30

MAY

Shades of Autumn

posted on Saturday, 2009

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build

Ecclesiastes 3 : 1 to 3

 

The concept of having four seasons in a year is still a novel one to us… and spring and autumn remain our favourite seasons of the year. Increasingly though, summer is becoming a hot (pun intended) favourite as well.

 

I used to think of spring and autumn as being very similar. Nice and mild weather, similar temperature range… not overly hot or cold, and with enough daylight for us to go places after work.

 

Subconsciously though, I can sense a difference between the two.

 

I asked Allan if he felt the same way about spring and autumn. And he described the difference with spring having a “nip and freshness in the air… more pollen…”

 

Yeah, that’s exactly it! Spring is when nature seems to have revived from its long sleep in winter. Plants awake to a new year and the regenerative process kicks in (humans on the other hand get knocked down with hay fever from the circling pollens).

Autumn on the other hand has a melancholic and pensive feel to it. It’s romantic though, toning down from the hyper summery days… less of the harsh sun and more of the warm tones in the vegetation and fashion shades (somehow earthy orange and browns, and royal purple seem to be the perpetual favourite autumn colours). Got this colour chart from a website [http://www.beauty-and-the-bath.com/Warm-Autumn-Color-and-Skin-Tone.html] and it really captures the autumn colours beautifully:

 

 

I have never thought of autumn as a month when the landscape starts its dying process. That doesn’t sound very romantic, does it?! I love the colour of autumn leaves of maple trees especially. However, the absence/reduction of green in the leaves actually means that the tree is shutting down its food production process for the winter ahead. As workers would know in these tough economic times, having a company/factory/plant shutdown just isn’t great news.

 

God’s design for this earth is just so unfathomable for the limited human mind. Did a bit of research on why leaves change colour… it’s quite an interesting read if you’ll like to know more:
http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/leaves.html
http://www.wchstv.com/newsroom/wx/fallcolorfaq.shtml

 

In a very short frame of time, those beautiful yellows, reds and oranges will fall off to the ground as withered brown leaves… Then they will become unrecognisable as compost which has no form or beauty to be admired.

 

God’s intricate design does not end with definitive death… the dead compost fertilises and prepares the ground for spring when life is refreshed and renewed again!

 

Jesus replied, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth,

unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed.

But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it,

while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

John 12:23-25

 

Consider God’s design for our destiny… we were all headed for eternal destruction but God sent His only begotten Son to die for our sins so that we can have eternal life.

Now that we have eternal life, it isn’t only spring time for the rest of our lives. We need to constantly go through the autumn of dying to self so that our lives can be the nutrients for the others around, the nourishing testimony that will bring about repentance and regeneration for the souls who are languishing in winter…

 

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me,

he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it,

but whoever loses his life for me will find it.

What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world,

yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels,

and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.

Matthew 16:24 to 27

 

To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you,

leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

"He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth."

When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate;

when he suffered, he made no threats.

Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree,

so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness;

by his wounds you have been healed.

1 Peter 2 : 21 to 24

 

And as for us, why do we endanger ourselves every hour? I die every day—I mean that,

brothers—just as surely as I glory over you in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I Corinthians 15 : 30 to 31

 

The end of May will also see the time stamp for the end of autumn. I wish I have Leslie’s eye for the aesthetics, his talent of framing a picture and skills in photography… but with my camera phone and limited abilities, I have captured the last bit of autumn colours around campus:

 

 

 

 

16

MAY

Watay

posted on Saturday, 2009

It’s getting colder now that we are in the midst of autumn. Unlike the other states in Australia, we are still enjoying beautiful temperatures of between 10 to 29 degrees, with not a drop of rain (which is a problem for the agricultural sector and dam water levels but perfect for the laundry).

 

We find it odd that Aussies love having barbecues in hot and sweltering summer… with aggressive flies attacking the food at will. Barbecues are commonly referred to as the “barbie”… not the doll but a very bloke thing (which conjures up the image of a strong and tough man).

 

The Chinese would have their steamboats or hotpots… the Japanese have their nabe’s in the colder months… um, let’s include blasting air-con environments as well in Singapore’s context. But the Aussies just seem to hold barbie’s in the hottest time of the year.

