Simple Sunday Snack: Cherry Tomatoes on Baguettes

Nothing beats fresh ingredients in home-cooked meals. It has always been my dream to own and manage a huge garden or an orchard where I could pick, eat, and cook various fruits, vegetables, and herbs anytime. In the future, God-willing, I’ll get to experience that. But for now, I am very much pleased with my baby plants in our veranda. By God’s grace, I harvested my first batch of red cherry tomatoes and made an easy, cheesy snack at home.

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While I was removing the tomatoes from the plant, I started reminiscing about its younger days. It was just a beautiful experience to see that one, tiny seed grow into a leafy and fruitful plant. When I was in gradeschool, I remember collecting fruits on the ground that fell from the trees and I was happy even in those simple moments. I guess I’ve always admired the beauty of seeing fruits, vegetables, flowers, and herbs grow in trees and plants.

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And now that God has given me the privilege of growing my own plants and vegetables, I am reminded even more of how amazing God is as our Creator. He is able to make seeds grow and bear fruit! The remarkable thing about it too is that even when I wasn’t able to regularly water and fertilize our plants at home, God still made a way for them to get their needs (e.g. through rain; my mom who sometimes watered the plants too).

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Seeing his grace in the growth of the plants encourages me to trust in His faithfulness. If He can easily provide for the plant’s needs, make it grow and bear fruit, how much more can He graciously work in the hearts and lives of His children?

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Philippians 1:6 says: “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

Thank You, Lord, for the simple joys of knowing you more through nature. :)

 

RECIPE

Ingredients:

  • Ripe tomatoes
  • Spices: Salt, Pepper, Dried herbs (oregano, rosemary, basil, sage, etc.)
  • Mozzarella cheese
  • Baguettes (I got mine from Le Coeur de France)
  • olive oil
  • Fresh Basil leaves

 

Steps:

1. Slice the tomatoes.

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2. Add a dash of salt and pepper and sprinkle some of the dried herbs. Drizzle olive oil on it and mix.

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3. Cook the spiced tomatoes in a small pan, until soft.

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4. Place the tomatoes on sliced baguettes and add shredded Mozzarella cheese.

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5. Toast them for 2-3 minutes.

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6. Sprinkle chopped fresh basil leaves on the baguettes.

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Mom’s fresh basil

7. Enjoy white it’s still hot, crunchy, and cheesy.

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I served it with Sbarro’s baked ziti with Meatball. :)

 

Encourage yourself one treat at a time. :)

THURSDAY TUNE #19: Come However You Are

I was looking for new songs last week when I found this amazing tune. When I first heard the verse, I instantly knew that it would be one of those songs that I could listen to all day long. It was unique, refreshing and encouraging because it talked about how we can freely open up our hearts and go to God anytime, in spite of our past or of the troubles and pain we’re going through at the moment. Plus, it had a beautiful, chill tune.

I then remembered what Ptr. Peter Tan-Chi said in one of our church services years ago: “Whatever you have done in the past, you cannot change. But starting today, you can tell God:  “Lord, thanks for loving me just the same.” :)

May this song encourage us all to know God more as we draw closer to Him each day. Thank You, Lord, for constantly reminding us of Your love for us.

From Google Images
From Google Images

“Come However You Are”

by City Harbor

To anyone walking down a hard road
Worn out with blisters on your feet
To anyone with a heart that’s shattered
Doing your best to hold it together
With no prayer to pray and no song left to sing

Whatever pain you’re dealing with
Let me offer this

Come however you are
Come with all your heart breaks
Come with all the mistakes you’ve made
Lay them down at the cross
Give them to the God who loves you
Hurt, scarred, falling apart
Come however you are

To the girl who never had a father
To the guy who thinks he’ll never amount to much of anything
To those of us who feel unwanted, unneeded, unloved, and desperately incomplete

Come however you are
Come with all your heart breaks
Come with all the mistakes you’ve made
Lay them down at the cross
Give them to the God who loves you
Hurt, scarred, falling apart
Come however you are

Come with your regrets
Come with the things you can’t change
Come with all your fears
With all your shame with everything
Come with the pieces of your bruised and broken heart
Don’t wait
Don’t wait

Whatever pain you’re dealing with
Let me offer this

Come however you are
Come with all your heart breaks
Come with all the mistakes you’ve made
Lay them down at the cross
Give them to the God who loves you
Hurt, scarred, falling apart
Come however you are

1 Peter 5:7 says “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” :)

Encourage yourself one tune at a time. :)

Growing Broccoli and Cherry Tomatoes

Eight months ago, Nick Vujicic shared God’s word and his testimony during the Unstoppable conference at our church. I will never forget that time because it was a humbling experience for me. Before he ended his talk, he challenged the participants to grow more in their walk with God. And by God’s grace, I took the challenge and surrendered my heart again to Jesus.

On our way home, God randomly encouraged me to plant an actual seed and make it grow. At that time, I realized that God was supporting my desire to grow in my walk with Him and He wanted me to constantly be reminded of it through gardening.

