2018 Xmas Dinner at Kizuna Japanese Restaurant @ Penang Time Square

Unayanagawa Don

Blessed to an early Christmas dinner at Kizuna Japanese Restaurant.

Unayanagawa Don – a bowl of Japanese rice covered with fried egg, slices of onion, pan fried eel pieces dipped with Japanese sweet sauce, carrot slices, seaweed slices and chopped spring onion. Serving together with the rice is a bowl of hot miso soup.

Asparagus Bacon Itame

Asparagus Bacon Itame - stir fried asparagus with bacon Japanese style.



Black Garlic Ramen - garlic enhance the flavour of the ramen

Black Garlic Ramen

Yaki Gyoza - japanese style pan fried  dumpling with home made dressing.

Yaki Gyoza

Hotate Kushiyaki

Warabi Mochi

Hotate Kushiyaki - skewered and grilled meat with scallop.

Warabimochi - is a jelly-like confection made from bracken starch and covered or dipped in kinako. It differs from true mochi made from glutinous rice

Dinner at HK BOY CART NOODLE at Ideal @ The One, Bayan Lepas

Try out HK BOY CART NOODLE Restaurant at Ideal @ The One, Jalan Mahsuri, Bayan Lepas.

Pork Chop and Satay Pork Rice is a combination of cheese, tomato sauce, pork chop and satay pork together with rice. They also churns out many popular Hong Kong snacks.

Hor Fun Noodle Pork Liver

Pork Chop n Tuna Omelette Rice

Boneless Swiss Style Chicken Rice

Relationship with God

At the age of fifteen, I was halfway through my secondary schooling.  I was having fun like most teenagers and free of lives burden and stress.

Becoming a Christian was the start of the most exciting relationship, it was the start of a new life.   Christianity is all about relationship with God - a God who loves us and wants the very best for us.  As Paul wrote, 'those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same any more for the old is gone. A new life has begun' (2 Corinthians 5:17, TNLB)

I only noted 'the new life'.

Life isn't meant to be easy, it's meant to be LIVED.  Sometimes good, other times rough.    But with every up and down, you learn lessons that make you STRONG.

During my early Christian walk, serving is my utmost priority.  I would serve until I have no time to fellowship with God.  God have become my employer rather than my personal friend.

After many years abiding and walking in Jesus footpath, I was reminded of Luke 10 : 41-42  Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one.  Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

I then learn to spend time developing a personal relationship with God.  As I learn to develop a relationship with God, I also learn to have a relationship with others.   

Jesus never promised anyone an easy life, but He promised fullness of life (John 10:10). This new quality of life starts now and goes on into eternity. Our time on earth is relatively short, but eternity is vast.

Good relationships keep us happier and healthier for longer.

Eternity life is a quality of life which comes from living a relationship with God and Jesus Christ (John 17:3).

Giving is the test of loving

Giving is the test of loving - the measure of our loving Christ.  It is what we are willing to give and sacrifice.

An offering should cost the giver in terms of self, time or money.  To give sacrificially requires more than a token effort or gift.  God wants us to give voluntarily, but He wants it to mean something.  Giving to God what costs you nothing does not demonstrate commitment.

Every act of giving can be an expression of worship and "loving obedience"

We need to learn to give NOT because we have a lot BUT because we know exactly how it feels to have nothing.

The key to successful gift-giving is not money; its also listening to others and taking a personal interest in what they enjoy and appreciate.

"True wealth is of the heart not the size of the wallet." - Koon Yew Yin

Dinner at Six Premium Cantonese Restaurant at Penang Time Square

Blessed to a dinner at Six Premium Cantonese Restaurant.
                             

Sauteed Udon with Chicken in Black Pepper Sauce

Lunch at "Spicy Lemak"

Trying out nasi lemak at "Spicy Lemak" in Prangin Mall Shopping Centre

Happy Living

"Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude." - Denis Waitley

To a traveller - happiness is being able to roam freely without worries or fear.

To an ant - happiness is having enough sugar for a lifetime and not getting squashed by a shoe.

To an owl - happiness is the trill of catching a prey.

To a sheep - happiness is eating the lush grass of the meadow in spring.

To a squirrel - happiness is living in a walnut tree all by yourself.

To a cow - happiness is making my master happy by providing milk and not getting eaten.

So what is happiness to you??

Happiness is when your life fulfills your needs.  In other words, happiness comes when you feel satisfied and fulfilled.   Happiness is a feeling of contentment, that life is just as it should be.

God's Word tells us that true happiness comes by keeping God's law.

