Welcome

Want to take this opportunity to welcome three more couples to our group: Derek and Yan Fen, Joel and Rachel, and last but not least, Vincent and Sharon, who have been joining us for quite some time now at GKGW....I'm sure we'll have a blast, and we're all looking forward to getting to know you all, though for some of us, we're already friends for a very long time, right?

5 Ways to Long Life

This is not the tao of longetivity. It is wholely and solely taken from the bible.

1st Way: Obey God's Commands

1 Kings 3:14 says,
And if you walk in my ways and obey my statutes and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.

Proverbs 3:1-2 says,
My son, do not forget my teaching but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity.

2nd way: Fear the Lord

Proverbs 10:27 says,
The fear of the Lord adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short.

3rd way: Use Wisdom

Proverbs 3:13-16 says,
Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than rubies, nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honour.

Ecclesiastes 7:10 says,
Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: that wisdom preserves the life of its possessor.

4th way: Honour your parents

Ephesians 6:2-3 says,
Honour your father and mother- which is the first commandment with a promise- that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.

5th way: Pray

2 Kings 20:1-6 says,
In those days, Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz went to him and said, "This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover. Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, "Remember, O Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes. And Hezekiah wept bitterly. Before Isaiah had left the middle court, the word of the Lord came to him: Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people, This is what the Lord, the God of your father David says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears, I will heal you. On the 3rd day from now, you will go up to the temple of the Lord. I will add 15 years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of king of Assyria. I will defend this city, for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.

Spiritual, Emotional & Physical Well Being

As we comb through the passages related to health, we find that God has always blessed us in 3 areas of our life, namely, spiritual, emotional and physical well being.

Spiritual & Physical Well Being:

Proverbs 3:1-8 says,

My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity. Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favour and a good name in the sight of God and men. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.

Exodus 23:25 says,

Worship the Lord your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you, and none will miscarry or be barren in your land. I will give you a full life span.

Proverbs 4 :20-22 says,

My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to a man's whole body.

Emotional Well Being:

Psalm 147:3 says,

He heals the broken hearted and binds up their wounds.

Jeremiah 30:17 says,

I will restore you to health and heal your wounds, declares the Lord, because you are called an outcast, Zion for whom no one cares.

Jeremiah 33:6 says,

Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security.

When we continue to keep God's commands, deny ourselves daily and always be repentant, we will always have God's blessings and healing spiritually, emotionally and physically.

Racial Harmony Day

What a blast we had at the racial harmony day....kudos to ZQ who organised the whole event, and the singles who were so giving.

Brought the kids to the RSAF booth and queued to get the kids photographed...the lengths that this parent would go for his aspirations for his kids...ha ha.

Visualize heaven vividly

It has always been difficult to visualize heaven. I use to think of heaven as blocks of clouds and christians will fly in between them in white clothes. Can't imagine having to do that for eternity, boring will be an understatement.

I did my bible study on the topic of heaven for a month last year. I went through the verses in the bible related to heaven and read some related books on heaven. (Books on heaven are hard to come by) The following is what I gather heaven will be like:

1) Heaven is the earth that God has intended for Adam & Eve before they sinned. The earth that God created for Adam & Eve was meant for eternity. Whatever that was lost to Adam & Eve and the humans subsequently would be restored in heaven.

2) We will be given a new body in heaven. A body without the sinful nature. We no longer have to struggle with "What I want to do, I don't do; What I don't want to do, I kept doing."

3) We will be given a new body that is free from sickness and disease; a body that never go tired. Imagine this: Monday, walk with a group of christians to Masai for seafood; Tuesday, walk to Malacca for nonya food; Wednesday, swim to Bangkok for tonyam soup; Thursday, jog to the disney land in Tokyo; and imagine this goes on eternally.

4) We will be given wisdom far beyond our understanding. Whatever disappointments, sufferings, pain we went through on earth will be explained to us.

5) Ever wonder why there is no more marriage in heaven. Because everyone will be perfect in christ. The man will possess the feminine qualities, the woman will possess the masculine qualities. There is no need for husband and wife to compliment each other any more.

I believe heaven will be a million times better than what we gather from the above points. So good that it is beyond what words can describe. Lets be inspired to help one another and others around us to get to this wonderful place where God is waiting. Amen.

Reward or Bribe?

So what are the differences between a reward and a bribe?

Stefan gave the scenario about bringing his son out for a ride on the bike if he takes his afternoon nap.

Some parenting experts will tell you that a bribe is given before the good behaviour, and a reward is given after the good behaviour. Others (including the Ezzos) will go further and say that we should not even offer the goodie before the required behaviour. Some will also say that a bribe originates from and is controlled by the child, and if a parent has control of the bargain, then it is a reward.

I think these are all superficial distinctions between the two.

Ezzo encourages goal incentives and tangible rewards to motivate a child to try harder in particular developmental tasks like skills, talents (swimming, playing the piano etc) and not routine duties like personal responsibilities like packing up his toys, bathing, etc. It is definitely a bribe if the child disobeys an instruction and you offer something to make him obey. So there is a difference between modifying behaviour (usually with moral implications) and developing skills, which are essentially non-moral.

But I think the most important thing is whether you are characterised by bribing and offering extrinsic tangible things for the kids instead of allowing them to grow their intrinsic motivation, e.g. joy of obeying, satisfaction at doing difficult.

So we are all bribing and threatening parents at one time or another - don't get guilted out by that, and become paranoid about everything we say or do. Instead, we should consciously do our best to bring out the best in our kids, and catch them at doing something good because it is just the right thing to do.

Phua Chu Kang

Was at Edrik's school yesterday to support him in his fancy dress competition.   He was dressed up as Phua Chu Kang.  Here's a photo.  We're so proud of him for being such a sport.  He won second prize in his level.