Category: In the Kitchen

Getting Past Your Past

Before watching the movie, Les Miserables, I told myself that I wouldn’t cry even if a lot of people, who already watched it, did. However, halfway through the movie, I was already looking for tissue in my bag because the tears kept on rolling down my cheeks. Indeed, the story moved me and gave me a lot to think about. In fact, one of the things in the movie that struck me the most is this recurring theme: GRACE.

 

from mywholeheartedlife.blogspot.com

For the past months, I’ve been learning about God’s grace more frequently and it has always been a humbling lesson for me. I even remember God reminding me of grace when I recently made Calamari at home. :)

It all started when I was cleaning the large squids with running water. The first thing I did was to slowly pull out the “bag” of ink that was inside the squid’s body. However, after pulling the bag out, a lot of ink flowed down my hands, which made it more difficult to handle. But, with the help of running water, I was eventually able to clean and prepare them for the next steps.

I set the squids aside and further rinsed my ink-stained fingers. Then, I carefully peeled their outer skin and threw it in the garbage bin.  At that moment, I remember enjoying my large squids because they looked so clean! They were ready to be sliced and cooked. They were ready to be Calamari!

I began to slice one squid ring after another and before I knew it, I had a bunch of white, ink-free, slippery squid rings on the chopping board. God then took that opportunity to speak to me. The two, large squids that I had needed to be free from their own bags of ink, before they could become the Calamari that I desired them to be. And this wouldn’t be possible if I didn’t take the time to carefully rinse them with running water.

In the same way, God showed me what was in my heart and revealed to me certain things from my past (hurts, sin, discouragements from failures/mistakes, wrong sources of security/happiness, bitterness, etc.) –– my past “bags of ink”, that I was still carrying. God showed me how they were hindering me from becoming the best me that He desires me to be.

And I did agree with Him. I knew that my heart had (and still has) a lot of room for improvement, especially when it comes to letting go of my past hurts and mistakes and being able to surrender every thought, feeling, and decision to God.

It says in 1 John 1:9

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

It was encouraging because, at that time, He not only pointed out how I can improve more as His child, but He also comforted me with His faithfulness and grace in my life, in spite of who I am… and in spite of who I was.

Past of Jean Valjean in Les Miserables (From Google Images)

 

I think that being reminded of God’s grace is one of the major reasons why I cried when I watched the movie, Les Miserables. The movie showed how God’s grace changed the heart of a sinner and how this sinner extended that same grace to the people around him. If it were not for God’s grace, Jean Valjean (the main character in the movie) would not have been able to experience freedom from His past mistakes and hurts and experience being transformed into a better man for God.

Daughter of Jean Valjean in Les Miserables (From Google Images)

 

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” -2 Corinthians 12:8-9

Indeed, God’s grace is more than sufficient for us. No past is too dirty for God to forgive, cleanse, and renew.  And no life is too messed up for God to change and use for His glory. :)

 

What’s hindering us from getting past our past?

 

Encourage yourself one treat at a time. :)

Through the Eyes of the Chef

Earlier today, I treated myself with a Fillet Mignon from one of the restaurants in megamall. I actually planned on eating a steak this weekend because I wanted to satisfy my craving for juicy meat. Since my siblings had other plans after the church service and I didn’t, I decided to buy the steak and go home immediately.

While I was driving home, all I could think of was how good the steak would taste like. As soon as I could, I prepared my late lunch and took my first bite. After a few seconds of chewing on the juicy piece of meat, I thought to myself, “Umm.. Is it just me or is the flavor of the steak kind of… bland.” I ended up getting disappointed with the dish. It wasn’t what I expected. It wasn’t worth the money. It wasn’t good enough for me, even when I added more spices to it.

But, somehow, in spite of my ungrateful and proud heart, God took that moment to speak to me. Through Him, I realized that maybe the chef who prepared that dish had a special purpose for it. Maybe, he’s used to creating dishes with mild flavors. Or maybe, other customers would like mild-seasoned steaks more. I realized that I shouldn’t let my disappointments hinder me from having a grateful heart. I was having steak for lunch and that was something I can thank God for. :)

After eating, I spent the rest of the afternoon browsing through my old journals and I read my entries last January 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012 for a special reason. And it was interesting because when I went through my journal last January 12, 2012, I read a lesson that God taught me when I was dining in one of the restaurants in megamall. The funny thing about it was that the restaurant I mentioned in my journal last year was the same restaurant that I went to a while ago, when I bought the steak.

