God's Timely Reminder for Me - The Desired Outcomes of Preschool Education

I am very thankful to God for His timely reminder. A great reminder much needed.

I've always have a heart for education and when I became a SAHM to Han, it was natural that I invest my educator training to teaching her. One question that keeps hanging on my mind: What must she learn in her preschool years areas such as language, math, science etc. My educator mindset immediately launch me to a hunt of learning milestones that I assume Han needs to have and how best to help her reach these milestones. I do not believe in "hot-housing" my child by sending her to extra classes and I determine in myself that an underlying educational principle to uphold is to instill in Han a lifelong love for learning.

Tonight I stumbled upon this from the MOE website:

Desired Outcomes of Pre-school Education

At the end of pre-school education, children will:

• Know what is right and what is wrong
• Be willing to share and take turns with others
• Be able to relate to others
• Be curious and be able to explore
• Be able to listen and speak with understanding
• Be comfortable and happy with themselves
• Have developed physical co-ordination and healthy habits
• Love their family, friends, teachers and kindergarten

Nothing about whether preschool kids should have learned how to count from 1 to ?? or to be well-trained in phonics and reading, much as all these are important.

I found myself reading through the paragraph again and again. It was God's reminder to me to always remember more than just knowledge my child has to gain,there are definitely more things that matter much more. Beyond helping her learn what she needs to learn, I must remember to teach and train her moral character.

E and I would of course add in another desired outcome to our own list. That Han would know, love and serve God always.

Thank you Lord for speaking:)

3 days of 30 going on 13

Ever watched the movie "13 going on 30" where a 13 year old girl experiences life being 30? Well, the reverse happened to me for 3 days. Yes, I just hit the big 3 this year and it was a case of 30 going on 13!

I was a group facilitator for a group of teens at a church teens camp for 3 days. It was an awesome time of seeing God's amazing work in their lives! Being a teens facilitator requires me to have a young heart (and body!). The energy of the teens were simply contagious and I had the wildest time with them during games.

I am extremely thankful that my post pregnancy-post delivery-mummyhood battled body survived two nights of sleeping on a concrete floor using a sleeping bag. The teens chuckled when they saw me inflating my air pillow, which gave me little comfort in the total 7 hours of sleep I had for the two nights. I will seriously consider investing in an airbed for the next camp! E had suggested getting one for the camp but I was hesitant because of the cost haha.

More than anything else, I praise God and thank Him for reviving my heart for youth work through this camp. For a while since I became a mum, I was battling doubts over my availability and capacity as a youth leader. It was tough and I am so thankful for my pastor who never gave up believing in me. Through the camp, the Lord encouraged me and spoke to me clearly that my service to Him should always be a "dedication and not duty". He assured me that He still believed in me and will provide for all that I need as I do His work. I am reminded that He is as concerned about the journey and process of training me to lead, as much as getting the work done. I asked God to keep me faithful to His work always.
 
Han was extremely happy to have mummy back after 3 days at gramps. I am so thankful for my parents who took good care of her. Going to take a day of two's break and we'll say hello to potty training for this week!

Thoughts from a Narnia Newbie

It's quite embarrassing because the new Narnia film, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, is the first Narnia film that I have watched even though it's the third one to be released. Honestly, I've never been a big fan of fantasy movies. I've never seen a Harry Potter film and it took me quite awhile to understand the details of The Lord of the Rings, which I eventually like though still not a great fan of. I would much prefer film of modern era which I find it easier to relate to.

Nonetheless, at the persuasion of E, we went to catch the latest Narnia film during our weekly date and I walked away wanting to catch it a second time and with a newly purchased The Chronicles of Narnia book set. Does that make me a fan?


I reflected on three statements, made during the film, that struck me deeply and which I thought are statements that God is using to speak to me. (Please note the accuracy of the statements is based on my memory and may not contain the exact words)


1) "You doubt your value, don't run away from who you are." (Aslan to Lucy)

This one went deep into my heart. God was using this to once again remind me of the work He can still do in me regarding issues of significance. 


