l establish my thoughts
Around Your perfect plan
l'm enlightened by Your wisdom
l'm intrigued by Your love
l embrace You wholly
Lord You are to me

l can't deny Your beauty
And I can't deny Your love
l can't deny what l believe
l have faith from a-bove

-Robbie Cochran & David Poindexter-

Jehovah Jireh my provider

2005-05-10T01:30:00.000+08:00

Jehovah Jireh my Provider
His grace is sufficient
For me For me
Jehovah Jireh my Provider
His grace is sufficient for me
My God shall supply all my needs
According to His riches in glory
He gives His angels charge over me
Jehovah Jireh cares for me

This is a familiar song for many. We sing it and proclaim it. But do we truly pray and trust God to provide for all our needs.Strange but true, we don't. Why not?
Why not pray and ask? Once as I ponder on this issue, the Holy Spririt impressed upon my heart that I don't get because I fail to ask..and I realise that God is just like us parents, He waits for us to ask and communicate our needs, our heart desires...nothing is too trivial to Him.We simply need to present all our requests to Him and trust that if we asks according to His will, not out of selfish desires, He would answer us.

Prayer is simply talking to God. Prayer is cultivated, it doesn't happen overnight, just like our relationships with friends. There must be sincerity, transparency and respect, acceptance for one another. We do not meet someone and build a deep relationship in just one meeting...but over the process of time. So is it with God and our prayer life. Let's begin to work on our relationship with Him for He longs for us to draw close to Him.He is a God of Relationship not of religion.

God loves us and wants us to ask of Him everything that we need....and have faith that He will answer us and be a provider to us for when we ask, we must believe, we must not be fickle-minded for we asks not from man but from God. We need to be like children... always believing, always trusting, never once to doubt of God's loving care, humble and meek knowing that He is Abba Father, our Provider.

Matthew 7:7 - 11
"Ask, and it will be given to you;
seek and you will find;
knock, and it will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receives,
and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks
it will be opened.
Or what man is there among you who,
if his son asks for bread,
will give him a stone?
Or if he asks for a fish
will he give him a serpent?
If you then, being evil,
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your Father who is in heaven
give good giftd to him who ask Him!

Rejoice! How many of us actually realise that we are stripped of our joy in times of trouble and persecution? Yet He says," Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice!.." as in the following verses:

Philippians 4:4-7
Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice!
Let your gentleness be known to all men.
The Lord is at hand.
Be anxious for nothing,
but in everything
by prayer and supplication,
with thanksgiving,
let your request be made known to God;
and the peace of God that surpasses all understanding,
will guard your hearts and minds
through Christ Jesus.

Nehemiah 8: 10b
...Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.

Let's choose to believe in God's promises for He is faithful and true, He is our God, our Provider, our God in whom we trust.

Choose to pray
choose to ask
choose to have faith
believe and wait

for without faith
it is impossible
to please the Lord.
for His Promises
are Yea, and Amen
glory be to God
who is faithful and true
to me and you
His mercies are new
His compassion fail not
for Jehovah Jireh
He is our provider
Let's learn to
lean on His shoulder
Through our prayer

original by justjessy

My true friends

2005-05-09T15:59:00.000+08:00

Friends, I have many
Some are quiet, some are chatty
True friends... are there any?
Not plenty, not many

For friends comes and goes
Like the wind that blows
Only a few stay close
And those few I know

So precious are they
So very hard to find
I'll treasure them day by day
For they are truly a special kind

Genuine ones
Are like a gem
My heart, they have won
I praise God for them

For their love and care
In words and deeds
Have touched my heart
From the very start

Genuine friends are
Like a gem, I would like to define
Without them, life would be quite bare
With them, it makes my day shine!

My ear's block.. not my blog

2005-04-27T15:35:00.000+08:00

Take away the pain
To my Healer I cry out
Let not my eyes rain
Please get it out, get it out

In goes the Ponstan, pop
Gulped down with water
Stop the pain, let it stop
Go away now,not later

Pray, pray, pray
Pray and cast away
Pray all day as I lay
In bed resting away

I would get well
Praise God, I would
Get well and tell
I believe, I should, I would

Give praise to Him
Give Him all the glory
My blog I dedicate to Him
Here, I'll pen my story

Justjessy

2005-04-26T12:30:00.000+08:00

I'm justjessy
Simply me
Plain and not fancy
Just like my blog
In it's infancy
I'm no writer
I'm not you, I'm me
So if you chance upon an error
Remember I'm not terror
I'm justjessy
I'm plain me
So don't bullet me
Have mercy
Afterall you do know me
I'm justjessy

Waves of Life.

2005-04-25T19:04:00.000+08:00

I grew up in Kuantan and I love the beach. Cycling there was one of things I used to do. Sitting by the beach I would look out to the sea. The sea reminds me of difficult trials of life. The rough thundering waves so powerful and so strong. One would easily be drenched from head to toe, tossed and even lose grip of oneself and fall especially when one stands alone.

In life, I have been through many difficult trials. There are times when I am so perplexed and uncertain and practically lost. How am I to face these trials and persecutions. Even if I turn my back to the waves, it would not leave me alone. Denial doesn't work. I have prayed and prayed and prayed.. many times it seems there's no answer to my cry.

Many times I have prayed that these difficult trials be removed from me. Then it dawn on me, how our Lord Jesus Christ the night He was to be betrayed, He prayed in Matt 26:39 ... Oh my Father, if this is possible, let this cup pass from Me, nevertheless not as I will but as You will." 2 Tim 5:17 reminds me that as a new creation, all things have pass away, behold all things have become new. As new creation, I decided that like Jesus my Lord. I will follow His way. I would choose to glorify Him, I would be an overcomer, a conqueror, I would lean on Him as I face the waves of life for He is in control and His plan never fails. Rev 22:13 ~ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last. My trust in Him has deepen since the day He spoke to me.

