Restaurant and a Surprise

This morning we attended "New Years" Revival Services at our church.

We finished a little after 12:00, then gave someone a ride home. 

By then, David's stomach was proclaiming that it was way past lunch-time!

Paul has been telling me about a little Korean restaurant at which he has eaten

with a tennis friend.  The specialty there is 콩나물 밥 "bean sprout rice". 

So, we decide to go there and get a quick lunch.

This restaurant is repeated again and again,

on side streets, down lanes, across alleys

in every town all over Korea.

. 

First, you come in a take off your shoes. 

Don't worry; there is always a shoe horn or two

hanging there for when you need to put them back on! 

(We always joke that if you don't like the shoes you wore in,

you can leave with a different pair! 

That's never happened; but  David DID leave a restaurant once

with someone else's umbrella.  Same umbrella as his, except for

the name of a little Korean girl written on the handle.  Oops!)

 But back to the restaurant. 

There are always as many tables as can be squeezed into the available  sq. footage.

When we first arrived, the restaurant is packed. 

The only empty table was the one where the freezing cold wind blows in

each time the door is opened. 

But don't worry, the floor is ondol.

(Ondol is the traditional Korean heating method.

There are pipes beneath the floor circulating hot water. 

This warms the floor, and then the room.  It is so pleasant to sit on the warm floor in the winter time--

it doesn't matter if there is a breeze that comes in now and then.)

There is no menu--except there's always the menu board hanging on the wall.  

We want the "bean sprout rice". 

It is 4,000 Korean won (about $3.75);

add another dollar if you want it "double-size". 

While we are waiting for the food, we look around the restaurant. 

As usual, each table has a couple of containers of kimchee.

There is cabbage kimchee and radish kimchee. 

You take out the amount you think you will eat and put it on a dish. 

(Self-serve Kimchee!) 

This restaurant has something different, though. 

There is something hanging on the walls near each table.

It's copies of "Good Thoughts" magazine. 

Guess you get "food for the mind" while you wait for "food for the tummy"!

We also notice something else...

sitting at another table is the manager of the tennis courts. 

Paul greets him and introductions are exchanged.

(Out of courtesy, I did NOT take his picture! LOL)

By then the food has arrived...

steaming hot su-jae-bi!

See, when we ordered, the waitress informs us

they are out of their bean sprout rice. 

We will have to wait 30 minutes while they make more. 

(One reason why we came here was that we wanted to get lunch fast. Well...)

In addition to "bean sprout rice", this restaurant offers several types of noodles.

AND su-jae-bi.  Su-jae-bi is the "un-noodle". 

Think of homemade egg noodles...

except instead of rolling out the dough and cutting it into noodles,

you just tear off chunks of dough and drop them into simmering broth. 

Add seafood and a variety of veggies and you have "su-jae-bi". 

We will share a bowl of this to tide us over till the rice is done. 

It sure "hits the spot" on a cold, blustery day! 

Soon, bean sprout rice arrives! 

(Sorry! no picture,  it was not as photogenic--

although it was as delicious as Paul had promised!)

And then, too our surprise, the waitress comes to our table yet again. 

It seems that as he was leaving,

Paul's acquaintance from the tennis court has paid for us

to have an additional treat! 

The waitress is bearing another dish, chock-full of

 PIG'S FEET!

As I think to myself, "It's the thought that counts"; 

I quickly pass my portion over to David!

(Aren't I kind and generous?! LOL)

David proves he is Korean and dives in. 

Following our meal, we get "self-serve"  cups of mix coffee

from the ubiquitous "TeaTime" coffee machine.

Believe me when I tell you EVERY Korean restaurant has one!

e

.

Not a bite of food is left...just these seashells and

a doggy-bag in which David is bringing home the rest

of the Pig's Feet!

Now you've been in a "typical" Korean restaurant...

If you've seen one, you've seen them all!

BUT, you haven't tasted them all...

This one, for sure, was delicious! 

