16 years in the Lord...

Today I turn 16 in my Christian faith as a Jesus-follower.

I've learnt much...

I've grown much...

Still more to learn...

Still more to grow...

Thank you Lord for the past 16 years... Here's to the next few years of growing more in love with you Jesus, my Lord and my Savior. :)

Perhentian Trip (5-8 June 2011)

Woohoo!! Caleb is now a certified islander!! Well I'm counting the fact that he actually had to take plane, car then boat just to get to our destination (not ot mention it was on an ISLAND!). But we eventually made it to Bubbles Dive Resort! We as in the entire Lim Clan + Leem siblings in the package. Woot! :)

It was a packed trip for Fannie as she was on a mission - to get her diving license! Everyone else was chilling on the hammocks, snorkeling, playing 'Pass the Bomb' and busking in the sun while Fannie had to study and do a crash course with Pei See.

Jee Yen and I took the time to go diving (5 in all!) and were wondered by the vast amount of sea creatures in the deep. Too bad didn't take any pictures underwater but it was totally breath taking. We saw turtles, sting rays (even an eagle ray at a distance!), moray eels, shrimps, sharks and all kinds of fish! Its a totally different world down there. Thank you Lord for showing me a glimpse of your wonders! God's creation is too amazing to put in simple words. Indescribable!

Fannie was able to join us on our last dive and I have a confession to make: I spotted a shark sucker following Fannie and was so excited to see it near her. So I to get her attention I grabbed her and turned her around and pointed frantically to that sucker. Turned out I was the 'sucker' cos Pei See had just signalled to her of a SHARK just ahead. But cos I turned Fannie around to see the shark sucker, the shark swam away before she could refocus on it. Sorry dear.. =( Hopefully next dive we can see some more amazing sea creatures ok? =P

Caleb was spoiled all trip with his 3 ayees + grandmother crowding over him all trip. He never had a dull moment on the island with so much attention showered on him. But that also meant we (the parents) could do our diving. :) We brought Caleb sea swimming which was a major event for him with SO MANY supporters cheering him on his inaugural sea swim experience. This little fellow just doesn't like large water masses. But he did settle after awhile; especially after I 'dunked' him in the sea. Heh. More swimming lessons to come for sure! :)

On our last day we also got to see a female turtle surface to lay eggs on the beach! We also got to transport some of the eggs and put them in a safe hole where the poachers can't find them. Poor things get their eggs poached in the market which is causing the turtle numbers to drop drastically. Lord you must feel for the lost of your creation. Forgive us for not being good stewards to take care of your creation. Have mercy on the little turtles Lord. :)

Here are some of the pictures of the trip to put sight to my words. Enjoy!

 

Daryl and Hui Yin's Wedding

We drove up to KL for the "wedding of the year" - Daryl and Hui Yin's wedding! :)

Its been a long time coming and its finally here. So happy for them as they've come a long way, been through much, and now happily married.

We played small roles in the wedding:
I (Kevin) was invited to be the worship leader at church.
Fannie was invited to make a speech during their dinner.
Caleb was given the role of entertaining the OCFers and his ayees + grandmother.

It was also a great time to catch up with overseas friends like AnneMaree, Myra, the Keasberries and the KL folk. Weddings have such abilities to bring friends together. :)

Caleb in a suit together with Daryl and the Kwans

In all we are happy to be part of this special day in their lives.

All glory to God. :)

Who's wedding would we be attending next I wonder? =P

What are you fighting for?

I think its a must for every guy to answer this question "What am I figthing for?" for it boils down to what's on our hearts. And it should be something bigger than ourselves and our partners.

Failure to have any clue could result in aimlessness.

For example, from a military point of view, if we give a peasant a dagger to defend his city from invasion, the peasant would make full use of the dagger and his limited combat skills he possess. On the other hand, you give a knight a broad sword and full plate armour but do not tell him what they are for, he'll only find them heavy to bear.

And here's the thing: I truly believe there's a knight in EVERY single guy on earth! Because I also believe God made us that way. To be conquerors and warriors. To fight. To stand our ground. To defend the weak.

If only every guy knew their gender calling... the world would be won for Christ in a decade! (or less!)

So my friend, "What ARE you fighting for?"...

Night Training Begins...

This is it! Today is the day we put Caleb through the night training.. partly to liberate us of the night shifts but also we feel its time (about time!) we let him sleep on his own...

so here's the plan:
1) Put him down to sleep at bedtime (around 10pm)

2) Let him cry it out on his own (for maximum of 45mins)

a-i) if still crying after 45mins = pick up and soothe for 15mins and restart another 45mins (and hope for the best!)

a-ii) if still crying after 45mins = pick up and latch to sleep = night training FAIL! =/

b) if stop crying before 45mins = Rejoice! (be on standby for night shift crying)

3) if cry in the middle of the night = allow him to cry for maximum of 45mins

a-i) if still crying after 45mins = pick up and soothe for 15mins and restart another 45mins (and hope for the best!)

a-ii) if still crying after 45mins = pick up and latch to sleep = night training FAIL! =/

b) if stop crying before 45mins = Rejoice! (prepare emotionally for the next day's training)


Dear God, we're at your mercy. Please help us through this period. Help Caleb to sleep through the night. In Jesus' Name. =)

Money or Life?

