In Transit

Another unexpected blessing. I’ve gotten a pay raise! A sizable one at that! So sudden!

My boss unexpectedly called me into her room (and my mind went crazy with imagination, thinking she was mad at me, going to scold me, etc.) and then asked me what my current pay was. (At this point, I freaked out even more internally, thinking she was going to cut my pay, or worst, fire me - You can see i’m pessimistic. lol.) Then she said, “Wow, they gave you a good pay raise.” I was like what? who? where? uh? what? Then i got my letter from HR detailing the changes. and boy, my heart starting pumping realllllyyy wild. i was trying to control my excitement and happiness. when i left her office, i couldn’t stand it any longer. i started JUMPINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG and SHRIEKINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG with joy. And my boss laughed reallly loud (I forgot that her door was still open. )

Such a new surprise and blessing. Wohoooooooo!!! Praise the Lord!!

It’s been one year since I graduated from college. Time has flew by once again. Now I can’t say I’m a fresh graduate and cling to the concept of still being fun and young. Now I’m a working adult who has become boring and sedate. lol. Such a stark change. Where I once would go out with friends almost every day, now it’s amazing if I go out of my house, except for work, at all. I much prefer to just sit in my room and slack.

Is this the natural process of working? Or am I the exception?

I just got a letter from Vanessa, my Compassion girl. Or rather, I got a letter that was dictated to someone else by Vanessa and written by that someone else. But still, it’s a letter from my 5-year-old cute adorable girl in Indonesia.

It was such a blessing to read the letter, learning about her family, her hobbies, that she loves kindergarten and is one of the best in school. It’s great knowing that a few hours flight from me, a little girl can have the joy of staying in school, learning numbers and about the world, and most importantly, about the Lord.

I’m having too much fun with my new iMac.

Oh, the wonders of a fast computer that has the marvellous-ness of Mac OS X and the wonderful gaming-ness of Windows.

I’m in computer heaven.

When horrible things happen, we bail out. We blame God or someone else for everything bad and we walk away.  It’s as though when we first started the relationship, we said, “I love you only if nothing bad happens,” or “I love you but only when it’s good for me.”

But what we sometimes don’t realise is that the bad comes with the good. That there is no one that can have the joy without the suffering. Even our Lord Jesus had to suffer tremendously to receive the Joy of returning to the Father, of paving an eternal way for us to return to Him. This is the sinful world in which we live in, with the guarantee that sometime and somewhere along life’s journey, we will suffer. We will be in pain.

So what do we do with this knowledge? Do we hide and cower, hoping we can escape the odds? Or do we turn into skeptics, viewing life negatively, not acknowledging the good that life does bring. We have a choice to make, even before the pain and bad things come.

For me, it’s been a battle. I’m a skeptic and a pessimist. My first reactions are usually negative and it’s sometimes I let the darkness overwhelm me and forget that there is an eternity light surrounding me. And sometimes, I’m sad to say, I blame God and turn my back on Him. I blame Him for not giving me what I want, what I planned. I blame Him for “doing this to me.” And then I feel guilty for blaming Him, which serves only to distance me even more from Him. I know this is going to be my life’s battle, to go towards and not run away from God when bad things happen.

Reading this post from Heather brought me to the reality –  that I’ve not yet chosen my reaction.  And though it would be nice if I can say right now that I choose to cling to God regardless, saying that now would be hypocritical. But I can say that I am in the process of choosing, or better yet, that the Lord is in the process of helping me make that choice.

Have you made your choice yet?

I’ve been dry on creative juices lately, thus the no posts period. Or if I do get a spark of creative genius, I don’t have the energy to maintain for longer than 5 minutes to get to my computer and type it out.

So, instead of me posting, why don’t you post your comments and ask me questions, that’s if anyone is interested enough. Just ask anything, I’ll answer if I can.

Hi little girl. I’m so glad that I got off my butt, and decided to sponsor you as my Compassion child. I received your information packet today, full of details of your family, your likes and an amazing photo of you. I’m so excited that you are going to be able to attend school, study the Bible and eat nutritious food. Even more than that, I’m so happy that you’ll have the opportunity to come to know the Lord as your personal Saviour and Joy. I pray that you will grow up to be a Godly young woman who will be a blessing to your people in Indonesia.

I sent you a letter today, with a photo of Snowy and I. I hope you’ll get it soon and write back. Looking forward to hearing from you. I also look forward to one day going to visit you in your homeland. You’re in my prayers.

Love,
TransitionGirl

Depending on my own salary is teaching me money discipline that my parents never could. I love buying stuff, either for myself or others. I love eating out in restaurants and I love techie stuff. All these adds up to tons of $$ that is way over what I have. Since young, I’ve had the nasty habit of spending more money that I had, always relying on my folks to give me more.

Now that I’m working and responsible for my own upkeeping, and also have to pay my college loan back to my parents, managing my money properly and wisely has become critical. I’m learning day by day, month by month, that living paycheck to paycheck is NOT a wise thing and putting aside savings is very important for my future… and also for getting that new MacBook that I want (since my old Powerbook is close to dying).

I guess it’s a daily battle of practicing self-discipline and control, of NOT buying things on the spur of the moment, but plan out my budget and STICK to it. Sigh… Responsibility is hard! But I better learn it now while I have only myself to handle. Imagine when I have a family, that’ll be even harder!

It’s Works-For-Me Backwards Wednesday where I get to ask you for help! Ok,  I’m super late with this, but my question only came to me 5 minutes ago.

I’ve been cravvvvvinnngg Shrimp Cabonara Pasta for the longest time, but there are sooo many different recipes out there. So, my question is: In your opinion, what’s the best Shrimp Cabonara Pasta recipe you have (and please share them with me!).

Thanks!

I’m always amazed at my parent’s marriage. Even after more than 27 years of marriage, they deeply love each other and it shows in their conversations, their actions and their day-to-day routines.

My dad will go out of his way to chaffeur my mom around, whether to the doctor’s, to shopping, to work, etc. Even if he’s busy at work or really tired, if he is able to do it, he will willingly and lovingly drive her to wherever she wants to go.

My mom is always encouraging and looking out for my dad. She reminds (and sometimes forces) him to rest and take care of himself. She waits till the wee hours of the morning waiting for my dad when he comes back from his trips. She is always there to help him sound out problems and give wise advice and a different perspective.

My parents are always quick to remind me that their loving marriage is not because they have a magic formula or that they are just geniuses at marriage. All credit goes back to the Lord who kept them together through many tough and miserable times (and from what I hear, there were many) and helped them find the joy in each other and in their union.

Looking at my parents, it’s interesting to see how they have grown on each other. My outgoing and hot-headed (which I have inherited) dad has calmed down and is slower to anger. My quiet and loner mom has become more out-going and vocal. Oh and they both look alike! I can’t understand it, but they do! That’s why everyone knows that we’re a family when we go out together. We all look so similar! Plus, we’re loud (except my mom).

I love my parents dearly and treasure their stable and loving relationship. They are truly a great example of what I want my marriage to be - supportive, loving, full of laughter, strength for each other in hard times and the willingness to say sorry.

Above all, the thing I want the most is the JOY, pure joy in each other and most importantly, in serving the Lord as one.