This Can't Be Love!

This Can't Be Love!


My eyes are bleary and red
From lack of a good night's sleep
I nod off at mid morning and noon
My day is just one big mess!
My hair is dishevelled, uncombed
Can't really say I care
I know I have a far away look
At times bleary and mild
Other times with murderous intent
At the end of the leash that I hold
A lovely black blob of fur
My darling Chloe
On heat
And like some shadow
Skirting us in the distance
A huge ball of brown unwashed mess
Bobby
Her suitor
Who has chosen to camp at our gate
She scratches my door
It's 2am
She whines and fusses
It's 4am
At 6am I let her out
And they sit facing each other
She demure and coy
He drooling
I sigh ...
This can't be love!

Form For Endorphin Rush II DVD

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Liz Poey

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Singapore  913410

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                                                                                         Elizabeth Poey

Perfection vs Satisfaction

I recently attended a children's concert at the International Baptist Church. It was an event to showcase the wonderful talents of the children in their Young Musicians programme. The difference this year was that instead of just singing, there were other areas of talent for the kids to showcase: singing, choral speaking, a skit from their creative writing workshop (written, directed and acted by the kids), movement and dance and a black light display (LED lighted gloves dramatically tell the story in total darkness). 

As usual, the littlest ones stole the hearts of the congregation, made up mainly of proud parents and relatives. Cameras, videos, iPhones, phone cameras, iPads and other recording devices were all out in force to capture these wonderful moments of God-given talents displayed by children. 

Hard working adult volunteers ensured the smooth running of the performance and could do little to rectify any miscues, wrong steps, omitted lines and poor timing. Every performance was met with enthusiastic applause and I could see the smiles of satisfaction on the children's faces. They were happy, we were happy and I am sure God was happy. Satisfied that these children were walking in His path and will grow up to become future choir members, worship leaders and perhaps even a full-fledged church pastor! Who can tell where a small evening performance will lead them? But, they were all growing up to worship the Lord. Amen to that!

They were far from "perfection" but were full in their "satisfaction" in what they had done for the Lord. That to me is what matters. Satisfaction vs Perfection. God planned for us to be perfect and when He realized we were not, in His mercy, He accepted us the way we are - imperfect beings!


My twin godsons were dressed in black and wore white cotton gloves. They performed in total darkness and were parts of a bigger picture forming the bottom bar of the "E" in the word "SERVE" or part of the roof of the house. They were learning to be "perfect" when not seen, the "perfect" part of a whole. they were learning to be part of God's perfect plan. They were performing for their proud  parents and godmas AND for God. I was so totally proud of them!      

Endorphin Rush 2 - Thank You

Just in case you are NOT a facebook person, this is a repeat. Those who have their faces in facebook, you can skip the main section and just go direct to the FAQ section at the end of this mail.

Thank you for coming and supporting my birthday event. It meant a great deal to me for my family and friends to be there. I thank God for mum & dad and the DNA I inherited, and for my dear godma - Aunty Khoo, who was a great influence over the positive attitudes I picked up. I thank God for the major parts they played in shaping my life to become who I am today.

I find myself completely blessed to have been surrounded with so many cheerful people while growing up. I remember grandma's home to have been laughter filled (plus, some naughty bad words when mama was not around) and I am quite sure that was when I learned to laugh (and use bad language!). Of course we had our share of fights and quarrels, like all normal families, but those moments were insignificant to me.

I am not quite sure when I leaned to make people laugh but found that in school, it helped to divert the teachers' attention from many of my misdeeds. Among friends, it helped calm a tense situation and with mum and dad, it reduced the scolding and punishment when I could make something funny out of a bad situation and if that failed, crying followed! Of course, with dad it did not always work. I found out in our later years that my father had a very huge and quiet sense of humour and that his stern exterior was simply for effect. 

