Favor and persecution

Recently I was thinking about the favor of God on my life since young, even before I became a believer. Since young, I received a lot of attention from friends and relatives. My aunties and uncles doted on me. I thought it was because I was the first grandchild or that I was cute and adorable. Before I came to New Creation Church, the notion of God's favor was not in my awareness. I really thought it was my outgoing character that caused me to 'shine' in the crowd. But yet  I never really thought I was any different from my friends. I didn't want to be different because I wanted to be well liked by them. But the fact was God made me differently. When I understood God's favor, I now realize that the reason people liked me was because the favor of God was on my life.

What I didn't realize was, with the favor comes persecution and distractions. Like this unmerited favor that came upon my life, the corresponding persecution was something that I did not deserve. It was not because I had done wrongly or had such pride that incurred the jealousy of others. It happened because Jesus was first persecuted. In John 15:18-19, Jesus said 'If the world hates you, know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.' 

I didn't know that each time the Lord released favor in my life or brought me to a higher level, the greatest persecution came from someone whom I was so close to. It really hit me so hard. It seemed like the evil one knew my weakness is in my soft heart and the value I place on friendships. I am a friendly and approachable person hence I have many acquaintances. But I do not have many deep abiding friendships that I can open my hearts to. So whenever I come across one of such deep friendships, I really treasure it. I am the type of person not easily affected by what others say. I thank God I am secure in Christ. But I value the opinions of my close sisters very much. I can and will be affected by what they say about me. God has taught me to always verify what man said about me with Him because most of the times, these statements are not true.

Honestly I really don't like comparisons and the spirit of envy whether it is in me or others. Most of the time I don't compare myself to others...maybe just in the area of childbearing. But the Lord has slowly changed my mind in this area, always reminding me not to compare. I don't like persecutions but I have come to accept that it is part and parcel of the favor that God had poured out in my life. Like Pastor Prince said, the dog can keep barking but the moon still shines. That's what I will continue to do: shine with the glory of God! I enjoy His favor and I learn to cast the persecutions back to Jesus. I just learn to ignore them. I don't think I am being too sensitive over this. I was not even aware that persecution crept in so subtlety. Many times I was still wondering what happened. Is it me or them? 

Sometimes persecutions can come in the form of spiritual resistance or outward circumstances that come against the Word of God. If you reflect on your life, it would seem like after God gave you a promise or a Word about your future that excites your spirit, the circumstances that happened shortly after would be at odds with His Word. You would be puzzled and wonder what happened? If 
you would look to God, He would show you that the evil one has come to steal the Word planted in your heart through these adverse situations. 

The evil one wants you to be discouraged and give up on God's Word. He cannot allow this seed to take root because he knows how big a tree it will grow into. By the time it sprouts out of the ground and grows into a tree, it would be too late to steal the Word. Hence he has to steal it in seed form. When the Lord showed me that such things are persecutions from the enemy, it cleared away all my confusion. It has nothing to do with me...the battle belongs to the Lord. I just continue to rest in His love and bank on His faithfulness. 

I have come to realize that in this world, we would have persecution because it was Jesus that they first hated. But Jesus told us that He has overcome the world. I also found out that not all people will celebrate my success or sincerely wish me blessings on the road to greatness. The fact is you will find more critics and naysayers than supporters. It can be a lonely path but thank God He has promised to be always with me. That's all I needed - His friendship and companion and most importantly His protection. 

My Birthday Celebration

My parents celebrated my birthday by bringing all of us out for a dinner and they even bought a birthday cake for me. I really felt so blessed to celebrate my birthday with my family. Joshua and his cousin Aloysius had a great time playing with their uncle (my youngest brother). As for our own family, we went for a high tea buffet at Equinox on Friday. This place was on the 70th floor of a hotel. The view was spectacular, as you can imagine. Both Joshua and I loved the high tea there...we have a sweet tooth you see. The spread was wonderful for me and the best part was the restaurant served free flow TWG teas. This was the first time I tasted TWG teas and I felt this brand of tea was really different from the others. I thoroughly enjoyed my birthday celebrations.

I thank God for 38 good years of my life and many more better years to come. I am blessed with a beautiful family and a fulfilling life. I thank God that I am also able to serve Him in ministry. Jesus said in John 10:10 'I have come that you may have life and life to the fullest.' It occurred to me that though I was not born on 10 Oct, my birthday 2+8 adds to 10 and my month is Oct, so it is also like John 10:10. It is because of Jesus that I can have an abundant life...I'm reminding myself to give thanks and have a grateful heart. We are all so prone to forget what marvelous things the Lord has done for us. For me, I have nearly forgotten how I have suffered in my old workplace and how God delivered me from that pit. I need to celebrate all the good things He has done for me and most importantly to celebrate this significant day that He brought me into this beautiful world. Thank You, Jesus!

