The Final One-1

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (Matthew 6:33)

WARNING: THE PHOTOS BELOW CONTAIN SALIVA-PROVOKING MATERIALS.

I celebrated my 19th birthday back in my hometown this year. It was a simple yet memorable celebration. There was no birthday cake. Instead, delicious and stomach-filling dishes (with absolute pleasant aroma!) cooked by my mom were served on the dining table. The food was just too good to describe! Without further ado, let the photos do the talking:

Lunch: Steamed with tomatoes, green onions, chili, and many other ingredients, the Chinese call the prawn Big Head Prawn (Obviously because of its head size! :) ). I call this dish 'The Extraordinaire Prawn'.

The mouth-watering Big Head Prawn added into my 'meehoon special': Not to forget...see the fried egg in the background? Its half-cooked flowing egg yolk simply made the dish look more fabulous!

Dinner: The renown 'Sarawak Foochow Mee Sua'. An excellent dish consisting of two fleshy chicken wing and drumstick together with 85% boiled egg. A broad and juicy mushroom is a must-add ingredient as well.

Above: The unveiling of 'Mee Sua'

Here were my steps in launching my 19th birthday celebration:

1st step: Say grace to thank God for the food.

2nd step: Take a historic picture.

3rd step: With all due respect, it's time to feast!

4th and final step: Head out to the nearest hawker stall and grab a cooling 'White Lady' or a refreshing 'Metahon' (I reckon that these drinks are available only in Kuching)!

Thanks mom and dad for your support at all times! Love ya! Thanks again, mom, for your wonderful cooking (Dad, thanks for the food)! Many thanks to my siblings for your gifts and help! You guys rock! No words could express my feelings towards all of you! :)

To all my friends, thanks and thanks to all of you for the wishes you guys sent and the encouragement! Wish y'all all the best and hope that we'll see each other again in the near future! Till then, take care and God bless! :)

And to those who were born on the same day as me, Happy Birthday!

Above all, may all praise and thanksgiving and glory be unto God for His sufficient grace for me and the people around me. He is our Provider!

Please continue to pray for me, in faith, health, education and the road ahead of me.

Till then, take care and God bless!

Jesus loves you! :)

Eat to Live

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6)







Dated this day is the Traditional Chinese Dumpling Festival (Zong Zi- Traditional Chinese food). Here are some photos on the dumplings that I took (...and ate) during this year's Dumpling Festival:

Zong Zi sold at Sunday Market

My family's Dumplings

Above:
Foreground: Dumplings with meat, Background: Dumpling with groundnuts and red bean (Dao Sa)

Zong Zi is a glutinous rice dumpling wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves. It is meant to honor Qu Yuan (340-278 BC.), the pioneer poet of ancient China.

Below is an excerpt that I found through the net:

"Qu Yuan was a famous poet who was also concerned about the fate of his government.



Qu Yuan (Source: Wikipedia)

Unfortunately his stature aroused the jealousy of the king, who banished him to a remote area.

The poet despaired of the government and its policies. When the state's capital was captured by enemies, he committed suicide by drowning himself in the Miluo River (on May 5th according to the Chinese lunar calendar).

The Chinese people felt this loss deeply, as he was a much beloved poet. Local folk searched for him in the river, meanwhile dropping dumplings of glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves into the river in order to keep the fishes from attacking Qu Yuan's body.

Since that time, it has been customary on this day to enjoy Zong Zi dumplings as a memorial to the patriotic poet."

Similarly, Jesus Christ was under constant criticisms from the Jewish community (The Pharisees) during His ministry. Jesus fulfilled the prophecies in the old testament- by making the ultimate sacrifice for our sins on the cross. But it didn't end just that way, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day! His death and resurrection conquered over both sin and death. Through faith in Him, can we then have eternal life with Him in Heaven. He will come again one day where there will be no more tears and sadness, (Isaiah 25:8) 'He will swallow up death for ever, and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth; for the LORD has spoken.'

There was once a quote from a Christian wallpaper stating: "At the heart of the story stands the cross of Christ where evil did its worst and met its match." -John Wenham.

Below is another article written by the evangelist Billy Graham:

"Over the years I have talked to thousands of people who have asked me how to find their way to God. Some have sat in church pews all their lives but never come to personally know God. Others have sought for ultimate meaning in all sorts of ways but never found the peace of mind for which they were searching. Some simply realize that there is something vital missing in their lives.

The Bible teaches that this sense of lostness is rooted in the fact that we live in a fallen world in which we are all handicapped by a sin nature: we "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). And despite our best efforts we are unable to remove the haunting weight of guilt that separates us from our Creator.

