Faith Noodles

(knocks) Elsa? Please I know you're in there People are asking where you've been They say "have courage" and I'm trying to I'm right out here for you Please let me in We only have each other It's just you and me What are we gonna do? Do you wanna build a snowman?

Usually on the 31st each year, I come up with a lot of complex resolutions - like specific areas in my character that God wants to develop, His plans in my studies, what church I attend, relationships, ministry. And I end up with a pretty complicated list that to be honest, I only look at through January and chuck aside the rest of the year. Maybe I should review that list more consistently. But I think this year, I'm just gonna keep it simple so that I can easily retrieve it from my memory :D I feel like these are the two verses God is challenging me with this year. Isaiah 48:17, "This is what the Lord says - Your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: 'I am the Lord Your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go.' " This verse has really become such an encouragement to me since I heard it in church. In all the scary uncertainties, I've been bringing it to mind - reminding my wandering heart that God wi...

When people you care about around you have so much going on for them and you wanna be there for each and everyone of them and then you start feeling a little burnt out, a little frustrated with yourself for not supporting them and praying for them as best you can - this sermon by this pastor who is doing his PhD on the role of the Holy Spirit is worth a read :) I feel a little selfish writing this when my friends are going through far worse things than a burn out so  I just have to say to my friends reading this:  I'll always love to and want to listen to you no matter how easygoing/hectic my life is! I just can't do it without God's Spirit  :) <3 Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has  anointed  me to proclaim good news  to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” The Spirit of God c...

Yesterday, I was reminded of the fragility of life. And it scares me. I don't think I handle such things well at all. My stomach feels like it's all knotted up with worry. I can't think clearly. My eyes are puffy from crying and praying. It frustrates me that I can do nothing practical being so far away. I can't even give one hug. I'm so glad everyone is kinda ok - badly shaken, with minor injuries. In the midst of my intense emotions (yeah, get a grip, girl!), I know I must trust God. But just knowing that Jesus Christ became poor and subjected Himself to the fragilty and frailty of human life really comforts me. He was born in a stable so 30 years later, He might hang on a cross so that we may have victory over sin and death, forever. So because He lives, we can all face today. Haha, and this verse comes to mind: "Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?" Matthew 6:2

By CS Lewis from "Prince Caspian". I really love this little excerpt :)! “Aslan, Aslan. Dear Aslan,” sobbed Lucy. “At last.” The great beast rolled over on his side so that Lucy fell, half sitting and half lying between his front paws. He bent forward and just touched her nose with his tongue. His warm breath came all round her. She gazed up into the large wise face. “Welcome, child,” he said. “Aslan,” said Lucy, “you’re bigger.” “That is because you are older, little one,” answered he. “Not because you are?” “I am not. But every year you grow, you will find me bigger.”

I was talking with two other friends today and it really got me thinking.. Friend 1: So what sports do you play? Friend 2: I play badminton. Friend 1: But that is so.. Asian. I wanted to tell that friend, "Well, Friend 2 is Asian. So if badminton is an Asian sport, what's wrong with an Asian being Asian and playing badminton?" (But I held my tongue) I think it's sad that over here, more "Westernised" Asians are viewed to be "more superior" than those who still retain the way of living and the way of speaking from their country of origin. I myself am guilty on both ends, meaning that I've thought that I was better than someone else because I was less Asian than them; and I've allowed someone else to look down on me because I'm more Asian than they are. I know, however, that it isn't true that we are of far less worth being from an Asian country compared to those who are from a Western one. For God does not show favouritism...

By C.S. Lewis from "The Screwtape Letters". (Note: As this book consists of letters from a senior to a junior devil, you must read it from that lens. And so, the Enemy here refers to God.) The most alarming thing in your last account of the patient is that he is making none of those confident resolutions which marked his original conversion. No more lavish promises of perpetual virtue, I gather; not even the expectation of an endowment of 'grace' for life, but only a hope for the daily and hourly patience to meet the daily and hourly temptation! This is very bad. I see only one thing to do at the moment. Your patient has become humble; have you drawn his attention to the fact? All virtues are less formidable to us once the man is aware that he has them, but this is specially true of humility. Catch him at the moment when he is really poor in spirit and smuggle into his mind the gratifying reflection, "I'm being humble", and almost immediately p...

There are two things I'm really thankful for right now: First, for Board Games ("board" not "bored", too many people have teased me with that pun -_-) because they are crazy fun (: Second, for God still granting me favour when I know very well I don't deserve it at all. I recognise, Pa, that all these good gifts come from You. Thank You!! (:

Photo and words by my aunt :) "Where you go, I will follow," said the flower to the shoe.

