I was going to post on the weekend but I was pretty much out due to an upset stomach! LOL actually it was a combination of insomnia and upset stomach. So was feeling rather weak…
SATURDAY
Breakfast: Breadtop sausage bun and egg tart $3.50
Morning Tea: A mandarin and museli bar (fine up to this point)
Lunch: Laksa $8.50 and Large Mango Smoothie (?). BIG MISTAKE. I dunno I was at the Market City foodcourt and I really wanted noodles. I decided to get my usual/reliable Happy Chef laksa. It was so delicious!! but I was pretty overwhelmed by the wave of flavour. My friend was really nice and shouted me this large mango shake thing – it tasted really nice.
Afternoon Tea: White Peony Tea (White Tea), Snow Bud Green Tea at White Rabbit Art Gallery. Oh man – the walk there was pretty bad. Felt really unwell, super full/bloated and upset stomach…I got through maybe 1/3rd of the shake and my sister finished the rest. Btw gallery was pretty good if you’re into this sorta thing (or not), you should check it out:
White Rabbit Gallery – Contemporary Chinese Art Collection
Fortunately we had a nice tour guide lady who was obviously very passionate who explained each piece otherwise I would’ve had no idea. There was this really nice teahouse at the gallery which did some snacks and really nice teas. I was feeling pretty crook by now but I thought some tea might help. I didn’t touch the savoury snacks we bought.
Dinner: Nothing. I had no appetite. I tried to have a mouthful of Singapore noodle (ok not the best idea) but it was like the only non deep fried thing for supper after we had an event at church. I was at a church outreach event and helping out and seriously doubting whether I could. Surprisingly I was fine once I composed myself as I walked through the door till I got home (answered prayer :)).
I was just so happy to have flavour again but started reaping the consequences of a week of super healthy/bland food/”ching”.
SUNDAY
Woke up feeling really drained and sick.
Breakfast: Steamed Bun (chicken) the ‘chingest’ thing I could find in Cabra
Morning Tea: At bible study for various reasons we had LOTS of snacks. We had snacks from previous weeks + this week + last night’s leftovers. I felt really conflicted – I was feeling so weak and hungry so normally I would’ve eaten but I couldn’t eat anything except a few Vitawheats. On the other hand, looking at all the food (there were in excess of 10 items: chips, lollies, chocolate, biscuits) I felt rather disgusted. Just the incredible pile felt obscene. No fault of the group at all as ppl have been really generous to provide the food. At the same time I think we need to look at preventing waste-age and not being excessive…
Lunch: Rainbow Trout congee $9.50. Finally some food but LOL I was back to eating congee.
Dinner: My lai-lai cooked and fortunately she doesn’t like strong flavours (garlic, oil, chilli etc). I felt much better by then and could eat somewhat normally.
Reflections:
– Thankfulness: Abundance – just overwhelmed with how much I had to eat in the two days (even when I missed meals). It’s crazy. And the money I had to buy the food.
– Guilt? It was hard not to feel guilty eating such nice food and spending lots of money on it. The tea was $5 for a small pot. I couldn’t believe I was spending so much on tea. But on reflection, I don’t think God wants us to live in guilt. God provided it and has blessed me in abundance.
I guess it goes back to being a steward of what God has given me. With the money, will I use it responsibly and wisely or will I be wasteful or commit the sin of gluttony? It seems we forget about this sin, that excessive eating and lack of self-control in this area is not what God wants for us. God wants me to enjoy the food he’s given me and be thankful.
– Repent: its hard to add new behaviours and new attitudes unless I repented of old behaviours and acknowledged them. Hopefully by doing this it will be easier to take on my new thoughts and attitudes towards the poor and food permanently.
Where to from here?
Hopefully I can be mindful and have permanent change in my attitude after this week. I’ve been thinking of ways for myself and us to keep being concerned about the poor and needy. Here are a couple of ideas:
– Commiting to donating generously for relief funds: I guess we’ve seen a lot of natural disasters recently and there are lots of needy people there. So lots of opportunities in this area.
– Commiting to sponsoring a child: Compassion Australia seems to do a good job of this, I like the fact that the church is closely involved with the childs development AND they get physical help (not just one or the other)
– Praying regularly for those in need
…and more
Thanks for reading! I’ll start to post other topics now so feel free to return for those but otherwise God Bless 🙂
Grace Lung 