Finished reading "Small Acts of Grace" last week. Love the book... it's on loan now to my client. Hope the stories will touch her and show her how great Jesus is. Just started reading this book by Max Lucado: Traveling Light. This is one of the books that sat on my book shelf & collected dust for a long time. It was a gift from my friend, Theresa some 3 Christmases ago.

This book talks about the luggage of life. All of us, in some way or another, have picked up a few bags in the journey of our lives. Max Lucado, using a famous well-loved psalm in the Bible, showed us how we can release the burdens we never intended to bear.

I'm now at Chapter 7... and I like how Max Lucado links each verse in Psalm 23 to a burden in life and how God has planned our paths for us and how we were never intended to bear these burdens.

Here's what I've read so far:

The Lord... | the burden of a lesser God
The Lord is my shepherd. | the burden of self-reliance
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. | the burden of discontent
He makes me to lie down in green pastures. | the burden of weariness
He leads me beside the still waters. | the burden of worry
He restores my soul | the burden of hopelessness

When God made us, He knew there are such burdens that we take upon ourselves. But as you focus on the Lord our shepherd, you realise that you can easily let these burdens down.

Well, I'm cracking my head to summarise what I've read, but I can't do it. There's no way I can simplify what Max Lucado did in the book - analysing each verse above and describing God's love for us. I suggest you give this book a read. It'll make you see things in a different light. Did I tell you my "library" is operational even without the shelves? So, if you'd like to borrow this book, let me know. (^_*)

The main gate is up! The lights are up! The glass fixtures are up! Up up up and [almost] away!! We've got 1 more glass swing door between the kitchen & the dining room to be installed. And the carpenter's coming within the next few days to fix our cabinets and wardrobe. AND WE'RE DONE!! And the cleaning nightmare starts!!

"Recruitment for free cleaners. Please sign up here!"

It is a TTC tradition that a few of us team up to plan & organise our Christmas party every year. Some time in Sep 2006, we had the task assigned to Ying & Choon (our Malaysian counterparts), and they gladly welcomed the assignment.

So... up their sleeves was a perfect plan for a perfect holiday for the whole group of us. It was a real pity that a few people that couldn't be there.

29 Dec 2006 (Fri)
We met at the train station at Tanjong Pagar at 9.45pm and the train departed at 10.20pm. At that moment, I had mixed feelings. You see, Calvin couldn't join us as he wasn't able to take overseas leave and that would mean that we'll be spending the New Year apart. But at the same time, I so long to go on this trip with my dear TTCians.

So, without any idea where we're headed, I hugged Calvin & boarded the train. The train ride is not as bad as I expected it to be. The toilets were definitely much better than I thought.

We arrived at KL around 8am and we met Choon for breakfast before heading off to "dunno-where".

Our 1st stop was made at a paddy field in Sekincang (I think). It wasn't a fantastic, breath-taking destination, BUT we had soooo much fun!! We discovered a new pose to take photo with and after that, everywhere we went, we had to take a group photo in that pose! Yes, you guessed it! The jumping pose!! Check out our photos..

Then we found out that this is gonna be a 游山玩水 trip! The real 1st stop: Pangkor Island. There were plans for some beach activities, but we were a little behind schedule and all of us were too tired from the travelling. So we just had a simple, laid-back time there.

More beautiful stories from Small Acts of Grace:

~~~@

There was a man in a nursing home. He did not remember any of his children or even his wife, though she visited him everyday. The family did everything they could think of to help him. They showed him photo albums and momentos of special vacations and anniversaries. They even took their collie for a visit. The response was always a blank stare.

Then one day his wife sat beside him. She lifted his two hands and held them in hers.

"Who am I, dear?" she asked.

The same blank stare. And then his face brightened as he looked at her hands holding his. For a moment, a familiar smile crossed his face as he said three words, "You love me."

If a loving touch has so much power, then maybe we can all find more ways to hold hands with one another.

- excerpt from Chapter 3, Small Acts of Grace.

~~~@

Little Danny keeps following his mother around the house. He stays right at her heels as she cooks, makes the beds, and does the laundry. Time after time his mother encourages him to go to his room and play with his toys, but Danny doesn't want to leave.

Exasperated, his mother finally kneels down, cups Danny's chin in her hands, and asks gently, "Sweetheart, what's the matter?"

"Nothing, Mommy," he answers. Then he adds, eyes shining, "But my Sunday school teacher told us to walk in Jesus' footsteps. And since I can't see Jesus, I'm walking in yours."

- adapted from a story captured on the Internet. Author unknown.

I decided to start packing my stuff at home. I've got tons of things to move when our house is ready... And Calvin is "warning" me to take this chance to throw away things & clothes that I don't use & wear anymore. But but but, I may find some use to those things some day, and and and, I may be able to wear some of those [smaller sized] clothes some day... wahahaha!!!

So. I started packing my books yesterday. I realised that there are quite a few books that I've not read yet, and I've already bought some new books. Anyway, they're all gonna be happy residents of my library. Oh, did I tell you that I want to have a library in our dining room? It's gonna be an open shelf, with a glass-door section for Calvin to display his 12-inch figurines. I've always wanted a library in my home, but I think I'm gonna get really sick & tired of dusting the books on the shelves. It's like a nightmare that I plot for myself... ha!

Anyway, I bought some books for myself during Christmas and I'd like to share some beautiful things I read in the one I'm reading now - Small Acts of Grace by Alice Gray.

This book is about "What can I do to make a difference today?" Alice Gray gives simple ideas to support, encourage, and brighten the lives of those around us. I remember Imoto-san and I once had a conversation about what we want people around us to say about us when we depart from this world. For me, I hope they will say "She made a difference in my life".

I'm already halfway through the book. And as I read it on my way to work everyday, I find so many things that I wanna share with you. Today, before I start my work day proper, let me share a little excerpt from the book. A story in the Bible that tells us how beautiful our Lord Jesus is.

"Touching was an important part of Christ's ministry. He touched the eyes of the blind man, He blessed the children by laying His hands on them, He washed the disciples' feet. But perhaps His most stunning use of touch was when He laid hands on a man who had leprosy. [Matthew 8:3] In Bible times, no one touched lepers. They lived outside the towns and were required to cry out "unclean" when other people came near. Not even spouses or parents or children touched a leper. When the leper asked Jesus if He would heal him, Jesus easily could have just said, "Be healed." But He didn't. Because Jesus knew how much it would mean to the man, Jesus stretched out His hand and touched him."
- Chapter 3, Pg 45-46, Small Acts of Grace

I hope to share more beautiful stories and inspiring ideas with you. And we can all do a little part in making a difference in the lives around us.