Hungry

I dont know about you, but this makes me feel hungry.

Taken at garden barbeque in England.

Our Anniversary

It was a casual remark - telling an old friend that it was our wedding anniversary.

"Where are you going for dinner?" asked the friend.

"Oh," I replied, a little embarrassed because we hadn't discussed dinner plans due to our busy schedules of late, "probably eat at home." Grin in a silly way. "We haven't got a maid," I add. As if that was a good reason to eat at home! (Actually rather illogical, I know)

Friend shakes head and mutters something like, "Amazing". I continue in flustered tones because I don't want it to seem that we aren't a loving couple, that our anniversary isn't important, etc, "We just came back from England. That's good enough!"

End of conversation.

Or so I thought.

Later, I met this friend again.

A surprise was sprung. Suddenly before me was an envelope. It contained a dinner voucher for a lovely Italian Restaurant downtown. It had to be just obtained. Specially obtained.

"Have a good dinner, enjoy yourselves. You deserve it".

Wow.

So we went.
Upon arrival, the Captain came over to our table and asked for our voucher. How did he know? He mentioned our friend's name. As I suspected, the voucher was obtained a few hours earlier upon learning of our special day. It made the evening more special as we gave thanks for good friends.

This is what I ordered - roast lamb with apple sauce. It was absolutely delicious.
This is what my husband of twenty-seven years had - roast beef with a lovely sauce and side dishes.Good food with good company, thanks to good friends. A memorable evening indeed.

P.S. It was our anniversary, but because we very rarely have dinner together as a family in this nice restaurant, we brought the children along! It was also an opportunity for them to experience the generosity of friends, and as my eldest said, "Giving of vouchers is an excellent idea" Hence they learn from example and observation.

Eating Well

All parents want their children to eat well. But eating well is one thing. Eating healthily is another.

When in England, I somehow managed to put on weight. Our food was not exceptionally rich. Perhaps it was the sheer volume as I ate more than usual, eager to taste flavours my tastebuds had forgotten.

One lunch, however, we had typical simple fare.

Cheese - cheddar of course - sliced just so.
With a touch of tomatoes. Victoria tomatoes that come with their stalks. You are see the freshness. Of course, our hosts bought British!
And then we had lovely salad - washed and ready to eat. Fancy that! Just open the packet and tuck in.
Which is what we did.

And it tasty yummy!

Wisdom

For more such goodies visit EADotCom for the link.

Across Cultures

This is my friend G and her husband O whom we met after a lapse of more than twenty years. We did our midwifery training together. By the end of the course, they were expecting their first of three children. They remain happily married, worshipping at a local vibrant church in east London.
My family tree has inter-marriages of all combinations. Different faiths too. It makes to more flexible to the idea of cross-cultural unions, despite my marrying one of the same race. Hubby and I are from different dialects and backgrounds, which could in a sense, be totally different too! But cross-cultural combinations like G and O above mean there are more differences to consider.

As Christian parents, it is our duty to train the children to be able to handle cross culture because Jesus Himself commands us to go and make disciples of all nations. Nations here means ethnic groups. We should have emphasis on cross cultural training in order to fulfill this often-called Great Commission.

The challenge is whether we would go as far as cross cultural marriages.

Visiting Mentors

We should always be willing to learn, to sit at the feet of others. This is one couple we have learned much from. Sacrificial giving is just one aspect of their lives. They were constantly giving of themselves and opening of their home. They were the ones from whom wise counsel always flowed. Their perceptions and insights were sharp and beyond the normal train of thought. Inspired, one would say. They invested their lives into the lives of others.

And we have been blessed to have tasted a small part.

We love you Bill and Shirley and are so glad to have spent those precious few hours with you. This was one of the highlights of our recent trip.

If we are but a fraction of what they are and have been, we would have touch lives indeed.

Would You Do It?

She is only fourteen.

She wants to earn some credits and merits.

One way is to go on a hike. Overnight. Long distance.

She has to carry the 3-person tent with her.

Would you let her?
My friend did. And so her daughter did. They took a wrong turn and added 3km to their walk, but they made it to the end. She had bruises on her shoulders, she hurt where the bag rubbed her back and her calves screamed with each step the next day.

And she has to do 800m training tomorrow.

My initial reaction was, "WHAAAT?!" This is insane. Such torture!

Then I realised this girl wanted to do it herself. She excels in playing the viola, her studies and now she asked to do this challenge!

That makes me breathless.... and tired!

Thunderstorm Moments

Does this resonate with anyone?

Hahahahaha!

Examples

We often talk about setting examples for our children. As we talk about this, we often think about anger issues, being hardworking or just being good people.

However, have we ever thought about fear issues?

For instance, when a mother is squeamish about spiders, often the children grow up with intense dislike and similar fears. If an adult influential in the life of a child screams at the sight of a cockroach, you can be sure that the child will pick up that fear and imbibe that.

"Fear not", the Lord said. 366 times I am told. We are meant to only have fear of the Lord, and even that, is then the beginning of wisdom....

Coming Home

Yes, my second son is heading back for a short break. I am so looking forward to that!

I have promised to bake for him to take along when he goes off again.

But I hope I can keep to my word as my household help has had to go on leave. HER son is unwell and might need an operation.

I think I need to prepare for a time without household helpers.... I have always said I would try to be able to manage without one. Now I have to prepare just in case it truly happens!

Inquisitor

Non-stop. Well, at least until the last bit.

It was a constant trickle.

Laughter.

Singing.

Questions of "Why?"

Finding out more and never satisfied.

Asking intelligent questions too.

He was only three and a half.

Stark contrast from the older on in the row in front. That one didn't even understand we were in Malaysia. He looked out the window and wondered aloud. Someone should tell him yes, Sabah is in Malaysia too.

Different parenting styles showed. The former was patient, answering everything. Treated like and adult but without equal status. The latter was almost mumbling in replies.

Yes, I was on an aeroplane recently...

Repetitions

Repetitions.

Another word for nagging?

But what do you do when something wrong happens repeatedly?

Worse, what do you do when the character flaw shows up again and again?

Nag.

Repeat in different forms.

Do so in love.

Pray. PRay. PRAy. PRAY.

And thank God that the problem was spotted early.