Acts 5:41 ...is our goal to be "counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name [of Jesus Christ]"? The Apostles performed miracles among the people and then persecuted for their beliefs. The Lord was with them as they only received a flogging at the orders of the Sanhedrin. They rejoiced as they left because they were considered worthy of suffering for the name of Jesus Christ.
Are we living life boldly enough to say that we were considered worthy of the suffering?
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Welcome to the Year of the TIGER
Week 1 into the Year of the Tiger. 10 years in the making, I am finally able to celebrate Chinese New Year with the family. This year, CNY started on Saturday (CNY Eve) with my grandma up at 4am to start cooking the ducks. Yes, not 1, but 2. She epitomizes the expression "cooking up a storm". After an entire day of cooking (4am-6pm), the family shows up with red packets full of money to give to the children and unmarried adults. We eat in waves because there is literally no room at the table. There is chattering, tv blaring in the background, children screaming, laughing and a general tone of good-naturedness. It's the Reunion Dinner. Rarely is everyone at the house at the same time. Unfortunately this year, we were missing some aunts, uncles and cousins but everyone calls in to wish the family well. It's just how things work.
We're stuffed. There are trays and boxes of goodies all over the house. The fridge is packed full to the brim for the next several days because for once, stores are actually closed. Seriously. Stores in Singapore are NEVER closed.
Chinese New Year Day, people are back for more. We resurrect the steamboat (grandma has made a ginormous pot of broth for the steamboat) and all the goodies. Steamboat is basically Asian fondue except instead of cheese, we have a broth and we cook meat, fish, vegetables, seafood and all sorts of things in said broth and then drink everything as a soup. Oranges are exchanged as a greeting. But just 2. Give 2 oranges to your host, and they'll return the favour. Needless to say, we don't lose, or gain oranges. I suppose technically, we could just keep 2 oranges in the house and just keep swapping them (I'm totally kidding..). Now we have an excess of oranges in the house, but a boost of Vitamin C counteracts all the rich food and pastries we stuff during the holidays.
Monday is another holiday. We have more visitors. I take the opportunity to escape to MacRitchie Reservoir with some buds from church for a 12km hike/walk. Only in Singapore can you go on a hike and see monkeys along the trip. Note: don't feed them. They're mean. After the hike, we emerge at the edge of the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, cross the highway (via the overhead bridge) and meander along to a Muslim eating house. Delicious Indian food we eat with our hands - it's so legit! Only in Singapore. Nature park/reservoir in the middle of the city, surrounded by highways, right next to the mall and food. And then it's just a bus ride home for a shower.
On an unrelated, but just as delicious note: We need to talk about Yusheng. I was reminded by how awesome this stuff is.
I never really knew it was a local Singaporean thing. The Chinese love to play with words and meanings and this is a prime example. The following excerpt is taken from our good friend, Wikipedia:
"The Singapore-originated Yusheng had fish served with daikon (white radish), carrots, red pepper (capsicum), turnips, red pickled ginger, sun-dried oranges, daun limau nipis (key lime leaves), Chinese parsley, chilli, jellyfish, chopped peanuts, toasted sesame seeds, Chinese shrimp crackers (or fried dried shrimp), five spice powder and other ingredients, laced with a sauce using plum sauce, rice vinegar, kumquat paste and sesame oil, for a total of 27 ingredients.[9][11][12] Originally, the dish used raw mackerel, although in deference to the popular wishes of customers, salmon was later offered as an alternative due to the growing popularity of Salmon. Yusheng is often served as part of a multi-dish dinner, usually as the appetizer due to its symbolism of "good luck" for the new year. Some would consume it on Renri, the seventh day of the Chinese New Year, although in practice it may be eaten on any convenient day.
The base ingredients are first served. The leader amongst the dinners or the restaurant server proceeds to add ingredients such as the fish, the crackers and the sauces while saying "auspicious wishes" (吉祥话 or Jíxiáng Huà) as each ingredient is added, typically related to the specific ingredient being added. For example, phrases such as Nian Nian You Yu (年年有余) are uttered as the fish is added, as the word Yu (余), which means "surplus" or "abundance", sounds the same as the Chinese word for fish (yu, 鱼).
