Christmas just started, for me. Despite the fact that in Malaysia the shops immediately took down all Christmas stuff and hung up all the Chinese New Year decorations.. Even before Christmas, I went into a shop that sells Christmas ornaments yet plays lion dance songs.. hmm..
How's Christmas for you? I only had time to get into Christmas mood on Christmas eve. The tree was up just a day before, and presents were wrapped in a great hurry. My family did not open house (invite guests to come) for celebration, maybe because of the fact that we celebrate Chinese New Year, and opening the house twice would mean double stress! Ooh! BUT, we did have family dinner and everyone came back from far and near except one..still, it was a happy reunion because a call/sms completed it.
Anyway, Christmas for me was great and IS still fun-filled..for the birthday boy, Jesus' celebration must go on everyday! Not only during Christmas should we remember him, best if everyday he is exalted and lifted high! Without him, what would become of us...
Now that the country mood swings into welcoming the new year 2009, we can't forget that 2008 has been 'playing its role', be it a fruitful year or not. After all, we make the fruits happen!
So cheers to 2008, and welcome 2009~
-little cup-
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Monday, December 22, 2008
Weddings...
Lately there have been a lot of weddings going on. Friends ..and especially my own uncle! Gosh that was a bomb for me. The wedding was on the day of my finals presentation and as we all know, weddings must come with wedding dinners.. Hence, the dinner was that night, with the next day final paper in the morning! ... Didn't know how I survived that night's sleep and the morning's paper. Prayer must have helped the most to keep me awake and alert.
Anyway, here's a little story about weddings.
Title: THE RING
Hope you will enjoy and be blessed with this story.
A married lady was expecting a birthday gift from her husband. For many months she had admired a beautiful diamond ring in a showroom, and knowing her husband could afford it, she told him that was all she wanted.
As her birthday approached, this lady awaited signs that her husband had purchased the diamond ring. Finally, on the morning of her birthday, her husband called her into his studyroom. Her husband told her how proud he was to have such a good wife, and told her how much he loved her. He handed her a beautiful wrapped gift box. Curious, the wife opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible, with the wife's name embossed in gold. Angrily, she raised her voice to her husband and said, 'With all your money you give me a Bible?' and stormed out of the house, leaving her husband.
Many years passed and the married lady was very successful in business. She managed to settle for a more beautiful house and a wonderful family, but realized her ex-husband was very old, and thought perhaps she should go to visit him. She had not seen him for many years.
But before she could make arrangements, she received a telegram telling her that her ex-husband had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to her. She needed to come back immediately and take care of things.
When she arrived at her ex-husband's house, sudden sadness and regret filled her heart. She began to search through her ex-husband's important papers and saw the still new Bible, just as she had left it years ago. With tears, she opened the Bible and began to turn the pages.
Her ex-husband had carefully underlined a verse, Matt 7:11, 'And if you, being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Heavenly Father which is in heaven, give to those who ask Him?'
As she read those words, a tiny package dropped from the back of the Bible. It had diamond ring with her name engraved on it, the same diamond ring which she saw at the showroom. On the tag was the date of her birth, and the words.. 'LUV U ALWAYS'...
How many times do we miss God's blessings because they are not packaged as we expected? I trust you enjoyed this.
Credits to the anonymous writer of this story.
-little cup-
Anyway, here's a little story about weddings.
Title: THE RING
"IF YOUR GIFT IS NOT PACKED THE WAY YOU WANT IT, IT'S BECAUSE IT IS BETTER PACKED THAT WAY!"
Hope you will enjoy and be blessed with this story.
A married lady was expecting a birthday gift from her husband. For many months she had admired a beautiful diamond ring in a showroom, and knowing her husband could afford it, she told him that was all she wanted.
As her birthday approached, this lady awaited signs that her husband had purchased the diamond ring. Finally, on the morning of her birthday, her husband called her into his studyroom. Her husband told her how proud he was to have such a good wife, and told her how much he loved her. He handed her a beautiful wrapped gift box. Curious, the wife opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible, with the wife's name embossed in gold. Angrily, she raised her voice to her husband and said, 'With all your money you give me a Bible?' and stormed out of the house, leaving her husband.
Many years passed and the married lady was very successful in business. She managed to settle for a more beautiful house and a wonderful family, but realized her ex-husband was very old, and thought perhaps she should go to visit him. She had not seen him for many years.
But before she could make arrangements, she received a telegram telling her that her ex-husband had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to her. She needed to come back immediately and take care of things.
When she arrived at her ex-husband's house, sudden sadness and regret filled her heart. She began to search through her ex-husband's important papers and saw the still new Bible, just as she had left it years ago. With tears, she opened the Bible and began to turn the pages.
