Chatty Lass

Yesterday, at The Last Dinner, at approximately 2130 hours.

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Melissa: (to lecturer) Sir, let’s take a photo together.

Lecturer: Sure.

Melissa: (beckons HER photographer) Dee Dee, do me a favour and get a shot of Sir and me.

Debra: Alright. Ready? One, two, three... Smile! {Camera flashes}

Melissa: Oh no! My eyes are like slits here. I’ve got to open up my pupils. Let’s take another one!


{After about 5 consecutive shots}


Melissa: Oh dear! My eyes STILL look like slits here. It looks like I’m closing my eyes on purpose. We’ve got to keep trying.

Lecturer: I’ve got a better suggestion. Why don’t the both of us CLOSE our eyes? That will save all the effort. (breaks out in laughter)

Melissa: (rolls eyes but giggles out loud)

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P/S: Pictures of The Last Dinner in a day or two. :)

As reported by my mother, 9.55pm yesterday.

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Mummy: You know today, my friend asked me if I knew the ‘Tsunami Song’.

Melissa: WHAT is the ‘Tsunami Song’? Such a song exists?

Mummy: I didn’t know that there was such a song too. So, I asked her to give me a couple of lines, the lyrics of the ‘Tsunami Song’.

Mummy: (relating what her friend said) You know the song, with the oceans rise and storms?

Melissa: (roars with laughter) HAHAHAHAHAHA, she meant ‘Still’ by Hillsong is it?

Mummy: You jumped on my punch line! {mock frown}

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To those of you who are unaware of the song, the chorus of ‘Still’ goes like this:

“When the oceans rise and thunders roar,
I will soar with you above the storm,
Father, You are King over the flood,
I will be still, know You are God”

P/S: According to my mum’s friend, ‘Still’ was a great hit in her church when tsunami hit Penang Island, year 2004.

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"Meekness is not weakness. Meekness is strength under control."

Bishop T.D Jakes

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Read *this*.

Loyalty, faithfulness and unflinching love - It is incredibly touching, more so than moving love stories or poignant compositions.

It is impossible not to shed a tear or two (or truckloads) while reading this.

I took me this long to verbalise this in writing (this seals the deal).

I’ve learnt that when it comes to matters of love, you should be the only one that reigns in a person’s heart.

I loved *this* excerpt on Tinki Talks.

It says,

"The person who is really great for you, the person who brings out the best in you, your partner in crime? That person is not going to second guess your relationship until it's lost all meaning. That person is not going to rip your heart out of your chest even one time, and he certainly won't do it twice. And that person shouldn't make you an option, because in love you deserve to be a priority."

In love, you deserve to be a priority.

Here’s the truth: If you were never the priority, chances are you will never BE the priority. (Forget it if you are ever his option, he is not worth your time, effort or love.)

However, that isn’t the case with the Lover of Our Soul. That just doesn’t quite cut it for my Loved One.

His love for us was FIRST given. It was unnecessary for Him to lavish us with such great love.

His love is never based on emotions, the circumstances of life, availability in our spending time with Him, our carefulness in not hurting His feelings - I could go on and on, for the list is simply endless!

His love for us is beyond and without measure. What that means is His love is limitless, yet constant.

How is that possible? I’ve learnt that in love, your beloved is put before yourself.

Our Beloved placed us before Himself.

He went much further, in fact. We are regarded as “the joy that was set before Him” (Hebrews 12:2).

He secured our lives above His, and He did it with gladness. Never grunting, not once an utterance of complain.

Whatever for? Max Lucado explains this poignantly.

"Because, your soul was more important than His blood. Your eternal life was more important than His earthly life. Your place in heaven was more important to Him than His place in heaven. So, He gave up His, so you could have yours."

He gave us first place, and first loved us. Not second place, never an option.

He should never be the one you turn to ONLY when calamities strike, when you are in need a shoulder to rest your head to cry or a listening ear to your pleas, call upon only in times of need, cuddle up to only when you are low on love, whisper “I Love You” to only when He grants you what YOU desire.

He deserves so much more than that.

He is worthy of our highest praise, deepest worship, forever love and undeterred faithfulness.

He’s ENTITLED to it, yet never forces or demands.

He has the First Place in my heart and He is my First Love, and will remain so forever.

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"Words are never the basis for writing. Your heart IS. The best compositions often pulsates with life and resounds the heartbeat of the author."

Melissa Cheah - July 21st, 2010.

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I love children.

I love their uninhibited passion for life, I love their fervour and excitement for anything (they find to be) remotely interesting, I love their ability to love with no reservation.

All of that came to my thoughts as I was reminiscing the mission trip that had taken place less than 3 days ago.

When all was said and done, gift bags were distributed with heaps of goodies in them.

I remember vividly sitting with an adorable little boy and watching him as he sifted through the bag of excitement (to him). Alas, he clutched in his hands a pack of colourful balloons.

I will never forget the look on that beautiful child’s face. The wonder and amazement, the twinkle in his eyes and the hugest smile across his face.

I couldn’t help it. I bended over and hugged him tightly.