All dinners at the table than stand up and on cue, proceed to toss the shredded ingredients into the air with chopsticks while saying various "auspicious wishes" out loud. It is believed that the height of the toss reflects the height of the dinner's growth in fortunes, thus diners are expected to toss enthusiastically."
Yum. Xin Nian Kuai Le!
We're stuffed. There are trays and boxes of goodies all over the house. The fridge is packed full to the brim for the next several days because for once, stores are actually closed. Seriously. Stores in Singapore are NEVER closed.
Chinese New Year Day, people are back for more. We resurrect the steamboat (grandma has made a ginormous pot of broth for the steamboat) and all the goodies. Steamboat is basically Asian fondue except instead of cheese, we have a broth and we cook meat, fish, vegetables, seafood and all sorts of things in said broth and then drink everything as a soup. Oranges are exchanged as a greeting. But just 2. Give 2 oranges to your host, and they'll return the favour. Needless to say, we don't lose, or gain oranges. I suppose technically, we could just keep 2 oranges in the house and just keep swapping them (I'm totally kidding..). Now we have an excess of oranges in the house, but a boost of Vitamin C counteracts all the rich food and pastries we stuff during the holidays.
Monday is another holiday. We have more visitors. I take the opportunity to escape to MacRitchie Reservoir with some buds from church for a 12km hike/walk. Only in Singapore can you go on a hike and see monkeys along the trip. Note: don't feed them. They're mean. After the hike, we emerge at the edge of the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, cross the highway (via the overhead bridge) and meander along to a Muslim eating house. Delicious Indian food we eat with our hands - it's so legit! Only in Singapore. Nature park/reservoir in the middle of the city, surrounded by highways, right next to the mall and food. And then it's just a bus ride home for a shower.
On an unrelated, but just as delicious note: We need to talk about Yusheng. I was reminded by how awesome this stuff is.
I never really knew it was a local Singaporean thing. The Chinese love to play with words and meanings and this is a prime example. The following excerpt is taken from our good friend, Wikipedia:
"The Singapore-originated Yusheng had fish served with daikon (white radish), carrots, red pepper (capsicum), turnips, red pickled ginger, sun-dried oranges, daun limau nipis (key lime leaves), Chinese parsley, chilli, jellyfish, chopped peanuts, toasted sesame seeds, Chinese shrimp crackers (or fried dried shrimp), five spice powder and other ingredients, laced with a sauce using plum sauce, rice vinegar, kumquat paste and sesame oil, for a total of 27 ingredients.[9][11][12] Originally, the dish used raw mackerel, although in deference to the popular wishes of customers, salmon was later offered as an alternative due to the growing popularity of Salmon. Yusheng is often served as part of a multi-dish dinner, usually as the appetizer due to its symbolism of "good luck" for the new year. Some would consume it on Renri, the seventh day of the Chinese New Year, although in practice it may be eaten on any convenient day.
The base ingredients are first served. The leader amongst the dinners or the restaurant server proceeds to add ingredients such as the fish, the crackers and the sauces while saying "auspicious wishes" (吉祥话 or Jíxiáng Huà) as each ingredient is added, typically related to the specific ingredient being added. For example, phrases such as Nian Nian You Yu (年年有余) are uttered as the fish is added, as the word Yu (余), which means "surplus" or "abundance", sounds the same as the Chinese word for fish (yu, 鱼).
All dinners at the table than stand up and on cue, proceed to toss the shredded ingredients into the air with chopsticks while saying various "auspicious wishes" out loud. It is believed that the height of the toss reflects the height of the dinner's growth in fortunes, thus diners are expected to toss enthusiastically."
Yum. Xin Nian Kuai Le!
from 2009, with love.
2009 was a whirlwind year beginning with probably the most epic potluck with amazing friends from Portland, then moving onto New York with the best travel buddy I've met so far, stressing to finishing my classes, changing career paths within the last 2 weeks of school, and then travelling.
Oh the travelling..