I was reminded of the childhood game we used to play:
"Money or Life or Your Bald-Headed Wife?" :)
This is where friends would come up to us and ask this question
(Bald-Headed Wife was added later for fun and rhyme)
If we chose Money, we'd get 'beaten' (tickled) by our friends.
If we chose Life, we'd have to 'give up' all the money we had to save ourselves from the 'beatings'.

Usually the answer would be rather simple: We'd choose Life. We rationalise that we could always earn back the money we lost.

Here in Mark 10:17-31, we see the same questions being asked though in a different light.

The rich young man had the money (v22) and he was seeking eternal life (v17).

Jesus' reply was: Sell everything and follow Him (v21).

The man's face fell and he went away sad.

He chose Money.

Its interesting to note that although the man had 'eveything' in his wealth, Jesus still said there was one thing he 'lacked'. (v21)

And that was he loved his money more than eternal life.

His love for money, for whatever reason (security, power, pleasures of the world etc), was hindering his access to eternal life.

At the end of the day, we all have to answer this question, Money or Life?

Choose wisely my friends.

2 Tales of Catching Fish

The bible gives us accounts of Jesus and his disciples and their fishing experience. Here are how the stories go:

Scene 1 (Before they encountered Jesus)
See Luke 5:1-11.

Note Peter's response: He fell at Jesus' knees and begs Him to go away, recognising his own sinfulness.
And Jesus responds: "Do not be afraid" (Luke 5:10); "Come follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." (Mark 1:17)

This was the first time Peter, the Zebedee brothers (James and John) met Jesus. They had not yet witnessed the miracles that Jesus later performs before their very eyes. Jesus invites them to follow Him.

Their response: They pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him. (Luke 5:11)

Do you remember the first time you encounted Jesus? And His invitation to follow Him? It must have felt so fresh and filled with anticipation as to what adventures awaited you. I think this was the same thoughts the disciples must have had then when they left everything, to follow Jesus.

Scene 2 (After Jesus was crucified)
After Jesus' death, the disciples returned to their former traits as fishermen to the same sea though different location. (See map of the Sea of Galilee here). Here we see a similar scene as to the first. The main casts are the same (Peter, Zebedee brothers and Jesus) as well as the activity (fishing and the miraculous catch).

See John 21:1-14.

Note Peter's response this time: As soon as soon as he heard it was the Lord, he jumped into the water and swam to Jesus.
And Jesus again invites them to be with Him: Bring some of the fish you caught and come and have breakfast.

The disciples recognised the act of catching a net full of fish and they knew it was the Lord (John 21:12).This time it was different; they had spent 3 years with Jesus and witnessed countless mircales happen before them. But it is Jesus' question to Peter that sets the 2 scenes apart:

"Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?"

Some of us may have known and followed Jesus for a few years now. At the end of the day, that is the question each one of us must answer. Do we truly love Jesus? Our Lord asks us the same question today, 3 times. Just to be sure. Not for us to reassure Him. But for us to be sure of our love for Him. It goes beyond head knowledge, down to our hearts and then to our innermost being.

What would your answer to that question be today?

As for me, I'm stuck at question 2. As I examine my heart, I know there are things I need to surrender and seek our Lord's forgiveness before I can honestly say, I truly, love Him.

Lord help me love you more each day; starting from today.

FLY Youth Camp - Live Out Loud!!

Attended the youth camp (3-6 December 2010) and woohoo!! I feel young again!! (NOT!) :P

Such a blessed time! The face of youth ministry has changed much. I've got a lot to learnt; a lot of names to remember; a lot of praying and seeking the Lord as to what I'm here in Frontline Youth for in such a time as this.

But one thing I'm already burdened for is that I see how they respond during camp and can't help but feel that it might be temporary. I question hpw many of them would still be 'on fire' for Jesus say in March? Sadly my cynical mind tells me this is just a 'camp high'. I broke down pleading that it would last.. this feeling of being close to God.. Lord burn deep in their hearts and be ever so real to them..

Lord these are the young ones that ypu've entrusted into my care for the next few years. May I be able to lead them in the way of the Lord and help them step into their spiritual destiny of sons and daughters of the Living God!

What would 2011 bring? Lord lead on... show us yor wonders... take us to another level with you...

It takes 2 to ...

It's not rocket science:

God intended that it takes 2 (a man and a woman) to MAKE a baby.

It's no wonder :
It also takes 2 (a father and a mother) to RAISE a child.

Already having Fannie as my teammate in this child rearing business is tiring enough. Hats off to all you single parents out there for whatever circumstances, you have to do it alone. I commend you! You are doing a great job in doing whatever you can to provide for your little one. Keep pressing on. Their bright futures would be your reward! It'll all be worth it. :)

That's the way they communicate...