As I read through the book of Mark today, I am inspired to write this post.

Mark 10:15 says, “I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”

The kingdom of God is established in our hearts. Luke 17:21 says that “the kingdom of God is within us.”

The kingdom of God is abundant in love, rich in mercy, overflowing with compassion and great in majesty.

The kingdom of God is all that, and much more.

As adults, as we age and grow up, we forget.

We forget to thank God for every blessing (big or small) that He has bestowed upon our lives. We forget that He is the Creator of the Universe, the Maker of the heavens and the earth, the Great I Am (in which NOTHING at all is impossible for Him).

We forget to receive His love gratefully, with the pure, unadulterated love of a child. We forget to be in awe of Him with the wide-eyed innocence of a child.

We tend to rationalise things, figure things out on our own, make up for our mistakes through jillions of ways and means. Lest we forget, “all our righteous acts are as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6) before the Lord.

A child doesn’t rationalise when he is offered forgiveness or is showered with love. He simply ACCEPTS it.

The eyes of my heart are opened (with wisdom and revelation – Ephesians 1) to see through the eyes of a child and to believe with childlike faith.

It is my hope that this post becomes not only an eye-opener to you, but the revelation finds its' way into your heart and infuses your life.


With so much love,
Mels.

I’m safely ensconced in my home, sleep deprived but otherwise chirpy. But deep within, I know – I am never the same again.

My heart was shattered to see so many beautiful children having so little, yet cheerfully singing to Jesus with such faith.

That childlike faith (as mentioned in Mark 10:15) reaches within the deepest corners of my heart.

I fought hard to regain my composure. It didn’t work. Not the slightest bit. I cried and cried.

The message I had prepared much earlier went down the drain the very second I stepped into the hut-like church.

I devised and changed my message almost immediately. The love of God for His people burned in my heart, it was precious and tangible.

I am truly blessed to be around the company of people who have dedicated their life COMPLETELY to the call of God.

These are people who have counted the cost of obeying Jesus wholly, stepped out of their comfort zones and made the bold, courageous decision to fulfil the call of God in their lives.

It is a life-altering decision - one where you set foot into without looking back, faltering or backing out, even when the toughest challenges come your way.

I am reminded to count the cost of following Jesus. More important, I am imbued with the desire to be willing to PAY that price – not once, not twice but a thousand times over if I have to.

I’m desperate to be a woman who loves Her King with her life, revels in His love and is in such an intimate relationship with her Saviour, that He makes known to her the mysteries and secrets of His heart.

Life, MY life is most fulfilled, my soul is most contented when I am in His presence, and I am greeted with a kiss from heaven, with my Heavenly Daddy whispering "Well done, my darling daughter. You bring delight to my heart."

The young lives of the 25th Mile Orang Asli Village (all 20 of them) are forever etched in my heart.

The love of Christ for His people and His church has laid hold of my heart, clutched itself onto it and arrested my life with His cause.



Related post(s):

• Cameron Highlands

So, I will be setting off for a mission trip to the Orang Asli village tomorrow morning. I'm excited, without knowing what awaits me.

Anyhow, a dear friend of mine deserves a mention at Chatty Lass, for laughing and appreciating my jokes - even when it is unintended (which happens most of the time).

Thank you, Deriss for *this* post. :)

P/S: For readers of Chatty Lass who are not friends of mine on Facebook (yes, I've finally decided to create an account) or do not have a Facebook account, I am publishing a snippet of our conversation here - just for you.

"P/S: I'm going for an Orang Asli Mission Trip Fri morning, in Camerons. I've to speak in BM, so for the sake of that, let's re-do our wall-to-wall in BM.

APA?! Saya teringin sugguh untuk EL-SMACKO uni awak. Saya rindukan kamu juga. Saya pasti bahawa mesej ini terpapar di dinding saya kerana awak rindukan saya. :D

5 minggu? Argh. Tapi, saya boleh menunggu. Pada masa itu, saya akan mempunyai banyak masa lapang. Saya ingin menujukan banyak sayang, MAKANAN dan (yang terutamanya, pelukan ISTIMEWA saya dari Penang.

Dating dengan awak malam Khamis untuk perbualan IM. :)"


"Alah, awak tahu, saya tahu, sudah memadai kan? Tak perlu untuk saya memaparkan nama dia di sini. :D

Aduhai! Teramat manis. Saya yang mendengarnya, pun rasa terharu. Smiley, lupakan dia. Dia, memori kelmarin. Hari ini hari yang baru, Tuhan Yesus mempunyai yang lebih baik dan lebih istimewa daripada Smiley. Itu, saya amat pasti. :)

Hahaha..., yang itu, awak boleh memujuk pemandu kereta (Vive Supramaniam). Jikalau awak berjaya, besar kemungkinan awak akan mendapat habuan daripada Penang/Cameron - seperti cendawan goreng atau milkshake buah strawberi."

"HAHAHAHHAHA. Saya baca sambil gelak sampai terguling di lantai. Saya memang sangat sangat gembira hari ini sebab you buat saya ketawa walaupun seorang-orang.