Did you notice the lady behind you at church? Her husband just left her for another woman, her children don't contact her any longer, she's just been diagnosed with leukemia and she's at church for the first time because a flyer in her postbox caught her eye. No, you didn't, because you were too afraid to step out of your 'safe zone', and all you wanted to do was to remain there. Did you notice the sullen eyes of the young man sitting on the park bench? He just graduated two years ago, is still looking for a job, his parents have only condescending words to say to him and his girlfriend of 4 years just left him because she couldn't stand his defeated attitude towards life anymore. No, you didn't, because you were too afraid of the discomfort you would feel if he ends up rolling his eyes at you if you dared to genuinely ask him, "how's it going?" Did you notice that woman with the crinkled brow that sat next to you on the bus? She's...

I just got fined $280 for  parking at a tow away zone. Given the circumstances, I felt it was really unfair and I am doing what I can to contest that. I am reminded of something challenging I read recently. And now I am being challenged to live it out. Even though this is such a huge fine, "This is (still) the day that the Lord has made; let us (still) rejoice and be glad in it."  Psalm 118:24 (I added the words in the bracket) C. S. Lewis once said: “The great thing, if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one’s ‘own,’ or ‘real’ life. The truth is of course that what one calls the interruptions are precisely one’s real life—the life God is sending one day by day; what one calls one’s ‘real life’ is a phantom of one’s own imagination. This at least is what I see at moments of insight: but it’s hard to remember it all the time.” All these unpleasant things in my day are "sovereign deliveries", part of God...

Today, I ran my first half marathon. I have been training (painstakingly) for it for 3 month, and to be able to run it after training so hard for it felt amazing (especially when I overtook big guys haha). Timing was ok only la, but I was able to run all the way if you don't count in my stops at the "hydration stations". There were 7 stations through out the run, I must have stopped at 5, and each time I would drink 1 cup of water and 1 cup of powerade. What I really loved was that people would get up at 7am just to cheer us 10,000 half marathoners on - we had people clapping and cheering for us as we ran, and even dogs wagging their tails as we passed them. Tried to pray as I ran, mind kept getting distracted - but when I could focus, it was just so fun and special talking to God as I enjoyed the crisp cool morning air and breathtaking views of the sea and city. It felt AH-MA-ZING to cross the finish line. Very sore as well, no doubt. Need to eat lots of protein t...

Pray, don't find fault with the man that limps  Or stumbles along the road.  Unless you have worn the shoes he wears  Or struggled beneath his load.  There may be tacks in his shoes that hurt  Though hidden away from view.  Or the burden he bears placed on your back  Might cause you to stumble too.  Don't sneer at the man who's down today  Unless you have felt the blow  That caused his fall or felt the shame  That only the fallen know.  You may be strong but still the blow  That was his if dealt to you  In the selfsame way, at the selfsame time  Might cause you to stagger too.  Don't be too harsh with the man that sins  Or pelt him with word or stone  Unless you are sure - yea, doubly sure -  That you have no sins of your own.  For you know, perhaps,  If the tempter's voice should whisper as soft to you  As it did to him when he went astray  It might cause you to falter to...

Monday mornings are never dreadful when you spend it with God. Just some reflections from my quiet time this morning that really encouraged me. Proverbs 22:4  The reward for humility and fear of the LORD is riches and honor and life .   In the original Hebrew, this verse is missing the conjunction "and" between the words "humility" and "fear of the Lord". And so, scholars argue that this verse can be read as "the reward of humility [either 'and' or 'which is'] the fear of the God, which is itself the source of every virtue and blessing". I think that, somehow, they go hand in hand, but humility is necessary in order for us to come to and continue to fear God. Humility is the feeling of dependence on God, the surrender of our wills to Him and conviction of our sins. When this leads us to fear the Lord and continues to accompany it, it will bring life - where our insides will be renewed, revived, and flourish with spirit...

From "The Valley of Vision" This is such a beautiful puritan prayer.. My Savior, help me. I am slow to learn, so prone to forget, so weak to climb; I am in the foothills when I should be on the heights; I am pained by my graceless heart, my prayerless days, my poverty of love, my sloth in the heavenly race, my sullied conscience, my wasted hours, my unspent opportunities. I am blind while light shines around me: take the scales from my eyes, grind to dust the evil heart of unbelief. Make it my chiefest joy to study thee, mediate on thee, gaze on thee, sit like Mary at thy feet, lean like John on thy breast appeal like Peter to thy love, count like Paul all things dung. Give me increase and progress in grace so that there may be more decisions in my character, more vigor in my purposes, more elevation in my life, more fervor in my devotion, more constancy in my zeal. As I have a position in the world, keep me from making the world my position; ...

