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| Home-Made Kimchi |
Thursday, 30 April 2020
Home-Made Kimchi
Wednesday, 29 April 2020
Stay Home, Stay Safe...and Cook!
With many countries implementing quarantine measures due to COVID-19, Singapore too has put a "circuit-breaker" isolation situation on its citizens and residents.
Many are affected - those who are infected themselves or having someone close to them infected with the coronavirus; those whose jobs are on the line or who are already retrenched; those who find themselves having to juggle the many roles of being a spouse, child, parent, employer/employee, etc, with no respite or a breather because there just wasn't enough time to meet everyone's needs; those who find themselves truly isolated because they lived alone and extended families couldn't even visit each other; or those who are elderly with health concerns. And on and on the list goes.
The Swallow herself was not able to visit her parents and extended families in Malaysia since the circuit-breaker started. Her mate was in the healthcare sector and had to commute daily to work. Her parents were living on their own and had to delay their regular check-ups at the hospital. Her young ones did home-based learning. Yet in all this, there is peace in her heart. She knows it is because of the lessons her gentle Shepherd had taught her not too long ago and most important of all, she knows whom she has believed. Her Lord has always reminded her that He alone is in control. He is the Sovereign One. He is the One who has made the whole world and everything in it. No, she may not always understand the why and the why not but that's what trust truly is...isn't it?
So what does one do to cope with such a situation? Bend with the wind and feel the breeze on the skin. Feel the love that touches your heart when you sit and rest in His presence. Then you arise...and do what needs to be done...with His strength...and cook!
For the Swallow, staying at home means feeding your loved ones. And with the young ones being not so young already, that means bigger appetites. Out came her long-shelved recipes. Her knife was sharpened. Her menus were fine-tuned to meet her family's current palate. And her marketing skills returned with a vengeance.
The situation hasn't improved much these last few weeks, but with the right focus and perspective, the Swallow actually finds this situation to be a blessing in disguise. Let's get cooking!
Many are affected - those who are infected themselves or having someone close to them infected with the coronavirus; those whose jobs are on the line or who are already retrenched; those who find themselves having to juggle the many roles of being a spouse, child, parent, employer/employee, etc, with no respite or a breather because there just wasn't enough time to meet everyone's needs; those who find themselves truly isolated because they lived alone and extended families couldn't even visit each other; or those who are elderly with health concerns. And on and on the list goes.
The Swallow herself was not able to visit her parents and extended families in Malaysia since the circuit-breaker started. Her mate was in the healthcare sector and had to commute daily to work. Her parents were living on their own and had to delay their regular check-ups at the hospital. Her young ones did home-based learning. Yet in all this, there is peace in her heart. She knows it is because of the lessons her gentle Shepherd had taught her not too long ago and most important of all, she knows whom she has believed. Her Lord has always reminded her that He alone is in control. He is the Sovereign One. He is the One who has made the whole world and everything in it. No, she may not always understand the why and the why not but that's what trust truly is...isn't it?
So what does one do to cope with such a situation? Bend with the wind and feel the breeze on the skin. Feel the love that touches your heart when you sit and rest in His presence. Then you arise...and do what needs to be done...with His strength...and cook!
For the Swallow, staying at home means feeding your loved ones. And with the young ones being not so young already, that means bigger appetites. Out came her long-shelved recipes. Her knife was sharpened. Her menus were fine-tuned to meet her family's current palate. And her marketing skills returned with a vengeance.
The situation hasn't improved much these last few weeks, but with the right focus and perspective, the Swallow actually finds this situation to be a blessing in disguise. Let's get cooking!
Sunday, 12 April 2020
Renewed Focus & Strength
Two years ago, the Swallow had to adjust to an empty nest. Married earlier than her peers, she couldn't really relate with them as they still had young children to look after. Again and again, despondency hit her. She wallowed in self-doubt and hormonal changes made the adjustment harder.
But her ever loving, personal Lord and Saviour reached out to her. Amidst all, she felt His tender care upon her soul. Touching her life with His very presence and filling her life with renewed focus and joy.
Isaiah 40: 29-31 (NKJV)
He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
But her ever loving, personal Lord and Saviour reached out to her. Amidst all, she felt His tender care upon her soul. Touching her life with His very presence and filling her life with renewed focus and joy.
Isaiah 40: 29-31 (NKJV)
He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
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