Remember the Poor

Galatians 2:10 "All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along."

During this festive period, while it is not wrong for us to celebrate and have some fun here and there, I think that it is very important for us to remember the poor.

Very often, when many of us think about this phrase "remember the poor", the first thought that comes to our minds would be something like we need to donate some money, visit some homes, help out at some centres, etc. Yes, these are all things that we can and should do.

But I would like to approach this "remember the poor" from another angle.

My sister-in-law just came back from a short-term mission trip to Batam. There, her team and her met many people who lived in poor conditions. There was this particular lady that she met who had problems making ends meet. In fact, everyday she would have to walk to a far away place just to get food for her family. When my sister-in-law asked the lady what her prayer requests were. Her simple answer was "please pray that I am able to attend church every week".

She didn't ask for food, nor other material things. She only asked to be able to go church every week. My sister-in-law was deeply touched, as were I and my wife when we heard the story.

Materially, we may be far better off than this lady from Batam. But spiritually, she is probably way richer than most of us here.

When I remember the poor now, I also remember that the poor may be happier and spiritually richer than me. And I hope to love and desire Jesus as much as they do.

Importance of Fathers

The second chapter of the book is entitled 'The Journey of Fatherhood'. The role of a father in a child's life is crucial even in his early developmental years. Two things really spoke to me.

Firstly, at 18 months, my child or toddler does not just mimic my actions or words. He is able to imitate the tones, actions and attitudes of the most persuasive influences in his life - mum and dad. Hence, I need to be very conscious of my behavior and be a good role model for my child in every situation (I can do it, by the grace of God!).

Secondly, I need to communicate with my child using positive words. Even in times of correction, I should speak from the 'negative side of the virtue' rather than the 'negative side of the vice'. For instance, instead of asking "are you lying" which focuses on the vice, we can ask "are you telling daddy the whole truth" which focuses on the virtue.

I guess the above two principles apply to me especially as a teacher in a secondary school too. God, help me. 

'Why' is more important than 'How'

I'm reading through this book on parenting toddlers. The first chapter touched on the principle of 'why'.

Many parents (myself included) are often very fixated on the 'how' and the methods of doing things. We forgot the 'why' behind. And that causes us unnecessary stress.

For example, we are very frustrated at our toddler's behavior and we raised our voices at him. We then expect him to comply but he doesn't. In our anger, we become even louder and things still don't improve. We have missed out the 'why' part actually. If it is our intention to teach our toddler a lesson for poor behavior, there are other methods of correction besides raising voices. We can give him a time-out, put him in the cot, hold his hand firmly, etc.

Well, the fact is that the principle of 'why' applies to every aspects of life (and not just parenting). (:

Next time, ask 'why' first.

Every Day is part of the Journey

Lately, I've been thinking about this.. there were perhaps a number of things that I had done in my youth which I kind of regret now.

Would my life be better now if I had not made some of the wrong choices/decisions? I was initially very tempted to say 'yes'. But upon further reflection and seeking the Lord about it, somehow I realized that the answer is likely to be 'no'.

Okay, of course, the kind of wrong choices/decisions are not the fatal kind like killing someone or getting killed.

Our past experiences shape us and mold our character. We have ups and downs, highs and lows in our lives all the time. Every day has the potential to be richly filled with learning experiences, loving memories and of course, discouraging setbacks.

It is never about the setbacks that stumble us. It is the way we deal with them that is important.

Every day is part of the journey - love it. That's why I'm retaining this blog title - Loving Every Day!

Just look at Isaac - He loves every day! =D