"I waited and waited and waited for God.  At last he looked; finally he listened." Psalms 40:1-2 (The Message) This verse gives me courage to continue to wait on God in the face of unanswered prayer. I will keep on in prayer and in expectation  no matter how long it takes. -  for I know He hears me and will answer in His perfect time . For I trust with absolute certainty that God even hears the cries of the weakest child. And in this truth, I rest and hope.

Why do you think some girls go "gaga" over songs like "Just the way you are" by Bruno Mars or "Little things" by One Direction? Perhaps, deep inside, we yearn to know that we matter to someone, sometimes - anyone. And perhaps, this is true for the guys too. As a young teenager, I recall going through a stage where I kept questioning my worth. However, when I recommitted my life to Jesus, it's like He answered my question when I looked at what He did for me on the cross. And whenever the questioning resurfaces, this ragged doll analogy has always helped me to better comprehend how *we* are *valuable* and *precious* beyond measure, not because of our inherent traits, but because of the love Someone much bigger than us has for us. (: And so.. I was so excited when I heard this song by Philippa Hanna on the radio! (: That song prompted me to search my humble book shelf for that book that contained the ragged doll analogy, but I couldn't find...

I was crying today, and Tintin came and licked the tears off my face each time it fell. This is why I think my dog rocks. The end.

I just watched such a heartwrenching documentary . Linda Shum, the founder of Eagles Wings Homes, is an Australian who runs 8 homes for severely disabled children in China. With the one-child policy in China, her interviewer noted that it is not uncommon for a disabled child to be abandoned. She once worked as a primary school teacher. Soon after her husband retired from his role as a school principal, Linda told him that she wanted to start a home for orphans in China. Using most of their savings and the funds they raised, they had enough money to build their first home. Tragically, two weeks before the opening of their first home, her husband suffered a stroke and died. When he died, he left an insurance policy worth $50,000 and she used that money to build two more homes for these children. In closing, she said these words that really shook me, making me realise that this is the sort of love Jesus called us to have for the poor: Interviewer: Well, what would you be doing i...

Sleepovers are so fun. So last weekend, apart from girl talk, watching a chick flick (while munching on grapes and wasabi peas) and chatting about our favourite book titles, my friend and I decided to read/listen to this crazy whodunit book/narration. THE COMPOSER IS DEAD by Lemony Snicket. So.. the composer is DEAD and the reader needs to figure out who killed the composer. But this book is more than your everyday children's mystery book (it even had a twist we didn't see coming!). And it cleverly and cunningly introduces young children *cough* to the various sections in an orchestra (if I came across this book earlier, maybe I would have hated theory less and maybe remembered all the composers and which periods they belonged to a little bit better). You're meant to read the book with the audio accompaniment featuring Lemony Snicket as the narrator and the Nathaniel Stookey's music performed by the San Francisco Symphony. Some people might...

At 4am this morning, my dog gave me such a scare. He began coughing and wheezing and hacking. Non-stop. He normally sleeps at the foot of my bed. But this time, Tintin was sitting upright, further up the bed. He was looking at me with such mournful eyes as if to say, "Help me, I don't know what to do, make this stop." :( I lazily rolled out of bed and began stroking him gently and tickling him at his favourite spots. Ah, he'll be fine in 5 minutes I thought. But his hacking and wheezing continued, as if something was stuck in his throat. I remembered he was like that last night too - he was coughing (though not as badly) as though there was something stuck in his throat. I fed him tiny balls of rice to help him push whatever it was down and it seemed to have stopped. The coughing got so bad that he started vomiting foamy white liquid. I quickly let him outside and he started munching on grass furiously, gobbling it down like a fluffy white cow. I just let him...

"Hope" is the thing with feathers That perches in the soul And sings the tune without the words And never stops at all And sweetest in the Gale is heard And sore must be the storm That could abash the little Bird That kept so many warm I've heard it in the chillest land And on the strangest Sea Yet, never, in Extremity, It asked a crumb of Me.  - Emily Dickinson And so a much loved teacher passed away yesterday at 11:30am from lung cancer, not in Ireland (which was the country he was born and bred in), but in another land 6,800 miles away where he had devoted much of his life as an educator. This was the last poem he taught me in English literature which has since become one of my favourite poems.  My thoughts drift back to the days where we would go on this magical literary ride into Oscar Wilde's satirical world, Mary Shelley's gothic yet spectacular novel as we delved into the inner world of Dr Victor Frankenstein (the scientist who was fi...

