INSPIRATION

I was searching for more info to Corrie Ten Boom to share with the children during our church's mission conference worship....and I found the following which really inspires me.

This is from http://endtimepilgrim.org/corrie.htm

'CORRIE TEN BOOM AND THE RAPTURE'
- (This is from a letter Corrie wrote in 1974)

.....a Bishop from China say, sadly,
"We have failed.  We should have made the people strong for persecution, rather than telling them Jesus would come first.  Tell the people how to be strong in times of persecution, how to stand when the tribulation comes, – to stand and not faint."

********************

When I was a little girl (Corrie Ten Boom), I went to my father and said,
"Daddy, I am afraid that I will never be strong enough to be a martyr for Jesus Christ."
"Tell me," said Father, "When you take a train trip to Amsterdam, when do I give you the money for the ticket? Three weeks before?"
"No, Daddy, you give me the money for the ticket just before we get on the train."
"That is right," my father said, "and so it is with God's strength.  Our Father in Heaven knows when you will need the strength to be a martyr for Jesus Christ.  He will supply all you need – just in time…"

*********************

How can we get ready for the persecution?

First we need to feed on the Word of God, digest it, make it a part of our being. This will mean disciplined Bible study each day as we not only memorize long passages of scripture, but put the principles to work in our lives.

Next we need to develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Not just the Jesus of yesterday, the Jesus of History, but the life-changing Jesus of today who is still alive and sitting at the right hand of God.

We must be filled with the Holy Spirit. This is no optional command of the Bible, it is absolutely necessary. Those earthly disciples could never have stood up under the persecution of the Jews and Romans had they not waited for Pentecost. Each of us needs our own personal Pentecost, the baptism of the Holy Spirit. We will never be able to stand in the tribulation without it.

In the coming persecution we must be ready to help each other and encourage each other.
But we must not wait until the tribulation comes before starting.
The fruit of the Spirit should be the dominant force of every Christian's life.

"Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him", (Job 13:15)

2013 CHINESE NEW YEAR

Family reunion during CNY eve is a tradition in chinese families and as parents, we think this is a great tradition and need to intentionally keep it going.  This is getting more difficult for many families as children settled off in different places.  Expenses for travel and time off to be back home has to be budgeted and planned ahead to make it happen.  We are glad so far our children have been able to make it this far.  Though I find preparation for CNY getting more challenging with age, I seem to look more forward to it as family togetherness is getting more and more difficult.

Here are pictures to hold and treasure these memories....

Sheerah and Joanna arrived home few days earlier to help out in the preparation....mostly cleaning work.  Extra hands and energy is sure a great help for aging parents :) So grateful for their effort.

CNY is a time of looking forward to seeing our children arriving home.

CNY EVE - 9 FEB (Sat)
After dinner, we had a time of fire crackers.

Joanna bought some crafting materials.  Tiffany and Ivan were trying to do the craft and Joanna had to guide them in the making...hahaha...following the tutorial guide online.  They were some kind of Japanese stuff and edible too.  We tried not because they tasted good but because they were edible.

Then we waited for the fireworks to start in our neighborhood, which usually started around 15min to 12midnight.

We could easily watch and enjoy the brightened up sky of fireworks from our balcony.

Every year, it is our usual pattern on Day 1 of CNY when we go visiting as a family.   PoPo's house should be the first one where we gathered to have our breakfast before going off visiting relatives and close friends together.  We managed to visit only a few.


















Then we would take some family shots together.

Teo got to attend a reunion dinner with his class/school mates in Kuching on the 4th day of CNY.  I joined him two days later when Marcus n Chris went back to KL.  Sheerah extended her stay to accompany PoPo till we got back from Kuching.

A couple friends joined us for a short vacation in Kuching.  We had a time of  more shopping than visiting though :)  Well, it was a good reunion with Kuching relatives anyway...havent been there for 3 years.

We came home to a nice surprise....our wall decorated with cards and family pics, with our latest family pic right at the top center, designed by Sheerah.   I love it!

It was a lot of eating since CNY eve, which lasted over several weekends after, as we gathered to have dinner at different friends' houses.  So I gathered weight along with all the dinners....and now life is back to a quiet mode...time to cut off the extra weight gained.

