Name: Candy
Birthday: 1st July 85
E-mail: flakz85@gmail.com
Present location: Singapore


reading;
perceptive writing;
teaching;
traveling;
musicals, plays, films;
keeping fit;
jazz bars;
great friends!

It has been days of revision and completing of assignments. To many, this seems hardly the most ideal way of spending the one week break.. but i acutally love this time of spending time alone. Is it just me?

I realise that doing things for God, making time to go for cell meetings, church services are really different here. It requires more than just faith. It requires me to stand up for my faith.

I had never known that standing up for Who i believe in, what i have to do can be so difficult. I guess this is a Make-or-Break situation. I either stand up stronger in God, or, slide away from Him. I have to admit that it gets really tough sometimes, but i am so glad that everytime i get discouraged, He ALWAYS send someone to encourage me. There's always a Word that will be sent by Him.

Just yesterday, i was to go jogging with my friend, Esther in the evening. As the time approached, i started to think that perhaps i could use the time to do my work instead. At that time, she called to confirm if we were still meeting. I didn't know why, but i answered "Yes, of course." Just then, there was a moment of daja vu! Daja vu is supposedly biblical because God has placed eternity in our hearts and thus, there will be moments when some moments had been visited already. Anyhow, everything fell so nicely according to His divine Plan! He has placed in my life now, a friend that i can be accountable to! Esther is slightly older than me and is someone on fire for God! And as we started knowing each other better during the jog, i am so encouraged that God has been placing people in my life to watch over me! =)

A friend that He places is always, to me, a divine gift from Him! Just cannot express my gratitude in words.

At times, because i have so few Christian friends here, it makes sharing of my thoughts difficult. And the fact that it takes me a long time to trust people ain't totally helping. Hmm.. i suddenly realise that it all goes back to this area i have to learn -- Patience! Wow.. how amazing that different things always point back to the same area that God wants to mould me. =)

Be encouraged! God has given us the power to stand firm in Him! =)

Love you so so much in His name and mine!

Just The Girl @ Thursday, March 31, 2005


Easter Sunday! =)

Easter has always been a special time for me. It was this time, 4 years ago that PeiXiong brought me to the Easter celebration at Indoor Stadium. =) Its so marvellous how God brings Peixiong into my life to bring me to church! :) I watched the service online last night and missed church more than ever. Cannot wait for june to come!

Although the church that i went to this morning does not have drama, dance nor a large audience, but, God has been so good. There is a thick atmosphere of faith and His presence! :) There was a guest pastor, Pastor Sauls who came to share the Word too. As i heard the sermon, there were so many things that spoke right into my heart. Truly a Word of the season for me! :)

After lunch, we continued our third day of road trip. We travelled south-west this time to the Aquarium of Western Australia. The fishes and moon jellyfishes are so beautiful! :) And there is a pool outdoors for seals too! (Yap, i know.. i was really happy to see my seal family. haha.. private joke..) As the phrase goes, pictures speak a thousand words. As i can't post the pictures on the blog, i promise to show all of you the pictures when i get back! :)

That's it. After coffee and dinner, that marks the end of our road trip! =) Can't wait to travel north in the Sept holidays!

Meanwhile, back to my books and assignments..

Just The Girl @ Sunday, March 27, 2005


A little drained after the long day yesterday, we set off to this place, Wave Rock. Its a longer drive today, it took about 5 hours just to get there. It was all worth it though, the rocks really resembles huge waves. I cannot help but marvel at God's way of creating nature! That's why you see me and my friends, doing stunts, mimicing real surfing! :)

Love God and all His beautiful creations!

We climbed up the steep slope and came to the peak, overlooking the vast land. Although slightly cloudy, the sky seems limitless and never-ending in its vastness. Just as there is no limit in the way the sky stretches, truly, there's no limit to what we can do with God. Thanks for the reminder, God! :) Truly, Sky is my limit!

On the way there, while my friend, Eddy was driving, i saw a tree that stands solitary and firm in the middle of a wide field. All of a sudden, i was so amazed at how it could do so. Without any other trees beside it, would it feel lonesome? Would it feel helpless? I feel like this here, at times.. strangely, this image of The tree gives me strength.

I know where i stand, with Him as my foundation. It is not so hard. Come what may. Just bring it on.