New York
Niagara Falls
Portland
Seattle
Montreal
Quebec City
Hamilton
Mierlo, The Netherlands
Den Bosch, The Netherlands
Saint-Louis, France
Basel, Switzerland
Swiss Alps in Seewen, Switzerland
Interlaken, Switzerland
Herzogenaurach, Germany
Lucerne, Switzerland
Alsace Region, France
Wurzburg, Germany
Rothenberg op der Tauber, Germany
Bamberg, Germany
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Utrecht, The Netherlands
Gimmelwald, Switzerland
Regensburg, Germany
Nuremberg, Germany
Munich, Germany (Oktoberfest!)
Bavarian Alps, Germany (Neuschwanstein Castle)
Lake Eibsee, Germany
Strasbourg, France
Berchtesgaden, Germany (Zugspitze, Lake Konigsee)
Salzburg, Austria
London, England
Cannes, France
Antibes, France
Nice, France
Singapore, Singapore
Things I learned in 2009:
1. Take the opportunities to learn and grow
2. There isn't a wrong path in life - God will bring you to where He wants you to be on His own terms even if you pick the "wrong" path
3. Graduating from University wasn't nearly as fun as getting my Iron Ring
4. Find a travel buddy with the same travel habits as you and your trip will be AWESOME
5. Give, and take.
6. Never forget who your true friends are
7. Find a church wherever you are and jump on into the shuffle or you'll get lost
8. 5 cross-continental flights without suffering from jet lag takes skill
9. The Dubai airport is warm
10. Making friends after University is really difficult.
Now some pictures from 2009:
On the Brooklyn Bridge in NYC with Tina for our last Reading Week!
In the Columbia Gorge in Portland when Alvin came to visit
In the Swiss Alps in Seewen, Switzerland
Lucerne, Switzerland
Lake Eibsee in the Bavarian Alps
St. Bartholomew church on an island in Lake Konigsee in the Bavarian Alps
London, England
Mediterranean Sea from Nice, France (Christmas 2009)
Some of the toys from the German Christkindlemarkts
Nice, France
Cousin's wedding in Singapore, Jan 1 2010
Oh the travelling..
New York
Niagara Falls
Portland
Seattle
Montreal
Quebec City
Hamilton
Mierlo, The Netherlands
Den Bosch, The Netherlands
Saint-Louis, France
Basel, Switzerland
Swiss Alps in Seewen, Switzerland
Interlaken, Switzerland
Herzogenaurach, Germany
Lucerne, Switzerland
Alsace Region, France
Wurzburg, Germany
Rothenberg op der Tauber, Germany
Bamberg, Germany
Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Utrecht, The Netherlands
Gimmelwald, Switzerland
Regensburg, Germany
Nuremberg, Germany
Munich, Germany (Oktoberfest!)
Bavarian Alps, Germany (Neuschwanstein Castle)
Lake Eibsee, Germany
Strasbourg, France
Berchtesgaden, Germany (Zugspitze, Lake Konigsee)
Salzburg, Austria
London, England
Cannes, France
Antibes, France
Nice, France
Singapore, Singapore
Things I learned in 2009:
1. Take the opportunities to learn and grow
2. There isn't a wrong path in life - God will bring you to where He wants you to be on His own terms even if you pick the "wrong" path
3. Graduating from University wasn't nearly as fun as getting my Iron Ring
4. Find a travel buddy with the same travel habits as you and your trip will be AWESOME
5. Give, and take.
6. Never forget who your true friends are
7. Find a church wherever you are and jump on into the shuffle or you'll get lost
8. 5 cross-continental flights without suffering from jet lag takes skill
9. The Dubai airport is warm
10. Making friends after University is really difficult.
Now some pictures from 2009:
On the Brooklyn Bridge in NYC with Tina for our last Reading Week!
In the Columbia Gorge in Portland when Alvin came to visit
In the Swiss Alps in Seewen, Switzerland
Lucerne, Switzerland
Lake Eibsee in the Bavarian Alps
St. Bartholomew church on an island in Lake Konigsee in the Bavarian Alps
London, England
Mediterranean Sea from Nice, France (Christmas 2009)
Some of the toys from the German Christkindlemarkts
Nice, France
Cousin's wedding in Singapore, Jan 1 2010
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