Busy Weekend
This weekend was a trying one.
Dad has a mini stroke and is now hospitalized. We are not really worried about him per se because his medical bills are being paid by the church and a few philanthropists are willing to chip in for family and medical expenses. We have received many prayers from many people and several people have said that spiritually speaking, it’s part of his life journey to learn something new to make him a more effective messenger of God’s miraculous healing power.
What made it tiring was the flood of visits/comments/questions and the errands we have to run. We are deeply touched that so many people show their concern but it got to the extent where we had to publicly announce in church that people stop coming so Dad could actually rest.
That being said, it’s something we’ll get through. Keep us in your prayers.
A Whole New Chapter In My Life
Dear Felicity,
It’s been a while since my last update so here’s what’s happening:
a) I know I’m late to jump on the Disney Mania bandwagon but I’ve been a fan of Disney since I was a little kid. I remember having karaoke sessions with my brother and friends and we would sing to the soundtracks of the Disney Renaissance (from Little Mermaid – Tarzan) for hours. My brother would take the cool characters, my friend would take the heroes he related to and yours truly would do the others from the ladies to weird characters to my personal faves, the VILLAINS. ~BE PREPARED~ BWAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
Anyway Disney Mania remixes some of the old songs. Some are fantastic, some are commercialized fare and some I collect for plain wierdness – Poor Unfortunate Souls Rock Remix by Jonas Brothers?! Go figure.
b) Liz, my younger “sister” is WORKING!!! At my old workplace CANON CONCEPT STORE!!! Which is UNDER BETTER MANAGEMENT!!! And she who didn’t get past PMR is saving up for COLLEGE!!!! I was doing flips in my bedroom when I heard.
c) The reason why it’s a new chapter for me. I’m 26 this past Nov 8. No girlfriend but I’m confirmed at work so things are looking up. I still want to settle down sometime but when exactly is up to the Lord. I also know I should work on the packaging this wonderful heart is in and lose weight but getting to it is another whole chore. I’m making a recommitment to my emotional and spiritual growth and trying to get my family to pray together more often. Time will tell how I will mature as a person and as a leader of young people.
Dear God, thanks for another great year. Help me to get past the things that keep me down from flying high with You and help me to truly be a blessing wherever I am.
WHOO-HOO!!
P.S. Thanks to everyone who made my 4 day birthday weekend memorable, especially my parents and the McIsaac family.
Problems That He Will Tackle
Dear Felicity,
Learning communication in the corporate environment is a fundamental, it seems. But blast it all if I didn’t figure that out. Now because I failed to update one of my colleagues, we have a transportation problem on our hands. *sigh* All part of the process.
Thank God for Friday cell group. Learning John Bevere’s Under Cover (which btw, is EXCELLENT) and he explained that God has plans for humanity’s welfare but His first priority is our spiritual condition NOT so much our physical condition. So like He planned the Hebrew people to be slaves in Egypt under Pharoah so that the whole world could see who God really was when Egypt went under, sometimes dark circumstances are used for an ultimate purpose… to show people just who He is. I’m learning to appreciate that He really does know better than us.
Add that to the aggravation of unruly boys on Saturday Youth time that broke the canasta eggs combined with funny messages on the LCD screen from Mamma Mia and one kid wanting to run for home in tears because he got smacked on the head, I really need to find some loving way to instill discipline without being unduly harsh. Oy!
Dear God, teach me!!! Amen!!!
Edit: Oh, wait. You are!
Raya-ing With Christmas In Mind
Dear Felicity,
Raya holidays are one day away so I’ll have a FIVE-DAY WEEKEND!!! WOOOOOOT!!!
That being said, however, I’m preparing for Christmas and this year will be a doozy.
I’ve got one of my young girls headspearing a skit titled “Everything by Lifehouse” based on that song. You can see it on Youtube. To accompany it, there’ll be a performance of “Imagine Me” based on the song by Kirk Franklin. It’s a beautiful song that will wrap the message up well. I know it’s not Christmas-y really but it’s a great message to give to backsliders when they visit for Sunday after Christmas and I didn’t plan it – The Creative Director of the Universe did so I obey.
That being said, I have another idea for Christmas day itself. “The Angel’s Medley” by Avalon. It’s like Christmas is choir-centric. It freaks me out a bit because I have developed recently this sudden liking for black gospel music and to handle a rip roaring choir ala Sister Act is going to be a daunting challenge. Still, if it’s what He wants, He’ll make sure it works out.
We’ll see… We’ll see…
P.S. On another note, I was deeply touched yesterday when one of my youth members felt led to gather some Youth to pray for me. I am so blessed to be leading this bunch.