Just The Girl @ Saturday, March 26, 2005


Despite the long ride ahead, i was so excited today because its the first day of my first road trip! =)

I went on this road trip with 7 other friends and we rented 2 cars. One of my fav cars by the way, Mitsubishi Lancer and its white! Ha.. sorry there, just have a fetish for white things. =)

We spent a lot of time, and fuel, on this first day. We are to go to Margaret River and also to stop by the various chocolate factory, wine yards and yogurt factory on our way there. The unfortunate thing was that they were mostly closed because it was Good Friday holiday. Despite of that, we still had lots of fun.

We visted this place called the Jewel Cave. The whole cave was beautiful formations of limestone. Limestones are results of chemical reactions between air, water and sulphur nitrate, if i remember correctly. ;) The place was really cold and clammy though, because most parts of the cave were actually below sea level before the water dried out and became a cave. The lowest point was about 750m below sea level. :) (because i can't upload all the photos here, i will show you guys when i get back! ;))

We went also to a Lighthouse that is absolutely cool because that's where Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean meets! =) Its a really cool place, not just because of the climate but its a really beautiful place as well. :)

One of my breakthroughs too, because i was one of the drivers in my car. (Yes Sean, you can rejoice now that i have gotten over my own phoebia. ;)) The roads were long and straight and it was basically a good, nice, long drive back. :) I am no longer afraid of driving.. waiting to get back to sgp and to use my dad's car to get around! :)

We came back at about ten-nish.. considering that we set off at 530am, it was a long day. :) Did i already mention that i had so much fun? ;)

Just The Girl @ Friday, March 25, 2005


I am here with some of my floor mates, on our very first floor outing! ;) We had Japanese food, at this place called Matsuri and what can i say? Its absolutely yummy and it has been a great time of knowing each other better! ;)

rating: *****

Just The Girl @ Thursday, March 24, 2005


Through it all, i am very grateful to God.

I have gotten back my laptop, absolutely free of charge and even all my files and softwares are neatly transferred to this new hard disk! Wow! =)

I know that some of you are quite worried about me here, afraid that i may lose my faith because i seemed so discouraged and terribly homesick. I still am homesick, but the Words God has been sending me through different different people has been so encouraging.

I went for cell group this week, and as always, its through many many miraculous connections. The cell meeting here is quite different, we do a lot more sharing of personal experiences. But, just as He has said in His Word that we are to edify one another, i personally feel that through the sharing, we learn a lot from one another. And the bottomline is that we get to see how much God has really worked through us and For us. He is so awesome that i am speechless for words. How funny it is that sometimes words are not enough for us to truly express how we feel yap?

God has revealed to me back in singapore that my calling would be in worship. More specifically, in the leading of praise and worship. He has opened doors for me here to serve Him and these doors are really, quite a big step for me. I am still praying about this though. I don't want to just move according to what i myself want, but what He wants to do through me. So, if you feel anything about this as you help pray for me, please let me know. You never know, but what God speaks to you may be a living word and a double confirmation. =)

Good Friday and Easter is coming up! I watched the trailer at the svc online and wow! =) I am believing that the whole indoor stadium will be jammed pack!

I have been praying a lot here that doors would be opened so that i will be able to share forth the gospel. So, you should too! =) God hears such prayers! A few of us had prayed this morning for our hall mates and yap, i am believing that all the five of us who prayed this morning has a purpose here! And so, keep my Currie Hall people in your prayers! That we will be all going to church next weekend and that the non-believers will be touched by His presence! I am so excited that there are people who are believing in this with me. Esp this girl, Gene. She was the one who brought me to Faith Community Church this morning. Faith-filled girl she is. =)

A really funny and interesting story here is how God has promised me in singapore, a friend that He will send me here, through His divine intervention. I don't know if this is it.. but, well, the signs are really miraculous.

Story of how God places Debra in my life.

My version of the story of how we met: I met her on the first day of orientation. I was walking to some hall for briefing. She happened to be walking beside me and said a simple "hi." We talked after that and exchanged numbers at the end of the briefing.

In a natural circumstance, i would not have known her or noticed her to become friends. She stays outside, with her brother. She is a Commerce student. We do not take any similar units.

