timoandgrace.com

“I am afraid that the schools will prove the very gates of hell, unless they diligently labor in explaining the Holy Scriptures and engraving them in the heart of the youth.”

Martin Luther

It is depressing to know that some teachers nowadays ingrain children with the outrageously incorrect mindset of the goal of studying- to count the countless number of dollar notes which they will possess in the future (if they do study hard).

How superficial can our education system and teachers get?!! Isn’t there more to the goal of studying than counting notes, for goodness sake?! You cannot bring money to the grave, can you? You cannot save your soul from the damnation of hell with a trillion bucks, can you?

Stop propagating the wrong values.

The poor kids.

“I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys.”

Song of Solomon 2:1

A really Blessed 29th Monthniversary (thanks Carol! ;P) to Momo and I yesterday and today marks the 11th Anniversary of my stay under this humble roof. Thank God!

Photos taken of Kira about a couple of weeks back:

Side

Isn’t she a pretty dog?!

Woohoo. Today is my parents’ 24th Wedding Anniversary! Thank God that their wedding vows to each other still remain true to each other this day!  ;)

*Lohengrin Bridal March

Yay. Thank God for bringing me through my first official day of work! I am still alive.

“She who loved us, she who sought us,
Through the wild untrodden bushlands,
Brought us healing, brought us comfort,
Brought the sunshine to our darkness—
She has gone—the dear white Mother—
Gone into the Great Hereafter.
Thus she taught and thus she labored;
Living, spent herself to help us,
Dying, found her rest among us.
Let the dry, harsh winds blow softer
And the river’s song fall lower,
While the forest sways and murmurs
In the mystery of evening,
And the lonely bush lies silent,
Silent with a mighty sorrow.”

H.K.W. Kumm on Mary Slessor

I had the privilege of becoming the emergency babysitter for my godson last evening! Although he was down with fever and cold, he was still as active as ever! Thanks Boxian for the homemade fish porridge. I felt really nourished last night. Also, I managed to capture a few Leo’s Moments for memory sake.

“Look! I have got clean teeth now!” from Peiling Leong on Vimeo.

Little Leo Reads the Bible! from Peiling Leong on Vimeo.

“I can dance now!” from Peiling Leong on Vimeo.

Faith is intolerable of fears.

1. Little kids start addressing you “aunty”.

2. Your friends around you are engaged/ married.

3. Each year passes faster than the previous year.

4. The difference between 1999 and 2009 is not much of a difference to you but it is actually a duration of 11 years.

Sis and I have been wanting to bring Little Leo out for quite sometime and today happened to be the “sometime”. We picked him up from the student care centre in the afternoon. However, we met with some challenges due to the strict restrictions placed by the authorities of the centre and also, Leo looked a little frazzled and blur which made the teachers doubt if he really knew us. Haha, it was quite funny though! Thank God Leo warmed up gradually and we had so much joy and laughter baby-sitting him!

Little Leo, Clifford and Sis. Yes, the magic word is “Clifford” and Leo will be sucking his two fingers!

I was supposed to blur her face.

#

Leo walking up the stairs of the overhead bridge!

The adventurous Leo attempted the monkey bar.

He saw two Malay boys scrapping the soil and he did the same too.

The 2 figurines at my house whom he named them Mummy (smaller dog) and Daddy (bigger dog)! It was so adorable and sweet that he arranged “Mummy” and “Daddy” to be beside each other!

Watching the Sound of Music

Still watching. Do-re-mi!

After a bath! Did I mention that I bathed him after he excreted? Haha. My first and foremost experience bathing a toddler! Jac reminded me to get all the stool out of the anus. He was a really easy child to bathe though.

Mummy and Little Leo

His favourite Yakult!

Leo eating fish porridge. Look at his interesting expression!

Yummy!

Fish porridge is good for health, Leo!

Last of all… me and my dearest godson! *Big Hug and a Flying Kiss to you!

Timothy is currently in Japan right now! Thank God for the safe arrival at Narita Airport this morning. Do come back safely, alright?

The day before he departed, he brought the both of us to Botantic Garden. That was my maiden time having a picnic at one of the pavilions. He kindly bought Subway sandwiches while I grabbed two exotic-looking vinegar thirst-quenching drinks from the shelves of Fairprice. Thank God that the weather was rather fair; grass was crisp and green after the rain, gothic black swans were doing their stuff on the lake etc.

“HELLO BOTANIC GARDEN!”

The pigeons which kept us entertained with their Public Display of Affections.

I assume that this is the male pigeon cuz’ it is black.

and thus..this is should be the female pigeon cuz’ it is purer looking.

Kissing pigeons! They mated after that, but I did not manage to get a good shot.

Momo brought his heavy guitar along so that we could worship God in the midst of His beautiful creations!

The gothic black swans

A Caucasian family playing with the pigeons.

Guess who?!

As I looked back on that scene, I prayed and asked Jesus where He was that day.

And this is the picture He gave me. As I look at the scene, I see Jesus standing in the crowd at the parade cheering me on. He is proud of me and smiling ear to ear.

Then, all of a sudden, it happens. I drop my baton.

And my heart sinks. I close my eyes and slouch my shoulders, devastated at my failure. However, when I open my eyes, Jesus is there. He is picking up my baton and handing it to me. He is there to help me. I am not alone.

Jesus looks up at me with compassion. And He wants me know how much He loves me. He tells me that no matter what I do or how well I perform, His love never changes for me.

And somewhere deep inside my 33 year old heart, something healed at that moment.

The enemy’s grip loosened and the lie that I have to be perfect to be worthwhile is being replaced with God’s truth…unconditional love. The truth is that no matter what I do or how well I perform, His love for me never changes.

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation (including failure and imperfection), will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”Romans 8:37-38 (my addition)

-Shelley Hitz