Angel (and) Mortal

My music player's ON button had been stuck on this song for the past few days.

And hey, how i love the backdrop of its mtv...



I seldom listen to mandarin songs, but i have always appreciated Eason Chan's and MayDay's music, cos' much of them are not so 'mainstream'. (By the way, i know mandarin ok! =P) Just hear how poetic MayDay's lyrics sound in the chorus above.

Yesh back to the song. When i think of Jesus as that 'angel' in the song, my heart bathes in sweet sweet love, and there is an unerasable grin on my face. Aww...

BUT Jesus is definitely no angel. He is the Supremacy, the image of the invisible God, the Lord of all. He IS God. ...Yet He calls me friend..

And He has truly been my ever present help, the one i can always count and lean on... and definitely His love is my greatest security. These are what the song exactly talks about, and i felt only He can fill the blank of the greatest 'angel' in my life. =) Thank You Jesus.

Love is spelt as Time. (Part II)

(Remember i once wrote about one of my goals this year in Love is spelt as Time?)


I couldn't believe i took Neoprints again... after maybe five years?? Ha. Gosh.

Thanks dear Xianglin for reintroducing it to me. I had a fun time with you! But i would still prefer my Canon Powershot which costs cheaper for every photo too. Hee.

Hey dear, thanks for your time of sharing your heart last evening. It is so invaluable that you still trust me so much though we had not met for two years. It is so delightful to see how you have grown from a secondary school girl to a warm young lady.


I thank God that He spoke much peace and truth into your heart last night (Is it that my voice is boring so you sense peace talking with me?? Ha kidding =p). Remember, His blessings are for you to claim. And i bless you with faith to do that. =)

hugs,
Mirabel

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Last Saturday i took my Granny and Mummy for lunch at Soup Restaurant. I always marvel at this type of three-generational gatherings. The most fun thing is that, nobody believes that my grandma is my grandma, and my mum is my mum.

Cos' they look soooo much younger than their ages!

I claimed this youthful-looking legacy long ago! Hee. You can try guessing which are my grandma and mummy in this picture.

We could have a good time of shopping after lunch last Saturday, but i suddenly felt very unwell and we all retreated home. Shall have a 3-generational date again soon! =)

How to Learn to Love

(Be) Imitators of God!

Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with Him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn't love in order to get something from us but to give everything of Himself to us. Love like that.

Ephesians 5:1-2 (The Message Bible)

Chillout Night with my Life Coachees

Last night i met up with my LCs (life coachees), and i gave myself a challenge.

I wanted to capture the beauty of the smiles on every of their faces.

I think i did quite a good job. *winks*

Flash Slideshow

(Photos taken on Canon Powershot A710 IS)

To my wonderful LCs and best coach intern Belinda,

I was not surprised that, when i asked one word from each of you to describe how you feel about your upcoming stage of life - enrolling into polytechnics, taking the O'levels, graduating from polytechnic, most of you said 'fearful' and 'worried'. It is understandable.

Nonetheless i want to bless you with courage. Courage to brave up, and move forward, knowing that the future is there for you to behold. You may face successes and failures altogether, but remember, failures too are excellent opportunities for us to learn and grow out of, and into our potentials.

If you never give up, nobody can ever make you give up, on pursuing your dreams.

I am excited for each and every of you! =) Having walked through you gals for almost two years (Belinda, 4 years?), I have seen each of you grow, and i know that you gals really have what it takes to shine, more and more.

Let me say this again, thank you gals for allowing me into your lives! =) *huggies*

Mirabel

Offline/Online Rape

Call me outmoded, outdated or out of sync, but i was quite alarmed to see this article in The New Paper three weeks ago.

(Click on image to zoom in)

I was never an avid online gamer; I am not against playing online games, but games like this in the article are apparent to me that they serve many more cons than pros (if there is any in the first place).

As long as it is non-consensual, it is a crime.
Even though there is no one universally accepted international legal definition of rape, The International Criminal Court (Rome) Statute clearly included its definition of rape in its Elements of Crimes and no legal system in the world will argue that it is not an offence, and a serious one that is.

One can argue that online rape is different, and that 'it is just a game', and does not hurt anyone. Gosh how many real-life rapists call it 'just a game' too after they committed the crime.

