Sometime in May 2009, my son took part, as part of a duo, in his school talent competition called "ACS Junior Superstars". He and his friend Joshua called themselves Blue Jumpsuit Apparatus and emerged as winners in the group category. You can read about that here.
Well just last week, it was my daughter's turn to take part in her school talent competition called "PL Inspirations". She was part of a trio together with her friends Radiant and Dazale. They called themselves "Radar" (the Ra being from Radiant, Da from Dazale and the R at the end from Rachel). The competition was more intense as compared to the one my son took part in, in that there were no separate categories for group, soloist, dance, etc. Instead, all 15 finalists vied for the same glittering prize.
Anyway, the entire family turned up to support her and praise be to God, Radar came in 3rd!!! The ones that emerged 1st and 2nd played instruments, whereas my daughter and her 2 friends had relied purely on their vocals and stage presence.
Pictured on the right is she holding the trophy, accompanied by her proud parents and younger brother. Thank you Lord for blessing both our children with singing talents. May they use their voices to glorify your mighty Name!
My wife's big big boss is being transferred to the Sydney office come July 1st, and so they held a farewell dinner for him this evening.
In her absence, I had to "kiddie-sit" my daughter and son, and decided to take them out to watch a movie -- Night At The Museuem 2 (having watched the prequel on Channel 5 last Sunday).
While they took the MRT from home at Lor Chuan to Dhoby Ghaut, I took it from work at Raffles Place and we met at GV Plaza Singapura at about 6:30pm.
After the movie, we went to the Crocs outlet on the 3rd floor to pick up some jibbitzs.
I myself got one of "the map" (which is my favourite character from the cartoon Dora the Explorer) and a Canada flag (since I work in a Canadian company).
We then went to Cafe Cartel for a late dinner, after which we took a bus to St. John's Headquarters carpark to pick up the car to drive home.
I had a great time of bonding with my 2 kids. Thank you Lord for wonderful moments like these :-D
In 1996, there was a song entitled Butterfly Kisses by gospel singer Bob Carlisle that won him a Dove Award (which is the Christian version of the Grammy Awards). The song was written by a dad to his daughter, about how he saw her growing up. The words of the song are very touching and never fails to bring tears to my eyes..
BUTTERFLY KISSES - BOB CARLISLE
There's two things I know for sure She was sent here from heaven, and she's Daddy's little girl. As I drop to my knees by her bed at night She talks to Jesus and I close my eyes And I thank God for all of the joy in my life, oh but most of all...
For butterfly kisses after bedtime prayer Sticking little white flowers all up in her hair Walk beside the pony Daddy, it's my first ride I know the cake looks funny Daddy, but I sure tried Oh with all that I've done wrong, I must of done something right To deserve a hug every morning, and butterfly kisses at night.
Sweet sixteen today She's looking like her Mama, a little more everyday. One part woman, the other part girl To perfume and makeup, from ribbons and curls. Trying her wings out in a great big world, but I remember...
Butterfly kisses after bedtime prayer Sticking little white flowers all up in her hair. You know how much I love you Daddy, but if you don't mind I'm only gonna kiss you on the cheek this time. With all that I've done wrong, I must of done something right To deserve her love every morning, and butterfly kisses at night.
All the precious time, oh, like the wind the years go by. Precious butterfly, spread your wings and fly.
She'll change her name today, she'll make a promise, and I'll give her away. Standing in the bridegroom just staring at her She asks me what I'm thinking, and I said I'm not sure. I just feel like I'm losing my baby girl, and she leaned over...
Gave me butterfly kisses with her Mama there Sticking little white flowers all up in her hair. Walk me down the aisle Daddy, it's just about time. Does my wedding gown look pretty Daddy? Daddy, don't cry. Oh, with all that I've done wrong, I must of done something right.
To deserve her love every morning, and butterfly kisses, I couldn't ask God for more, than this is what love is. I know I gotta let her go, but I'll always remember... Every hug in the morning, and butterfly kisses.
Well, 13 years on (which is how old my daughter is, by the way), another equally-touching song about fathers, daughters and butterflies has emerged. This time, the reverse holds true in that it is written by a daughter to her dad :-)
Teenage sensation Miley Cyrus and her real-life dad Billy-Ray Cyrus (those from my generation would remember his one and only 1992 hit "Achy Breaky Heart") both star in the Disney Channel comedy series called Hannah Montana. A movie, simply entitled "Hannah Montana: The Movie" has just been released, and my daughter and I went to watch it when it premiered in Singapore yesterday.