Photo taken last January 2012

I wrote:

“The moment I got in this restaurant, I noticed the messy, broken, seemingly undone and ugly brick walls around. While I was waiting for my drink, I thought about the walls and realized that the owner of the restaurant really designed and made the walls the way they are right now for a special purpose. Maybe, he wanted them to reflect the place where the restaurant originated from (with matching foreign music playing in the background)..

In spite of the chipped walls, hardened drippings of cement, and partial white painted walls, I somehow began to appreciate the walls when I look at them through a panoramic view. It’s like I’m actually in the country where this restaurant came from. :) Thank You, Lord, because in the same way, You are showing me that it’s so easy for me to look at myself and others and see only the “ugly” things in our lives. It’s so easy for me to dwell on thoughts and think of how I’ll never be good enough or never have enough in this life (similar to these walls.)

Photo taken last January 2012... with my mango shake. :P

But, just like how these walls were carefully made by the owner, I know that You have beautifully created us for a purpose and You’ve given deep thought to every detail in our lives. You remind me to continue looking at my life (and others’ lives) through Your eyes; through the “panoramic view” and see Your goodness and beauty. Definitely, You are more than enough for me, Jesus. Thank You for the encouragement. :)”

Psalm 139:13 “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

I couldn’t believe it. God somehow connected what I learned today to what He taught me last January 2012… concerning the same restaurant.

Indeed, even though I got disappointed with the Fillet Mignon I ordered today, I am encouraged to look at the dish through the eyes of the chef who made it and appreciate it for what it is. Maybe it is the chef’s specialty… or maybe it is not. :P Nonetheless, I thank God for the dish and for the privilege of learning through it. :)

That One Percent

While I was attending a women’s conference last December, God asked me to do something unusual. He encouraged me to give Him my ONE PERCENT. Now, it might sound amusing because most of the time, we would hear others say “You’ve got to give Him 100%.” Or “You’ve got to work 100% to achieve this and that.” But at that moment, He made that action step very clear to me and I’ll let you know why, in a while.

A few days ago, my mom asked me to cook sinigang na hipon using the leftover frozen, tamarind fruits that I had before. When I heard her instruction, I honestly thought to myself “What?? But, cooking sinigang from scratch is hard work. (You can see the detailed steps here: https://encouragingtreats.com/sinigang-na-hipon/) I still have other plans for the day and I don’t feel like spending a lot of time getting the tamarind puree for the soup.”

I told mom that it’s sort of a hassle for me to cook the sinigang from scratch, but I said that I would do it anyway. On our way to church, God spoke to me and showed me how lazy I was and how it has been affecting me and my decisions recently. He told me “Nic, you’re having that ONE PERCENT moment again.” I smiled and said “Oo nga noh, Lord.” He reminded me of a principle that He taught me a few weeks ago. A principle that helped change my heart. :)

It was the week before my birthday (Dec. 16) when I experienced a drought in my spiritual life. Yes, I did get to spend time with God, but somehow, I knew that I wasn’t always making God the center of my life and decisions. At the conference, we were given 30 minutes of quiet time and I took that moment to share to God how I was feeling and what I was going through.

I spent that time confessing to God how I haven’t been giving my 100% to Him in the different aspects of my life. I told Him that I felt like I was only giving Him 1% and that I only had 1% desire for Him. Also, I knew that He had already forgiven me, but because I only had 1%, I felt that it would be better if I just didn’t go near Him. I thought that I might just end up disappointing Him again.

A few minutes later, He led me to read John 3:16-21.

Verse 21 hit me, where it says: “But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.”

I realized that maybe one of the reasons why I had 1% desire for God at that time, was because I was “hanging out with” and loving darkness more. And by darkness, I mean the things that distracted me from spending more time with God and focusing on Him. (e.g. laziness, being physically tired/not being physically fit, social media, music, etc.)

But, God pointed out to me one of the most amazing truths in the Bible, which is found in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

from Google Images

Right then and there, God comforted me as I remembered what Jesus did for us and how He saved us from the penalty of our sins by dying on the cross. What He has already done for us matters more than what we do for Him.

During the last few minutes of my quiet time with God, I wrote this down on my journal:

“Thank You, Lord, for encouraging me to not give up and let go of that 1% desire that I have for You… even if it’s just 1%. I know that there would still be times when I would get distracted and be lazy to spend quality time with You, but You’ve reminded me that You will never give up on me and that You will always love me. And so, by Your grace, I draw near to You again and pray that You will use this 1% desire that I have for You and allow it to continue growing in me each day. May You be honored above all.” :)

I realized that in the same way, just like how I’ve had that 1% desire for God a few weeks ago, I noticed how I’ve also had that 1% desire to work hard and cook the sinigang from scratch last Sunday. But by God’s grace, He encouraged me to give Him that percentage and cook the dish despite the hassle. Why? Because I knew that obeying mom by cooking it bwould honor God.

