Our 20th Wedding Anniversary

The best decision I have made in my lifetime was when I gave my heart to Jesus at thirteen. The next is marrying Monte. Today marks the 20th year of our marriage. God has blessed me with Monte. He fears and loves God deeply. He loves, supports, encourages, sacrifices and cares for me dearly. I love him with all of my heart. We cherish each day we share together. God has been good to us.

We taste His goodness, we feel His hand of love, we feel His tender mercies and His loving kindness. He has led us into paths that we have never imagined entering. As He leads us on, He shows us that there is absolutely nothing He cannot do. Our God who spoke this world into existence dwell in our hearts in all His wonder, glory and power. His faithfulness reaches to the sky. No one can compare with Him.

We have been to mountain tops and deep valleys. We have enjoyed plenty and lack. We have been through deep sorrow and unspeakable joy. Through every season of our life, God is with us. His presence gives us hope to persevere. He gives us purpose and meaning to live. He is all we ever need. We would have despaired if it had not been for His love, grace and strength.

We look forward to what God has in store for us. We marvel at His surpassing greatness and glory. We marvel at His grace and power. We worship and adore the ever living God. Our God of mercy, love and grace.

  

Blessed

This morning, Monte has left for the States to deliver a paper at the Society of Pentecostal Studies conference and visit our family.

Our hearts are overwhelmed with gratitude for all the Lord has done.  He provided for us miraculously.  He is the miracle working God.  He has blessed us beyond our wildest imagination.  There is absolutely nothing He cannot do.  We lack nothing in Him.

Our hearts go out to everyone who has blessed us through your giving, prayer and encouragement.  Thank you so much for standing with us all these years.  We bring you before the Lord and ask the Lord to bless you abandantly.  Thank you for journeying with us as we love and serve God and His people.

Our God is ever faithful.  He is our covenant making and covenant keeping God.  He births His dream into our hearts and work wonders in our broken lives.  We declare His goodness and His greatness.  We proclaim His majesty, power and glory. 🌈

Happy Birthday, Monte!

Today is Monte's birthday.  Happy birthday, Monte! 🎂🎂🎂 God has blessed me with a loving and wonderful husband.  I am blessed by his love, concern, care, support and encouragement.  We have shared the best years of our lives together.  God blows our minds and helps us to see that there is absolutely nothing He cannot do.  Our many challenges and mountains before us pale in comparison to the Lord's amazing power.  He speaks strength and grace and empowers us to soldier on.  We stand amazed at our majestic, glorious, mighty and wonderful God; knowing that what is most important is to see His will and work in us.  We magnify the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

Two is Better than One

Monte and I were married in March 1999.  I am so blessed to share all these years with Monte. He loves, encourages, supports and cares for me deeply.  Love gets richer when we allow the Lord to nurture and bless our marriage.  Two is better than one.  I love Monte with all of my heart.

God has brought us to the mountain tops and the deep valleys.  Deep sorrow mingled with great joy.  Breakthroughs mingled with set backs.  Failures mingled with success.  Release mingled with pain.  

All we see is the faithfulness of the Lord.  We see miracles.  We feel His leading and guidance.  We see His hand of love.  All that matters is to see His hand at work in our life.  The many challenges propel us to lean on the Lord more than before.  We have unanswered questions and situations that are tough; we have things that we are still grappling.  We allow God to speak into our life and circumstances.  We embrace the loving purposes of God. We will not go anywhere He is not leading us.  He is our rock, our fortress and our only hope.

God has Blessed Me with Monte

Monte, my beloved husband

Lover

Soul mate

Life partner

Companion

Inspiration

Best friend

Confidante

Prayer partner

Mentor

Leader

Model

Supporter

Helper

Comforter

Encourager

The Strength of His Grace

Monte and I have tasted God's goodness all these years.  We are amazed at His unending mercies. We could not have made it without Him.  God pours His grace on us when we are in the depths of despair and discouragement.  The strength of His grace sees us through the most unimaginable challenges. We will not trade Him for anything in this world.  We are thankful for each day that He blesses us with and we continue to count our blessings.  God has blessed us with family and friends who have walked with us through our life journey and we are grateful for everyone who has been a part of our life.  We continue to journey with the Lord in joyful hope.  He is reason for our existence and we desire to see His purposes fulfilled in and through us.

