There’s one particular restaurant inside Hong Kong Disneyland park that I’ve always wanted to try— Corner Cafe. It’s the first restaurant you see in Main Street, U.S.A. and it’s usually packed!
During our first few trips to the park, we did get to try the other restaurants like Plaza Inn (also in Mainstreet U.S.A), and Riverview Cafe near the Jungle River Cruise (Adventureland)— both of which also offer delicious Asian cuisine. But it’s been one of my goals to try out Corner Cafe, just because it’s the busiest restaurant in the park. Now I know why it is so.
I witnessed a funny thing last night after church. Well, I’m not sure if ”funny” would be the appropriate word for it, but any other adjective escapes my into-the-holiday brain right now.
While waiting for Dennis to finish preaching, I decided to go to a bookstore and browse through some books. Just then, this guy holding a palm branch (palaspas) walked in and went straight to the magazine section, grabbed a copy that was of interest to him, and then browsed through it right beside where I was. He was pretty near so I just took a glance at him, at the same time securing my bag (hehe times like these, it’s okay to be praning– in english, slightly paranoid). Unfortunately, as I turned to take a look, I also caught a glance of what kind of magazine he was holding— a very popular “men’s magazine” (I still don’t think they should call it that, though). With one hand he held a palm branch, which supposedly tells of one “welcoming” Christ the Savior, and with the other hand he held something that would tell otherwise.
A few minutes later, his friend walked up to him to tell him they had to leave. When the friend saw what his friend was looking at, he gave some “friendly” advice: “Pare naman! Kakagaling lang natin ng simbahan eh tapos yan na agad babasahin mo?!” (” *insert ‘pare’ counterpart here* We just came from church and then now, that’s what you’re reading?!”)
Wow. At least this friend was in his right mind and was about to correct Mr. Palaspas.
But then, friendly-advice friend gave an even friendlier advice: “Bukas ka na bumili nyan!” (“Buy one tomorrow instead!”)
Toink.
As funny as it sounds, sometimes we do think like Mr. Palaspas and Mr. Friendly Advice.
Just like Mr. Palaspas, it is sometimes so easy for us to go into this holy week thinking it is just a tradition we practice every year. We can go to church, fast from meat, even fill our houses with palm branches…and yet we are unwilling to let go of our old sinful habits. With one hand we say “Welcome Jesus! We celebrate you! Come into my life!“, and yet with the other hand we still do the very things that He tells us to have nothing to do with.
Or we can be like Mr. Friendly Advice, who sees holy week as just that—a week when you try to act holy. After which, we go back to our “normal” ways…until the next “holy” week.
So what should our mindsets be as we go and celebrate this holy week? Why do we have holy week in the first place?
Well, aside from the joy that we have in being able to take time off from work, Holy Week is really about remembering Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection.
Nothing more, nothing less.
(But of course, it’s really fun to take time off from work and be with family and friends, right?? hehe…but that’s not the point so let’s go back to the real reason…)
It is because of Christ’s death on the cross that all our sins have been atoned for. It is because Christ chose to become sin for us that all our guilt have been washed away.
Jesus died and was buried according to scripture.
But it didn’t end there.
Like I said, it is about Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection– nothing more, nothing less.
On the third day, Jesus resurrected and became alive again, also according to scripture. He did not remain dead. The story did not end with Him losing power and being handed over to death. Because He was Jesus who was completely obedient to God the Father and was blameless, death itself could not hold Him down. He overcame the very thing we are all destined for because of our sin. He was victorious over sin and death—and He chose to share His victory with us! Because of His resurrection, we too, are made alive in Him. Because of His resurrection, we who were once dead to our sins are now alive in Christ. Once we were slaves to sin and our sinful nature, causing us to go on in our sinful patterns…but now we have been set free and we are able to say no to sin and therefore it doesn’t have a hold on us!
We can actually say no to sin! (Yaaay!!! )
This means that I don’t have to hold a palm branch or a Bible in one hand and with the other hand keep on sinning or doing my old ways. Jesus has given me the power to say no to that. This means that I could actually welcome Jesus willingly and completely and not let it be just lip service because I now understand the freedom and the victorious life that He wants me to have. This means that I don’t have to put a timeline to when I can sin and when I cannot sin; I don’t have to try to act holy and on certain times only, because now I know that because of Christ’s death and resurrection I can say no to sin at all times, and I am already made holy.