Mama taught me to fear God. Mum taught me not to fear failing. Dad taught me never to fear people and my godma taught me to laugh in the face of problems with the joy of the Lord. How else could I have developed but into this person I am today - God-fearing, people-loving and laughter filled? I have learnt that being positive takes you further when your tank is empty; that people tend to gravitate towards people who are cheerful; and that laughter is indeed the best (and God's) medicine.  

So, thanks for coming and sharing in the laughter that night at Endorphin Rush 2. Sorry we ended so late!

To save tons of email coming back asking about the night, I have appended below some possible 10 FAQs:

1. Where was the food catered from?

The food was provided by the Guild House in-house restaurant The Scholar. As it is within the Club, dining is for members only. Check with your NUS graduate friends. I am sure you will be able to find some. Me not graduate so not member so can't get you in but willing to go along to eat! The Muslim & Vegetarian food were outsourced by them.

2. How much was the cost of the meal?

$40+ per head. Small heads and big heads all the same! The Hall rental is waived once you have 17 tables or more. Again can only be booked by a member of the Club. Again don't look at me.

3. Was the comedienne paid?

NO! She paid for her own seat and meal!

4. Where was the birthday cake from? What was it?

Kooka Cafe at 18 Purvis Street - Australian Chef. It was an orange-chocolate created specially for the occasion.  

5. Why did the event end so late?

Poor time management. Started late - wanted to simulate "wedding dinner".

6. How can we get the DVD?

So lecheh! That night can order never do? Now you want! Let me know lah!!!

7. How can we get the Goducate Book?

No more. Sorry! Go borrow but don't steal. But if die die must have, you can call them to beg for one.  

8. Can we still donate to Goducate?

Of course! Go to their website www.goducate.org and just send off a cheque to their address.

9. When is the next ER?

TBA. Not so soon so no need to try and arrange to be "out of town"!!! 

10. What is Liz's next project?

To help build a secondary school in an orphanage (Children's Garden Home) in Nairobi, Africa. Partnering with Alvin from NJC.

Check out both websites: www.ColoursOfLife.info AND www.childrensgarden.or.ke  

6 (0) km of Madness

One painful hernia, one surgeon's advice, many well-meaning friends and good, common sense changed the dream of walking 60 (sixty) km to 6 (six) km!

The Good Friday Walk will go on and WILL cover 60 km or more! This will happen by having many friends walking together and adding up the mileage to make up the 60 km!!!

I know it sounds like "cheating" ... but one must have faith that hernias happen for a reason! God is good. I must admit that although I sighed as my dream of doing such a "superwoman" feat fizzled out, I experienced a sense of relief! I had managed to walk just 24 km during training and it was tough! I was trying to imagine going the full distance ...

So, those wanting to cheer me on my 6 km Walk of Madness, please note the absence of that magic 0 (zero)! However, if you are all set to walk anyway, do come!

Date: Friday 6 April 2012 (Good Friday)

Time: 7.30 am (AM ie. MORNING!)

Meeting Point: Railroad Track at Rifle Range Road UNDER the PIE.

Route: Rifle Range Road - Rail Mall - Rifle Range Road

Distance: 3 km one way, 6 km return

Duration: About 1 hour (brisk walking) 1 hour half (normal pace) 2 hours (strolling + chatting) 4 hours (crawling) 5 hours (sleep walking zzzzzzz)

Charities: SPCA or/and Children's Cancer Foundation (Cheques ONLY. NO CASH)

For tax exempt receipts write Name/IC No/Address on back of receipt.

Please come prepared for rain and sun. Bring own water and snacks. You are welcome to come back to Base Camp for a drink at the end of the walk.

See you!

Endorphin Rush 2 - Open for Booking

Dear Family & Friends, (Local & Overseas)

This year, I celebrate turning 60! God has been good. It is a fantastic milestone to reach. I thought long and hard as to how I wanted to celebrate the BIG 6-0! Immediately, I knew I wanted to celebrate it with family and friends: Have a meal together (you pay!!) and I make everyone laugh and we all donate to GODUCATE (www.goducate.org).

