why criticism should sometimes be taken with a pinch of salt

i love how brad bird inserts this interesting speech right at the end of a children's movie.
Ratatouille is not as flashy as The Incredibles or clever as Toy Story. But it certainly has a lot of adult charm.

Anton Ego: "In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face is that, in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. But there are times when a critic truly risks something, and that is in the discovery and defense of the new. Last night, I experienced something new, an extraordinary meal from a singularly unexpected source. To say that both the meal and its maker have challenged my preconceptions is a gross understatement. They have rocked me to my core. In the past, I have made no secret of my disdain for Chef Gusteau’s famous motto: Anyone can cook. But I realize that only now do I truly understand what he meant. Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere. It is difficult to imagine more humble origins than those of the genius now cooking at Gusteau’s, who is, in this critic’s opinion, nothing less than the finest chef in France. I will be returning to Gusteau’s soon, hungry for more."

this week, three of my staff in the cafe had birthdays on the same day so Y dressed up as a big old cow and delivered a cake to the cafe. We then took turns taking pictures with the enormous cow head. :)

it's nice to know silliness can still prevail, humour can still win the day and work can still be as enjoyable as it always has been for the past 6 years since the SOT enterprise began. New challenges - personal, spiritual, material - crop up all the time but it really is good to know God is in control and I still passionately believe, as long as you keep trying to stay on the striaght and narrow, He will help make things work on all levels.

this is perpetually in my mind these days: what does it mean to be a christian especially as a colleague to difficult colleagues, as an employer of staff that make mistakes, as a waitress to demanding customers, as a teacher to unresponsive students. as a daughter to sometimes rambunctious parents.

it's so tough applying what you know about grace and forgiveness when it comes to work - where demands on efficiency are high and less slack can be cut. I suspect if all of us in church or cell group were forced to work together in a office context, we would see a lot more of our true selves. Work sometimes can bring out the demanding beast in us. Simultaneously though, because you see each other in high stress situations and see the tough, less likable parts emerge - there are much more opportunities for grace to emerge and bless.

the difficult part of course is making the decision to actively - not passively - issue grace.

we don't need to dispense grace. Grace is a senseless choice in our world. You give grace to those who may not appreciate it or acknowledge it in any way and you are expected to be glad for it.

Grace is tough and it ain't meant to be cheap. Grace is costly and goes against your intellect and pride.

my constant prayer - when i remember to pray - is just to be able to allow grace to overflow and soothe my own self-righteous wrath away.

It is so humbling to be reminded in Proverbs to make every word of your tongue a word of HEALING and BLESSING. not cursing and undermining.

I really love the apostle Paul for voicing out the everyday struggle of Christians in Romans 7:14-25 (The Message)

"I can anticipate the response that is coming: "I know that all God's commands are spiritual, but I'm not. Isn't this also your experience?" Yes. I'm full of myself—after all, I've spent a long time in sin's prison. What I don't understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can't be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God's command is necessary.

But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can't keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don't have what it takes. I can will it, but I can't do it. I decide to do good, but I don't really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don't result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.

It happens so regularly that it's predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God's commands, but it's pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.

I've tried everything and nothing helps. I'm at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn't that the real question?

The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different."

Every day is beautiful and joyful and hopeful - not because things are always beautiful, joyful and hopeful...because oh man, there are PROBLEMS all the time - but everyday is gorgeous because it is a wonderful thing to know that God is in charge.

Worrying and fearing just lead to evil. Trusting, hoping and doing what needs to be done again and again - no matter how many times you feel you could have done better - leads to glory.