Man, life has been so busy with finals and it’s nice not having to think about exams. My last one is on TUESDAY, and I finish at 10pm. Hopefully I get out a little earlier than that. After that, I will be flying to LAAAAAAAAAA for 5 days with my lovely ladies [glo and tessa] !! Man you have no idea how excited I am, and I have been so excited for this trip for like so long!!! I will tell you all about it when I’m back Just pray that I don’t gain 20 pounds coming back and being unrecognisable

This semester has been a really fun class I gotta say, but the one class I DREADED the most was Philosophy. I’m so glad it’s over. Done. No More. I’m going to come up with a list of things of why Philosophy is so dumb. I’m usually not a complainer (or at least I try not to), but you have no idea how much I hate Phil. I hate it with a passion. Here’s why.

1) Philosphers ask whether we exist or not.  YES WE DO. I am typing out this blog, I clearly exist and am very much aware of it.
2) Philosophers ask whether a red pen is actually a red pen or not. YES IT IS. It’s a pen that writes, and is the colour of red. End of story.
3) I honestly think that these Philosophers have WAY too much time on their hands to come up with such DUMB theories whether we are actually us. OF COURSE I’M MYSELF.
4)  To have a professor who thinks that the class average  midterm was too high, and decided to come up with the MOST DIFFICULT FINAL I’ve ever written in my entire life. In my university career for that matter, and having a 39% class average. It is just so stupid and so dumb. I literally had to guess my way through 44 MC and 15 short answers, and I never had to guess so much in my entire life. Nothing was ever based on her lectures, and she decided to just fail everyone!

Well to end things on a happier note, this semester wasn’t so bad after all. I actually learned a lot from my health science class [hsci 120], and it’s definitely a lot of VERY useful information that I will remember for the rest of my life. Amazing life lessons in my opinion. It’s like materials that you will not be able to learn elsewhere. I think everyone should take that class just because you learn PROPER information in that class about things of this world, instead of getting fake facts from the media. I definitely enjoyed this class because I had so many friends in this class as well

I am very thankful to be in school, and I’m so blessed for every moment. I’ve been praying for a co op position that I applied for at the airport, so do pray for me that I get the job!! I do believe that God has my life all planned out and that He knows what’s best for me Pray that I continue to trust in God that I know He has everything everything under control. <3

Do have a safe holidays you guys, and don’t go too crazy! Do embrace the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of our Lord, and to celebrate it with our loved ones Have a happy holidays everyone <3

As some of you may know, Africa has been suffering from one of the worst droughts in decades. It breaks my heart when I see images on the news that are so disturbing. I see images of famished children, and I wish I could just hold them in my arms and just feed them with everything I have at home. It reminds me once again how blessed we are to live in a society where we have everything. And I mean EVERYTHING. We have the best of everything in Canada, and on top of it, I live in Beautiful British Columbia! People always complain about the weather, or about small little things and when you compare it to bigger issues that need our attention, those small things don’t even matter at all.

When I hear heartbreaking news on tv, I could always switch it off and pretend that none of these problems ever exist. End of story. Sadly, that’s not the case and these problems don’t go away on its own with the click of a button. I wish it did. There are people out there who are in desperate need of our help to save them.

These problems don’t only exist in Africa, or in the poorest areas of the world. It happens right at home. I think one of the biggest things that have hit me the hardest is seeing the poverty back at home (in Malaysia). You could say that we have a good life back at home. I go back home for vacation, meet with family, go to church, catch up with friends. It’s all the same.

The one thing that I’ve been slowly exposed is the level of poverty that these people are experiencing. To be honest with you, I will have to say that living standards in KK (Kota Kinabalu) is very expensive. I don’t know how people who make RM 400 a month (equivalent to $150 CDN) are able to survive. These people have families too to feed as well. To me, I could spend RM 100 in a day and not even think much about it. But to these people, every dollar makes such a difference.

When I think about the church back at home, I feel like we’re not doing enough to help these people. People attend service, worship God, and then go home. What’s next? What is the purpose of attending a church by the end of the day? I believe that by helping these people, you are showing the love of God to them. Tell them that “Jesus loves you”, and it is the greatest gift that one could ever receive.

One of my resolutions is that the next time I go back at home, I want to do mission work and to reach out to those who are in desperate need of our help, who are just right outside our doorsteps. I think it just adds a whole new meaning to home and that we don’t just blind ourselves from what’s actually  happening in this world. I believe that God is a God of love and justice, and why He would allow these things to happen is that he wants us to be able to grow and trust in Him by helping those in need.

Are you giving a helping hand to someone today?

I have put my driving licence on hold for quite some time now and it feels good to finally get it done and over with. I have been practising for the past half a year, but the one thing I was TERRIBLE at was parking. I still suck at it until this very day. It’s just one of those things that takes a lot of time and practice. When my mum parks the car, and she goes “See, not so hard after all right?!” I have to remind her each time  by saying “Mother, you have been driving on this earth longer than I’ve been living in it. Who do you think is the better driver?”

