I love to ask Caleb and Naomi what they want to be when they grow up and I ask them very frequently. Caleb's dream career has changed over the years since he was a pre-schooler. At one stage of his life, he had wanted to be a train driver when he was very obsessed with trains. He also aspires to be an astronaut when his keen interest in space developed. He is not satisfied with merely reading about space and looking at the pictures of it in the Grolier encyclopedia. He desires the real stuff! Caleb also dreams of being a pilot and a doctor, specifically a gynaecologist.
However, in the last term of Primary 2, Caleb was found to be myopic. His Mother Tongue teacher had observed that he borrowed his friend's spectacles while copying some notes from the board. I should have suspected something amiss when he failed to copy the extra spelling words/phrases/sentences, which were usually given the day before the Chinese spelling test, in Term 4! Anyway, we brought Caleb to an optometrist for an eye assessment and had a pair of glasses made. He is disappointed that he can no longer be an astronaut or a pilot as these professions require one to be perfect sighted.
Hence, when I ask Caleb the same question nowadays, he will say that he wants to be a gynaecologist. He loves babies and wants to be the first person that the newborns see when he delivers them. I teased him that he should help his future wife to deliver their very own babies! Besides, I told him that a gynaecologist is a happy doctor as seeing babies is truly a joyful experience. And the patients that a gynaecologist sees are usually healthy expectant mothers and not sickly patients.
Occasionally, Caleb will still ask me about what he should eat to 'perfect' his vision as his first ambition is to be an astronaut! I just keep reminding him to trust God for a miracle. Well, with his manner of reading, i.e. lying down on the bed, and the number of books that he reads, I sometimes wonder when his miracle will manifest.
You may be wondering why I love to ask my young children this same old and 'annoying' question so often. The reason is I want them to have a goal in life and work towards it. By making them confess with their lips what they want to be when they grow up, it enables them to be more and more convicted (I hope) about what they want in life and their learning becomes more purposeful. Now that I know what my children want to be when they grow up, I can better guide and nurture them or provide them with the resources accordingly.
Little children, what do you want to be when you grow up? ;D
God's Beloved
Friday, February 18, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
The Saliva of God
On Saturday, I was feeling a little tired and feverish as James has not been nursing from the left breast since Wednesday. So, I casually told Daniel and Naomi (who happened to be at the dining table taking her tea-break of milo and bread) about my condition. Daniel straightaway suggested that we partook of the Holy Communion. In fact, father and daughter had just taken the Holy Communion using milo and bread.
So, very naturally, we partook of the Holy Communion with whatever that were before us, i.e. just milo and bread! Later, I told Naomi that I actually had one set of the Holy Communion elements (the set that is used in church on every Sunday) in my handbag. She retrieved the elements from my bag and retook the Holy Communion the third time! Then she disappeared into the kitchen.
A short while later, she returned to the dining table with the little plastic cup filled with water. She asked Daniel and me to partake of the Holy Communion again, and because the 'blood' of Jesus was now colourless, she innocently and wittily said that that was the saliva of God.! Both Daniel and I had a good laugh. For a moment, my weariness seemed to have drifted away and I was refreshed. The Bible says, "Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones." Proverbs 16:24.
More importantly, it is not using the same elements (bread and wine) as those in church that matters, but our faith in Jesus and His finished work on the cross. My pastor, and my dear husband, always stress that we can replace the 'bread' (usually in biscuit form) with normal bread (or, I think, even cake) and the 'blood' (usually Ribena or red wine) with any other beverage if we do not have the usual elements at hand.
At home, we had used fruit juices, green tea, coffee, milo, milk and even plain water to replace the usual element (Ribena) for the blood of Jesus. We realised that Caleb and Naomi love Ribena very much and the tumbler of Ribena that I frequently prepared (more for the Holy Communion) was secretly and quickly consumed.!
As often and timely as we would take our medication, prescribed by the doctor, when we were sick, that is how often we should take our heavenly divine medication. God's medication is the best as it will surely yield results (healing and wholeness) and, the most wonderful of all, it does not produce any side effects even when it is taken in excess!
I encourage you and your family to start partaking of the Lord's Supper on a regular basis in this new year. If you are sick, believe God for a miracle and breakthrough as you eat and drink of the very life of Jesus (the zoe life of God) into your entire being. If you are strong and healthy (thank God!), you can still partake of the Holy Communion to continue to remain in divine health and wholeness. Well, it is something like taking your health supplements (when you are well) to maintain your physical health.
