Exploring Our Children’s Potentials

Anya and her children’s choir performed at our Sunday Service today, singing ‘Fairest Lord Jesus’.

Her very first children’s choir performance was in December 2008, when she was 4.5 years old. It was part of the Christmas Gospel Rally’s programme that day.

And today, it was her first choir performance at our Sunday Service.

The joy of seeing her up there, singing and praising God together with the others, was simply indescribable.

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Fairest Lord Jesus

Fairest Lord Jesus, Ruler of all nature,
O Thou of God and Man the Son,
Thee will I cherish, Thee will I honor,
Thou, my soul’s glory, joy, and crown.

Fair are the meadows, fairer still the woodlands,
robed in the blooming garb of spring:
Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer
who makes the woeful heart to sing.

Fair is the sunshine, fairer still the moonlight,
and all the twinkling starry host:
Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer
than all the angels heaven can boast.

Beautiful Saviour!  Lord of all the nations!
Son of God and Son of Man!
Glory and honor, praise, adoration,
now and forevermore be Thine.

… having yummy pancakes – that spell out MY name – for breakfast!

…

PS: He also had some cereals and MORE pancakes than what’s on that plate, btw. His appetite somehow has been on the rise lately.

Different parents ‘see’ their children differently.

Some may see their children as ‘theirs’, a ‘belonging’ where the ‘owner’ can do anything he likes towards it.

Some may see them as ‘prized possession’.

(How do you view and regard your own little ones so far?)

Anyway, with regards to this topic, today I’d like to share with you some insightful points shared by Ev. Maria Mazo during our ‘Spiritual Formation for Children’ class the other week.

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Psalm 127:3

“Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from Him.”
(New International Version)

“Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from Him.”
(New Living Translation)

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The word ‘Heritage’ generally refers to something that is of high value, something that’s preserved.

And if you’re referring to a particular heritage found in a city or a country, it is owned by the nation, NOT by the president who governs the country at any particular time.

Psalm 127 refers to children as ‘Heritage from the Lord’, and that means they are entrusted by God to parents.

These little ones belong to Him. They’re not ours.

They’re ‘a gift from the Lord‘

As they’re ‘entrusted’ to parents, parents will therefore be asked for their accountability one day, ie. for the way they’ve raised the little ones throughout the years.

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Parents who understand this concept (of children being a heritage from the Lord) will :

– see that children are NOT a property whom they can abuse, neglect or possess

– realise how they can never raise their children based on their own strength, wisdom or personal ambition

– realise that if God has entrusted these little ones to us, then HE will also give enough grace and strength for us to go through all the ups and downs of parenting

– learn to be actively involved and responsible parents

…

Food for thought.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

Our recent trip to Kampong Buangkok was like a fun photo hunting trip for my husband, Wilson, who’s also into photography.

And I thought of sharing some of his shots today, to share with you a different side and feel of Kampong Buangkok that was captured through his lens.

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Btw, our two ‘city kids’ were puzzled when I told them how THAT box was a mailbox! They’ve never seen anything like that before.

And it’s only then that I realised how Anya and Vai have always seen mailboxes stacked across a ‘wall’ here in Singapore.

Hmm.

I don’t know about you, but I’m loving these shots.

[And I’m not saying it because they’re taken by MY husband, hehe. Really!]

Some of you may know that I have an online shop called Spring Kids.

And I just thought of updating everyone that after heaps of consideration, I’ve decided to concentrate on ONLY the sales of Polliwalks shoes from now on.

The Spring Kids website will no longer be active, and to browse and order your Polliwalks shoes, you can just go to my Spring Kids Facebook Page!

To place your order, just drop me a message, or email me directly

leonny[at]oureverydaythings[dot]com

Easy.

If you’re not yet a fan of my Spring Kids Facebook Page, please click and join yeah!

Thanks again for your support all this while!

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[In the picture: Anya’s wearing her Firefly shoes, and Vai’s wearing his T-Rex!]

Here’s one activity idea we did a few days ago.

We had some leftover ‘coloured’ sands at home.