God is so Good

Monte and I were married on 20 March 1999.  We thank God for blessing us with eighteen years of marriage.  We are grateful to the Lord for bringing us together and holding us in His loving hands all these years.  Monte is a wonderful and loving husband who constantly loves, cares, believes and supports me.  He sacrificed and gave of his best to me.  I am blessed.

God sustains us daily.  Each day, we are reminded that the Lord is in control and we can rely on Him completely.  We have tasted God's goodness and grace.  We have seen wonders and miracles.  The Lord shows us that there is absolutely nothing He cannot do.  We have experienced His miraculous provision.  We have experienced His abiding presence in the midst of raging storms.  Even at this moment, we are not out of the woods.  What keeps us going on is God's hand of love, His faithfulness and sustaining grace.  We desire to live in the center of His will.  As we posture our hearts to seek the Lord, we find strength for each new day. He is the reason for our being.  God unfolds His plans and purposes and fill our hearts with faith and hope.  We would not have made it apart from His mercy and grace.  We bow in humble adoration at the foot of the cross and declare that He is Lord.

We are thankful for family and friends who have journeyed with us all these years.  Many people have stood by us and encouraged us in our journey.  We appreciate each of you and pray for God's abundant blessings on you.

Happy Birthday, Monte!

Today is Monte's birthday. I thank God for him. He loves and cares for me deeply. He looks into my well being and does everything he can to ensure that I reach my fullest potential in every aspect of my life.

I pray for God to pour His spirit on Monte. I pray for God to lead and guide Him daily. That God will empower and release Him to venture into the things that He has in-stored in the coming years.

We have journeyed together as a couple since March 1999. God has brought us to the highest heights and the deepest depths. He has brought us so much joy. He shows us that He is boundless, limitless and endless. He has blessed us beyond our wildest imagination. We can only bow in humble adoration at His feet.

We pray for God to continue to work in and through us. We pray for His sustaining grace and strength for each new day. All we want is His hand of love on us. He is all we ever needed. God is the strength of our heart. He satisfies our deepest longings. We pray for God to deepen our love for each other. We cherish each moment we share together.

God has Blessed me with Monte

Monte gave me a surprise birthday party two days ago. I am so blessed with a wonderful husband. He planned for the event two months ago. I shared openly with the people present at my home last night that Monte has been a loving and supportive husband. I battled with depression since I was a young single adult. I had gone through several bouts of depression in my lifetime. God's mercy and grace saw me through each episode. It was never easy for Monte. He kept praying, loving, caring and supporting me through it all. I love and appreciate him deeply.

I thank God for family and friends who made my birthday so memorable. The Lord graced us with His sweet presence. 😊

Our 16th Wedding Anniversary

Monte penned this on Facebook on 20 March 2015.

"My beloved Wife
From God above
Whom before His presence 
I know in Holy Matrimony,
Now begins the glory of our 16th year together.

For a brief time in Sacred History,
We today be separate in time and space;
Yet just a few days more.

Let us again hallow this sacred day 
And thank His Majesty who joins us as one.

What is good, true and beautiful—
Before God
You remind me daily, and I am thankful.

I have flowers in the spring
I have you to wear my ring
And in my palm you have my hand 
You have me and I have you
I in you and you in me
My Lady Fair
I love you.

Happy Anniversary.
20 March, 2015"


Monte and I are celebrating our 16th anniversary today. He is overseas and will be back in Singapore tomorrow.

Our hearts are overwhelmed by the goodness and grace of the Lord. God in His love and mercy led us 
to this day. We experience His hand of grace, endless mercy, unlimited strength, boundless hope and 
unspeakable joy as a couple. He shows us that there is nothing He cannot do.

Monte is a loving and wonderful husband. His life is completely sold out to the Lord and He 
continues to pursue God relentlessly. He loves the Lord with all of his heart, soul and mind.
We are deeply indebted to our family and friends who have journeyed with us all these years. 

We are not alone in this whole wide world, God puts people in our lives to enrich and grow us.

We cherish every moment that God has given us. We posture our hearts towards the Lord. We want 
nothing less than all that God has in-stored for us. Our hearts bow in humble adoration to our 
faithful God who never fails us. We experience the height, depth, length and width of God's great 
love.