Birthday Celebration

H

His 18th birthday he cried with tears

Then prayed for months--almost 2 years

"Granny" "Granddad" "Fly airplane"

"March 15" was his refrain.

We told him we'd let God choose the date

March came and went--his immigration card was late;

Another birthday passed, but still

We kept on praying, "God, when it's your will..."

"Granny." "Granddad". "Fly airplane"

His perseverance didn't wane.

An example of Luke Eighteen:One

Then finally God let us know the time had come.

"Granny" "Granddad" "Fly airplane"

And FINALLY we're back home again!

It didn't matter the exact date

for he just wanted to celebrate

with Granny (and candles) (and a cake)

(and smiles) (and all the pictures we'd take...)

The big candles read "seventy-five"

That's how long Granny has been alive;

The little ones (David's) number twenty,

Now David prays with thanks a-plenty

"Granny" "Granddad" "Fly airplane"

He's so happy that we've came

To Granny and Granddad's house--full of love

and we give thanks to God above.

Believing the Promise

Merry Christmas!

Today, the first Sunday of Advent, I heard the most amazing Christmas message. I want to share it with you.  It began with the Scripture reading that is possibly one of the most "boring" Scriptures in the Bible--some may have even been "turned off" by this passage.......the first few verses of Matthew, the part with all the "begats".

"This is a record of the ancestors of Jesus the Messiah." (Matthew 1:1)

"Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah (their mother was Tamar)" (1:3)

"Salmon was the father of Boaz (his mother was Rahab)."

"Boaz was the father of Obed (his mother was Ruth). " (1:5)

"David was the father of Solomon (his mother was Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah.)" (1:6) 

"Mary was the mother of Jesus, who is called the Christ." (1:16)

In the midst of this passage of unpronounceable names (in fact, at church this morning, no one really wanted to be the "Scripture reader" and have to deal with all of these difficult names) lies a most glorious Christmas message.  The pastor said that even he thought, "Can anything good come out of this (passage)?"

Most people can look on some part of their life, or at some particular decision, and think, "That was such a disaster.  If that would not have happened, (or, If I had not done that), my life would be so much different.  My life would be so much better."  We look at something that happened, and question "Can anything good come out of this?"  And the LORD's answer is a resounding "YES"!!!  Even when our life seems a disaster, God is in control.  But do we REALLY believe that?  We may say we believe that God is in control; but when reality sinks in, what do you say?  Do you still believe?

Look at the five women whom were deemed by the Holy Spirit important enough to mention in this first book of the New Testament.  What do they have in common??  They are all women whose lives were a disaster.

1.  Tamar's story is in Genesis 38.  Talk about a disaster.  Her father-in-law arranged her marriage to his oldest son, Er.  But Er was a wicked man in the sight of the LORD (poor Tamar...having no control over her own life... her marraige arranged to a wicked man.  What good can come from that?)  Er was so wicked that the LORD took his life.  Then, the father-in-law told Son#2, "You must marry Tamar, as our law requires of the brother of a man who has died.  Her first son from you will be your brother's heir."  But Son#2 was not willing to have a child who would not be his own heir.  So he spilled his seed on the ground to keep from producing offspring for his brother.  What he did was wicked in the LORD's sight: so the LORD put him to death also.  

Imagine  how Tamar feels now...two "husbands", both dead.  Still no child.  She was probably thought to be a jinx, or a curse to this family.  In fact, her father-in-law decided to send her away, thinking, if he gave her as a wife to his remaining son, that son would die, too; as his brothers had done.  So he sent Tamar away, back to her father's house, promising her that he would give her to his youngest son when he grew up.  She didn't know that he had no intention of doing that, but she BELIEVED HIS WORD.

If you continue reading the story, it gets even more seamy.  Eventually, Tamar disguises herself as a prostitute and eventually becomes the mother of a son whose father is HER father-in-law.  That child's father was his grandfather.  Does that sound like the perfect family?  or does that sound like a disaster?  What good can possibly come of that?  Do YOU think that because of the family situation in which you grew up, that there is no hope for you?  That your birth was because of an evil act or was a bad accident?  Or that because of your current family situation, there is no hope for your children?  Jesus came from that bloodline.  Your bloodline will not prevent you from fulfilling God's purposes.  

