Beautiful Brides, Worthy Wife

Once upon a time, little girl dreamed of Disney's prince charming on white horse....but as we grew out of the little frilly skirts into reality, we also graduated from prince into business heir, from white horse into white Porsche.

The world has painted a certain standard for beautiful bride and majestic wedding for centuries; it doesn't matter where or when. The standard is there and people try their best to follow.

A wedding should all be about a celebration of love, of two people beginning their marriage journey. It is a day of blessings from many close friends and family. Sadly, some weddings have somehow become checklists, to do list, budget list and many other lists. Of course, there is nothing wrong with having those helpful lists, as many couples have experienced, that the preparation period is the ultimate test if two people are ready to become one in marriage and face the world.

All brides want to look their absolute stunning self, powdered in the shimmering rosy shades, dressed in the softest of lace and silk, covered with the long white veil and crowned with diamonds. Women are created for beauty and love. We tend to get over excited to have our dream wedding, maybe even jealous over what others may have that we don't. What to wear; is it soft French lace or creamy white silk?? Where should we hold it? In a grand hotel in the heart of the city or out of town with the countryside romance? What's pre- wedding photo concept? What's the color theme? Who are the bridesmaids and groomsmen? And the list goes on and on.....

As the day draws near with the seemingly never-ending to-do-list sometimes we forget the reason why we said 'YES' to his proposal. Don't let the preparation period overwhelms and makes you forget to prepare for entering the marriage life itself.

Ask any married man...yes, his wife looked beautiful in her wedding dress, but he would say that she is the loveliest when she smiles with kindness in her eyes. He would say that she feels like home as she welcomes him from a tiring day at work. He would say that she looks ravishing with her messy morning hair and no make up. He would say that he loves her so much because she looks at him with respect and trust. He would praise and admire her because of these and to him, she is the most beautiful bride in the world and worthy wife...and none of involved lace or silk.

You will look beautiful words to him even in just a simple white dress if you remember to dress yourself with love, to walk in the shoes of understanding, to be covered in the veil of trust and crowned with the jewel of respect. Your inner beauty and confidence will outshine any couture dress.

For all the single ladies out there who dream of being a beautiful bride and worthy wife, always be generous in your in your smile and be kind in your actions, for you never know who is looking your way. Who knows, the prince charming on his white horse is still around in this modern day! :)

Xoxo,

 Cynthia V.

Live Life to The Fullest

Dear friends, here are the five things, I wish I knew, when I was turning sixteen, the days when I said goodbye to toys and dolls, and said hello to make up and boys. Now I'm 27 years old!!! Tua suda.hahaha!!

1.   Follow your dreams, they know the way. I believe God, the dream maker have planned seeds of dreams in everyone of us. When we are young, discover your gifts and talents. The most fullfilling life if you can do what you love for the rest of your life. So you hardly cannot tell the different between working and playing.

2.   Love your parents and treasure them, and make them proud.

3.   Treasure your best friends. As you walk your path of life, you will meet people everyday. Most are simply met by chance. But, some are gifts from above, and become special friends. The ones who will stay with you forever to share your life.

4.   Travel the world and make countless of friends, pick up at least one foreign language. What you see, the places you travel, the people you meet, the friends you choose will help you grow and discover who you really are. Flourish your knowledge. Be Curious. Don't be afraid to ask question.

5.   Fall in love. When we are young, we sometimes mislead love and infatuation. Falling in love is like no other feeling in the world. To have someone to look forward to every waking hour, and smile when falling asleep. When you are in love, suddenly your iPhone or Blackberry ping sounds so romantic, not because of the sound, but who sends you the message. The emotion smile sent by him comes alive and makes you smile ear to ear. The love songs made so much sense to you. It's amazing feeling, but it is important to know the different between love and infatuation. It is all started with feeling high over hills.

But these what I have learned in life. Love stays. Love is something that takes time to grow and grows stronger over time, where infatuation is like a bomb that goes off and then is gone. Infatuation is all about the moment, about attraction and desire. Infatuation feels like a magic- spell; it's out-there. It is when you intensely feel Love towards another. It's mostly all about how YOU feel. The person will seem perfect in every way. You think about them non stop. Just thinking about them makes your heart start pounding. You get so excited when around them. "Infatuation  is chemical. Obsession is all about bodily chemicals and neurons firing and thoughts flitting in and out of your mind before they have time to settle. Love lives in the heart and moves slowly, evoking warmth and smiles." :) :) :)

Love is about the FUTURE and SECURITY. LOVE is MATURE. When you're in love, you feel strong, full of life and happy. You feel secure and beautiful. With infatuation, you're full of anxiety and worry. You want them, but fear you might lose them. Or fear they might disappoint and be disappointed. You fear a lot of things. With love, you have no fear of anything, because you're secure in the arms of the one you love. Knowing He or she loves you still no matter what.

