Counting down to Forever

Social networking has gotten really popular. Most young people have a Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Linkedin, Tumblr, Google(+), account. Social media platform is getting new applications and new sites very often. Now we have Instagram, which I, have become really addicted to. I had a camera bug when I was younger but developing film (I had my dad’s old SLR) was a bit pricey for me. Also, I couldn’t afford a Polaroid camera which was something I really wanted. So now, especially with the smart phone, it has become easier to “sync” our life and our memories to our social networking accounts.

But just how important is it to have our Facebook milestones and our “thumbs up” from people who “follow” us? How do we actually use such influence to glorify God? Of course, I’m not asking this to increase our ‘virtual’ check ins to church, but how many times are we actually there on Sundays or the other days in the week, ready to worship God with our hearts, souls, minds and bodies? When we have lunch or do roadtrips with friends, do we actually have meaningful talks with them or are we waiting for a moment that we can hype up or complain about on our blogs or twitter statuses? How many times have you taken a picture of a majestic sunrise and have just said, “God, You are amazing for creating this, and this is on sunrise repeat everyday!” When we add or remove friends, how many times do we really stop and pray about that person on our list or maybe even check up on them and see how they are really doing, aside from occupying ‘important’ Facebook space.

This is a post to spur thinking, to myself and to readers about how even our “Facebook walk” really represents our walk as Christians.

1. Discipline our offering of our time - There was a time when I was ALWAYS on Facebook, and I really had no idea why. I wasn’t playing any online games nor do I chat with people. It seemed like I was just watching the feed and commenting on anything and everything I can. I was just stuck in an addiction. However, it becomes a realization, when you are at school or at work, should you really be on Facebook that much? Colossians 3:23 teaches us to do everything we do, in word and deed, for the glory of God. If you are working and on Facebook, you are not being a good employee. In my opinion, no matter what psychology says about our minds being capable of multi-tasking, it poses a problem if we are on Facebook 24/7. If you are distracted as an employee or student, simply put in economic terms, you are not efficient nor are you productive. So, if you are hyper-facebooked, get off Facebook and work/study! If you are hypo-facebook, maybe you can check in on your friends sometimes especially those you have not seen in awhile. This point is not to say that every time spent on facebook is ‘evil’, ‘sinful’ or ‘shameful’ but it is important to have discipline in all aspects of our lives as Christians and this includes our virtual lives.

2. Watch your profile picture updates -  We live in the party age and the physical beauty age. Vanity is a character trait that people promote and self-esteem is a value that people embrace. Our society has become addicted to the concept of ‘what are we wearing today’ or ‘bathing suit day’ or better yet, ‘happy hour and club pictures’. Our profile pictures reflect who we are, and better yet, we choose our own profile pictures so they reflect our ability to make choices as well. So before, you upload that picture of you looking all amazing and sexy for a dinner date, think about it… does the world really need to see it? Will it change someone’s life and lead them to think about Christ? Or is it just to maximize server capacities in a distant location? Again, changing profile pictures is not wrong, but we should watch our motives and be mindful, always.

3. Aim to decrease our abilities to be passive-agressive - This is something I’m hugely guilty of, because it is just really easier to vent online than approach people and communicate with them. It is easy to bash on the passive-agressives and complain about them on your status or twitter feed also, but really, you become the king or queen of the Passive-Aggressive society when you do that. It doesn’t add to anyone’s meaningful social network experience, nor does it subtract from it. The Bible has a wisdom-filled concept about this, talk to the person one on one, then bring a friend and then a church leader. Aim to resolve the conflict and keep praying for reconciliation. Our friends need Jesus too, and they are experiencing life at almost the same pace as we are doing so remember that and be understanding. God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in our relationship with Him, and this relationship leads us to have fruitful relationships with others.

4. Be mindful of your communications online - I’m not much of a chatter nor a visual chat person, but it is something that distance has given me an opportunity to lift to the Lord and ask on how to further be like Him in this opportunity. Most of my close friends are far away, in different countries. Some do not have access to frequent technological devices so this season is really a time to explore snail mail, video chats, phone cards and shipping rates just to keep in touch. However, Ace taught me that any conversation that does not lead to changed hearts in Christ is probably not a fruitful conversation. That is a lesson that really strikes me everyday, because I still do struggle with anger issues, selfish heart issues and meaningless chatter/gossip issues. Especially with friends, it is easy to just gossip, be mean or be resentful instead of remembering that I have a faith to live out and represent. It is a reminder that, I, as do all of us, need Christ everyday because individually, we cannot do it. In him, with him and through him, all things are possible. This is a post that is meant to challenge each of us. This is a post that is not meant to make us think of the people in our Facebook friends list who are guilty of some of the points listed above. If your mind is already wandering to them and their misdeeds, stop and look at your own account, maybe even look through your timeline or twitter feed. This is a post that is meant to challenge each of us to stop, think and repent to Christ alone. Martin Luther has said that Christianity is daily repentance to Christ. Practicing that can be challenging and wherever you feel weakest in, in Christ you are strong.

