Christianity – Page 6 – trippingdifferently

December 2, 2013

Are You Really Raising A Christian?…

He is such a wonderful kid! We are blessed! — He is such a wonderful kid! We are blessed and we hope we are the parents God wants us to be.

A fellow-blogger mummy and fellow believer-in-Christ over at Our Everyday Things wrote about whether it was enough simply raising morally good children. She said she was “rebuked” by this article: How to Raise a Pagan Kid in a Christian Home — I.N.F.O. For Families.

i read that article and indeed it is an eye-opener! It is a definite wake-up call for me, personally.

i was raised Asian, which means respect for elders and authority is way up there on the what-to-teach-your-children list, along with being good to people around you and doing well in your studies. And yes, even though we try very hard to be different parents, trying to give our son a better (what is, in our limited view, better) upbringing than what we had. (For the record, i think my parents did a super job – that’s not to say i’m perfect but i can not complain about how i was brought up.) We try to be liberal enough to not hinder his creative side but we also want to be strict enough so that he’s not growing up a ‘wild’ child.

BUT… having read that article i realised i have failed – big time… i have failed to teach my child that it is God’s standards that he has to live up to, not ours. And more importantly, that he can not meet that Heavenly standard without fully and completely depending on the Lord to lead him, guide him and help him.

i have always encouraged him to try and try cos that’s the way we learn and grow. i have always said to him that he can do it as long as he tries. But i have neglected to let him know that as humans we will fail if we try to live the 100% good life because humans are fallen and can never be 100% good. We need God.

i need to teach him that he needs to depend on God, who knows everything, made everything and can give him everything he needs.

i need to remember:

If your goals are focused on your kids’ behavior, their happiness, or their accomplishments (but don’t include a dependence upon Christ and a submission to His will and work), then you might want to make some adjustments.

Because the world has enough pagans. Even plenty of really nice ones. What we need is kids who fully grasp the reality that they have nothing to offer, but who intimately know a God who has everything they need.

What are your thoughts on this?

syc

September 4, 2012

Known By Name…

This morning i read the opening passage from the book of Ruth in the Bible for my daily reading (or quiet time as it is also called) – Ruth 1:1-18.

It speaks of the life of Naomi and how misfortune had befallen her; her husband and sons died, leaving her and her two daughter-in-laws, Orpah and Ruth, without a hope for the future. It is a well-known story among Christians; it shows how the faithfulness of Ruth to both her mother-in-law and God brought them blessings and a future.

But the point of the reading today was not the faithfulness of Ruth, although it is important. Here was the statement which grabbed me.

For the author of Ruth names are significant. In Hebrew culture to know a person’s name is to know their character: the name is the person. It was terrible to have your name destroyed; it left you as if you had never existed.

Who knows us better than our Creator, the Lord God Almighty? No one. God knows us; He knows our emotions and what we do each moment, He knows our hopes for the future and the number of hairs on our heads, He knows our name – our character, our very being.

Now this leads me to think about two little girls, both of whom i only know as Arina Y. and Arina P. And that is not even their real names. i don’t know their real names – that has been kept a secret to protect them.

i think very few people know their real names, let alone know who they are or what they are thinking or what makes them happy. They are orphans, deemed unworthy by the society they live in because of their disabilities.

They need a mummy & a daddy, maybe a sister or a brother to come and get to know them, to love them, to show them that they are worthy and they have a future.

Arina Y. just turned 4 this month (just like my lovely Heather whose birthday is also September). 4 is the age when a transfer to a mental institution is likely to happen. When that happens, her chances of getting adopted and having a fulfilling life is very slim. This sweetheart has nothing wrong with her except she has Down Syndrome, which is a very manageable condition.

Arina P.is 6 years old and also has Down Syndrome. She also has a number of other conditions: kidney issues, various allergies and is far-sighted. All treatable conditions if she lived in a country with better medical care and a loving family to help her through life. i’m not sure if she is in an institution already but from the very short hair in the picture, it is likely she is not in a very good place.

These precious girls need a family to come and bring the home, to give them the care every child deserves, to be given an opportunity to grow into the wonderful people i know they are.

Join me in praying for them, for their daily needs and most importantly, pray for their forever families to find them.

Looking at their pictures, don’t you think they would be a great addition to a family? Are you their family?

You can also help by donating to their adoption grant – go to their profile page on Reece’s Rainbow (click on their picture or name) to donate. A larger grant helps their family to reach them faster.

Do also remember my lovely Heather and my little Heath.

syc

August 28, 2012

The Greatest Fortress…

What is a Fortress? Well, the Collins English Dictionary online defines it as:

— n
1.	a large fort or fortified town
2.	a place or source of refuge or support

i like the sound of that – a place of refuge or support. Don’t you?

Some time ago, i read about a place of refuge and support, a stronghold for everyone. That’s right for everyone, for everyone who would recognise that it is a great fortress. It is a source of comfort i have known for a while now.

What am i talking about? i’m talking about Prayer! Prayers to the Lord God Almighty, to my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is my fortress. And it can be anyone’s fortress who will and can pray to Him, who will and knows how to bring their problems to Him. He is there for us, day and night to protect us, if we accept Him and let Him into our lives.

You can read the whole article here: The Greatest Fortress « The Daily Way.

But what about people who don’t know about God? What if they live in a place where God is not mentioned? What if they themselves can not understand enough to accept God? People like the little orphans i pray and advocate for.

Well, that’s where we, the people who can pray come in, we can pray for these precious ones who are unable to or don’t know how to raise their voices in prayer. We stand in the gap for them. We pray to God on their behalf.

brandi-1 — Little Brandi will turn 5 in a few days and needs her forever family today.

And today i pray specifically for little Brandi. Isn’t her smile absolutely radiant? i smile just looking her laughing face.

However, life isn’t all that rosy for her. She will be turning 5 on Friday, this Friday, August 31. But she will have no one who will celebrate it with her and for her. She lives in an orphanage, in a country where orphans with disabilities are transferred to an adult mental institution when they are between the ages of 4 and 6. Which means Brandi faces transfer to a place where there is no future for her, a place where there is only four walls and nothing else. Such a place is not for children! It is not even suitable for mentally disable adults. It is a place where they will regress. To put it bluntly, it is a fortress of despair.

Brandi would do so very well in a loving family environment, they would be her fortress of refuge and support. She has CP (Cerebral Palsy) and microcephaly, but is physically active. She has hearing problems and developmental problems. But these are all treatable and manageable if she lives in a country with better medical care and better understanding of her conditions.

So i stand in the gap for Brandi today. Will you stand with me? Will you pray with me for her daily needs, for her forever family to come for her today?

Maybe you feel that tug in your heart – are you her family?

Or maybe you can give hope by donating to her adoption grant, which is really low at the moment. A higher adoption grant means that she will get more notice and the family who does come for her will reach her faster. Click on her name or picture to go to her profile page.

Do also remember to stand in the gap for my little Heath and my lovely Heather.

syc