2) "To defeat the darkness outside, you must first defeat the darkness within yourself." (Magician)

For the past few days, time with the Lord was focused on the area of allowing Him to check my heart and realigning myself to His will. So this one was a further affirmation of a reminder and lesson I am learning.

3) "No matter how hard I try, I can't do it by myself, and then he came close. It hurt but it was good pain." (Eustace)

I teared when I heard this. Isn't it true? All our human efforts are in vain before Him and His glory. We need the Holy Spirit and His empowerment in all we do and in our service to Him. Personally whenever I try too hard with my own strength, and when God intervened (thankfully!), it hurt. Pride has to be stripped and knowledge that puffs up has to be bowed in humility. And yes, I totally agree, it was good pain. This reminds me of God's Word in Hebrews 12: 4-13:


^"4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. ⁵ And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says,    “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
   and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
⁶ because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
   and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”^[a]
 7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? ⁸ If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. ⁹ Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! ¹⁰ They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. ¹¹ No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
 ¹² Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. ¹³ “Make level paths for your feet,”^[b] so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed"

 Have a blessed weekend!


 

Songs to God

This devotion really spoke to me.

"Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music IN YOUR HEART to the Lord..." Ephesians 5:19

In our household, having praise and worship songs played on the CD player is no rarity. I take extra effort to surround our house with lots of praise and worship songs in order to instill in Han a love for His music. When I was reading the verse above, I was very struck by the three words "in your heart". God reminded me that songs to Him must be first made in our hearts way before it comes from our mouths. What is a praise and worship song to Him if we sing it, without first rendering that praise and worship from our hearts to God?

I can play an endless list of songs to Him from my player or even from my guitar, but I know what delights the Father is first a song that starts in my heart and offered to Him with all sweetness of my soul because He is God.

Lord, help me to daily have a song in my heart for You and to You, always giving thanks for EVERYTHING.

Staying Connected!

 It was a great time of fellowship and of worshiping the Lord together during G12 meeting! For tonight's meeting, one of the things pastor shared was from Galatians 6:2 "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."

I am always thankful to God for the community that He has set around E and I, and especially for the group of G12 sisters that I have. As a mum, I think it's vitally important to stay connected! First to God, and also to His people. You cannot parent alone (and this we all learn when the child arrives). Many a times, when the demands of parenting gets into me, I must confess it is easier for me to just want to be alone and "sort things out". One thing that God is constantly reminding me is that I must stay connected and not seek to solve things by myself. What an important lesson to learn everyday!

Psalm 133

 ¹ How good and pleasant it is
   when God’s people live together in unity!
 ² It is like precious oil poured on the head,
   running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron’s beard,
   down on the collar of his robe.
³ It is as if the dew of Hermon
   were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the LORD bestows his blessing,
   even life forevermore. 

So mummies, stay connected to your Source and to the body of Christ!

It's YOUR glory, not mine.

Something personal. I was brought to this verse while spending time with the Lord.

Philippians 2:3-4
³Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. ⁴Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. 

I was very reminded that in my role as a mum and in what I do as a parent, my utmost goal is not to produce a child that I can be proud of. Of course, I will always be proud of Han as her mum. But it's not about parenting being a means to bring glory to myself. It's so easy to go that way, using the results of our work as a reflection of how good we are! I feel that God wants me to remember that every good thing comes from Him and as I strive to be an excellent mum for Him, it is to bring His name honor and glory.

I was humbly taught by God that in what I do as a parent, it is to bring honor and glory to GOD, not myself. This is aligned to the verses following verse 4 of the same passage.Writing about Jesus:


 ^"6Who, being in very nature^[a] God,
      did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
 ⁷but made himself nothing,
      taking the very nature^[b] of a servant,
      being made in human likeness.
 ⁸And being found in appearance as a man,
      he humbled himself
      and became obedient to death—
         even death on a cross!" (Philippians 2:6-8)

The Lord reminded me also that in the course of parenting,  it's very important to seek counsel and to look up to other godly examples and to learn from that. I thank Him that I have many godly mothers that I can look up to in my circle of good friends and in God's community. It is also important to give and share whatever God has given to me (such is the aim of this blog too:))

It was such a refreshing time with Him! Thank you God!

