"Why Nag God?" [Dr. Paul Nyquist at Harvest Bible Chapel]

It was again a great Sunday of worship and digging in God's word last August 28 at Harvest Bible Chapel.

The speaker was Dr. Paul Nyquist, President of Moody Bible Institute Chicago.More than being an eloquent speaker, he delivered a heart-stabbing message on PRAYER and posed the question, "Why should we nag God? and "Why should we be persistent in our prayers?"

References were Luke 18:1-8 and Luke 11:5-10.

Luke 18:1-8 tells us how Jesus used the Parable of the Persistent Widow to show the disciples that they should always pray and not give up.  Let me share what The Quest Bible says "Jesus wants our faith to remain strong no matter how our prayers are answered.  He wants us to trust God even when things don't go the way we want.  We can stop praying for something specific if God somehow indicates His answer is no, which may open an opportunity for something else."

Luke 11:5-10 is another passage that talks about prayer similar to Matthew 7:7-11.

Luke 11:9-10 tells us:  "Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock, and the door will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, he who seeks finds, annd to him who knocks, the door will be opened."

Be PERSISTENT in praying.

We CANNOT QUIT!

Dr. Nyquist reminds us that God is omniscient (all knowing) and omnipotent (all powerful) and He delights in giving the needs of His children.   We should be steadfast.

Furthermore, he told us that God doesn't grant prayers at once because the petitioner is not in a fit state to accept what he asks for.  Perhaps it may be due to any or all of the following reasons: 

1.  We are praying but it doesn't move us.

2.  We are praying with wrong and selfish motives.  Praying over a long time purifies us.

3.  If God hears our prayer, will we be willing to pay the price?

Let us be shamelessly persistent in our prayers and keep storming the doors of heaven.

Prayer keeps us in constant communication with God. 

 It's an easy excuse that we are busy with our daily work and internet life to spend a few minutes of our time in silence and prayer. 

I am not perfect.  I am a sinner saved by God's grace and by the prayer of many, especially my mother.

Take time to PRAY.

Blessings to you, my friend!

Saturday blues

I miss my home in Manila especially during weekends when we go to the wet market.

I miss seeing the bright colored flowers and the beautiful flower arrangements that they make for our church.

 I miss seeing the various fruits in season neatly lined up in the stalls. 

Here are starfruit, oranges and Philippine mangoes.

I miss eating locally grown bananas that are sweeter and yummier than the ones abroad.

 I miss the scent and taste of sweet pineapple and sour green mangoes.

 I miss buying "kakanin" or sweets such as glutinous rice.

 I miss going home and pairing the glutinous rice or "suman" with sweet mangoes and hot tsokolate (local chocolate in tablet form)

And finally, I miss the vendor going around the neighborhood in their bicycle shouting and selling "taho" or soybean with caramelized sugar and tapioca.

Oh, such fond memories of being in my hometown.

For the meantime, it's cereals, fruit and yogurt for breakfast.

Happy weekend!  Blessings!

Anti-aging Diet

Most people look forward to the weekend so they could rest, spend time in church fellowship, hang out with family and friends, finish their long overdue DIY projects, or just eat and eat. 

There are many diets that claim to be beneficial one way or the other. 

Today's blogpost will feature some anti-aging diets... you'll know why later.

Wildberry Cafe's Fresca omelette and Garden skillet

I enjoy the weekend because it's the time for me to be with my family especially my husband.  On Saturday, we had breakfast at Wildberry Cafe.  We got there at 8am which was good because we were seated right away and at the same booth where we were the first time.  Oh, we had a heavy breakfast and although our orders had no meat in them, they were rich and very delicious, as always.  By the time we finished our meal, the place was packed with many people still waiting in line.

Later that day, we had visitors at my in-laws place where we had more food.  There was no special occasion to celebrate - just bonding with family and friends.  We had "lechon pata" or roasted pork thigh.  This was no ordinary roasting - it took 5 hours to cook and crisp the skin.  Ohhhh... it was absolutely delicious and definitely part of the anti-aging diet such that you might not reach full life potential!  But then again... eating a little won't hurt.

