I'm always thankful for the many ways God has provided for my family despite having only 1 income, and it's not much cos Daren's in full-time ministry.
Our main source of support comes from our parents. They help us financially, gave us a place to stay and a car to travel about. Then there are also friends and relatives and even strangers who bless us with love gifts. There were 2 instances where we have received bank transfers through a friend from someone who wanted to remain anonymous. During Chinese New Year, birthdays and Christmas, we received red packets and gift vouchers that really came in handy. Just recently, my grandfather, out of the blue, gave each of my girls $500!
It's really amazing how God provides. Each time I worry about not having enough, I remind myself that God will supply all my needs.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Faith Stories
During today's worship service, I was reminded of the importance of being faithful because God is faithful. The speaker recounted stories of how God provided when she chose to be faithful to what God wanted her to do.
I've actually started noting down instances where God answered prayers, worked miracles and led me through tough times. It serves as reminders and also stories to tell the kids and hopefully pass down generations. Instead of paper form, I'm going to blog to journal God's faithfulness in my life.
I'll start with the most recent. This year is my 10th wedding anniversay. Daren wanted to go somewhere special in June but our calendar is packed. He has reservist 1st wk, church camp 2nd wk, mission trip 3rd wk. His brother and parents planned a trip to Japan in the 1st wk and invited us along but the dates are just not possible. Moreover, plane tickets were about $900. Going is beyond our budget. Then amazing things begin to happen. Maybank is celebrating their 50th anniversary and together with Cathay Pacific, offers plane tickets to Japan for only $559! Daren felt it was once in a lifetime. The only thing left was his reservist. He went for a medical review for his ankle operation and the board decided to defer his reservist due to his ankle condition. It's just incredible how everything fell in place. Now we are all set and excited to go Japan :)
I've actually started noting down instances where God answered prayers, worked miracles and led me through tough times. It serves as reminders and also stories to tell the kids and hopefully pass down generations. Instead of paper form, I'm going to blog to journal God's faithfulness in my life.
I'll start with the most recent. This year is my 10th wedding anniversay. Daren wanted to go somewhere special in June but our calendar is packed. He has reservist 1st wk, church camp 2nd wk, mission trip 3rd wk. His brother and parents planned a trip to Japan in the 1st wk and invited us along but the dates are just not possible. Moreover, plane tickets were about $900. Going is beyond our budget. Then amazing things begin to happen. Maybank is celebrating their 50th anniversary and together with Cathay Pacific, offers plane tickets to Japan for only $559! Daren felt it was once in a lifetime. The only thing left was his reservist. He went for a medical review for his ankle operation and the board decided to defer his reservist due to his ankle condition. It's just incredible how everything fell in place. Now we are all set and excited to go Japan :)
Monday, May 3, 2010
Hong Kong
This is my 1st travel post (hopefully there'll be more to come). Whenever we go travelling, I spend quite a lot of time planning cos there're so many considerations when travelling with kids. I hope these posts will be a help to whoever's reading and also a source of reference for myself.
When to visit
My family has visited Hong Kong twice in the last 2 years - once in Sep and another late Dec. Dec is definitely a better time to visit cos it's cooler. Sep was terrible with temp going up to 35 degrees.
Where to stay
This was quite a challenge cos there're 4 of us - 2 adults 2 kids. I wanted only 1 room and a lot of hotels only take a max of 3. Finally found through Wotif, that shows bed configuration, Royal Plaza Hotel in Mongkok East, that has 2 double beds accommodating 4. The hotel also has family rooms that have 1 king/queen and 1 double with a pantry and couch area. We took this on our 2nd visit to Hong Kong. It was very comfortable. The kitchen/dining area gave us room to have our breakfast.
Another plus point about the hotel is that it's connected to a shopping mall via its lobby with many food options. It's also linked to the rail which you can take and change to the MTR. Alternatively, you can take a 10mins walk on a sheltered overhead walkway that leads to the Mongkok MTR station. This walkway is connected to the mall. Along the walkway, there're staircases going down to various streets, the famous one being Ladies Street.
Where to eat
Breakfast is easy. In the shopping mall, there's Macs and beside it, a nice cafe called Cafe Balencia with all kinds of bread. Our favourite is a shop that sells porridge, fried dough and soy bean, and another that sells all kinds of mantou. We have to go onto the walkway and take the 1st staircase down to the streets. We usually buy back to the room to eat.
For lunch and dinner, the following places are quite good:
1. Hang Heung Kitchen at New World Centre, East Tsim Sha Tsui
- set dinner was good and cost HK$900 for 10 of us.
