Love ME for who I am

When I was single, I’ve always longed for the man who would love me for who I am. No need for beautiful appearances, no need for make up or nice clothes- but just to be loved for who I am. That I will not need to pretend to be who I am not, or change to be someone whom I will never be- he will love and accept all of me- the way I am.

This love I found for many years- only in God, and to some extent my family. It is elusive and unthinkable that another would love me so unconditionally, of his own free will and choose to love me for who I am. I believe that this desire to be loved for who I am lies deep in every soul. Even God. Is it that unthinkable to think that God desires to be loved & worshipped for who He is?

The difference between God and me, is that He is not whiny, attention seeking, “look at me”. He is not flawed, ugly inside out nor selfish. He does not need others to affirm His worth. He is who He is.
The Creator King whose wisdom is beyond measure, the Humble Servant whose heart is beautiful beyond description, the all encompassing Great I AM whose glory knows no bounds nor end, the Faithful Lover who holds on to the very end. He is the only One who deserves to be worshipped for who He is. And He desires to be loved for who He is.

Satan mocked God that there is no one on earth who loved and worshipped Him for who He is- not beyond the good gifts that He gave. What was at stake is not just a little bet- but the entire weight of the glory of God. Satan was saying to God “No one could love You for who You are, God. Do you think anyone truly worships you for You are? They only want Your gifts!” That is why He allowed Satan to test Job- to take away his family, his riches, his health. If Job would still stand and worship Him even in the depths of his sufferings.

Job cried and wailed and lamented in deep anguish. He did not understand, he was pained to think that the God whom he knew to be in control of everything, would do these things to him. But not once in midst of his affliction, Job spoke against God. He lamented and suffered the sacred sorrow till God spoke to him out of the storm. But God gave him no answers. Neither did God told him why these things happened. He just showed Job who He is- and Job repented.

"I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. You asked, 'Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?' Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. "You said, 'Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer me.' My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes."

Father, You are God. I want to love You for who You are, help me please. Beyond the good things You can give, more than Your goodness. I can count the many ways how deserving You are to be loved and worshipped for who You are. But beyond Your beauty, let me love You, simply because You are You.
Lord, You are God and i am not. When things go wrong, keep me close and let me not sin against You. When I do not have the answers, help me trust in You. When the whole world crashes and “You cannot be found”, let me remain in You. When I forget people in my old age, let me not forget my precious Lord and Savior.
Help Your bride to love You, God. To fall in love with You daily, to pursue You passionately. You are God and I want to love You for who You are.

Bangkok Pics

Emma

I fell in love with this old movie recently (thanks to Arthur and Mom) - and found one of my favorite movie character. Emma. This show definitely goes up there with my You’ve got mail and While you were sleeping.

On many fronts, this dear little miss busy-body and match-maker wannabe is so like me. Watching the screenplay of her endeavor to find her good friend Harriet a worthy match, is like holding up a mirror before my own silly dreams of hooking up beloved friends. An alarm bell to not be a silly cupid, especially since I have my prejudices & short-sightedness that can well lead to bad judgment.

I like Emma Woodhouse better than Elizabeth Bennet (from Pride and Prejudice) – she’s a lot chirpier, flightier, and more fun. Hooray for blondes! BUT My Mr Darcy is still un-trumpable. Wahaha..
Mr Knightly’s pretty charming too, but unfortunately, I feel that his character is not too well developed, one of the ills of Jane Austen’s heroine-centric novels. Nevertheless, the chivalrous males from Jane’s novels work their charms on your through the show so subtly.. such that by the end of the movie, you’d wanna go back to the beginning to get to know them all over again.

So here’s sharing some of my fave quotes from the movie.

The most beautiful thing in the world is a match well made.
~ The Christian in me can rise to refute this statement and reduce it to ashes.. But let’s go easy and not dash the dreams of sweet Emma’s matchmaking efforts.

Your entire personality is a riddle, I thought you overqualified.
~ I love this line… Smart and witty.

It left us speechless, quite speechless, and we have not stopped talking of it since! ~ Another one that cracked Arthur up big time.

Maybe it is our imperfections which make us so perfect for one another.
~ Pretty cliché sounding, but I guess many couples can identify with this one. Still pretty tacky I must say.

