Category: Yelly Writes

My life is extraordinarily ordinary and this is celebrating and writing about my beautifully ordinary moments.

Yelly Writes

Wrestling with faith

Yelly
St Paul’s Cathedral, London

Faith is not the belief that God will do what you want.
It is the belief that God will do what is right.
Max Lucado, He Still Moves Stones: Everyone Needs a Miracle

 

You know that Old Testament Bible story where Jacob dreams that he wrestles with God? That’s how I feel at the moment. I feel like I’ve gone 11 rounds against a bigger, stronger, quicker opponent.

I’ve been stressing over the what-might-happens, the what-ifs and struggling to control my environment. And oh my goodness, do I feel exhausted! And before I bungle any more boxing related metaphors, I’ll stop.

I’ve struggled so much to hold on to the idea that I’m in control. I’m not. Not really. He is…and I surrender completely. I’ve struggled with this, with the surrender, because of what it might mean, because of what might happen if I surrender what I think I have control over. At points, I felt as if I was throwing in the towel, giving in to the inevitable. But then I realised, God is in control. He has a plan, He always had one. He allowed me to choose but inevitably, He would prefer that I hand the reins over to Him because His plan is way better than mine. Surrendering to Him isn’t really giving up the fight. It’s allowing the stronger fighter to fight your corner, to take up the reins.

So yes Lord. Yes. Whatever is Your perfect will, God. Whatever it is, I know you’ll get me through it. I don’t have to worry about being strong. Because You’re more than strong enough for the both of us. With more honesty than I’ve ever said it before, in Your perfect time, according to Your perfect will.

 

 

Yelly Writes

The quiet times

Yelly

“When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence.” ― Ansel Adams

I’ve always had something to say, an opinion to express, or an argument to make.  My family encouraged vocal discourse; my father’s family fostered an environment where dry, sarcastic humour was used to drive home a point; my mother’s family encouraged debate – about everything: political opinion, religious dogma, the traffic, the path of the ants on the wall, you name it, my mother’s family would happily discuss and argue about it.  So naturally, I talked.  A lot.  It was the only logical development in my communication progression.  I had to fight to be heard, so I learned how to talk.

But lately, I’ve found that quietness is good too.  That thinking and not necessarily talking about the thoughts that run through your head is also a good thing.  I’ve learned that sometimes chatter is just a filler. Sometimes companionable silence is a sign of true acceptance and belonging. You don’t always have to say things to be understood.

Of course, the caveat to that is that one has to talk, so that feelings can be understood and there won’t be any misunderstandings.  There is that old maxim that says “actions speak louder than words.”  This is true.  I am also of the persuasion that things that can be said must be said.  It’s never better left unsaid.

Yelly Writes

Lessons of faith

Yelly

“I realized that the deepest spiritual lessons are not learned by His letting us have our way in the end, but by His making us wait, bearing with us in love and patience until we are able to honestly to pray what He taught His disciples to pray: Thy will be done.” ― Elisabeth Elliot, Passion and Purity: Learning to Bring Your Love Life Under Christ’s Control

 

I’ve not very been very vocal about my faith or my spirituality.  Maybe because in this very secular world I didn’t want to tread on people’s toes or sensitivities.  I know that we are all allowed to say what we feel, what we think and our faith is one of the most important testaments we can make.  However, that being said, I think I’ve allowed myself to be more PC than I thought I would ever be.  Because of that, allowed myself to not talk about how my faith gets me through each day.  I’m reminded of Psalty the Singing Songbook from the Kids’ Praise series of music albums I used to listen to when I was little.  I can still hear Psalty saying “God wouldn’t want you to hide your light under a bushel!”  And that’s exactly what I allowed myself to do.

I am truly a church kid.  I grew up getting up early on a Sunday morning, getting dressed in my Sunday best and going to church and Sunday school.  I sang in the children’s choir and Christmas was always busy with children’s choir rehearsals.  My summers were spent attending daily vacation church school, attending summer church camps and other church-based activities.  It didn’t stop there.  As I got older, i graduated to joining the chancel choir, acting as bible study leader, children’s choir conductor and summer camp cell group leader.  If I were still in the Philippines, I would probably still be in church most weekends, happily involved in the various things church-related.  Most of my oldest and most enduring friendships are with people I grew up with, in church.  I am quite thankful that I grew up in church because I know that this has founded my faith and it is my faith that carries me through the dark days.

