Oh, be careful!!!

I learned a lesson when attempting to make singkong goreng last week. I just finished peeling and washing and cutting the singkong into pieces, when I took a second look and decided that the pieces are not small enough. So I took my knife and tried to cut them into smaller pieces. Since my cutting board is already on the sink, mingling with all other dirty dishes, I did not bother to use one.

As I was cutting, in the back of my mind I was thinking that it would be way safer to use a cutting board (but of course I was too lazy to wash another). Guess what? When your laziness triumphs over your better judgement, something BAD usually happens. So there I cut my finger :'(

Think about it, how often does this scenario play in our lives? (i.e: I know I should be studying right now, but let me relax a little bit more; or I know I should take my car for service today/this week but I think it can last a little bit longer; or --this is the scariest one-- I know I should stop doing this sinful habit I've been doing but let me just enjoy it for a little bit longer)

Last Tuesday during our small group meeting, we were given an illustration about old self. Imagine your old self is hanging on the cross, dying, but not quite dead yet. Imagine that old self is first asking for a sip of water, then a cup of water, then it proceeds asking to be fed, and before you know it, your old self goes stronger and start to take charge again. We don't want that to happen, do we?

To me, this week, a cut on my finger reminds me of the importance of ergonomics in kitchen to avoid injury. A cut on my finger also reminds me of the pain that would result from delaying to do the right thing. It also reminds me of the importance of immediate response in obedience to the Holy Spirit's prompting in our hearts to prevent our old self to be in control again.

It also reminds me of the song we sang in nursery:

I'm gonna sing when the Spirit says sing,
I'm gonna sing when the Spirit says sing,
I'm gonna sing when the Spirit says sing,
and obey the Spirit of the Lord.

- Delayed obedience is disobedience (PDL)

Singkong goreng

My aunt has been making a lot of tape ketan lately, since she bought ragi from Indonesia. It turns out that my uncle likes tape singkong better, so earlier last month we bought him cassava. That somehow reminds me of singkong goreng I used to have at home in Indo, so the following week I bought myself some singkong and tried to fried it. I never really appreciate the labor that goes into this, since everything is always ready to eat on the table, beautifully prepared by mbak. My part was just finishing it off with compliments (if it's good) OR (shame on me) complain if it's not.

For this singkong goreng that actually taste pretty close to home, I boiled them first with garlic, coriander and salt until they're soft. I let them cool overnight so they kinda dried up a little (I guess you can also try to fry them right a way but I found out it would be way too messy because of the splash they'll create). Then you go ahead and deep fry them. It will still taste good the next day if you heat it in the toaster oven. Best enjoyed with hot indonesian tea.

Although it does not sound as labor-intensive, it did almost cost me a finger, which I'll explain in the next post.

End result
Deep frying
After boiling with spices

Loser?

A couple weeks ago, I was looking around classical piano videos and I came across this video. I watched Jon Nakamatsu giving a master class few months back in Santa Clara; he is a wonderful musician and an interesting speaker. Hope you enjoy the speech!

Grace is sufficient

Just want to share this song......"Your grace is sufficient for me"

I first heard it when I was probably in middle school. Even at that time I thought "hmm....this is a nice song". It wasn't until recently I started to appreciate even more about the message of the song. It became a constant reminder lately that God gives enough strength and enough grace to do everything He wants us to do.

On Idols

Yesterday at Friday Youth Fellowship we have discussions on idols in our hearts. At the end of discussion, we agreed that we have idols because we have emptiness in our hearts.

It somehow reminds me of a quote by St Augustine which I first heard from one of Ravi Zacharias' teaching ministry way back when I was in college:

Thou hast made us for Thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee.

Work in Progress

After a loooong time since my last blog post, I finally decided to start blogging again. In contrast with my last blog I created, this one is much more humble in content. The last blog was created when I was in college: I was just moved to Berkeley, life seems to offer a lot of promising opportunities for the future.

As of now, I've been working in the same company for 2 years. While I am grateful for the job and the relationships with people at work, I feel that now it is way easier for me to drift away from God. When I was in school, I spend probably less than 20 hrs at campus and take the rest of the week to study at home. Studying at home was one of my favorite activity, I did it wholeheartedly and I know God was pleased knowing that I did it for Him. There was less noise from the world. Everything seems to be much simpler.

Now, I work 40 hrs a week. As I go home, I need to cook, to clean and to spend time for small group meetings, music practices, endless activities! And although it's been 2 years, I still haven't been able to get it right! That's why this blog is titled "Work In Progress". Though it seems to be slow, I am convinced that God has not given up on shaping me to be more like Him.