My 'Christmas' message for this year

Why not say it with a VDO clip this time?





This year my circle of friends have decided not to give each other gifts, but raise the funds and bless a home for destitute children with a game party and vouchers!!

Though the meaning of Christ Jesus' birth has become very, very meaningful to me, the "festive season" - or at least how I see most people enjoying it - raised a lot of questions for me.
The wrapped gifts, the shopping, the dinners - one more indulgent than the other - the decorations, etc...

It all vapourizes compared with the greatest Gift of all: Jesus Christ. Thank you Heavenly Father!!

(double click on the picture to enlarge the image)

Water Festival

water play at ACS ground and high tea

Okay for this one, it was just me and Zoé! No other kid, no Mum ... and I had fun for 2 hours just watching her how she gradually became more wet and very dirty by climbing on all the equipment at the play ground.
It was only when the mozzies came out to bite me, I withdrew with an empty pail and a soaked Zoé!!
She was ready for a nice soapy bath at home...
Today was Deepavali, an Indian festival and a day off ... which meant for me: meeting one of my new business partners in the morning and a nice scone and tea afternoon with Wendy and Angeline Gisele (Cheryl's younger sister) at Holland Village ...

Is there any more sand?

Is there any more sand?

I will have Mummy Cheryl ask to write down her comments because I was not there!

On a Safari

Singapore Zoo -021107

Whenever we take Zoé out for a walk, she is always attracted by the birds hopping around and the cats lying near the guard house. We thought that taking her to a Zoo would really impress her.

From above slideshow, you can see she liked the parrots and toucans a lot (maybe because that was all in the beginning and she was still fresh and alive)
Walking around the zoo, also gives you the opportunity to see a lot of leaves and pebbles on the ground. At least now she does not put them into her mouth anymore!

I reckoned she was more excited about the entire new scenery than all the animals together. Though she watches them curiously, one can not say that she is either in awe or just not very impressed.

At the end we observed the urang utans, one with a small baby and one baby hanging around in the tree. Again, Zoé was looking attentively .. yet it is hard to say what really goes around in her mind seeing these primates. After 2 hours she had enough and fell asleep on my back.

It was fun for dad & mum, Sharon, and the 2 other kids: playmate Asher and Jeanine. For Zoé it was still too early to take it all in, I guess. Hopefully, we will take her within the next few years to visit our friends in South Africa and go for a real Safari!

coping to assimilate

After spending 2 months in Belgium, it is hard to get back in the Singapore routine. Wife and child had 2 weeks advance on me, but I can simply not get in the ritme. The weather is extremely hot and humid and after enjoying the European dry summer and even get a nice tan, it is hiding from sun and humidity again here in Singapore!

Though shortly after my return, I teamed up with 2 local businessmen in a new venture and got into some work, my sleepless nights still make it difficult to slip into a normal pattern.

Zoe has become very independent and does not want to sit with Daddy a lot, she knows where to get her food and explores the world in her own ways. My Mum said, I was not very different that when I had my first 3-wheel bycicle I adventured off and got to the main road watching cars passing by till one of them stopped, trying to find the Mum of the lost child!!

I am also trying to cope with the "living aspect" of Singapore. Especially after travelling through Europe a bit (Netherlands, Germany, Czech and Belgium) I see the quality of life one can get there. Most of my friends have done very well, and live in comfortable homes (my next dream is to have one myself).

On the other hand, the work/business opportunities are not that great in Europe and I was always hoping to make enough money to kind of semi-retire somewhere in Europe. Is Asia the right environment for our child(ren) to grow up? Will they not be soaked up in the rat race of making $$$ instead of living a life?

Happy birthday Zoe

Thanksgiving

It’s a happy day
I thank God for the weather
It’s a happy day
I’m living it for my Lord
It’s a happy day
Things are gonna get better
Living each day by the promises of God’s word…

This is a song I sometimes sing to Zoe in the morning. It was truly a happy day to thank God for the weather as 18 August 2007 in Belgium was a beautiful sunny day – not that frequent in Belgium!

Zoe was in a very joyful mood when she woke up, singing and clapping her hands… I am reminded of the verse that God spoke to me the week before her birth –

“The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with Hois Love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17

This verse had encouraged me at a time when Zoe was in a breech position and seemed to be headed towards a caesarian birth. I believed that God was watching over both of us and was rejoicing over her birth. Now, one year on, we rejoice at God’s faithfulness for watching over her first year and granting her good health and spirits!

Morning Walk

Seeing the fine weather, we decided to bring Zoe to a nearby park to have a walk and visit the animals there.

Since our trip to Prague and Germany, Zoe has been practicing walking by making us hold one of her hands and walking with her to wherever she wants to go.

Today, Jan decided to let her try walking on her own a little… Zoe was too excited to notice herself taking her first steps on clover… (see clip)

Unfortunately, we couldn’t get too close to the deer and rabbit – they were very shy and ran away from her.