The Name of God

I just listened to Pastor Prince's sermon 'How You See Jesus Will Affect How You Receive from Him'. It was not as if I have not heard it before but yet today when I heard it, something jumped out at me. Pastor Prince said that God or Elohim is not His name, just like Pastor is not his name. Pastor is his title or position, Joseph is his name. Even El Shaddai or God Almighty is not His name. God's name is Yahweh and in Hebrew it means 'who is, who was and who is to come'. Yahweh is Jehovah or Yeshua in Greek. When we see the LORD in the bible, it means Yahweh and Yahweh is about a covenant God, a God who has a relationship with us.

Indeed, many people can mention God but which God are they referring to? God the Father is personified by His Son and Yeshua is actually Jesus (in Greek). How many people can say they have a relationship with Yahweh? How many can say they know His heart? To me it is important to know His heart because if you can move His heart, you can move His hand. God Almighty doesn't just want to be known as the Creator, the Maker or Elohim. He wants to be known as a covenant God. He yearns to have a relationship with His people. 

Pastor said that how people address God will reflect how they view Him. It is only when one realizes the covenant we have with Him, that we start calling Him the Lord. I didn't even realize that the way I write about Him has changed. Nowadays I seldom call Him God but more often the Lord or Abba Father at times. In fact, out of all the names, I love Yeshua or Jesus the most. Because Jesus is so dear to me. He willingly gave up His life to die for me. Jehovah or Jesus also means 'The Lord Saves'. Indeed Jesus is my Savior and my Lord. 

Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8). He lives outside the time zone and can go back to my past to change things so that my present would not be hindered by my past. He has indeed erased the fear, the painful memories and heartaches of my trials and totally replaced it with memories of Him delivering me from that bondage. He did that so that my future will reflect the glory of God. He has also gone into my future and prepared the way for me, came back to the present and told me it is very good. Oh how I love my Lord!

Stop comparing!

Recently, God told me to stop comparing yourself with my friends, simply because we are all made differently. Yes, for many years in the past, I hoped to be like them so I could belong to that group of mothers. I felt the need to belong and the need to assimilate. I never thought I was any different from my friends since young or maybe I was afraid to be different. I wanted to be well-liked, to be popular. Hence I spent many years trying to be similar to them...when they got married and had kids, I also wanted to join them in the parents' club. I did this not knowing that God has fashioned me so differently from them. 

But one day, after I became a mum, I could relate much better to them yet I found that I was still not fulfilled...somehow their talk about taking care of kids and maids etc did not interest me after a while. I was surprised to find that I was drifting away from them. I could not believe that my child was everything I could talk about in my life in that season.  Motherhood is already an overwhelming task...and even though I was very happy to finally become a mum, after a while, there was a vacuum in my heart.

I later realized what the vacuum was. I missed God. Being a mum took away much of my time fellowshipping with God and I also was not able to have a healthy intake of the Word in my previous church. I missed spending time with Him. I never knew that He had such an important role in my life. And I could not imagine my life to be only centering on my children in this season of childbearing, which is nothing wrong in itself. Maybe other ladies could but not me. This was the first time I felt so different from my friends and I wondered if there was anything wrong with me. 

 

I felt lonely because I could not fit into my usual group of friends. I asked God why this happened. I was so happy journeying with them all these years, from courtship to marriage to parenthood...what happened? I thought I was similar to them...but the circumstances in my life showed the desires of my heart very differently. I did not have an answer then and it was painful because I could not find another mother who was like me. I felt like a misfit.

 

Later on I realized that it had to do with God's calling for my life. For the many years that I was trying to conform to the profile of my good friends, I found out that it was not the real me. God made me very differently from my friends. He told me repeatedly there was no basis for comparison with them simply because He made us differently. I choose to think that I am special in His eyes and He has a special plan for me. One of my ex-colleagues commented that I am very different from other mums who loved to talk about their kids at every opportunity. Not that I don't love Joshua as much or that I am not proud of him, I am. It is just that my focus is not all about my son. But I found that given a chance, I can talk about God's love and Jesus all the time.