God sent his Son to solve our dilemma. "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).

Jesus Christ made the way to God for us by his death on the Cross. He purchased our salvation by the shedding of his blood. His death and resurrection made a new and everlasting covenant between God and humanity.

Jesus told his disciples, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6). He did not merely point the way to God. He himself claimed to be the only way to the Father and the source of eternal truth and life.

The way to God is through personal faith in Jesus Christ. Intellectual acceptance of Christ is not enough. You must come to him determined to turn from what displeases him, with a total trust in Christ's saving power for you.

Christ promises those who turn to him: "Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed from death to life" (John 5:24).
Today you can come to him by surrendering your life and heart to Christ. The Bible says: "To all who received him (Jesus Christ), to those who believed in his name he gave the right to become children of God" (John 1:12).

Right where you are you can pray something like this: "Lord, I know that I have sinned and need your forgiveness. I believe that Jesus Christ died for me and rose from the dead. I invite you into my life to be my Lord and Savior."

If you sincerely put your faith in Christ, God promises not only to forgive you, but also to receive you into his family. It's the greatest discovery you will ever make!"

Till then, take care and God bless.

Jesus loves you! :)

Mom's

They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness. (Psalm 145:7)

First of all, let me introduce to you the one and only, the ever famous and forever stomach-filling, Sarawak 'Kolo Mee'!(a type of Chinese Noodles).

A must-try!

And now, let me introduce to you some of my mom's best homecook food:

Egg-Sea Cucumber-some meat..... soup

Spaghetti with some self-add-in ingredients apart from the ready made pasta.

My mom's special and tastiest 'Laksa' I've ever tried

'Laksa' after mixed. The good thing about home cook 'Laksa' is that you can go for a second or perhaps a third round whenever you feel like it.

Seen Siamese egg yolk twins before?

My aunt's home cook noodles(very filling)

In all, thank God for all of these and giving me a mom who is so loving and good in cooking. May God continue to bless and strengthen her and the whole household.

Till then, Take care and God bless.

Jesus loves you! :-)

Borneo Highlands, Kuching- What you'll be Expecting

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. (Romans 8:28)

I went to Borneo Highlands(one of the golf resorts in Kuching where you can have a health retreat or spending some time to relax after some hectic days) last weekend with my family. My family had made an early appointment with one of the staffs there to bring us around during our visit(reason of visiting- for some future planning). As the resort is situated 580-620m (approx.) above sea-level, a shuttle was at the foothill to bring us up- RM40.00 per person(two- way trip).

The whole journey was about 10km and took us quite some time to reach the resort. As for the price, it's actually quite reasonable(if you decide to drive up yourself, you are putting you and your passengers at danger(except that if you are a very, very, very experienced driver or have driven that particular road so often that you remember every corner like the back of your hand. Not to mention, pity your car brakes too). There was once an important man(with his family) who went driving up and had a very bad accident halfway(the car he drove plunged down the ravine, killing everyone in it).

Praise God for the good weather(we had our tour in the morning till noon and it only started raining later in the afternoon, God is just awesome, isn't it?) and everything ran smoothly and as planned that day.

For now, let the following photos give you an overview on what you gonna see when you get up there:

On the way to the foothill of Borneo Highlands, you'll probably pass the newly opened Sheraton Hotel: Four Points.

Entrance: the starting of an adventure up the Highlands

Borneo Highlands is also famous of its beautiful and exotic flowers, these are some:

'Lady Shoes' (above)

Going higher up the peak would take you to the Sarawak-Kalimantan border where you will have a breathtaking view while enjoying the cool, fresh air.

Above: This is quite a common sight where thick mist covers the mountain and the land below in the morning and often during rainy seasons. I reckoned that the temperature is about 25 degree Celsius during my tour that day.


The tree and I

Crystal clear water flows gracefully down the hill.

Mother nature: golf course(above)


Does this look like an elephant resting?

One of the bedrooms offered


Wild Orchid

Care for a massage?

....or a steam bath?

The food served is mainly vege and handsome price labels on it. It's worth to try. Little flavourings are added to preserve its natural taste.

Above: Chicken Rice

Mushroom Soup


Toufu vege

'Jungle Cabin'

These photos, again, are just the 'summary' of the total photos taken.

To readers out there, it's worth the experience to try go pay Borneo Highlands a visit.

And now for a little Sneak-peek to what my next post is about: Delicacies.

Till then, take care and God bless.

Jesus loves you!:-)