wahlau's online hut

even though this might be a little late (at home it is already afternoon :) ), but after reading the post from Susan, i think i wish to also take this chance to tell all the visitors something about Easter...

well, it is finally today friday. but it is not just normal friday... it is the day before we go home for chinese new year. yes. OSS dudes you can try to ping me or i will just drop by in #myoss to perhaps catch up with some of you. Byte already mentioned he will be in town, so we will do something this time.

We would like to wish you all a blessed happy new year - 2007!

Firework photographed in Diemen, Holland

We are current still at our friend's place in the Netherland... will write more when we return from Holland tomorrow... :)

finally end of the year.

at year end it is always a time to finally breath and take break. Projects have short break, holidays coming up, and people are now busy with gifts and appointments :) different kind of busyness.

got my leave approved, so gonna start planning for our trip back home next CNY. This round gonna be shorter than usual, but i do hope we will get to have some quality time back home. Am glad that my third aunt and uncle gonna be back too, so it might mean another round of shopping and eating spree together ;) Diving trip is also planned, together with some refresh courses would be perfect. Seeing time is catching up, better to keep a well but relaxing holiday plan.

today is Easter. we had two services, one at 5am (yes, 5am) and the other at 10am. the former was together with the choir, and the choir sang during the service. The latter was with our regular church.

The 5am service was nice and interesting. This year seemed to bring more impact than the one we had last year. Perhaps we were more awake this round :) It start short after 5, in darkness with a sketch: a court where the death and resurrection of Jesus wwe as judged. Different witnesses were called: Pontius Pilate, Saul (and Paul), Maria Magdalene and Simon Peter. Pretty creative way to talk about what happened years ago as Jesus resurrected.

bible has this part that says:

"Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."

so often this verse has been "abused" in telling everyone to give offering cheerfully. Well, i do believe that we should give God a portion of what we have (better still, tithe) and we must do it cheerfully (else what's the point of offering if we are giving out unwillingly). It is not about God being poor or stingy, or even He relies on our offering. He has(or even owns) everything, so we should not have such thinking in our minds.

yes, it is the time of the year again. Everyone will take this chance to fill up their sms mailbox and blogs and email box all over the world with thousand different versions of Chinese New Year greetings and wishes. so you are also getting one from me :)

perhaps you have been singing, in small group or choir, or perhaps you are a fan of some choirs. Have you ever asked "why we/you sing?" ?

does not sound like a complicated question, right? But i think you might set some back to think a little, and you will get answers like "singing is my hobby" or "i love singing" or "i have lots of fun singing". Well last night during and after the Oslo Gospel Choir concert in Kassel, the answer sounded different from above. They sing because they know God wants them to. They sing because they have a message to tell everyone - "Jesus loves you, and you need to know and believe in Him".

Tonight gonna be a nice experience: Oslo Gospel Choir is touring Germany and will be presenting in Jesus Centrum, Kassel. You might be asking what is so special about Oslo? well, they are one of the most famous gospel choir around Europe, and perhaps world. Tickets for tonight are almost sold out since a week or perhaps weeks ago (heard from our choir leader). This is gonna be a great concert. And on top of that, Getup! (even our choir's name is inspired by their song) has the honour to sing 3 songs as pre-program!

i read from Jeff Ooi to TV Smith, where the latter presents God is also Cartographer.

beautiful photo taken indeed.