 

Thank God He brought me to New Creation Church and put me back into care group ministry. I was very encouraged to see that there are other mothers with young children who are still serving. Previously my mindset was that when I became a mum, I had to step down from public ministry. Because I could not see a way to take care of my baby and still serve. I had to take a backstage role. Yet the presence of these mothers encouraged me so much. The church allows them to take maternity leave for a while then they are back to serve. Even though sometimes it might be challenging, the Lord knows their heart's desire is to serve Him and He made it possible for them to continue serving, year after year. At the same time, the Lord takes very good care of their family, especially their kids so that they can have a peace of mind to serve. These female leaders also have very supportive husbands. 

 

God is really so good to me. He knows my heart's desire is to serve Him, regardless of whatever stage I am in my life. Serving really saves me. When I minister to the sheep, there is no room for self-pity or self-consciousness because the needs of the sheep always come first. Besides, it is through serving and interacting with the congregation that I saw my blessedness in Christ. This caused me to always maintain a thanksgiving heart. Serving is important to me regardless of what form it takes (taking care of your children at home is also an important ministry because you are nurturing the future generation of God) because Jesus came to serve and not to be served.

God knows I have a need to fellowship with Him, to have an intimate relationship with Him and He honors that. I have come to understand that seasons may come and go but ministry work will be a perennial season in my life. It has come to stay and I am confident that the Lord will make it possible for me to enjoy parenting and serving Him!

Jesus: Our strong anchor in the midst of change

There is a time and season for everything under the sun. You might be familiar with this verse from Ecc 3:1 but are you able to discern the times and seasons in your life? Know that the Lord wants us to understand the times and seasons we are living in because if we don't, we cannot apply our hearts to wisdom. 1 Chron 12:32 says 'the men of Issachar (prophets) were called upon because they knew what the people of God should do.' Now there is no need to run to the prophets of our day to ask for wisdom because the Holy Spirit is dwelling in our hearts in the New Covenant. He is constantly guiding us in the paths we should take.

All we need to do is to ask the Lord to show us what He is doing in our lives and when He tells us to go this way or that, then we cooperate with Him. Sometimes God will do a 'suddenly' and you will find that your season has shifted very quickly. But most times, there are signs of upcoming changes or ripples in your life. The Lord likes to show us things to come so that we can be prepared beforehand, not caught like fish in the nets. Even if you cannot be very sure you heard Him, your spirit will prompt you and cause you to discern the things happening around you. Oftentimes, the ripples will cause you to feel that you are shaken out of your comfort zone.

Be sure that the Lord will direct your steps and guide you one day at a time. Yet for some of us, we cannot rest and have a peace of mind until He shows us the entire plan. Usually when He gives you a vision for your life, He will not show you how it will come to pass. That's because He doesn't want you to worry. He has all the details worked out even if we cannot see anything happening on the surface. But I am sure that when your due season or your appointed time is nearing, God will reveal His plan bit by bit.

So what happens in the waiting period, the time between the vision and its manifestation? Our human minds like to figure everything out or it would not rest. Yet this does not benefit us at all. Waiting like this will tire us out as it will frustrate us till no end. The waiting will be full of toilsome labour and worry. You will find that such times are so unbearable and it seemed to take forever to see the manifestation come to pass.

Well this happened to me while waiting for God's only promise in this season to come to pass. All the other promises that God showed me, the vision He gave me years ago all came to pass. Why then am I fretting whether this promise will come to pass or when will it come to pass or how it will happen? It's my flesh that needs to be satisfied. My spirit is at rest with the Lord but my flesh still wars within me, demanding to know how things will turn out and exactly when.

The Lord is merciful. He wants me to rest in Him while waiting. He tells me that if I fellowship with Him, talk to Him and share my concerns and joys with Him, the journey becomes much more enjoyable. Just like how time flies when you are in the company of a few good friends. Indeed I learnt to slowly let go of my need to know, constantly learning how to cast my cares unto Him and taking every thought captive to Him. In doing so, I am crucifying my flesh and walking in the Spirit. When I did that, the waiting turned from long and unbearable to short and enjoyable. What a change!

I have found that Jesus is my strong anchor in the midst of change, the shifting of the seasons. Instead of keeping my eyes on the surrounding circumstances, I focus on Jesus. I rest in His love for me. I tell myself because Jesus loves me, all shall be well for me. Even if I cannot see how all things will fall into place or when the open door will manifest, I continue to trust that He is good and His mercies endure forever. I think about all the blessings in my life, all the breakthroughs and I thank God for them.