The movie features this song, which is entitled "Butterfly Fly Away". The scene shows Miley having a conversation with her dad, and he asks her, "What's the song about?" to which she replies, "You. Me. Us." She then begins playing her guitar and singing it to her dad, after which her dad joins her in the chorus.
BUTTERFLY FLY AWAY - MILEY AND BILLY-RAY CYRUS
Miley Cyrus: You tucked me in turned out the light Kept me safe and sound at night Little girls depend on things like that Brushed my teeth and combed my hair Had to drive me everywhere You were always there when I looked back
You had to do it all alone Make a living, make a home Must have been as hard as it could be And when I couldn't sleep at night Scared things wouldn't turn out right You would hold my hand and sing to me
Duet : Miley Cyrus and Billy Ray Cyrus Caterpillar in the tree How you wonder who you'd be Can't go far but you can always dream Wish you may and wish you might Don't you worry, hold on tight I promise you there will come a day Butterfly fly away
Butterfly fly away (Butterfly fly away) Spread your wings now you can't stay Take those dreams and make them all come true Butterfly butterfly butterfly butterfly Butterfly fly away
By the way, there were also many other dads/moms who brought their daughters to the movie as well. So, if you have a daughter between the ages of 6 and 16, may I recommend that you watch the movie with her. It is a great time for parent-daughter bonding.
Oh ya, and don't forget your packet of tissues to be used when "Butterfly Fly Away" comes on...
Back in Apr 2007, I blogged about how my daughter has won lots of trophies.
Well, praise God because now my son is also following (jump)suit!
Yesterday was the last day of the 2nd school semester and what better way for ACS Junior to mark the end of that than with a talent competition. Junior Superstars 2009 is their version of American Idol /Britain's Got Talent. Amongst the judges were Jacinta Abisheganaden and Michael Loh of Budak Pantai. My son and his classmate Joshua had signed up for the auditions that was held about two months back "just for the fun of it". There was no expectations of any kind. Well, he came back that day to tell us that they had cleared the auditions and would be participating in the finals!
To give our moral support, my whole family decided to buy tickets (that were priced at $15). He seemed nonchalant about the whole thing but as the day drew nearer, he began to feel slightly nervous and so we said a prayer for him, and told him that what was more important was that he enjoyed himself and did his best. Well, God had better things in store for him, because he and Joshua, who called themselves The Blue Jumpsuit Apparatus (or TBJA for short) --- hence, the title of today's post about "following (jump)suit" --- actually won the Group Vocalists category with their rendition of We The Kings' Check Yes Juliet.
For doing so, they won a golden trophy and an iPod Shuffle each.
Check out their award-winning performance on YouTube...
But what really made the event different from other talent competitions that I have seen was that the Master of Ceremony Benedict Tan actually started it off with a word of prayer to commit it to the Lord, and ended it by getting everyone to stand and sing the school anthem "ACS Forever". And yes, there were many alumni among the crowd who sang along :-)
P.S. If you are on Facebook, you can check out photos of ACS Junior Superstars 2009 at the following link:
Tuesday, 20th January 2009 This one-page advertisement appeared on page C7 of the Straits Times, Thu 15 Jan 09.
It was put up by Tien Hsia Language School, a tuition centre which has branches in Hougang, Choa Chu Kang, Hougang, Jurong, Katong, Orchard, Sembawang and Simei.
That advertisement contains the names of their tuition students who sat for their PSLE last year and managed to get an A*/A in Chinese.
Well, amongst those names are that of, none other than, my darling sweetheart daughter. I thank God for blessing her with good grades.
I wonder how many of you remember a commercial that Tien Hsia did for television, where this boy said that his grades improved tremendously after he attended lessons with them. The commercial ended with him standing next to his mother, who was beaming from ear to ear, and saying, "妈妈很高兴" which means "Mummy is very happy".
Well, not only is mummy very happy where my daughter is concerned. So is daddy :-D
Early this year, Ps Reuben preached about this being a year of new beginnings.
And indeed it has been.
1. God gave me a new job on 1 April 2008, confirmed me after just 2 months, and given me the privilege to tithe 40% more than I did in my previous job.
2. God gave my son a new kidney on 10 April 2008, which enables him to be more mobile, and allows our family to look forward to going on long holidays together.
Because of the longer hours at work on weekdays, and the commuting to the hospital for follow-up treatments on weekends, the time I have been spending with my daughter has been greatly diminished.
