Herbal Chicken

Yummy Herbal Chicken 

Steps:

1. Prepare a preferred amount of chicken - 1 or 2 thighs, recommended. Marinate it with salt for few hours, preferably half a day. 

2. Wash the pre-packed herbs 

3. Boil it. Once the water are boiling, leave it for a few minutes so the taste could really be extracted out. 

4. Meantime, put your chicken thighs unto aluminium foil above a container/tray.

5.  Once its boiling, pour  the herbs into the aluminium foil container 

6. Wrap it up and close the lit. 

7. Steam it under high fire for half an hour. 

8. Open up the foil and you're ready to feast on the yummy herbal chicken. 

Enjoy cooking ! 

KG

Home-made Cheese Mushroom Spaghetti

Home-made Cheese Mushroom Spaghetti

This is really one of the simplest meal to fix.

Why do i say that? 

My hubs all the sudden had to give me a call saying he's coming back to have quick lunch with me. By the time he called, he's only 5 away from reaching home. Ok, give it another 10 minutes from reaching home (plus the jam and traffic lights).

I quickly took out some minced meat and has it defrozen under running tap water. Marinate it quickly with 2 teaspoon of soya sauce and a pinch of salt (add a little sugar if you like).

 If you like mushroom, you can add on some mushroom as well to add to the authencity of the taste.

Meantime, quickly boil some water on the cooking pot. Once boiling, put in the spaghetti and have it cooked for few minutes under medium fire.

On a separate frying pan, briefly stir fry the minced meat. Remove from heat once done. 

I used Campbell's prego mushroom sauce (it's really tasty!). Pour the sauce onto a pan and fry a little together with the mushroom. 

Concurrently, drain up the cooked spaghetti.

Pour a tablespoon of olive oil before pouring the spaghetti on the serving plates so the spags wouldn't be too dry. 

Split the amount according to the number of serving plates. 

Next, pour the cooked minced meat 

And the mushroom & sauce. 

Serve hot.

Didn't i say it's really quite a simple and quick fix?

Look at my satisfying face after taking the final bite from this meal ;) 

Have fun cooking! 

KG

Dealing with miscarriage

It is never easy to cope with deaths. It is difficult when it involves a family member whom you had known since you are born or a close friend whom you have shared a bond with for ages.

But one loss caught me by surprise.

I did not expect that dealing with the death of a stranger would, too, be so griveous.

I had only known this life for a week. This stranger came to my husband and I unexpectedly. It was a pretty awkward introduction between us at first but the relationship quickly blossomed to love. This stranger stayed with us day and night but we had never seen its face. The communication was one sided because this stranger could not talk.

This stranger - this life -  was growing inside me.

The entire week of knowing that I was pregnant was full of excitement. Our marriage only started less than 4 months ago and we were now blessed with a gift of life. Our families were surprised and enthusiastic about the new member. They were so excited that they leaked out this piece of news to some of their friends. I struggled with that "exposure" but I could understand that such joy was hard to contain within.

Such joy was short-lived. It came unexpectedly and it was gone unexpectedly. I began bleeding when I reached the 6th week of pregnancy. It started in the evening and by night time, I had changed at least 2 maxi sanitary pads. I cried that night in my husband's arms, fearing the worst, while he comforted me, persuading me to think optimistic. We prayed and surrendered the situation and our seed of love into God's hands.

The next morning, our doctor confirmed the miscarriage. He said there could be many reasons that could attribute to it but we should not blame ourselves for the loss. I tried.

The bleeding, an every-day reminder of losing my first child, lasted around 12 days. But the agony was not flushed out together.

Some said it was unnecessary for me to grieve because it was "just" an early pregnancy. Maybe. But I guess it was difficult for people to understand the shattered joy and hope of looking forward to carrying my child. It was only for a week but there was already love. The life, was, my first child.

Some did not know what to say to me. But they wanted to comfort me. So the best that they could come up with was, "You better take care of yourself in your second pregnancy since you did not take care in your first". I was already in a sensitive mode and I perceived that statement as "You are responsible for the miscarriage". It stabbed straight into my heart.