Walao ada lagi milkshake strawberi untuk diminum - itu kegemaran saya. Tolong hantar secawan mai. Saya akan sungguh extrim-ly menghargai you. You pun boleh beli banyak strawberi untuk saya. Saya super sangat suka makan strawberi. Thankius. ;)))"



PP/S: So, after much thought and consideration, I think that my BM isn't as rusty as I thought it would be. :D

I am still processing through this weekend, even as I am writing this.

My heart is SO full, my Spirit is strengthened and my soul is contented.

For months, I’ve been lifting up my youth group (Youth Impact) and church in prayer.

My deepest desire is for God to break us through into the next level - greater heights and deeper intimacy.

My heart has been crying out for this. My heart is aching for more.

This is one of the experiences with God that is utterly BREATHTAKING. I find it difficult to look for words to come quite close to what I am feeling.

It is safe to say that I am at a loss for words.

I wept and wept in the presence of God. I wept with tears of thankfulness flowing out of a grateful heart.

In my 6.5 years of worship leading, I’ve never led worship without a song list and its’ sequence.

Today, was the day I did that. Not on my own accord, I dutifully obeyed what God wants for us (Worship Team) to do.

I availed of myself. “Not my will, Lord, but yours. Not by my intellect, but by Your Sovereign Might and Spirit.”

I am SO glad that I obeyed.

The church was blessed, the team was blessed, I was blessed and most importantly, His presence graced over the entire sanctuary.

In Psalm 43:4, it says that the altar of God is OUR joy and delight.

The altar of God is where the presence of God dwells. (I promise to write a post solely concerning the altar of God.)

And in His presence, there is fullness of joy, liberty, healing, deliverance, redemption, wholesomeness and outstretched welcoming arms of love.

In His presence, we find EVERYTHING we need. Truly.

There is nothing like the presence of God. There is nothing like being His vessel, receiving an infilling of His presence directly from the throne of God.

I am ruined for all else.

As I am writing this, I have to be awake in less than 5 hours time.

Physically, I am worn out. Completely spent.

But, it is ONLY in His presence where I am truly renewed, refreshed and recharged. No where else, no other way.

It’s funny, I’ve seen people (and I myself, sometimes) have tried to look for ways and means to recharge and reenergise in every way possible, except to go to the Source of Rest Himself.

I’ve said before, I despise early mornings. I love to sleep-in, late. (As of now, doing that would be an opulent luxury.)

However, my morning routine has changed (since early this year).

I took advantage of the 10 (or sometimes 15) minutes drive to my college, for it to be a morning chat with my Heavenly Daddy.

And, I’ve been SO blessed.

Some mornings, I would go on and on, not wanting the drive to end. On other days, His presence would just fill my entire car that I am found weeping (I have to admit, that is a little dangerous – having misty eyes is not good for driving – AND weird).

Then again, I sincerely love it.

So much so that I actually have something to look forward to every morning.

I see it as a morning chat. Sometimes, it is a kiss from above, a priceless one.

I’m encouraging you to do the same. You will find and experience so much, with just a little change in your daily routine.


Much love,
Mels.

I’ll be truthful; I am a lousy keyboard player. Really. I refused to read notes, I (still do) loathe doing it. I was SO insistent on learning basic chords and basic chords alone.

I came home today, burnt out. All I wanted to do was to switch on the air-conditioner, crawl under the covers, rest my head on the pillow and sleep (for about a hundred years).

My whole body was aching for that, but my heart says otherwise.

I decided to obey my heart’s prompting.

I relieved my mind from the visage of my warm bed, and reluctantly dragged my feet to my keyboard.

I sat on the stool, chose a song and let my fingers do the work.

They trailed up, down and over the keys.

I began to sing. It wasn’t just my mouth singing, it was my heart and all that is within me singing.

Soon after, I couldn’t continue singing. I choked up. Tears were pooling in my eyes.

The songs sung today, the melodies played, were unlike any other.

The songs I sang are familiar songs, songs I've sung before in church over and over again. However, the experience and revelation is NEW every single time. It’s FRESH. It’s precious and irreplaceable.

Come to think of it, the angels in heaven have been singing that SAME song, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and who is and who is to come” (Revelation 4:8) since the beginning of time and they never tire of singing it.

Psalms 33, 96, 149 speak of "singing a NEW song".

It is not just in reference to writing new songs, it is to also grasp new and fresh revelation from already written songs.

The reason as to why the angels never tire of singing that song (and they will continue to do so for all eternity) is because (I believe) there is NO END to the majesty and greatness of our Glorious King.

Every day, a new encounter. A fresh infilling of His presence. A new facet to who He is. A discovery of the miraculous wonders, daily.

Henceforth, let your song to Him be NEW every day.

Let your song sung be melodies from your heart, composed as a medley mirroring His heart.




Related post(s):

• My Loved One

Names that I call Max with: Babycakes, Mumma's Darling, Porkchop, Tumbles, Munchkin AND Max.

It's amazing that he responds to them ALL.


P/S: I think that the annoyed-slash-evil-glint look he has in this shot is SO adorable.

See that expression? Priceless.