Category: Prayers For

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No TV = Good, Computer Games = Bad…

Is parenting really all that simple?

Or maybe the question to ask is: Should parenting really be all that complex; with all these eternal arguments about exactly how many minutes of television programming our kids should watch and exactly which programmes are appropriate?

i’m not saying that all these concerns are not valid. Yes they are very valid issues which parents should deal with. However, it is not the end all and be all of raising a child. You are not a failure is you let your child watch an hour of cartoons while his friend is only watching 20 minutes. Your child will not become instantly hyperactive from an extra 15 minuntes on computer games. You have not let the next generation down if you do not insist on extra reading time every other day. Children will not fall to pieces if you yell at them once in a while when there is a need to.

To me, parenting is a very individual thing; what works for you and your child may not work for your best friend and his/her child. Which is why i really like what Flappiness has to say:

Here’s what we know for certain about raising children:

1. They need to know they are loved and valued.

2. They need to be protected from illness and harm.

3. They need clothing, nourishing food, and shelter.

4. They need an appropriate education.

5. They need opportunities to play and safely explore their world.

That’s about it. It doesn’t matter what race, religion, or tribe you hail from, this is what you need to grow into a healthy, well-adjusted adult. And I just want to take a moment to say to all of the parents out there whose children are receiving these five basic things: You are a good mom. You are a good dad. Your children are who they were meant to be all along. You’re doing a good job — not matter who is suggesting otherwise.

Flappiness is a mum to a NT (NeuroTypical) child and an Autistic child, she writes from her heart and she writes honestly and beautifully. Click here to read the full post.

This 7-year-old cutie needs a family… could that be you?

Now i want you to hold that thought about giving your child all those 5 essentials in your head, at the same time, look at this picture of this sweetheart, Brent. Isn’t he just a cutie?

Keep holding on to those 5 basic things: Love, Protection, Nourishment, Education, Opportunity…

Brent has not all the basic things a child needs to grow up strong, healthy and well-adjusted. He does not have the love of a mummy or daddy. He does not know that there is a single person who truly, deeply cares for him (i’m sure the staff at the orphanage do care but they are stretched thin at best). His protection from illnesses are at a minimum, if there is any at all. He has serious need of good medical care. He is fed what the orphanage can afford, which i’m told isn’t much at all. He can only dream of an education and without an education, without someone to believe in him and champion for him, there are no opportunities for him.

There are people who do care for him (just look at his adoption grant – an amazing US$10209.35) and we do pray very hard and give where we can. However, what he truly needs is a family, a family to love him, to care for him, to show him life can be so much more. Please do pray for Brent. Please do share his story, advocate for him so that his forever family can find him. Of course, if you can help his adoption grant grow further, please do that too.

To read more details from his profile on Reece’s Rainbow, please click here.

Praying that every child can have these 5 fundamentals in life.

syc

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Supporting A Friend…

Today is all about my friend and fellow-blogger, Karen Cheng.

She is simply amazing… i went to uni with her and already thought she was pretty great at that time… we graduated and i left my beloved Perth to come home to Singapore (not a bad thing, but at that time, i would have given almost anything to have stayed in Perth – that, however, is another story).

So we lost touch and then i found her blog through a friend. i started following it and it just completely floors me how wonderful she is and how she really does take life head on and lives it to the fullest. She writes about her passion for fashion as well as about her bustling life with a loving husband and 3 cute boys.

Karen’s email to me on 8 May 2012…

She is now doing a most awesome thing – she is going to do a 200km bike ride to raise money for cancer research! Now she is only a recreational bike rider at best, to begin with, so 200km over 2 days is a huge thing. (Bike riding just has no appeal to me – sigh. So i am in awe that she is doing this.) She has been training lots, getting up at 5am or 6am in the mornings to get in some training before her full day starts with 3 very active boys to take care of.

i have been a terrible friend in that i have told myself i would support her and help her promote this cause when she first announced it back at the beginning of May. But i got busy and forgot.

Karen’s email to me on 27 June…

Then at the end of June she sent another little note to say that her birthday wish (her birthday was just a few days ago) was to reach her goal of raising AUS$10,000 for cancer research and appealed to us to help her with that birthday wish.

Now i am going to do my very tiny part and i’m asking if you would do your part too. Please visit her fundraising page to read her story. Or read this post on her blog to find out more about this. Do donate to this very very deserving cause.

Thank you very much for every little bit you give towards this worthy cause.

syc

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God Is Good! Target Met…

That’s right – our target was met – prayers answered!

What prayers? What target?

11 year old Heath, is a cutie who needs his family asap.
10 year old Heather, is a sweetie who needs a family asap.

Well, our church (International Church of Luzern) Youth’s fundraising project called Angels for Orphans had a target of CHF700. And it was met!

i proposed this project to our church Youth Leaders a couple of months back, when i felt led to do something more than pray for my little Heath and my lovely Heather. i had initially decided to do the fundraising by myself, but God prompted me to ask if this would be a project for the Youths. They said yes! So planning started; ideas and materials were gathered and tested. i settled on making a few simple crafts and baking cookies.

i had also wanted the Youths to come to know the power of prayer, the joy and the blessings of praying for others (even for people we didn’t know personally) and that our Lord God is mighty in answering prayers. This was something i wished i had as a youth and i wish for them to have it in their lives now – knowing this, truly, deeply knowing this would just make their uncharted journey through life a little easier.

So with that in mind, the Youth Coordinator and myself planned for the Angels for Orphans project to be introduced during a session where the Youths were studying about prayer. i was really nervous but survived (Thank God!) the rather time-constrained presentation (i could only present the project after they finished their session, which took most of the time). After which, i followed it up with 3 weeks of handouts, about Heath and Heather, about Reece’s Rainbow, about why God would want us to help the orphans, including also prayer pointers and websites of other teens who are doing their bit for these precious ones.

Then we had a Sunday morning of making the crafts. It went slower than expected but the teachers were supportive and the youths were happy to do the work. Some took home materials to work on as we didn’t get enough done that day. The following Sunday morning was focused on putting finishing touches and baking cookies. A couple of hours after that, it was Sale Time!

The cookies went the fastest! In the picture you only see one type of cookie, the other chocolate one was gone before i could even pull out the camera. The Angel Cards were also very popular. The Finger Puppet Angels were mainly bought by mothers or grandmothers for the kids. The Bell Angels (the little cardboard angels with bells in them) were harder to sell as people didn’t think them too practical (something to consider for the next project).

We are not a huge church, we are but a small family church; still, we managed to raise CHF415 🙂 Then we had a very generous offer – a couple said they would buy up all the remaining items and give a little above that, which allowed us to hit our target of CHF700! Praise the Lord!

Below are pictures of the table display and close-ups of all the items made and sold:

Table laden with goodies to sell…
All the items we sold…

We (myself and the Youths) would like to thank everyone who contributed to the success of this fundraising project, whether in buying something or in helping to make the crafts/cookies. We will carry on praying for little Heath and lovely Heather, praying that this small amount we raised will help the family who finds them to reach them faster.

syc