An encouragement I must write because it was impressed upon me is that every social networking account you have, no matter how dormant it seems, is an open door, an opportunity you have to witness to people about Christ and His work in your life and the lives of those around you. Do not worry about the harvest, it is the Holy Spirit’s job to keep working on each person’s heart, including yours but run the race with endurance and with a gentle and teachable heart. God bless, you guys! What area in social networking do you struggle with the most? How do you surrender this to Christ daily? Write me a note and tell me about it. I’d love to hear from you. :)

Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. - 1 John 3:2

I say that to be funny, because we have a lot of really popular books just being sold out: Fifty shades of gray, The Hunger Games, Games of Thrones, Harry Potter, Twilight. All are books that are on some Must-read list. And yes, except Twilight, I have not read the others at all (I’ve read the series of Twilight and have discussed it with a younger sister in Christ, but moving along. :P ) If you truly want to be a bibliophile, these are some ideas of expanding your literary comfort zone and learning more about the world of fiction and non-fiction.

1. Read what your friends read.    Your friends read things that you probably won’t think about touching with a ten-foot pole. I know this because I have been subjected to romance books, horror books, sci-fi and chic lit. However, reading what they read provides opportunities for great conversation and you would find this funny, but even Mills and Boon’s novels were turned into great conversations (see number 5.)

2. Pass your books on to your friends.    When you get to know people more, you become more attuned to what they might like. I used to be a huge classical literature freak especially as a young child, so I would pass on those books to them in exchange for newer novels. One of my closer friends used to love Paulo Coelho and at that time I was in love with some local Filipino literature so we traded books. It was fun. They won’t like every book they read but it’s a good ‘bonding’ moment. One of my friends just got into my suspense and mystery and psych thriller books and it’s funny how we get into it.

3. Travel and read local literature.      Every time I’m somewhere new, I try to drop by a local bookstore and get something. Last time I was out road-tripping, I was in Virginia City and i grabbed a Mark twain book that was an illustrated poem (beautiful!) and i’m getting more mark twain books that are not as popular as the one’s I’ve read. I also got a book on the gold rush and frontier life because I love anything historical. If you’re going to cities on a trip, Google famous authors who may have come from there and start there. It makes the place you go to more meaningful and gives you an insider’s perspective on the town.

4. Go to thrift stores and look at older books.          Since I moved to the United States, one of the things that I’ve complained about is the price of books. It’s a little pricier here to get books so when I chanced upon thrift stores, I usually raid their book aisle. I was able to grab some CS Lewis books and AnnaKarenina recently. I’m excited, I just need to find the actual time to enjoy the book.

5. Take a literature class.     I took a “reading the romance” class in college that focused on Gothic Literature and how it affected current literary forms. It was taught by a professor who studied in oxford for a bit (it was an awesome class! difficult but awesome!!) I also took a Filipino literature class that examined pre-Hispanic epics and how characters still exist in present literature. Good classes, a lot of reading though. :) Community colleges offer some literature classes that aren’t required classes but they are really great to take on. Mine had one on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (I want it so much but I can’t take it on because of my work schedule. oh well.)

6. Visit the public library.     Some books you can borrow at your local library. Some books you can donate to your public library. Your public library is a service that you can use and growing up, I never really had an access to one. I lived in a provincial town without much budget for things like that, so it is a blessing to see public libraries here in the United states. Some of them even provide city-to-city delivery of books from internet requests. How convenient is that!!

7. Go to second hand booksales with friends.    Some of my closer friends I raid booksales with. Back home in the Philippines, there would be places where books would be on tables in the sidewalk and you can really get them cheap. My friends and I still read different things, but we’ve grown to appreciate the differences of preferences while giving in to the occasional agreement in books.

* Refer to book lists, they aren’t evil. Feel free to explore as much books as you can. They said that 3,000 books are being published daily in the united states. Make one of those books yours today!! This summer I’m reading: The Innocents Abroad, AnnaKarenina and  one more book I have not chosen. This is in addition to the books I get from publishers to read and review and the Reviewer books that I also take on my free time. What are you choosing to read this summer??