Her ex-husband had carefully underlined a verse, Matt 7:11, 'And if you, being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Heavenly Father which is in heaven, give to those who ask Him?'
As she read those words, a tiny package dropped from the back of the Bible. It had diamond ring with her name engraved on it, the same diamond ring which she saw at the showroom. On the tag was the date of her birth, and the words.. 'LUV U ALWAYS'...
How many times do we miss God's blessings because they are not packaged as we expected? I trust you enjoyed this.
Credits to the anonymous writer of this story.
-little cup-
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Free at Last
Exam just finished and all the 'clashes' went quite well. In fact, all turned out better than I expected, to my great surprise! Praise God indeed. He works in marvellous ways beyind your expectations.
Now that everything is over.... finally I can sit down and slowly sip my cup of tea. However, such freedoms will only last temporary. I just remembered, the moment I finished all these major concerns, more came into the picture and filled up my upcoming weeks.. so much for slow sippings of tea.
But all the same, the ones of higher priority should be attended to first, followed by those of less importance. To cut things real short this time, remember to prioritise!
Till the next post, I need to prioritise my work first. =)
-little cup-
Now that everything is over.... finally I can sit down and slowly sip my cup of tea. However, such freedoms will only last temporary. I just remembered, the moment I finished all these major concerns, more came into the picture and filled up my upcoming weeks.. so much for slow sippings of tea.
But all the same, the ones of higher priority should be attended to first, followed by those of less importance. To cut things real short this time, remember to prioritise!
Till the next post, I need to prioritise my work first. =)
-little cup-
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Latest Christmas Carol for 2008
Sounds familiar?
You'd better watch out
You'd better not cry
You'd better keep cash
I'm telling you why:
Recession is coming to town.
It's hitting you once,
It's hitting you twice
It doesn't care if you've been careful and wise
Recession is coming to town
It's worthless if you've got shares
It's worthless if you've got bonds
It's safe when you've got cash in hand
So keep cash for goodness sake, HEY
You'd better watch out
You'd better not cry
You'd better keep cash
I'm telling you why:
Recession is coming to town!
Finance products are confusing
Finance products are so vague
The banks make you bear the cost of risk
So keep out for goodness sake, OH
You'd better watch out
You'd better not cry
You'd better keep cash
I'm telling you why:
Recession is coming to town..
-D.T.-
The latest version of 'Santa Claus is coming to town' adapted to current economic situation, created by a friend of mine. However, Christmas is always Christmas, so celebrate it with joy and peace... =)
-little cup-
You'd better watch out
You'd better not cry
You'd better keep cash
I'm telling you why:
Recession is coming to town.
It's hitting you once,
It's hitting you twice
It doesn't care if you've been careful and wise
Recession is coming to town
It's worthless if you've got shares
It's worthless if you've got bonds
It's safe when you've got cash in hand
So keep cash for goodness sake, HEY
You'd better watch out
You'd better not cry
You'd better keep cash
I'm telling you why:
Recession is coming to town!
Finance products are confusing
Finance products are so vague
The banks make you bear the cost of risk
So keep out for goodness sake, OH
You'd better watch out
You'd better not cry
You'd better keep cash
I'm telling you why:
Recession is coming to town..
-D.T.-
The latest version of 'Santa Claus is coming to town' adapted to current economic situation, created by a friend of mine. However, Christmas is always Christmas, so celebrate it with joy and peace... =)
Merry Christmas!
-little cup-
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Listening
How many times have you encountered when we talked and the other person does not seem to be...listening?
I learnt from the course I was attending these few days that listening is essential and very important to have a good communication relationship between the speaker and the listener. Listening and hearing are two different actions. Listening involves more attention and some thinking whereas hearing is just giving the 'sound' attention and not more than that. Most of the time if the topic said does not concern us, we tend to shift our mode from listening to hearing. And this does not please the speaker, as much as he/she does not show it.
In order to have effective communication, there must be listening and speaking. Listening is not an easy task to do. Hearing is. Why do I say so? Think of the times when others ignored you while you spoke.. why did they hear and not listen?
Some of the tips I learnt are similar to these listed below; (taken from DrNadig)
Listening Skills:
--Usually it is important to paraphrase and use your own words in verbalizing your understanding of the message. Parroting back the words verbatim is annoying and does not ensure accurate understanding of the message.
--Depending on the purpose of the interaction and your understanding of what is relevant, you could reflect back the other persons:
Account of the facts.
Thoughts and beliefs.
Feelings and emotions.
Wants, needs or motivation.