I have not been able to drive on my own just yet, but I am sure I will get lots of opportunities to do so because my mother will be leaving for Malaysia very soon!  One of the reasons I was so determined to get my licence by this summer was because I refuse to bus home with groceries, while I have the car at home! Two cars in fact! Really, I had no reason not to drive. My parents just got a new car, so that was also another reason for me to drive the new car. The Rav4 is a pretty sweet car, and I love driving it! I can’t wait to decorate my car with all these cute stuff. Hopefully I will be able to do that when I go to nightmarket one of these days. Reason #2 that  I wanted to get my licence was because whenever I go out with friends, I feel bad to get one of them to drive me home because I live so out of the way compared to everyone else. Now that I can drive, I don’t need to count on them to drive me, and I can drive myself!

On the day itself, I was so nervous and especially after the test, I actually thought I failed. I don’t know how I passed, but I did. I won’t go into the details, but I passed! Thank God for that! I made a deal with God that if I do get my licence, I would use it to glorify Him in whatever ways I can (whether it be driving someone, or attending church events [not having the excuse that I can't make it to an event because I don't have a ride])  Now that I can drive, so hopefully I will be able to use that gift to do things for Him!

Thank you all for your encouragements, and prayers throughout this whole process! I really do appreciate it. There were times where it got so frustrating and I wanted to give up, but you guys encouraged me to stick with it and to persevere through it all. Thank you again! To end this post….here is a picture!

Thumbs up to driving

]]> http://shaunalim.wordpress.com/2011/06/29/new-found-freedom/feed/ 0 shaunalim New driver! http://shaunalim.wordpress.com/2011/06/20/happy-fathers-day/ http://shaunalim.wordpress.com/2011/06/20/happy-fathers-day/#comments Mon, 20 Jun 2011 06:25:02 +0000 shaunal http://shaunalim.wordpress.com/?p=299 ]]> Most of you who know me well enough would know that I don’t see my dad very often. In fact, I only get to see him twice a year. Over the years, I have learned to get used to not having my dad around.

I am definitely very thankful for the fact that my dad has been present throughout most of my childhood life where he was able to see me grow from that little girl, to the young lady I am today. I definitely have to admit that my relationship with my dad was never perfect. There was one point in my life where our relationship had hit rock bottom that I did not even know what I was going to do. I found it so difficult to communicate with him about anything. It seemed like our conversations were going no where.

Daddy and me

My dad shows his love to me through his actions, or by buying me things. We have very different love languages, where mine is spending time with people, whereas his is acts of service or giving gifts. I remember when I was hospitalized a few years ago, my dad literally dropped everything he had in his hands, to be at the hospital with me.  He stayed overnight at the hospital with me, never left me to be by myself unless someone else was there. I remember being in so much fear heading into the surgery room. I was holding his hand (which does not happen very often at all), and there was something about his warm hand that gave me comfort and peace. Daddies are special, aren’t they?

When I was 1!

I know both of my parents have worked so hard for this family, and I thank the Lord for everything that they have done for us. No words can describe their unconditional love for us, and I am so thankful for that. To give up your entire lives back at home, and to move to a new foreign country for the sake of your kids, what do you call that? I don’t know if love is a good enough word to describe that. I still remember so vividly the day we first arrived here. It was ugly. I hated it here. I wanted to be at home immediately. Hated Vancouver.  That was nine years ago.

Now? I love Vancouver. I’m so thankful my parents did what they did, and to give us the life we have here today. It wasn’t easy, but I’m glad that God was there in every step of the way. When my family does get together on special occasions (but Garret is usually missing these days), it just makes you appreciate each other so much more. I know my family is not a very ‘touchy’ family where we give each other hugs, but I know my daddy still loves me regardless He spoils us by buying us stuff when he’s in town. I love it when daddy’s in town. Gives me an excuse to go shopping with him.

On Father's Day

My dad was in town for the past 9 days, and it was definitely a very short trip. He’s been so busy back at home that it’s hard for him to be able to make time to come to Vancouver. But I’m glad that he was able to attend my sister’s graduation ceremony, and to celebrate Father’s Day with us. Even though his time here was so limited, I tried to spend as much time as I could with him, and I am so glad I did. I didn’t need to talk to my dad the whole time to feel close to him, but just having the presence of him in the house is special enough.

Happy Father’s Day, Daddy <3

No, God is not asking about which boy I fell in love with. I was going through a friend’s status update and it says this “Someday, someone will come along, and you’ll be thanking God none of your other relationships worked.” To a certain extent, that is very true because it shows that God has planned out your entire life. Sure, when you’re in the moment, you wonder why that relationship did not work out in the first place, and any human  would be devastated at any break up. But when you look  back, you’re so glad to see how things worked out in the end. Even though at the time, it seemed like the world was about to come to an end because things didn’t go the way you wanted it to. Key word: patience and faith.

Revelation 2:4 speaks of returning to your first love, who is Jesus Christ. To remember that first encounter with the Lord, what was it like? Do you remember the day when you fell in love with Him? When you were on fire for Him and you wanted  to tell the world about Him? Today’s sermon reminded me that in any relationship that I am in, whether it be a friend, family member, boyfriend, or whoever that is. My first love is ultimately Jesus Christ and through that love with Christ, I am able to translate that type of love into my relationships.

We live in such a broken world and people are searching for love all over the place. Whether it be in money, idols or getting married 5 times. Many times those things I just mentioned do fail us. Humans find themselves not happy in their current situation and they search for love elsewhere. The greatest love that has  been offered to us, is the love of Christ, when He paid the ultimate price to die on the cross for us.

It is that unfailing love that God has shown me and “Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” Ephesians 2:4-5. Which is also our church’s theme verse for the year

My.First.Love.Is.Him.