Notes from the Food Pile

So I’ve been reading about the Isherwood-Bosi debacle and one of the people who commented on Isherwood’s blog said:

Just when did these cooks become important? The whole Michelin star/foodie/”celeb” thing is incestuous. As the man in the Guardian said, it’s just COOKING…for pity’s sake, not brain surgery or particle physics. Cooking. Heating up food to make it more palatable, in essence. Nowadays it seems that there is a tightly knit industry built up around more and more outlandish nonsense, foams, sous vide, etc….and it thrives on it’s own opinion of itself.

Why? Just… why? So mean! He basically criticized a whole industry and said, “Hey! What you’re doing is SOOOO simple! It’s nothing to be proud of.” -___- Of course chefs around the world pride themselves on their culinary expertise! It’s their life. Of course they’re affronted if some two-faced guy comes into their restaurant, chats them up, compliments them on their food, then goes behind their back and writes out a horrible review on a public forum. It’s the fact that the guy stabbed him in the back that made him angry, not that the guy made a bad review of his establishment. Horrible, really.

It’s true that Bosi basically damaged his reputation by posting statuses and tweets reflecting his rage regarding the blog, but the point is that people don’t seem to recognize that they’re both at fault and are just looking at Bosi like he’s the only bad guy.

Well, that’s what I think anyway. mmhmm

So I realized that I haven’t written something in quite a long while and I just found that strange because I used to write things down a lot. Well anyway, today I learned more about God’s plan and really trusting in Him.

Key learning: God does not CAUSE us to stumble or fall into sin but he allows it to happen.

There are a lot of times when we find ourselves in impossible situations or committing sinful acts and we somehow find a way to blame God for it. We ask, “Why would You allow something like that to happen to me, if You are truly all-powerful?” What we fail to remember is that everything God allows us to go through has a purpose. No matter how terrible it might seem, if we continue to walk with God despite what we might be going through, we will experience his peace, which reigns supreme over all the turmoil that has and will come our way.

I find myself particularly guilty of this. Despite the grace of God, despite how much love He has shown me, in spite of all of the things He has taught me, there are really those times when I question God’s reasons for allowing certain things to happen. I’m not proud of it. I know all the answers to this and yet, it still happens. I lose my peace and BAM! I just start questioning. However, I continually come to the same conclusion: FAITH. It is only through faith, belief, trust in God that I am assured that no matter what happens, I’ll be ok. AS LONG AS I WALK WITH GOD.

There are moments when I think that this condition is a huge deal, times when I think that I have to give up so much in order to follow God. In each and every one of those moment, however, I come to the conclusion that it’s all worth it. Whatever I have to give up or surrender to God, He gives back to me so much more! We must believe that we are important in God’s plan and that we are precious to Him. “And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28 So cling to God, even when you really don’t feel like it.

A couple of things to remember:

1. It’s a process. There are days when it will feel impossible, days that will just bring you down. Take it day by day and don’t beat yourself up if there are times when you fall back. Just keep your chin up, remember your commitment and try again. Chase after God. “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Galations 5:1
2. God lets these things happen to us because it will make us grow. If you look at the experiences that have gone your way, you recognize it in other people’s walks. You sympathize with the struggles of others and you can help them in what they’re going through. You become God’s spokesperson that yes, there is a way out of it, despite how impossible it might seem. The passion of personal experience will surely help in teaching and will greatly affect how people receive your sharing.
3. God knows that his allowing us to struggle will bring about a renewed thirst to seek Him diligently for healing and in that healing, we would come to know Him more.
4. God knows that glory would come to His name through the miracle of restoration and subsequent ministry. Again, God gives back soooo much, so much more than what we would have to surrender.

So yeah. :) Something God taught me today. I really praise God for a lot of the things He has been teaching me because it’s only by His grace that I know the things I do, that I think the way I do, and that I am the way I am. :)

This verse never fails to encourage me: “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”

I hope you all have a great day today. If you don’t, take heart! “God’s got you.” :)

Valentine’s day—the anticipation fills the air, it’s almost palpable. Chocolates, flowers, balloons, hearts and in-your-face PDA-ing couples all over the place, it’s easy to feel out of place and overcome with the blues if you’re single. It’s that particular day in the year that makes you feel like you just HAVE to find someone to celebrate it with or at least to show affection to. No matter how much people say, “Oh, I don’t really want to celebrate Valentine’s Day.”, somehow, they always find a way to show the object of their love some form of endearment, may it be romantic or platonic.

Truth is, the single day of the year devoted to the celebration of love taps into the very core of our humanity. It’s just one thing we can’t escape from. Somehow, everyone has loved, one way or another, no matter how cold they may seem, and this day, exploding with red hearts and cherubs knocking arrows with heart tips into bows, just extracts that desire to love out of us.

And yet, waking up this morning, single for the first Valentine’s day in my college life, I feel quite content. In fact, I feel quite filled. Doing my QT this morning, I was really convicted and assured of where I am. Being single doesn’t mean being alone or anything. It just means I have more time to enjoy my relationship with God. I am so happy that I am able to do just that—that I can grow without having to think too much about someone else. It’s liberating, really. For a long time, it’s always been about how someone else would feel and about how my decisions would impact someone else.

This is not to say that I’m throwing caution to the wind and not caring about anyone. I just mean that I don’t have that burden of having another entity’s heart reliant on me. I don’t have to think about how I’m largely responsible for how a certain person will turn out. I know I’m still responsible for people now, but not as much as in the case of the person and I being in an actual relationship.

I keep thinking that this is one big struggle in my life that I have to overcome, but on one side, I keep coming to the conclusion that I have been extremely blessed and fortunate to be where I am. There are really times when I wish that things could just go back to half a year ago. Seconds or minutes of certain days, but I would always find myself telling myself no. Such a wish is just so ungrateful, I think, considering all the blessings the Lord has showered upon me in that length of time. Despite all the hurt and disappointment that came my way, I honestly think that the joy still outweighs it. I really feel like it tipped the scales and is continuing to do so. With the friends alone, it would already tip the scales. I love my Jzone ladies and gents. They really are quite something. However, that’s not really it. God really put in His weight this time, and it’s really something.

Despite myself, I truly feel blessed to be where I am today.