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And so, the next day, I bought a new pot, a bag of loose soil, broccoli seeds and I started planting my first vegetable. After watering the two seeds for 10 days, two tiny Broccoli leaves grew and I couldn’t believe my eyes! I loved it! Because I enjoyed the experience so much, I decided to buy another pot, another bag of soil, and a pack of cherry tomato seeds.

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The Broccoli Seed
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The Cherry Tomato Seed

 

I really thank God for the privilege of gardening. He has been gracious in keeping them alive and well since day one and I am always in awe of how He is able to create such beautiful things and make them grow and bear fruit.

I’d like to share with you some of the valuable lessons I’ve learned since I started planting the Broccoli and Cherry Tomato seeds:

FIRST: God makes things Grow in His Perfect Time.

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Baby Broccoli leaves

I read in various websites that we can harvest Broccoli and Cherry Tomatoes after two months. However, in my case, I was only able to harvest the tomatoes after seven and a half months and I’m still waiting for my broccoli plants to produce their heads.

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Young, fragile Broccoli plant

It might have been ‘discouraging’ for me to see them grow slowly, but through this, I am reminded by God that He is able to do more than we can ask or imagine. So, if He thinks it’s best for the tomatoes or broccoli to grow and bear fruit immediately, He can and will allow it to happen.

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Beautiful Broccoli leaves

 

In the same way, there are certain areas in my life where I feel like I’m not growing or progressing as fast as I want to. But, despite this, I am encouraged to trust that God knows best; that He is constantly at work in my life; and that He will allow me to grow into the woman that He wants me to be in His perfect time.

Ephesians 3:20 says: “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”

SECOND: Growth Requires Discipline and Perseverance.

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Baby Cherry Tomato plant

For the past eight months, I’ve done my best to regularly water the plants. However, I do remember instances (especially at night) when I would deliberately choose to ignore my responsibility and do other things like: sleeping or watching TV series or surfing the internet or sleeping (again). And sadly, when I don’t practice the discipline of watering the plants, giving them fertilizer, and taking out the weeds (which hinder their growth), I end up having unhealthy and unhappy plants.

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Top view of the Cherry Tomato plant

John Maxwell once said “If we’re growing, we’re always going to be out of our comfort zone.”

By God’s grace, He has been showing me the importance of discipline and perseverance not only in gardening, but also in my day-to-day activities. If I want to grow in my walk with God, then I must be willing to regularly spend time with Him in prayer and by reading/studying the Bible. I must also learn to constantly remove and let go of the things that hinder me from knowing and loving Him more. In the same way, if I want to grow in my workplace and ministry, I must be willing to go the extra mile and give my best even in the small tasks that I have.

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A Cherry Tomato flower

 

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My first Cherry Tomato

THIRD: Support from Others Help Sustain Growth

I noticed that the main stalk of the Cherry Tomato plant started to bend after five months. When I saw it, I panicked because I didn’t want it to snap! So, I tied a number of sticks to the stalk using some of our straw and thankfully, it stood still. Also, my mom willingly helped me maintain the support system and my brothers also helped me get rid of the weeds that were surrounding the plants.

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I realized that having a support system definitely encourages and sustains growth. Just like the main stalk, sooner or later, we might also ‘bend’ when we experience difficult situations.  But, when we keep ourselves closely accountable and open to others who willingly support and help us, we can actually learn and grow even more.

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My younger brother taking out the weeds.

1 Thessalonians 5:11
“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”

Special thanks to my parents and siblings, who cheerfully support and encourage me whenever I take care of the plants.

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I already harvested red cherry tomatoes yesterday and I might harvest more tomorrow. Thank you, Lord, for the wonderful experience of growing our own vegetables at home. But more than that, I thank You for constantly encouraging me to grow in my walk with You.

See you soon, Broccoli!! :)

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Encourage yourself one treat at a time.

Boyce Avenue Live in Manila 2013 [Concert + Meet & Greet]

A month ago, my officemate and I randomly talked about our favorite musicians. I mentioned to her that for the past year, my love for Boyce Avenue grew. Surprisingly, she told me that the band was going to have a concert in Manila on December 30, 2013. When I got home that day, I somehow felt a strong urge in me to pursue this desire of mine and watch the concert live!

L to R: Fabian, Me, Alejandro, another fan, Daniel, another fan, and my brother. :)
L to R: Fabian, Me, Alejandro, another fan, Daniel, another fan, and my brother. :)

After a number of days, one of the websites finally posted the photo below which contained the details on the ticket prices and seats for the show. When I saw the poster, two thoughts came to my mind: 1) “Wow! Those are expensive tickets.” And 2) “But they seldom visit the Philippines and it would really be great if I can watch them perform live! Maybe I can use some of the money I saved this year.”