In fact, Jesus is not only my anchor, He is my sanity. Without Him, I cannot have a peace of mind or even the courage to face all the changes in my new season. But with Christ, I traverse the different seasons safely. Often times, I will look back and marvel at the things He has done in past seasons as He has brought me to a much higher level when the seasons shift. God is really a progressive God!

My Blog is Two Years Old!

How time flies! My blog turned two years old today. I can still remember how it started in 2010...it seemed like just yesterday! I hope that this blog has been a blessing to the readers as I felt that I am the most blessed of all. Sometimes when I was discouraged or feeling down, the Lord would lead me to read my blog and I found encouragement in what I had written. It was amazing because I really cannot remember writing these words at that time. This must be inspired by God.

As I continued to blog about the grace of God and the finished work of Christ on the cross, I found that God poured out more of His anointing on my writings. This was also my prayer: that the messages in my blog would be so full of His anointing, touching the hearts of brethren. Because I know that without His anointing, all these blog posts would be just words. It would not have the power to transform lives in and of itself but when God puts His touch on them, amazing things happen.

There was an instance when a sister emailed me to tell me that she could not sleep at night. She felt oppressed...perhaps she was worried about something. But when she read my blog, she felt peaceful and could sleep well after that. She said that there was an anointing that came from reading the message in my blog. I thank God for His anointing...for the Word of God is like a seed planted in our hearts. It may be small like a mustard seed but when it takes root and grows, it will become the largest tree in the forest. It will bear fruit and provide shade for the birds of the air.

When I looked back, I was amazed at what started as a small idea (just a blog) actually grew so much over the past two years. To date, I have 165 published posts and close to 9700 page views. This is the work of God. Not by power nor by might, but by the Spirit of God! I still do not know where God is bringing me in my writing ministry but I am excited at the new levels of breakthroughs that He has prepared in my future. I believe He will increase my influence so that more people all around the world can be blessed by this gospel of grace! To God be the glory!

Beloved, if you have been blessed by my blog, I would really appreciate it if you could drop me an email or put your testimony in the comments. Let us continue to sing His praises and tell of all the marvelous works He has done in our lives!

Free Will

God created man in His image and He gave man free will to choose. In doing this He took a huge risk and paid a great price when He gave man free choice. That would mean man could choose not to love God and to disobey Him. That was exactly what Adam chose. Of all the trees in the Garden of Eden that God gave them freely to eat, they partook of the only tree that God told them not to eat from. Because of this choice, mankind fell into sin and lived in a fallen world. 

God had to send His Son to die for us to redeem us from the mess and the sin we were in. Yet He did not think that it was a waste. It was all worth it to Him. Sin in all its ugliness does not deter God's grace for when sin abounds, grace superabounds. The solution for sin had already been provided for through Jesus' perfect sacrifice at the cross. Do you know what stops His grace from being effective? Self-righteousness. When man is proud and presumes on his own strength to get things done, he will not fully appreciate the grace of God and what Christ had done for him. And God won't force His help on you if you don't see the need for Him.

It is only when man comes to the end of himself and realizes his need for a Savior, then grace becomes effective in his life. God's grace is unlimited and abundant in supply but one can frustrate the grace of God if he chooses to rely on works or flesh. That's why God is so against works or flesh because that is the law operating in stealth. Self-righteousness is so dangerous because it can nullify the grace of God. In Mark 8:15, Jesus told His disciples to take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. Now leaven is a symbol of the righteousness of man. 

But you ask: isn't God's grace very powerful? Why can't His grace operate in a person's life if he is under the law? The answer lies therein the free will that God had given man. God cannot and will not override man's free choice. Man can only choose to be under law or under grace. There is no in-between. If man would yield himself to God's voice, the Holy Spirit will guide him in the daily affairs of his life. This man will be putting himself under God's favor. God will place him at the right place, right time for good success and also to protect him from dangers.

Beloved, it behooves us to take our eyes off ourselves and our performance for even our good works are like dung as Apostle Paul had described in Philippians 3:8. Instead let us put our eyes on Jesus, the Altogether Perfect One, for as He was accepted by the Father, so are we. 1 John 4:17 says 'as He is, so are we in this world'. When we trust in our flesh or in men, we will be disappointed but he who trusts in the Lord will never be disappointed. 

Because I love you

There was a period of time I kept forgetting things, mainly the things pertaining to Joshua's school matters, especially spellings. I had been birated by my mum before for forgetting to teach Joshua spelling the day before and he did very badly as a result. Ever since then, I told myself to be more conscientious regarding his schoolwork. Especially now that I am a stay-home mum, all the more I should have the time to monitor his school work.

