1. God is so good.
I absolutely love being in a house where I get to hear testimonies so often. I'd just check my whatsapp and see Pearly telling us all that she's been healed from her crazy vomiting etc. spree that day so she could still make it to the All Access PlanetUNI event that night. I'd be next to Popsy when her left foot got healed! I'd hear NE telling me miracles after miracles about things she's seen and even happened throughout us living together. I love that by doing this we set the stage for even more miracles to come! And I love the abundance of prayers in our house, usually thanks to NE's initiative. Above all else, God is good. :)
2. Nobody is perfect.
This is probably the first time I've actually lived in a whole house with people other than my family for a long time. I mean, I was in a homestay all last year, but that never really felt like a home. So like with family, I feel whatever flaws that we all have, it was all stuff I had grown used to over the years, and while it still bothered me every now and then, it was just the norm. Living with these four amazing girls, I learnt that while for the most part we're all loud and weird and crazy, there are days when each of us just locks ourselves in our rooms, days we can't be bothered to say hi to one another or just downright grumpy lazy days. And it's just all about getting used to and giving grace, because you need grace too. :) So.. I love that I'm learning this though, to accept people for who they are and always remember the good things on the bad days (though admittedly, we rarely have bad days so it's a lot easier). I feel like this is preparing me for a future relationship even, realizing that people I love from the 'honeymoon period' have flaws, and loving them even more despite it.. :) Thank You God for the lesson!
3. It doesn't matter who does whose dishes, just say thank you.
I love this about our house. So often I find my dishes washed and stacked, and I'm like.... WHO? WHAT? and I just meekly say thanks, cause.. pai seh la disturb other people! But, it's taught me and even got me excited to do the same for others more often, and I love this culture of constantly blessing one another through the simplest of chores. And not just dishes too, some days we come home to a perfectly clean and shiny house when most days it sort of just isn't like that. Or like how me NE and Popsy mowed the lawn last February so Pearly could come home to a pretty garden. :)
4. It's OK to have water balloon fights in the house.
We've been called random, weird, crazy etc. for doing this in the house, but just having so many fond memories of that night, cleaning up together and having a hot cup of tea each afterwards.. little things like the clean floor just didn't matter as long as everyone had a good time together. :)
5. The house is always full of food, or people who will cook for you.
Like seriously, Popsy's breadtop(s) supplied all the food I brought for the PBL party yesterday. How awesome is that? If it's not bread, or delicious pork floss bun Popsy made specially for me <3, or NE's random desserts or Ying's fruits or Pearly's congee/frozen kompiangs/frozen dimsummy stuffs. :) Sometimes I just go "I'm hungry.. *head to one side*"and everyone goes.. "you want....? I make for you!" :D :D :D
6. It's good to be the youngest.
Everyone always says I get pampered in our house the most, but everyone loves spoiling me with gifts and food. HAHAHAH WHAT TO DO. :P Love it though, with NE waking me up in the mornings, Ying implementing the 'no talking to Candice for more than 5 minutes rule' and Popsy insisting she will pick me up and send me home because it's dangerous and Pearly eating my failed cookies and stuff all the time.. :) AHH. And, hardly anyone called me Dice other than my sisters, occasionally my parents too. I think a few random older people here and there, like my piano teacher and my cousin. I guess a bit more over the years also la, like high school and college friends sometimes, but I always felt like it was only not weird with certain people somehow, cause Dice just sounds a bit weird one, unless you say it a lot. HAHAH am I even making sense? But now everyone in the house calls me Dice. And people call Ern Ying 'Ying' too, well I do, and it's like 'Dice'! Weird till you do it a lot. OKAY weird random extra fact. Moving on.
7. Don't be afraid to receive.
I don't know if I've ever struggled with this much before, but they would say I definitely don't cause I'm so spoiled. HAHAH. The past week or so, I've been going through some really really difficult times, and there was just so much disappointment, pain, hurt and exhaustion. What a blessing it is to have a house of people praying with you, caring in other ways when words aren't enough anymore, and blessing me with buns and this picture note thingy and an incredibly thoughtful card to pull me through. I felt so supported and loved as I humbly received all of that from them. And I thought about the times I was on the giving end, actually just that one significant time, eager to give more! :D, and there was SO MUCH joy in the moment, and so much excitement just to see the other person okay again. So yea, it's all about give and take, give without hesitation and take when you need it. :)
8. Even if you don't feel like it, join in the fun.
There were often times when I was just feeling blah or tired, but joy in the house is always so infectious! And it just reminds me that there is so much to be joyful about in this life, why be grumpy or sad at all???? :D :D
9. Be thankful, and love one another.
Never forget to always be thankful for all the little things everyone does for one another! Like car rides and the dishes and the house and washing the cloths and weeding etc. :) A thankful heart is a happy heart, a thankful house is a happy house! :)
10. Share the love.
Today I left badminton with the bunch of them early, cause well I realized I suck so bad at badminton but more than that, I wanted to clean my room, shower, pack and head to the library to study. Halfway through my chores, which took way longer than I expected, like the girls and Daren came back with a mountain of ingredients for hotpot. And we had like ten people over having hotpot on a cold rainy day in our house. So no, I didn't get work done today ( :/ ) but I deserve a short break before the long haul and after the crazy assignment I think! :P As I sat there and watched everyone eat and laugh, I felt so blessed to be a part of this. So blessed to just have people over, doing life together, loving each other, and adding to the love we grow in the house. And the best part is, a few of my uni friends came over to get me to write a card for another friend, and just totally got sucked in into the environment of the house, with people offering them food cause Isaac was thick-skinned enough to ask, but all good fun really. Love how laid back it was and how anyone and everyone is always welcome. :) And like.. Gladys has PJ's stocked up in my house for emergency stayovers even. HAHAH. :P
MUCH LOVE AND BLESSING,
Dice <3