Love is patient. Time will prove love. Infatuation is about getting through today and hoping tomorrow will be good.

Love is secure. Love is knowing your heart is for another. Love means you accept each other as whole beings. Together you will make each other better.

Remember this, true and real Love begins with first finding yourself, cause only if you're happy with yourself will you be able to embrace the other person just as he/she is. And you will find true love more easily. If its meant to be it will be!! Without drama, it will happen and you will make your happily ever after even better than the fairly tales.

So friends, before saying YES to datings, it is good to use both of your heart and your common senses. Wait, pray and make countless of friends before you decide becoming exclusive to someone. You are worth waiting for, YOU ARE BORN TO BE LOVED and LOVE.. :) :) :)

Love,

Cynthia V. B :)

Sisterhood

It never mattered you were younger

We were always on the same page.

We had the same interest

As if we were the same age.

You told me about your first kiss;

I told you about mine.

Now, we talk about our husbands

As we eat cheese and drink cheap wine.

Over the years,

I've learned a great deal about living.

Life isn't always fair,

And true friendship is so rare.

I am blessed to know

That's exactly what I share

With you... :) :)

Xoxo...

   Cynthia :)

Baby Talks To God... :)

A baby asked God, "They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?"

God said, "Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you."

The child further inquired, "But tell me, here in heaven I don't have to do anything but sing and smile to be happy."

God said, "Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you. And you will feel your angel's love and be very happy."

Again the child asked, "And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me if I don't know the language?"

God said, "Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak."

"And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?" God said, "Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray."

"Who will protect me?"

God said, "Your angel will defend you even if it means risking its life."

"But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore."

God said, "Your angel will always talk to you about Me and will teach you the way to come back to Me, even though I will always be next to you."

At the moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from Earth could be heard and the child hurriedly asked, "God, if I am to leave now, please tell me my angel's name."

God said, "You will simply call her, MOM."

Love you Mom...

Xoxo,
Cynthia V. B

H.E.A.R.T...

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

When we talk about "heart", it normally mean emotions, affections, and feeling. It includes all of your deepest moral and spiritual convictions. So it's really talking about what's really deep inside of you - what makes you you.

What if I told you that I have a heart condition??? What would your reaction be?? The truth is, I do have a heart condition. Being hopelessly, romantic, my life is driven by the feeling that I have and it is so unpredictable and swings like faster than roller coaster. That is why I think God says guard your heart.

I don't think it means that you should ignore your feelings, but we need to take care of our emotions. I tell God how I feel, whenever I'm feeling happy or sad. But then I also tell Him what will I do through all with His strength and power. We are created in the image of GOD, but many of us don't realize our emotions are a significant part of God's image imprinted within us. Women need to feel comfortable with who they are emotionally. We are often surprised by the intensity of our own emotions.

There's nothing more important than your inner life- what's in your heart. Life is not your circumstances, the kind of business you have, house you live in, the kind of job you have or how much money you have. You can have the best of these things and still be miserable.

On the other hand, it's amazing how happy you can be in the middle of the weirdest circumstances, if you keep your heart in the right condition.

I want you to understand this : Every time you feel like doing the wrong thing of feeling the wrong thing and you choose to do or feel the right thing, you are GROWING- and God is SMILING.. :) :) :)

So friends!!! Always remember this, whatever storm your heart now facing, once it is over, you won't remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won't even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won't be the same person who walked in. That's what this storm's all about..

Be blessed yah!!

Love,

Cynthia V. B

Friend of Mine :) ::Random Pic::

A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow.... :))

“Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.” 
― Albert Camus

“When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares.” 
― Henri J.M. Nouwen, Out of Solitude: Three Meditations on the Christian Life

“The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, not the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when you discover that someone else believes in you and is willing to trust you with a friendship.” 
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

“When you have a good friend that really cares for you and tries to stick in there with you, you treat them like nothing. Learn to be a good friend because one day you're gonna look up and say I lost a good friend. Learn how to be respectful to your friends, don't just start arguments with them and don't tell them the reason, always remember your friends will be there quicker than your family. Learn to remember you got great friends, don't forget that and they will always care for you no matter what. Always remember to smile and look up at what you got in life.” 
― Marilyn Monroe

Jesus Is The Center?

Hi everyone!! Blessed Sunday..

I bet pasti sudah tau, aleast pernah dengar lagunya Israel Houghton - Jesus at the center of it all. A great song and lyric, and we sing it quite often.

In this short writing, saya cuma mau mengajak teman2 untuk reflect sahaja.. Whenever we sing this song, and the lyric, have you guys ever reflect "Is Jesus REALLY at the center of at all"??

Pay close attention to the words "of IT ALL", yang bererti di semua hal. In our life, in our prayer, in our worship, in our fellowship, in our family, in our work, in our study, in our relationship...etc..