I am already holy, and none— absolutely NONE of it is of any merit to me. None of my holiness is up to me or up to how I act. My holiness is based solely on what Jesus did for me on the Cross.
I guess this is my overly-zealous way of trying to encourage you, that we don’t have to be either one of them— Mr. Palaspas or Mr. Friendly Advice— anymore. We can, at this time and always, finally leave our old life of sin and completely welcome Christ into our lives. We can enjoy not just this holy week, but we can– from this moment on, live and enjoy holy lives.
We started day two with a delightful breakfast treat at the Enchanted Garden. It is located at Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel, which is very appropriate as it matches the whole Victorian-inspired theme of the hotel. I’ve been wanting to try dining here, since first of all, it’s a buffet (who doesn’t like buffet???) and also, I wanted the kids to experience dining with some of their favorite Disney characters.
Did someone say “buffet”???
So you eat here too, Mickey?
At first, Mika was scared and refused to go near the characters. I don’t know, I think it was the thought of the characters she usually just sees on TV coming to life and being so close to her that intimidated her. But after a while, she couldn’t stop running to them and hugging them! I was extremely happy for her! She overcame her fear!
Goofing around with Goofy
I’m loving your smile, Alyanna!
Mika can’t get enough of him!
I tell you, this restaurant could not just boast about their concept of having the chance to meet and greet the Disney stars, but their good food, too! (Again, you would have to watch out for my food-dedicated post for this!)
After filling our tanks with enough energy supply for the morning (well, honestly I think what we ate was enough to provide us with energy for the whole day), we headed off to Disneyland park once again.
Even though it was our second day at the park, I still marveled at the sights and the atmosphere of the place. Upon entering Main Street, USA, you quickly forget about everything else and feel that you are entering a whole different world. Main Street, USA is where you can find all sorts of stores for different souvenir items that you might want to bring home. From photographs and jewelry for the grown-ups, to the candies and toys for the kids—Main Street, USA is where you go to look for all Disney items you desire to keep.
Main Street, U.S.A. at night
Ever since we stepped foot in Hong Kong, the kids have been excited to ride the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters so off to Tomorrowland we headed. My girls have some competitive blood in them, and so the idea of earning points and checking to see how they measure as space rangers was exciting for them.
Tomorrowland has other rides that kids and kids-at-heart can enjoy such as the Space Mountain, Orbitron, UFO Zone, and Autopia.
Next stop: Fantasyland! Here we find more rides that kids would enjoy. Mad Hatter Tea Cups, Cinderella Carousel, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, and my girls’ favorite—The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
We tried all the rides until it was time for lunch (yay!) . We headed back to Tomorrowland to eat at the Starliner Diner, which served American food. We wanted something that was quick to eat, since we had to catch the next schedule for the Stitch Encounter. The Stitch Encounter caters to different languages, so you would first have to check the schedule for your preferred language.
I can’t really tell if they are hungry…. :p
After the Stitch Encounter, we were actually considering going back to the rides and skipping the parade since we were already here the previous day, but as we were walking along the Sleeping Beauty Castle, one of the cast members spotted the girls and gave them Very Important Princess (VIP) passes to the parade! Of course, we couldn’t pass up the chance for the girls to get the to join the parade again— and dance with the princesses this time!
Thank you for the VIP passes, Yin!
Snow White is saying hello to mini- Snow White
The Princess Dance
After the parade, it was time for us to catch the Festival of the Lion King (in Adventureland). I am amazed at the excellence of their production! I have always been a Lion King fan, so I especially enjoyed this show.
When we were done with the show, the girls requested to have a repeat of some of the rides, after which we used the rest of our time at the park to have our photographs taken with other princesses.
Took this shot while waiting for our turn to have our pictures taken. It really looks like a real castle!
Cinderella, meet Cinderella. Prince Charming, you’d have to wait 30 years before you can meet Alyanna! Hehe :p
Snow White, say hello to Snow White.
I loved our pace today, so relaxed—appropriate for the very cool weather.
