christianity, faith, in Christ, life, love, nature, of God, oman, photoblog, photography, psychology, relationship, salalah, society

Photoblog: The bushes of God’s revelation, Dhofar Oman

Exposure: 1/500 sec. F/11. Focal 70mm. ISO 400. Title: “The bushes of God’s revelation.” Dhofar, Oman. December 2010.

While growing up back home, I always watch the Ten Commandments movie during the Lenten season whilst there’s no TV channel broadcast – no shows, except for the Ten Commandments and the Life of Jesus of Nazareth.

The story of Ten Commandments always starts with Moses and God’s revelation. In this time, God revealed and spoken to Moses through the burning bush.

“I AM THAT I AM.”

Such powerful words that have always been taught during my religion and theology classes in school – from primary school until my university days. However one thing I won’t forget is that bush – that variety of plant imprinted in my mind and prayed that one day I would see that.

Having lived in the slum of Cebu and the slum of Manila, I’d never imagined settling overseas with a wonderful Christian husband let alone travel to couple of continents including the Middle East. When I reached Oman in 2010, the first glimpse of the country made me felt I was in the movie. And the wind blows my hair and my cheeks relived my childhood days of watching the Ten Commandments, Exodus, and Jesus of Nazareth.

I never realized my prayer when I was a child would be answered. After almost 30 years it does. God, truly answers prayers.

My road trip experiences combined with watching the sunset beside the beach in Oman with my eldest brother together with friends made me appreciate to be at peace with nature, with life, and with God.

And the picture of the bushes above will keep as a reminder that the true and ever living God exists. Ask the 2 Billion Christians across the globe and you will hear different testimonies and acclamations about God and our Lord God Jesus Christ.

If you’re looking for a church in Singapore, me and husband cordially invite you to visit Moriah Assembly of God at Vivo City Cinema Hall every Sunday at 10AM. See you around brothers and sisters.

In Christ.

nature, photoblog, photography, singapore, society, travelblog

Photoblog: Henderson Waves

Singapore may be a small dot in globe but there are tourist attractions in this country built though the creativity of talents.

One of them is Henderson Waves.

Henderson Waves is one of the attractions that shouldn’t be missed by photo lovers. It is one of the bridges connecting Telok Blangah, Henderson Road, and Mount Faber.

When going there at night, you can capture a glimpse of Singapore city lights.

Just don’t forget your tripod!

DSC_0523Exposure: 1/8 sec. F/4.2. Focal 62mm. ISO 1600. Nikon D200. Title: Henderson Waves, Singapore. 2010.

Til next time. Au revoir.

love, malaysia, nature, photoblog, photography, relationship, travelblog

Photoblog: Sunrise

DSC_0080 - Version 2_new

The beauty of sunrise reminds us the wonders of our upcoming day. God’s love is like the sunrise – touching our lives with its conglomerate of rays. Each of us has our own battle to face and and sunrise gives us the strength each day reminding us that God is always there and will never abandon us.

The early morning mists lying on the leaves of the plants will simply bow down like an accolade giving way to sunrise. A beginning of hopes, dreams, and aspirations. A beginning of change for the better.

When was the last time you experienced the invigorating beauty of sunrise?

Take some time off from the noise of the city and relived those days when you can enjoy sunrise with your loved ones. Create your inspiration and passion. Recognize God’s love.

This picture was taken at Cameron Highlands Malaysia on July 7th 2013 when me and my husband needed a breather and enjoy one of God’s creation.. The nature…

To see the full size picture, click here.

Til next time. Au revoir.

christianity, culture, faith, life, love, photography, relationship, singapore, society

Walk by Faith. Walk by Moriah.

We often wondered the existence of God.

How spiritual are we?

How can our emotions linked to our spirituality?

Why is it that positive people have the most fruits and happiness? While the opposite lives on angst and depression?

Why does our decision and judgement affects not only our lives but also of others?

Why do our lives intertwine?

