*my mum is the one in the pink and white striped shirt standing in front of my dad who stands just beneath me...please click on photo to enlarge*

I had a small Christmas and New Year gathering on the 28th of December 2007. It was also a surprise birthday party for my mum.It was populated by a few friends,most of the note of love cast and of course mum and dad who were visiting me from sarawak.

It was to a mum who loves me so much...who gave me birthdays when i was young....who went to school during break time and waited by the school gate gate to pass me a lunch box that i have forgotten...who smiled when I achieved any small success...who teared when she had to fight me when my whims as a child I wanted things that may not be good for me...it was also for a mum who bought me the toys i wanted...

My mum and I have our fair share of disagreements...but which child had never quarreled with a parent? In everything I know she just wanted the best for me, her son...even though sometimes generation gap meant

I didn't know how I could thank her...so I thought I gave her a small party...as the cake came out...and a confetti cannon shot....she nearly teared...in joy. so did I.

My mum was esthatic and said give her time to make a wish..."close to retirement meant even my wishing is slow"...she tried to joke...

I m glad you are happy mum...Happy Birthday.

To you all Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!

Thanks to evelyn who helped with the food marination,eleanor with shopping,dennis with the fire and everyone who came and added merriment....

A Birthday for Mum

"Benazir Bhutto assasinated...so What??"
That's what I would have said as an arrogant ignorant teen...

I am often not a political person but of late I have been following CNN on the trials and tribulation of Pakistan and the upcoming election and understand a little bit better about how much we all fight and how much peace is a blessing...



I have never had to fight for peace...and hence I never treasured the peace that I have...I have never prayed for peace on my own accord truthfully with the voice of my little heart...but rather made the prayer as it was asked by my priest in church...Most times, I pray selfishly for only myself, family, close friends...most times I prayed for my troubles which is nothing more than a fickle arguement with a girlfriend or money that i need to buy a new cool gimmick...maybe it's time I treasured peace and should pray for it...maybe it's time for me to stop taking peace for granted...and do that little bit to help...

Benazir Bhutto was fiercely fighting for democracy and peace for her homeland Pakistan.



Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was asked to be with the Lord.

Does the Lord care for peace...does he care for us? Maybe he doesn't care because we don't even care...other than for our selfish self...so am I selfish myself?

To you all, yes...I am selfish and I am sorry...


Have I ever treasure our peace in Malaysia, Have I ever found myself having or willing to die for a better world for? Have I ever prayed when we needed nothing from God but when something for a fellow man. Sometimes...well very seldom...no

It's time to pray for peace.Pray for our fellow sister Benazir Bhutto.Please offer a moment of silence and a prayer for her, her country and all mankind... God is listening and he's waiting for us to ask.Peace to you my brothers...my friends

Emmanuel

credits for all photos REUTERS sourced from yahoo news.

Benazir Bhutto. Let us pray

do light a candle for yourself...god loves you

I wanted to write this blog mocking how the church swells up everytime christmas comes along.How the roads leading to churches gets jammed up and how once a year christians suddenly show up in amazing number for church.I also want to write about how it's an irony that as I turn on my radio on christmas eve, I don't get a traditional christmas carol but rather a rap song with a few words of christmas and a few words of baby. I wanted to write about how a large number people are aiming to celebrate christmas by getting drunk and showered by champange rather than to be anyway close to the church.but i won't because I feel that writing all that will be very pretentious for someone who is too in many ways a sinner. But I do also feel really happy and I rather share that than negate in this yultite season of goodwill.

Christmas is a christian celebration of God keeping his promise to send us salvation.It's is this day that God is made man. However, to most of us sadly it's now christmas tree and santa, or if you're older...it time to skip from party to party.I am not against celebration, if fact I want to tell you about how we forgot about the celebration...celebrating christmas...celebrating the birth of the son of God.

I was all alone on christmas eve. Originally I wanted to follow my family who's making a trip down Singapore but I ended up deciding to stay back to clear my workload instead. But it's okay, I am strangely very happy. Aside from talking to my long distance girlfriend on skype, I hardly feel alone.I am singing songs more jubilantly than before and at 10pm, I made my way to st.francis xavier church for midnite service.

There is a pre-mass session where everyone was singing together. From Gloria to It came upon a midnite clear. The crowd's joined voices that resounded in a united choral already moved me to tears. Of happiness. Honestly, not to be corny...I was trying to tell myself...to stop myself...why am I crying...am I over dramatising the situation for myself? Feeling holiness by evoking it within with grand ideas of how we're in church? Well, I am not...I don't have to.Merely being in the presence of a big group of people who have come togethr to celebrate the coming of christ alone is a feeling that is undescribable. I felt so happy...and I think I am not the only one.
Turning around, I see other people also happy to the brink of tears.

It's christmas...I have a mum and a dad who's healthy, a beautiful girlfriend zhiling whom I love alot, friends who care, a job that I enjoy so much, enough to eat and be happy...God, thank you for your gifts to me...how good you have been to me...a sinner like me...thank you Lord...

That's all I want to say...

God love you too...Emmanuel. It means 'God with Us'. Merry Christmas Everyone. May God's Blessing be Upon You All.

Merry Christmas Everyone....Remember...Emmanuel! :)

There is always a bridge...Light to Dark, Past to Future and Love to Hate.

Bridge