- right beside Avenue of Stars so after dinner can take a stroll along the harbour and catch the Symphony of Lights show at 8pm.
- the restaurant sells the famous Hang Heung wife biscuits.
2. Tai Hing Roast near the hotel, along the street that has a lot of pet shops
- we da bao roasted meat rice, duck, roast pork, char siew. Very big portions.
3. Yuen Kee along Kimberly Road
- a typical HK cafe setting that serves pretty good beef noodles.
4. Fook Lam Moon along Kimberly Road
- if you want to splurge, this is high class Cantonese restaurant with a lift that brings you to the second floor. Water is served from mineral water bottles. The sweet and sour pork and roast chicken are fantastic. 4 dishes cost us HK$1,200.
5. Royal Banquet Hall at Fantasyland, HK Disney
- decent food at ok prices. Their roasted chicken thigh and burgers are ok.
6. La Scala at Royal Plaza Hotel
- our room package came with F&B vouchers. We saved up everything for a buffet dinner on the last nite. The spread was very impressive. They have a cheese & cracker counter, waygu beef, sashimi and a great variety of desserts.
Where to go
1. Disneyland - definitely a must with kids. Preferably stay a nite there so there's more time. The most enjoyable rides were - Winnie the Pooh, Buzz Lightyear, Small World, Jungle Cruise. The Golden Mickey Show and the 3D Mickey's PhilharMagic were good. The hotel that we stayed - Hollywood was very good. The double beds comfortably sleeps 4. The buffet breakfast was pretty good, esp. the dim sum. We got a very good package - hotel, breakfast and park pass from AsiaTravelCare. Hotel food is rather ex so we settled our meals in the park. The Royal Banquet has rather decent stuff at reasonable prices.
2. Ocean Park - more for older kids and adults cos the rides are more scary. The dolphin show was lousy, as boring as the one at Sentosa.
3. The Peak - the tram ride up the Peak was very steep. We visited Mdm Tussauds. Most of the wax figures weren't realistic. Only a few were good like Madonna, Beatles, MJ. The kids were bored. They were happier playing at the playground at The Peak Galleria.
4. Ngong Ping 360 - the cable car ride was very cool. It's abt 25mins long and take you right up into the mountains. At times, our cable car disappeared into the clouds. We didn't bother to walk to the Buddha. Just stayed around the village and took some phots.
5. Avenue of Stars - unless you are a movie buff, if not, all the famous handprints mean nothing.
Where to shop
There are endless shopping options. I only managed to a few. With kids, shopping is almost impossible.
1. Grand Century Place - this was connected to the hotel so it's the most convenient. There's Esprit, Popular and supermarket.
2. New World Centre - this mall is quite pathetic. Nothing much except for the nice Pacific Coffe Co. where you can use the free internet ( we used it to confirm our flight back) and watch the Symphony of Lights.
3. Citygate Outlet - this is quite good. I like the Esprit, Quicksilver, Bodyshop outlets.
4. Shopping mall in Shatin that has Snoopy World - it's an outdoor area connected to the mall, like in IMM, where there's a playground, Snoopy figures and a life size american school bus that you can go into. The boat ride was not working which was a disappointment.
5. Ladies Market - we bought a lot of stuff on our first trip but on the second, the stalls were miserable. Mayb cos it was summer in Sep so they were selling a lot of T-shirts. In Dec, nothing much.
6. Tsim Sha Tsui - we walked quite a bit along the streets in Tsim Sha Tsui. Jus the usual Bossini, Giordano, Baleno shops. We couldn't find the outlet shops.
When to visit
My family has visited Hong Kong twice in the last 2 years - once in Sep and another late Dec. Dec is definitely a better time to visit cos it's cooler. Sep was terrible with temp going up to 35 degrees.
Where to stay
This was quite a challenge cos there're 4 of us - 2 adults 2 kids. I wanted only 1 room and a lot of hotels only take a max of 3. Finally found through Wotif, that shows bed configuration, Royal Plaza Hotel in Mongkok East, that has 2 double beds accommodating 4. The hotel also has family rooms that have 1 king/queen and 1 double with a pantry and couch area. We took this on our 2nd visit to Hong Kong. It was very comfortable. The kitchen/dining area gave us room to have our breakfast.
Another plus point about the hotel is that it's connected to a shopping mall via its lobby with many food options. It's also linked to the rail which you can take and change to the MTR. Alternatively, you can take a 10mins walk on a sheltered overhead walkway that leads to the Mongkok MTR station. This walkway is connected to the mall. Along the walkway, there're staircases going down to various streets, the famous one being Ladies Street.