Like a child, we asked humongous questions until we see ourselves in that breaking-free ultimate question,

WHAT IS OUR PURPOSE?

At first, I thought of correlating faith with Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. And that religion will only play role on a person’s love and belonging, self-esteem, and self-actualization phases of life. Until I proven myself wrong.

In this walk of journey I’ve seen a lot of wealthy, career, and successful business people who still feels empty. Some achieved success in their younger years; while others passed their mid-life and still on ‘catch 22’ in building their dreams. While the irony of all is that people living below the middle-class possess more happiness. They are more grateful for small gestures that they receive.

One thing we can’t deny is the linkage of spirituality to God’s existence. Happy people at most keep constantly thanking God for all the blessing He bestowed upon them. While struggling people still awaits for their experience with God. Waiting that God will awe them in wonders. While others does not believe in God’s existence.

Interestingly, Pew Research Center on Religion reported approximately 84% of the world’s population in 2010 believes in God based on their religious affiliations. The remaining population on the other hand have either neglect the idea that there is God and others have decided to abandon the notion and turn up to irreligion.

One admiration I have for Singapore is the freedom to express religion or faith due to its cultural diversity. Here in Singapore the common religions are: Christians, Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist. On another perspective it attracts the foreigners – immigrants mentality to move to a country where their religion is openly spoken. It gives them the sense of belonging.

I started attending Moriah Assembly of God (one of the Christian churches of Singapore) early 2012 while me and husband were still dating. A small community of Christians where the walk of faith is rather intimate. The community knows each other and the essence of  caregroups give more intimacy to the faith. My husband and I believes we all belong to a church. It’s just a matter of time to find your church. And we both felt it; we both belong to Moriah.

With our busy schedules, we do our best to attend the church service; caregroup, and other means of fellowships. Needless to say, Moriah church played a big role to our marriage and now our married life. I reborn my Christian faith in Moriah; and during our wedding ceremony, our Moriah family helped us and our Pastor Simon officiated our wedding.

As we grow, age, and continue our walk of life, we need a church. We need a church family that will walk with us in growing our faith and experience God in our lives. Experience God, experience Jesus, experience the Holy Spirit.

Last June 2013 I attended my very first church camp through Moriah in Phuket Thailand. With God’s financial blessings, me and my husband able to listen and further grown our faith through the church.

Our Moriah family. Church camp 2013 in Phuket, Thailand

My husband with our youth Amanda

While the kids were busy admiring the beauty of nature..

The camp is very active.

And the kids are attentive to the game masters..

We were divided to teams where camaraderie starts to kick in!

Excellent service! Where we held our camp…

Our Moriah Youths graced us with their talents for dancing…

The fun and laughter where all generation gaps were forgotten..

And here’s another one..

Our youths happy faces..

A game is a competition regardless of age.. Uncle Alan showing off with his moves..

The church camp may have last only for few days but what we’ve learned and experienced was a leap of faith. Science cannot disprove God’s existence. The more we resist spirituality, the more unhappy we become.

Leading back to our question, What is your purpose in life? It’s simply being happy. But we dragged ourselves in societal norms and rat-race competition that we wined up living a complicated and overstretch life. We forget to appreciate the beauty of nature and the people surrounding us. We stopped growing personally and spiritually.

If you want to be happy, start putting smile in your face when you wake up each morning. Paired it up with a silent gesture of giving ‘Thanks!’. I always believe that we could have just died in our sleep but God gave us another morning to be with our loved ones. Accept that you cannot control life and you need God to be with you. If you have a Christian friend whom you have constantly rejected the invitation, why not give it a chance?

If you’re a fellow Christian and feels hungry for God’s words, you can always open your stashed and dusty Bible in your home. Alternatively, through smart phones, electronic Bible are in various digital application stores –> the word of God is always within reach.

As for me and my husband, our faith, like our lives… is a constant journey. We’re walking by faith. And we’re walking by Moriah.

