Jack in the Box: Brunch Burger

Today I ate something really amazing and I feel the need to blog about it. You know how you burst out into song when you're in love? Okay, I don't know either... but in any case, here I am, bursting out into blog.

The spotlight food: Jack in the Box's Brunch Burger.

I never eat here, but JITB has recently been more on my radar because of their new "Munchie Meal," a calorie laden feast that includes a medium soft drink, a special item of your choice, two tacos, and halfies (a mix of normal fries and curly fries). It costs just 6 dollars to join this party.  Also, this deal is only offered after 9 pm, thereby catering to the irresponsible sleeping habits of college students and, as the name implies, those who participate in recreational drug use. But regardless of who the target consumer is, everyone loves a large late night meal.

One of my least favorite things about Irvine is that everything closes at 9 pm, except for a few places like JITB, Del Taco, and BCD Tofu. From all the crazy stories I've heard about late night Del Taco runs, I know that you only go there at 2 am in the morning to make poor life decisions. I've also never attempted to take advantage of my 24/7 access to tofu soup, but I'm sure if I did it would be in absolute delirium. So with that in mind, I usually try stay away from these childish hooligan-y "YOLO" activities because I need to be the responsible, mature, American citizen that grad school is helping me become (cough).

Part of our sin nature is that something becomes more desirable when it is forbidden. Girls like the bad boys their fathers hate. Dieters binge on the donuts they can't have. And I want a dangerous life characterized by consuming artery clogging processed meats after 9 pm, even though it's bad for me. Such a rebel.

Luckily for me, I just happened to be feeling ravenous tonight after picking up my roommate from her night class, so I suppose it was logic and opportunity that led me to the Munchie Meal, rather than an intended act of rebellion. Sorry guys.

Everything was packaged in a cute little purple box, which I'm assuming is either supposed to facilitate snacking in the car, or to prevent an inebriated/high person from spilling all the things. There's even a fun little "Spin the Taco" game printed on the inner box flap that dares you to "kiss your taco" and "give yourself fry fangs." Too bad the area of the taco pretty much covers most of the designated spin zone, so you can't really tell what your taco lands on. Still, fry fangs sound like a fun idea, regardless of what your taco decides.

My night with the Munchie Meal began pretty normally. First I worked on the fries, then sipped on some of my coke, and then ate a taco. I turned on Netflix and started watching Merlin and chatting with people, then moved back to the fries. Then I decided to try to brunch burger.

And then...my life changed.

(Not my photo because I was too busy inhaling my own)

Okay, yes, this is just a another greasy unhealthy fast food burger that isn't meant to win any awards or give JITB any Michelin stars. I get that. But let's break this sandwich down: 

1. Croissant. A buttery, flaky bun that far exceeds any ordinary burger bun (except maybe a nicely toasted In-N-Out bun, or an adventurous donut bun). 
2. Burger patty. Thick, juicy, beefy. Yes. 
3. Hash browns. Crispy, greasy, fried potato-y happiness. 
4. Fried egg. Breakfast at midnight!
5. Bacon. Bacon. Bacon. 
6. Cheese. Iconic melted American plastic cheese. 

So there you go, this sandwich has all of my favorite foods combined into one delicious creation. Of course I highly recommend you all go out and get your own box (maybe sample the loaded chicken nuggets?). 

I personally probably won't be doing this again anytime in the near future, even though it sure was fun!. And now, it is time to make a salad for tomorrow...

Opera Cafe

Loooooooooooooove this place!

Luke 22:54-62, The Failure and Restoration of the Apostle Peter

Some notes from a fantastic sermon this past Sunday, given by guest speaker Pastor Nelson Hsieh.
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This passage recounts Peter's denial of Christ, despite his proud assertion that he would never do so. No one was closer to Jesus than Peter, and yet he still ended up betraying him. Overcome with guilt and grief from his great failure, we see in Luke 22:62 that Peter "went out and wept bitterly."

There are two ways in which we can read the Bible:

1. We can read the Bible and think, "What bad behavior am I supposed to avoid?" 
2. We can read the Bible and think, "How does this passage point me to Christ? How is God going to work through the sinner in this case? Where is the gospel?" The truth is, failures magnify Christ. 

In Luke 22:31-34, we see that even though Jesus has already prayed for Peter (that his faith would not fail), he still gives Satan permission to sift Peter like wheat. In other words, Jesus allows Peter to betray him. Verse 32 gives the purpose for this: to humble and refine Peter so that after he comes back, he will know how to encourage other Christians ("when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers."). We see this coming to fruition later in Acts when Peter is indeed a strong leader who is able to lead and emphasize with the weaknesses/failures of others, most likely because of his own personal failure from having denied Christ.  