(By the way, the tamarind puree that I got from the fruits wasn’t enough, so I ended up adding Tamarind spices too. In the end, God also allowed me to experience the convenience of using instant Sinigang mix — what I originally wanted to use. :) )

Even if you only have that 1% desire to love the people around you; to forgive those who’ve hurt you; to thank others; to obey and respect your authorities; to humble yourself before God and others; to spend time with God; to work/study hard; and even to exercise/discipline your body… Do it anyway. :) Even if it’s just one percent, I encourage you to surrender it to God because He can still use it for the good and for His glory. :)

 

Sour Tamarind

 

Encourage yourself one treat at a time. :)

 

Before It’s Too Late

I recently learned from my officemates that cooking and then eating dead crabs could lead to seafood poisoning. I guess I didn’t care much at that time because our family rarely buys live crabs. But, just a few days ago, I saw five, huge ones in one of our palanganas (basins) in the kitchen. “Cool! Mom bought live crabs!” I said to myself. I immediately got one of the tongs and started tapping each crab. It was interesting because I saw some of them blink and slowly crawl. However, the others didn’t move at all.

The two, seemingly lifeless crabs caught my attention because I remembered the conversation that I had with my officemates. I thought, “The crabs couldn’t be dead. They just couldn’t be. Sayang naman kung ganun.”

I then called mom and my sister, told them about the “dead crabs”, and reminded them about seafood poisoning. So, mom tried to tap the crabs again and change the water in the basin. (I guess we were still hoping that what we were seeing wasn’t true.) But after a few minutes, I eventually accepted the fact and told my sister “Ate… *sigh* the crabs are still dead.”

She laughed and replied “Of course, they’re still dead, Nix. You can’t bring dead crabs back to life.”

I knew that we can’t bring them back to life, but I guess a part of me just got crushed by the thought of losing crabs; of not being able to fulfill the purpose that we had for them; and many more. In the same way, I realized that just like those two dead crabs, we can’t bring ourselves back to life after we’ve died. After we pass away, we can’t go back and change the decisions we’ve made or the things we’ve done on earth. It makes me think about how I’m living the life that God has blessed me with.

I remembered four days ago when the hashtag #EndoftheWorld was trending in Twitter. People from all over the world tweeted about the things that they wanted to do or say before they pass away/leave earth; before the end of the world. Some said that they wanted to travel the world. Some wanted to profess their love to another. And some even wanted to party all night long.

Although these things aren’t wrong, I was just reminded of how much more valuable our last days on earth would be if we invest in the things that would last forever and remember what matters most in life – Jesus Christ.

 

“As little children we would dream of Christmas morn, of all the gifts and toys we knew we’d find.

But, we never realized a baby born one blessed night gave us the greatest gift of our lives.

We were the reason that Jesus gave His life. We were the reason that our Lord suffered and died.

To a world that was lost, He gave all He could give to show us the reason to live.”

[We Are the Reason by Avalon]

photo by Mike Yap

I learned from the Bible that because of our sin, we were separated from God and we deserve the payment for it, which is death (Romans 6:23). But because of God’s indescribable love for us, He gave us His best and sacrificed Jesus (when He died on the cross many years ago) to save us from the penalty of our sins. He did this so that we could spend eternity with Him in Heaven.

It says in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

It brings tears to my eyes whenever I remember what Jesus did for us. He didn’t deserve to suffer, but He willingly obeyed God as He took our place on the cross. What amazed me more is the fact that He not only died for us, but, He also rose again! This just shows how Jesus really is the Son of God… the risen Savior that we need.

If the world did end four days ago (December 21, 2012), where would you be right now? What would have been your last few decisions and actions?

This Christmas season, I’d like to give you a very special encouragement: Don’t wait til it’s too late (just like what happened to the dead crabs).

Get to know Jesus more; spend time with God through prayer and His word; receive Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior; and thank God for His free gift of eternal life for us, before it’s too late.

Because, really, after all of the accomplishments, success, money, fame, relationships, power, and desires we’ve had… at the end of the day, we know that Jesus matters most in life. And nothing else should concern us more than our relationship with Him.

 

Thank You, Jesus for your unending love and grace! :)

Have a very merry Christmas everyone!

 

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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