From Emily Wierenga's blog - I've read a little about what she's been through. I really respect her and am in awe at how God has developed her character and helped her persevere through such hard times. I LOVE THIS! It is just so beautiful and a reflection of the person of Jesus in her life. As a woman living in the 21st century I will live as though I have a thousand daughters , even though I have none, because every girl is my daughter and when she sees me, or engages with me, she's looking to me for how to live. So I will live, I will smile, I will laugh, I will speak, and I will pray as though her heart and soul depend on it. As a woman living in the 21st century I will not judge myself based on numbers. My worth will not be determined by my weight, by my height, by my social security number, by my Blog followers or Google followers or by Facebook and Twitter. Only one number will ever matter to me, that is, the number One, who is God, who is my biggest fan, ...

From getthru What to do DURING a seismic "rock concert" 1. Drop 2. Cover (make sure you're completely under a table) 3. Hold on If you are.. Inside a building:  move no more than a few steps, drop, cover and hold. Stay indoors till the shaking stops and you are sure it is safe to exit. At the beach or near the coast:  drop, cover and hold then move to higher ground immediately in case a tsunami follows the quake. If you are driving:  pull over to a clear location, stop and stay there with your seatbelt fastened until the shaking stops. Once shaking stops, proceed with caution and avoid bridges or ramps that might have been damaged. If you are in a mountainous area or near unstable slopes or cliffs:  be alert for falling debris or landslides. In an elevator:  drop, cover and hold. When the shaking stops, try and get out at the nearest floor if you can safely do so. Outdoors when the shaking starts:  move no more than a few step...

#1 My lecturer called me "A-bi-gel", English isn't her first language.. but it's so nice to hear my name being mispronounced! Can't help smiling thinking about it. I grew up having most of my teachers from primary through to high school pronouncing my name incorrectly. My teachers' versions of it were, "Ah-bee-gail", "A-bee-gay-yel", "A-bee-girl", and "A-bee-gall". I've always enjoyed hearing different versions of my name. Less amused with the extremely creative ways my classmates played with my name though -__- But since leaving home, everyone's got my name spot on.  #2 One of the boys I work with at the disabled unit in school didn't like how I'd cut my hair so short. He's normally the first one to hand out compliments, "Abby, I like your long hair" or "Abby, you look nice". Hahaha, but today, he was like: "Abby, you cut your hair. It's so.... short." Awww, you ca...

The story about the baby in China (named Baby 59 after his incubator number) really moved me and many hearts across the globe. The baby's received donations from his rescuers and countless offers were made within China and overseas to adopt the baby. It really angered me - what mother in her right mind would flush her baby down the toilet. Watching this video footage of the firefighters rescuing the baby from the pipeline really made me cringe. But there is a somewhat happy conclusion to this story! Two days after the baby was found, his 22-year-old mother came forward. Apparently, she had slept with a man, and hid her pregnancy from her neighbours, friends and family. Initially suspected of homicide, police now believe her account that her baby had slipped from her fingers (right after she'd given birth) into the squat toilet bowl (is that what you call it?). While she was trying to retrieve him with a stick, the water was too murky (with blood) so she decided to flush th...

Yesterday night, I learnt that I'm very bad at asking for help when I really need it because I really hate troubling people and I would rather suffer in silence. But yesterday I also learnt that sometimes, it's quite important to put my pride aside and ask for help especially  when I need it. And there are kind souls out there who are willing to go out of their way to help, even if they don't know you.

From   Piled Higher and Deeper (PhD) Comics These are hilarious!! BAHAHAHAHAHAHA. You can *actually* sing to these lyrics - I've tested it out :P

"A child may be born into poverty, but poverty is never born into a child."

"Fear of man will prove to be a snare , but whoever trust in the Lord is kept safe ." Proverbs 29:25 How would my day look like today if I fear and trust God more than I fear man?

By CJ Mahaney ( a reaal good message on contentment - click to listen) Contentment is an undervalued grace. Today, this jewel is very rare, but it was in full display in the life of Paul. Thomas Watson writes: "Here, is a rare pattern for us to imitate - a rare pattern revealing a rare jewel and Paul is going to let us in on a secret so the grace of contentment might become more common and less rare in our lives". Paul penned this in Philippians 4:12-13: "I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length, you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me but you had not the opportunity. Not that I'm speaking from being in need, f or I have learnt in every situation I am, to be content.  I know how to be brought low and abound. In any and every situation, I have learnt the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Paul is not motivated by self-interest and he did no...