Yet, after that, when i was at Zion Praise Harvest Church, there i saw her. When i was at Subiaco Church of Christ last week, i saw her again. When i was at cell gp last week, i saw her again! Tell me about God's plan yap? ;)

During fellowship after cell, her brother told me about their version of how Debra and i knew each other:

When they were walking to the hall, her brother was telling her about how she should try to make friends on her own instead of just relying on him. He was telling her that she needs to be friendly.. just then, he saw me walking alone and he nudged at her and say, "hey, look, there's a girl walking alone, go talk to her." And yap, she said "hi" and our friendship continues from there.

But, the actual fact is that i didn't go to the orientation alone. I was with at least 6 other friends and it was just at That Precise moment when we were walking to the hall that my friends and i were seperated because we were in different faculties. And ta-da! That's why i was 'alone'.

Looking back, all i can say is that i am so amazed at how God has been placing and preparing all these things before me. I feel so silly to be worried, the other time..

I enjoy a good laugh at myself everytime my past worries seem futile. There is really no need to spend my time worrying. =)

Have a great week ahead, and till the next time, its candy signing off! ;)

Just The Girl @ Sunday, March 20, 2005


This was the question that my English Creative lecturer threw at us this monday. We were to answer the question in three minutes with this style called stream of consciousness. This style means that we are to continue writing with no capital letters, no punctuations and simply put, just to allow our subconscious to take over.

So, Why Write?

writing is often a very personal and emotional thing that involves randonmess of thoughts and emotions the thoughts that flow out of my moving hands is as though thoughts that are overwhelmed in my subconscious are finally given a realm of escape the little observations of different people different cultures different scenes interesting and exciting colours of life are given a life form when words are spilled out on paper revisiting the sites of memories and drawing them out to readers in a word form is a pleasure on its own

Maybe, just maybe, i shall take three minutes and write Why Live? That would be interesting don't you think?
Just The Girl @ Tuesday, March 15, 2005


I heard some really exciting healing miracles that happened last night and i am so excited about it! Wow! God is really moving in a powerful way, amen? =) Let's keep believing that God will heal more people today and tomorrow! =)

At the beginning, i had felt that South City Church is really the church that i should be rooted in. But, as i started praying this week, i felt more and more that this was only my preference. It is not the will of God. So, please do keep me in your prayers as i start to search and follow the direction of where God wants to place me. =)

When i got here, i got a great culture shock because everyone staying in my hall seems to be paired up and attached in one way or another. Later, a senior told me that the truth of the matter is that, i quote, "everyone gets hooked up to another person eventually, maybe because everyone just feels lonely here. Just wait and see." I was appalled when i heard this. Firstly, "hook up" just sounds so negative. Yet as i started observing, i realised that, sadly, that seems to be the thing that is happening. As you guys know, i am on vow now and this culture is certainly not edifying. So, please pray really hard that God will guard my heart. Not that i am swayed now, but, its certainly harder here because you guys are not here to watch over me. Nonetheless, the good news is, God has been so good because, in a miraculous way, He brought this book, "I kiss dating goodbye" to me.

This book is written by Pastor Joshua and he illustrated how being single is a gift from God. It is a time that we can serve God better and we can be more focused in our worship toward God. I am only half-way through this book now. But, i feel God encouraging me throughout the whole time and i feel more strength and determination to stand righteous before God and to fulfill the vow in His strength.

It is so much harder here because sometimes i feel truly alone in my faith towards God. There is nobody to come and check on how i am doing with God. There is nobody that comes and say that they have a word for me. There is nobody to pray with. Its just really, like in 1Peter, chapter 1, that i have to "add to [my] faith, ... self-discipline..." (NIV). When no one is checking on you, would you still stand firm in your faith? When no one is checking on your spiritual life, would you still read the bible and pray?

I think everything that we do in life is determined by our own attitude. And most importantly, our decision.

When something goes wrong, you have the right to decide whether you want to stay cheery or to put on a glum face.
When everything falls apart, you have the right to decide whether you want to come up stronger than ever before in your faith, or to just fall flat on the ground.
When someone criticizes you, you have the right to decide to smile and "turn the right cheek" to him, or to say something nasty back.
When what you get is not what you want, you have the right to continue trusting in God, or to backslide.

What i chose is to trust in God.