Where to eat
Breakfast is easy. In the shopping mall, there's Macs and beside it, a nice cafe called Cafe Balencia with all kinds of bread. Our favourite is a shop that sells porridge, fried dough and soy bean, and another that sells all kinds of mantou. We have to go onto the walkway and take the 1st staircase down to the streets. We usually buy back to the room to eat.
For lunch and dinner, the following places are quite good:
1. Hang Heung Kitchen at New World Centre, East Tsim Sha Tsui
- set dinner was good and cost HK$900 for 10 of us.
- right beside Avenue of Stars so after dinner can take a stroll along the harbour and catch the Symphony of Lights show at 8pm.
- the restaurant sells the famous Hang Heung wife biscuits.
2. Tai Hing Roast near the hotel, along the street that has a lot of pet shops
- we da bao roasted meat rice, duck, roast pork, char siew. Very big portions.
3. Yuen Kee along Kimberly Road
- a typical HK cafe setting that serves pretty good beef noodles.
4. Fook Lam Moon along Kimberly Road
- if you want to splurge, this is high class Cantonese restaurant with a lift that brings you to the second floor. Water is served from mineral water bottles. The sweet and sour pork and roast chicken are fantastic. 4 dishes cost us HK$1,200.
5. Royal Banquet Hall at Fantasyland, HK Disney
- decent food at ok prices. Their roasted chicken thigh and burgers are ok.
6. La Scala at Royal Plaza Hotel
- our room package came with F&B vouchers. We saved up everything for a buffet dinner on the last nite. The spread was very impressive. They have a cheese & cracker counter, waygu beef, sashimi and a great variety of desserts.
Where to go
1. Disneyland - definitely a must with kids. Preferably stay a nite there so there's more time. The most enjoyable rides were - Winnie the Pooh, Buzz Lightyear, Small World, Jungle Cruise. The Golden Mickey Show and the 3D Mickey's PhilharMagic were good. The hotel that we stayed - Hollywood was very good. The double beds comfortably sleeps 4. The buffet breakfast was pretty good, esp. the dim sum. We got a very good package - hotel, breakfast and park pass from AsiaTravelCare. Hotel food is rather ex so we settled our meals in the park. The Royal Banquet has rather decent stuff at reasonable prices.
2. Ocean Park - more for older kids and adults cos the rides are more scary. The dolphin show was lousy, as boring as the one at Sentosa.
3. The Peak - the tram ride up the Peak was very steep. We visited Mdm Tussauds. Most of the wax figures weren't realistic. Only a few were good like Madonna, Beatles, MJ. The kids were bored. They were happier playing at the playground at The Peak Galleria.
4. Ngong Ping 360 - the cable car ride was very cool. It's abt 25mins long and take you right up into the mountains. At times, our cable car disappeared into the clouds. We didn't bother to walk to the Buddha. Just stayed around the village and took some phots.
5. Avenue of Stars - unless you are a movie buff, if not, all the famous handprints mean nothing.
Where to shop
There are endless shopping options. I only managed to a few. With kids, shopping is almost impossible.
1. Grand Century Place - this was connected to the hotel so it's the most convenient. There's Esprit, Popular and supermarket.
2. New World Centre - this mall is quite pathetic. Nothing much except for the nice Pacific Coffe Co. where you can use the free internet ( we used it to confirm our flight back) and watch the Symphony of Lights.
3. Citygate Outlet - this is quite good. I like the Esprit, Quicksilver, Bodyshop outlets.
4. Shopping mall in Shatin that has Snoopy World - it's an outdoor area connected to the mall, like in IMM, where there's a playground, Snoopy figures and a life size american school bus that you can go into. The boat ride was not working which was a disappointment.
5. Ladies Market - we bought a lot of stuff on our first trip but on the second, the stalls were miserable. Mayb cos it was summer in Sep so they were selling a lot of T-shirts. In Dec, nothing much.
6. Tsim Sha Tsui - we walked quite a bit along the streets in Tsim Sha Tsui. Jus the usual Bossini, Giordano, Baleno shops. We couldn't find the outlet shops.
A Place of Quiet Rest
This book by Nancy Leigh DeMoss caught my eye when I was browsing the shelves at SKS. I've read another of her book - Lies Women Believe, and it was pretty good. Also the sub-heading - finding intimacy with God through a daily devotional life, spoke to me. It was something I've always wanted but find it hard to grasp. Devotion or QT has always been up and down. Only in recent years that it started to be more stable. Still I know it can be better.