Proverbs 16:20 tells us "God blesses those who obey him, happy the man who puts his trust in the Lord." TLB

Solomon reminds us that God grants happiness to us as a privilege :-Ecclesiastes 3:12 "So I conclude that, first, there is nothing better for a man than to be happy and to enjoy himself as long as he can;"

Ecclesiastes 7:14 "Enjoy prosperity whenever you can, and when hard times strike, realize that God gives one as well as the other—so that everyone will realize that nothing is certain in this life."

Ecclesiastes 11:9 "Young man, it’s wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it! Do all you want to; take in everything, but realize that you must account to God for everything you do."

Man cannot find happiness when he lives only for himself.

True happiness in life comes when we bring happiness to others - it is not our condition or outer appearance that makes someone happy, but our existence itself. 

The world offers "passing pleasures" (Hebrews 11:25), but the Lord Jesus offers to give us full and lasting joy (John 15:11).

True happiness is not a function of getting, but a function of giving and serving.

Be thankful

Cultivate the habit of thankfulness.  Thanksgiving has great curative power.  The heart that is constantly overflowing with gratitude will be safe from those attacks of resentfulness and gloom that bother so many religious persons.  A thankful heart cannot be cynical. - A.W. Tozer

Big lies start small

"Once a liar, always a liar" is a proverbial parental admonishment.  A national study in the United States claims there is truth to the adage; People who cheated on exams in high school are considerably more likely to be dishonest later in life, according to a report released recently by the Josephson Institute of Ethics.

Solomon offers a prayer that would be suitable for Christians in bondage to such appetites : "Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom." Song of Solomon 2:15

Unimportant though they may seem, these little, fox-like demons may spoil the tender fruits of the Spirit that God looks for in our lives.  One form of spiritual fruit that inevitably suffers from the little foxes is the fruit of self control.

God's power can be more easily seen and experienced in our lives when we get rid of sin's build-up every day.  First John 1:9 reminds us : "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."  But unless we do that often, we'll be running on diminished power.  That's because the power for living comes from God and not us. [2 Corinthians 4:7]

So we must always be sensitive to sin and deal with it immediately.  The strategy for dealing with sin - includes confession and accountability. Likewise our focus should always be on God's holiness and purity.

James 4:8, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you."

What we may consider "little" or "harmless" sins can be our downfall.  Stretching the truth", for example, is actually lying.  And gossip is nothing less than character assassination.  The trouble is that those little sins will inevitably grow larger.

The most deadly sins do not leap upon us, they creep up on us. 

A little sin can be the first step in turning away from God.  It is not the sin we don't know about but the sins we excuse that cause us the greatest trouble.  We must never let away sin go unchallenged.  In our life, an unchallenged sin spread like a deadly cancer?  Don't excuse it.  Confess and ask God for strength to resist temptation.

The Bible urges us not to under estimate the destructive potential of what we say.  We must let the wisdom of God check our thoughts before they leave our tongues.  "The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy" James 3:17

WORDS CAN'T BREAK BONES, BUT THEY CAN BREAK HEARTS.

The capacity for love

The capacity for love gives depth to human relationships, brings people closer to each other physically and emotionally, and makes people think expansively about themselves and the world.  In his triangular theory of love, psychologist Robert Sternberg theorizes that love is a mix of three components: some (1) passion, or physical attraction; (2) intimacy, or feelings of closeness; and (3) commitment, involving the decision to initiate and sustain a relationship.  The presence of all three components characterizes consummate love, the most durable type of love.  In addition, the presence of intimacy and passion in marital relationships predicts marital satisfaction.  Also, commitment is the best predictor of relationship satisfaction, especially in long-term relationships.  Positive consequences of being in love include increased self-esteem and self-efficacy.[4]

The Bible records why Christians should love one another :-

1) God has commanded us to love (1 John 2:7-11)

2) We have been born of God and God's love lives in us (1 John 3:10-24)

3) God first revealed His love to us (1 John 4:7-21)

"We love ... because He first loved us."

What happens to a believer who does not love the brethren? 

1) he lives in darkness, though he thinks he is living in the light (1 John 2:9).  He thinks he sees, but he is actually blinded by the darkness of hatred.

2) he becomes a cause of stumbling (cf. 1 John 2:10).

an unloving brother stumbles himself, and in addition he causes others to stumble.  The best way to help other Christians not to stumble is to love them. Love makes us stepping-stones; hatred (or any of its "cousins," such as envy or malice) makes us stumbling blocks.

3) it retards a believer's spiritual progress (1 John 2:11).