My husband, the only one person who could truly mourn with me, was my greatest supporter. He gave me time to grieve and he held me tenderly when I cried in my sleep. He assured me of his love and encouraged me to look upon God. Most importantly, I appreciated his persistency in cautioning me not to fall into depression. His maturity and leadership helped tremendously in dealing with the loss.

A friend of mine, a mother of a then 3-month old, cried with me. Our parents and closest friends visited us without fail.  They brought food, drinks and, what I cherished the most, their love, care and prayers.  

 And the one who brought me back to my feet was God. I believe He holds the key to life and death. His ways are higher than mine so I could not understand why He gave and He took it back. But I did not blame God at all. I believe my God has no evil and that my God is love. I know His plans and purposes are always perfect. He watched and allowed His Son to die on the cross to redeem mankind. Because of such love, I know His grace is sufficient for me.

He taught me several things during this period.

I now learn to love other children unselfishly. The children whom we are tutoring are not just responsibilities, they are the children of our Heavenly Father. I learnt to love them as my own.

I learnt to have a deep longing to raise up my child in the way that he/she should go in the laws of God. Initially, I only wanted a child because my husband wanted a child. I love him, so I wanted to fulfill his desire. Now, it has become my desire too, to love and to train up children with my husband.

I learnt of a deeper assurance in God. He has His time for everything and as His child, I know He will not harm me. I do not call Him God only when things are right. He is still God when things are seemingly wrong in my eyes. Such circumstances would only further reflect His glory. How? By sharing my miscarriage experience with other women who are going through a similar grieving journey. For as much as you have loved your child, our Father in Heaven loves you even more.

So, take heart and love. Knowing that life is fragile and not of our control, let us spend our time wisely on earth. Love God and serve our husbands. That does not mean we should forget about our lost children entirely. I would always treasure the memory of my first child because I have been given the priviledge to "own" this life for a while. 

Then, when I leave this world, I will be able to see my child again, in Heaven.

SY

Challenges of being a housewife

I've been down with disappointments recently.

Every thing that I've tried doing after I left corporate world has been challenging. Being a housewife, IS challenging.

It's simply due to the many external pressures which we cannot avoid.

Worst still, it's usually from our closest people like family & relatives.

"Why burn your Finance Degree just like this?" 

"Do you know that banking/finance industry pays well? Why not consider going back instead?"

"You're not pregnant, not having any kids at the moment, you should go back to work, you know? It's not fair to have your husband carry all the financial burden of the household" 

The list can go on and on.

Hence, I tried doing everything that I could think of  to help out my husband. I was convicted to stop running the rat race, so going back to corporate world is not an option for now.

After all, the wife of noble character as described in Proverbs 31: 10-27 does help around to bring in earnings    through investments (v.16), tradings (v.18 and v.24) while being  a great home maker.

So I've tried various things, just to name a few, like :-

1. Starting an online business;

2. Starting this blog - to write about anything at all and hopefully readers like you would like;

3. Crafts - from jewellery to cards to flowers to home deco;

4. Cooking and baking

I can't help but felt a failure at times, simply because nothing seems to be working.

This morning, my husband gave me a gift to spur me on. He has been the only one (besides God) believing in whatever that I'm doing.

He gave me something better than this :-

He simply emailed me a an article that talks about before succeeding, comes failures.  It seems that in a strong and unyielding wind, even the bend-but-don't-break adaptability of the humble bamboo will be tested to the point of failure. They do break sometimes. Same goes on how even monkeys do fall from tress (quoted by Garr Reynolds) 

I know I have to carry on. May God grant me to guidance and wisdom on how to live in accordance to His purpose and His will for His glory (not mine). 

"Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 3:13

KG

Blooming Wives

Blooming Wives 

We agree that marriage is a union between a man and a woman and is created by God. We agree that there are defined roles and responsibilities as husbands and wives.