Lechon pata, bagoong, and pancit

And then, we had more anti-aging food... FOR REAL.

Have you tried eating Kale or Whole Foods' raw kale salad?  It was my first time to try and I must say that I loved it.  Kale belongs to the family of collard greens and they are absolutely packed with nutrients, cholesterol lowering properties, etc.  I've always thought that kale was tough to eat and difficult to prepare but the WF raw kale salad was wonderful - it had tomatoes, cranberries, pine nuts,  and a EVOO-lemon dressing.  They have a kale salad recipe on their website that I will try soon.

Have a great and healthy week!

Pinoy Movies

I enjoy watching movies, even Asian action or epic movies whose language I do not understand.  

I think I have grown accustomed to reading subtitles especially after being hooked to watching Korean dramas like probably some of you are.

Recently, a friend of mine lent me 3 original dvd's of Filipino movies: 

"Ang Tanging Ina Mo part 3" starring Ai-ai de las Alas and many others, is a comedy film of the adventures of a mother with 12 children.  I haven't seen the first 2 but they say those were big hits.  

"In Your Eyes" starring Claudine Baretto, Anne Curtis and Richard Gutierrez.  From the dvd's cover, you would surmise that it would be heavy drama.  It was a story of 2 sisters whose relationship were tried and tested when they both fell in love with one man. 

And finally, "Catch me I'm in love", a comedy love story starring Sarah Gernimo and Gerald Anderson.  I was able to watch it with my husband and brother in law.  We are all Filipinos but since they grew up in the USA and were more fluent in the Ilonggo dialect than Tagalog, they couldn't catch up with most of the dialogues.  So, they turned the subtitles on. 

It was amusing to hear the dialogue in Tagalog and read the subtitles in English.  I would have to give credit to the translators for the accurate translation, grammar, composition and spelling. 

There were a lot of bursts of laughter while watching the movie. 

Oh... it make me miss being in the Philippines more. 

We have a lot of talented artists in the Philippines and our movies have been acknowledged abroad, some have even won awards. 

Tangkilikin ang sariling atin 

(Patronize our own)

What's for lunch?

My lunch today was:  1/2 cup white rice, salad (spinach, tomatoes, slivered almonds, feta cheese with walnut vinagrette dressing) and a slice of pan fried, lightly salted milkfish.  It was simple but "satisfyingly delicious" and packed with nutrients.

No Filipino meal is complete without rice.  I didn't have brown rice (which is much healthier) available at this time.

Spinach is "rich in vitamins and minerals and is also concentrated in health-promoting phytonutrients such as carotenoids and flavonoids to provide you with powerful antioxidant protection."  Read more on World's Healthiest Foods' website.

Tomatoes are rich in lycopene which has been found to have anti-cancer properties and is rich in potassium, vitamin B6, nicain (aids in lowering high cholesterol levels) and folate. 

MIlkfish or Chanos chanos (Forsskal) is locally known as "bangus" or "bangos" in the Philippines and is the predominant species being cultured in the Philippines.  More info HERE.  I love eating bangus especially when it is pan fried - ahhhh, it brings so many wonderful memories of being in the Philippines.  After 8 weeks of being in another country, I am getting homesick.

It is my desire to continue eating healthy and I hope I inspire you to do the same.

Cheers to good health! 

Stuffed green bell peppers

I love eating bell peppers!  It's very rich in vitamins, sulfur and minerals.  Google it or check out the website of World's Healthiest Foods to read more.

I'm sharing with you a recipe from my mother in law:  Stuffed green bell peppers. 

Ingredients:

     green bell pepper, sliced in half

     ground beef

     garlic, white onions

     tomato sauce

     salt and pepper to taste

Slice green bell pepper in half and remove the seeds.

Mince garlic and chop the white onions - add it to the meat and mix. 

Season the mixture with salt and pepper.

Place the peppers in a baking dish.

Stuff peppers with the ground beef and top with tomato sauce. 

Add water to the pan and bake at 375C for 45 minutes or until the beef is fully cooked.

ENJOY!