"Should I Be Ambitious?" was the question of the bible study this morning based on Luke 14:1-11.

at first, the scripture doesn't look at all about worldly ambitions. but through discussion and studying, one realizes that:

1. The parable's first focus may be about humbleness but
2. The 2nd point is really about - and i guess this applies to ALL scripture - trusting your God. V. 14 says it all:"And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

So it's not just about being humble, being lowly (literally from the parable) - like trying to bypass a promotion, because you are "humble" - but it's about not seeking glory for yourself (ambition), for your own wordly gain (i mean with that specific goal in mind), but that with your trust in God, that God will exalt you when the time comes - at his own divine time. And that "Godly" ambition (which comes through trusting in God) is all about serving, like Paul gloryfing God and that through serving, you learn patience, forgiveness and inner peace.

Which all equals to pretty hard to apply in this real world - but i think it's about real attitude change - which will only happen through prayer, holy spirit's intervention and as usual, God's perfect timing.

With that lesson, I have to really become more serving at work - I do "serve" a lot, not for my glory but because in my nature, I'd like to help out. But at the end, my get annoyed with little things, impatient and certainly not with a "godly attitude."

So yes, we SHOULD be ambitious - for God's Glory and our change of attitude in servitude.

Okay, so that was a lot of jumble mumble what I'm basically saying is: FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT!

busy day today:

First, after church a yummy place, where I appropriately acknowledged that:

then off to some errands, and then walking on 42nd street, stopped by the freight fest @ grand central:

and then to walk by the bryant park skating rink:

then leisurely walking to the concert at the nokia theatre, and to my shock, this is what saw:

but it was fine to get in to see Senses Fail:

and New Found Glory:

a busy day (and sure, i can hardly hear outta my right ear, but oh well!)!

pretty michigan.

more than ever, i think i need to bunker down and start praying for my future. one clear goal in mind is to become a full time piano teacher. i just cannot do it here in nyc.

i've always been lazy about my prayers about my future: mate, direction, work. but it's time that i really get realistic and do H(ASK).

i'm figuring that in a couple of years, my greencard will come through, and by that time, all my credit & school debts will be gone. that'll be timely for me to perhaps move to another metropolitan city where it has a huge 'burb (thereby needing music teachers), perhaps pick up a high-paying assistant job somewhere to start saving, get to know the area, and slowly get adjusted to commuting by car/getting to know a good area for kids, etc. etc.

granted this is all talking outta my fat arse - because i know that i can continue to struggle and wanting this and that...but because of God's Perfect Timing & Planning, this may just be (another) waste of a post/thought/wish.

or perhaps i'm starting to get a grip on the word FOCUS at this old age!!!

suddenly i'm sad to thinking about leaving NYC after 20 years (by that time)...leaving my church and my friends. but alas, 4th chapter of my life, whether in NYC or elsewhere, will start, perhaps sooner than later.

God will provide. Faith.

it's 3:18 AM in the morning and i'm hungry. guess i haven't really had any food since 12:30 PM yesterday.

my stupid wisdom tooth is out. am i going to be wise now?

in korean culture, the wisdom teeth are called "love teeth." i once asked my mommy who told they're called that as "when you have the pains and take them out, you're ready for love." in my naivete, i looked forward to that day.

yesterday i was horrifield and nervous. perhaps two go in hand in hand.

Ten thousand men sleep down with Davy Jones, with stolen treasure they die. The open water chills me to my bones, but it's the only place that I feel alive.

The ocean fog begins to disappear, I sense that terrible depth. The open water is my only fear, but I'll sail as long as I still have breath.

I'm starting to believe the ocean's much like you - cause it gives and it takes away.
Between the devil and the deep blue sea - I stare into the abyss.

The open water is an awful thing, but I'm anxious 'till the anchor rests.

I'm starting to believe the ocean's much like you - cause it gives and it takes away.

What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Literate Good Citizen You read to inform or entertain yourself, but you're not nerdy about it. You've read most major classics (in school) and you have a favorite genre or two.
Dedicated Reader
Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm
Book Snob
Fad Reader
Non-Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You? Create Your Own Quiz

i am truly blessed. I'm not this boy!