And so we thought it’d interesting for Anya to create some ‘hidden messages’ (using her glue stick) on a piece of paper, and have Vai (and me!) ‘find out’ what the messages were by sprinkling coloured sand on it.

This was what Anya drew for Vai to discover.

And this was her ‘hidden’ message for me *smile*

You can also draw something with a glue stick and have your kids find out what it is using coloured sands.

It’s like, slowly uncovering a little surprise!

Try it … it’s fun!

Yes. THIS shot was taken right here in Singapore.

Last Saturday, we went with a small group of friends and their kids to check out Kampong Buangkok together.

It’s known as the very last surviving kampong (read: Malay word for ‘village’) in this modern metropolitan city of Singapore.

[Follow the sign to ‘enter’ the kampong area]

Wilson and I grew up in Jakarta, and although we lived in the ‘city’ area there, we’re familiar with such kampong sights. So when we were there at Kampong Buangkok, it felt like we’re back in Indonesia!

The wooden houses, the electrical wires above us, the dirty tracks, the murky canals, the grass and trees. Everything.

[And oh, the mosquitoes!]

It’s such a stark contrast to what you would’ve seen down Orchard Road!

And this btw, was exactly THE reason why we felt we must bring our kids to check out Kampong Buangkok together.

While the kampong is still there.

[We chatted with one of the residents who’s lived there for more than FORTY years!]

Our kids have always lived in a metropolitan city. They were born in Singapore, and once a year they’d travel to Jakarta, another busy metropolitan city.

Our kids are way too familiar and comfortable with modern city life here in Singapore.

Air-conditioned buses and trains. Tall apartment buildings. Constructions and bulldozers. Cosy shopping centres.

And we felt they really should take a look and learn from different kinds of environment and lifestyle too.

[To the kids, this was probably the most fun part of the visit: enjoying the swing, made of a wrapped block of wood hung by the chains around a tree branch right above them. In the picture: Vai and his friend, Heidi]

By the time we reached Kampong Buangkok, it was around 12pm, I think. And we were there for about an hour or so.

It was glary and the weather was very warm.

I didn’t think our ‘city kids’ enjoyed the trip much.

Especially when there’s nothing much for them to ‘see’ and ‘play with’ (well, except for the swing).

Still, we felt it’s good that we brought the kids there to see a different side of Singapore.

A different kind of lifestyle, … one that’s simple and of a slower pace, that we, city people, often have forgotten.

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EXTRA TIPS:

– Bring along your camera! If you’re into photography, I think you’ll enjoy your photo hunting trip!
– Bring along your water bottle, sunblock and mosquito repellent

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[The bus stop to return to Serangoon MRT]

HOW TO GET THERE

– Kampong Buangkok is just off Yio Chu Kang Road.
– Available buses: 70, 103, 854

(you can always check out gothere.sg for directions too)

And this was how WE got there:

– We took bus no. 103 from the Serangoon Bus Interchange (near Serangoon MRT)

– On Yio Chu Kang Road, look for this landmark: St. Vincent de Paul church, and get off the bus (the bus stop is just opposite the Kampong!)

– Take the stairs down beside the Petrol Station (see picture above) and cross the bridge (see picture below), turn left, walk a little more, and voila, the Kampong area is on your right!

Just earlier, I came across a photo of Anya, taken two years ago, and she looked so much more ‘babyish’ there!

Her hair was shorter. Her face was chubbier. She just looked … littler.

And I thought to myself, awww … look at how she’s so much more grown-up now.

Man.

How time flies.

The thing is, I’m sure I’d feel the same way two years from today when I look at THIS photo, taken earlier today when we checked out ‘Kampong Buangkok’, Singapore’s last surviving Kampong  – a Malay word for ‘village’!

[Will blog about our visit soon]

And so, while I’m here today, spending my hours and days with my little ones (however sweet or challenging those moments can be), I try to remind myself how I should always, always, treasure my time with my children.

Because one day, their ‘childhood days’ will be far and gone.

And as much as I’d greatly MISS those growing-up days, I really hope by then I’d look back and remember how we’ve done our best in raising them, in teaching them God’s ways, in being a positive role model in their early years, and in spending OUR time with them.

Growing together with them.