As we wanted to share it to everyone, if you feel the need to be connected to a church, feel free to join us in our worship every Sunday in Golden Village Cinema, Vivo City, Harbourfront Singapore from 10AM – 12PM.

Til next time. Au revoir.

culture, photoblog, photography

Singapore National Day Parade Rehearsal – Fireworks Display July 16 2011

Majulah!  – the word originated from Bahasa Melayu meaning – ‘Go forward’ or ‘Move forward’ has always been popular in Singapore during its National Day which dates August 9th. The word majulah is also known for Singapore’s anthem – ‘Majulah Singapura’ which translates to ‘Onward Singapore’.

Since Singapore’s national day is just around the corner, every weekend is a practice for many Singaporeans to showcase their parades, songs, among others to show tribute to their nation.

One amazing portion of the national day rehearsals is Singapore’s fireworks display which magnetizes many photo enthusiasts to capture the wildly array of colors in the lens of their camera.

I’m one of those photo enthusiasts. Even though I’m unfamiliar of using my Nikon D200 camera for this scene, I went to the fireworks rehearsal armed with my camera, a remote control, a tripod, a friend who is another photography geek, and lastly, a courage and hope that I can shoot the fireworks displays at least with a clear picture quality.

We’re lucky enough to take a place opposite the Marina Bay Sands where the fireworks are going to be held.

Marina Bay Sands Singapore

Fireworks Display.

Fireworks Display.

Here’s the photo set for this fireworks rehearsal.

I went to the fireworks rehearsal totally unprepared. But my camera somehow didn’t fail me.

I love my Nikon D200. 🙂

Til next time. Au revoir.

christianity, culture, faith, germany, history, india, life, love, oman, photoblog, photography, relationship, salalah, singapore, society, travelblog

Expressions

Different faces.
Different places.
Different representations.

People I met.
People I treasured.
People I cared for.
People I found.

Some left.
Some stayed.
Some returned.

One thing I won’t forget is they allowed me to see them in the lens of my camera.

Memories.

Expressions.

In my journey in life.

~ Chic Pencil

Few of my snaps from different places, faces, travels and art.

Exposure: 1/3200 sec. F/4.0. Focal 34 mm. ISO 640. Nikon D200. Title: Jawohl! My cousin on his dunk moves. Gutersloh, Germany. 2009.

Exposure: 1/25 sec. F/4.5. Focal 70 mm. ISO 800. Nikon D200. Title: ONE. My best buddy and his wife on their wedding ceremony. New Delhi, India. 2009.

Exposure: 1/80 sec. F/4.5. Focal 24mm. ISO 640. Nikon D200. Title: Growl. He was playing with me during our road trip to Hamburg, Germany. 2009.

Exposure: 1/60 sec. F/3.0. Focal 19 mm. ISO 800. Nikon D200. Title: Mood! One of my bestfriends in life. In his dancing mood. New Delhi, India. 2009.

Exposure: 1/60 sec. F/3.8. Focal 38 mm. ISO 800. Nikon D200. Title: Graceful. I called her my baby sis in India. She dances gracefully. New Delhi, India. 2009.

Exposure: 1/60 sec. F/4.0. Focal 38 mm. ISO 640. Nikon D200. Title: Dad & Son. Gutersloh, Germany. 2009.

Exposure: 1/90 sec. F/4.5. Focal 70 mm. ISO 640. Nikon D200. Title: Stunt! Taken at Movie Park, Bottrop Germany. 2009.

Exposure: 1/20 sec. F/4.0. Focal 45 mm. ISO 800. Nikon D200. Title: Nasi Goreng. Singapore, 2009.

Exposure: 1/45 sec. F/8.0. Focal 27.9 mm. ISO 400. Fujifilm FinePix S5500. Title: Two-gether. Taken at New Jersey, USA. 2005.

Exposure: 1/680 sec. F/5.6. Focal 5.7 mm. ISO 64. Fujifilm FinePix S5500. Title: Nation’s Pride, The Petronas Twin Towers. Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, 2006.