I did not realise I began to put myself under the law. I should be more careful. I should pay more attention to this and that. But the harder I try, the worse I seem to perform. The fear of being scolded by my mum haunted me because no one liked to feel condemned. At one point I was so concerned that others saw me as someone who did nothing at home, lazing around while they worked so hard. So I thought if I could not even do this small thing properly, then I am really quite lousy.

Once Joshua's spelling was brought forward by a day because of some celebrations in school. I totally forgot about that...we just came back from the chalet stay in Sentosa and it slipped my mind completely. Usually the Holy Spirit would remind me about these things that slipped my mind but that time I didn't get any prompting! I guess it was because I chose to rely on my flesh and missed the small still voice of the Spirit.

Well, thank God Joshua did not do so badly in his spelling but I felt like a failure. I cried and told Joshua that I was sorry I forgot to teach him the night before. I knew he would be disappointed because Joshua is quite a perfectionist and he is very conscientious when it came to his schoolwork.  I told him I was already trying my best to be conscientious but I still missed the mark. I felt totally hopeless...which was funny because it was just a small matter. God is so good. He showed me what grace is all about.

As I cried and asked Joshua if I was a lousy mum, Joshua said this: 'No, you are not a lousy mum because I love you.' I put myself under the law and my son gave me grace. Those words 'because I love you' has totally nothing to do with me or my performance. My son was saying how could I be lousy when he loved me so much? Immediately I felt God's love and His grace extended to me. It was like God saying 'You are so precious to Me not because you did so well or you were so great at keeping my laws. No, you are precious because I loved you and sent My Son to die for you.'

I had been sitting under grace teaching and blogging about grace but I still slip and come under the law at times. But it is during times like this that grace truly matters. It is when I have failed miserably but yet the Lord offered His grace that I am so grateful to Him. His heart is so full of love and mercy. That is why we call it amazing grace.

Fairy Tales

It's been a long while since I watched another drama since late last year. I guess I had been busy or that I did not find a good drama that can capture my attention. Recently I chanced upon this Taiwanese drama called 'SOP Queen'. This drama is about an office lady who is working in a big retail company. She has dreams to 'make it big' in life and resolves not to be an employee forever. After a failed relationship with her former boss and ex-boyfriend, she decides to start her own business with the support of her internet pal. When she finds out that one of her employees is actually her internet pal, and that he’s the son of a wealthy business tycoon, she begins to doubt his intentions, resulting in a series of misunderstandings.

This story captivates me because of the fairy tale plot. The female lead is rather career minded and has no time for love because she is busy fulfilling her dreams to 'make it big' in life. Actually her Prince Charming (her internet pal) has been right beside her all this while but she did not realise it. He has been helping her, loving her and caring for her secretly. Of course eventually she would realise it...I just started watching so I still don't know the ending. But I believe she will end up with her Prince Charming. 

Even though she is career-minded, she does harbor thoughts of being a princess in distress and her Prince Charming appearing to save her in the nick of time. In fact, I believe that is in the heart of every girl. No matter how strong she is or how successful her career is, deep down in her heart she still hopes to have someone to love and care for her. I believe God made us ladies this way. Well I thank God for those of us who have found our Prince Charming and I pray for those ladies who are still waiting for their Prince Charming, that the Lord will lead them to their princes. 

Well, does fairy tale really exist in our world? Or is it just an illusion? If it is not real, why does it hold such meaning in the hearts of girls? You may think that I am unrealistic but I believe in such fairy tales. I believe there is really a Prince Charming for everyone. Yes, His name is Jesus. He is also my Lover, my Savior and my soul mate. He is always loving me unconditionally, helping me secretly and protecting me. My happiness is His happiness and He tells me He is so blessed to have found me. He is always there for me and even if I had wandered off or been unfaithful, He is still faithful and waiting for me to come back to His side. He is contented just to be able to look at my face everyday. 

Oh sometimes I really wonder what is it in me that The Prince Charming should take notice of me, an ordinary girl! Yet the amazing thing was that He even fell in love with me and gave up His life for me. What I see as ordinary, He sees as extremely precious. In His eyes, I am a precious gem, a great treasure. He holds me close to His heart. Beloved, if only we could all see ourselves the way Jesus sees us, we will know His love for us. That will put us above the storms of life every time. I can tell myself that because Jesus loves me, all shall be well for me. 

