Not enough?

Merry Christmas everyone!!

Indeed, Christmas is a joyous occasion, with all the merry-making, feasting and gifts giving. But I guess Ps Kai Ming's sermon last Sun was also appropriate in the light of all these festivities. The very first Christmas wasn't all that happy for the people involved i.e. Mary, Joseph and all the parents whose little boys were killed on Herod's orders.

The birth of Christ was a miracle since He was born of a virgin, but it wasn't easy for Mary and Joseph, and perhaps their families too. And he was born as a baby, just like any other baby. He didn't look extraordinary or anything. And it made me think. If the Son of God could be subjected to all these (born in a manger, doubts surrounding his birth, rejection by his own people, and finally the crucifixion), who am I to ask for more? God Himself came down as an ordinary man, born the same way as any one of us, and went through the same pain and suffering. How could I forget? How could I ever doubt His love for me? How could I question His plans for my life?

No matter where I look, true satisfaction can only be found in Him alone. Not in material possessions. We live in a world obsessed with external beauty, and I guess christians are no exception either. Many a times, I wished I was prettier, slimmer, more attractive etc. Does this mean I'm insecure? Perhaps, but I also know that many women feel this way too, even the pretty ones. Why do we feel this way? When will it ever be enough? Why do we rather believe in the lies of the devil rather than the word of God?

Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

Proverbs 31:30

For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”

1 Samuel 16:7

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.

Ecclesiastes 3:11

To all my female readers, whatever we are struck with doubts on our own beauty, remember that we are all beautiful because we are made in the image of God.

To the male readers, may God help you to look beyond the surface.

Previously, I didn't understand these verses by Paul....

Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do. But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

1 Corinthians 7: 8-9

Hits the nail on the head doesn't it? No wonder there are fewer single men than women...

Aligners...

After 1 year, it's finally over :)

No title

Was I wrong Lord? Perhaps people are the same wherever we go after all...

Though I've never really talked about it, my mother's accident last year was a trying period for our family as well. Thank God she is recovering well now. Yet through it all, it revealed somethings that I rather not know. Apart from a couple of people whom I'm close to, the others from the group didn't really bother to ask how she was. At that time, I had just dismissed it because I'm sure they have their own problems and other things on their minds as well. Why should they be concerned about my problems? Then a few months ago, my mother and my cousin visited that place. Not one of them spoke to my mother and my cousin, nor did they ask how my mother was. I had dismissed it then too because, you know, people don't usually like to get out of their comfort zone.

But I'm thinking about these things now. Why?? Because those feelings are creeping back in...I'm tired. It shouldn't be this way. Perhaps I should just face up to the truth after all.

Unimportance. That's what it is. Even if I'm not there, no one notices. Because there will be no difference. Oh God, what will heaven look like? Will You notice my absence?

Yet I know, in the end, everything will be ok. Because I believe that God, in His infinite wisdom and grace, will make everything right again.

Even if I am unimportant in the eyes of the world, I know that I am important to God. And that's the only thing that matters. Maybe God is reminding me of all these now so as to tell me how futile it is to chase after humanly affections and love. If I were to live my life trying so hard to please others, I will never be able to please God. There are bigger things out there than these petty feelings. Still it's good to address these feelings instead of hiding them.

Jn 21: 18

Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go"

Where are You leading me God?

Don't major on the minor stuff

Just returned from church camp at JB, and still reeling in from the after-math of it all. Somehow I felt that this time it was different from previous church camps, in a good way. God has been good. To us and the churches involved. It reminded me of the very first youth camp I had attended about 10 years ago. The joy I had experienced then when I first accepted Christ in my life. And it made me realised that I've been focusing too much on the minor stuff for the past months (or year), so much so that it has affected my relationship with God and the people around me. 'Don't major on the minor stuff'. I guessed I knew this all along, yet I still needed a camp like this to jolt me back to my senses. There is nothing more harming than disunity and conflicts within the body of Christ itself. And unity takes effort from each member, and most importantly, a common purpose. How great it would be to see multitudes being saved!

Will end this post with a quote I saw some time back:

“Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshipers [meeting] together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be, were they to become 'unity' conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship.”

― A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God

Purity

How much is it worth? Sometimes I wonder....

It's been awhile since I last posted. I know. Anyway, was chatting with a friend over msn just the other day about how we're getting older, which means we would need to spend more money on skincare as well. Actually, for women, I heard that our skin deteriorates after we hit 25, which is like 3 years ago for me. Ah well...so I decided to do a stock-take of the skincare products I'm using now...this is going to be a long post :P

Morning

1. Shiseido Eudermine Revitalizing Essence

This is similar to a toner. I only started using this a few months back, after trying the sample. This product was first introduced in 1897, and I can understand why it lasted til now. It leaves my skin feeling really soft, not the tightening feeling that using a toner gives.

2. Aqualabel Bright White Ex

I've also used this for one week, so I'm not sure about its effectiveness yet. But it did received some pretty good reviews, and considering that its parent company is Shiseido, I supposed it shouldn't fare too badly. Previously, I had used the Shiseido White Lucent Intensive Spot Targeting Serum in the morning as well, but it is really rather expensive (@ $159/bottle).