Daniel and I always take the Lord's Supper as a time of celebration for what Jesus' death has done for us. It is a time we remember that the divine exchange has taken place and we have all of God's blessings and Jesus has taken upon Himself all our curses. A toast to you for your health and wholeness in 2011! Cheers!
By the way, the discomfort did not stay for long. It went away within the same hour when we had the Holy Communion.
So, very naturally, we partook of the Holy Communion with whatever that were before us, i.e. just milo and bread! Later, I told Naomi that I actually had one set of the Holy Communion elements (the set that is used in church on every Sunday) in my handbag. She retrieved the elements from my bag and retook the Holy Communion the third time! Then she disappeared into the kitchen.
A short while later, she returned to the dining table with the little plastic cup filled with water. She asked Daniel and me to partake of the Holy Communion again, and because the 'blood' of Jesus was now colourless, she innocently and wittily said that that was the saliva of God.! Both Daniel and I had a good laugh. For a moment, my weariness seemed to have drifted away and I was refreshed. The Bible says, "Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones." Proverbs 16:24.
More importantly, it is not using the same elements (bread and wine) as those in church that matters, but our faith in Jesus and His finished work on the cross. My pastor, and my dear husband, always stress that we can replace the 'bread' (usually in biscuit form) with normal bread (or, I think, even cake) and the 'blood' (usually Ribena or red wine) with any other beverage if we do not have the usual elements at hand.
At home, we had used fruit juices, green tea, coffee, milo, milk and even plain water to replace the usual element (Ribena) for the blood of Jesus. We realised that Caleb and Naomi love Ribena very much and the tumbler of Ribena that I frequently prepared (more for the Holy Communion) was secretly and quickly consumed.!
As often and timely as we would take our medication, prescribed by the doctor, when we were sick, that is how often we should take our heavenly divine medication. God's medication is the best as it will surely yield results (healing and wholeness) and, the most wonderful of all, it does not produce any side effects even when it is taken in excess!
I encourage you and your family to start partaking of the Lord's Supper on a regular basis in this new year. If you are sick, believe God for a miracle and breakthrough as you eat and drink of the very life of Jesus (the zoe life of God) into your entire being. If you are strong and healthy (thank God!), you can still partake of the Holy Communion to continue to remain in divine health and wholeness. Well, it is something like taking your health supplements (when you are well) to maintain your physical health.
Daniel and I always take the Lord's Supper as a time of celebration for what Jesus' death has done for us. It is a time we remember that the divine exchange has taken place and we have all of God's blessings and Jesus has taken upon Himself all our curses. A toast to you for your health and wholeness in 2011! Cheers!
By the way, the discomfort did not stay for long. It went away within the same hour when we had the Holy Communion.
In Bikini For Swimming Lesson?
Last Tuesday, Caleb's class had their first school swimming lesson. As the children would proceed to the Clementi swimming complex immediately after Science lessons, they were instructed to change into their swimwear during their lunch break and return to the classroom for Science.
When Caleb's form teacher entered the classroom, he spotted a girl clad in her bikini. Probably surprised or feeling awkward, he asked her whether she would like to put on her T-shirt. And she replied that it was not necessary.
Fortunately, the girl is only in Primary 3 and not older. Otherwise, the form teacher would have felt embarrassed (or distracted) while he was teaching! And not forgetting that there are many boys in the class too. Their male hormones would be raging and jumping all over.
I think the school should specify the types of acceptable swimwear that students can wear for their swimming lessons as a swimwear which may be acceptable to one may be totally unacceptable or inappropriate to another. Besides, we, parents, should always teach and encourage our children (especially our daughters) to dress modestly and appropriately.
When Caleb's form teacher entered the classroom, he spotted a girl clad in her bikini. Probably surprised or feeling awkward, he asked her whether she would like to put on her T-shirt. And she replied that it was not necessary.
Fortunately, the girl is only in Primary 3 and not older. Otherwise, the form teacher would have felt embarrassed (or distracted) while he was teaching! And not forgetting that there are many boys in the class too. Their male hormones would be raging and jumping all over.
I think the school should specify the types of acceptable swimwear that students can wear for their swimming lessons as a swimwear which may be acceptable to one may be totally unacceptable or inappropriate to another. Besides, we, parents, should always teach and encourage our children (especially our daughters) to dress modestly and appropriately.
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