Sorry, please forgive me (2)

Blessed Chinese New Year!

We were talking about our children’s pride in the last session. Their pride may cause them to lose friends and favors if not handled properly.

Humility is hard to be taught. However, it can be caught. An incident happened last week …..

“I’ve had it, children! We are not going out. You guys will stay home without lunch today. You cannot obey simple instructions even after many reminders!” This hit me so badly that I had an instant migraine. I stomped into my room and tried to rest. (As if, we can…ha..ha….)

Did I make a booboo? Yelling at them like a mad woman….it’s simply crazy. My pride says that don’t back out on your words. My tummy says I need to eat too!! 15 minutes passed. My dear daughter came in and apologized, followed by the boys. That eased my anger quite a bit.
I got up and spoke calmly, “I’m sorry for being crazy just now. I shouldn’t have YELLED at you. Please forgive me.” They accepted it. I continued, “I need you to ask for my forgiveness too. “ They did. And so, we have reconciled.

Reconciliation begins when repentance is followed by forgiveness.

Proverbs 29:23 “A man’s pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirits gains honor. “

Sorry, please forgive me (1)

Sorieeee… (with a drag and eyes rolled)
Sorrilah….(short and quick, followed by eyes rolled)
So……ri (followed by eyes rolled)

Notice that every sorry is accompanied with eyes rolled. Does that child mean what he or she say? Certainly not! Do you get these kinds of responses often? Well, I do. It is lackadaisical and disturbing.

Do you behave the similar manner to your spouse as your children do to you? Honestly I do. Childish? Yes! Immatured? Yes! At the end of any incident, that kind of sorry will not reconcile us with anyone.

Self pride is the main culprit. Pride causes us to lose face if we admit our mistakes. Therefore, it takes big courage to apologize sincerely. It takes bigger courage to ask for forgiveness. It takes the biggest courage to be rejected of forgiveness.

In the next episode, we will work on how we could help our children cope with this pride.

Octopus Hands

“Mum, the light is green now!” I jumped from my 100-seconds nap and engaged my car gear. My helper left last Thursday. Since then, we were frenziedly getting meals ready, putting out the laundry, getting the children to school and ….. the list goes on. And here I was, trying to ‘nap’ at the traffic light at red to get some extra pound of energy.

In moments like that, we wish we have octopus hands. Hands that can comfort a crying child, stir the stew and wash some dishes! And so, I wonder when this madness will ever stop. If I look at the calendar, it’s another 2 months before the extra help arrives. This seems eternity already.

But, if I look up to God, he says “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10)

In Pursuit of Excellence

In our first attempt in having a tuition class for my 2 sons in my house, it turned out a disaster. A re known mandarin teacher was hired as their personal tutor. They giggled, played a fool, and giggled time and again. They might have even caused indigestion to her breakfast that day. She never came back the second time (well, partly she met with a car accident on her way home. She’s OK, not her car though.) Since then, I had neither dared to call another tutor to the house nor engaged them to any tuition classes.

Lately, my eldest son needs assistance in Bahasa Malaysia (BM). And so, I had him start the BM tuition. This time, I decided to have him sent out to the tutor’s (Mrs Ng) home.

With his ingenuous questions on why, what, when, where and how BM was related to him, the tutor spent 30minutes explaining its relevance and urgency. She commented on fulfilling the Great Commission* for God by excelling in different languages. Lo and behold, that got him a little excited. She also read him some common Bible stories in BM.

Can you believe this? Now, am I going off tangent or she is? The next thing I knew was that I agreed with her teaching my son about the Bible in BM in the first half of the session. Following that, will be the school syllabus proper.

God is super creative, you know. He can turn the stones into bread, water into wine, and even make blind men see. The next time you think your children cannot be bent, think again. God sends people like Mrs Ng!!

In our pursuit of excellence, we truly need God’s grace.

Luke 2: 40 – “And the child (Jesus) grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.”

*The Great Commision – Matthew 28:19,20 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father,and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

The First Day

Do you vividly remember the first day you go to school? May it be in the kindergarten, or Standard 1, we must admit that there’s this looming, dreadful fear. What if mummy or daddy leaves and forgets to fetch me? What if some boy calls me names? What if my teacher scolds me for wetting my pants?

Four of my children reacted differently on their first few days of school. Emerson decided to flee when we got down the nearby school parking lot. Evans was cool about the whole thing. A tearful Estelle had to be consoled and carried around the school premise. Elgin was rather quiet at first but admitted that he had 2 tearful episodes after that.

No matter what the reaction was, I thank God that He gave them the courage to face it.

Remember to praise your child today that he or she has been so brave in facing this first day – the day that will mark a difference for the rest of the year 2010.

Blessed New Year 2010!

Joshua 1:9 – Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

The Wise Decision (Part 2)

So, let's continue with our story.....

In that tensed moment, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes for 5 seconds. Yes, I felt disappointed that I have failed in my call of duty. Nevertheless, God's spirit spurred me to continue the session with the younger ones. My boys and I had a long conversation after that. They were reprimanded and apologised. We prayed together and asked God to create in us a thirst and hunger for God's word.

During bedtime, I asked my little girl how she felt about the episode that morning. "I feel sorry for you, mum." Wow, she can feel for me! God is so good. Boy, am I glad that I have made a wise decision that morning.

Our children can fail us in many ways. When that happens, let us re-channel our focus on those who need us just as much. May it be your other children in line or your spouse.

DO NOT RESENT AND LABEL THEM UNGRATEFUL BRATS!! (That's a trap)

Ephesians 4: 26 - In you anger, do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.

The Wise Decision (Part 1)

During a session of bible reading with the children, 2 of them walked out. They didn't like to be seated and told what to do. How would you react? You may decide to yell, "Sit down, do you hear me? Or you will get disciplined soon." Then, march out to get this settled. Or decide to continue with the session in anger and bitterness.

At this very moment, the younger ones were very quiet. Their faces clearly showed that they wanted to continue hearing the bible story.

I truly struggled with making the right decision. But I finally made it. Before I reveal it, would you share what a wise decision would be?