Tamar believed what Judah promised her (that he would give his youngest son to her as a husband).  He had NO intention of keeping his promise.  But, Judah wasn't in ultimate control of Tamar's life.  God was.   Judah didn't keep his promise. But God had promised to send a Messiah, a Savior; and He did!!  God kept His promise!  And He had a purpose for Tamar's life.  Although we may experience being under the authority of ungodly people who do not keep their promises, God is ultimately in control of our lives--and He ALWAYS keeps His promises.  And He works to bring about good from the situations in our lives.  

2.  Rahab's story is found in Joshua 2.  When Joshua sent spies into Canaan before overcoming Jericho, 2 of the spies spent the night in the house of Rahab.  Rahab was a PROSTITUTE.  What kind of life is that?  What good can come from that?  Why would God choose her to be one of the great-great grandmothers of King David, and an ancestor of Jesus Christ?  She was a Canaanite, a citizen of Jericho.  In fact, she was a traitor.  She aided the spies, which was a treasonous act.  She was not one of God's "chosen people" (the Israelites).  Why

did God choose her?  She wasn't chosen because she was a prostitute; she was chosen (in spite of being a prostitute), because she BELIEVED GOD.  Listen to her, "For we have heard how the LORD made a dry path for you through the Red Sea when you left Egypt.  The LORD your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below." She BELIEVED GOD and decided to join HIS side; and for that, she became the ancestor of Jesus Christ.

3.  Ruth gets her own book!  She was a Moabite woman, who married an Israelite who had left Judah because of a severe famine.  Her husband died, as well as her father-in-law and brother-in-law.  Now, she and her mother-in-law have no protector, no provider.  She, too, has no son.  She, too, probably feels her life is a disaster.  In fact, her mother-in-law's confession is "The LORD himself has caused me to suffer."  (NIV reads, "the Almighty has made my life very bitter.")  What good can come from that?  Do you ever feel that, although you have done nothing wrong, bad things happen to you?  That God is the one causing you to suffer?  Ruth wasn't one of God's chosen people, either.  She was Moabite.  The Moabites were the ENEMIES of the Israelites.  She was the wrong race.  Do you ever think, "I'm the wrong race.  If I had been born a different race, maybe my life could be different.  Maybe the LORD could do something with me if I were a different race."  BUT, Ruth chose to BELIEVE GOD.  Her confession, "Where you go, I will go.  Where you lodge, I will lodge.  Your people will be my people, AND YOUR GOD, MY GOD."   She chose to stay with her mother-in-law and join God's people; God in turn chose her to be the great-grandmother of King David, and an ancestor of our Savior.

4.  Bathsheba doesn't get her name listed, she is only called "the wife of Uriah".  But we know who she was.  She was the one who was seen by King David while she was bathing.  She was summoned by someone who had power over her and was asked for sexual favors.  She couldn't tell anyone what her situation was.  There was no one to talk to.  When she became pregnant, her molester had her husband killed.  She then went to live with him as his wife.  When she had the baby, the baby died.  Now, she too, has no son. And she probably felt she wished she had been the one who died; instead of her husband and her baby.  She probably saw her life as a disaster. Perhaps she blamed herself for the situation she was placed in.  For giving in to the person who had power over her.  She wondered, How can anything good come out of that period of time in my life?  But God made her next son to be King Solomon...and her great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandson, Jesus.

5. Mary.  See Matthew 1:18-25 and Luke 1:26-56.  Mary was betrothed to a man named Joseph when she was visited by an angel who told her she would become pregnant and bear a son.  Talk about a disaster for an unmarried woman!  In Israel, the penalty for adultery/fornication was being stoned to death.  The Bible doesn't record that she explained to Joseph that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit.  Would he have believed her anyway?  It couldn't have been pleasant or easy for her; and Joseph was planning on "putting her away".  But Mary BELIEVED GOD.  She believed the promise of a Messiah, a Savior.  And her answer to the LORD was, "May it be as You have said."  Then God sent the angel to Joseph to clue him in on what was really happening.  You know the rest of that story.

