THANKSGIVING for 2011

I have not been very diligent in updating my blog lately ;( but I will not end the year 2011 without this last blog of thanksgiving for 2011 :)


As far as I can remember (because there are so many that I have forgotten ;)) -

* Thank GOD for salvation in CHRIST JESUS. Without Him and His precious gift of eternal life, I don't think there will be this blog to testify of His goodness :)


* Thank GOD for good health and strength for my whole family - am always very thankful that He has spared us from major illnesses - small ones are just part and parcel of life on earth.

* Thank GOD for seeing Renfred through his 2 years of army life. He completed his term early December 2011. We are thankful he has quite an enjoyable time and "survived" the 2 years :)


* Thank GOD for seeing Eliza through her "A" levels - GOD know how many times it pained my heart and have cried looking at how my dear daughter underwent the stressed she had to bear. By His abundant grace, she completed her art projects and exams :)


* Thank GOD for blessing Peter with a job after 3 months of break from work. He left his previous job without one but had a good time of catching up with his reading of the Epistle of Romans, playing golf quite frequently, waking up late in the mornings and having me to serve him at home with 5 meals a day ;)


* Thank GOD for His faithfulness to us, His provision for our family needs and more, His blessings of friends and loved ones, for opportunities to serve Him in small areas, for opportunities to study his Word, and the list goes on.... We can never, never thank Him enough :)

Like to end this thanksgiving blog with Colossians 3:12-17, which I have asked the LORD to give and I think it is very apt for everyone who is in CHRIST JESUS :


"Therefore, as GOD's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.


Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the LORD forgave you.


And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.


Let the peace of CHRIST rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.


And be thankful.


Let the word of CHRIST dwell in you richly as you teach, admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to GOD.


And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the LORD JESUS, giving thanks to GOD the Father through Him."

Eliza's Sweet Eighteen Birthday

This year, because of Eliza's "A" level Exams, we did not organize any big celebration for her 18th birthday as she wanted to focus on her exams.

The day before her birthday I was checking recipes to bake a cake for her. She said she wanted a Rainbow Cake! So I searched my inventory of ingredients and managed to find 4 colours to make her this simple Rainbow Birthday Cake.

I frosted it with Cream Cheese, Fresh Blueberries and Cadbury Chocolate Buttons.

This was how the inside looks like without the cream cheese surrounding the sides.

We had dinner at "Chillis" at Tanglin Mall. Her J1 friends came to give her a surprise birthday celebration. They bought her an Ice-Cream Cake and some Macarons and sang her a birthday song in public. It was really very sweet of them. What a nice ending to the day :)

Dear Eliza, as I told Aunty Annabel, to me, the outside of the simple Rainbow Birthday Cake represents who you are - the simple and sweet young lady. And the colours inside the cake represent your good qualities; compassion, a loving and sensitive heart and your GOD given artistic talent. Many, including your teachers and tuition teachers, have always tell me that "Eliza is a really nice and polite young lady." And many who have seen your art works have expressed their appreciation of how talented you are. We are proud of you and we thank GOD for you. Love, Dad and Mom :)

A Dinner Reward

This dinner reward was especially prepared for a dear brother-in-Christ whom GOD sent to help our praise band out last Sunday. He came to church at 8.45am when we were still waiting for our drummer. I prepared homemade hamburgers, Pan Pacific Sausages, Sauteed White Mushrooms, President Cheddar Cheese slices, lettuce and tomatoes with Honey Mustard.

Baked two types of bread this morning; Honey Oats with Bacon and Walnut with Sunflower Seeds. Gave a loaf of the WSS to his parents and the rest for him and his family. Because of his good deed his parents benefited also :)

To top off the yummy dinner, they will have Chocolate Mud Cake from Goodwood Park for their dessert :) Hope they will enjoy the food :)

October Bakes

PASTRIES, CAKES AND COOKIES

Pecan Macadamia Nut Pie. Baked this for 3 Gen8sis October Boys.

Vanilla Men. A kid's friendly version of Gingerbread Men.

A regular "customer" and friend ordered 40pcs of these for her daughter's classmates.

Lite Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Pound Cake. Eliza decorated one for her schoolmate's birthday.

Baked 60+ pcs of these mini cupcakes for a friend's birthday at Matthew Precepts Class.

Two variations of Banana cakes; Heart-shaped Banana cake with Streusel toppings and Original Banana Cake. Especially baked the heart-shaped one for a special lady :)


Pigs in a blanket are simply sausages in baked in puff pastry. I like to vary the breakfast menu for my family. That particular day I ran out of ideas so I decided to bake these because I happened to have some German Frankfurters and a piece of puff pastry :)

Especially made this Thai Mango Sticky Rice for a dear brother-in-Christ's birthday.