It is because I grew up in church that I learned to take solace in prayer and meditation.  I find that the quiet times that I spend alone with my thoughts, tears, prayers and meditations ground me and steady me.  It allows me to surrender everything to the higher power taking care of us.  It is also because of that faith that the word surrender doesn’t feature negatively in my vocabulary.  Surrender is sometimes the bravest thing to do.

Quite recently, I started listening to Oprah Winfrey’s Super Soul Conversations podcast.  She had a conversation with Rev Ed Bacon about spirituality.  It was such an ecumenical discussion about faith that it gave me a lightbulb moment.  I had to look back on conversations about faith that I had with the friends I have here.  I found that I had discussions about faith and prayer with friends who were Christian, Muslim, and others who didn’t necessarily ascribe to a particular religious doctrine.  Spirituality and faith is universal.  So talking about it is universal.  It is funny that it’s taken me so long to realise this!

And today, as with all the most difficult days, my mantra is “In His perfect time, according to His perfect will.”

Yelly Writes

My father, my hero!❤️

Yelly

“The father’s job is to teach his children how to be warriors, 
to give them the confidence to get on the horse to ride into battle 
when it’s necessary to do so.” 
― Cheryl Strayed, Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail

Happy Father’s Day to the most amazing man I know.

I will never be able to thank you enough for everything that you did for us, so that we could follow our dreams, be strong enough to fight our own battles and live the lives we want. Your kindness and generous heart extended not just to your family but even to people on the street that you barely knew. You loved generously and gave of yourself to your family unselfishly.

I am blessed because I know HOW MUCH you love us. You will forever be our amazing superhero, our miracle man.

I love you Abba. Always and forever.

Yelly Writes

Trying something new

Yelly

I’m trying something different in the hope that I can emerge from this writing inertia.  I’ve always written my Instagram posts around a literary quote that fits my mood.  I’m hoping it helps lift this dark cloud over my writing muses.

It’s also very possible that life has become busier than ever.

But if I want to allow my creativity to flow, I need to make time for it!

Yelly Writes

On a break

Yelly

“When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence.” ― Ansel Adams

 

I haven’t really written anything lately.  I went to Edinburgh and I’ve come back with loads of amazing photos, and yet I’ve not done anything with them.  I’ve been feeling a bit out of sorts lately.  I’m not feeling a connection with my writing.  I’ve been struggling creatively and I feel like I need a massive kick up the backside to get me out of this non-writing loop!

Oh help!

Yelly Writes

Birthday surprise!

Yelly

So for my birthday I went up north…way north.  I went to Edinburgh.

I was excited about the trip because I hadn’t been to Edinburgh as a tourist for 10 years.  The last time I was there, as a tourist, was in 2007, when my cousin Genevieve got married.

I’ve been back to Edinburgh several times in between, but those were work trips, when I used to work as an event organiser for scientific societies.  There was never any time to nip out and be the tourist.  All I saw was either the train station, the inside of a cab, then venue, my quarters and then back again.

It was a bittersweet trip because the last time I walked the streets of Edinburgh, I was with my dearest Abba.  So when Alan and I were walking down Princes Street I had to go where my Abba and I posed for a snapshot that, I think, my mum took.

So on my birthday Alan and I did the usual touristy bits…walking around, getting on buses, snapping photos every chance we got.  I was getting a bit tired and hungry and I thought we were going somewhere to eat when Alan says, let’s get off here.  “Here” was a non-descript street.  “Let’s walk here,” he says.  “We’ve never walked here before.”  I’m not entirely sure if I said it out loud, but I thought I did say’ “Hun, we’ve never walked here before, because we’ve never been to Edinburgh together!”  I can get a bit tetchy when I’m hungry.  I think we all do but I was getting annoyed that we seemed to walk aimlessly, in the unusual Edinburgh heat.  It was my birthday.  I didn’t want to be whingy on my birthday.  So I bit my tongue, followed Alan’s lead.  We actually walked past bins!

