Biblical Parenting

Just completed "A Gift From God" by Larry Mercer. It's my 2nd time reading it. Couldn't quite remember what's it about. That's the problem with reading books and not noting down learning points. I wasn't going to make the same mistake twice so here's what I've learnt and currently putting into practice:

1. 6 sins of parenting
I found myself identifying with 3 of them - exaggerating their actions i.e. saying they always/never do/don't do something, not giving them my full attention but always trying to do things simultaneously, expecting more than what they can handle at their age.

2. 7 secrets of parenting
I need to work harder on 2 of them - probe and clarify to understand their speech and actions instead of forming my own conclusions, show my love through words and not just actions.

3. teaching kids about the 10 commandments
The author paraphrase the commandments into simple terms that can be taught to kids.

4. 7 B's of discipline
Good principles to follow when disciplining kids - be clear of expectation and instruction given, be in control of anger, be calm in speech, be consistent and committed in administering discipline, be considerate to the kids' feelings and be compassionate after disciplining them.

5. pray using Proverbs
This book has an appendix with 31 examples on how you can use the book of Proverbs to pray for your kids. So far, I've prayed for my girls to be willing to listen to my teaching, to have a heart of wisdom to discern right from wrong and to trust in and acknowledge God in all that they do.

Getting on the right track

Have been experiencing feelings of overwhelmness (is there such a word?) now and then, a sense that everything is going out of control and I'm just living day by day meaninglessly. A new chapter of my life began this year when my elder girl started primary one and my younger girl nursery two. I suddenly have a block of free time and I wanted to make full use of it. I chanced upon a book by Elizabeth George entitled "A Woman After God's Own Heart". It got me thinking about my life, that I want to live each day meaningfully with joy with purpose and in an organised manner. From this book and another entitled "The Disciplines of the Beautiful Woman" by Anne Ortlund, I've learnt and put into practise 3 things.

1. Prioritise my life. 1st God, 2nd my husband ("your husband is your primary career" caught my attention), 3rd kids, 4th home, 5th myself, 6th others.

2. Set goals for each area of my life. Under God, I resolve to spend every morning reading the bible and praying, reading thru the bible and memorising 50 verses within the year. For my husband, I want to love him more by practising Gary Chapman's 5 love languages. My goal for the girls is to disciple them, to impart God's word and His ways. To manage the home, I put up a cleaning schedule and currently doing up a monthly menu plan so I don't have to stress myself over what to cook. The goal for myself is to grow by reading so that I've something to offer others, which leads to the last priority of serving others.

3. Keep a notebook for planning and recording my progress. My notebook is a ring folder with sections for each area of my life. I pen down my plans, thoughts, learnings, ideas, progress, etc. It keeps me focused and organised. The book by Anne Ortlund has a whole chapter on this.

I won't say my life is perfect now. But it's definitely more directed and I experience a greater sense of peace and joy.

Dairy and Egg Free Pancake

My older girl loves pancakes/waffles. We used to buy from PrimaDeli until we suspect she's allergic to dairy. She doesn't react immediately after eating dairy products. What happens is that she'll start clearing her throat, then a cough will develop which takes abt 2 wks to clear. I checked out the internet and found a pancake recipe that I modified. My whole family likes it.

Ingredients (7-8 pancakes)

• 1 cup self-raising flour (sifted)
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup rice milk
  
• 1 tbs vegetable oil
• 1 tbs water
  
• 2 tbs Nutttelex (milk free table spread)

Method

1. Combine dry ingredients and mix slightly.
2. Add milk, oil and water. Whisk together until just combined. Be careful not to over mix - it should still be slightly lumpy. Set aside to rest for a few minutes.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. While pan is heating, add Nuttelex. As soon as it is melted, add melted Nuttelex to pancake batter.
4. Return pan to stove and stir Nuttelex into batter.
5. When pan is hot, pour a ladle of batter into the skillet for each pancake.
6. Cook until bubbles form on the surface. Carefully flip pancakes with spatula and cook until golden brown.

The first time I made it plain. Today I added cranberries to the batter just before cooking. They add sweetness to the pancakes which the girls love. I didn't use eggs cos we suspect our younger girl is allergic to it. The last time she took eggs, she broke out in rash.

Inspired to start a blog

Was checking out allergy free food recipes for my 2 girls when I chanced upon pig-in-the-kitchen blog. It has great gluten, egg and dairy free recipes. The choc cookies recipe my husband (daren) tried turned out great and my girls loved it. It's very tough to find allergy free food in singapore. Kids allergy is rather new still so Daren and I cook and bake almost all our food. Tot it would be great to share our experiences with others in the same situation, and perhaps grow a support community in this area.