My tweets last Dec. 2
My tweets last Dec. 2

I prayed and told God about my desire and by faith, I told my parents that even if I didn’t have a ticket yet, I will be attending the concert. Talk about dreaming big! :) The days after that were crazy for me because I wanted to get a really good seat, but at the same time, I wasn’t 100% sure on spending a huge amount of my savings for the concert. Also, although I did my best to find discounts and join giveaways, God didn’t allow me to get one or win online.

Poster I found online (thru www.boyceavenue.com)
Poster I found online (thru www.boyceavenue.com)

At that moment, the only solution that I had was to buy a ticket online as soon as possible since they were selling really fast. I tried to use my dad’s credit card to purchase that morning, but suddenly, I couldn’t because of a technical error in the website. I was getting desperate already, so I told my mom that I would go to the venue (Resorts World) after work to buy the ticket, since I couldn’t buy online. But interestingly, God had better plans for me. He had the best in store for me.

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Screen shot of the website while I was looking for a ticket last month.

After work, I received a text from my mom that one of our family friends might get a ticket with a big discount for me. She asked me not to go to the venue that night and wait for our friend’s update after an hour. I went home immediately and checked the available seats and saw that most of the good ones were already taken. I started to panic and tried to buy a seat online again.

Since my mom said that our friend wasn’t sure about the ticket yet, she thought that it might be a good idea to buy the ticket online too. We decided to wait for our friend’s update after an hour (as advised) before going online. After an hour and a half, we still didn’t have any updates from her, so I went online and selected the seat that I wanted to buy.

letting go

When I was about to confirm my reservation for the ticket, our family friend called my mom and said that she’s not yet sure about the location of the seats, but, she thinks that she could still get us two tickets for free! We couldn’t believe it! I couldn’t believe it. But at the same time, I started to get confused because I was already reserving a really good seat in the VIP area (first row, center) when I got the news. I was torn between being grateful for the free tickets (although they weren’t sure about the exact location) and wanting to buy “the best” seat in my opinion.

After praying about it, God encouraged me to let go of the seat I reserved in row A and thank Him for the two free tickets that our family friend had for us, even if the area of the seats was still unknown.  That day, I tweeted this to remind and encourage me: “You have to let go of what you think is best for you in order to experience His best for you. #notetoself #Godknowsbetter”

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Slowly but surely, by God’s grace, I found contentment in Him and showed my gratitude to Him for the free tickets. But at the same time, I still expressed the desires of my heart, as seen in the photo below:

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Looking back, I thank God He encouraged me to do so. We were only able to get the two tickets 30 minutes before the show and when we got them, I couldn’t believe my eyes! My brother and I received the two free VIP tickets (second row, center) from our family friend!

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I couldn’t stop saying “Oh my gosh” as my heart melted because it was unbelievable! As seen in the poster, one VIP ticket costs P8,400 and by God’s grace, we were able to get two! It was really crazy.

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Before the concert, I was able to confirm with the organizers that they weren’t selling Meet & Greet passes for this concert. So, a part of my heart got crushed that morning since I was really hoping to meet them. Nonetheless, I thanked God for the free tickets and said that if it is His will, He can easily allow me to meet the Manzano brothers in His perfect time.

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I really enjoyed the concert with my younger brother. It was definitely a breathtaking experience for me. Even though the set-up and atmosphere was very simple, Boyce Avenue rocked that night! The Manzano brothers were really amazing and it was a privilege to hear them sing and play live!

After the concert, my brother got a text from a family friend saying that she might be able to accommodate and give 1 or 2 Meet & Greet passes. Again, I couldn’t believe it! I immediately prayed to God and asked Him to give us that privilege if it is His will. After two minutes, our family friend came out of the backstage, met us, and instructed us to run with her down the stairs to meet the band outside their dressing room/lounge.

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Even though I was wearing my four-inch wedges, I ran like crazy and by God’s grace, my dream came true. We were able to meet and have a photo with Fabian, Alejandro, and Daniel Manzano! I was also able to get Alejandro Manzano’s autograph before they left.

 


I kept thanking God because I was experiencing His best for me. If I didn’t let go of the ticket I reserved in seat A, I would have spent P8,400 and wouldn’t have been able to get the two free tickets from our family friend. Just like what was mentioned in my tweet above, God definitely knows better and He’s encouraging me to trust in Him as I surrender my desires and decisions to Him. It’s amazing how he answered my prayer a month ago and graciously gave me and my brother the privilege of meeting the band after the concert.

“Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart.” – Psalm 37:4

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Alejandro Manzano’s autograh

My heart is still overwhelmed. Thank You, Lord, for being who You are. Words cannot express my gratitude. Thank you also to my mom (for patiently helping me), to my brother, Gabo, to our generous family friends and to Ovation Productions. May God bless your hearts more and more! :)

To my favorite band, Boyce Avenue, keep on making beautiful music! Your talent and awesome hearts inspire us. See you again soon! :)

Encourage yourself one treat at a time.

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About Me

My name is Nicole Obligacion and I started this blog because I was inspired by Hebrews 10:24 and Hebrews 3:13. I love to eat, cook, bake, read the Bible, and encourage. :)

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