real rambling.. hopefully..

someone has complained to me that i've been doing fake updates.. truth is.. ive just become plain lazy. however, i have decided i shall attempt at writing a non-fake post. so here it is..

i was reading the national prayer and missions month booklet this morning, and i found this really simple way of describing grace.

whenever i return home in summer, i can freely plop myself on the sofa, watch the tv, open the fridge,eat the food, drive the car. there's always a place for me in my father's house. these are available to me not because i was on the Dean's list at uni, but simply because i am loved as a daughter of dad's

there weren't any creditsa at the end so i dont know who wrote this, but it paints a pretty simple picture doesnt it? (i think even the kids at sunday school and bsf would understand this). we receive God's grace not because we desrve it for being good, obedient children, but because he loves us just as we are- his children. and another part which made me smile from the reading:

the best way to thank God for His grace is to use it. just like the best way to appreciate mum's cooking is to eat it.

so yea, ive been reminded that God is gracious to me because He loves me, and to thank Him for it is to be always mindful of His grace in my life everyday.

***

i was reminded it was merdeka day when i received an sms from xin.. and also when the word "merdeka" was a reoccuring element in most people's msn usernames. yes.. it was not in the foremost of my mind.. probably cos i dont get a holiday for it.

then it got me thinking.. it seems that that is all merdeka day seems to be for me. no overwhelming sense of patriotism or national pride.. well maybe a little. but even though in history lessons we learn of how we struggled for independance after the japanese and british occupation, the meaning of the nation's independence seems to be lost as the years go by. to many (me particularly) it's just another holiday to sleep in. sad state it is.. no wonder i scored being 70% un-malaysian in the most talked about quiz in the blogsphere. yes.. i'm as malaysian as guy sebastian.

national pride.. hmm.. its almost foreign to me. we always talk about our inefficient government, our lousy infrastructure, our lack of civic awareness and so on it seems that there's always something bad to say about our country. perhaps the grass is greener on this side, but i am born malaysian and my passport tells me im malaysian, and my home is in malaysia, along with my family and friends. and after all, home is where the heart is. so i guess its in malaysia. and i am glad and thankful to have a place to call home even as i think of many who dont.

so let us (fellow malaysians) say a prayer for our homeland, and for the leaders and forpeace and tolereance. amen.