Hopes and expectations.
--Don’t respond to just the meaning of the words, look for the feelings or intent beyond the words. The dictionary or surface meaning of the words or code used by the sender is not the message.
--Inhibit your impulse to immediately answer questions. The code may be in the form of a question. Sometimes people ask questions when they really want to express themselves and are not open to hearing an answer.
--Know when to quit using active listening. Once you accurately understand the sender’s message, it may be appropriate to respond with your own message. Don’t use active listening to hide and avoid revealing your own position.
--Clarifying. If you are confused and know you do not understand, either tell the person you don’t understand and ask him/her to say it another way, or use your best guess. If you are incorrect, the person will realize it and will likely attempt to correct your misunderstanding.
--Active listening is a very effective first response when the other person is angry, hurt or expressing difficult feelings toward you, especially in relationships that are important to you.
--Use eye contact and listening body language. Avoid looking at your watch or at other people or activities around the room. Face and lean toward the speaker and nod your head, as it is appropriate. Be careful about crossing your arms and appearing closed or critical.
--Be empathic and nonjudgmental. You can be accepting and respectful of the person and their feelings and beliefs without invalidating or giving up your own position, or without agreeing with the accuracy and validity of their view.
-little cup-
I learnt from the course I was attending these few days that listening is essential and very important to have a good communication relationship between the speaker and the listener. Listening and hearing are two different actions. Listening involves more attention and some thinking whereas hearing is just giving the 'sound' attention and not more than that. Most of the time if the topic said does not concern us, we tend to shift our mode from listening to hearing. And this does not please the speaker, as much as he/she does not show it.
In order to have effective communication, there must be listening and speaking. Listening is not an easy task to do. Hearing is. Why do I say so? Think of the times when others ignored you while you spoke.. why did they hear and not listen?
Some of the tips I learnt are similar to these listed below; (taken from DrNadig)
Listening Skills:
--Usually it is important to paraphrase and use your own words in verbalizing your understanding of the message. Parroting back the words verbatim is annoying and does not ensure accurate understanding of the message.
--Depending on the purpose of the interaction and your understanding of what is relevant, you could reflect back the other persons:
Account of the facts.
Thoughts and beliefs.
Feelings and emotions.
Wants, needs or motivation.
Hopes and expectations.
--Don’t respond to just the meaning of the words, look for the feelings or intent beyond the words. The dictionary or surface meaning of the words or code used by the sender is not the message.
--Inhibit your impulse to immediately answer questions. The code may be in the form of a question. Sometimes people ask questions when they really want to express themselves and are not open to hearing an answer.
--Know when to quit using active listening. Once you accurately understand the sender’s message, it may be appropriate to respond with your own message. Don’t use active listening to hide and avoid revealing your own position.
--Clarifying. If you are confused and know you do not understand, either tell the person you don’t understand and ask him/her to say it another way, or use your best guess. If you are incorrect, the person will realize it and will likely attempt to correct your misunderstanding.
--Active listening is a very effective first response when the other person is angry, hurt or expressing difficult feelings toward you, especially in relationships that are important to you.
--Use eye contact and listening body language. Avoid looking at your watch or at other people or activities around the room. Face and lean toward the speaker and nod your head, as it is appropriate. Be careful about crossing your arms and appearing closed or critical.
--Be empathic and nonjudgmental. You can be accepting and respectful of the person and their feelings and beliefs without invalidating or giving up your own position, or without agreeing with the accuracy and validity of their view.
"We were given two ears but only one mouth, because listening is twice as hard as talking." - Larry Adan Nadig (Clinical Psychologist)
-little cup-
Monday, December 8, 2008
Reunions..Delayed.
It's summer in the western countries, hence holidays for college/university student there. Most of my friends have returned from their respective regions in the world, where as I stayed back home obediently awaiting their returns.
Holidays for them, great! No holidays for me yet...great.. (sigh) Still, knowing the fact that friends have returned is a very uplifting moment. That means more time together for drinks, to catch up on everyone and how life has been treating them in the past...one year. Waow, time really flies. Just a year ago we were together back in school then gone for good and now, back together again. In no time we'll be talking about children instead. (laughs)
Although reunions will be later for me this time since my time is rather different than theirs, there will still be a time to pass a smile to each of them or a call over the phone would do just as sweet. Reunion is always something nice to look forward to. Delayed as it will be, I believe there will be a time to be together again, just like the olden days.
How I wish reunions can be often. And family reunions too..
