Life Right Now - Hello, 2026!
So 2 years has passed since my last personal post. A lot has happened since. Here are some highlights of those 2 years which has shaped my life into what it is right now.
In 2024, I started volunteering in church. This is the biggest highlight because I have to be honest, I know that if I weren’t obedient to what He wanted me to do, there was no way I would have been able to achieve all the other things I was able to do outside of church. This was the year when our Pastor called me to project manage our church’s YOUNG Easter celebration. We managed to get over 230 kids plus their parents join us in celebrating Easter and also witness a baptism- which my 2 boys joined! It was scary and awesome all at the same time, but I really enjoyed the experience and seeing the kids have so much fun celebrating Jesus was very humbling. I kept telling Pastor Ruach that I felt like fish out of water being a foreigner leading people who knew more about Jakarta- and the church- than I ever would. To which he replied, “God equips those He has called.” Oh indeed he does! He gave us an amazing team of volunteers who were ready to serve with a smile. The weather forecast said it would rain throughout the day- but the sun shone and rain poured right on cue- at the tail end of the event!
I started working freelance again. I took a leap of faith and enrolled in a Virtual Assistant online course by SGBVA. Halfway through the course we were asked to create a portfolio which required us to get testimonials and reach out to former employers. I reached out to my Singapore employers and was encouraged to submit a proposal to work remotely as a Brand Manager! Over the course of 2 years, I ended up working for 2 companies doing branding and creative work remotely, learning to use AI, Shopify and Canva. It was scary, tiring, sometimes embarrassing but really satisfying! I even got to visit Singapore several times for launches (which I worked on remotely) and planning. Catching up with my younger peers was a challenge but I found that experience, resourcefulness, creativity, and authenticity and the willingness to learn still makes a difference. I was over the moon whenever I saw targets exceeded. This experience made me realise that it’s never too late to try again! By the end of November 2025, I decided it was time to move on and consider other opportunities.
I started investing. While I am still not that confident and know fairly little about investing, it excites me everytime I see the progress. I tried to invest part of what I made from freelancing into stocks- I am a passive investor so I don’t really watch over this on a daily basis but I do see it growing and that’s what matters to me. My financial journey didn’t happen on a whim chance, I started working with my Singaporean friend, Dinah Poehlmann who is a Finance Mindset Coach. I met Dinah here in Indonesia through a group of women and became close to her. I had access to her online coaching course as well as her 1:1 coaching and found myself openly sharing our current financial state then. She helped me understand where my negative relationship with money stemmed from and encouraged me to break away from it. Working with someone who makes you feel secure about not being judged is extremely important when it comes to money matters. Although Dinah was in Singapore’s banking industry for years and has worked with wealthy individuals- she never made me feel like my lack of knowledge (and savings, haha!) was something to be ashamed of. In fact, she openly shares her experience about growing up with lack of money and how her breakthrough came about. Her online courses were not just on investing per se- my assignment was to dig deep into our monthly spending- to see where the bulk of the spending was and what we were splurging on. I shared what I learned with Justin and it was from there that our mindset about money started shifting. We went from being totally unaware of our finances to knowing our expenses and discussing everything openly to get to the root of the cause. She made sure we had our emergency funds in place before we even began investing. This year, the goal is to continue learning. Primarily because I want to get my children started in investing at an early age. If you’re interested in making better money decisions and knowing how to make it work for you, you can have a look at Dinah’s website here and get in touch with her. I am learning that money is a blessing and when used wisely, it can be used to bless others too.
We started travelling again. When I started working, travelling with the family was an easier decision to make. Although maybe on hindsight, it wasn’t the best idea to book flights on a whim. Although I never regretted spending for trips. One core memory for me and the kids was celebrating Christmas with my parents in Hong Kong. Oh and of course, it’s always a shared expense but I felt more confident to initiate any travel plans since I knew I could contribute.
I started painting. While I took art lessons in my teens and eventually ended up taking a Bachelor’s Degree in an art related field, I ended up doing mainly digital projects when I started working. 2 years ago, I joined a painting group of 5 ladies where we had a teacher come once a week (each us hosts a painting session in our own homes). During the first quarter of 2025, we were toying with the idea of putting up an exhibit. We turned it into a reality in May when we hosted a weekend exhibit here at home and invited friends to come. The exhibit raised funds for our church organization which supports families in need. I learned that with like-minded individuals, we are able to achieve goals. Ultimately, contributing to a good cause is such a blessing.
I learned to make soap and skincare products. Along with a very good friend whose heart is always for her family’s well-being, we started our venture into learning about sustainable and clean skincare. Stripping it all back to basics. My investment in this newly acquired skill is to hopefully learn the ropes and bring the business back home. While I know that time is precious and perhaps I need to start being more aggressive in finding that one thing that can possibly take us to early retirement- I will trust that God has this all planned out for me. For now, I find it satisfying just going through all of the process with her.
I started pottery. This was one thing I have always wanted to try out so I was excited to book a session with the painting ladies. I eventually took the 5 session package so i could learn techniques and create more. On the succeeding sessions I was either on my own learning with Pak Andy and Yetty, and one time I had my girls join. Will write a separate post on this because I truly enjoy the quiet time I get from making pottery at Kollekan Keramic and encourage you to try it when you’re in Indonesia.
I took care of my perimenopausal body. This was Q4 of last year when I was feeling depressed about not being able to manage my weight gain despite my efforts of going to the gym. I was this close to taking GLP 1, when I thought why not go to a nutritionist instead of doing spot treatments on some parts of my body? (no budget to have everything done!) 2 months in and I am almost back to my pre-pandemic weight. Early this year though, I was rushed to the hospital due to extreme kidney pain. Turns out I have kidney stones…arghhh! So here I am in February, upping my water intake and changing my diet- again. Health is indeed wealth, so we must take care of our bodies and start young!
These are just some of the highlights of the past few years post pandemic. I learned so much and went outside my comfort zone and felt so blessed to be in the thick of it all. Being an expat wife has indeed been a blessing, but being able to do other things outside of homemaking makes me feel so accomplished and motivated. Truly the reset I was hoping for.
In my last post I was confused and disappointed when a job offer fell through. It’s a blessing to be able to look back and realise that that wasn’t the door God wanted for me to enter.
Before 2025 ended, our family wrote down our individual goals for the 2026 in the hopes of being each other’s cheerleaders in achieving them. There are still so many things I want to learn and do but one thing I know for sure. Seeking Him should come first. Truth be told, I am not good at this, my mind is on hyper mode as soon as I wake up. So perhaps this is a reminder to start a morning ritual where seeking solace in the word comes first. Looking back, I know it was through Him that i was blessed with and able to accomplish what He set me out to do.
Wishing you all a meaningful 2026!