The best thing is yet to come.....

MY 2013 CHINESE NEW YEAR MENU

This is a late late blogging...but anyway better late than never.

2013 started off great.  I got to clean and wash and rearrange things in my kitchen and enjoyed cooking few things to freeze up for the Chinese New Year period.  We have two fridges but both freezer compartments were fully packed.  I had forgotten that my hubby had bought so much dabai (local olive) to store up for consumption when our children get back home, especially for Chris, our daughter in law.  So I had a challenging time sorting out space for my cooked food.

Since last year I notice the strong smell in pork that I hesitate to make any CHILLED PIG LEG.  However, towards CNY I still decided to try buying from a different source and make one.

It turned out to be ok.  You can refer to my previous posting for details.

Then I got a recipe online and cook a BLACK VINEGAR PIG TROTTER.  Here is the link... or copy and paste this to your browser...http://annieliciousfood.blogspot.com/2012/10/mdm-chais-pig-trotter-in-vinegar-with.html

And I tried Niko's Kitchen recipe....CHINESE PORK BELLY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03nnQbz3yJ0

And of course CHICKEN FEET is not to be missed.

Then there was the PICKLE GINGER and NGO HIANG (I used pork paste instead of fish paste to mix in with the ingredients). 

I also tried a recipe of chicken rolls but it didnt turn out nice.

There was the TOM YAM FISH which I forgot about taking pics.  I used TEAN'S Tom Yam paste and it is nice.  I will post up details next round of my cooking :) 

There is the PIG STOMACH cooked by Sheerah.  I tried to post up short video clips during dinner but they seem to take too long to upload.

As parents, we get to enjoy our children's thoughtfulness as they are grown ups and having their own earnings.  They would come back with gifts for us and our close family friends.  

This year's gift packs of bak gua :) 

The coffee beans are for me of course...love them lots.

Hope you all have had a HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!  We did :)

2012 n 2013 BIRTHDAYS

Looking back to 2012 to see what I had made for birthdays.

JAN
Piggie banks for Joanna and Chirstina.  It was a belated celebration when they came back for the Chinese New Year.

MARCH 20
I made Sheerah a tissue holder.

APRIL 25
A Bus coin bank for Isaac...my 5 year old friend in JB.

NOV n DEC
ChiHuaHua; Spaniel and Dachshund (back row from the left)...for my buddies....again they were belated :)

Here comes 2013.....
JAN 23
I made Joanna one of the Power Puff girls - Bubbles - Joanna's favorite.  I show her this pic on her fb on her birthday but she will get the actual thing when she comes back for the CNY.

Here are some close ups for more details.  The hair is made separately and attached on.  I crochet on the   back loop to have the lines effect.

JAN 30
I made a beagle for Christina....

...and a bulldog for Marcus as a belated birthday gift.  His falls on Dec 8.






















MARCH 20
This arrived in time for Sheerah's bday :)  Things that she likes for her scrapbooking.  Thanks to her good buddy, Marlene, who helped me to package this.

HEAD HUGGERS

A friend had a surgery last month and the cut was right behind her ear that she had to have her hair cut to a very short length.  I made her a head hugger to ease her off the trouble of having to work on a scarf to cover her very short white hair.

I search online and found quite a number of nice and easy to make hats.  I chose to make this one which I can slip a scarf around it and I like the result.  She looks good in it too.  Here is the pic taken when she wore it to church the next day.  Click here for this free pattern.

This is the first lady hat I ever made and I like it very much so I got to make another one.  I had my hair trim very short last month, planning to let my gray hair show and stop dyeing my hair.  Joanna was with me during the hair cut and she thinks I look ok.

So I meant to make this brownie hat for myself but my hubby is not used to my look with a hat on....haha...I think I look ok though.  So, am I going to wear this hat...my new cny look for 2013?  

This hat pattern doesnt come with the flower and the rope round it.  I made the flower from STITCH OF LOVE's pattern and added an edge of sc to it.  Then I crochet a rope of chains and slip stitches with two wooden beads to both ends and string it through the hat.  The flower is attached to a hair clip so it is detachable.