3. Laneige Perfect Renew Dual Eyes (Morning)

This comes with 2 containers, one for morning and the other for night use. I liked the morning one because of it UV protection properties, though I don't think it does much in reducing my dark eye circles. It's so difficult to find a decent eye cream.

4. Shiseido Bio-Performance Advance Super Revitalizing Cream

I'm currently using the sample given by Shiseido. It helps to reduce the the fine lines under my eyes, but since I've just started using this last week, I'm not sure if it's effective in the long term. Even so, I've bought the full-sized version from sasa.com recently, on impulse 'cos there was a sale.

5. DHC Eyelash Tonic

I've also just started using this last week, so the results are still out. Though honestly I'm skeptical that there's anything that can make my eyelash grow.

6. Avene Hydrance Light Hydrating Cream

I liked Avene products for its hypoallergenic properties, which is good for sensitive skin like mine. I used to have more Avene products before switching to Shiseido. Furthermore, this comes will SPF 20, which I think is sufficient for normal daily usage.

7. Avene Deep Pore Cleanser

This should be the first product I used in the morning. I've used this for the past one year, and it's pretty decent. It cleans rather well, and did not cause any breakouts, unlike the powder cleanser from FANCL. For some reasons, I can't use FANCL products, though I liked their packaging.

That's it for morning. Actually, I missed out a few more items, like Vaseline for my lips, and sunscreen (currently using Biore SPF 30). Speaking of Vaseline, I think it moistures my lips better than other lip cream/balm I've used previously, and it's dirt cheap at only a few dollars. But I'll usually also use a lip balm on top of it, just for the UV protection. As you might have noticed, I'm quite hung-up on SPF and UV protection, because it's so important and it will be difficult to undo any damage caused by the sun in future. So it's better to spend more on that now. And that is also why I've been religiously taking Heliocare Oral Capsules since 2 years ago, which is an oral sunscreen. You can google it if you're interested so I won't elaborate too much here, except that it can be rather costly, at $75 for a bottle of 60 capsules, which usually last for about a month.

Now for the night-time routine

1. Shiseido Rinse-Off Cleansing Gel

I use this because it's gentle yet it can remove my make-up pretty well, except waterproof eye make-up.

2. Biore Make-up Remover (Eye and Lip)

I only used this when I had waterproof eye makeup on. I don't use waterproof lipstick, or even lipstick for that matter.

3. Shiseido White Lucent Brightening Balancing Softener

I heard that Japanese brands usually have softener instead of toner. I first used this at a Shiseido workshop about 1 and a half years ago, and have been using it since. The other good thing about this softener is that it can also help remove any excess make-up that the cleansing gel did not remove. I started off using this in the morning as well, before I had the Revitalizing Essence.

4. Neogence Hyalluronic Acid Hydrating Essence

I started using this because I heard that we should start using anti-wrinkle products before we get any wrinkles. Though this is not an anti-wrinkle product, it will help tighten the skin. I supposed I'll not repurchase this once I finished the bottle since I have the revitalizing cream now.

5. Shiseido White Lucent Intensive Spot Targeting Serum

As mentioned above, this is an expensive product, and I was rather hesitant to buy it initially. It took awhile before there was any effects, but after that, I felt that the price is worth it. Though it did not completely remove my freckles, it did help lighten any pigmentation and acne scars, and brighten the skin as well. It's sort of like my 'miracle water'. And I managed to get it slightly cheaper at sasa.com.

6. Laneige Perfect Renew Dual Eyes (Night)

Actually, I only bought this because of the morning eye cream. The night cream doesn't seemed too fantastic, though I supposed it does moisturise the eye area.

7. Shiseido Bio-Performance Advance Super Revitalizing Cream

8. DHC Eyelash Tonic

9. Estee Lauder Idealist Pore Minimizing Skin Refinisher

I've been using this for a few months now, mainly for the pores on my nose. Sadly, there has been minimal effect, if any to begin with. Before this, I had used a similar product from b.liv, to no avail as well. I think I just have to live with my enlarged pores.

10. Shiseido White Lucent Brightening Moisturising Emulsion & Laneige Water Sleeping Mask Ex

Usually, I will alternate between these 2, using the sleeping mask about 2 to 3 times a week. I really like the texture of the sleeping mask and its hydrating properties. But because it's so rich, I'm afraid to use it daily, lest it causes breakouts.

Besides these products that I'll use daily, there're also others that I'll use on a less frequent basis.

1. Faceshop Raspberry Roots Collagen Eye Patch - I love this eye patch, but it's not for daily usage. I use it about 1-2 times a month.

2. Shiseido Intensive Brightening Mask - Once a month (a box of 6 costs $100!)

3. Dr Young Spot-Stop-Serum - Only when I've pimples

4. Methode Swiss Thermal Oxygen Overnight Eye Mask (gel-base) - 1 to 2 times a week

5. Laneige Strawberry Yogurt Peeling Mask (for exfoliating) - 2 times a month

6. Skinfood Egg White Pack - Once a week

7. Shiseido Purifying Mask - Once a week

You might think I spent a lot of time on skincare. In the morning, I took less than 10 minutes and maybe just slightly longer at night. The thing is, a little more time spent now will save lots of regrets in future. But of course, there is nothing more beneficial to our skin than a good night's sleep and adequate water intake.