Is God still on the throne?

some thoughts that have come to me during this incredibly worrying times: [you can look up the references yourselves!] 

-My grace is sufficient for you, My strength made perfect in your weakness

-to live is Christ, to die is gain - Paul

-"Don't be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

-Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father's care.

-Psalm 130: 7 Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
    for with the Lord is unfailing love
    and with him is full redemption.
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The Lord is the only One who sustains us. If He allows bad things to happen, we just have to keep trusting that He is good. This passage below to me, just really reflects the heart of God for us:

Isaiah 61 King James Version (KJV)

61 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.

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We don't fully understand God's ways but we have seen in so many examples how God uses wickedness/the wicked to accomplish His plans, like how when Jesus was crucified, it appeared that wickedness had won the day and the disciples felt that they'd lost all hope.... but in fact it was a triumph for God's purposes! He is still on the throne, He is in control, and not an ounce of wickedness can occur without His allowing it. And since we know He's good, we can trust that His allowing of wickedness is not for no reason. This tells me we needn't fear wickedness or the wicked, but fear Him. This life is not all there is, and death is but a comma on the page, not a full stop. We have hope for that because of Christ's resurrection from the dead. 

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Prov 9:10

"The thief comes only in order to steal, kill and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, life in its fullest measure."- Jesus

                         

foodie tour

I love Korean - so we never pass up the opportunity to visit Oriental Spoon on Melbourne's La Trobe street.

 The beef soup with rice and kimchi is always always a satisfyingly good choice especially on a chilly day.

 this bento lunchtime special at just $11 is a very good deal - that's a LOT of stuff covering the rice underneath!

At the Target Centre in Chinatown there's BBQ Junction which offers a very good yongtaufoo [below] with noodles in curry laksa soup [$11]- ironically, none of these items were barbecued....
There's the option for the usual clear soup or a tomyam but curry laksa will always be the most indulgent, tummy warming option!

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Back in Tassie, we recently visited Duc's in Sandy Bay [next to Solo pizza] for the hubby's birthday. When the chef heard it was his birthday, he sent out a free dish! [which happened to be the BEST dish we had that day] 

Below, the claypot pork belly which had excellent flavour with a fragrant broth, perfect to drench your rice in. 

 The mapo diced chicken breast was a tasty, slightly spicy dish which we liked as well.

 And the star of the meal - the garlic and chilli stir fried long beans, which had just the right crunch and fragrant wok fried spiciness. I could have this everyday!

 It was my first time eating there, but I don't think it will be my last. Everything is priced quite reasonably as well, around $12 per person for a nice, hot cooked to order Asian meal. There are individual noodle/rice dishes for those who prefer Western type individualist dining, or you could order dishes and plain rice to share, like we did, asian-style. Service is excellent and there's lots of parking at the Woolies across the road.

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This is the lunch special at Arirang on Elizabeth Street, Hobart. 

The spicy stir fried pork, $10 is exactly that - tasty thin strips of pork and onions served with rice.

 The seafood and tofu soup [$10] with vegetables was good too - with a bean paste flavour. My only regret was not ordering kimchi to go with these items [as I thought it would be included with the set, after all...which self respecting Korean would have a meal without it? but as it turns out, it's an extra $1.50 a serve!].

Service was excellent, and there's free flow of Korean brown rice tea on the house. It's slightly sweet and very refreshing. 

christmas, new year's, and in betweens

Ever tried making fried rice with curry powder? 

 it turned out okay...but not as curry-ish as i'd have liked. perhaps I'll add more next time.

 part of our Christmas spread included beef tongue, beef silverside and roast turkey

 and a trifle!

 here's my plate piled high

 One of the most beautiful christmas hams I've ever seen............

and pavlova for dessert!