The Beauty of Love

 

A Note from Monte

Monte posted this on my Facebook timeline yesterday:

"My most holy and beloved Wife
From God above
Whom before His presence
I know in Holy Matrimony,
Now begins the glory of our fifteenth year together.
Let us again hallow this sacred day
And thank His Majesty who joins us as one.

What is good, true and beautiful—
Before God
You remind me daily, and I am thankful.

Beyond our horizon
Far higher ascents
Rise where clouds reign;
Yet today on this peak
God’s Spirit names this sacred place—
Mount Tabor.

Happy Anniversary.
20 March, 2014 — with Jee Fong Tan-Rice."

Our 15th Wedding Anniversary

Today marks the fifteenth year of our marriage.  Monte has given me the best years of my life. Though I enjoyed my single hood, marriage is far better.  We cherish each precious moment that the Lord blesses us to live as one. 

Monte is a wonderful, loving and faithful husband.  As each day unfolds, I see a man who loves deeply, cares tenderly, encourages wisely and seeks the best for my well being. He sacrifices and gives me the best.  He believes and supports me unconditionally. 

We are overwhelmed by God's greatness and faithfulness. Together, we experience the length, breadth, height and depth of His love. Together, we taste His goodness, grace and unending mercies.  The Lord takes us by the hand and shows us that there is nothing He cannot do.  We serve a covenant making and covenant keeping God.  He is in the center of our marriage, and everything is built around Him.  He is the reason why we have come together in the first place.  He leads and guides us to fulfill His purposes and plans. Whatever the Lord desires, we surrender and embrace all He wants to do in and through us. It is not that we are good or talented; but we are merely thankful that He chooses to use broken vessels like us.  We offer our broken pieces, our weaknesses, our vulnerability to the Lord and allow Him to work in whatever manner He chooses.

We are eternally grateful to God's sovereign work in us.  We continue to look to the one who can never fail. To see His hand of love. To receive His favour. To experience the gentle nudge of His love and to taste His goodness.  

Our 14th Wedding Anniversary

Today marks the 14th year of our marriage.  I thank God for these years that He has led us through a wonderful journey filled with His grace, strength, hope, joy, peace and countless blessings which God has freely lavished on us. We stand amazed at His greatness and goodness.  He opened our eyes to see miracles and our hearts leap with joy when we see Him in His glory, splendour and grace.

I thank God for Monte who has given me the best years of my life.  We are reminded that it is God who put two different persons with different upbringing, character, values, personality together.  It is not because we are a perfect match for each other.  The only reason two hearts melted into one is because of the Lord's love and presence in us.  He gels us together.  He cements us together.  He super-glued us together with His great love.  

We are thankful for each day that God has blessed us.  We seize every moment to experience the greatness, boundlessness and bigness of our loving God who is faithful and true.  We allow the Lord to do a deep and lasting work in our life in Him.  In Christ alone, we put our trust.

Our First Bear Chopstick Rests

This is our first pair of chopstick rests that we bought back in 1999 when we got married. We still have them today! They brought back fond and beautiful memories of Monte and my life together.  

Our first attempt in making chicken rice, nasi lemak, beef stew, pasta, chicken curry and many more dishes. God is so good to us.

I am thankful for the blessing of a wonderful husband. We build a life centred in Christ. We allow the Lord to grow and develop us daily. All we ever needed is found in Christ and Christ alone.

We have experienced good and challenging times. We have ascended to the highest height and the deepest valley together. God’s love compels us to persevere in loving and serving God and His people.  

All these years, we just marvel at how the Lord leads us. He stretches us in many areas that we continue to aspire to grow and develop. God is merciful.

We cherish each day that God has given to us.  It is not just getting through each day. We see His hand of love. We experience His favour and goodness. His love brings hope, comfort and strength. He spurs us on to trust Him increasingly.

Endearing Love

They may be poor but they are so in love.  They have tasted the bitterness of life but now they are drinking in the sweet love of their marriage.  Yesterday, I read an article in the Chinese evening paper.  The story is about a Chinese 58-year-old Mr Wu Zheng Zhen, a rag and bone man’s deep love for his wife, Mdm Xie Gui Zhi.  Mdm Xie had the dream of owning a piano for many years.  Her husband kept her desire in his heart and worked hard to save the money to make the purchase.  He was determined to fulfill his wife’s dream.  It took him 16 long years to save the money.  He went a long way to pursue the one who meant so much to him.

