A Brand New Year!

January is another favorite month of the year for me; after December:)
Important day for me during this month which I looked forward to every year *winks*

This year has been predicted to be a challenging year in terms of economy and world's financial situation.
I still harp great hopes; after all, this is the start of a new year. It's always good to be positive and look forward to whatever that is good and make it GREAT and wonderful:)

New year resolutions?
Plenty!
But that's for my own reference...all in all, 2009 is a GREAT YEAR ahead and I am sure more GREAT things will come!!

A Gift to the Lord Jesus

Funny how we often kept ourselves busy with the Christmas shopping lists (which seems to be never ending, by the way) but yet, we never stopped to ask ourselves, "What should I get for the Lord Jesus?"

Yet Christmas is the birthday of our Savior and we buy presents for EVERYONE; send cards to ANYONE but not the only ONE who is to be celebrated!

Yeah, we go to mass, which many will argue that it is an important attendance to his birthday celebration as we pray and cheer to the birth of our savior.
However, don't we attend birthday parties too, and did you not bring along a gift for the birthday celebrant?

What gift do we bring to the Lord each year we celebrate his birthday?
When we see HIM lying in the makeshift crib, what is the first thing we said to HIM?
Did we wish HIM a Happy Birthday first of all? Or did we pray for our sick relatives/family members to get well soon, and we hope to score that exam/job interview next week or we hope we can get rich soon so that we can quit our current job?

Did we stop to wish HIM a hearty Birthday greeting and thank HIM for all the miracles he had presented to us?
Did we thank HIM for all the gifts he brought for us?

Were we just asking and asking and asking in prayer?

What did YOU do and what is your thought?

The Gift of Christmas

(Picture from www.callcentrehelper.com)

I've had friends coming up to me, asking me the same question, "Why do you guys give presents to each other during Christmas? What is the story behind the whole Christmas's presents-giving logic?"

Well, bear in mind that the fact that I was born a Catholic, it didn't necessarily mean that I have the answer to everything.
However, I would like to share my thoughts on the true meaning behind this whole Christmas concept after this excerpt which I found on the Internet about the symbols of Christmas here

Christmas tree - Usually a fir tree due to the following reasons:
1. The green color is throughout the whole year; symbolizes the everlasting hope of all mankind
2. The arrow-like tree structure and the sharp edges pointing upward which shows the wishes of all mankind to ascend into heaven

The Star on top of the tree - the sign of the fulfilled promise by God many years ago/long long time ago. God promised us a Savior of the World, and the star is the heavenly representation of the fulfillment

Candle - Christ is the light of the world, and the candle reminds us of how his presence is in place of the darkness

Wreath - the real nature of love that never ceases. The round shape is a symbol of the continuity of the affection around

Santa Claus - St Nicholas; generosity and goodness during December

Holly leaf - represents immortality and the crown of thorns worn by our Saviour. The red holly berries represent the blood shed by him

Gifts - reminder that God gave us his only Son out of his love for the world

Candy Cane - the shepherd's crook. The crook on the staff helps to bring back strayed sheep from the flock

Angel - the one who brought good news to the world. Their song sings glory to God in the highest and all goodness on earth

Bell - the lost sheep are found by the ring of a bell and it should ring mankind to fold. A symbol of return and guidance

(The above information were extracted directly from the Yahoo! answers - link is above)

Now, I hope this is interesting information on all the items we use during Christmas.
And how does the whole idea of gift come into the picture?
As explained above, it is a gift from God that he gave us his one and only son to redeem our sins and save us from the fires of hell.
The birth of Jesus Christ himself is a GIFT

Christmas is the day when our Savior is born and that day itself is a gift
The reason we are giving gifts to our loved ones?
To remind that God is giving and forgiving us - the greatest gift of all
And to give each other gifts and to forgive each other during this season, is to appreciate the move made by God
At the same time, we are only doing the little bit in God's footsteps as we give away gifts of love and thoughts (it is nothing compared to God's gift of LOVE)

When we give away each gift, we seal it with our thought, love and prayer
Are we really doing that?
Or are we just pursuing in the trend and hype of the Christmas season?
Do people today really know the true meaning of Christmas?
Do you really want to give those people gifts or are you just merely being polite and courteous and their names are on the list?