Not just a game!
People, offline or online, rape HURTS PEOPLE. And the two main groups of people are:
1. Yourself (as the offender)
2. Others (the victims)

Ourselves?
Many of us have the tendency to try out things that we cannot do in real life, through other simpler or diminuted means. I played arcade racing games, because i do not want to risk my life to maneuver a vehicle fashionably on the Formula tracks.

Playing online rape games is acting on the inner urges to do the obviously wrong things either in the dark, or through a channel that appears to make the wrong things right (?!). People who play these are trying out things that they know they cannot do in real life, through a virtual conduit, without the real life laws (for now).

Well, let's not forget that prolonged exposure to something can condition our minds and real-life behaviour effectively. A 13-yr old boy leaped to his death from the 24th storey of a building while assuming a sky-flying pose, in honour of his heroes from an online computer game. He played a consistent 36-hour of Warcraft just before that.

So face it, putting aside the possibility of practising the virtual acts in real life, you are going to have many psychological and mental images and notions that you may not want and cannot erase, including the way you handle friendship with the opposite gender.

Others
I do not need to go into detail the longstanding traumas a rape victim goes through after the ordeal.

I will not know too. But an incident when i was in Primary 4 or 5 gave me a tiny taste of a near violation.

I was at my mother's workplace and strolled out by myself for a while. A group of slightly older boys kept watching me, then followed me, and suddenly one of them pushed me against the wall and tried to kiss me on the face.

The world seemed to whizz past me, and my screams were silent within me. I only remembered myself struggling, and somehow breaking free miraculously and running away as fast as i could. And i felt... 'dirty', and was dazed for the rest of the day.


I was not molested or raped. But the mental picture of the 10-second scene sporadically yelled in my mind for years.

I am thankful that Jesus has now set me free from that little shadow in my life. That is why i dare to share it with you here without shame. My bigger wish is that you will understand that the psychological effects of pain and loss of dignity even online rape can inflict on someone else. Remember, mental images can invoke deep emotions.

Stop glorifying the wrong thing, the criminal act. Make your stand, young people, that you will not do the wrong things especially in secret, and cause pain to yourselves and others unknowingly.

My 'Before and After'

Some of you in my church saw me holding these big cards on stage at Max Pavilion last Saturday Night.

For the finale worship of our annual International G12 Conference, the Youthnet worship team added the segment 'Flashcard Testimonies - Testaments of Christ's Faithfulness' into its song 'How Great is our God'. I was one of the 'flashers', and these flip cards represent my 'Before' and 'After'! (Ha, sounds like those slimming centres' ads)

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Before i knew Christ - Fighting for man's approval

- Was trying hard to please almost everyone and meet their expectations
- If people do not think well of me/ i do not meet what they expect of me, i would feel super lousy and think of myself as a failure.
- One main factor: Since i was 16, my dad was overseas for work most of the time. The distance between me and my dad grew, and i began to doubt his love and approval of me. I found myself trying to do many things to win his approval so as to make myself feel worthy.

After i knew Christ - Wholly Accepted, Deeply Loved, Completely Assured in Christ!

+ Walking with Jesus along time, I began to know Him more, and realised His love for me really does not change at any time, even when i fail Him!
+ He is the Greatest Lover in the whole world!
+ With such assuring love, i grew more and more secure in Christ about myself, and came to know that my self-worth does not have to be dependent on the varying opinions and vast expectations of so many people. There is no way to please everyone!
+ Outcome of this: I began to pursue my dreams and work on the things of my heart with amazing fervor, confidence and passion!

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It was an unexpectedly awesome (and also ultimately worrying) experience standing on stage for me, even for that few seconds... Gosh, all the big screens had just me! Bearing my life before the nations, i felt super bare for a moment.

Then i heard the cheers, and Ps Eugene even got the 7000-crowd to pray for all the 'flashers'. Indeed when we give God all the honour, He honours us back beyond our imagination.

What was even more heartwarming were the encouragements i had gotten from many of you in the family. People came to tell me...

"I see you, and i exclaimed (with frantic hands).... MI LAA BELLLL!" (my dear Japanese sis, Eri)

"...I was very surprised, and then encouraged when i saw you on stage, because i recognised what Jesus has done for you in your life, and i know He has many more things for you."

"I did (cheer for you)! I was the loudest in my sector!"

"I cheered for you k! Did you hear my voice?"

"Sis, i want to affirm you that you looked great on stage!"...