Saturate vs Sprinkle

I asked myself this question today: Is Han's life saturated or sprinkled with Jesus? And I think the answer will very much guide me into how I tutor her to grow in the ways of God! I realised that if I am not careful, I can easily limit for Han how much God can be in her everyday life. Do we only remember God when we pray together in the mornings, when giving thanks for the food and during evening Bible reading and prayers? It's really that easy to illustrate to her God and His aspects are only "sprinkles" in the day!

The word "saturation" implies a degree of fullness and being no longer able to receive anymore. Well, that leaves a lot of room for us to work towards saturating our days with Jesus!

I remind myself to talk about God a lot with Han, to share with her His goodness etc (yes, toddlers can be very good listeners too! Serious.) When I go to Him in prayer and if Han is around, I try to pray aloud and hopefully she gets to understand our God is our best friend that we can go to anytime, anywhere. A few times when we were strolling, I was just confiding in the Lord, I saw Han clasping her little hands. She must be thinking we are going to pray together!

Some other things I thought it's good to include in her day will be reading Christian stories to her, on top of her usual dosage of books. Include art and crafts with Biblical themes. We recently did a rainbow craft and thankfully that provided the opportunity to teach her about the promises of God. Surround the household with songs of praise and worship.I can do better on the actual guitar playing and worship, not just playing CDs haha. We're also starting a memory verse a week soon! Will try to upload the picture of the memory verse board when I'm done making it!

As one author puts it very well, "we cannot give to our children what we do not have." I am reminded it boils down to us having a fresh and vibrant relationship with God! :)

May the Lord grant us creativity and fresh ideas to saturate our children's days with Him! Do share if you have anymore ideas!

Happy parenting!

Choice of Investment

Recently we sold our car which has served us well for the past 2.5 years. A trusty manual car that never broke down nor gave us major problems (except for the 2 times when the battery died! Once in the midst of a heavy downpour and another time at a cold carpark at Genting Highlands)!

Some people have repeatedly asked why we sold the car. Some asked why  I couldn't just go back to work or to take up more tuition assignments etc, both choices which will very well provide us enough (and even excess) money for a car.

All these made me revisit why E and I decided that I should be a SAHM. It's a good time to remind ourselves of our convictions. This is not a post to defend our decision to sell a car, which in our present society, it seems to be a need for sure. This I do beg to differ for my case. I still hold on to the stand that a car is a want, and not a need. Which means our family can survive and thrive well without a car. Now I understand more why the Lord bless us with a flat that is only 5 mins walk to the train station and only 10 mins by bus to town! Thank You God! He must have known such a day will come when we need to let go of the car.

I am also reminded that in life, we make decisions based on values and principles we believe in and we choose to live out these decisions joyfully!

Back to our convictions on why I should be a SAHM. It boils down to two points.

1. Time with our child is the best investment we can give to her.
2. We want to be very actively involved in nurturing her and witnessing her growth and development.

Before I share more about our two convictions, I would like to qualify that my personal views do not mean that non-SAHMs are in anyway less than a parent than SAHMs. It really boils down to what are your life choices and what you believe in.

E and I really want to invest the gift of time to Han. We take such great joy and delight in spending time with her and vice versa. We firmly believe that time spent with her will set a foundation of a strong relationship we hope to share with her as parents-child.

I have a special passion to nurture her in the ways of the Lord and to be a great steward of this young life that God has blessed us with. After my past attempts to work part time, I came to realise that I really admire FTWMs who can juggle work and family. To me, I can only do one thing well and I chose parenting.

So it's a life of BMW (bus, MRT, walk) for us (at least for now till the Lord bless us with the means to get another car)!  It's our choice of investment that has consequences, which by the way, we are more than happy to bear for our child!

Jump for Jesus!

Han REALLY loves to dance and sing. I mean REALLY! She has recently started to hum (correctly) to the tunes of her favorite songs and even sing along (to some degree of accuracy). I'm very proud of her as a mum and I celebrate this gifting that God has given to her!

