peace . love . joy

yesterday (140606)my family and i plus my toddler cousin, aren, went for an outing together..

we..went to the moon in 1969, not 1968 but the year after!!..mwahahhaha =D..(if u watched even stevens aired on the disney channel last time, u'd realise that this was actually the song sung by kristy carlson romano aka wren when she forgot to do her project..she got an F..i think..)..anyways..we went to the ZOO!!!!

ahhh..i can enter the university now in peace..and (hopefully) study as hard as i can to graduate well =] ..then i can make my dad and mum proud of the academic me..hahas..

wel..i've always wanted to go to the zoo since last yr..and ytd, my daddy finally helped me make my wish come true!!..THANKS AGAIN DADDY!!!!

we had a great time!!..the camera died at the beginning of the trip..but at least gOd blessed us with minds that remember..twas real fun..

i love the naked mole rats , Growie (the fairest of the young giraffes, born in June) , the lemurs , the spider monkeys , the arapaima (got a big shock when the thg came exploding outta the water so fast that all i saw was white exploded water and a big gaping mouth!! =O ) , the reticulated python , the king cobra , the cheetah , the leopard , the butterflies , the orchids , the horses , the elephants..MAN..i think i love evrythg there..except the evil-eyed cassowary and the pelican..i tel u..the evil-eyed cassowary was following me!! *shivers*

2 thgs were highlighted to me ytd while touring the zoo wih my family..

1. i tried to prevent myself frm walking straight into a spider's web by (hehe) walking crouched down behind my father / siblings when i felt "threatened" ..then when i was walking with my sister pass the 3 young giraffes, we walked into a spider web (ewwwww!!) ..my sister walked on, and proceeded to try to wipe the web off her face while i turned to my mum for help (cos i hate touching the sticky thg and risk touching the spider..u haf no idea how big the spiders at the zoo haave become)..the thg was strung right across the middle of my face!!..passing right below my nose..=p ..

it hit me that when we walk thru life, no matter how much we try (if and when we do) to dodge temptations and snares..basically trying to keep yourself afloat and focussed on walking thru life holding Jesus' hand..we're bound to get stuck in sm kind of web that hinders us..or causes us to become preoccupied..

so wad matters then, is how we react to it : do we
attempt to solve / resolve it ourselves
or
turn to someone / gOd for help?

this, i guess, depends on the magnitude of the problem and our own assessment of our strengths..it also depends on whether or not we can see that we have a problem on our hands in the first place!

the safest bet (that i can think of) is to keep your relationship with gOd as fresh and current as possible.

this means u keep gOd updated on your life (even tho he already knows evrythg including wad ure gonna say & wad's gonna happen)..the choices u make..stuff like that..also..this means that u listen attentively to wad gOd has to say..relationships dont thrive on one way streets..they flourish on 2 way highways!!..

when u do that, u tune your ears and heart and mind to your heavenly Father..He will tell u when u have a problem (thru scripture, thru daily bread, thru pple..)..

then the ball will be in your court : how u react is entirely up to u =]

remember : no problem is too great or too small for gOd

2. my father brought us to the zoo purely because we (i) wanted to go..wo jian chi yao qu..but he could have easily said No..it was too expensive..wad with the 6 of us plus 1 more kid??..not cheap, man..and i'm only talking about the tickets..wad about the snacks along the way??..the ice-cream..the lunch..

(that's also the reason why i whispered to my mum to go smwhere cheap for dinner..we ended up at sembawang eating thai food..yummy!!)

we'd most probably (and most definitely did) get home late..and gather to watch da chang jing til 23 00 ..then make a little fuss b4 we get on the dreamland express at different times..my daddy also had to rush off to sentosa the nxt day (today) for a camp..he's volunteering at FaithAcs (so proud of him =D)..and they'd have to make sure we get up early for piano tuition at boon lay..

point is (b4 u all get tired reading) my father went all out to let us have a nice day at the zoo even tho it may not be the best for him..he may be tired when he got up today..sore all over frm carrying stuff for us..driving us to and from piano class, rush down to sentosa for a 3d-2n camp..

he did all that for a simple yet beautiful reason : he loves us.

Matthew 7:9-12
(9) Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? (10) Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? (11) If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him! (12) So in everything, do to others what you would have them do for you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

Jesus basically summed up wad i was thinking of when we exited the zoo carpark..if my daddy can give me such a lovely gift, how much more can my heavenly Father give -- so so so SO SO MUCH MORE!!

i cant wait to get to heaven!!..

tho the road is long and tough..and there will definitely be trials and difficulties..but Jesus is there for me!! no problem is too great or too small for Him!! (AMEN)..

i dont realli like to talk abt the reward at the end of the race to those who finish victorious by gOd's grace and mercy, but it DOES exist..

the reward for ALL TRUE & FAITHFUL CHRISTIANS is heaven..wad more could we ask for than to be able to praise and worship and rely on gOd for all eternity??..that (to me) is heaven!!

when the going gets tough..when it gets real hard to keep the faith, we shld rely more on gOd our saviour, our rock, our shield, our high tower!! when u feel tired, drained out..and the temptation to throw in the towel is jus far too great for you, think of the reward -- to be able to spend an eternity at gOd's feet worshipping and praising Him!!

that reward far outweighs the suffering we have to go thru here on earth.

of that, i am certain!

yea..that's pretty much the stuff that was emphasized ytd when we were having fun in the zoo =D ..

luvvit.

anyways, i jus remembered..when i was walking past a big spider on its web at the entrance to the jaguar exhibit, i hummed a song that i sang so long ago..and i jus thought, wad a reminder!!

any guesses wad the song is??

hahas =D ..cant remember who wrote it..and i cant remember the exact lyrics tho..hehe..

here goes!!

walking with Jesus
walking everyday
walking all the way

walking with Jesus
walking with Jesus all day

walking in the sunshine
walking in the shadow
walking everday
walking all the way

walking with Jesus
walking with Jesus all day

gOd bLEsS

me