the perfect gift

dear readers,

i'm not sure who reads my blog, but im thankful for this outlet where i can share about God's goodness to me.

anyway, Christmas is coming! are you excited? many will probably be partying, enjoying the festivities, and gift-giving! aah. i confess, I LOVE GIFTS. i love receiving gifts, heh. when PP and i were still young (think awkward 15-16 year old teenagers), we would meet very briefly, in church, every year, to pass each other a Christmas gift :)

don't you think there's something special about a gift?

1. it comes free!

2. you can tell at one glance if the person knows you well by buying you a meaningful gift you will use!

3. a gift makes you feel loved. ♥

today, i would like to share with you about a gift that the God of this world has given. yes. the almighty Creator, Sustainer of this earth and Lord of this world has a gift for puny men like us. Can you comprehend? But first of all, can you accept that there is a God of this world? Just look at His creation.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3: 16

God gave this gift out of love. By right, we as men are in no way on the same level as God. yes, sometimes we think we are the gods of our life.... but when you sit down and seriously think about it, how many things are really within our control? how many times are we been tossed up and down, in our circumstances, emotions, relationships? this world is upside down.

"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" Romans 3: 23

We have sinned against God, whether intentional or not. Our wrongdoings, the things we regret doing, will one day be brought up again as judgment against us. It's fair, isn't it? we do what we deem right, and we hold accountability for our actions. despite this knowledge, we still sin against our conscience and cling onto selfishness, lies, pride, anger. the list of our sins is endless. and we ought to be punished for these sins we commit. God saw our need, He loved us, and He sent His Son. It is a perfect plan! Only the son of God, can be a perfect substitute for the sins of man.

Dear friends,

God presents us with 2 options. "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6: 23. What do you choose? This gift that God presents to us is free, something we need, and definitely, out of the infinite love of God. Will you accept it? Because if you do not accept a gift, you cannot count it as yours. And you can be sure that this gift is beyond any other gift on this earth, for it allows us to be counted as God's children, to be under His care, and no matter what happens, God's love and presence transcends all the miseries of this life.

How to accept it, then? John 3: 16 (above) has already stated that whosoever believeth in him and puts their faith in Christ Jesus, should not perish, but have everlasting life. Will you accept this gift?

I would like to warmly invite you to come to my church to find out more...

Christmas Praise cum Baptismal Service
“Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne”
24 Dec, Sat, 5 pm
Speaker: Rev Dennis Kwok

Christmas Sunday Service
“Joy to the World”
25 Dec, 2 pm
Speaker: Pr Joshua Yong

Come! You'll be blessed.

great ocean road part 2

thank God that in spite of the rain, we could still catch a glimpse of God's creation and the well-known and all-famous rock formations at Great Ocean Road :) honestly, i really would wonder what the big deal all these are, if i did not know the Designer and Creator behind all these. i'm also glad to have studied abit of geography, so i could know about how weathering might have played a part. of course, many will attribute the gigantic rock movements and drastic changes to the millions of years the earth has undergone. well, let me tell you, it's the work of God, through a flood. read it in the Bible: Genesis chapter 6, and chapter 7.

Do you believe it? i cannot help but believe. i'm convicted of my belief that there is a Creator of this world, everywhere i look, no matter where i turn. look at the clouds! the beautiful parchment on which God painted with clouds. look at the sea! the vastness and depth that no man can grasp. indeed, "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. " Psa 19: 1

these are the last of the 12 apostles...

our view on a sunnier day... :)

love the sound of waves, especially as they crash against the solid rocks. No wonder there are so many beautiful hymns with depiction of rocks. For example, "He hideth my Soul in the cleft of the rock", "Rock of Ages", A Shelter in a Time of Storm", "It is Well with my Soul", the list goes on....

The Arch

The Grotto

Rocks and a Lonely Boatman

scrapbooking adventures

i'm not an experienced scrapbooker, but i must admit that i have succumbed many times when i walk into scrapbook shops. oh, the possibilities! i have lost count of how often i wished the paper were fabric.

my weak spot is definitely craft punchers. so far, i have accumulated (blame the sales lah) a fair collection of punchers, mostly Martha Stewart. I'm happy to share my collection with you and to show you the possibilities :) anyone can do something crafty! if you get the right tools and use them in the right ways. it's all about experimentation ;) if you are a friend and you would like to borrow these, i'll be happy to oblige as well :) make my investment even more worthwhile please, heehee.

meet my number one cutter :)

my first and most favourite cutter that is worthy of mention is the rounded corner cutter. looks simple and unassuming, but it's definitely a worthy buy. cutting the corners of the photo or card can do wonders and "up it one level" immediately! that is why PP and i invested in a few (i.e. three) to cut the corners of our 1000 wedding cards (here's a peek of what it looks like). thank God for joyful and loving hands of those who helped us! there was no brand on the cutter, but PP and i got ours from Popular Bookstore and Art Friend. p.s. the large size makes nice, wider, rounder corners :)

next, you can probably tell i really like birds :)

these are my two investments, which i find very useful in embellishing cards. the second cutter is really nifty! the sides can be opened up, with markings that you can use as reference. So, if you use it to cut the border of the card, you can follow the markings so the pattern runs on continuously :) here are some cards that i've done up, using the above-mentioned.

my sister taught me a simple technique called distressing, easily achieved with a stamp-pad (i used a brown ink-pad) and a sponge! super easy! simply take a sponge, dab it on the ink-pad, and go over the edges. immediately, an awesome vintage effect is created, putting all the different elements together very nicely :)

another cutter that i use very very often is my Martha Stewart Lace Scalloped Heart Punch.

This has served me very well! simply because i do not only use it for scrapbooking, but also for packaging as well :)

lastly, two punchers that i find very useful for making bases are my EK Success Scallop Circle Punch and Paper Shapers 2.75" Extra Large Nesting Punch.

The latter is really really useful in making very pretty bunting :)

it can be used for packaging as well :)

hope my experiments have inspired you somewhat :) thank God for opportunities to work on this like these :)

great ocean road part 1

aah, time to continue to my posts on australia! it's been a while since i last posted anything on it :/

anyway, PP and i spent a few days driving Great Ocean Road. the drive was long so truly thank God for safety! shortly after we left GOR, a portion of it was closed due to landslides and floods.

I must say i was pleasantly surprised around the way, with the beautiful sights and sounds. not just of nature, but of the ambience. love travelling and soaking up the feel of the particular city/town. although the weather was gloomy and rainy, but it was an experience not to forget!

Aussies are incredible! it was soooo cold, with absolute strong winds, i was wearing two layers of warm kit, and still shivering. yet,  the Aussies were happily surfing amidst the freezing weather! 真是好佩服 ：）

see the white specks? they were pretty parrots (i think) taking shelter from the rain :) we visited the city centres at various stops....saw interesting eateries..

and quirky shops! i believe these were at Lorne...

cows!

and very, very adorable surfer wannabes :)

 

 

♥