This book addresses the Priority, Purpose, Pattern, Problems, Practice and Product of a devotional life. It's straightforward, drawing egs. from the bible and the author's personal walk with God. It's not a 'how to' book but challenges and nudges you to seek a consistent and meaningful quiet time with God.
This book addresses the Priority, Purpose, Pattern, Problems, Practice and Product of a devotional life. It's straightforward, drawing egs. from the bible and the author's personal walk with God. It's not a 'how to' book but challenges and nudges you to seek a consistent and meaningful quiet time with God.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Siblings Rivalry
I never really bothered much about this issue. Even though I've 2 girls, they've gotten along pretty well (some bossing around by the older one, a bit of whining from the younger) UNTIL NOW. At ages 6 and 3, the real thing has begun. The younger one has ceased being little miss nice about everything the older sister does to her. Everyday there's endless bickering, screaming over toys and books, teasing, coming to me tattling about what the other has done or said.
I tried to recall my own experiences with my siblings. Nothing much came to mind. Perhaps because of the wide age gap, I didn't really clash with them much. So I Googled and found a host of articles on sibling rivalry. Almost all those I chose to read quoted a book by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish, "Siblings Without Rivalry - How to Help Your Children Live Together so You Can Live Too". I quickly searched the library and promptly made a reservation for the book.
It's an easy book to read (finished it in 3 days). The authors shared strategies on handling sibling relationships using real life experiences of a group of parents. The recurring idea throughout the book is for parents to constantly create opportunities for siblings to have good feelings for one another, to create a family environment for such feelings to grow. Having this helps parents to implement various strategies to reduce the clashes between siblings.
Although the book is not written from a biblical perspective, it does highlights several mistakes that parents make in handling sibling rivalry and seeks to provide better alternatives. It made me evaluate the way I relate to my girls, whether I've unknowingly stereotype them, cause them to be jealous of each other and compete with each other. It also caused me to think about my relationships with my siblings and how my parents relate to us.
So far I tried a couple of methods from the book:
1. Stop my younger girl from coming to complain to me about her sister by asking her to say politely to her sister what it is she wants, and asking my older girl to respect her sister's requests. It's still on-going but I'm surprised how my older girl seems to be more agreeable to accede to her requests when the sister asks for it instead of me asking on her behalf.
2. Stop praising one's behaviour to get the other to do likewise. This creates unnecessary competition between them.
3. Get them to say in words what's bothering them instead of letting them whine and call each other names.
4. When they fight for things, get them to work out a solution instead of me being a judge to decide who gets it.
I don't think it's enough to just employ the methods stated in the book. The greater need is to shepherd their hearts to be more like Jesus for their words and behaviours come from an overflow of their hearts. And more importantly to keep praying for them.
I tried to recall my own experiences with my siblings. Nothing much came to mind. Perhaps because of the wide age gap, I didn't really clash with them much. So I Googled and found a host of articles on sibling rivalry. Almost all those I chose to read quoted a book by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish, "Siblings Without Rivalry - How to Help Your Children Live Together so You Can Live Too". I quickly searched the library and promptly made a reservation for the book.
It's an easy book to read (finished it in 3 days). The authors shared strategies on handling sibling relationships using real life experiences of a group of parents. The recurring idea throughout the book is for parents to constantly create opportunities for siblings to have good feelings for one another, to create a family environment for such feelings to grow. Having this helps parents to implement various strategies to reduce the clashes between siblings.
Although the book is not written from a biblical perspective, it does highlights several mistakes that parents make in handling sibling rivalry and seeks to provide better alternatives. It made me evaluate the way I relate to my girls, whether I've unknowingly stereotype them, cause them to be jealous of each other and compete with each other. It also caused me to think about my relationships with my siblings and how my parents relate to us.
So far I tried a couple of methods from the book:
1. Stop my younger girl from coming to complain to me about her sister by asking her to say politely to her sister what it is she wants, and asking my older girl to respect her sister's requests. It's still on-going but I'm surprised how my older girl seems to be more agreeable to accede to her requests when the sister asks for it instead of me asking on her behalf.
2. Stop praising one's behaviour to get the other to do likewise. This creates unnecessary competition between them.
3. Get them to say in words what's bothering them instead of letting them whine and call each other names.
4. When they fight for things, get them to work out a solution instead of me being a judge to decide who gets it.
I don't think it's enough to just employ the methods stated in the book. The greater need is to shepherd their hearts to be more like Jesus for their words and behaviours come from an overflow of their hearts. And more importantly to keep praying for them.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Growing My Walk with God
Tot I'll move away from family related reading to spiritual books to grow my walk with God. Have changed my book list title from "Woman Books" to "Personal Growth Books" so that it will be more general.