Part of my day was spent buying some groceries for the week at my local grocery store. It’s one of those things that I enjoy doing because I find it relaxing to go between different aisles and compare prices and products. I’m always running around, so I don’t have much time to wander around grocery aisles, but I had the blessing of doing that today after fixing some paperwork until early afternoon.

My parents raised me to be a frugal shopper and it may be pretty cool to share some practical tips about grocery shopping that I’ve learned from my parents, and of course my maternal grandma who started taking me to the farmer’s market early in my life. The smell was a little overwhelming for me in the beginning (think fresh fish and meat around!!) but I enjoyed those weekend trips after awhile because it was time spent with my mom and grandmother. Plus, as a young child, I found it pretty cool to learn the art of barter early.

TIPS:

1. Grocery shopping is enjoyable when one’s stomach is filled!

As a child, my parents never brought me to a store hungry. Partly it is to minimize tantrums (which was really, zero). They always encourage me to eat before heading to get the groceries. This controls impulse purchases and helps you enjoy it as a leisure activity.

2. Prepare a weekly budget and weekly menu.

This is something my mother taught me early on. When you are learning to cook, it does mean that the first few dishes mean more expenses for you; however, if you regularly cook, it is financially wise to plan a menu and weekly budget that depends on the number of people eating and number of meal plans for the week. Planning menus helps you switch around with ingredients and see which things you can recook (leftovers) and ingredients you can reuse.

3. Bring a list and stick to it.

Write down things in a notepad or even use your smartphone. There are several apps that help in shopping, but I appreciate the handy notepad better. This helps you stay in track of what you need to buy and minimizes those unnecessary purchases (like a bag of chocolates! ;) )

4. Look through some coupons, they can be handy!

One of the things moving to America has taught me is that you get tons of paper in your mailbox. However, some of it is coupons which does help the total a bit. While I don’t endorse extreme coupon-ing, just because the time variable is an important opportunity cost for me, some clippings do prove handy and they may help in that one luxurious purchase you get that week (like some gelato half off plus manufacturer’s coupon). Living in california, I don’t see much extreme coupon-ing, so I’d rather compare prices and purchase from there.

5. Explore recipe alternatives.

There are some recipes that are just so yummy but so expensive to keep cooking. Finding alternatives for ingredients is a challenge but an experimentation worth exploring! Yes, I’m guilty of cutting corners sometimes!

6. Explore brand differences.

I understand brand loyalty, i really do. I prefer my cream cheese to be philadelphia; however, I do buy cheaper cream cheese for baking and cooking. Why? because you can manipulate the flavor. But with my toasts and bagels, i stick with the real things.

Also, for those who have dispensers in their local grocery stores, explore it. Package pastas have increased a little bit, so I do buy pasta from the dispensers like rotini, farfalle, wagonwheel pasta. I get my spices from dispensers because comparitively speaking, most of their prices are better.

7. Enjoy seasonal things when they are available.

When berries are in season, go for it! When pumpkins and squash were in season, I grabbed some, carved them for centerpieces and then used the inside as ingredients for okoy, a filipino verse of shrimp patties. =) It turned out amazing!! Eggnog also is another favorite during the holidays in coffee. Enjoy the seasonal when available and be sure to compare prices. Frozen vegetables are cheaper in winter so my pastas and stir-fry dishes use those more.

8. Buy one item that is a sort of treat for your family.

This week it’s two things: bacon and smoked salmon. My family’s not a frequent bacon eater because we try to keep food healthy. I’m making a food festival for my father tomorrow. I know one of his late cravings is bagels, cream cheese and peach preserves. So tomorrows breakfast is planned with eggs, links, smoked salmon and bagels with homemade artichoke cream cheese and sun-dried tomato tuscan cream cheese spread. I’m brewing some creme brulee coffee, which is the celebrator’s favorite flavor soooo…

9. Be prepared for teachable moments.

This isn’t limited to parents of younger kids. This is a good opportunity to teach kids how to wisely spend money. You can teach your children to list down house necessities (like their bathroom tissue or bath soap, shampoo) and grab them a basket. Again, that depends on their age and interest. Make it fun! ;) As for me, I’m a twenty something single so what I’ve done is brought younger girl friends to the grocery store with me to teach them about buying fresh meat, seafood and getting the right things at the right prices. Two of them are college aged so I took one of them ingredient shopping when she wanted to learn some recipes for college. It was fun, you learn more things about each other that way as well. So yes, mentor up and mentor down!!