Zoe’s encounter with ducks and geese was enhanced by a boy coming to feed them bread. The ducks and geese rushed towards the pieces of bread and gobbled them up greedily.

Zoe has learned that a cat is called “Poes” or “Pu” as she calls them … She was thrilled to meet a friendly cat in the park.

There were lots of things to explore in the park, but not enough time. Zoe picked up a pebble and also a thorny chestnut xxx and then we headed home for lunch and her afternoon nap.


Birthday Party

We organized a very small tea party for Zoe in the afternoon, followed by a dinner with Jan’s family.

Zoe had a fantastic time at her tea party, playing with balloons, opening presents and eating a selection of fruit, cereals and snacks. She was soon playing happily with her new toys and walking around with her guests…

She also took some steps on her own towards Papa! (see clip)

Later in the evening, we presented Zoe with her first birthday cake garnished with mixed fruits, cream and chocolate sprinkles. Zoe was entranced by her cake and reached out enthusiastically for the fruit… Strawberry, red berries, kiwi, passionfruit, peach, nectarine… She ate almost everything on the cake!

After enjoying her cake, it was bedtime for Zoe. I prayed for her that her next year will be a time of growth in experiencing God and that she will grow in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Praise God for a blessed day!

(Jan is putting together a slide show and some VDO clips...so see a few days later!!)

Zoé a la Table

... at the table, eating Mama's yummie food.

We are really blessed with Zoé, being a baby who likes to experiment food and eats everything we have offered her sofar.

One of her recent likings is bread. She stuffs her own mouth full with pieces of whole grain bread and loves it.

The other thing she loves is fruit. Since Papa is experimenting with fresh fruits and vegetables on his new twin gear juicer (see my other nutrition blog), there is always fresh produce available and she gets to eat from it. She does not even have her favourite fruit and flavours them all: banana, cantaloupe, plum, strawberry, kiwi, mango, grapes, pear, apple...

The other day she was sucking on a broccoli stem and we had difficulty getting the piece out of her mouth... I mean: she grabbed it and could choke on it.

Needless to say, with the choice of food, we try to go as organic and natural as we can, which also helps Daddy to control his weight (now 101Kg, still 11 to go!)

Interested in seeing Zoé's table manners? Here is the clip!

Zoé a la Plage Sentosa

Mike and I have some things in common. We are married to a Singaporean Chinese, have a daughter, work most of the times from home and have a lot of time flexibility.

Hence we used a weekday to visit Sentosa's beaches with our kids and let them have a feel of the water, sea, sand and a picnic at Cafe Del Mar.

Please click on below YouTube VDO clip, which I made for the very first time, using MS Movie Maker and the clips made with a digital camera. I love this new hobby of mine!

Mike and I agreed to make a similar visit with our kids at least once a month.

Finding a Chinese Name for Zoé

Finding an English name for a baby girl wasn’t too hard. I thought that it would be nice to have a short and simple name.

I did like quite a lot of names but they were for one reason or another not appropriate. Finally, a visit to the website biblical-baby-names.com sealed the choice when I found out that Zoé – pronounced Zo-ay – meant “eternal life” and was part of one of my favourite verses – “I am the way, the truth and the life (zoe)” – John 14:6

Great! If we have a girl, she will be called Zoé. The tough choice was for the boy’s name. Up to the day of the birth, we still hadn’t decided on a boy’s name.

So, thankfully, we came up with the name Zoé Hanne on the third day of Zoé’s life. Hanne is a Dutch variation of Hannah as we wanted her to have a European name.

As the choice of an English name had taken us months, we didn’t even try to think of a Chinese name out of the thousands of possibilities…

However, now that we have more time, energy and inspiration, the search for a Chinese name is ON!

Zoé Hanne means eternal life – the wonder of living and favoured grace.

I think it would be nice to give Zoé a Chinese name that adds on to her English name. I am still thinking of possibilities…

Zoé loves water, nature, people… She is lively, joyful, expressive, introspective, adventurous, likes traveling and exploring, enjoys playing with all kinds of people, likes music and dancing…

An idea of what we desire for her…

For her life to make an impact in this world as a blessing to the nations, for her to be a sensitive, spirit-filled messenger of God who demonstrates God’s power to speak life, healing, love, truth and freedom…

For someone who is able to appreciate the arts, the sciences, sports, nature, culture… and at the same time is full of practical wisdom and ability to use all her senses as well as spiritual intuition…

For someone who will be engaging, intelligent, caring, loving, fun, adaptable, gracious, passionate, courageous, radical, street-smart, and pure.

Which two characters would be able to encapsulate all the above into a beautiful and meaningful name for Zoé? Our target is to select a name before her 1st birthday. We will hold a special christening ceremony for our dear one and pray prophetically over her life as we give Zoé her new Chinese name!