Let us reflect... sebenarnya seringkali itu OUR EGO is at the center of it all la.. Bukan Jesus.hehe

In our prayer..

Cuba re-check isi doa kita, seringkali doanya:

God please give me this, I need Your help for this, thank You I have this, You know my worry about this, I surrender all my problems to You about this, and so on and so on.. Who is the focus??? Who is at the center of our prayer?? US. Kita hanya fokus dengan hal- hal yang terjadi pada diri kita.

Well, I'm NOT saying that it is wrong, setiap kali ada masalah memang kita harus bawa dalam doa dan menyerahkan atau meluahkan kepada Tuhan. What I'm saying is that it is NOT ENOUGH untuk pray begitu sahaja, because we have not shifted the focus from ourselves to God. WE are still at the center.

Let's start today, in our prayer,
instead of asking about what GOD can do for us, start asking GOD what we can do for Him. Fokus ke hal- hal yang kita boleh lakukan untuk menyenangkan hati Tuhan, bukan hal- hal yang Tuhan boleh lakukan untuk menyenangkan hati kita. Let's start giving thanks not only for the things He has done in our lives, but start giving thanks for who He is.

Ingat doa Bapa Kami?? Yesus mulakan doanya dengan focusing on His Father first, bukan dengan His needs.

Belajar dari Samuel:
1 Samuel 3:9 "...Berbicaralah, TUHAN, sebab hamba-Mu ini mendengar...." Most of us don't realize that... Praying is NOT only about talking, praying is about LISTENING too!! Listen to what He want from us.

"Be still and know that I am God" = loosely translated to Be Quiet and Listen!

Well, mungkin juga banyak dari kita berfikir, saya atau kamu tidak pernah mendengar suara Tuhan, dan macam mana cara untuk mendengar suara Tuhan?? Here's a quote for you from Rick Warren :
"God's Will is in God's Word. Stop listening for a voice. Start looking for a verse." =))

In our worship, again is Jesus really at the center of our worship??

Saya juga agak binggung dengan segelintir anak muda yang berkata, "kenapa lagu ini sangat boring, dan kenapa jiwa saya tidak dapat menghayati lagu2 ini dalam worship??" I don't get anything from the worship..

I'm confused.. You don't get anything from the worship??? Well.. In worship, you are NOT suppose to GET anything, you are suppose to GIVE.. to GIVE praise to God.

Actually when we focus to God in our worship, when we sing without thinking about ourselves (how do we look, what can we get..etc) , regardless of you singing in tune or out of tune, regardless the song is upbeat or hymn, solo or choir, with instruments or acapella, your praise WILL go up to God, and He WILL accept it..

The same thing applies in our others aspects of lives.

 I understand that we're humans.. We have a tendency to focus on us, and lives as if everything revolves around us. That's actually normal. But if we do that, we will miss out on a lot of great things form the Father. But if we go beyond normal, and focusing from God, as if everything revolves around Him, we won't miss out on anything! =))

Saya berdoa agar kita semua, termasuk saya, memulakan hidup yang baru untuk menyenangi hati Tuhan, dan fokus untuk lakukan hal- hal yang Tuhan mau dari kita, bukan hanya minta hal- hal yang kita mau dari Tuhan.

Have a good day!! Hope it helps =)) Peace be with us....

Love,

Cynthia V.B.

Day 5 - The Tip of Borneo (Tanjung Simpang Mengayau, Kudat) & Lokan Bakar Tuaran

Good morning KUDAT!!! I miss you... ;) ;)
Hari ni pula saya mo share sama korang gambar2 di Kudat.hehe. Perjalanan ke Kudat mengambil masa 3jam lebih. haaaaaaa!!! Jauh tak?? Mimang jauh. It is located in Tanjung Simpang Mengayau. So, enjoy the pictures guyyyssss!!!

Lautan yang biru..

Bestie :)

Jumppppppp!!!

:)

Cynthia & Leona

Yihaaaa!!!

:D :D

Model LV?? hahaha :p :p

Relax dulu ba kita :)

:D :D :D

Kaban :) :)

The Tip Of Borneo :)

I'm here!! :)

Freedom!! ^_^"

Peace! :)

Cantiknya lautan..haha

God bless us :) :)

Leona, Ijat, Cynthia & Dael :)

Ok!! Sekarang saya mo bawa korang pi Tuaran. Kita lepak2 makan lokan bakar Kak Piah.. Sadap tau!! :) :) Lokan bakar ni, durang bakar lepas tu durang bagi serai campur sikit kunyit. Rasa dia manis2 sikit.. Jom!! Lokan bakar ni durang bagi ikut size. Yang besar 1 tompok RM12 sahaja. So kami pilih yang besar :) 

Lokan bakar Kak Piah, Tuaran. Sedap!!!

Yum! Yum!

Jan lupa minum air kelapa muda keh! :) 

Selfieeeee!!