OXYMORON

The title of this blog is in fact the exact opposite of how I live my life.

In fact I want perfection, I strive to acquire perfection the exact way the world does.

I want status- the new car, new skills, the PhD, the perfect family, the white-gated house, the dog.
I want to be beautiful- the best skin care, facials, a hair stylist, to be skinny.
I want possessions- the new laptop, camera , phone, bags, clothes.
I want popularity - the friends, the 'bffs', the social crowd.

But in fact, the title of my blog isn't exactly accurate.

The Bible does talk about aiming for perfection.


Paul describes it in his letter to the Corinthians.

"Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. 2 Cor 13:11"

The equation seems right. God want me to aim for perfection = I want perfection.

Unfortunately, being a sinful human being, the perfection I want isn't what God wants us to strive for.

I strive to be perfect by obeying social, cultural and government laws.

The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God. Heb 7:18

If we cannot have perfection through obeying the law, what better hope is there?

Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; ²⁴but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. ²⁵Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
²⁶Such a high priest meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. ²⁷Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. ²⁸For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever. Heb 7:23-29

And thus, because we have a perfect high priest who offered Himself for us, we will one day truly attain perfection.

And to end this serious post, is a picture of me with chocolate frappe in an Alice cup! Ahhh happy days.

2010 I LOOK AHEAD

It's the year of the tiger in the Chinese zodiac calender. That means I ( and everybody else born in 1986) have lived through 2 cycles
It simply means I turn 24 this year. I am no longer in my early twenties =((((((((.

2010 resolutions:

1. Read at least 2 Christian books this year ( this includes finally getting to Knowing God).
2. Spend more time reading the old testament books.
3. Exercise more.
4. Take more pictures!
5. Eat better (chants to self "fruit and vegetables, fruit and vegetables")
6. Brush up on my rusty piano skills.
7. Go to the beach at least once ( i can't believe I didn't go to the beach even once last year, I live in Newcastle, the place of gorgeous beaches).
8. Make praying and reading the Bible with Brendan a weekly/fortnight routine.
9. Serve in church.
10. Get my Australian drivers license.

2010, here I come.

GOODBYE MALAYSIA

Heading back to Newcastle tomorrow.
It's been a good and relaxing trip back home of just spending time with family, meeting up with friends, long catch up conversations, shopping and of course stuffing myself with food.
Too bad I didn't take very many pictures this time. All the pictures I have are those that people have uploaded on Facebook. Picture credits to all of you!

Alicia Yap

With my awesome stuffed portabello burger and coleslaw filled tomato.
Yummy parfait and milk pudding
Yes, I really like dessert. Why doesn't Australia have the traditional healthy creams?

My brother and I love each other. =p


Mommy and I on the bus
Christinanana!
Bruce and Elene becoming Brucelene
The Tawau Gang. With the bff and the little brothers.
With the best friend!
My first ever band. =)

Being a tourist with Kanae. =)
FOCUS in Malaysia Lake Gardens
FOCUS in Malacca! =)

Was good meeting up briefly with the AUSMAT bunch; Colin , David, Carissa, Kit.
And great catching up with Kit Kit, the kuella, Sue Lin and Elwyn ,Victor, Tim and of course the bff (haha).
I had lots of fun with FOCUS people at home ( I shall see you guys in Newie) as well as Kanae and Jun Shoong.
It was good seeing people at CHC and I wonder if our friendship could possible extend beyond the church.

All in all, I can't wait for the next trip home!
But for now, back to Newie!!

SUMMING UP

Emily's Facebook status update sums up everything I've been thinking about:

Our greatest fear as individuals and as a church should not be of failure but of succeeding at things in life that don't really matter.

How very true.

2009 A YEAR IN REVIEW

2009

1. I graduated and moved from occupation 'student' to occupation 'unemployed'.


2. I worked as a waitress for 1 month.
3. I got rejected from jobs in multiple hospitals/private industries.
4. I found a job in research.
5. I became an Accredited Professional Dietitian (albeit a provisional one).
6. I stayed at Newcastle.
7. I stayed at Unichurch Newcastle.
8. I started listening to Pr. Mark Driscoll from Mars Hill Church.
9. I was part of an ESL ( English as second language) group in FOCUS.
10. I moved off campus to Lambton.
11. I spoke to my colleagues about Jesus Christ.
12. I moved back in with Jun Shi!

13. I missed the late night conversations with Emmerie.
14. Brendan and I together for two years.

15. I decided to do my PhD and stay in Newcastle for another 4 years.
16. I didn't exercise as much.
17. I found out the Rayman was so much fun (thanks to Joyce + Jeram, why don't we have pictures together Joyce and Jeram???)

18. I spent Christmas with my oldest friend. =)


19. I bought my own plane tickets home.
20. Hung out with FOCUS people.

With Yueen Mun !

Miss Petrina

21. Celebrate birthdays with Jesselyn HU HU HU and Branda. =)

22. I turned 23

Obligatory 2010 post.

The trip back home this time round has been extremely enjoyable.
Great food, familiar faces, family, using my rusty Bahasa Malaysia, lots of shopping and having home cooked meals.

Going back to City Harvest Church for their Christmas play felt....for lack of a better word, awkward.

I wonder if I'll ever to be able to face my issues straight on, or if I'll dodge problems forever.
Skirting around issues has always been my forte. Play the blame game. Ignore it.
It's like hiding an elephant under a towel.
Blatantly obvious, but not discussed.

Dear Heavenly Father, I pray for 2010 to be a year of resolution, reconciliation and restoration.
No plan of action at the moment, but I'll see what the journey this year will be like.

Happy 2010.