Workin’ On A Holiday
Dear Felicity,
I’m working today, even though it’s supposed to be a public holiday. Was more annoyed than I let on last night about the whole thing and was rather grumpy the whole evening. There was an all-night vigil at church for the by-elections today and I didn’t go.
Shouldn’t that be “couldn’t go because of work tomorrow”? No, it’s “didn’t go” because I wasn’t in the right spirit. It was a shame too because two of my kids went and I’m afraid I may have disappointed them slightly. (Will SMS them later to encourage them).
Anyway, just to make the most of it then, I’m praying today during lunch break for the thing even though people may be voting, simply because I really feel that God wants me to do it, not to make up for anything but to stand in the gap as is my duty.
So, if life hands you lemons, make Teh O Limau, I guess. 
Now where did I put that brewing pot?
Creeping Negativity
Dear Felicity,
It’s getting weird for me here. I’m supposed to honor my superiors however they may be, but during email marketing meetings with my new manager, Mr. Poh, I sometimes say negative things about Ms. Usha’s approval system. What’s wrong with me? I admit I’m frustrated but I really shouldn’t be that negative. Lord, help me to honor, honor, honor whoever.
On that note, I also pissed off one of my colleagues for messing up her budget planning for 09. I understand it’s a tantamount sin and I’m trying to make up for it and really show her love and try to make restitution but I’m being rebuffed. It makes working kinda uncomfortable for me as I’m used to a largely supportive environment. Well, that’s life. Back to the grind…
Teach me to love those who hate me, not so I can be appreciated and supported but to show them God cares. Teach me to honor them in spite of everything. Help me be a blessing and an encouragement in this corporate environment. HELP ME, LORD!!!
Microsoft Office vs. Photoshop
I’ve been asked to produce a simple document where certain rows are dual-column while others are single-column as they are headers. Easy, non?
Wrong!!!
I have been wrestling for a complete hour in trying various alternatives to getting it right on Microsoft office and it STILL doesn’t work. God, I miss using Photoshop! (And that’s a prayer, people!)
To quote:
“Photoshop is that young vibrant design exec that can do yoga while feeding your baby and tutoring your kid in algebra. Microsoft Office programs are middle-aged executives with back problems.”
Ah… Bureaucracy, Sweet Bureaucracy
Dear Felicity,
I am frustrated. I have two different forms to fill for overtime and meal claims, BOTH with OTHER forms to fill apparently BEFOREHAND to request for permission for such claims in the FIRST place.
I suppose being a non-profit organization, the head of departments are tightly managing a budget so it’s justifiable but even then the amount of trouble one has to go through simply because one has been asked to do overtime really makes it difficult to work such things out, ESPECIALLY if another head comes and pesters the marketing department for help at the LAST MINUTE!! There should be an easier way to deal with this. If not, for every overtime locally, it’s two forms. For every overtime out of this island, it’s four. What about training? What about all the other stuff? INSANITY~~~~~~~~~~
As comes with time…
…things get left behind. The previous two posts show my current growing up. But deep down inside, I feel a bit like Wayne Kirkpatrick when he wrote this song for Susan Ashton:
Innocence Lost
Gone away, the days of wish and wondering
Far away, like a vision in my mind
The child has grown and left me here alone
Looking back to what was left behind.
Lullabyes and pennies in a wishing well
Sad goodbyes to friends of make believe
A love so pure, a treasure
Now buried in the sea of me.
Milton lost his paradise, Dorothy lost her way
Vincent lost his sanity, Thomas lost his faith
Hoover lost the second time, Sigmund lost his friend
Me, I lost my innocence and I want it back again.
A tug-of-war is going on inside of me
A calloused heart that wants to make a change
While time prevails fighting tooth and nail
Keeping me set in my ways
Marco found the orient, Gepetto found his boy
Lincoln found a unity that Lee could not destroy
Lindy found the other side, Gershwin found the stage
Me, I found a stubborness that seems to grow with age
As I dream of where I’ll go, may I learn from where I’ve gone
And take the memories that I hold into tomorrow
Milton lost his paradise, Dorothy lost her way
Vincent lost his sanity, Thomas lost his faith
Hoover lost the second time, Sigmund lost his friend
Me, I lost my innocence and I want it back again.
I had it once before and I want it back again…
I Will Do Battle
I don’t know how and I don’t know any possible way to overcome it but it’s a problem for Someone bigger than me to solve.
I cannot sit back and see a constricting atmosphere of politicking and backbiting and grilling continue. I want a team! I will pray for a team! I will fight for the team spirit! I hope to have a world where everyone can get along with one another in true comradeship. I dream of a place where people can make mistakes, pioneer ideas and still feel secure as long as they uphold the company, where honour and service is the motto of every employer and effeciency is still a priority but is secondary to the needs of the human spirit.
I will do battle!!!