That is why I treasured that Sunday afternoon on 1 June when father and daughter went for a movie marathon: we watched Prince Caspian and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull back-to-back :-)
And just this week, my daughter had to be go back to school a week earlier to join her fellow P6 cohort for supplementary lessons. I played chauffeur to her for the 5 mornings by sending her to school.
On Wednesday, we swung by the McDonalds at Serangoon Central on the way to her school. She had wanted to buy breakfast for some of her friends. After getting the burgers and hot cakes, she sorted them out in the plastic bag and then did something that stirred my heart --she returned one of them back to the counter staff.
Seems like they had accidentally given her an extra burger.
This may seem like a trivial matter. After all the burger cost less than $3.
But it meant a great deal to me, especially after what she had been through recently.
I praise our Lord Jesus Christ for ingraining this trait of honesty into my precious daughter at such a young age.
She is also a very generous person-- recently she bought her brother a Chelsea bear (that costs her entire weekly allowance), as well as a talking bear holding a smiley for me for Fathers' Day. She also puts 1/3 of her weekly allowance into the offering bag.
Just put yourself in her shoes for a moment...
1. She has seen her dad being removed as cell leader and treasurer. 2. She has seen her dad's cell group being disbanded. 3. She has seen her mom and brother being away in hospital for 6 weeks. 4. She has seen her dad and granddad making their way to the police station. 5. She has seen her pet hamster Hannah escaping -- and it's been one month already -- in fact, she and her brother just made a video as a tribute to her. Check this out...
But through it all, she has remained positive, because somehow or other, the grace message about how good God is, has rubbed off onto her. The recent "decent exposure" is a case in point.
Sure, this dad of hers has made many mistakes along the way. No dad is perfect, except our Heavenly Daddy.
But when I see her smile with those dimples showing, or call me "daddy" in her sweet little voice, I am reminded of the song by Bob Carlisle entitled "Butterfly Kisses", especially the line that goes
Oh with all that I've done wrong I must have done something right TO deserve a hug every mornin And butterfly kisses at night
Ok lah, I don't get hugs in the morning or butterfly kisses at night; just a "hello daddy" and "goodnight daddy". But the talking bear that is sitting on a shelf in my room in the office makes a great conversation piece with colleagues :-)
My daughter turns twelve today. Unlike previous years where we held a party for her, this year's celebrations was a simple one -- and it took place last Thursday during the school hols.
She hung out with 3 of her good friends at Jurong East Entertainment Centre. As usual, dad had to play "chauffeur". I brought the 4 of them to the Pizza Hut outlet for lunch, after which they went to Fuji Ice Palace to do some iceskating, and followed that by watching the movie Horton Hears a Who!
Incidentally, the movie features the 1980s hit song by REO Speedwagon entitled Can't Fight This Feeling. It was *THE* love song during that era, and I serenaded my wife with it at our wedding dinner.
You can watch the original version on YouTube...
...and Horton and his friends' umm "rendition" of it...
But I am digressing...
Somehow, the birthday presents I ordered for her via DisneyStore two weeks ago have still not yet arrived :-(
But I've got another present in store for her in the meantime. She is a big fan of actress Felicia Chin, and praise be to God, a colleague whose mom happens to know her uncle, did me a great favour and managed to get her to autograph an entire magazine! Thanks, Melvin, you're a Godsend! And thanks Felicia, for being so sweet and kind in taking the effort to write personal messages addressed to my daughter!
Happy birthday sweetheart! May the LORD continue to grant you favour with your teachers and classmates, and prosper you in all that you do! May you be like an olive plant, growing up mighty in the land!
Last Saturday, it was time again to give my daughter her weekly allowance. As a new year was about to begin, I had intended to increase it from $30 to $40.
She however told me that $30 was more than sufficient, as she only needs to stay back in school once a week for English Club CCA.
Oh ya, I forgot to mention that she has switched CCA from Table Tennis to English Club. Previously, she had to remain in school twice a week (and even thrice a week just before the Zonal and National competitions) for table tennis practice. It touched my heart that she was happy and contented with what was previously given to her. Yet, there was another part of me that just wants to lavishly provide for her.
So I decided to top-up her prepaid phone yesterday :-)
My daughter does not yet know about this yet, and I just love giving her pleasant, unexpected surprises...
As I reflect upon this, I believe that is our Abba Father's heart for His children too.