The boy who is allergic to (almost) every food
Tylor Savage, 12, beginning to expand his diet now thanks to treatments
By Mike Celizic
TODAYShow.com contributor
Updated: 10:10 a.m. ET Oct 11, 2007
Twelve-year-old Tylor Savage doesn’t have to ask what’s for dinner. It’s chicken or tuna with carrots and potatoes and maybe some grapes or an apple — the only foods to which he is not allergic.
“I’m a little bored with the same food,” Tylor told TODAY co-host Matt Lauer during a visit to New York on Thursday with his father and sister.
But the British boy is not complaining. When Lauer asked him if he wishes he could eat all the wonderful things he sees other kids wolfing down, he said, “Not really, because I know it will make me ill.”
“Ill” is a mild descriptive for what Tylor went through for most of his life. He was 4 years old the first time he got violently sick after eating. By the time he was 6, the diarrhea and vomiting were getting worse, but his doctors could find nothing wrong with him, putting his digestive problems down to stomach viruses.
“It was horrible,” his 15-year-old sister, Elycia, said.
“It broke my heart,” added his father, David Savage, who made the trip to New York with Tylor and Elycia. Tylor’s mother, Lynne, remained at home in England with the family’s third child.
By the time he was 10, Tylor’s situation was desperate. He was passing out, going into convulsions and passing blood from both ends of his digestive tract. His weight was down to less than 50 pounds, his growth stunted, his body little more than skin and bones.
His mystified doctors took out his appendix, thinking that might be the problem, but he showed no improvement.
Last September, specialists at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, where he’d been undergoing tests since April 2006, realized that what Tylor had wasn’t a stomach virus but an extremely rare condition called eosinophilic enteropathy.
The disorder causes his intestines to produce too many white blood cells that act as an immune system and attack food passing through the gut.
Doctors found that he was allergic to nearly everything he ate, including wheat, gluten, dairy products, eggs and soy products.
On the mendThey took him off all food, feeding him a liquid formula through a gastric tube inserted through his nose. They then introduced him to one food at a time, making sure he could tolerate it before adding another. Recently, tuna joined chicken as a protein source.
Although Tylor could eat again, he still needs to be fed vitamins and minerals in liquid form. The tube through his nose was causing painful sores where it rubbed against his nose, so in May it was replaced by a port in his stomach. Every night, Tylor plugs a tube connected to a bag of formula into his stomach.
Since getting the stomach tube and finding solid foods he can eat without getting sick, Tylor is thriving. Last year, he was so sick, he attended just 10 days of school. This year, he’s missed only one day.
“I’ve got more energy now,” he told Lauer. He plays soccer and bowls and can roughhouse with other kids. “It’s not like I used to be.”
His sister, meanwhile, has been organizing events — she bungee-jumped earlier this year — to raise funds to help others with Tylor’s condition.
He said that his diet will expand. “There’s a lot of things I am allowed but haven’t been introduced to yet,” he said.
The plane flight to New York, he said, was too long, but he said he’s enjoying the city. Lauer asked if there was anything in particular he wanted to do.
“I want to go to a Nintendo event,” he said. “I’ve got some games I need to play.”
© 2007 MSNBC Interactive

Using the Joy of Cooking's Recipe for the Lightning Cake, Here is the recipe for the Pocari Sweat Cake - the World's First!!!!

1. Have all ingredients at room tempearture
   
2. Preheat oven to 350F


3. Grease and flour one 8" (2" deep) aluminum pan (the best)


4. Whisk together thoroughly:
   1 cup all-purpose flour
   1 teaspoon baking powder
   1/4 teaspoon salt


5. In a large bowl, beat until creamy, about 30 seconds:
   8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter


6. Gradually add and beat on high speed until lightened in color and texture, 3 to 5 minutes:
   1 cup of POCARI SWEAT (this in lieu of 1 cup of sugar)


7. Beat in 1 at a time:
   3 large eggs


8. Beat in:
   1 teaspoon grated lemon zest (COMPLETELY OPTIONAL)
   2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice


9. Stir in the flour mixture just until smooth. Scrape the batter into the pan and spread evenly.


10. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes.
    

Let cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes.I'd recommend some kind of not-too-sugary frosting to decorate the top as it's a bit ugly to just have it as is. Filled with electrolytes, this is GOOD STUFF!!

um...i don't think so!!!!!!!

peanuts

made a REALL YUMMY meatloaf with friends. Here's the recipe (thanks Martha!), BUT!!!!

instead of putting in extra ketchup, dry mustard & brown sugar for dressing, i accidentally put it in the meat mix - but you know what, it was damn good! (i omitted the extra ketchup & dry mustard, but i did put in brown sugar into the meat - which made me question Martha's sanity at the time of mixing but oh well...it was actually MY sanity that i had to question, but...)

good luck!

next recipe coming...a real secret!!!! will post it on Sunday, October 14th.

7:17 AM on Wednesday on 6th avenue. FOGGY.