hot, hot, hot!

Gosh, the weather has been very hot and humid lately. When Da and I met my mother, my brother (LG) and LG's girlfriend (ZT) for brunch at our favourite coffee shop at Jalan Tua Kong, we were perspiring throughout the brunch. It did not help that before I could order a cold drink for myself (which is a rarity because I generally do not drink cold drinks), the drink stall lady looked at me and said, "You want your regular drink, don't you? Hot tea without milk and with less sugar and a fresh lime?". Sigh.... my family and I are such regulars at the coffee shop that often, the stall holders place the order for us before we can even open our mouths.

When we finished eating, we saw that the sky had become quite dark. My mother commented that rain was long overdue as it has been too hot lately. Shortly after that, there was downpour. It was so heavy that everyone was drenched as we made our way to our respective cars, even though we were carrying umbrellas.

As the roads were very wet and visibility was poor, Da drove slowly as we made our way to church. We were a little late for church and as we entered the car park of the building where the church was located, there were many drivers circling the car park, trying to locate a car park lot. I said a quick prayer and thanked the Lord that we will locate a car park lot soon. Lo and behold, Da suddenly said, "This is an available lot, isn't it?". As always, the Lord had come through for us. Right at the section where we usually park our car was one available car park lot. Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! Just as Da was reversing our car into the car park lot, a driver behind us tail-gated and drove so close to our car that Da had some difficulty manoeuvring the car and reversing into the car park lot. I appeal to all drivers out there - please do not tail-gate. It is dangerous and it can inconvenience other drivers.

When we arrived at our destination, I thought that we may have to sit on the floor as the premises looked packed. However, to our pleasant surprise, an usher informed us that he had two available seats. When he led us to the seats, my smile widened. Not only were the seats nearer the front, we had direct view of the screen. How wonderful our Lord and Saviour is! He saved good seats for us.

The guest speaker today was Kenneth W. Hagin, the pastor of Rhema Bible Church. His father, Kenneth E. Hagin, was a renowned preacher who passed away in 2003. It was an awesome church service, filled with the spirit of the Lord. As children of God, we need to remember that Jesus has defeated the devil and the devil's devices. Some of these devices include sicknesses, financial challenges, conflicts with others, etc. God took care of everything when He sent Jesus to die for us at the Cross. By His stripes, we are healed. By the shedding of His precious blood, our sins have been washed clean and we are now righteous by faith. Let us cast our cares on the Lord and He will take care of everything for us. God wants us to live an wonderful life and to live it abundantly. However, we cannot live an abundant life if we are constantly full of worry and stress. Lord, I cast my cares on You. I believe the Word of God when He says in the Bible that He has taken care of everything for me. I do not know how my miracles and breakthroughs are going to happen but I know that You do. I rest in Jesus and I place my faith in His finished work. Amen!

When the church service ended, Da and I decided to go home first to rest. We were still a little full from brunch and the weather was too warm to do any gallivanting. Closer to 8 pm, I sent a text message to my mother, LG and ZT enquiring about dinner. We decided to order pizza home delivery from Canadian-2-for-1 pizza (that is, if you were to order a pizza, you will get another pizza free of charge. The two pizzas need not be of the same flavour.).

After dinner, everyone shared the dessert wine that Da and I brought. I found an unopened box of chocolates in my mother's refrigerator and we all ate the chocolates as well. Yummy!

My mother mentioned to me that the winner of India Idol 2009 is a girl who looks Chinese. As such, we logged onto youtube on my mother's computer. The winner's name is Sourabhee. I watched some of the youtube videos of her performances on India Idol. She is very good!

As my mother and I were enjoying the youtube videos, I was prompted by the computer that I had two instant messages on msn. One of the messages was from LSD (Hi girl! Do send me photographs from the wedding dinner that you attended last night. Which drop-dead gorgeous gown did you wear?) and the other, surprise, surprise... was from Auntie SH (no, she is not one of my aunts. She is a friend whose nickname is "Auntie". Oops... I can almost imagine a speculative look on BD's face. Yes, Ah Di, it is her.).

All too soon, it was time to go home. Blogging awaited me!

I will end this blog and leave you with two songs by Susan Boyle, a contestant in Britain's Got Talent 2009. She is a 47-year old lady from a village in Scotland. You would never have imagined that when she opened her mouth to sing, the most beautiful voice came forth. What was so amazing about her performance of "I dreamed a dream" on Britain's Got Talent was that when she stood on the stage (before performing) and talked about her dream to be as famous as Elaine Paige, the camera honed in on the skeptical and scornful faces of some members of the audience. By the middle of her performance, she had received standing ovation from the audience. When the judges gave their comments, Piers and Amanda admitted that they (and the audience) had judged a book by its cover and it was such a humbling experience. I think that a bigger lesson can be learned from this.

(a) We should not judge a book by its cover.

(b) When we have made a mistake, admit the mistake.

(c) Apologise for a mistake that we have made.

(d) Say words of edification and praise to others.

It is not just about the amazing voice that Susan Boyle has. School teachers may want to show the youtube video of Susan Boyle's performance and the judges' comments to their students so that they can teach the students the bigger lesson.