 

Another cultural difference is BYO. Oh, nothing to do with the wine culture but the meat for the barbie! For years, we wrongly thought of our neighbours as being less than hospitable. They had so kindly invited us to join them in a barbie… and as typical Singaporeans, we brought over a big pot of fried rice cooked by my mother-in-law.

 

When we saw the small portions of beef and sausages laid out by the hosts, the questions inevitably popped up in our minds. On hindsight, they also seemed stunned that we brought “nothing” but a big pot of fried rice. Anyway, nobody raised any issues… they shared with us the beef and sausages (which we conservatively took a bit) and ate more of the fried rice.

At the end of the barbie, the pot of fried rice was left with the hosts as they said it was nice and asked if they could have the (very abundant) balance. And we sneaked out quietly into the night and brought back pizza in a covert operation.

 

We were invited to another barbie when we returned to Perth in 2007. We were told to bring our own meat.

Um, how much exactly to bring?

 

Just enough for yourselves.

 

Mystified, we bought more meat just in case… There is a shop run by a Singaporean who makes good satay, and we bought quite a fair quantity of satay and some marinated meat to bring along to the barbie.

It was an eye opener. People BYO-ed their own dinner of beef steak and sausages. The men got up and cooked the food and served it to their wives. The hosts provided the venue, the barbecue set, salads and desserts. Well, we ended up eating our own satay as the main and only course … and also shared with the others the ultimate Singapore version of the barbecue.

 

Finally we got it… the barbie in the Australian culture.

 

It has its merits of course… a nice dinner gathering of friends… no stress on the hosts… no stress on the guests… bring what you like to eat, throw and cook it on the fire and then fellowship.

Well, the culture of sharing is not entirely absent here. Our home group was invited to a British couple’s barbecue and they provided all the food… just need to bring yourselves. We were invited to our church Asian friends’ family barbecue and we checked first if we need to BYO. No need lah, that’s the Aussie way!

 

As the days start to shorten and the temperatures continue to drop with the advent of autumn, Allan decided that he needed to heed the call of nature and discover the Captain Caveman in him. He wanted to have his own barbecue. After checking out the prices of the barbecue sets, Captain Caveman finally settled on the disposable charcoal thingy (example shown below) for trial…

 

  

 

Check out the made in Western Australian satay…  or the WAtay:

 

 

We shared some of it with our very kind Italian neighbours opposite the road and the family enjoyed it immensely… which made the “watay” so much tastier.

 

It’s all about sharing… whether satay or watay…

 

Tell them to go after God, who piles on all the riches we could ever manage—

to do good, to be rich in helping others, to be extravagantly generous.

1 Timothy 6:18 (The Message Bible)

09

MAY

Confessions of an Addict #7

posted on Saturday, 2009

I am back on familiar territory… food!

 

Food Glorious Food!
Anyone needs an extra cast member for Oliver? I promise to sing that line with great gusto!

 

Unlike our experience in 2002, we have now built up quite a sizeable menu of places to eat in Perth.

 

No longer deterred by distance, we can drive just about anywhere to try good food in the middle of nowhere.

 

 

 

My Singaporean friends here have been instrumental in showing their department what really good Asian food is like… no less by tah-baoing nice lunches from different shops. One of their Aussie colleagues was almost indignant that so many places served up such “counterfeits”.

 

Oh, there are indeed many of these short-cut Asian establishments, especially for those stalls selling buffet-style combo rice. They think that as long as there is sweet-and-sour something, stir-fried something, deep-fried something… something familiar and not too exotic… there will be takers. And indeed, business seems brisk for them!

 

But, I think it is an insult to think that Aussies can’t appreciate Asian food in its most authentic state! There are so many who enjoy a good curry dish or shiok satay or oishii Japanese. Give them the real stuff!

 

So many of us never seem to be able to find deep satisfaction in life… Could we have tried to fill the void with counterfeits rather than the One who is able to satisfy?

 

for He satisfies the thirsty

and fills the hungry with good things.

Psalm 107:9

 

Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life.

He who comes to me will never go hungry,

and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.

John 6:35