I'm sure that the prodigal son must also have been pleasantly and unexpectedly surprised when his father sprinted towards him, kissed him repeatedly, had the fatted calf killed for him, and had him clothed in the robe, ring and sandals.
Sure, many a times, we are thankful and contented with what God gives us. After all, Paul did tell Timothy that godliness with contentment is great gain (1 Tim 6:6).
Yet, God He is also prodigious in providing for us. In Eph 3:20, that same Paul tells the church in Ephesus that God does exceedingly abundantly beyond what we ask or think.
May we as earthly parents continue to reflect the nature and heart of our Father God to the children that He has given us stewardship over. Amen?
That morning, I was at Safra Tampines for my company's annual bowling tournament, which I blogged about yesterday.
That afternoon, my son's room was being dedicated.
Back in Aug 07, my youngest sis Yvonne had moved out, so my dad told my son Mark that he could have the vacated room for his own.
Previously, all four of us (my wife, my 2 kids and I) shared the same bedroom. Then in Mar 06, my daughter had her own purple-themed room as her 10th birthday present.
And now, my son was given his own room too! No prizes for guessing what theme he wanted... yup, soccer.
And so it came to pass, praise be to God! His room was unveiled to him at about 3pm, after which Pastor Reuben led us through a "room dedication", prayed a blessing over him and presented Mark with a cross.
It is said that "a picture is worth a thousand words". So instead of me writing a hundred-thousand word thesis, here is a series of moving pictures (ie. a video clip) to depict the extreme makeover that the room underwent.
For the observant among you, the cross in the video belongs to my sister Yvonne. We returned it to her (to be used at her new home) and replaced it with the one that Ps Reuben gave Mark.
A week back, I blogged about my son being named Mark by my dad, which means "mighty warrior" in Greek (markos).
His Chinese name, which was given by my wife, is 恩乐, which means God's grace and joy.
This name of his is equally prophetic, because years down the road, we would come to the stage where the gospel of grace becomes an increasing reality in the life of my family. At the same time, he is also a source of great joy to both his parents, and all who come into contact with him.
He is also very joyful and playful by nature, and likes to clown around when photos are being taken. At first, we would request him to be serious, but over a passage of time, we have begun to treasure this particular characteristic of his.
I have actually compiled photos that were taken of him over the past few months and made it into an A3-sized poster which I have placed just next to where I sit in the workplace.
Whenever I need cheering up, I will take a look at it and it never fails to bring a smile to my face. (1) The Caped Crusader Taken during my grandma's birthday, Mark pulls his shirt over his head, just when our domestic helper snaps the shutter. (2) Don't Mess with Me Taken by my wife when we were all seated on the Sentosa Skyride similar to the one you see on the left. You can see me smiling in the background, but Mark prefers to put on a stern face.
(3) Miya-hee Miya-hoo Mark attempts the Chicken Little dance .
(4) Balanced Diet While sis and maternal grandma smile at the camera, Mark chooses to stick out his tongue and even places an orange on his head.
(5) Shake Rattle and Roll (6) Salutations and Greetings These two photos were taken at Rachel's birthday party. The left one shows him celebrating when his team answers a question correctly during the games segment. The right one catches him doing a salute as the other kids poses in front of Rachel's birthday cake.
The observant among you would realise that I skipped the 18th of September in my "forward" log :-)
That's because a decade ago, the LORD blessed us with a mighty warrior to carry on the Loh family name.
It was between the names Matthew and Mark, and my dad preferred the latter.
And what a prophetic name, because he is indeed a mighty warrior for the LORD.
He is a big soccer fan and supports Chelsea (could not get him to follow his dad to support Aston Villa, but that's another story for another day). Anyway, he has been wanting a pair of goal posts for the longest time. I did a Google search and found merchants in both USA and UK selling it, but not in Singapore. I also discovered that the freight charges was as much as the cost of the goal posts themselves!
Thank God therefore for an arrangement called VPost that is offered by SingPost. What happens is that they provide a physical location in USA (and Japan) where the items ordered can be shipped to.
SingPost will every now and then consolidate all the items that are delivered to that location and ship them "enbloc" to Singapore. This reduces the freight cost per item because of economies of scale. The customer then arranges to pick up the item from a post office outlet convenient to him. Well, that's exactly what I did, and discovered that the freight cost was only about 20% of what it would have been if I had wanted it shipped directly to my home!
I had placed the order on 5 Sep, and it was ready for collection at SingPost Building on 14 Sep, just in time to be set up in the garden for his 10th birthday party on 15 Sep.