I have to admit I have had times when I get frustrated at the little one for his constant crying and I have to firgure out why he's crying and how to make him stop. I find myself losing my anger at him at times too. :( But a light bulb went on when Fannie shared these simple yet profound truth about the crying...

"That's how babies communicate dear. They can't talk and tell us what's wrong and the only way of telling us that they're hungry, the temperature is not right, need a diaper change, scared, need a hug, unwell etc... is by crying. And so as an adult who can communicate and understand, we shouldn't expect a baby to 'tell' us how they feel. We just have to figure it out and attend to him accordingly."

I paraphrased but the important thing that helped me deal with the crying is to know that that's how babies communicate! (Like duh!?) And I never got angry when Caleb cried again! :)

Such wisdom my wife has...

I Felt Helpless...

Caleb had jaundice (7.8) so had to undergo photo-therapy to bring it down. As Fannie and I were eager to bring Caleb home we opted for the DIY-machine which cost us $150 to rent over Dr Simon's advice to admit him for a 3D2N in-house treatment. We thought we could follow the instructions and work at it from home. We were wrong!

We failed to put it to good use and often not succeeding in having poor Caleb under the machine long enough. (10-15hrs a day!) It was hard work and it made everyone so misearble hearing him cry all through the therapy.

Went back for review on Saturday (9th Oct) but the jaundice level went up (13.3) which was way unacceptable so Dr Simon insisted Caleb be admitted to stay 3D2N (9-11 Oct) for in-house treatment. Fannie and I reluctantly admitted him again for the therapy and had to go home without Caleb.

I broke down thinking how helpless I was as a father; unable to do anything to keep Caleb at home. I felt as though our baby was being taken away from us and there was nothing I could do about it. But we knew it was for the better and we were able to catch up on some much needed rest while Caleb was in the hospital.

At lest we were able to go see him when we went to deliver some expressed milk to him. :') Thankfully he got better after the treatment and was able to come home with us again.

We went to visit Caleb in the hospital while delivering some expressed milk

Note to self: Listen to the Dr's advice and leave baby in the safe hands of the professionals.

What's in a name...

I had the awesome privilege to name baby today, officially.

Went down to the admin office to register baby. It was a simple process really, but it was very special.

The admin lady asked me if the name and Chinese characters were correct. It was as though I was God and I was giving this new life a name. I mean, baby didn't have a choice, it was his parents that gave him his name. And so we named him Caleb. After the bible character who had faith to believe that God was bigger than the giants of the land despite 10 others who saw otherwise. We pray that baby would have the same kind of unwaivering faith to believe that God is bigger than... and his Chinese name would bear the same sound like the bible name albeit with his own meaning "Jia(1) Le(4)" which stands for the "Joy of the Family".

Announcing, the proud arrival of Caleb Goh Jia Le into the family. :)

The miracle of child birth...

And so we are parents.. its still rather surreal to think that we have a little one in the family.. another addition to the Goh family.. what's most amazing is the sheer timing of it all. Still can't forget when we first went to a GP to confirm the pregnancy and the Doctor said the EDD was 3rd Oct 2010! That happened to be my last day of work at MCYS! Well it was close but the cool thing about it was that I JUST returned my laptop to HR on 4th Oct and was gearing and ready for baby's arrival. And sure enough, God decided he was ready to come out to meet us the very next day. Shall attempt to log our adventure to the delivery ward till baby's arrival from my point of view...

Was told to 'check in' at 9am to be preped by the nurses. This was the ward that we were in...

Amazing thing was that when Doctor Poon checked Fannie, she was already 4cm dilated! (She didn't even feel anything!?) Praise God for the Doctor said it was a good sign cos it menat he didn't need to induce. So the waiting game began. I thought Fannie was sleeping when she was quiet so I kept wanting to wake her up to let her listen to Kai Jin's encouragements. Turns out she was actually feeling the contractions at that time and was trying to be still/quiet for those moments. *oops!*

It was only till about 4pm that the Dr came to check again that Fannie indicated she was ready (feeling like pushing). So it all happened rather quickly and Fannie was assisted into position. 2 midwives came and helped and I was there together holding onto her. Could see that she was really pushing very hard and I could also see progress as baby's head came out slowly! It was only when Dr suggested to use the vaccuum thingy that baby came out a lot faster. All in all I think the labour period took about 35-45mins. It was just amazing seeing the whole baby come out of Fannie! *whoosh!* Such an amazing experience! I was then allowed to cut the ambilical cord *coolness*. They quickly wrapped baby and weighed and measured him. They also counted his fingers and toes and put him to Fannie. Here are some of the pictures from the hospital.

Our First Family Picture

Baby and Fannie

Wrapped up right after delivery

 

 

 

And so it came to pass, at 1634H, 5th October 2010, baby was born to us! Here are some of the hospital pictures taken while in the hospital. :)

The MIRACLE