No need to bring a gift, just COME! Support me and Goducate. Be ready to laugh out loud ok? (lol)

Date: Saturday 21 April 2012 (My actual birthday - same as the Queen's too. Hello! THE Queen Elizabeth II of England!)

Time: 7.00 - 10.30 pm (cocktails & chit chat from 6 pm.)

Venue: The Guild Hall

NUSS Graduate Club, Kent Ridge

9 Kent Ridge Drive,

Singapore 119241

(Park at Carpark 15)

Guest of Honour: Dr. Paul Choo, founder of Goducate.

Dress Code: Blue Jeans (and tops of course lah!)

Show Rating: General Audience

Book your table (for 10) or seat NOW!

1. Open the Seating Plan attachment.

2. Choose a table number for whole table booking (prices indicated).

3. Indicate table category and number of seats for seat booking.

4. Email to epoey.book@gmail.com to Basecamp Managers with your 1st, 2nd & 3rd choices. This will save us time should your first choice not be available. Hmmm ... we are hoping for a FULL HOUSE again!

5. Availability will be confirmed within 3 days of booking via email. Please check your emails.

6. Payment in full to be made by cheque within 1 week from confirmation date. (Sorry but we may need to give up tables/seats that are not paid for.)

7. Please send one cheque per booking. (Sorry, you'll need to pay for your friends first and collect payment from them later if you are doing a group booking.)

8. Please indicate name of the person (who made the booking) and the confirmation number at the back of the cheque.

Cheques to be made out to: ELIZABETH POEY. Mailing address to be advised upon confirmation of booking.

9. Those wanting a tax exempt receipt please note that Goducate is a non-profit organization so they can't issue tax exempt receipts. So truly, yours will be a gift from the heart with lots of blessings. Well, you also get to laugh a lot ... I hope!

10. Final guests' names will be requested for at a later date for ushering purposes.

11. Come, laugh and praise God for giving me this opportunity to thank Him for my 60 years here on His earth.

"A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones." Proverbs 17:22

Much love and laughter,

Liz & Woon Yi

Basecamp Managers

UPDATED SEATING PLAN

Category A (pink) S$5000/table (S$500/pax)

Category B (green) S$3000/table (S$300/pax)

Category C (blue) S$2000/table (S$200/pax)

Category D (purple) S$1800/table (S$180/pax)

Category E (orange) S$1600/table (S$160/pax)

Category F (yellow) S$1500/table (S$150/pax)

Our HOLY God - The Erosion of Fear.

At a high tea session recently, my friends and I bemoaned the behaviour and values of the today's generation. I guess some others would have bemoaned our values too when we were young. Each generation always feel that they were the better ones. Sadly, as I thought about it, I would have taught the parents of today's generation. So where did I go wrong?

Personally, I feel it is all our fault! Children are confused because there is no clear figure of authority. Everyone in their lives want to be their "friend".

I remember the fear as a child when my mother threatened me with the police! "I call the police ah?" was a warning and it was enough to stop me doing whatever wrong I was doing. The police or "Mata" was a fearful thought because they had the authority to come and catch you and take you away and put you in jail!

Today, the police go all out to assure kids that they are friendly and helpful and need not be feared. The Men in Blue are their friends. So, they are NOT feared. Sometimes, not respected either.

Teachers try hard to win their pupils' hearts by being friendly. Positive strokes, awards and rewards are generously delved out (even ca$h!!!) when children do well or behave well or even pretend to behave well. Teachers can no longer be harsh, negative or honest. Some honest teachers who give open feedback often have to contend with angry parents, angrier bosses and Ministry officials who all come down hard on the honest teachers who then learn to be politically correct and in the process, the children hear only the good stuff. Their fear of reprisal for any wrong doing is further eroded. Teachers are friends. We don't have to fear our friends ... neither do we need to respect them.

Is respect taught? People say it is caught. But how do we catch something we don't see? Parents show disrespect to teachers and other figures of authority. Some show disrespect to grandparents and maids. Others to even God! So what do children catch?