So “at-home” in their backyard
As it was getting dark, we decided it was time to go back to Disneyland Hotel. We were going to have dinner at Walt’s Café. What a perfect way to cap off a relaxing day—with a relaxing and sumptuous dinner! I had one of the best coffee (if not the best) I’ve had in a long time. Thank you, Walt.
Day two, done. Tomorrow, we head back home. Oh how I wish I could stay here forever…
We took the first flight to Hong Kong so we had to wake up really early to be at the airport on time. I was a bit worried that the kids would have a hard time waking up and getting dressed but I was wrong. They were their most energetic selves at three in the morning!
Up and about so early in the morning!
Aside from the crew being so approachable and accommodating, I’ve always appreciated their energy. And I especially enjoy the games each time I fly via their airlines! They seem to have the gift of innovating and coming up with awesome ideas to make our flying experience memorable. Who ever said that you can’t fly and have fun at the same time??
The first thing on our itinerary upon arrival in HongKong was…wouldn’t you know it… LUNCH! Our first real meal for the day was well worth just having coffee bun and eggs for breakfast! We were brought to Crystal Lotus in Hong KongDisneyland Hotel, and oh I have to say—you definitely have to try eating there if you get the chance! I will dedicate a whole different post for all the food we ate. Suffice it to say for now, that Crystal Lotus made me one very, very, very happy mommy.
Ready for lunch at Crystal Lotus Restaurant
Enjoying the kiddie plates and utensils!
After lunch, we headed off to Disneyland Park. We were just in time for the Flights of Fantasy Parade—a must-see when you’re in Hong Kong Disneyland! We had a wonderful view of all the beloved characters in all their colorful costumes and floats, singing the song that’s still stuck in my head until now—“Come along and sing the song and join the jamboree! M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E!”
Yay! Perfect spot to watch the parade!
With our very friendly tour guide Janice
I am most happy about the fact that Alyanna overcame her shyness and actually joined in when one of the dancers approached to get her to join them in the parade. I saw that proud look on her face. I was pretty proud of her too. If you know my daughters, getting them to do anything in front of a crowd is a major feat!
Now that I think about it, I realize that I have stopped trying to make New Year resolutions years ago. I think somewhere along the way I noticed how they never seemed to work for me…or for anyone else that I know. Resolutions are all about us trying to “re-solve” things (Don’t you notice that each year we end up trying to solve the same things over and over again?). It is about all about us trying to make our lives a little bit better than the previous year by “correcting” some behaviors and habits which we think are not really helpful for us. It involves us, using the best of our abilities and the strength of our will power to improve ourselves and consequently improve our lives. That’s where I think lies the problem– it is all about us, our strength, our wisdom, our capabilities. I am not saying that this is all bad (or maybe I am. hehe). I am just saying that once we start each year with this kind of mindset, more often than not one of two things happen: We realize that we really do not have that much will power and determination so we end up going back to our old ways in a few months time; OR, we do get to muster up enough discipline and determinati0n and fulfill our list of resolutions, causing us to totally depend on ourselves and boast in ourselves. To some, this may not seem like a bad thing. I’m sure this even sounds good to most people. I just happen to be one of those who prefer to depend and boast on Someone bigger than ourselves.
Enough about resolutions. I just said I don’t believe in them anymore. What I have started in lieu of those resolutions, are lists of my faith goals each year.
What are the things we are believing God for this year in the areas of our faith, health, finances, relationships, household concerns, work, and ministry?
What are the top ten IMPOSSIBLE things we want to see happen this year?
What areas do we feel God is stretching us in, or will stretch us in this 2011?
Faith goals for me consist of two major factors: FAITH and OBEDIENCE.
I recognize the fact that I am so limited in my strength and wisdom, and that on my own, I really would not be able to accomplish much. I acknowledge that I need Grace if I am to change some habits and even my character. I am in faith that it is God who will enable me to do the things I need to do, and that it is He who will work on my behalf– to do even the things that are humanly impossible for me to attain.
I also recognize that faith without action is dead. If I am in faith that God will do mighty things in me, through me, and for me…then I have to allow Him to do so by positioning myself in the center of His will— by obeying His Word. There’s no other way around it. My faith will work as I obey. I obey because I am in faith and I have hope. I trust and I obey. I trust and I obey. Faith and obedience. Faith and obedience…
…Faith and obedience….This will be my life’s dance this year and always.
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