Exposure: 1/800. F/4.5. Focal 34 mm. ISO 640. Nikon D200. Title: Melanie. My baby sis in Germany. Taken at Cologne, Germany. 2009.

Exposure: 1/60. F/4.5. Focal 50 mm. ISO 640. Title: Innocent Grin. New Delhi, India. 2009.

Exposure: 1/60 sec. F/4.5. Focal 17 mm. ISO 640. Nikon D200. Title: 1001 Meaning. New Delhi, India. 2009.

Exposure: 1/60 sec. F/3.8. Focal 38 mm. ISO 400. Nikon D200. Title: Lovely smiles. Gutersloh, Germany. 2010.

F/3.2. Focal 4.9 mm. Nokia E71. Title: Comprende? Taken at Movie Park, Bottrop Germany. 2009.

X-res 72 dpi. Y-res 72 dpi. Rim Blackberry 9700. Title: Windy at Jebel Samhan. Salalah Oman. 2010.

Exposure: 1/60 sec. F/5.6. Focal 78 mm. ISO 400. Nikon D200. Title: Confidence. My eldest brother. Salalah Oman. 2010.

Exposure: 1/60 sec. F/4.5. Focal 40 mm. ISO 400. Nikon D200. Title: Mother & Son. Gutersloh, Germany. 2009.

 

Exposure: 1/20 sec. F/4.5. Focal 55mm. ISO 640. Nikon D200. Title: Her Eyes. New Delhi India. 2009.

Exposure: 1/100sec. F/4.0. Focal 50mm. ISO 800. Nikon D200. Title: Simply happy. A wedding made in India. New Delhi. 2009.

Exposure: 1/4 sec. F/5.6. Focal 120mm. ISO 500. Nikon D200. Title: The Bride’s Makeup. Singapore. 2013.

Exposure: 1/45 sec. F/4.5. Focal 33mm. ISO 1600. Nikon D200. Title: The Bride’s Hair. Singapore. 2013.

Exposure: 1/13 sec. F/5.3. Focal 50mm. ISO 1600. Nikon D200. Title: Surprises. Singapore. 2013.

Exposure: 1/20 sec. F/3.2. Focal 4.9mm. ISO 800. Nikon Coolpix S3000. Title: Attention. Philippines. 2014.

Exposure: 1/8 sec. F/5.6. Focal 12mm. ISO 500. Nikon D200. Title: Gnex & Harini. Singapore. 2013.

Exposure: 1/8 sec. F/5.6. Focal 11mm. ISO 500. Nikon D200. Title: Dad in-law’s birthday gift. Dad in-law’s 65th. Singapore 2013.

Exposure: 1/60 sec. F/3.8. Focal 38mm. ISO 320. Nikon D200. Title: The Innocent Cry. Gutersloh, Germany. 2010.

Exposure: 1/125 sec. F/5.6. Focal 70mm. ISO 400. Nikon D200. Title: Me and the gracious ladies. Salalah, Oman. 2010.

Exposure: 1/8 sec. F/3.0. Focal 21mm. ISO 800. Nikon D200. Title: Sultan Al Qaboos Mosque. Salalah, Oman. 2010.

Exposure: 1/750sec. F/5.0. Focal 50mm. ISO 640. Nikon D200. Title: Here they come! A unique brewery! Hamburg, Germany. 2009.

Exposure: 1/15 sec. F/4.5. Focal 17mm. ISO 640. Nikon D200. Title: The Cathedral. Cologne, Germany. 2009.

Exposure: 1/500 sec. F/11. Focal 62mm. ISO 400. Nikon D200. Title: Let’s finish the job. Workers at the ruins of Queen Sheba’s palace (Remember King Solomon in the Bible?). Salalah, Oman. 2010.

Exposure: 1/40 sec. F/3.3. Focal 26mm. ISO 1600. Nikon D200. Title: Family party @ Germany. 2010.

Til next time. Au revoir.