CHRISTMAS is all about God keeping His promise to send a Savior!  Christmas is a reminder that God is in control.  It is the proof that God keeps His word.  And if we trust God, He will bring the ultimate BEST to, and through, our lives as well.  No matter if your life was or is a disaster.  No matter what happened.  No matter where you are, or were.  God has a purpose for your life; and God can and will work for your good and His glory. Will you BELIEVE GOD? 

originally posted December 2, 2007       based on a sermon by Seunghwa Lim

Mountain Peak Moment

 hee-hee:  This has been "lost" in CyberSpace for a few months...

Today finds me sitting at 쟁기봉 (a "mountain" peak) enjoying the whisper of breeze through the pines, gazing at the distant mountains which are layered one layer upon another in ever lighter shades of blue.  How can I describe the hues?  They range from the blue of the warm spring sky to the greens of the mountains nearby to the violet of those far away upon which my feet may never step. 

Looking down from the bluff, I see far below me the tiny figures of children freed from school.  They are dipping their toes in the creek which meanders through the valley beneath my perch.  It appears the water temperature is pleasing to them, for they soon roll up the pant legs of their school uniforms and wade in til the water reaches their knees.  How can these students focus on their studies when the sparrows are playing tag in the junipers and the dragonflies chase each other above the stream's shimmering surface?

If I had my father's sharp eyesight perhaps I might even catch a glimpse of a trout jumping in the stream below.  But I can only see a pair of cranes.

Their presence indicates that they observe fish there--fish who are unknowingly engaged in a competition to become the main course for their tasty evening meal.

The acacia blossoms are profuse, forming an elegant white and cream invitation to the honey bees.  Myriads of the bees have RSVP'ed and the hum of the early arrivals tickles my ears.

Today, David befriends a "Korean chihuahua."  He approached us as we were eating our homemade Cranberry-Walnut Granola bars.  David offered a bite; but it was declined.  When moments later we produced from our hiking bag the ubiquitous Korean hiking treat--a boiled egg, the dog returned and anxiously licked his chops.  David generously shared with his newfound friend. 

All too soon it is time to descend the path and come back to "reality"-- dinner to cook, laundry to wash, and piano practice to attend to.  But we are refreshed by our moments at the mountain peak... 

The numbers on my scale have been creeping upwards throughout the winter, prompting me to embark on a "diet". 

My plan is to follow, or shall I say, "loosely follow" a popular diet.

So, during the past eight days I have conscientiously bought, prepared, and consumed 21 different fresh vegetables--

that is, none of them came from a jar, can, or the freezer, including

cabbage

Chinese cabbage

spinach

broccoli

Korean radish

red pepper

green bell pepper

yellow bell pepper

red bell pepper

leaf lettuce

sesame leaves

onion

green onion

leek

carrot

cucumber

zucchini

mushrooms

Korean green squash

Korean sweet pumpkin

bean sprouts

and, if counted as a vegetable, garlic would be #22.

These were the mainstay of my dietary intake, in addition to smaller amounts of beef, chicken, fish, and eggs.

Oh! and tofu, acorn curd, and seaweed.

I was soooooooooo faithfully following my diet--despite being offered muffins, cream puffs, and other too-numerous-to-mention temptations.

Doing well, until "Upstairs-neighbor-RaonLee; who-studied-culinary-arts-in-Switzerland-and-makes-the-best-jam-ever" left a small jar of

strawberry jam

on my door

last night

about the time the "nightly munchy feeling"

was settling in. (attacking me!)

That did it.

Three slices of toasted bread topped with "the best homemade strawberry jam" and a cup of hot cocoa later

I pondered the demise of my diet.

It all comes down to this one thing:

Raon Lee:

Friend?      or      Foe?