Exploring Our Children’s Potentials

 
A mom of 3 shared:

My teenage son said that he doesn’t need us in his life. He is angry with us. What he said hurt my feelings.

I know I have been busy with his 2 younger siblings and spent little time with the eldest over last few years. I don’t understand why he is not happy. We bought all that he wants. We got him iPhone X!

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Can material things replace a child’s longing for parents’ time, attention and affection?

Unfortunately, no.

Children grow upWhen they are little, we can still hear them say:

‘Mommy, come and play cooking with me!’

‘Mommy, can you read a book with me?’
 

But over time, such requests (often heard as ‘annoying nagging voices’ by parents) are no longer there for us to fulfil.

Children grow up.

And they choose to get busy with friends, school and gadgets.

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Giving material things, though in itself is not always wrong, does not equal to ‘love’.

And the reality is, this is a ‘lie’ many parents often believe.

ie. Child will feel loved when they are given gifts and gadgets, taken to fancy holidays and restaurants.

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Moms and dads,

Let’s make the initiatives and create opportunities to relate, communicate and spend time with them, each one of them?

While we still can.

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Giving material things, though in itself is not always wrong, does not equal to ‘love’As for me, … making each of my kids feel loved is a continual struggle with frequent self-reflection and self-reminders.

Every now and then, feelings of failure and helplessness come and go.

It’s not easy.

(This is one reason why God’s grace is so much needed. I sure can’t do it with own strength and wisdom)

 
[‘These moments’: An attempt to capture moments within the week. No words. Simple. Special. Moments I wish to treasure and remember.]

 
I posted a question on my Facebook less than 2 weeks ago about whether or not you listen to podcasts (Thanks everyone who responded and shared inputs!!)

And, … after some thoughts, it is decided: Yes, I’ll start!!
 
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So here’s my first ever podcast! *YAY*

CLICK THIS LINK TO LISTEN

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I’ve chosen ‘Family Talks with Leonny’ as its name, because family, marriage and parenting thoughts have always been close in my heart.

And I really hope and pray many others can be inspired to learn and be better in loving their families, spouses, children, and others.

Something that I personally will struggle to do daily, too.
 
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Anyway, this first podcast is in Indonesian!
(A brand new one next week will be in English! =)

And oh, the website is (if you wish to bookmark it =):
http://familytalks.buzzsprout.com
 
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I hope it’s a blessing to everyone who listens!

Please click, share, subscribe, download, anything! =D
 
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PS: I’m still figuring out how to get my podcast on iTunes, etc. Please do bear with me as I improve the page …

 
Parent to child:

“Quick, go and say gongxi gongxi to __(fill in name)___. You want hongbao or not?!”

‘Eh, behave please. You want people to give you hongbao or not?!’

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Every Chinese New Year, have we unconsciously encouraged our children to love money?

(read: Get money by doing something – smile, do the hand gesture and say gongxi gongxi to someone)

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Food for thought.

Corona Virus affects the world.

Sudden passing of Kobe, his 13yo daughter plus 7 others.

Life is precious, yet incredibly fragile.

Leaving no room for anyone to brag about being ‘in total control’ of life?

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Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
– Psalm 90:12

 
Chinese New Year.

A wonderful time to get together with friends and families, especially with those whom we hardly get to meet.
 

 

And, other than the gathering and eating, it’s that time of the year when everyone wishes everyone else more luck, more wealth, more prosperity.

Basically, it’s when people wish for more money. Both for themselves and for other people.
 

 
Just a thought.

Prosperity is commonly measured in terms of material wealth. And many often wish for such blessings.

But.

Say if we are not ‘materially’ in abundance, especially ‘when compared’ with others, do we therefore see ourselves as not blessed?

How we measure / see ourselves depends on our own beliefs and understanding of what blessings are, no?

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Anyway.

Here are quick snapshots of our Chinese New Year day one and two ☺️

As always, CNY gatherings with family and friends are awesomely wonderful.

This, is one blessing I am really thankful for.

How can I keep asking for more?

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(Perhaps, we should wish for more spirit of giving and serving others with what we have already been given every new year?)

 
In marriage (and all relationships, including parent-child relationships), TRUST is needed.

When trust is absent, all attempts to build communication and relation most likely will fail.

Build that trust over time.

And beware, it takes years to build trust in relationships, and only takes a second to break it to pieces.

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Food for thought.

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Inspired by a conversation with Rev. Sutjipto Subeno long time ago

I have so much to write about our recent trip to Japan!

But alas, amidst my work, housework, kids and stuff, I have yet to find time to write, edit our MANY photos and videos.

Oh well. Let me start by posting this one!

This was the time we turned into kids almost instantly! Haha.

SNOW!

Our family’s first ever encounter with pouring snow and super thick snow at Gala Yuzawa!

Loved it!

Here’s more info and tips for you:

– Gala Yuzawa is just 75 mins from Tokyo by Shinkansen (we bought 7-day JR Pass, and since we traveled to Kyoto and Osaka as well, buying our JR Pass was really worth it!)
 

 

– We wanted to reach Gala Yuzawa by around 11am-12pm, but there’s a limited number of trains that go directly to Gala Yuzawa from Tokyo Station (like, the next available direct train is at 12pm something, and that’s too late for us)

So, this was what we did:

– Went to ECHIGO YUZAWA from Tokyo Station

– Took a taxi from Echigo Yuzawa to Gala Yuzawa (cost us 1050 yen per taxi – about 5 to 7 mins drive)

We basically only wanted to play with snow (though I hope the NEXT time we come again, we can ski or snowboard!), so we bought the ‘Gondola one day pass’.

(Gondola = Cable Car)
 

 
This Gondola one-day pass allows us to go up to the ‘Rest House (Cheers)’, and that’s where they have food stalls, and people can start skiing/snowboarding, etc.

(Here’s more info on the area: https://gala.co.jp/winter/english/map/#coursemap)

 
As for us, we are just EXCITED to see thick, fresh snow. As we came out of the ‘rest house’, on the left, there’s a secluded area and we just played with snow there!!

Plus, it happened to be snowing when we’re there!

AWESOME!!

(Btw, the fresh snow was SO soft, it was impossible to make proper snowballs, let alone a snowman. It’s like lifting a handful of soft sands)
 

Anyway, a good 2 hours was nice for us.

We left Gala Yuzawa by Shinkansen (no more taxi rides needed!), and back to Tokyo station again.

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Would LOVE to return!