Category: Shared Articles

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Developing Our Heart for God…

…that is the title of an article i read a few months ago…

It talked briefly about the influences Greek scholars and Socratic thinking had on the 3rd and 4th century churches have affected the way we relate to God.

These influences encouraged focus on the intellectual and have became so deep-rooted in our basic thinking that it has also swayed our relationship with God from one of intimacy and power to one where mere knowledge plays a bigger role. It has shifted our priorities, causing us to neglect the building of close relationship which can change lives.

The concluding lines of that article (read full article here) states

We must listen and respond with the heart. Whatever service we give to God should be a result of our relationship with our heavenly Father, not an end unto itself.

And one form of service i have been actively involved in is advocating for orphans with special needs (please click here for more posts on these orphans).

Today is Teamwork Tuesday where we, advocates, shout out about one particular child, in hopes that such concerted efforts would bring the child more notice and help find their forever family.

3-year R.J. waits for his forever family to come for him.

Meet R.J.

He is such a handsome little guy. See those wonderfully soulful eyes. He is 3 years old and we have been told that he would be transferred to an adult mental institution quite soon. After transfer, his chances of getting adopted would diminish, it may even disappear all together.

Reece’s Rainbow (an advocate website) wasn’t even given enough information to be able to start an adoption grant for him (no donation button). Once he is transferred, information would be even harder to get.

Please don’t let R.J. disappear. Please pray for him and share his story so his family can find him today. Click on his name or picture to see his profile on Reece’s Rainbow.

Responding with heart,

syc

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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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Healthy leftovers? Good or bad idea?…

leftovers
leftovers (Photo credit: Muffet)

i am huge on leftovers! Growing up i watched my mum cook for a battalion – this is always what i tell people and it is absolutely true. My mother did cook large amounts each Sunday and my aunts, uncles and cousins would all come over and eat. Of course, we didn’t have a big house, just a modest HDB (Housing Development Board for my non-Singaporean friends) 4-room flat. So when that many came over, there was no room for all to sit at the same table, at the same time to eat. Whoever came first, ate first and then made room for the next persons. And many times we would just sit wherever we wanted to eat; the kids mostly sat in front of the TV 😉

i loved it! The house was crowded and loud but i loved it. i love being around people and being around family was even better. This is one of the reasons i like having dinner guests. It is also the main reason why it was hard for me to learn to cook just for myself (when i went to university) or just for two (during the first years of my marriage).

Then near the end of the day, when people were leaving, we packed up the leftovers and everyone took their share home and most of the time we still had enough to have leftovers for ourselves as well.

As much as we all liked gathering together, kids grew up, priorities changed, cousins moved to whole other countries to live and these big gatherings also stopped happening.

BUT… my mother still cooked large amounts on Sundays (not battalion-sized though). This time it was more for convenience. My mum worked full-time – she always has and still does. Yet she maintained a lovely home and provided wonderful meals for us. And having the meals already cooked in advanced was a great help to her.

So as you can see leftovers played a big part in my childhood, teen years and even young adult days. i still like having leftovers, some foods just taste better after a night in the fridge 😉 And that’s why the article below stuck a chord with me and why i am sharing it. It has a really tasty recipe at the end of it too.

Healthy leftovers? Good or bad idea? | Newsletters | Beyond Diet.

Do you serve leftovers? If yes, what is your favourite dish to freeze/keep as leftover? If no, why not?

syc