HAND-KNEAD BREAD

A loaf of Sunflower Seed Bread


Made 3 sets of German Brauswort Sandwiches for Peter and the his 2 golf kakis.

Pan fried Beef with, Caramelized Pineapples, Sauteed Onions and Mushroom Sandwich for Dinner.

Mini Hamburger Buns stuffed with Cheddar Cheese, Crispy Grilled Bacon and homemade hamburger and Maple Mustard Sauce. Really yummy ;)

Homemade Club Sandwiches for lunch.

Cheese Braids and Cranberry Loaf. I soaked the Cranberry with Mango Vodka :)

Oatmeal and Cinnamon Buns

The picture on the left is a loaf of white dough bread which I sprinkled some Sunflower seeds to give that extra taste and texture. The other picture shows some Luncheon Meat Buns which I baked for a praise band.

A loaf of Marble Bread. Doesn't it look pretty? :)

Matthew 13

When I was a youth, I loved reading the parables Jesus told in the Bible. Because I loved stories, so I treated them as stories and enjoyed reading them. Now I understand why Jesus told these parables and to whom He told them to. In Matt 13:10-13 Jesus explained to His disciples why He spoke in parables. The parables Jesus spoke are mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven; they are to reveal and at the same time conceal truths of the Kingdom. Huh??? you may ask. Well, in Matthew we see that during Jesus' ministry on earth, He had 2 groups of audiences - the disciples and the "crowd"- consisting of fishermen, spectators, the religious leaders, etc.
To the disciples, it is like family talk from Jesus to them. Matt 13:11 Jesus says to His disciples "To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven, but to them (the crowd), it has not been granted." To the "crowd" they have the knowledge of the scriptures and who GOD is but they do not believe, do not want to understand and rejected GOD, thus the truths of the Kingdom are concealed to them V. 14-15.

Let's explore further the parables Jesus spoke in this chapter of Matthew, telling us what the Kingdom of heaven is like. Note the audience and the point of the parables as we go along;

1) The parable of the Sower V. 3-9
Audience : the crowd V. 2
Point : The seeds represent the Word of the Kingdom. The soil represents the heart condition of the receiver. Out of the 4 types of soil, the first 3 types of soil do not produce fruit but the 4th type is the good soil that represents the man whose heart condition is right (who hears the word and understands it) and bears fruit (Matt 3:8); some bringing forth a hundredfold, some sixty and some thirty.2) The parable of the Wheat and Tares V. 24-30
Audience : the crowd V. 34
Point : In the Kingdom, the good and bad exist but at the end of the the harvest the wheat and tares will be separated, the tares will be bonded together and burned (Matt 3:10). The wheat will be gathered into the barn. The good and evil will be separated at the end of the age.

3) The parable of the Mustard Seed V. 31-32
Audience : the crowd V. 34
Point : A mustard seed is smaller than all other seeds; a small beginning but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree. Watch it grow!

4) The parable of the Leaven V. 33
Audience : the crowd V. 34
Point : Leaven (yeast) is small, like the Mustard seed, it began small but watch it grow.
The preaching of the gospel works like leaven in the hearts of those who receive it; slowly but surely. Watch it grow!5) The parable of the Treasure V. 44
Audience : the disciples V. 36
Point : It will cost you something to own the treasure. Matt 10: 38

6) The parable of the Pearl of great value V. 45-46
Audience : the disciples V. 36
Point : You have to pay the price. Matt 6:33
7) The parable of the Dragnet V. 47-50
Audience : the disciples V. 36
Point : At the end of the age, there will be a separation of the righteous and the wicked. Similar to the parable of the wheat and tares.

Who is in the Kingdom?
(A) He who hears the Word and understands it and brings forth fruit.

How will the Kingdom come?
(A) It is not what we would expect but like a Mustard seed or leaven, it will grow. Like a treasure hidden in the field or the pearl of great value, it is worth everything a man has to give up to get it.

GOD's sovereignty and man's responsibility
(A) John 6: 63-65 It is the sovereignty of GOD to grant us the knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom yet we have a responsibility to live as light and salt for Him - Acts 28:23-24.

Matt 13 ended with a sad note : "And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them "A prophet is not without honour except in his hometown and in his own household." And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief."

Who Jesus is to you? Do you believe that He is the Son of GOD and Messiah and that there is no other way to the Father but through Him. If so, are we bearing fruit that comes from hearing, understanding and obeying Him?

Galatians 5:22-23:

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."

Chorus:

The fruit of the Spirit is love,
Longsuffering, gentle and kind.
If joy is the Saviour above.

A Christian is what you will find.

V1

We walk in the spirit together.

We're careful in all that we say.

Not to offend our dear brother.

And holding him up when we pray.

V2

Living a life of example,

Pure in the spirit and true.

Helping our neighbours around us.

To know Jesus cares for them too.