Divine Love

Nothing we can do can make the Lord love us more. He loves us the way we are. We do not need to prove our love to Him. He does not measure our love by what we do or do not do. All He wants is our heart. A heart that embraces all that He wants to fulfill in and through us. A heart that cries out for more of Him. A heart that follows hard after the lover of our soul. For His love compels us to reach out to greater heights and deeper depths in the things from above. For all earthly things grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace. O Lord, enlarge our capacity to contain all that You want to pour into our lives. We long for Your divine love to permeate through us powerfully to touch the people that are on Your heart.

A Life Well Lived

Auntie Devi went home to be with the Lord on 18 July 2009. She was 78 years of age. I remember spending time in her home as she opened her home for life group for many years. I recalled how Auntie Devi faithfully cooked for someone who went straight to the life group meeting from work. She gave and shared what she had freely. At her funeral, a former tenant shared with much tears on how Auntie Devi gave and blessed him and his family with what little she had. The Lord shone through this amazing woman’s life to touch people around her,

Auntie Devi loved the Lord dearly. She loved God and his people. It was heartwarming when her grand children spoke so fondly about her love and faith in God. A grand child also mentioned that she had left a great legacy. She was a broken and kind woman who spent many hours daily worshipping and praying because she loved the Lord with all her heart.

I am a life that has been blessed by Auntie Devi. She is a shining example of a live well lived; inspiring many of us to follow hard after our loving God.

Don't Grow Up too Fast

In January – October 2007, I was conducting weekly Speech and Drama training at a reputable primary school in Bishan. One day, upon reaching the classroom, I received news that the class monitor was ‘sacked’. I did not want to dig deeper on the matter. All I saw was the embarrass look on the face of the little eight year old boy. If there was a hole in the ground, I reckon he would have hidden in it. I continued to allow him to assist me in some ways throughout my training there.

I am surprised by the use of terminology which usually surface in the adult working world. These are innocent children whom we want to shield and protect from the harsh realities of the world system. The disadvantage of exposing young children under our charge to overpowering demands and expectations can be detrimental to building confidence and growth. Don’t let them grow up too fast. They can make do with enjoying learning and managing reasonable expectations with the help and support we can provide.

How Great is Our God

Last Saturday evening, we were blessed to have the opportunity to minister at Aflame Assembly of God. Monte was preaching and I ministered in a mandarin song. Before singing, I shared a little thought that the Lord put in my heart. In Chinese paintings, we often see the contrast between majestic mountains and splendid water; right in the picture you will see tiny people who are extremely minute. Our God is so big, the gigantic mountains speak of the bigness and the awesomeness of God almighty. Though we are small and weak, we look to our great God. The challenges we face fade away when we look to Jesus. He is far bigger and greater than our human minds can ever fathom. Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised.

As Monte and I continue to serve the Lord, we are reminded daily that His sustaining grace and power is what we need. Apart from Him, we can do nothing. His love compels us to give of ourselves first to Himself and what flows out of our lives can bring glory to His matchless name.

The Chef at Home

From time to time, Monte and I invite friends over for a meal or coffee. The home is a wonderful place to mingle with people.

Both of us cook at home. We have our signature dishes that we gradually improve over time. Recently, we had some friends over for dinner. Monte prepared minced pork seashell pasta from scratch. It was so scrumptious that one of our friends e-mailed us to get a hold of the recipe.

So here it goes:

Minced Pork Seashell Pasta

Ingredients:
4 whole garlic smashed and chopped
2 large onions chopped
12 large ripe tomatoes chopped
2 cans of tomato paste on standby (if used, each can requires a cup of water)
Olive oil
1 stalk of celery finely sliced
4 large red chillies sliced
2 cubes of beef broth dissolved in 2 cups of boiled water
1 cup of red wine
1000 grams of minced pork
(Other meat option: Italian sausages or minced beef)
3 tablespoons of Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon of black pepper
Half tablespoon of red chilli powder


Steps:
1 Fry garlic in olive oil until brown and fragrant. Set aside.

2 Lightly fry celery in olive oil, use little oil as possible. The celery produce water, do not discard. You will use it for the sauce.

3 Fry onions in olive oil. After onions are fried, add garlic and meat. Fry until meat is slightly browned and do not overcook as it will cook more during simmering. When you begin frying the meat, add Italian seasoning, pepper and chilli powder.

4 After meat is lightly browned, throw in all the tomatoes and celery.

5 After you have added in tomatoes, chillies and celery, immediately pour in beef broth and wine.

6 Depending on variables such as: insufficient quantity or diluted appearance, add one or two cans of tomato paste. Each can requires about a cup of water.

7 Simmering at lowest possible heat for about 30 minutes.

8 Turn off heat. Spaghetti sauce should have the texture similar to curry. However, should you want a thicker texture, just add more tomato paste and season according to taste.

9 Salt is not included because there is salt in the broth and cooking wine so you should taste before adding salt.

10 There may be need for up to 6 more tomatoes because of using a whole stalk of celery.


Cooking Paste:
1 Add a little salt and a little olive oil in the boiling water.

2 Ensure pasta is blanched in cold water.

3 Drain completely of water.

4 Coat pasta in olive oil.


I guess now you know why my husband is the chef at home.

Captivating MacRitchie Reservoir

Monte and I took a stroll at MacRitchie reservoir last evening. It was enchanting and captivating. We enjoy nature and we are happy just to go on leisure walks and often times we would be prayer walking. Such times are mostly reflective moments that we cherish deeply. The cares of the world are put aside as we allow the Lord to lead us in times of contemplative prayer.

Members have Their Privileges

Belonging to the family of God also means that we shoulder our respective responsibilities as well as enjoy the benefits of being a part of the great household. As believers and members of the family of God, we are blessed with countless privileges. They are salvation, wholeness, restoration, liberty, peace, joy, hope, faith, strength, grace, contentment, courage, dignity and resilience. What God gives freely, money cannot buy. One of the greatest privileges is to be the recipients of His promises. We live each day full of hope in our eternal God. We enjoy this intimate relationship with our maker, our helper, our strengthener and our God and Father. As we fix our eyes on the Lord we are full of His hope and assurance. No fear or intimidation will overwhelm us because He keeps us safe in His loving embrace.

A Little Fighter

I learnt about the plight of little four year old Charmaine through a Mandarin radio station. She is struck with fourth stage cancer. You can learn more about her story at

http://www.ourfeistyprincess.com/about_charmaine_family.php

Charmaine’s mother, Cynthia, is doing all she can to raise money for her medical treatment. She is a strong lady, a single mother with two young children. She loves both the kids dearly .

Charnaine, though young, is a fighter in many ways. Her physical body is ravaged by cancer but she remained cheerful and happy. She cheers her mum up when she sees her in tears. Bear in mind that she is only four.

Donations are pouring in. The public, a radio station and various establishments are rendering their support and help to reach out to this amazing fiesty princess.