Happy Birthday Lord Jesus!

Two thousand years ago, there was no room at the inn for the baby Jesus to be born, so Mary and Joseph had to make do with a manger in a stable with the animals. My prayer this Christmas, for all my friends, family and readers, and myself included is that we will always have room for him; that the doors of our hearts and souls will always be open to Him.

So 'Happy Birthday Lord Jesus', for in your birth, we have hope and life!

So to all .... have a Merry Christmas with all your loved ones, enjoy the holidays and have a splendid 2010 ahead!

And for my readers, thanks for your support and encouragement through the years!

God bless us all!

Love Never Fails

I came across this lovely inspirational prose in an email subscription, there's just so much truth in it, especially for women, for us on whom falls the burden to keep the house festive and clean, to ensure the presents are wrapped, to make sure the tree is lit and the turkey is in the oven.

Time to take a moment to reflect before the mad Christmas Eve rush. Trust me, if you're a woman with a family and Christmas is upon you, this is worth the read, I hope you'll be blessed!

1 Corinthians 13 Christmas Style

©By Sharon Jaynes

If I decorate my house perfectly with lovely plaid bows, strands of twinkling lights, and shiny glass balls, but do not show love to my family - I'm just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen, baking dozens of Christmas cookies, preparing gourmet meals, and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime, but do not show love to my family - I'm just another cook.

If I work at the soup kitchen, carol in the nursing home, and give all that I have to charity, but do not show love to my family - it profits me nothing.

If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and crocheted snowflakes, attend a myriad of holiday parties, and sing in the choir's cantata but do not focus on Christ, I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug the child.

Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the husband.

Love is kind, though harried and tired.

Love doesn't envy another home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.

Love doesn't yell at the kids to get out of your way.

Love doesn't give only to those who are able to give in return, but rejoices in giving to those who can't.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.

Love never fails. Video games will break; pearl necklaces will be lost; golf clubs will rust. But giving the gift of love will endure.

My Christmas Wishlist

As we approach the glorious 25th December, I've been thinkin', if hypothetically I'm given a miraculous opportunity to have 25 wishes fulfilled, what would I ask for? So here you go; my wish list, in no particular order of importance except for #25 which supersedes everything.

1. I wish all the cats and dogs at PAWS and SPCA will be adopted into loving homes.
2. I wish patience is a button that can be turned on with a flick of a switch.
3. I wish, just for one day, a mere 24 hours, we will have a white Christmas in Malaysia.
4. I wish for a Berry to complement the Apple; fruits are good for health!
5. I wish eventually we can all charge our phone batteries just by mere contact with body heat so won’t have to carry / borrow chargers all over the place.
6. I wish the worldwide association of electrical appliances (if there is such a thing!) abolishes all production of 2-pin plugs and standardize all to 3-pin plugs.
7. I wish Asian girls will begin to realize that colored contact lenses are a disaster of epic proportions.
8. I wish shopping malls stop hiring skinny, slouchy, badly dressed Santa Clauses with costumes recycled so many times they look utterly pathetic.
9. I wish JPJ will implement an ‘idiocy test’ in addition to the undang and practical test so we have less idiots on the road.
10. I wish my brother’s slipped disk will heal up miraculously so he can jump around like a monkey again.
11. I wish we can find a permanent cure for High Blood Pressure so my dear hubby can eat all the bakuteh in the world.
12. I wish all my friends would subscribe to the benefits of Twitter, it simplifies my communication efforts to just one window.
13. I wish they won't abolish the visa-free policy for Malaysians going to the UK, no thanks to the inglorious overstayers.
14. I wish air travel wasn’t so expensive so we can all be world citizens!
15. I wish for all my single girlfriends to find true love.
16. I wish for all my married friends to stay happily married and have great sex for the rest of their lives.
17. I wish for a super high undefeatable indefatigable metabolic rate!
18. I wish phone operators at various Call Centres (banks, TM, government, whatever!) speak better proper English. We are so embarrassing it’s almost painful.
19. I wish we can buy Victoria’s Secret in Malaysia, the shipping charges from US are exorbitant! *wail*
20. I wish some inconsiderate colleagues will develop the courtesy to clean up after themselves in the pantry instead of leaving coffee / sugar / creamer spills all over the pantry top.
21. I wish Malaysians will stop littering; especially the misadjusted fools who throw trash out of their car windows.
22. I wish for political transparency and integrity. Nuff said.
23. I wish KLPAC will stage more unabridged Shakespeare plays; maybe set up a Shakespearean Society and let us have season passes!
24. I wish we will discover a synthetic way to manufacture a cheaper, greener and everlasting substitute to organic fossil fuel; which means less pollution, cheaper air travel and no more wars.
25. I wish for every man, woman and child to believe in God.

And no, I won't be greedy and make #25 a wish for more wishes. That would take the creativity and fun out of it all. What's your Christmas wish? :)

Building Character

I recently attended a spiritual conference where a pastor said; "God is more interested in our character than in your comfort" My retort? "Well, if you remove my comforts I'll be totally out of character for sure!" I think it's so funny. Just imagine your boss, spouse and best friend when he or she woke up without enough sleep or after an hour's drive in bad traffic jam; how much do you want to bet he or she will be somewhat out of character huh? *wink*

Jokes aside, it's true isn't it? It's soooo true, s**t happens to us sometimes so that they can mold us and shape us. I think if the same irritating thing keeps happening to you over and over, then I suppose it's safe to say you're still not getting the message right? The good thing is, God allows the same s**t to happen repeatedly because he doesn't give up on us. That's something I will bear in mind, difficult as it may be.

I love this quote I picked up on Max Lucado's tweet timeline: "Everything will work out in the end. If it's not working out, it's not the end"

5 Days to Christmas!

The Villa Manjarina home has just about completed festive decorations in preparation for the Christmas Eve dinner with the family. Here's two show-off pictures of the brand new tree and brand new table cloth!

Tree's all aglow with love and abounding with goodies!

Table's almost ready for turkey dinner this Thursday night!

There's still loads to do: decor to set up, things to clean and bake, oh yes bake! How I wish I don't have to work the next few days so I can spend time on Christmas baking!