Healing Miracles

Actually I wanted to share this testimony long ago. Sometime last August, after service one Sunday, as we were walking to Rock Kidz (Sunday school) to pick Joshua up, I saw this boy with celebral palsy on a pram. He was about seven or eight years old. What caught my eye was the melancholic look on his face. His eyes were full of longing and sadness. I really cannot forget that look. Then the Lord prompted me to lay hands and pray for him. I was not yet a leader but the Lord placed this desire within me to lay hands and pray for the sick. I hesitated for a while because I thought it might be strange and too abrupt for me to walk up to his parents and said I want to pray for their son. What if they did not want any prayers? What if they were disillusioned with God?

So I told God if I could still see this boy after we picked up Joshua, then I would know that I had to pray for him. It was God's will. Well, guess what? We saw them waiting for the lift after we came out from Rock Kidz. So I told Heng that I really needed to lay hands and pray for this boy. Heng was saying we were in hurry to go somewhere and it was strange to approach them out of the blue. Well I said I know it was strange but since the Lord said so, I must obey! And so I went and approached his mum. I asked for his name and if I could pray for him. The mum was happy that I could pray for him. As I prayed, I really sensed God's love for this precious boy and I was overwhelmed with tears. I told him that one day he would be able to walk and run like other kids because I sensed that was his heart's desire. I knew that it was God's will to heal him and his healing would manifest soon.

Well I did not see the boy for almost one year but when I saw him again, he was not only walking well but very animated when he worshipped the Lord during service. He looked so happy and excited, so different from when I last saw him. Seeing him totally healed and worshipping the Lord made me cry again for I saw the marvelous work of God. The Lord is faithful. What He promised, He delivered. I could almost feel the joy of his mum the day he started walking. The Lord is so good to
me. Many people would have prayed for him but I thank God for allowing me to participate in this
healing miracle.

I had the privilege of speaking with his mum and him sometime later. Actually the Lord healed him earlier in April this year. His mum said that God is really good to him and that even though his development was still a bit slower and there was still some chromosome imbalance, she believed that God would heal him completely. I told her that surely it would happen because healing has been purchased by Jesus on the cross.  This boy is blessed by God and would be used mightily as a testimony of His goodness. And guess what is his name? He is called Samuel. He is called to be God's prophet and he will surely live to His calling one day. The Lord is faithful and yes, miracles of healing still do exist today.

My Birthday Present

Thank God that my hubby bought an iPad for me as a birthday present! It was a pleasant surprise! Even though my birthday is end of the month, he gave me this present yesterday. Actually I already suspected that he bought an iPad because he asked me for my email password. Then one day I received an email saying that my apple id used to sign in to iCloud and iPad. It was weird because I don't have an iPad...so I dismissed it as junk mail. But when I asked my hubby about it, he gave me a sheepish look and said that why would he buy an iPad. I said 'good' because I don't want him to waste money since I already have a laptop, an iPod and iPhone.

But as time passed, he shared with me the benefits of having an iPad. He told me that I can blog more often with an iPad since it is small and easy to carry. Besides there is no need to wait for it to boot up, unlike a laptop. I can also read devotionals from the web better with an enlarged screen. Well, I take it from him that the iPad has been bought, since he was already convincing me with the benefits. So he asked me when I would want to receive my present. I thought it was still early so I said 'Wait till it is nearer my birthday.' But I felt it was rather silly to wait till then since the present was already at home. He told me he hid it somewhere and if I found it, I can have it earlier.

Nope, I could not find my present. He did a great job in hiding it. And so yesterday he finally presented me with this iPad. Even though I already knew that my present was a iPad, that there is really no surprise...the fact was when I held the iPad in my hands and explored the functions, I was still very happy and excited. Nothing beats the real thing! Yes, it is a luxury that I really don't need and I would not spend it on myself...but if my hubby wants me to own one, why not? I just graciously receive and thank him for it!

And so, here I am, using the iPad to blog. Not that I am a huge fan of Apple...but I really think it is a wonderful gadget. Checking and responding to my emails, logging into our church portal, reading devotionals and surfing the web becomes so much easier with a big screen! It's like I don't have to be limited by the small screen on my iPod or iPhone anymore. Of course, watching Taiwanese pop dramas from this iPad would be such a pleasure too! Truly the benefits outweigh the price, for people buy the hardware but are entitled to the countless software programs that come along with it, free!

I hope that I could blog more often with this iPad as I believe I have so much more to share with you regarding the word of God. May The Lord bless me richly with the use of this gadget so that I would be a blessing to many others!