Parents work hard and are often absent from their children's lives. With the short interaction time (and period - usually from baby to pre-teen years) available, parents want to be their children's friends too! Why should they miss out? So, they do stuff together, have fun, persuade and cajole vs tell and reason and dump the authority en route. Not cool to be authoritative! We all want to be popular ... and friendly.

They say NO to the rod; NO to harsh words; NO to reasoning and YES to everything else! Friends will go along whatever! During my childhood days, it was very clear that my dad was my dad, my mum was my mum and my friends were my friends. I totally respected their authority as my parents.

Finally, God is seen as a loving Father and Jesus as a friend. I want to remind us that God is the same God yesterday, today and forever. He is a God of wrath and He is a jealous God who will punish! Fortunately, we have Jesus who took all that wrath and punishment on our behalf.

We should fear God. We should tremble with awe as we approach Him, just as the people of Israel did thousands of years ago. In His presence, their hearts were filled with fear. They could not look at His face or meet Him for fear that they would die. This is the fear, we should approach God with, and with respect because He is a HOLY God who demands our obedience. But He is also a loving, gracious and merciful God. That does not and should not allow us to approach Him with friendliness or with disrespect.

Well, what do we call going to church service late? What do we see "dressing down" to attend church as? What do we say when we do not meet Him daily in conversation and communion? How do we rationalize malicious gossip, dirty talk, small indiscretions, man-over God value judgements, white lies and disobedience to His word? Do we even know His Word? Do we know Him? Do we bother?

I often wonder how we would act or react if we truly feared our Holy God. Perhaps then the idea of "authority" will not be so hard to accept or display. We need to give back the authority to the Men in Blue, to teachers, to parents and certainly to God. Perhaps we do need to have some fear in our hearts to learn to obey, to respect and to love ... even when cultivating friendships. Not fear of the person. But perhaps fear of reproach, loss, disapproval or even displeasure.

We all want to please, but please who? Children should want to please their parents, not vise-versa. Take back the authority!

Finally, we should all want to please God.

The Season of Lent

I thought I would share some thoughts during this Season of Lent. I realize we are into the second week of Lent. I won't back-track and try to cover the two weeks gone, but will instead pick it up from here.

For those who are not sure what the Season of Lent is, it is the 40 days observed by some churches as a preparation for Holy Week. It is not a Biblical event, but a church practice. It is time set aside to search our hearts and remember the suffering of Christ.

Passion Week or Holy Week starts with Palm Sunday, scripturally known as Jesus' Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem. It traces the final week of Jesus' life leading to His Crucifixion and Resurrection.

This is a good time to take stock of our spiritual life. Some hard questions need to be asked, pondered over and answered, not to anyone but to ourselves and to God.

• what parts of your life reflect God?
• how much time in a day do you give Him?
• what sacrifices are you willing to make for Him?
• why have you followed Jesus?
• when and how are you going to?

Then, take some action for "thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works is dead." (James 2:17)

• commit a portion of your time each day to God.
• share the love and joy of the Lord with someone soon.
• learn more about God through a study group.

May God bless us as we journey on His earth. May He be with us as we reflect and act during this Season of Lent. May it be a time of joy as we prepare for Holy Week realizing that Christ died for our sins. And even as He prepares himself to die for us, let us prepare ourselves to live for Him.

Tribute To A Friend

Jordan

2000 - 2012

This morning, we said a gentle goodbye to a friend

A friend who shared 12 years of our lives

A friend who unselfishly taught us so many

Of life's precious lessons.

He taught us timidity is just another form of obedience

He taught us true love is unconditional

And wagged his tail each time he saw us

No matter what our mood.

He brought out the best in us -

Developed our patience

Grew our faith

Cultivated our hope

Stretched our imagination

Harvested our love

And increased our zest

For life!

He showed us the meaning of trust and

Did our bidding without question

Always believing

We had his well being in mind.

He taught us tenacity - never to give up without a fight

He taught us dignity - to go "quietly into the night"

He taught us God is in charge

Always.

