Ayam Penyet

I have never written a blog entry on food before. This can't be true. Though I may be giving the impression that I seldom eat (i.e. fasting all the time) the truth is that I do enjoy eating. Not as much as my wife though. And look at our sizes. It's so unfair, isn't? :)

You may have heard about "Ayam Penyet", an Indonesian Franchise restaurant whose popularity in Singapore is growing by the day. I cannot really explain very much about the food except that "Ayam Penyet" means "Smashed Chicken". Actually, the chicken looks okay thus I am not sure why they call it smashed. But the most important thing is that it tastes yummy. :)

Besides chicken there are many other things that you can eat in restaurant such as gad0-gado (mixed vegetables with peanut sauce), empal (beef) penyet, ikan (fish) penyet, udang (prawn) penyet, avocado juice, etc, etc.

Now, I am not trying to be bias here. It's not because I am (was) an Indonesian that I am promoting the food. I have brought many kinds of people to try out the food. Indonesians, Singaporeans, Malaysians, Africans, Europeans, they have tried and LIKED the food. :) It seems that this is one type of Indonesian food that really has an international appeal.

Now, I must warn you that there are many imitations out there. Quite a number of stores out there are also selling ayam penyet but they are not the original one. This is understandable. People always like to make imitations of branded stuff. :)

If you would like to try out the food in "Ayam Penyet" restaurants you can find the restaurants in the following locations: Lucky Plaza (1st & 4th levels), Joo Chiat Road (near church office), Novena Square and Marina Square (in the food court). If you do not reside in Singapore you may want to consider bringing this franchise into your country. And please remember me when you are making a lot of profit from it. :)

In case you are wondering whether I am rewarded or paid by "Ayam Penyet" to do this promotion, the answer is "not a single cent". :( But if you keep mentioning my name whenever you go to the restaurants they may reward me one day. :)

Happy trying and eating everyone! :)

Note: the picture above is taken from the following link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/taking5/494739777/

Heart Attack

I was doing some work at home this afternoon. At the same time I was following a tennis match between Roger Federer (no 1) and Janko Tipsarevic (no 49).

Federer wasn't playing his usual best. He made many unforced errors. Janko, on the other hand, was playing very confidently. As a result it was a thrilling 5 sets lasting almost 4 1/2 hours.

The fifth set was especially gripping. It was a very very close match. Federer was playing a catch up throughout the fifth set. As I am Federer's fan this resulted me in having some HEART ATTACK following the progress of the match. Believe it or not I took the trouble to pray for Federer. :)

I must take my hat off to Federer. He was very strong mentally. The pressure of the possibility of losing the match so early in the tournament he won several times before must have been great on him. (Last year he didn't even drop a set in the same tournament) But he kept at it. He didn't give up. He kept pressing on despite of not playing his best. At the end the breakthrough came and he won the match.

One lesson I learnt from Federer is the importance of mental strength. At times the difference between a champion and an average player is not necessarily skill but mental strength.

Similarly, as Christ followers we do need to develop mental toughness. Our foundation of the Word must be strong. Our character must be maturing. Our mind must be filled with hope and faifh-filled thoughts. After all, we are playing against a very competitive competitor everyday of our life. And at times, that mental toughness is difference between winning and losing.

Strategies for Physical Energy Management

Lean Choo and I are currently in KL attending a conference with some others. We arrived in KL on Monday around noon time and will be leaving for Singapore on Thursday evening. The conference has been good thus far. However, I do not intend to blog about the conference at this point time.

Rather, I want to blog about some strategies for physical energy management taken from the Power of Full Engagement book (by Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz).

1. Go to bed early and wake up early

2. Go to sleep and wake up consistently at the same times

3. Eat five to six small meals daily

4. Eat breakfast everyday

5. Eat a balanced, healthy diet

6. Minimize simple sugars

7. Drink 48 to 64 ounces of water daily

8. Take breaks every ninety minutes during work

9. Get some physical activity daily

10. Do at least two cardiovascular interval workouts and two strength training workouts a week

The above will be great reminders and pointers to me even as I am in the midst of changing my lifestyle. Eating differently and exercising regularly are the way to go for me. :)

why I blog

I can feel it. I am slowly losing my momentum and desire to blog. This entry is stop and reverse that negative momentum. :)

I believe that when we are losing our momentum in doing something right/good it is helpful to remind ourselves why we do the thing in the first place. When we are connected to the "why" we would have greater motivation to press on.

