Wednesday, June 15, 2011

"I've become a brother to jackals and a companion to ostriches"

I find the above sentence taken from Job 30:29 interesting. It is not complimentary at all if someone says that of us. I like the way Job described his dire situation. In other bible translations you find "dragons and owls" instead of jackals and ostriches. All these animals are not very pleasant to be with.
Jackals generally go about in small companies. Their peculiar howl may frequently be heard in the evening and at any time in the night. It begins with a high-pitched, long-drawn-out cry. During the night the ostriches make very doleful and hideous noises; which would sometimes be like the roaring of a lion; at other times it would bear a nearer resemblance to the hoarser voice of other quadrupeds, particularly of the bull and the ox. Understand they groan as if they were in the greatest agonies.
In Job 26:2-4, he said "What a help you are to "the weak!"... And whose spirit was expressed through you?" Haha, Job can be quite sarcastic ;) What sort of a friend am I to my sisters and brothers in Christ?As I read through Job and the way his friends responded to the situation he was in, I learnt the following lessons which I hope by His grace and wisdom, to be able to apply in my life when I encounter people who are suffering:

1) Our words can either heal or cause more hurt to the hurting.

2) To put ourselves in that person's shoes and lend a listening ear instead telling them what we know through our own worldly wisdom.

3) To empathize and offer words of comfort, directing them to GOD and His unchanging attributes because GOD does not fail man, only man will fail man.

4) Despite Job's complains and arguments, deep down in him he knows GOD is Sovereign and he can continue to trust in GOD. Job 1:21 "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked I shall return there. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD." Wow, what a declaration. I hope that whenever I am faced with adversities, I will be able to declare what Job declared and continue to cling on to GOD.

5) Job 26:5-14, Job described briefly the magnificence of GOD. Who can truly say they understand GOD? His friends thought they do and know a lot to "lecture" him. Do we commit the same mistakes many a times when we learn about someone else' problems? May GOD forgive us and help us not to prejudge but look at the speck of sawdust in our brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in our own eye.





Am sure there are more lessons I can learn from Job as I continue with the next 10-11 chapters.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Blueberry Streusel Bars, Muffins with Mint Chocolate Filling / Croissants, Pecan N Raisin, Cream Cheese with Cranberry Filling, Bacon N Onion Breads


It has been more than one month since I last wrote on my blog but during this period, I continued to bake very regularly. I have taken some of the pictures of my bakes below.




Blueberry Streusel Bars. Forgot to take the pictures after cutting them ;)


Chocolate Muffins with Mint Chocolate fillings. I had some extra Mint Chocolate in the fridge so I decided to put them into the muffins :) I love mint chocolates but not my daughter ;(


Croissants with tuna and lettuces filling. While shopping with my son at Cold Storage one day, he came across the Prima Croissant pre-mix and encouraged me to try, so I tried. They would have turned out nicer if I had given the dough enough time to rise. They tasted good anyways. Lesson learnt - patience is needed when making bread :)


Unfortunately this Bacon with Onion bread turned out too salty because I was nothing thinking straight when I measured out the salt for the recipe. Otherwise this bread is very fragrant, especially with the baked bacon bits, onions and garlic. Will definitely try this recipe again.


This loaf of Pecan N Raisin Bread has nice texture - soft and I love the toasted Pecan and Raisins in each bite.



I cut the Pecan N Raisin buns diagonally and filled them with Nutella. You can imagine the combination of taste right? ;)



These are Cream Cheese with Cranberry filling buns. I baked them in muffin trays, easier to handle this way. Gave some to my in-laws and they love them. Am suppose to bake another batch for them... akang datang :)