The heartwarming story of this amazing love brings out the beauty of sacrifice for love.  A love between a couple that is so rich and endearing.  We can sacrifice without loving someone, but love always involves sacrifice.  In their poverty, their love for each other shines brightly to warm the hearts of people throughout the world.

Thank You, Lord

Monte posted this on Facebook on 7 May 2012. It read: “Jee Fong began today her final ACTA programme titled "Design and Develop a WSQ Facilitated Training Programme." I am proud of her for persevering through the programme, and she is now on her final module. This final module is by far the most intense, but she has already has a plan on going about her final project. Do keep her in prayer!”

I am blessed with a wonderful husband who does everything he can to help me develop not only spiritually but also in other areas such as my vocational life, growing and developing solely by the Lord's grace and enabling. God wants each of us to reach our fullest potential in every area of our life. In all that we do we want to bring glory and honour to His name. He empowers and infuses us with unimaginable capacity and wisdom to achieve results that comes by His empowerment.

(ACTA - Advanced Certificate in Training and Assessment)

Our 13th Wedding Anniversary

Today, Monte and I have entered into the 13th year of our marriage.  Monte was born in California and I in Singapore.  The Lord allowed our paths to cross and brought us together to build a life in Him.

Monte always shares with others that he came to Singapore with two suitcases in 1989 and today the Lord has blessed him with a wife and a home here.  The Lord has blessed us beyond our wildest imagination.  We can never out give Him.

Monte has blessed me with the best years of my life.  I enjoyed my single hood but I have to say that I enjoy my married life far better.  As a couple, we have gone through many mountaintops and dark and deep valleys.  We emerge from each challenge empowered, enriched and triumphant.  The Lord has never failed us.  Our focus of Him sharpens over time because He reveals His faithfulness and wonders in every aspect of our life.  We do not put our trust on anything except Christ, our solid Rock, our eternal and faithful God.  God and God alone will take His rightful place on the throne of our heart and we will not venture anywhere that He does not lead us.  We seek His favour and blessing because He gives the best to everyone of us who rely completely on Him.  Our hearts are overwhelmed by the goodness and mercy of the Lord and we declare His everlasting love and faithfulness.

Thankful

Dearest Wife,

Happy birthday.

The wonder of you— this I treasure.

The beauty of your spirit— this I cherish.

Your welfare— I seek.

Your life and honour— these above all else I defend.

On this day I call on God to bless and keep you;

May God today shine His face upon you;

May He be gracious to you;

May He lift up his countenance upon you, and endow your peace.

For this new year—

May there be a performance of all He has spoken;

May He today remember all desires of your heart;

May He endow you with all fullness of His blessing;

With every good and perfect gift—

May today God smile on you; on your birthday.

Monte posted this poem on my Facebook wall on 5^th November.  I count it a privilege to journey with a wonderful and loving husband for these past 12 years.  It is an awesome journey in tasting the goodness of our faithful God.  United as one, we pushed boundaries and explore some of the most amazing things that God has allowed us to experience.  We continue to seek His face and know His heart cry.  We know the shortness of life, we live each day longing for more of the Lord and less of us.  We learn to live life to the fullest; we learn to seize the day and allow the Lord to do anything He wants to accomplish in and through us knowing that our lives are not ours but His.  We give Him the pre-eminence and glory for He alone deserves our praise, worship and adoration for all the days of our lives.

Food Fusion

Ours is a mixed marriage. Monte is Caucasian and I am Singaporean Chinese. We were married on 20 March 1999.

Being married is not just two different persons coming together to make a life together. Along with it, we have to contend with merging two different cultures and way of life. 

Food for instance is a salient point. Food fusion emerges. Western and Chinese cooking are not the mainstay. We also like other cuisine from other cultures. 

From time to time, we travel a little outside  of Singapore, we always miss certain kinds of food.

Before marriage, I was not quite into pasta. It all changed after marriage. Today, I can have pasta anytime.