Even the handful of "I saw you!" was so touching, knowing that i have a big family behind me who share the same heart and love of Christ, and who cheered for Jesus who transformed my life. =)

3 Cheers for Jesus!

Reunion with Saitama Shalom family

I received an email from Japan last Wednesday. These words exclaimed to me as i opened it:


Milabel!

I am coming to Shingapore today!

I want to see you!


~Eri


And yeah on Friday, Eri and i were reunited at the G12 Conference!

Not forgetting dear Nozomi and her parents Ps Matsumura and Ps Chizuko. Us ladies hugged each other a dozen times over the past three days. It felt really like family.



We grabbed time to have dinner with this precious family from Saitama Shalom Church last night. Ps Matsumura and Ps Chizuko met us all at Plaza Singapore, but decided to go back earlier to rest, leaving the young ones for the fun.

Below is the scene before they bid farewell to us:

Over the expensively sumptuous dinner at Lao Beijing, we celebrated Hendra's (actual day) and Nozomi's (following week) birthdays. =)

They flew back early this morning, but I am sure we would be meeting again very soon! =)

I want to know Your heart more, God, during this G12 Conference!

A website worth visiting

Nope, i did not set up this website. Nope i am not asking you to visit it just cos' of my name. =)

The Mirabel Foundation established in St. Kilda, Victoria, Australia, seeks to care and lend a hand to children whose parents are under drug abuse. Their intent focus on a target group has not restricted their efforts in restoring many to their potentials. All because Jane Rowe, Mirabel's founder, saw a need and addressed it.

Now i am itching to pop down to St Kilda to visit Mirabel Foundation (and introduce myself as Mirabel!). Ha. I think i am starting to get inspired by Jane Rowe. Shall try to get my hands on her bibliography.

(Click on the image above to go to Mirabel Foundation's website)

A friend who ding-dongs around

"Ding dong bell ah, you are not coming right?"

"No, i am rushing down from rehearsal now!"

Gosh, i have not heard Ernest (guy in tee) call me 'Ding dong bell' for so long. One of the most determined and enthusiastic Architecture mates in my NUS years, he never failed to make us roll on the floor through his loud choking laughters that could transcend through the entire level of our studios, and the way he pronounced some words. Ernest, i could never forget how you pronounced Chijmes as 'Chiiiaammms'. Haha. But hey you succeeded saying it correctly in the end.

That's how persevering Ernest is. =)

He's now working in the firm of one of my favourite architects Steven Holl in New York. Hey, God bless you Ernest with journey mercy when you travel back to the States. =)

World Peace. World Joy. World Unity.

"Put your flippers in the air!"
I still remember the scenes in the movie 'Happy Feet' where thousands or tens of thousands of penguins dance, leap and sing in such an alluring chorus over the snow, and when the camera zooms out to capture the entire landscape, the sight is breathtaking.

(I still chuckle as i recall Bittany Murphy (who voiced the diva penguin Gloria) exclaim 'Put your flippers in the air!' because it reminded me how Danzel's dance elektro 'Put your hands up in the air' was extremely irritating in the middle of the night for the bunch of us architectural interns toiling overnight (imagine the lyrics blasting 'put your hands up in the air' ten over times, nonstop like a chant, when you can't even lift your fingers off the keyboard and mouse).)

A glimpse of the future
Today as i continued reading Bruce Wilkinson's 'Beyond Jabez', the scene in Relevations 7:9-10 in the Bible played before me a even bigger picture of awesome unity and joy:

After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one
could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb (Jesus). They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!"

Can you imagine the glorious intensity and volume of the voices and echoes?

That is a picture of the ultimate gathering in heaven, in eternity, after Jesus returns. 'God has shown us how our story ends - with countless people from every nation on earth crying out joyfully to God' (quoted from Bruce Wilkinson).

That is a picture of what many people pray for - world unity. A task so big that only God can do, and has actually already promised in the Bible to come in the near future.

Now, the question is, are you sure if you will be part of it when it comes?

I am.

Love is spelt as Time.

One of my goals this year is to meet up one-on-one often with my sisters, daughters and other gals close to my heart, at least one per week, on those weeks when i am less tied down. I call them 'dates' and my greatest reason for meeting them is to catch up on their lives, and to tell them i am more than willing to fork out that time to hear because i love them. I believe Love is very much spelt as Time too.

I think God has been very gracious, that not only do i get to hear from each of the precious ones, i get a chance to pray to bless or minister to many of them on these dates. And Christian or not, they were all willing enough to open up and confide in me and then receive wisdom and blessing from my beloved Jesus.