In love’s service can only wounded soldiers serve.

Only with Christ, through Christ and in Christ.

Great reminder from a great and godly lived life.

 So a friend from church recommended his shrimp recipe. I took the liberty of playing around with the ingredients because I had no idea how it was supposed to taste. I just knew one thing, I wanted it spicy like boiling crab recipe type spicy. :)

Ingredients:

Garlic powder Shrimp (Recommended was tiger prawns but i don’t like them as they are really firm so I used white shrimps. Clean the shrimp, i chose to just take some parts from the head which I don’t know the English term for it. :P So yes, if you are not adept at peeling shrimp, i recommend peeling them before cooking or cutting them butterfly style for easier grilling)

Cayenne powder

Pepper

Salt

Chili Powder

Lemon and Lime juice (I used 1/12 lemons and 2 limes)

Ziploc bag for marinade.

Olive oil

How To:

1. Prepare the marinade by mixing the ingredients. As a fan of spicy food, I put too much cayenne which my dad is not a fan of (as evidenced by his three glasses of drinks during dinner). Chili powder doesn’t make it spicy but gives it the smoky flavor. 

2. Marinate for at least an hour. I leave things marinating in the fridge, especially meats. 

3. Prepare your grill or oven. For oven it’s best to cook it at 350 for 15-20 minutes. I chose to use my electric grill that was a christmas gift, HEHE. It has the temperature and everything also and gives me the illusion of backyard barbecue. I don’t have a backyard grill nor a backyard, so we make do. :)

4. I paired this with jambalaya rice for my dad’s dinner. For tonight, I ate it with plain rice (all hands for eating and no utensils!) and with green mango and bagoong. 

5. Enjoy it!! And corn on the cob is amazing with this, just so you guys know! :)

Back home, during the heat of the summer, we would collect different seafood and also catch fish in our backyard as well as chicken and load up the grills. We would strip some banana leaves and lay it on a table and place all the food there. Armed with clean hands (of course), just grab whatever food you want.

I miss those days! It was a fun way to fellowship with my family back home and embrace our culture with the smorgasboard of food. There was grilled tilapia, catfish, quail, mudfish, chicken, shrimp, crab, alupihang dagat (which is a type of crustacean that seems like a mix between lobster and shrimp, it’s tasty like a crawfish is :) )

Yesterday was the first time i ate using my hands in 2012. :) Good feeling!!

Last Monday, I had the opportunity to have lunch with a dear old man who I adore a lot. Growing up, I never met both of my grandfathers so it is a blessing to talk and hang out with elderly men and hear about their stories and their perspectives on life. He is a very vivacious man who told me endless tales of Old California, military life and all his travels. It was as if you were sitting while a novel was being dramatically read, it was that good! 

Two things I will probably never forget about that day. One was he told me to lead grace because he was already used to “our praying” before meals. He also said he’s a “bad catholic” and I said “that’s why we all need Jesus.” He laughed and said he sees that in people who are changed by Jesus. I’m praying for this man. He might be the closest thing to a grandpa I’ve had since my granduncle passed away a year and a few months ago. The second thing is that, on the way out, he asked if he could hold on to my arm for a little support. I acquiesed and offered my arm, and he said, “Your heart is different, young woman. Just so you know. Don’t ever change.” and he opened the door for me because even 91 year old men should still be chivalrous according to him. It was a good lunch and I hope to see him again.

Yesterday, I had a Tuesday lunch with a girlfriend and it was long overdue. I think one of the things that is harder as you grow older is finding free time to spend with friends. Things just really happen sometimes. It was a blessing that we both found time to talk and have lunch over at the local pub which serves the best calamari and spicy aioli for me so far. :) It’s great developing friendships and talking about nothing and everything.

Most of my close friends are scattered around the globe. I probably hear from them once a year if we are lucky, but it is great to have ways to still somehow hear from them. Distance is not such a bad thing, I’ve realized that it helps you see more in perspective, learn more about each other, and appreciate the people you love the most. 

So, God, thank you for exactly where I am now. Three years ago, I was battling this decision because I did not like America and I was comfortable with my career and home country. Thank you for your leading and for your faithfulness, even when  I falter and fall at times. I love you and pray that I serve you all my life, especially around the people I meet. :)

This was a dish i made during Father’s day lunch. I prefer red sauce any day, but due to the fact that on of my best friends is part-Italian, I grew to love her tomato-cream sauces that her mother makes so well. For the sake of celebration, I decided to make the rare cream sauce. =) I don’t measure when i cook but since this is something I just thought up, I’ll try to give accurate measurements for readers who would like to try this.