Why do I blog?

1. Relevance

My team and I are pioneering young adults ministry in Hope Singapore. Many young adults blog. This is a lifestyle for many of them. As such, blogging helps me to be more relevant to the young adults world. I mustn't forget that I am a young adult as well. :)

2. It helps me

Blogging helps me. You see, though I do journal I journal occasionally. Blogging helps me to journal more regularly. Though I cannot write as freely in my blog as compared to when I write in my private journal (as it would be irresponsible for me to do so) at least I am jotting down some key happennings that are happenning in my life through blogging. Somebody once said something like "the weakest ink is stronger than our memory".

3. It helps me to connect to people

I am living amidst a fast moving urban world of Singapore. Usually, I am busy. And I seem to get busier each year. Sometimes I couldn't find as much time as I want to, to connect to different individuals. Blogging helps me to connect to people in some way even when I am unable to spend time with them directly.

Three reasons why I blog. The reasons may look simple but they are powerful in motivating me to continue on blogging.

One simple action point for me. I will attempt to blog twice per week. I will do it every Monday and Thursday mornings before I take care of my e-mails.

May God help me in this wonderful cause of blogging!

what I really want to remember about 2007

Today is the third day of a new year. What do I really want to remember about last year? Well, certainly there are many things I really want to remember about. I have learned that even bad things and imperfections bring about very precious life lessons. Nevertheless, let me just try to list down some things.

1. The opportunity to catch up and minister together with my old friend, Peter Truong. It was so encouraging to see how God working in his life, from glory unto glory.

2. Hope Manila Annual Camp. It was my first time to speak and minister in a camp setting. It was a very valuable experience. I could see very clearly how God would help you when you are willing to step out by faith.

3. My 2nd Thai Camp. I was truly ministered by the worship sessions. It was great to be able to shed tears in the presence of God after some time without it.

4. My 2nd trip to Nairobi, Kenya. It was good to be back to Kenya. It was good catching up with Lisa and Li Chuang. It was good getting to know Esther there. It was good touching and stroking a Cheetah. :)

5. 3 YA Events (Unplugged, Olympia Ultimatum, 13). It was great seeing many young adults utilising their God-given talents to make a difference in the lives of their counterparts who were far away from God. Indeed, some of them have been brought near to God through the contributions of these events.

6. The Australia trip (Brisbane, Melbourne, Gold Coast) It was really a fruitful trip for Lean Choo and I. I learnt the importance of proactively building relationships. It takes some willingness to step beyond our comfort zones. But once you do it, it really blesses your soul and the Kingdom. We had a great family time with my two siblings and their families in Melboure as well.

7. The blossoming of JEDI group and ministry. It was really a joy seeing the ministry blossoming before my very eyes. I was humbled and encouraged to see how hard some of them work for the Kingdom. I was thrilled to see the newer ones rising up to the occassions.

8. MNC (Malaysia National Convention) in Kuching. It was an eye opener. The missions spirit was very much alive in Hope Malaysia.

9. We broke YA200 goal once during Christmas by a big margin. There is a precious story who belongs to a very precious person behind every single number. Over 200 precious stories about over 200 precious persons. We also treasured the 6 souls who crossed or recrossed the line of faith through the christmas services. Thank you Jesus. I am really thankful for the many people who gave their best to share the love of God during the christmas outreach season last year. Their labours shall never be in vain in the sight of God.

10. Attended a great Christmas Eve Party (The "C" Party). It was a costume party. I came as a cockroach man and ended receiving an award for the most creative costume of the night. :) That was a miracle given my arts & craft skills. But that's not the most important thing. One of the highlights of the night for me was to listen to the testimony of a new brother in Christ who just responded to Jesus some weeks earlier. He really shared from his heart and how he really moved our hearts by his sincere sharing. This reminds me about why am I giving my life for the cause of the Kingdom. It is about life transformation, one life at a time.

Of course, there are many more things that I can write down. But let me just say that year 2007 has been a wonderful year of happennings. It was not without its challenges though. Some of them were really tough. But through it all I prevailed because His grace was sufficient for me. And for that, "Thank you, Lord".