I pray and believe that my every 'walk across the room' (in Ps Bill Hybels' sense) redirected each of their forevers even for an inch. I pray that every word i say to them will mean eternal significance in their lives.

Above is a picture of my recent sushi date with my ex-life coachee (hey wait, isn't life coaching supposed to be for life?). Dear Amy, thanks again for trusting me and letting me into your life. You have a really tender heart which you do not dare to show. But i saw it. You have a wonderful smile which you try to hide. But let me reinforce again that you look really nice when you smile. =)

To the rest of you who met me over these two months:
You thanked me so much. But may i say all of you have encouraged me too when you dared to trust me, open up to me, and even affirm Jesus' presence in me. =)

What spooked this monkey out?

Its own reflection.

* * *


I hope you had a good laugh at this short 15-sec clip. But i also suspect some of you may be feeling a slight ache in the heart now. Because you saw yourself in the video.

I felt the ache. A tweeny weeny bit.

Nope, i don't jump at my mirror reflection (usually i smile in admiration, haha just kidding). This video reminded me of myself when i was 17 and probably 21, when i did not want to look at myself in the mirror.

Why? Due to hormonal changes in my body, i had rather serious acne breakouts on my face for prolonged periods of time. Boooo. They intensified my emotional up-and-downs, and going through life changes such as my dad's moving overseas for his businesses and bgr breakup made me feel even more ugly and bleak.

Cannot imagine how i looked? Let me grant you a sneak.

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Haha.

Oops i forgot to draw on the frown on the face. Needless to say, i felt crushed. Sincerely concerned remarks like 'Why your face like that?' were like a thousand arrows shooting at my heart. Inside it cried 'I also don't want it to be like that!'.

i got to know the Lord when i was 20. But nope, He did not perform magic on my face. Jesus works in ways which He knows will transform not just our external, but most importantly, the inside. If He just cleared my face miraculously overnight, i could have just walked away from Him in a short while forgetting about His goodness (come on, humans can be very ungrateful or in a nicer way, forgetful) without truly experiencing Jesus for who He is. Or worse, i could have then treated Him as Genie-in-a-bottle. I would have remained a selfish and self-centered person.

Once i saw this verse in the Bible, and it shot straight into my heart.
"A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit." (Proverbs 15:13)

Ouch. It revolutionised my thoughts - i felt so crushed in the face and soul cos' i had allowed man's standards and opinions seep deep into me and cause pain. Definitely i could not avoid feeling hurt, but i could have embraced deeper a greater Truth in this 'predicament'. The truth that God has made me wonderfully and fearfully (Psalm 139:14), and when God looks at me, He is always delighted and always loves, no matter how i look!

And guess what, the verse offered me the best antidote - a happy heart!

God brought me to truly delight in Him, His love and character. For the first time i experienced divine joy, and it has never stopped flowing through me since then. =) And I think my journey with Christ over the years has let me become, bit by bit, more like Him. Thank You Lord.

This is what i mean by being transformed inside out! *winks*

My beautiful sisters and me now =)
(Click to view my face bigger if you dare. Haha)

* * *
+ Is there anything you have been asking God for for very long? Why not let Jesus transform you from the inside out first.

+ Is there a deeper and greater Truth you should be embracing today?

We will dance

On thursday my morning began heavy. And as i read about some stuff that was bothering one of my daughters, i thought my heart sank a little more.

Just then i heard this in my mind "The Lord knows that i'm not someone who gives up easily".

i was only slightly comforted. Then this song came on in my music playlist...



and i had a beautiful encounter with Jesus, right in my office.

I was still sitting on my chair, but as the music swayed on, i saw myself dancing... with Jesus right before me. As the lyrics flowed and as we danced, i felt so close to Jesus and secure in His love for me like never before. As i rested in the moment, the heaviness in my heart divinely fell away, and joy welled up so instantly in me, together with grins and tears of delight so abundantly at a time when i thought i could not smile at all.

No person has ever made me feel this way before.

And i told my Greatest Lover, "Yes, dance with me eternally. Only You can make me feel so joyful and secure in Love when i dance with You.

And yes, now i tell You again Lord, i am not someone who gives up easily. I will not give up trusting You in all situations!" =)


[lyrics of the song We Will Dance by Steven Curtis Chapman]