(By Cheryl)

Cheryl & Zoe

@ Cafe Del Mar

For our second wedding anniversary, we returned to the Island where we were married 2 years ago: Sentosa!

Though I had listened to the tunes of the Cafe Del Mar lounge music in some places in Bangkok before, I had to wait till there was actually a Cafe Del Mar (click on the link and enjoy some of the chill out music!!) opening in this region.

Sentosa is being revamped with new eateries, clubs on the South Beaches, soon an integrated resort (read: legalized gambling den) and other attractions. A direct sky train link from Vivo City all the way to Siloso Beach makes the trip easy with kid(s).

Honestly, I liked the setting: end of the day, a cool breeze, right on the beach and the sun setting, table next to the pool... But where there is water, booze and a couple of hot headed tourists, there is also noise!

We enjoyed the snack meal, a mojito and a digestive walk on the beach sand, watching the end of a light and sound spectacle and a silent prayer under the stars before heading back to my in-laws to pick up Zoé .. sorry my dear kid .. we'll take you another time to the beach!

Cafe Del Mar

Eat what you want?

I have been enjoying my week after Chinese New Year with indulging myself in nature's goodness: fruits and vegetables.
I must admit that eating raw vegetables can be a bit tedious and if it is not converted and tossed into a nice salad with tasty herb and olive oil dressing, it can be a bit boring too.
Hence, I have been juicing or blending most of it ( without the dressing that is! )

Lunch today!
5 colours per day ... click to check site..
Apart from shedding some kilo's ( I am trying and beating my body to loose 19 Kilo's - from 109 to 90 ) in short time without doing strenuous exercise or following a "starvation diet", I am also fasting and praying for my healing and spiritual preparation for Easter and Pesach celebrations (more on this later..).

My last doctor's check up revealed elevated LDL-Cholesterol levels (4.4mmol/L, should be <2.6) on top of a dehydrated, flattened 2 lower disc.
In addition to depending on Jesus Christ for my healing, I am also taking responsibility to make sure I eat the right food.

As below funny French commercial suggests; we could eat healthy without depriving ourselves. Ever thought about the 'French food paradox' ? They drink red wine ( in modesty, please! ), eat mostly Mediterranean style food with olive oil and salads, consume butter, “ Boursin fromage et du pain” and at the same time count themselves among the least with cardio vascular diseases, cholesterol problems, cancer, etc...!

As to the butter: a funny, but true quote on a Dutch Food & Health web read:
"As to butter and margarine, I'd rather trust cows than chemists!"



( Mind you: strongly suggest the sex part in the boundary of marriage only! )

Valentine ... you give a little Love and ...

"You give a little Love
and it all comes back to you..
You gonna be remembered
for the things you said and do...La la laa..."

See the VDO clip below which is an old Coke add (which I do not endorse!) but I like the add, especially when he turns around the guys carrying the billboards.

A Happy & Healthy Birthday in Bangkok

Traditionally, because I have done so for the last 10 years, I celebrate my birthday in Thailand. Mostly, I choose some idyllic island or mountain region, but after I missed out on Krabi in 2004 (Tsunami) and fortunately did so, it has been Bangkok since. This time the occasion was also to attend a seminar and meet our good friends in Bangkok, many of whom have not seen Zoé in Live… (Ha! .. her name means life!)

This was also Zoé’s 4th country visit in her 5 months..and she likes traveling!

One night, my dear friends James and Patty, invited us for a wonderful open air Thai dinner and on my birth date (22nd), another couple - who have been instrumental in our lives - Rasael and Amie took us for a Persian meal. Our host, Heather, made us feel at home in her condo and after Cheryl and Zoé flew back to Singapore, I was kindly invited to stay on with Rasael for another week. I managed to catch up with some friends and share my testimony at a workshop held for singles, on how I managed to remain ‘cool’ in my 7 years of single hood, while waiting for my bride..to propose to me.

Bangkok is a 15 million mega city and yet I ran into and ex business partner of 10 years ago: Jason and his wife Vivian. Jason is a nutrition and diet expert. We went for a drink and he shared a lot of insights in diet and exercise. Cheryl and I went for a ‘skin carotenoid score’, to find out that at a level of 26,000 units (Cheryl:21,000), I am far below the benchmark of 35,000 and the optimal goal of +50,000. So... more super antioxidant food on my plate from now!!

Back in Singapore, my wife passed me a belated birthday present last night, a book titled: “Health & Wellness “ by Jordan Rubin. He was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease and felt triggered by God to eat according to Scriptures and exercise, so the temple of God should not de defiled but used for His purpose.

Rubin ate himself healthy again by fresh fruits & vegetables, exercise and meditation on God’s Word.

Here some pictures of Jordan

Before .............. after.......








