“A thing of Beauty is a Joy forever”

How true this is, no matter what it is, for beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.

It can be a strand of lustrous pearls, it can be a flower with crystal dewdrops on its petals in the early morning. It can be a beautiful fiery sunset or frozen icicles shimmering in the weak winter light.



It just takes a few moments to pause and observe the beauty around us, the beauty of Mother Nature,
or the lovely smile of a child looking at you in pure innocence.


Sometimes the natural beauty of the environs makes me pause in awe. Surely a divine Hand must have been at work to create such wonders. The crystal clear emerald waters of the lakes and thundering waterfalls in Juizhaigou in China are a great tourist lure.



Flowers of different varieties arranged in artful presentations are also awesome. Here the beauty of nature and the creativity of man result in a different kind of beauty. Hence international flower shows are also another draw.



It is great that modern technology has enabled us to capture that beauty in the camera lens and preserved that moment in time so that when we look at those photos, it triggers the memories of the times when we were actually there, seeing the “real thing”. These are rainbow daubs on the canvas of our memory.

Happy Mother's Day

Today is Mother’s Day. Many families will be taking their mums out either for lunch or dinner. Hotels, restaurants and cafes have advertised their special menus for Mother’s Day long before today.

Mother’s Day, celebrated on the second Sunday in May in many parts of the world happens to be on a Sunday this year, so our Agape Methodist Church lined up a program to celebrate during our worship service.

The Sunday School children recited a poem and sang songs in honour of their mums. The youths rendered a special song to all mothers. The Methodist ladies, all dressed in red tops sang a lovely song too and they have arranged for a Mother’s Day dinner this evening. Pastor’s sermon was aptly geared towards children and parents. Children should obey their parents who should be role models as written in the Holy Bible.

“Children” in his proclamation, did not only refer to the young but also to the adults who still have living parents. He reminded the congregation that everyday should be regarded as Mother’s Day and not this one particular day in May which comes round only once a year. We should show love, care and concern for our parents all year round and if they no longer live with us, we should make the effort to contact them at least once a week. This is a timely reminder that parents will not be with us forever and we do not know what will happen tomorrow, so what can be done today should not be put off to another day.

My grandson made me a lovely card and his words touched my heart.

My grandaughter made these lovely flowers.



Here is a message received from a mother to share with all mothers.

A mom is God’s love in action
She looks with her heart and feels with her eyes
A mom is the bank where her children deposit all their worries & hurt
A mom is the cement that keeps her family together and her love lasts a
lifetime.


Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers.

A New Rainbow

Another rainbow was colored into my life.

Two days ago I met up with my siblings in Kuala Lumpur. One of my sisters was en route back to Ozieland after making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and visiting other countries.

I hadn’t seen her for quite a while. We had a reunion dinner at one of the restaurants in a shopping complex in Bangsar, hosted by my youngest brother.

The oldest and the youngest were there. My youngest brother’s mother-in-law is 83 years of age and the youngest is a baby of 5 months. There were three tables to accommodate all of us.



My son and his fiancée were also present. They had bussed up from Singapore the day before to meet my sister from Down Under.

The men sat at their table to drink and ‘man-talk’ while the younger ones had their own table for their own table talk while the ladies had a table to themselves for tete-a-tete, catching up on the latest from Ozie Land to the Land below the Wind.

The food was good, thanks to my sister-in-law who’s very good at selecting the delicious dishes. The roast suckling pig was very tender and crispy and I enjoyed it very much.


All too soon the evening had to come to an end but we took away fond memories.

There are two weddings in the offing. Wedding bells will ring in the later part of this year and early next year. So there are these two events to look forward to. Happy families are what make life meaningful.