wedding rings

let me share with you a little secret. i hope it will encourage you, as it has encouraged me :)

(ring shots, by Bryan Jean Photography)

i would like to share with you what is engraved within our wedding rings.

Within the inside of the rings is the phrase "Mk 10:6-9", which is also short form for:

Mark 10:6-9

But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.

For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife;

And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.

What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

 

Before we bought the wedding rings, PP thought very hard about what was to be engraved inside the rings that we were (God-willing) to be wearing for the rest of our lives. thank God for showing us to this passage. while the rest of the verses consider the beauty and intimacy of marriage, verse 9 brings special comfort to me, especially when PP and i go through tense moments. "What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder."

by "man", it meant anyone, including ourselves. meaning, not even our selfishness, our pride, our expectations, our anger should separate us. Sometimes these things do get the better of us and overwhelm me.. causing me to doubt and lose hope. but this verse comforts and reminds me that no man, not even ourselves, can separate what God has put together :) :) thanks be to God for this wonderful assurance in His word!

the more i wear my wedding ring, the more i like it. i like what it symbolises. so couples, as you choose your wedding rings, choose one which you're not afraid to scratch, yet good enough for you to wear for the rest of your lives :)

“Much” Happenings in “March” - from the PP

“Much” is an apt word to describe the month of March for us, note that it is not “too much”. Why? Because our good Lord never gives us beyond what we can take and has given us all things in His perfect measure:)

It began with a blessed and meaningful family trip to Penang (my dad-in-law’s hometown), where the time spent with the family was indeed very wonderful. Not to mention the feasting that we had *saliva-drooling* Thank God for boy-boy who planned the whole trip (not so “boy-ish” after all, heh).

Then i went on exercise for two weeks, where much time was spent away from home. We both knew that it was be tough and demanding in more ways than one. A precious time of leaning on God and learning to love each other even circumstances are tough. God’s grace was sufficient.

Right in the middle of the exercise was our YAF Retreat at Changi Aloha Fairy Point Chalet. Apart from the threat of the mozzies, the messages and fellowship that we had were wonderful times.

Towards the end of the month, God’s appointed time came for us to remember His goodness and love through a very precious little boy: Zachy! It was his 2 years old birthday (or we like to call it “Remembrance Day”). His loving parents booked a place by the sea for families to gather and remember the goodness of God. Despite a little fall (as a result of pp’s clumsiness), I believe the boy and all those around him enjoyed the evening of remembrance!

What will April look like when we reflect in another month? Not for us to know fully at this moment, but one thing is for sure “If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?” Luke 12:28. We all need to have more faith each day – don’t we?

a thoughtful gift

should anyone ask, "Coffee, tea or me?", i think i may just incline towards tea that tad bit more! i do have a penchant for tea, but it does have its side effects on me :(  imagine my surprise when i found this on my table on valentine's day! it is indeed a very very lovely gift, especially for a tea-lover :)

p.s. name is blurred out to protect identity...

there was a huge variety of fabulous tea in this little white bag, together with the yummylicious marshmallow chocolate cookies from marks and spencers!  just taking a sniff of them is somewhat enough :) i was particularly intrigued by the delicate sugar snowflakes in the winter berry tea. sooooo sweet!

this is a wonderful gift idea for a girl-friend or a sister :) thank u so much R :) :) going to tuck into the goodies soon!

i've been incredibly blessed by the craftiness of the people around me, this year especially.  a hand-made frame, a hand-stitched phone cover, a beautiful set-up with tissue flowers and photos, an elaborate album detailing memories of our childhood. etc etc etc. so, so touched by all these gestures of love. recounting all these help me not take them for granted. from all these, im convinced of two things:

1) everyone can be crafty, really! i do hope to share the craftiness of others on this blog :)

2) i must strive harder to be even more of a blessing to the people around me.

010112

not too long ago, PP and i celebrated our 1st wedding anniversary. celebrated is an apt word indeed, for 1 year of marriage is not easy. though peppered with joy, blissfulness and a togetherness none other relationship can bring, we also have our tough times and without God in the picture, we won't be able to do it! so thank God, for one year of marriage :) to read my thoughts just before the wedding day, click here :)

as a little surprise (which didn't turn out to be one hahaha), PP and i took a 45 min ferry to Bintan, a beautiful little island. yes, it's rather commercialised and things are expensive, but i think it beats staying in Singapore. moreover, it is not too far away :) we left at 5 pm on the first day and returned on the next day at 5pm! it was a very short trip. was it wonderful? haha. we "quarreled" more than once. but these are memories and hence, i say it was wonderful :)

here are some peektures. it definitely was prettier the first time i went. so happened that day, it was drizzling plus the sand had splotches of oil which made walking on the sand rather unpleasant. we enjoyed ourselves nonetheless.

the highlight of this trip was the fireflies tour. it has always been a dream of mine to see fireflies but it is not possible in singapore because it just too bright. it was an eye-opening experience and i enjoyed myself very much. the sight of fireflies is not like fireworks, bright and dazzling. it's more subtle, with a sparkle here and there, altogether very intriguing though, especially as we consider God's beautiful way of making their ah-hem, backsides, glow! the guide told us that it is more ideal to come on a night when the moon is least bright, so the fireflies stand out more. i also enjoyed the experience of the night breeze blowing in my face as the boat speeds down the river.

no other photos, because it was too dark :) apparently, they offer tours in the day to the mangrove swamps as well :)

love the beach. love the sound of the waves. love the little creatures. love taking pictures at the beach.

here's a tip. choose a more affordable resort, den save the money for a grand meal :) we went over to the Treetops Restaurant at Banyan Tree and i was utterly captivated by the beautiful view! the Treetops is a restaurant tucked among treetops, on a platform overlooking en entire horizon (think 270 degrees) of waves, splashing at the cliffs. photos don't do justice to the place. you HAVE to go there if you have the budget for a good meal :)

the view before us

the view above us

the view to the left

the view behind us

the view of the pool

our food :) the bread basket came with 3 types of condiments, all excellent :)

can't remember what was in this but it was very refreshing!

the food was not extremely outstanding, but good enough. the view made up for everything.

after our lunch, 75% of our holiday was over. we went for a foot massage, and it was time to return home. too short, i'd say! :)

pancakes!

PP sometimes has to stay at work overnight and when those times come, i miss him especially much. hence this post, for this night i miss him and i'm reminded how he cooks pancakes for me :) thank u PP. they were the nicest pancakes i have ever tasted. YUMS. and im not even a pancake fan :)

what's better than pancakes? pancakes with ice cream! not just any ice cream, but my favourite earl grey ice cream from daily scoop :)

not forgetting a fruit platter...

 

so then.... what's better than pancakes with a scoop of ice cream? pancakes with TWO scoops of ice cream, of course :)

Don't they look absolutely lovely? my mouth is watering now just thinking about them. Here are some tips to cooking scrumptious pancakes:

1) add LOTS of butter. the more butter, the better :)

2) toppings are made up of anything you can think of: ice cream/maple syrup/fruits/gummie bears/peanut butter/nuts

3) if it looks nice, it probably tastes nice :)

4) as a result of reason 3, it is hence a good idea to buy a nice pan too!

here's a cute little pan from flutterscape :)

did you know... that Rilakkuma is actually the combination of "relax" and "bear"? no wonder i like this character so much hahahaha.

pirate-kuma

chaota-kuma

all the other kuma(s)

sweet memories like these make me smile. thank God for them. im learning not to take these things for granted.