Think carefully, the giving and receiving of gifts aren't merely just what you see on the surface
It is a whole lot more than a process of wrapping and unwrapping the papers and politely pretend that you like the present

The giving of gifts is itself a gift; as you think of your loved ones and your effort in searching for the perfect thing for them

To me, a gift is never to be measured by it's value worth in money but rather, the thought itself
The kindness and generosity in looking for a gift, spending the money on purchasing the gift and wrapping it up is already a GIFT within itself
When you give to the intended recipient, you probably had already imagined that he/she would squeal in delight and give you a hug and you smiled at that picture when you swiped your credit card at the counter. That is also a GIFT to your inner self
When the person who receives the present and really liked it and they thanked you, while you smiled and say, "I am glad you liked it" - you have received your GIFT and so have the recipient

The practice of presents exchanging should be done out of love and willingness; for the love of your fellow recipients and yourself and not just merely out of tradition
Start to think along those lines, say a prayer for the person who gave you a gift and the person whom you gave a gift to
Your gift doesn't have to be an expensive one; even a handmade card will be meaningful to whoever who receives it from your heart

Take some time to ponder, and while you are enjoying all your Christmas presents, realize that the whole season is a GIFT in itself
Once you start to appreciate your gifts and enjoy the spirit of giving to others, will you truly appreciate and enjoy the season of Christmas:)

Have you thought of your gifts for your loved ones next year?

Welcome 2009!~

Another year has flown by; I wonder why
Perhaps due to the time passing by, we have stop to realize
Was it a year full of praises high
Or was it another year full of sigh
Whatever it may be for us yonder nigh
Let us take some time at the back as we lie
with a smile and a cheerful aye

As to 2008 we say goodbye
and a cheerful Hi to the year 2009!~

Ending the year....

Agitated!
That's what..and how it's become for me on the last day of 2008

Don't ask me what, why or how...
I am just on the verge of explosion

Anyway, it was somehow not so bad
I don't know
Call it telepathy or something
But today, my good ol' bestie and one of my oldest best girl friends (chi mui) chatted with me online
And somehow they managed to lighten how I felt

Magic?
They didn't do anything actually....
And I didn't tell them anything either
But just talking to them somehow left me rather relieved
and I didn't feel that agitated

I don't know...
The magic of friends?
At the same time, they left me missing all my good old friends
Who have never forgotten about me wherever I am
My hometown friends
My school friends
My neighborhood friends

It seemed like a magical Christmas and New Year season for me this year
I believe I have truly been touched by the angel of love and friendship
And I felt blessed to have all of these wonderful all weather friends (definitely no fair weather friends)

You have reminded me that I am not alone
You guys and gals have always been there perfectly where I stand

I heard on the Chinese channel (radio) this morning; the DJs were posing a question
"If you were given one word to describe the year 2008, which word would it be?"

Which word would I choose?
I think I would choose Faith

I've experienced Change in this year
And it was not an easy decision
But it was nevertheless realized
And I know that had I not have the faith
I would never have done it

I had faith in GOD who ruled above
I had faith in myself
I had faith in people around me

And most importantly, I had people around me having faith in me!

Which word would it be for you for the year 2008?

Dilemma!

How do you tell someone when you are doing something for her own good, but yet you can't say it? (due to some certain reasons)
How can you say no without hurting her feelings?
How do you go about making her see that you mean no harm or ill-feeling?

How do you make her understand that you did not want things to be that way either?

Most importantly, how to make her happy?

Thanks, I have recovered!

Sorry for the late words of gratitude; but I've just finally gotten down to my keyboard and checking all those emails.
I have replied most of the text messages (SMSes) sent to inquire on my health condition, etc

I know, it's been really bad the past 2 weeks prior to the holiday season, I first broke down with dry throat which then launched into fever, sore throat(which really hurts, for the record), headache....that's a lot of symptoms, right?
I even had diarrhoea and vomiting, on the first

I went to the clinic, and was on MC for 2 days, and then back to work.
Over the weekend, I developed stronger symptoms which resulted in my loss of voice on a Monday and due to the aches all over the body, I had to take off again.
This time was worse, the pain in the throat was bad, I could barely squeak (or swallow!), and the fever's back and headache, and there's even a runny nose!
Talk about tough luck!
Not just that, the cough was starting, dry cough and then it felt like something's stuck in the throat and I just couldn't help feeling nauseous.

Second visit to the doc, and still no improvement.
In fact, the cough and pain got worse..and I am amazed that I was already on the antibiotics and there seems be no healing effect.

It was almost 4 days when I finally decided enough's enough and I consulted a doctor in hospital, and I was finally on recovery track!
Right on time for Christmas, and then I was smacked with another allergy problem, SIGHS!

Don't ask me about it, I developed some weird skin irritation towards a substance which was suspected in one of the mild stuffs I use, surprisingly!
Anyway, I had to be on medication again, for my allergy...through Christmas.

I am recovering now, so I just want to thank everyone of you who have sent your regards and were concerned about my condition:)
I am getting better and I will be great in no time!

You have a poppin' New Year 2009 too~