Really want to thank the LORD for the wonderful weather. It was raining pretty heavily in the morning, but it stopped in time for the party, which started at 2pm.
Here is a video of Mark enjoying a game of soccer with his friends. In the attached video, he set up a goal and scored one himself...
Happy Birthday Mighty Warrior! Daddy and Mummy love you very very much! May you continue to claim the victories that Jesus has already given to us via His finished work on the cross!
I have mentioned elsewhere on this blog that my daughter has learnt the principle of sowing and reaping. I give her $30 a week, and she has on many occasions put $10 in the offering bag. That represents 33.33% of her allowance, and as her earthly father, I feel compeled to bless her such that the $10 becomes 10%. So I will top-up her prepaid handphone, pay for her friends' birthday presents, etc.
If I who am evil can be moved to do this for my daughter, how much more our Abba Father who loves His children?
What I have discovered recently is that my salary has been increasing beyond my wildest dreams not because I am a great employee, but because God always adjusts it such that what I give to church becomes 10%. God has granted me favour with my employer, as a result of my faithfully going beyond the tithe.
This godly principle that has been incalculated in my daughter from young will put her in good standing, so that she will avoid the financial pitfalls I went through during the years when I was not tithing.
Even at the tender age of 11, she already has no problems putting $10 (or even $20 on one occasion) into the offering bag each week. May she be put in a position one day where she can put $100 or even $1,000 in the bag each week. Amen? It has been a different story with my son. He tends to spend the entire $15 that he is given. Several weeks back, when I was having lunch with my son in KFC, I challenged him to put aside $1.50 each week. If he faithfully did so each month, I would reward him with a Maple Card.
Well, praise be to God that he gave a total of $8 to church in the month of August 2007 (which represents 13.33% of his allowance for that month).
I thus gave him a "Lunar Pixie" maple card that you see on the right, and he was thrilled to have received it.
May he also start to go beyond the tithe! Amen!
By the way, just in case you are wondering, tithing actually took place before the Law. My churchmate Philip has written wonderfully on this topic, which you can read about here.
May our children be taught the principle of tithing from young, so that they will have financial abundance all their lives. They can start by putting aside 10% of their angpow money to be given to the church.
Today is Fathers' Day, and Pastor B preached one of his best sermons ever :-)
His message entitled "The Heart of Disconnection", was based on Mal 4:6, where God's desire is for the hearts of fathers to be turned to their children, and children to their fathers.
In 1 Pet 5:8, we read about how the devil goes about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, while in Jn 10:10a, he is described as the thief who comes to steal, kill and destroy.
The evil one attacks the very cornerstone of society -- which is the family. As the spiritual head of the family, fathers need to aware that they are under constant spiritual attack.
One way of attack is via the deception that work or personal pastime are more important than children. The result of this absenteeism are dysfunctional families, wayward sons and emotionally-challenged daughters.
We thus need to be re-connected to our children, which is in alignment with God's will as reflected in Mal 4:6.
At the end of the sermon, Pastor B showed us a video entitled "A Father's Love". It is about a father who celebrates life with his son (who suffers from cerebral palsy) by taking part in triathlons, biathlons and marathons, together with his son. He swims and pulls his son along in a boat, cycles with his son strapped in front of him, and runs while pushing his son in a wheelchair.
Watching the video brought tears to many of us in the congregation, as we saw the extent of the love of a father for his son.
This was a shadow of the love that our Heavenly Father has for us. In Jn 3:16, we read that God loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son.
On this Fathers' Day, let us thank God for our fathers. Above all, let us thank God that He is our Abba Father. Amen?
Two days ago, I blogged about my "trophy daughter".
Today, I will blog about my "shining son". His personality is different from my daughter, but he brings my wife and I equal joy.
I refer to him as "shining" because he has appeared on TV on 4 separate occasions -- once on ChannelNewsAsia, once on StarSports and twice on ESPN.
His TV appearances have been uploaded onto YouTube and you can enjoy watching them here:
The Singapore I Want (Mark appears on 7 seconds and 1 minute)
Mark Stumps the Mase (Mark asks the Paul Masefield, one of the presenters of Football Extra a tough question to try to stump him, hence "Stump the Mase")
Mark on Football Crazy (Part 1) (Mark is sitting between the two main presenters, Andy Panders and Jamie Yeo, and shares the spotlight with them.)
Mark on Football Crazy (Part 2) