soon siew chew

“However hard some things are to understand, it is never helpful to start picking and choosing biblical truths we find congenial, as if the Bible is an open-shelved supermarket where we are at perfect liberty to choose only the chocolate bars. For the Christian, it is God's Word, and it is not negotiable. What answers we find may not be exhaustive, but they give us the God who is there, and who gives us some measure of comfort and assurance. The alternative is a god we manufacture, and who provides no comfort at all. Whatever comfort we feel is self-delusion, and it will be stripped away at the end when we give an account to the God who has spoken to us, not only in Scripture, but supremely in his Son Jesus Christ.”
― D.A. Carson, How Long, O Lord?: Reflections on Suffering and Evil

“Or have we ourselves become so caught up in the spirit of this age that we are content to be rich in information and impoverished in wisdom and godliness?”
― D.A. Carson, For the Love of God: A Daily Companion for Discovering the Riches of God's Word

“People do not drift toward Holiness. Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith, and delight in the Lord. We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated.”
― D.A. Carson

“Sealing fish and a few other aromatic ingredients in a parchment paper package is one of the best ways to achieve perfectly cooked white fish with minimal work. And it always makes an impression when the packages are snipped open at the table, revealing the lovely fish and vegetables inside and releasing their amazing aroma. You need only parchment and kitchen string to form the packages and you can serve this with your favorite seasoned rice.”
― Joanna Gaines, Magnolia Table: A Collection of Recipes for Gathering