We disagree on how the worldly culture has lead to the rising of the feminism movement that strives for equal rights between man and woman yet completely lose the sight of what it means to be a wife, purposed by God! 

Neither are we agreeing the recent movement started by one of our local women organization movement - the "Obedient Wives Club". True submission is NOT a submission out of fear of your husband leaving you, or not loving you enough. Submission is out of our reverence for Christ Jesus in our lives. It's not driven by fear but by our love for Christ. 

In fact, this is the very reason, why we decided to start on this blog - on how our life as a wife has been changed through the conviction of the Spirit. 

Author : KG

I married my best friend & soul mate, Bob on 16 October 2010. I love every moment being a housewife to him.

I admit it didn't start off quite right in the beginning. I got married - having expectations to be served and loved the way I serve and love. Wait, no, I expected it to be better than the way i serve and love. Little did i realize that this is not pleasing to God. 

However, it had all changed now.

It started when a very good friend of mine who so happens to be my co-owner of this blog today, SY, brought me this book called "Created To Be His Help Meet". 

Genesis 2:18,21-22 : " And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam.. and he took one of his ribs..And the rib, which the Lord God has taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man" 

Don't get me wrong. We need to emphasize that this book is NOT a complete guide to being a wife that is pleasing to God. The bible is THE complete guide. As we read the book and note down the pointers, it has to be all in reference to our ultimate & complete guideline of life - the bible. This book changed my life. 

I was convicted by the Spirit of all the wrongs that I have committed in my dealings as a wife in this new marriage. I thank God for SY. I understand before she gave us this book, she prayed that God will reveal His purpose and will for us as a wife that pleases Him. God indeed answered her prayer = ) 

In short, God taught me what it means to be a wife that He has purposed for me.

He has taught me on what it means to be submissive to my husband and mind you, this is not a weak or burdensome submission.. it is a joyful submission to him due to a joyful obedience to Christ. I'm not saying I'm there yet, in fact, I pray that God will continue to break me in order to mould me, shape me and fashion me the way He seems fit, especially in this role that He has blessed me with. 

Both SY and I hope to be able to share our own personal experiences on what it really means to be a "help meet" to our husbands as God has intended it to be and how it can be a life changing experience. For you too ! : ) 

Co-Author : SY

 I married Darren in August 28th, 2010 and I love being his wife.

Prior to marriage, I have had many  married women share their experiences with me as a preparation for the journey ahead. They talked about the culture, this new generation, authority levels and even a fallback plan (i.e. a prenuptial agreement)!

As a Christian, I sought for God's wisdom in this matter. I believe there must be a well-defined order and responsibility of a husband and a wife that He has ordained from the beginning. So for instance, Darren and I went through a sermon by Paul Washer entitled "The Glory of God in Marriage" and we had had pre-marital counselling with our pastor.

On top of that, God revealed something to me personally and it blew my mind completely. I will share more of this in another article. :)

The book "Created To Be His Help Meet" mentioned by KG above is given to me as a wedding present. The author is an elderly woman who had wanted to share her experience as a wife to younger wives, in accordance to God's Word (Titus 2:3-5 - Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored).

Her viewpoint is critical yet phenomenal. And it was in line with what God has revealed to me.

 I began to see my role as a "helper" to my husband. My purpose in this marriage is to support him in all his doings and his needs as long as my husband's decisions are pleasing in God's sight. He is my first ministry and together, we will raise up children in the way that they should go in the laws of God. The way I treat my husband will trickle down to my children and as such, it is important to have a solid foundation and understanding of my role. I see this as a high calling of being a wife and later on, as a mother.

I know I'm new as a wife. .There is still much to learn, whether directly from God or from my friends who are wives, such as KG. KG and I shared on our discoveries and we shared to other friends. We realised that some wives have different views from us while some don't even have a clue on their role as a wife!

With this, KG and I thought of using this platform to share and if God willing, to encourage our readers in our experiences and discoveries for the mutual benefit of womanhood. We hope for all wives, no matter what the circumstances you may be in, to find joy in the high calling of your role as a wife.