the life of a branch

today, while driving in the car, i was listening to an audio cd of andrew murray's devotional, Absolute Surrender. the soft copy of this devotional can be found here. i was most struck by the last chapter (page 50).

"I will take my text from the parable of the Vine and the Branches, in John 15:5: “I am the vine, ye are the branches.” Especially these words: “Ye are the branches.” What a simple thing it is to be a branch, the branch of a tree, or the branch of a vine! The branch grows out of the vine, or out of the tree, and there it lives and grows, and in due time, bears fruit. It has no responsibility except just to receive from the root and stem sap and nourishment. And if we only by the Holy Spirit knew our relationship to Jesus Christ, our work would be changed into the brightest and most heavenly thing upon earth. "

the irony of it all! i was just lamenting to myself how tough life can be, with soooo many demands :( sometimes we forget the blessedness of having a God to depend on. sometimes, though we depend on Him a little, we want to manage some aspects ourselves. life as a branch involves:

1) absolute dependence

2) deep restfulness

3) much fruitfulness

4) close communion

5) absolute surrender

if we would live this life as a branch whole-heartedly, indeed, how simple life would be!

valentine's week of bazaar, 2012

as some may know, my sister and i decided to take up a bazaar during the valentine's day week. well, after some "complications", although we planned for only 2 days, we ended up with 4 days of bazaar! 13th and 14th of feb AND 16th and 17th of feb.

being the over-ambitious me, i thought it would be a piece of cake. here's my self-rationalization:"after all, it's not the first time you're doing a bazaar...just sell what you have... don't set your expectations too high and just enjoy the process...." sigh. i always end up proving myself wrong.

perhaps it's good to walk you through the phases that one undergoes in the preparation of a bazaar.

Phase 1: Brimming with confidence. It's just a bazaar. What's the big deal?

Phase 2: Oooh... I'm starting to get excited. Better start preparing...

Phase 3: Oooh, I'm excited. Why am I not preparing?

Phase 4: I MUST PREPARE NOW!!!

Phase 5: (probably 2 days before the bazaar) preparing like mad and overcome with doubts, fears, exhaustion and grouchiness :/ constantly telling myself, " i must be crazy i must be crazy...why am i doing this to myself?!"

i must say that PP has bore the brunt of my emotional instability in Phase 5... where i bombard him with questions/statements like, "I'm sure no one is buying this. It sucks. Why are you not helping me?"

sigh. thank YOU so much PP. you are definitely my better half when you remind me of God's goodness and assure me to just commit it all to God. and indeed, God's goodness was revealed to me through the bazaar. Also, a big THANK YOU to the lovely customers and people i have met. When you look at fitw products and smile, i feel warm in the heart because that means that something in it has "spoken to you".

here's a glimpse of Phase 6:

phase 7: now that i am in phase 7, looking back and reflecting, i can only say that God is good, as He has always been. How He gives me beyond what i deserve! All canvas products have been adopted by their special owner and i hope you are liking them and they continue to bring smiles to your, and others', faces :)

there have been many enquiries of whether i sell online or not. perhaps it's good that i clarify here. i prefer not to take custom orders and my online shop: www.fitw.bigcartel.com is largely a portal for me to sell what is left-over from bazaars. hence, it is seldom updated. i prefer selling my products in bazaars because i get to put a face to the owner and interact with my customers :) moreover, as i would like to keep prices low and affordable for many, selling my products online will involve too much logistics and effort, which i don't wish to transfer to my prices. perhaps, just perhaps, i would explore focusing on the online avenue one day and that would mean that fitw has taken a new shift in focus ;)

Lord, show me thy will...

time flies, doesn't it?

february is over! what a month. seriously, what a month. i had a bazaar, celebrated my birthday (month-long celebration hahaha!) and scooted over to penang at the end of it all. time flies so quickly! i have been meaning to blog every month so i can share the calendar pictures, but before i knew it, february is over and gone forever. thank God, however, that though time flies, His mercies are new every morning!

It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. Lamentations 3: 22-23

i am eager to share how the year has been thus far. however, i am also apprehensive. what do i share and what do i not? i do not want to flaunt and gloat :/ may this blog continue to be a blessing and bring glory to God's name.

on another note, i have been busy on pinterest, in the, ah-hem forgive the pun, interest of my new house. God-willing, it will be ready before the year ends. it seems like a daunting project to embark on, but PP and i are definitely excited :) check out my pins if you are interested!

sneak peek

i've been really busy but here's a little sneak peek of round 2 of the NUS bazaar on 16th and 17th feb :)

thank God for His wonderful provision :)

beautiful day

it's a beautiful day meeting beautiful people. and no, the least of the reasons is because it's valentine's day. yesterday and today, my sister and i, together with many many other loving and helping hands (e.g. mum, mum-in law, lisa etc..) set up a bazaar at NUS, Central Forum. the concept (thought of by the sister) was simple, to provide materials and print out a photo for those who were keen to create something hand-made for someone they loved.

i must say that when i arrived yesterday, the mood was sobering and i started to get rather worried. what if no one took to the idea? i was worried that my sister's investment of time and effort would have amounted to nothing.

yet, after day 2, i look back with much happiness, and many lessons learnt, with many sweet people who touched me in their own little way.

one quiet couple came by... and worked on the project together. both were clearly dedicated and they put in lots of effort in the details. i believe they put in as much effort in their relationship :) i wanted so much to ask them for a picture, but i was shy :p

a few sweet guys came by... some uncertain of what to do, some clearly artistic. one even skipped his class so he could work on the frame!

all had something common. they wanted to make their girlfriends smile :)

a girl sat down and came up with a beautiful frame for her mother. just because.

and another one sat down, did up a masterpiece for her family, and left thanking us, because she enjoyed herself very much. such snippets of human touch and interaction remind me of why i do this in the first place! that's why i say it's been a beautiful day :)

of course, i also met vera, and vera's friends, who were beautiful people too! i loved your stall set-up :) wish i caught a picture of it!

on another note, we'll be back at NUS again, this time selling more hand-made wares. think pouches, pencil cases, bags, necklaces and postcards. support us if u can :)