I've just completed "Power Through Prayer" by E.M.Bounds. It has challenged me to be serious with my relationship with God by giving priority to prayer. Nobody discounts the importance of prayer. Yet so few really set aside unhurried time to commune with God, to wrestle issues with Him, to wait upon His answer. The book primarily addresses preachers, urging them to devote themselves to prayer in order for their pulpit ministry to be life-changing. Likewise for the rest of us who serve God in other ways, if our lives are not saturated with prayers, our service amounts to nothing. The book also calls for people to pray for their preachers, that the latter may receive the anointing to preach the word of God that will touch lives.
As a wife of a ministry staff, I'm challenged to pray for and with my husband who's called to preach often. It has often taken a back seat in the midst of busyness with the home and the kids. The following quotes from the books are worth reflecting:
"To be little with God is to be little for God"
"We live shabbily because we pray meagerly"
"To pray is the greatest thing we can do; and to do it well, there must be calmness, time and deliberation"
I've just completed "Power Through Prayer" by E.M.Bounds. It has challenged me to be serious with my relationship with God by giving priority to prayer. Nobody discounts the importance of prayer. Yet so few really set aside unhurried time to commune with God, to wrestle issues with Him, to wait upon His answer. The book primarily addresses preachers, urging them to devote themselves to prayer in order for their pulpit ministry to be life-changing. Likewise for the rest of us who serve God in other ways, if our lives are not saturated with prayers, our service amounts to nothing. The book also calls for people to pray for their preachers, that the latter may receive the anointing to preach the word of God that will touch lives.
As a wife of a ministry staff, I'm challenged to pray for and with my husband who's called to preach often. It has often taken a back seat in the midst of busyness with the home and the kids. The following quotes from the books are worth reflecting:
"To be little with God is to be little for God"
"We live shabbily because we pray meagerly"
"To pray is the greatest thing we can do; and to do it well, there must be calmness, time and deliberation"
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Becoming the Woman of His Dreams
Sharon Jaynes wrote quite a good book "Being a Great Mom Raising Great Kids" that got me started on reading more on parenting. It also led me to another of her books, "Becoming a Woman of His Dreams" that expounds on 7 qualities every man longs for in a wife. This book opened my mind to understand the needs of man, something I sort of know but didn't bother to really want to learn about them. After reading, I was challenged to practise the 7 qualities to strengthen my relationship with my husband.
1. Prays for him
Use passages like Colossians 1:9-12 to pray for him daily.
2. Respects him
This one's a bit challenging. It requires a woman to submit to her husband's decisions though she has her own opinion and when the decisions fail, to not say,"I told you so." It also talks about being content with the family's financial situation and not make the man feels he's not providing enough for the family. The last aspect is for the woman to take care of her appearance for the simple reason that man is visual.
3. Adores him
Show your adoration, admiration and appreciation through words and actions. Find out about his love language (Gary Chapman's 5 love languages) and use it to show your love to him.
4. Initiates intimate friendship with him
Enter into his world of work and play to learn his interests so that there can be greater communication.
5. Safeguards her marriage
Be aware of people that can sabotage a marriage like in-laws, children and friendships with other men.
6. Encourages him
Be conscious of our words. Do they build up or tear down our husbands? Are we always cheering for them or criticising them?
7. Sexually fulfills him
In Sharon's surveys she collected for this book, sexual fulfillment was top of the list together with respect. It's something a woman cannot ignore and neglect because it 'recharges a man's battery'.
1. Prays for him
Use passages like Colossians 1:9-12 to pray for him daily.
2. Respects him
This one's a bit challenging. It requires a woman to submit to her husband's decisions though she has her own opinion and when the decisions fail, to not say,"I told you so." It also talks about being content with the family's financial situation and not make the man feels he's not providing enough for the family. The last aspect is for the woman to take care of her appearance for the simple reason that man is visual.
3. Adores him
Show your adoration, admiration and appreciation through words and actions. Find out about his love language (Gary Chapman's 5 love languages) and use it to show your love to him.
4. Initiates intimate friendship with him
Enter into his world of work and play to learn his interests so that there can be greater communication.
5. Safeguards her marriage
Be aware of people that can sabotage a marriage like in-laws, children and friendships with other men.
6. Encourages him
Be conscious of our words. Do they build up or tear down our husbands? Are we always cheering for them or criticising them?
7. Sexually fulfills him
In Sharon's surveys she collected for this book, sexual fulfillment was top of the list together with respect. It's something a woman cannot ignore and neglect because it 'recharges a man's battery'.
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