This morning, we closed another chapter in our book

And look back with much love

And no regrets

At the 12 years we had together

A dog named Jordan

Closed his eyes

Breathed his last

And bade us farewell.

Dedicated to our lovely dog Jordan who went home to his Creator at 3.55 am on 26 February 2012.

We know he rests in peace.

Daily Miracles

I watch my dear 12-year old dog Jordan struggle to his feet with my help and I know I am witnessing a miracle.

Jordan is battling either a cancer or an auto-immune problem. We made the decision not to send him in for surgery because of his age. He has an enlarged spleen and liver and although we think he must be in some discomfort, we do not think he is in pain. Over the months, Dr. Ling the vet has put him on high dosage of steroids and an anti-biotic. These have helped him.

Last Tuesday, he developed an infection around his left shoulder and elbow. The whole area was an angry mess of red swellings and runny pus! A quick dash to the vet saw him being pricked, poked and dripped! During the whole procedure, he did not once show any aggression in spite of being in pain. He winced twice. All the time, he had his eyes on Woon Yi who was beside him. His eyes were alert and although had hints of being tired, they glowed with trust.

We took him home attached to a drip and watched over him for the next 2 days. He was too weak to stand for long and was not able to get to his feet or turn on his own. So, we helped him. We found ways to assist him to pee and poo without falling, and kept his dignity in tact.

He never lost interest in his food and ate with gusto. He endured the twice-a-day cleaning of his wounds with much stoicism. The drip came off and he resumed his daily life free from being attached to it. So albeit his wobbliness and occasional trips and falls, he is able to enjoy his short walks in the garden and a rather long trot to the kitchen, his favourite place!

I have learnt so many valuable lessons from watching this lovable creature of God's creation. I learnt acceptance and gratitude; patience and long suffering; love and faithfulness; gentleness and dignity; and faith and trust. When I caught him looking at Woon Yi at the clinic, it got me thinking about how and when we look at God. Do we look at Him with such trust?

So each day that Jordan walks on his wobbly feet, is a miracle: An extra day for us to enjoy each other.

We thank God for him.

Israel - A Wilderness Changed - Part 1

"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." Acts 4:12

I looked at the dry, parched land of rock and stone

In this barren and dusty place

A man was born

For the sins of the world to atone

Every blemish washed clean

Every dirty spot gone

At this City of David "Bet Lehem"

This "House of Bread"

O Bethlehem

"But you, Bethlehem in the land of Judah; Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel." Matthew 2:6

The waters remained placid on a bright morning

As we sailed across the Sea of Galilee

No big storm, no wild waves, no strong wind to test our faith

Gentle breeze caress our faces upturned

So removed from that scene

Of panic and fear, faith tested and failed

The Lord moved to calm their hearts

Across the waters He walked

Buoyant faith

"And Peter asked him, 'Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.' He said 'Come.' So peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, 'Lord, save me.' Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him saying, 'O you of little faith, why did you doubt?'" Matthew 14:28-31.

I wondered in the garden of fenced up trees

So this was where he bowed to pray

This was Gethsemane

Sweat from his brow dripped like blood

A prelude of what was to come

What had to be

For one small moment, did he falter?

Almost as quickly, he placed it all in His Father's hands

"Not what I will, but what thou wilt."

"Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, 'Sit here, while I go over there to pray' ... And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, 'My father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.'" Matthew 26:36, 39.

And can it be that at this Garden

And in this Tomb

By the Hill of the Skull

Laid a bruised and bloodied body?

In quiet, peaceful garden setting

A basket of bread

And olive cups of wine

Waited ... to be taken

Remembering the finished work of our Lord

"And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and gave to them, saying, 'This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.' And the cup in like manner after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood,even that which is poured out for you.'" Luke 22:19-20.

Thoughts from our recent trip to Bible Land - Israel. Gratitude to God for allowing me to be there. Dedicated to the 15 friends who took this journey with me. God bless you all.