Additionally, we see in John 21:15-17 that Jesus is the one who initiates the mending of their relationship, even though he was the one who was betrayed. Jesus is the one who pursues Peter, Jesus is the one who forgives Peter, and Jesus is the one who restores Peter to ministry. 

We will fail in our spiritual walks. We will sin, fall into temptation, and love our idols over and over again. But it is not up to us to fix up our lives so that we're good enough for God. No, Jesus is the one who forgives us and restores us. 

ephesians 3:20

It seems like every time I stop striving for something through my own strength and give it up to God's will, God ends up blessing me with it (or something better) soon after. Yesterday, I had come to peace with my lack of ministry accomplishments. Today, things totally changed through unexpected answered prayers.

My pastor has recently been challenging my home group to grow in the area of prayer, specifically by setting aside a portion of every day to pray for a set amount of time. Last week our "homework" was to pray for 10 minutes every day. This week it's 15. Next week it'll be 20, and so on, until we reach 60 minutes. Craaaazzzyyy. He said something along the lines of, "When you pray more, you become more conscious of God working in your life. When you don't pray for something and you get it, you attribute it to your own strength and you get the glory. When you earnestly pray for something and you get it, all the glory goes to God." While I haven't been totally consistent in setting aside time every day to pray with intentionality, the days in which I am able to do so have been so, so sweet, partially because I can see God answer my prayers but also because it's just nice to be able to fellowship with God.

Let us not forget the example of Martin Luther, the man who typically prayed for 2 hours a day, except on days when he was busy, in which he would then pray for 3. It's crazy for us to think this way because when we're stressed or busy, our instinct is to spend more time working, and less time asking because it doesn't feel as productive. And yet from Martin Luther came the Reformation!

This reminds me of Ephesians 3:20:

"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen."

Also somewhat related, I was quite convicted by the simplicity of these lyrics during praise today:

'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, 
And to take him at his word; 
Just to rest upon his promise,
And to know, "Thus saith the Lord."

when disappointment is expected, but encouragement is given instead

Yesterday I was in the car with my pastor when he asked me how small group leading was going. I didn't have much to say because my group had only casually met up once, and, honestly, I felt a little ashamed that I didn't have anything profound to report due to this lack of meeting up. I felt responsible for having accomplished nothing in terms of meet ups and teaching lessons. So when I hesitatingly told him the truth (that we had only met up once), I braced myself for all the possible responses that I could imagine: Why don't you reach out more? You need to sacrifice for them until it hurts. Why don't you work harder? You need to love them more, invest more, do more. 

To my surprise, he instead thanked me for being faithful to the ministry and for persevering, and even said that I was a blessing to the church. Whoa, what?

Now, my pastor is definitely NOT the kind of guy who would ever lecture you, put you down, or be disappointed in you about something like your ministry accomplishments/failures. But the fact that I was expecting a negative response to my lack of "deliverables" is a clear indication that my view of ministry is still subconsciously influenced by my academic and success-oriented lifestyle. Even though I know that numbers aren't important, I still find myself grasping for something, however small it may be, to report. In lab we call these "milestones," and report them every Friday morning at lab meeting.

The struggle is great because I have been immersed in a high achievement environment all my life, be it school, lab, work, or even at home. Having been accustomed to receiving little grace for failure, I end up approaching ministry with a checklist mentality. I don't fret too much about getting the logistics done, but instead I worry about "accomplishing" spiritual growing and learning.

This exchange with my pastor reminds me of when I used to lead campus evangelism in college and how sometimes no one would show up, or no one was willing to listen to a gospel presentation. One time I went with a sister and we walked all over campus after being rejected by about 10 people. We were passing over Snake Path when I began to complain about how we weren't getting anything done. Then she said, "You know, it's okay if you don't get to share the gospel with someone, or even if no one comes out. What's important and encouraging is that you're consistent every week, and faithful to God."

Again: whoa, what?

Both instances remind me of the true purpose of ministry: people. It's not always about whether people come out and learn and grow (though these are important), but whether the ministry serves the needs of the people in the best way possible. Sometimes this means that programs don't fit the traditional cookie-cutter molds, and sometimes this means that programs are rigidly structured. Sometimes this means that programs are removed completely and replaced with something new, and sometimes this means that they stay exactly the same.

Definitely thankful for such encouraging and godly brothers and sisters in Christ.

Seaport Village

One of my favorite places to walk around in San Diego.

Lobster

Sherman Library and Gardens

Ventured to Corona Del Mar for some cute plant pics.

Sawdust Winter Art Festival

Balboa Island