-little cup-
Holidays for them, great! No holidays for me yet...great.. (sigh) Still, knowing the fact that friends have returned is a very uplifting moment. That means more time together for drinks, to catch up on everyone and how life has been treating them in the past...one year. Waow, time really flies. Just a year ago we were together back in school then gone for good and now, back together again. In no time we'll be talking about children instead. (laughs)
Although reunions will be later for me this time since my time is rather different than theirs, there will still be a time to pass a smile to each of them or a call over the phone would do just as sweet. Reunion is always something nice to look forward to. Delayed as it will be, I believe there will be a time to be together again, just like the olden days.
How I wish reunions can be often. And family reunions too..
-little cup-
Friday, December 5, 2008
Packed
Lately classes have been very packed - for me is daily. Now with another course I'm attending, time is so closely arranged that I only have enough time for meals and night revision hours..
So tired.
I always thought life would be carefree, easy and relaxing. Indeed it never was and never will be. It is how we live our lives that will make it how we think it should be.
Although packed at times we may be with work etc, always remember to put priorities straight and maintain the One focus in mind at all times. Sometimes we need reminders for this sort of thing..and I am not excluded. =)
Will be off for a while from blogging. Thanks for patience!
-little cup-
So tired.
I always thought life would be carefree, easy and relaxing. Indeed it never was and never will be. It is how we live our lives that will make it how we think it should be.
Although packed at times we may be with work etc, always remember to put priorities straight and maintain the One focus in mind at all times. Sometimes we need reminders for this sort of thing..and I am not excluded. =)
Will be off for a while from blogging. Thanks for patience!
-little cup-
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Smoke?
It was a usual day to college, then went up to class to arrange seating arrangements then suddenly the 'idea' of the day came to me and I happened to miss marking it in my schedule book. So rushed with another friend to 'carry out the idea' then on the way...
Smoke?
Then a fire brigade dashed through, calling all drivers to give way. (We were walking at the road side) Then I looked again - fire!
Gosh, at first glance I thought the hotel under construction caught fire. Then as we walked further on, I heard the bystanders who stood at the roadside watching the smoke say, "It's the school..."
I gasped.
SMK Kuching High will sign the front page of The Borneo Post tomorrow. My friend took photos of the smoke due to 'sakai-ness' but I couldn't get hold of them. Here's another friend's blog which has the complete pictures. Check it out here!
I can only hope that the documents, especially the exam papers are safe and sound...since the building burnt is said to be the office block. Or else.. I can't imagine what would happen if i were the student whose testpapers were burnt.
Let's just take this as a precautionary advice to be careful when dealing with electric switches or anything that can cause fire.
-little cup-
Smoke?
Then a fire brigade dashed through, calling all drivers to give way. (We were walking at the road side) Then I looked again - fire!
Gosh, at first glance I thought the hotel under construction caught fire. Then as we walked further on, I heard the bystanders who stood at the roadside watching the smoke say, "It's the school..."
I gasped.
SMK Kuching High will sign the front page of The Borneo Post tomorrow. My friend took photos of the smoke due to 'sakai-ness' but I couldn't get hold of them. Here's another friend's blog which has the complete pictures. Check it out here!
I can only hope that the documents, especially the exam papers are safe and sound...since the building burnt is said to be the office block. Or else.. I can't imagine what would happen if i were the student whose testpapers were burnt.
Let's just take this as a precautionary advice to be careful when dealing with electric switches or anything that can cause fire.
-little cup-
Monday, December 1, 2008
Laziness
Lately classes have been hectic.. Assignments deadlines creeping up! Quizes just around the corner! And exams in less than 20 days! O.o
And above all these 'loads', laziness comes in slyly... ah procrastination!
I used to not be lazy, well I try not to be. Homework must be done in time, no late submissions or excuses whatsoever. Then motivation is important in order to keep the hands and brain working to finish the works..
Now..things have changed. The body seems to laze around more than it used to. And the brain has slowed down, more like decelerated. Oh blame the environment!
All the same, things that has to be done must be done. Assignments must be completed in due time... so NO procrastination! Only self-discipline can help oneself to be organized.
Somehow prayer helps when you lose focus while doing work. =)
-little cup-
And above all these 'loads', laziness comes in slyly... ah procrastination!
I used to not be lazy, well I try not to be. Homework must be done in time, no late submissions or excuses whatsoever. Then motivation is important in order to keep the hands and brain working to finish the works..
Now..things have changed. The body seems to laze around more than it used to. And the brain has slowed down, more like decelerated. Oh blame the environment!
All the same, things that has to be done must be done. Assignments must be completed in due time... so NO procrastination! Only self-discipline can help oneself to be organized.
Somehow prayer helps when you lose focus while doing work. =)
-little cup-
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