Nearly 15 years ago, as a young Christian, I remember the Lord said to me, " Follow me, surrender your will to me." Being young and having no depth in Him, I was fearful and even felt that it was unwise to surrender my will to Him. Accepting Him as Lord was okay but surrendering my will to Him was a gigantic step. I couldn't possibly do it, if I can't trust a man, how can I trust God who is unseen! But the love of God and His tenderness soon melts my heart as He assures me that in John 3:16~ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life...and He said, I love you and gave my life for you, would not my will for you be for your good and not evil, for I know the thoughts that I think towards you, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. (Jer 29:11)

I have not arrived, I pretend not to be who I am not but I desire to walk with Him and be used to glorify Him. My hope is that my children would in their own time, trust Him as I do and be deeply rooted in Him. I quote Paul in Phil 3:12-14 ~ Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected, but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethen,I do not count myself as apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching towards those things which are ahead, I press towards the goal for the price of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

The waves of life...at times, it would come like storms into our life, but storms do not remain storms forever, it would soon subside. Let's face the waves of life with Christ by our side.

2005-04-25T16:08:00.000+08:00

Dylan boy with a mirror image captured on film.

Dylan...

2005-04-25T01:45:00.000+08:00

Mom!" that's what Dylan, my 20 months old baby calls me, and he does it so affectionately. He is such an adorable baby, so cute, even Cybermate agrees with me. When he smiles, he melts me completely. What a joy, what a blessing.

He is God's gift to me, I was suffering from placenta previa and when I was 7 months pregnant with Dylan, one Sunday , on Father's Day 2002, as I was about to lie down on the sofa to rest, I bleed.... like a pipe flowing and I had to look for a pad. As I lie down in bed praying, I asked Jesus to stop the bleeding. In fact, my husband and children all layed hands on my womb and prayed. Later, after putting our 3 children with Sook Ching, my dear sister and friend, my husband took me to the emergency room at Gleneagles.

I was placed in the labour ward and nurses attended to me monitoring my heartbeat, blood pressure and checking for contractions. During that period, I put my complete trust upon the Lord Jesus. I told the Lord that Dylan's not ready to be born yet and I asked him to preserve Dylan's life. He answered my prayer, my heartbeat and Dylan's heartbeat was ok, there wasn't any contraction and to my amazement, during the 5 hours there, I did not bleed a single drop of blood. God stopped the flow of blood.

I told the nurses that I want to be discharged but they said that they would have to keep me under observation for at least 48 hours. No way would they allow me to be discharged. I prayed and asked God. Then I asked them to call my gynaecologist who was obviously celebrating Father's Day. They called him and I was discharged immediately after signing some papers. Praise the Lord!!

I had another bout of bleeding but I was calm and did not run to the hospital and on August 18, 2003, Dylan was born by C-section.

On Father's Day the same year, I reminded my dear husband of God's goodness and love to us. He preserve the life of Dylan, how wonderful and marvelous are you, oh Lord.
Jer 33:3
Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will show you great and mighty things you do not know.
God showed me His love, His healing hands and great power to touch and restore,
1 Peter 5:7
Casting all your cares upon Him for He cares for you.
He showed me how to trust and surrender completely to Him acknowledging that He is in control. He showed me that He cares.

Dylan... he's so blessed. He was so immersed by the wonderful presence of God. He is always with me as we attended the Intercessor's Sessions, Wednesday Prayer Meetings and Overnight Prayer Meetings. We have been truly blessed, encouraged by dear Ps Jo who accepts a baby in her meeting not worried at all that he would be distracting the others. Thank you Jo, you are wonderful. We felt a sense of belonging and acceptance.

Today, at 20 months, Dylan could pray and give thanks by simply saying, "Pray, Amen!" or sometimes," Thank you God for food, in Jesus name, Amen". He would lay hands on his siblings and bless them and hug them as I prayed and tuck them to bed. He sings along and worship with us.

Psalm 8:2 From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise...and praise he did with hands lifted up, lately even with the tamborine in his little hands.

THANK YOU JESUS FOR DYLAN!

Life is Beautiful!

Life Is Beautiful!

2005-04-22T18:59:00.000+08:00

... when you give your life to Jesus, make Him Lord of your life.

... when you choose to count your blessings, when you focus on being thankful.

... when you have God's peace no matter what happens..

...when you have four children and count them your blessings.

...when you put on a garment of praise and choose to be a blessing.

...when you begin to see things from God's perspective and not the world's.

...when your 6+yrs old son learns to pray and do it in a childlike manner with simple faith.

...when you know that God is out there to meet your needs and answer your prayers.

...when you have friends who put on no masks and you can be yourself.

...when your friend loan you a DVD and God gave him a brand new one!

...when you do not need to be a chauffeur and just be a homeschooling mum.

...when you teach using Sonlight Curriculum and find it so interesting!

...when you bake a cake and everyone enjoys it...what an encouragament.

...when you get to sit in the car do nothing but pray the whole journey...

..when you discover you the gems in the BIBLE and share it.

...when you hear His Voice saying, " I love you, you are Mine!"

...when you realize how very precious you are in God's sight!

...when fear is replaced with FAITH as in Phil 4:13.

...when you put Him first daily and choose to abide in Him.

...when He knows your heart's desires and blesses you because He loves you!

..Life is Beautiful! It's beautiful when you have Christ in your life!