When we rounded a corner, he said “Oooh what’s up here?”  So we walk up these steps, past majestic columns and walked through this beautiful entryway.

He asks the person standing at the door, “How do we get to the Georgian Tea Room please?”  My jaw drops open.  He’s done it again.  He’s managed to surprise me with a visit to a gorgeous place to have my favourite afternoon thing to do.

Alan surprised me with afternoon tea, on my birthday, in one of the most sumptuous places in Edinburgh.  We went to The Dome!

Needless to say, I was smiling the whole way through the afternoon.  It was such a beautiful place and it was such a special way to celebrate my birthday.  I was a very happy birthday girl! 👸🏻❤

Yelly Writes

Published!

Yelly

So in 2016 I posted this photo on Instagram:

I loved the photo because it has one of my favourite London building icons, the Elizabeth Tower, aka Big Ben (which actually is the name of the bell that’s inside the tower).  I was quite pleased that the photo came out pretty well.  It probably didn’t have as many likes on Instagram as I would have wanted, but in the end, it’s not necessarily about the likes.  I was really proud of the photo.  It showed textbook depth of field and I was really pleased with how it turned out.  It was a perfect representation of how pretty springtime sunshine in London can be.  The Marketing girls of the firm I worked for loved it so much too that they used it on the firm’s website for springtime themed posts.

And two years later, my lovely little photograph of the Queen Elizabeth Tower and the daffodils in the gardens at Guys and St Thomas’ Hospital has been featured in the Essex Chronicle business supplement in a two-page spread in the that my firm contributes to.  I am grateful to the Marketing department at my firm because they want to support and promote home-grown talent, as it were.

What’s even better is that I get credited for the photo!

I, of course, did what any self-respecting, modest person would do – I posted stories on Instagram about my photo in the paper and added the same videos on Facebook.  I’ve bought a couple of copies of the paper to send to my mum and sister in Manila, too!  Oh, and if you’re in Essex, it’s in this week’s print edition of the Essex Chronicle!  Of course, I would also recommend you reading the brilliant business articles that my colleagues at Rickard Luckin have written as they provide really good business insights!  I’ve tried to play it really calm, cool and collected but of course in true giddy-giggly Bridget Jones-esque fashion, I failed miserably.  I was far too pleased with myself!  It was quite the event in my life!

 

Yelly Writes

How to cook rice…perfectly

Yelly

This was another post that was originally on our blog Pan-Asian Kitchen.  For anyone who fears cooking rice via the absorption method, I hope the the infographic helps you along! 

How to cook riceI thought an infographic would be useful.

Cooking rice has always been a daunting task to a lot of people.  But if you’re Asian, rice is a staple, so cooking rice is a skill that (should be) learned early.  There are various ways to cook boiled rice.  Some people boil rice and then drain the liquid.  My mom taught me early and most Filipinos will use what is known in the rice bowl circuits as the absorption method.  I love this method because, despite a lot of disbelief, the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan (even if you don’t use a non-stick pan).

The steps are simple and I hope the infographic helps!  Any questions, please leave them in the comments section.  I’m definitely happy to help.

This infographic is also downloadable!  Click here.

Yelly Writes

Rice bowls at the ready!

Yelly

About 2 years ago, whilst we were completely obsessed about the London food scene and because we wanted a project to do together, Alan and I started a blog, Pan-Asian Kitchen.  Unfortunately, after starting the blog, writing a few entries and actually buying a domain, it has fallen by the wayside and real life has allowed us to fall into some sort of blogging inertia.  The last post on the blog was in January 2017!

We’ve taken the brave decision to, unfortunately, stop writing for that blog and concentrate on this blog.  Alan will be guest writing for me sometimes on the blog.  This way we’re still sharing our passion for food and photography with everyone and we’re still doing this together.

The next thing I’ll have to figure out is how to move the media files from that blog to this one!  Wordpress boffins, I need your help!  Is there a quick way to move posts from one blog to another?

Thank goodness it’s the weekend soon.  I’ll have time to figure out what to do!