Before i came over here, i already knew that this is going to be tough. But, because i knew that coming here is God's way for me, i knew i had to come. Don't think that i am brave.. i had cried endless times back in Singapore to have His Will changed. I prayed that i need not come. But ultimately, God just asked, "Candy, are you going to obey?" And i knew then that, come what may, i will still pray
"Let your Will be done, as it is in heaven."

I am positive about this, that this will be a time of self-discipline and great moulding for me. I know it is not going to be easy, that's why i really do appreciate all your prayers. Whether long or short, i know that the prayers are heard by God.

I just want all of you to know that despite the distance, prayers, love and God has no distances. I have been keeping all of you in my prayers, continue to be blessed and look after one another! =) Let's jia you in our faith, amen? =)

Love all of you in His name and mine
Candy
Just The Girl @ Saturday, March 12, 2005


Hello everyone!! =) Yap, i know it has been a while since i last updated this blog.. and that's because my ibook crashed on sat. Hmm.. yes, i know what you might be thinking, that Apple computers should not crash because its running on a Mac system. Anyhow, i think its highly my fault too... so, i have to resort to using the computer in a small room in my hall to update this. =) But, its not too too bad, so, no worries. The only problem is that i cannot read all of your tags, so i guess that has to wait till my laptop comes back to me.

I know how it sounds in the blog, that i am managing really well and adapting well here... but, actually, that ain't the whole picture. Of course i have friends here, but they are not you guys. And, of course, i don't have my family here with me so that's really quite hard for me to cope with.

On saturday midnight, when my computer crashed, i felt like i had crashed with it as well. I couldn't call home because i know that my brother would be asleep by then. I was at a loss and was really literally pale in the face and going to faint. Even after all the comforts from my beloved neighbour, Tiffany, i just could not stop worrying. I called my good friends in Singapore and talked for quite a while. Yet, it was to no avail. That very night, the only thing i wanted to do was to take the first flight back to Singapore and forget about my education and purpose here. No kidding. I suddenly felt so alone here, and so homesick. I kept telling God that it's too too hard for me to take it and cried myself to sleep that night.

It was just so hard for me to see beyond my situation then.

I repeated verses after verses to myself when i woke up for Sunday service the next day. Throughout the whole day, i hung onto my faith that i shall not worry, because God said so in His Word. God was so kind to me too, He just kept telling me to leave it all in His hands.

I could only send my laptop for repair this morning because yesterday was some public holiday. Anyhow, praise the Lord! I was so worried that i might have to pay a high amount for the repair but i realised today that its still under warranty!! =) God is indeed good!

I looked back now, and think that its really silly for me to worry so so much.. i guess, this probably applies to all of us? We just cannot see beyond our situation and end up being extremely worried although God has already gotten it all prepared and taken care of it for us? =)

I don't know if you agree with me, but i believe in this chinese proverb, "Jing Yi Shi, Zhang Yi Zhi". It means that when we go through something, we tend to become wiser because we learn something new in life.

Maybe God is just teaching me about this big word called Trust? =)

I feel that the lesson learnt is:
Whatever is your difficult situation, lean not unto your own understanding, but, trust in the Lord. Lift the problem to God and He will take care of it for you.

He has done it for me, He can do it for you! =)

Some testimonies to share with you:
1. I have been praying for financial blessings to come into my family. True enough, my dad's business earned so much profit last month, he got double of what he usually get. Which, is an handsome amount. God is our provider, amen? =)

2. I had been praying for a job and it has come... (though i have not decided whether i should take it up yet. ) So, please keep me in your prayers about this? =)

I would really appreciate it if you can really keep me in your prayers. I get homesick quite a lot. Pray that God will continue to strengthen me from the inside? And that i can really hold on to this good fight? =) Thanks so much!!

Finally, i would really love to hear from all of you. So, do drop me a mail to let me know how each and every one of you are coping? =) Love you lots and you are sure that i am keeping you in my prayers. *hugz*

=)

Just The Girl @ Tuesday, March 08, 2005


Hello everyone!! =) I had woken up today in an especially cheery mood and it is getting warmer today.. it sure is a mark to a good start of the day!