Click on this web site for more details
http://www.biblicalhealthinstitute.com
for your free introductory course, called “Whole Food Nutrition Supplements 101.”

Cheryl’s prayers were also that I may have healthy and energetic years ahead. Right now, I am a ‘bit’ overweight with a BMI of 30KG/m2 (should be 18-25)and over 30% body fat… so it is a good time to start 2007 and my 43rd year to take care of this temple and make sure that my next decades will be healthier and more energetic!
So, in advance: thank you all for your prayer support and useful advice on how to achieve this goal. (Comments are welcome!)

Click on below picture to see a short slide show of our Bangkok trip.


... here is Pa, trying to see if daughter
likes to taste some chocolate of the
birthday cake!

(she did not attempt to lick it...)

Vend it like Beckham

The talk in sports town is definitely the record amount spent on a football player not even worth to start in the first team of Madrid.

David even mentioned in his interview that some of his colleagues were laughing when he mentioned the amount of his new contract. My thoughts were: who is going to pay for all of this? The money needs to come from somewhere.
If it is not the banks that are cashing in fortunes out of fractional reserve banking and providing loans for such transactions, these astronomical ( or should I say galactical now?) funds must be somehow hidden in your Gillette shavers, Pepsi drinks or all his other marketing endorsements.

Someone has to pay the bill, there is no free lunch in this world.

Or is it Posh lured by the ‘Hollywood glory’ or was it Tom Cruise who succeeded in converting his buddy to become a Scientologist and be relatively safe in crazy California (rather than for example Germany, where they booted Cruise out because of his lobbying with the government to get legal status for his cult) Whatever the reason, I pray Beckham will not donate all his new marketing revenues into the promotion of the Scientologists, like Tom and John Travolta are doing.. but that he may use these funds to get the stoned and addicted from LA streets, help the less priviledged, homeless in the golden welfare state and get them to play some soccer. Maybe then, like in Brazil, some of these street soccers become good at it and make their own living.

DB claims his motive is to promote football or soccer in the US. Ha! What the US needs is not another giant franchise league, producing sport idols, but some people getting the Americans off the entertainment trap and back on track!

At last, I feel sorry for all the ladies in Europe who enjoyed seeing their star on TV, guessing on what hairstyle he would don next… What’s next? For Madrid, no worries, they will offload some 10 older players and buy fresh blood in the legs. For ManU: Fergie is building a new and young team, same as his buddy Arsene Wenger, who rather invest in youth programs than letting cash dictate them. Afterall: football is a sport ... no?

Starting a new year

Many make new resolutions every year. Usually, I take the old ones, refresh them to SMART rules and live them out again..

This year I decided to start anew by making a major decision. After working 5 years for a medical firm that I help setting up with a few Taiwanese business men in Thailand, ... I quit! I even removed the link on this blog!

Sometimes leaving a ship that is neither floating nor sinking, is not easy. If another big ship comes along, one may decide to jump on that one or when a fast moving speed boat flashes by, hop on that one and move on… This time, I jumped into the sea… no floats… open sea… I am not sure what shore I will wash onto. It may be a stormy sea, lots of waves, lot of salt to swallow, maybe nothing in sight for some time, just bobbing around, where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord, in whom I trust .. (Psalm 121) .. funny One 2 one …!?

The Reason for The Season

Wow, the Christmas season flew by so fast! We did not even buy presents for one another..
4 weeks before, Orchard Road and shopping malls were decorated and as soon the new year hit, all disappears… so it is all the more about $$$...

For me, Christmas becomes every year less and less a season I am looking forward to. Not because it is not important, but because I more and more celebrate the reason for it every day so there is not so much of a peak at the end of the year. By the way, according to some historians and Bible scholars, December 24 was not the real date but some time in spring…come to think of it: Israel is a cold country and mobilizing people for a census in the winter would not have been the ideal timing..

I only sent out 5 Christmas cards: mainly to my family. This year I wrote the above title on it, then explained that Jesus was born, died for our sins making the way to our Father in Heaven (i.e. God, for those who may wonder about my own dad…), resurrected, went to Heaven and is still alive today … I did not talk about: peace, happiness, good love life, luck, good health, etc… because my wish is not going to make that happen, but a relationship with God does…so why promise empty claims!?

E-cards for Christmas did also not work well this year. Cyber traffic is still a bit slow as reparations are being done on the undersea cables off the coast of Taiwan. How fragile this whole internet web is! Now I understand how world economy can collapse if just a few simultaneous failures happen at one time…just to learn one should not put too many eggs in that basket!

This entry will also have no pictures, because our camera got stolen on Christmas eve, while taking pictures on Orchard Road…so at least for somebody else it was a Christmas with a ‘new’ camera … and for me, I should never assume that Singapore is a safe place.

If any of you know of a good second hand digital camera for sale…LET me know!!