Badly done Emma! Badly done.
~ Mr Knightly reprimanded Emma for her unkind remark to a socially awkward friend, and broke my heart.

Emma: I have given them charity, but not kindness, a virtue which some friends may doubt I still have.
Mr Knightly: The truest friend does not doubt, but hope.
~ One of my favorite exchanges between them, very thoughtful and good soup for the soul. Addressing character flaws of the protagonist, gains Emma one up above other just-about-romance romantic comedies.

Dear Lord, if he cannot share a life with me is it wrong to ask that he not share it with anyone? That we go on as we go on now, him stopping by at any hour, always the brightest part of our lives, a natural and easy member of the family. i would be content if he would just stay single Lord, that's it, if he would just stay single that would be enough for me to be perfectly satisfieed...Almost...Amen.
~ Emma’s diary when this little girl finally realized that she has fallen for her friend… Cutely vicious.. hahaha. Beware men for not returning a girl’s affections :p

I watched the movie 3 times in a single day. But if you wanna watch it ever, ask me to watch it with you, please!!!!!

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On a side note, will be away for the weekend to Bangkok with Arthur. So this space will be a little quiet for a while!

Bride means cook

As I learnt during my bridal shower, “bride” in old English means cook. So how has this newly married fulfilled her “cooking responsibilities” so far?
Taking stock of the days and months, it’s surprising that it’s been only close to 3 months. But my sister would probably say that I’ve cooked more in these 3 months than the last 3 years. Hahhaha…

So just a quick run-down of my cooking excursions so far (sorry no pictures!)-

Prawn Paste chicken wings – baked! Wings lovers may turn their nose on this, but I’m telling you chicken wings can be baked to crisp perfection when you have a master baker (me! :p )- and with sufficient time to allow the wings to soak in the marinade, you don feel that you’ll be missing out much on the unhealthy batter. I’m slowly getting there, it’s a skill to know when to turn up the heat, when to flip each wing over, how golden brown should the perfect wing be. *smackin licious!*

Buffalo wings – Likewise, baked to golden perfection- it’s the healthier cousin of what they serve in Hooters. I’ve made it twice, and am still perfecting the sauce. It’s getting better I think, but I’ve gotta go out there to eat more of these before I can decide how I best like my Buffalo wings to taste.

Chocolate cupcakes with fudge center – It turned out pretty well actually, and honestly I think cupcakes are a lot easier to make and serve than a huge cake in a big cake tin. It was a pleasant surprise to see the cupcakes shrink from the sides of the metal tin tray so nicely- don have to worry about getting the cake out of the cake tin and not breaking it.
And these lovely little things are easy to make a hole in to pour the fudge in. It was a simple experiment, that I think I’m gonna be more adventurous with. Raspberry sauce, hot fudge, white chocolate sauce seeping out of a warm moist chocolate cupcake- anyone?

Burritos – It’s one of Arthur’s favorite foods, and Taco Bell in Singapore is expensive and sucks in his opinion. So I have to try my hands at making this Mexican dish for my darling. Its pretty easy honestly- hamburger (or what we would call mince) browned with taco seasoning, wrapped in a warm tortilla skin with refried beans, shredded cheddar, lettuce, tomato, and top it up with some salsa- there you have it! Serve it with some tortilla chips, and it’s an authentic Mexican home-cooked meal.

Shabu Shabu @ home – I love Shabu Shabu. Between 7 to 12, we used to have it almost every Sunday at our favorite Japanese restaurant in Tanglin Shopping Centre, at a very affordable price. Ever since it closed down and broke our hearts, the alternatives were grotesquely expensive. So having been starved of Shabu Shabu for so long, have decided to make this Japanese hot pot at home.
The soup is easy- boil it with the thick Japanese seaweed, and you’ll have a nice clear broth. It’s about the ingredients and sauces really- don save on these! Get good cuts of shabu shabu beef, lots of nice golden mushrooms, big white cabbage, the special sauce for dipping the veggies in and the sesame based sauce for the meats. What I need to remember to hunt for next round are the thick Japanese noodles. Any suggestions where?

Tommorrow, will be trying my hands at Thai Pineapple rice and Kai Yang chicken tomorrow. Have made the former many times, so it’s the Kai Yang chicken that’s making me a little excited. Hope it turns out well!!