I had such a good time last night at Pastor Ken's place.. the cell group meeting wasn't very much like what we do in church. Apparently as i heard from my friend, the style of the cell meeting is quite different every week.. We had a long prayer time last night, together with a good time of worship. Pastor Ken led us to lots of different worship songs and i am so amazed that he did not look at chords and that he is so good at remembering the many chords of all the songs! Wow! The most impt thing though, was that we ended up praying for lots of people, giving praises to God, getting more in love with God and dwelling in His presence! It is just so amazing.. =)

After that, Pastor Ken's wife, Kristy, had a spontaneous idea after the cell meeting so off we went off in the dark Australian streets, searching for a basketball court! Ha.. how spontaneous ya? =) Anyhow, it all went well and i was just so blessed by the cell group! They were really nice and included me in their conversations although i am considered really young amonst them. There are 2 couples who got married recently and the rest of them are already working... so yap, you can imagine the difference in age. But, just as God had not set boundaries in our love for one another, there was no differences so vast and they had been really nice and welcoming towards me. Thanks so much, you guys.. for all the prayers for me to be rooted in a local church here. =) I believe that this is it. =)

Pastor Ken shared this word with us last night and i think its really apt for all of us too..

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication,
with thanksgiving,
let your requests be made known unto God."
-Philippians 4:6

(read the verse again, slowly. Devour every word in this verse. Yes, if you are hungry for His Word, devour it. You've got my meaning ya? ;) )

I mean, all of us know this verse here. Its quite a famous verse... Yet, i guess in our thinking that we already knew this verse, we had probably just skimmed through it. Yet, when Pastor Ken interepreted it, i realised that i had missed the whole point of this beautiful verse and the promise that God has been trying to tell me. He is telling all of us that whatever it is that you need a breakthrough in, whatever it is that you need right now, whatever miracles you need in your situation, first give thanks to Him. Let your praise towards Him be extravagent! Let your voice shout out to God in praise!! Because He has already assured us that we need not worry or be anxious, He will take good care of our various needs. Just let all your needs be "made known to Him"!!

Through it all, i had gone through certain dark valleys of my life and at one point it got so bad i came to the end of myself. No more road ahead and the future just looked really bleak. At that time, i was so disappointed and devastated that i realise that i have nothing to my name except God. I realised that, if you have wealth, it may be gone overnight. If you have trust in some people, sometimes, there might be breach of your trust. The only person in times of need is truly Our Heavenly Father. It was that point of time that i realised that He is truly worthy of all my praises to Him. Even if every single thing is stripped off me, like my education, my friends, family, money, house etc, yet i can still rejoice because i have found the good part. I have got a reason to rejoice because God will never ever forsake me nor abandon me. Yes? Amen? =) Maybe you are in a situation now and you feel that there are nothing you can praise God for. Actually, there is something for you to praise Him for.

That is that, He loves you.

Be extravegent in your praise to Him today! =)

Sing Him a favorite Praise song and mean it with all your heart. Or, maybe tell Him thousand and thousand of times of "Thank You, God". (Let me tell you, i do that all the time.. so, its not crazy at all. ;) ) Well, or let the creativity in you come up with something to praise God! =)

REJOICE!!!

Just The Girl @ Thursday, March 03, 2005


Although it may be a beautiful place here, i have learnt that i have got to stand on my own feet here and make my own stands. As much as i may have friends here, it is never quite the same without all my close friends by my side, going to the cell group and church i have been so used to and especially without my parents and family beside me. I take this as one of the biggest challenges that i will face here in Perth. Not that it is not a good change, just that in everything, there will be no one watching over me so the more i have to be wiser in the things i do and think. :) So, please help me too by praying over this area of my life here too! =) Nonetheless, i am not too worried because, through the course of these couple of weeks, God has shown Himself more true and closer than before. So, da ta! =) It has been good here. =)

important note: **No matter what you are facing now, remember that you always have a friend in me and that you always can have your trust found in the never-changing God Himself. **

Frankly speaking, I had so many fears before i came: how am i going to adapt to the different climates, how am i going to survive without my family, how am i going to church, how am i going to serve in a foreign environment, how am i going to...... there were so many so many doubts in me before i came over. Yet, now, upon hindsight, God had truly planned everything and prepared things ahead of me. As the verse says in 1 Corinthians 2:9, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God had prepared for those who loves him." He had laid the perfect way and a good path even before i got here. Wow,, He is truly my Father, and yours too! =) A Father who loves us so much that He not only wants us to have a good life, He wants us to have a Godly life!