Han does not really like puzzles. Now we all know that puzzles are supposed to aid in the logical and analytical side of her development. For a while, I must confess that I was slightly affected by her lack of interest in puzzles and was getting concerned about this part of her development. I began to even fear for her placing in the country's education system that emphasizes quite a bit on math and science. Of course, I am not accepting that she is not going to survive the system when she goes to school, but I must confess that I was quite concerned about this issue.

Recently I am reading "Parenting from Surviving to Thriving" by Charles Swindoll. In one of the earlier chapters, he encouraged parents to recognize the giftings that God has blessed your child with and to celebrate and nurture that gifting. I was very much reminded again that Han love for music and dancing, and being able to read and speak well are indeed  gifts that God has endowed upon her. I ought to celebrate and nurture them! (and not be too overly focused on what's lacking whatsoever)

At the service last week, we praised the Lord with a song that involved us jumping for Jesus. Han simply went crazy with joy and she was just jumping around during the praise time! She was even more ecstatic when she saw fellow worshipers of the Lord jumping for Jesus!

So jump for Jesus Han! We celebrate you and all that God has given to you and more to come!

It Takes a Village

The title of this post is part of an African proverb that says "It takes a village to raise a child". I think this is so true! I am very thankful for E's and my parents especially for their roles in caring and nurturing Han. Evan though I am a stay home mum, their roles are in no way diminished because of that.  Many times, when E and I need their help, they will selflessly give of their time and effort to avail themselves to care for Han. I guess it's our parents' way of loving us, by loving our kids! Isn't this such a wonderful cycle of love?

I also appreciate that our parents give us the space to make decisions for our kids (even though at times I know they will fully beg to differ!). So it must have taken an amount of self control not to twist our arms towards what they think it's best. So I appreciate the space of learning.

A side thought: I think being a mother teaches me to appreciate my parents more. When I stepped into the shoes of motherhood close to 2 years ago, I have begun the journey of also understanding my parents' love for me deeper. What wonders parenthood bring and what precious lessons I have been taught!

For those of us who have the privilege of having our parents around to be grandparents to our kids, let's always remember to appreciate and love them:)

All The Help That I Need

Urgh! Got bitten by the flu bug and ran a fever today. Han was kindly taken care of by E's parents. Thank God for them! Indeed, it takes a village to raise a child and it's such a blessing to have our parents caring for Han too. Shall write about this in another post!

Thought I'll share my thoughts on prayer today. Which brings me to the thought behind the post title "All The Help That I Need". Parents certainly need loads of help! I once read an advertisement celebrating mothers and one of the lines in that advert said that mothering is the toughest job in the world! Of course I'm not here to argue what job is the toughest in the world, but I do agree mothering is indeed a tough job and we mummies do need all the help that we need!

I think every parent would want to give our kids our best and THE best of what we can afford. Not just in terms of materials, but in other more important, sometimes intangible things like time, affection etc. I believe one of the most important, precious and priceless gifts we can give to our kids is our PRAYERS FOR them and WITH them.

By God's grace, I pray for Han every night when I put her to bed. I pray for

- her to have a great night's of rest
- for her heart and spirit to be tuned towards God and she comes to know God at a young and tender age
- for her to develop well in every area eg. spiritually, cognitively, socially, intellectually, physically
- for her to hate sin, to have the fear of God and to honor God
- to know God's love deeply
- to be a filial girl to E and I and to always honor her elders
- to have a good and godly spouse next time
- to be submissive to authority and to have a teachable heart

The list goes on as the Holy Spirit inspires me to pray. I would recommend Stormie Ormartian's The Power of a Praying Parent as a great read and guide on how to pray for our kids. Of course, the Bible should and is the most inspiring source of my prayers!

I thank God that I can ran to Him in prayer for every need that I have as a parent. I still remember those times when I was still breastfeeding Han. As every BF mummy can testify, the going does get tough at times and I am so thankful I can run to God in prayer. He is indeed All the help that I need.

Little Han has learned to pray too! Her simple prayer goes like this: Dear Jesus..pray..(name of person she's praying for eg daddy, mummy, por por, nai nai etc)...bless...amen! It's really never too early to encourage our little ones to go to God in prayer! But it starts with us :)

Have you committed all your cares to the Lord today? :)