Open Up Your Heart

When I just accepted Christ, I always heard people saying the phrase 'open up your heart', or people telling me to 'open up your heart'. At first, I didn't really understand; I could understand that it means being open and receptive to what was being taught in church and what our spiritual leaders are preaching according to the word of God, but how do you 'open up your heart'? Exactly how? How are you able to make your heart open? How sure are you that your heart is open and receptive? And how much are you taking in and agreeing? How much can you agree and receive?

Then it came to a point that I was the one telling others to open up their hearts. And I realised that people can't open up their hearts unless they allow God to open up their hearts.

And how do you allow God? It's just by surrendering, every part of you, yielding to Him bit by bit and acknowledging that He is God.

Previously, I didn't understand why there is this phrase 'sweet surrendering'. How is surrendering sweet? How can denying yourself be something sweet and desirable when you know it is a sacrifice that you're making? How can it turn out to be beautiful? Well, now I do understand, that it's because of the beauty of the Lord and His grace that makes surrendering sweet and beautiful. It's because when you surrender to the Lord and start yielding to Him, that His delight and pleasure comes upon you, and you're instantly filled with assurance and joy.

Friends, no matter what you are facing or going through in life, know that when you open up your heart and allow God, His grace is able to save you. There are many decisions we can make with our lives, and in fact every single thing that you do and who you are today are the results of the very decisions you have made. But what are the choices that will make a difference and impact the lives of others positively? What are the choices that will yield an everlasting result? What are you pursuing that will last beyond our time on earth? What are you doing that will bring change the way God intended? --  these are the questions worth asking ourselves.

Psalm 139:23-24 ~ Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

The Bebek Experience

Ubud Bali is famous for its culture, friendly local community, beautiful countryside views, and of course the local specialty that has grown to be world renowned -- Bebek Bengil. It literally means Dirty Duck Diner. No, it's not dirty at all. On the contrary, it's actually a very beautiful restaurant overlooking paddy fields, you get to sit under wooden and straw huts or long tables.

Whence come the name? Here's the story from the owners...

When we were building the restaurant, we thought long and hard about a name. Many good suggestions came from our friends, but none seemed just right. We knew we wanted a Balinese name that translated well into English. However, for a long time the metaphor eluded us.

One tropical monsoon morning, when the restaurant was very close to being finished (we had the concrete floor down, and the tables in), a flock of ducks from the rice field across the road (yes, there were rice fields all around us then) ran quacking and squawking into the restaurant and across the floor and tables. They left muddy webbed footprints all over the place. They were our first guests - those dirty ducks!

 And so the name stuck. Bebek is duck in Bahasa Indonesia. Their signature dishes include Bebek Bengil (half a duck marinated in spices and deep-fried to crispy perfection) and Balinese Smoked Duck, which takes many hours to marinate and prepare so that you have to pre-book and pre-order this dish. According to our driver Nyoman (who happens to live nearby and knows the guy who handles the marinating spices for the restaurant), apart from the many spices used to marinate the duck, it's actually the special cooking technique that makes it so good. After marinating the duck, it is buried into a heap of rice husk, which will then be lighted. As rice husk does not catch on fire easy or can't be burnt easily, it ends up smoking instead, and the heat from the rice husk smokes the duck slowly, taking at least 4-5 hours to fully cook the duck.

The meat is so tender and juicy, with a slight tinge but not too strong of the taste duck meat. The herbs and spices are so well executed that it doesn't take away the original taste of duck meat, but complements it perfectly.

 The set comes with rice,

Vegetables, which is long beans with beans sprout,

Balinese Sate, which is totally different from what we have in Malaysia and worth trying. The sauce is Mmm~Mmm Yummy!

Keropok

2 glasses of pure fruit punch

 

 True satisfaction! Totally worth its price of IDR 185,000 / RM 67.50. The Smoked Duck set feeds three to the brim.

21 years of business, with branches in Jakarta and Hong Kong (I think). Here's the address:

Bebek Bengil (Dirty Duck Diner)

Hanoman Street,

Padang Tegal, Ubud,

80571 Bali, Indonesia

Telephone Number/Fax No : +(62-361) 975 489

Thank you Lord, for the delicious dinning time together. :)

Bali

My family and I were in Bali for a week. Been to many places (will try to remember the names), saw many interesting sites, and tasted great many good food. Although the aftereffects of having too much spicy food for a week is what I'll have to bear with now.

Bali is beautiful. But one piece of advise: if you're like me and like culture and nature more than commercialism, clubbing and congestion, then you might want to stay in Ubud for 3-4 days and only 1-2 days at Kuta.

Here goes the pix...

Babi Guling -- famous and must have at Ubud.

Mum and I sitting under a bamboo bush.

The Ubud Pasar. Lots of arts, crafts and souvenirs.

Guitar Miniatures

Padi -- you'll see fields all over the countryside of Bali.

And even at where we stayed -- Nick's Pension. Ducks in the field going home after the evening feed.

Ever seen spiders like this before?

You ain't seen nothing yet. This one's bigger!

Sunset at Nick's Pension

Rice Terrace

Nyoman, our driver, talking with Mum

Kintamani Volcano

And Batur Lake beside the volcano.

Tampak Siring -- holy spring temple

Visitors and locals taking a dip in the temple's holy water.

Balinese worshiping in the temple.

More paddy fields. See this almost everywhere.

And they are mostly planted on terraces.

Goa Gajah. No elephants, though. This is an ancient temple.

 The next day...

 We went to the palace temple.

 Then we went to Bedugul.

 It was a rainy day, but it was still beautiful all the same.

 Ulun Danu Temple -- Beratan Bedugul Lake

 Beratan Lake

 Gitgit Waterfalls

 The water is ice cold.

Thank you Lord, for your wonderful creation. :)

More in the next posts...