Are you a person who loves God?

=) If you are, do not worry.. i have realised that worrying or fearing for the worst would not solve any problem. Pick up the shield, which is the Word of God as seen in 2 Samuel 23:29-31. It is a good shield against all the problems, worries and bleak futures you have in front of you. Ask God for a promise and He will surely give to you. Hang on to the Word and cling unto the Promise given to you and Never Ever let go. Jia You! =)

One very important thing i learnt in the sermon last Sunday at South City Church is that, one of the keys to our breakthroughs is that we are to Keep Close to Jesus even when He seems to deviate from our expected courses. Sometimes, in our minds, we feel that God seems too busy with other people and other issues. Sometimes, God just seems to be too far away. But let's hang on to our faith! You should have faith in faith itself! (think about this, it makes lots of sense. =) )

Dwelling on the topic of South City Church, i have to really tell you that i am really excited about getting rooted there! First of all, its all of God's work in the very first place. I got to know this brother who used to attend City Harvest in Singapore before he immigrated here in Perth after many many connections were made and lots of strings pulled by the leaders in Singapore. (Thanks so much, Junrong and Sister Linda!) Wow.. God is really good ya? :) Secondly, i am really excited about the fact that although the church is quite small but Pastor Ken, the senior Pastor, is really annointed and is a powerful preacher! Because the hall is quite small (the whole church is about one section of our ground seats of our auditorium), Pastor Ken got all of us to pray for all the seats during the prayer meeting. We walked around the whole hall, everyone of us being led by the Spirit and praying over every seat. It was really really fantastic! The presence of God was indeed powerful throughout the whole Praise and Worship and during the preaching of the Word. It had been a really good experience and it felt like home once again. I am joining their cell group tonight, and my cell leader would be the senior pastor, Pastor Ken! I am so excited for the Word! Please believe with me and pray over me to be rooted in a church with sound doctrine and a church full of vision and hope! =)

For all of you reading this, hey... this blog is my blog and yours. So, do let me know about how each of you are doing as well. I am really concerned about each and every one of you here too! :) you are sure you had been included in my prayers for all of you every morning! =) please feel free to email me and i promise to email back. No matter how busy i am, i promise a reply because i care for you and what you are going through, whether good or not so good, is very important to me. =) Love you so much... Looking forward to your mails soon! :)

Continue to be blessed!! =)

Just The Girl @ Wednesday, March 02, 2005


2nd March 2005

It has been quite chilly over here for the past few days... sometimes i marvel at how alike all of us are, living under the same sky, yet experiencing different things, emotions or little things like weather. So near, yet so far. :) school has started over here on mon and right now, its all still part of adapting to the thing about seeing only 5 black heads in a big lecture theatre. There are not many Asians doing my course, nonetheless, it is a really good experience. :) I am doing Linguistics (English grammar, proper sentence structures), Psychology (focusing on Mind and Brain this semester), English (Creative Writing) and Anthropology (sociology -- identity and cultures of different societies and people). They are pretty heavy units, but i am believing that with all your prayers and God's divine help and guidance, i can pull through with good grades. :) Amen? Yap, and so can all of you who are still studying.. God is never faraway, he is really just a breath away. So, ask for His help, talk to Him. =)

Jan sprang me a surprise last sat, appearing outside my Hall at close to 11pm! Ha.. I almost fainted when i received her short message, "Girl, i am outside Currie Hall now. (paraphrase included.)" Anyhow, together we visited South City Church the following day before going to this tourist attraction in Perth, this place called Fremantle. We had a great time just catching up and enjoying each other's companionship. :) And all of you should come to Perth someday too.. i am not too great with navigation but well, we can surely figure the maps out together! ;)

When Jan left last night though, there was this sense of loss and a tinge of sadness.. wonder when i will get to spend time with her again. ( to Jan: please take good care aright? :) and about the prev prob, i had solved it once and for all. Praise God for that.. :) thanks dearie, for the advice that night. hugz** miss you already! see you in Sgp! )

Just The Girl @ Wednesday, March 02, 2005