Ingredients:

Penne pasta

2-3 tablespoons of butter

2-3 tablespoons of flour

3 tbsp cream

1/2 cup of milk

onion and garlic, minced

1 tbsp of artichoke tapenade (I got a bottle for a present so I’ve been using it)

Sun dried tomatoes, chopped.

Roasted bellpeppers, chopped

1 chicken breast, sliced

salt, basil, parsley

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

Shrimp

1/2 cup of mozarella

How to cook:

1. Cook the pasta according to pasta directions. You can substitute any pasta like rotini or rigatoni, but I decided to use penne so the sauce can be absorbed by the pasta more. drain and add olive oil to prevent stickyness.

2. Melt the butter.. Add the garlic and onion. Add the chicken and cook it until firm.

3. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, roasted bell-peppers, and artichoke tapenade. Stir around until chicken is coated and flavored.

4. Add the cream and milk. Stir and flavor with spices basil, parsley and salt.

5. Add the parmesan cheese and keep stirring to mix flavors together.

6. Add the shrimp and mozarella in the end. I use frozen pre-cooked shrimp on most of my pasta recipes unless they need the seafood flavor.

7. Serve on top of pasta. Enjoy!

Empty jar or package count, 3. 2 Cheeses finished off and sun dried tomatoes all gone. Sidenote: I’m trying to clean up my fridge as well as making delicious food. =)

Suggestions: Make garlic bread. When i make pasta, try to tailor the sides in a way that it complements the dish. You can try using butter and artichoke tapenade as a base and topping it off with garlic and parmesan cheese. Enjoy creating and recreating dishes! :)

How was your father’s day weekend? Ours was very food filled. It was definitely a food festival like it was planned. It started with grocery shopping on saturday, I wanted to get some ingredients fresh! Started by baking the cheesecake and the cheesecake-cookie experiment as well. It was pretty good, I’m a crazy baker.:/

The plan was to spoil my dad for the whole Sunday. It was to start at breakfast in the morning and armed with my stove and electric griddle, I went to work. The menu is as follows: Sunny-side eggs, Cheddar Wursts, Assorted Bagels, Smoked salmon slices and plain cream cheese, Sun-dried tomato cream cheese [own mix], artichoke cream cheese [own mix as well] and Creme Brulee coffee. It was filling, and those asiago, blueberry bagels were awesome!

After church, it was time to do lunch. I planned on making a pasta dish but was still undecided on the sauce. I decided to go crazy and just mix some things together (recipe to follow) and the result was penne in Artichoke cream sauce topped with chicken slices and shrimp. Dessert was the cheesecake-on-cookie dough. YUM! that pasta was delicious and mild. It was a good mix of spices and ingredients. mhmm! My parents loved it. I think it beats my spicy shrimp tomato cream pasta which is odd because i love spicy pasta.

Our in between was spent watching NBA. Of course, we were cheering for opposing teams. I’m cheering for OKC (west coast pride!) and my parents are cheering for Miami. Wade is definitely a great player, but I’m still gonna root for OKC this year (since my Lakers/Spurs are not in).

After basketball, it was time to prepare dinner. I placed the shrimps in marinade earlier and just took them out and prepared the grill. I wanted to replicate a sort-of boiling crab recipe but not soupy. I wanted the flavor packed but the shrimp firm. And i paired this with a simple side of jambalaya rice which was missing, sausages (whoops! :D ). Desert was plain cheesecake with the option of peach preserves on top. definitely love my cheesecake plain because I don’t like too much sweetness on desert.

Whew, it was a kitchen day. The personal challenge was to prepare all meals in 30 minutes, which I achieved. Of course, at the end of the day, I was very grateful to be in possession of a dishwasher. If I was in the Philippines, I would be washing for an hour, haha, which wouldn’t be so bad but still I’m blessed to have those seemingly small comforts in life.

I’ve told my dad this in a card and in person, but just for a sort of public announcement. I thank you for every thing you do in this family. For the man you were, and the man you are in Christ. When I was younger, I hoped to be 5’11 so I would not look up and I could beat you in basketball or badminton, but that didn’t happen (heightwise :P ). In this rare moment of public affection, thanks tatay!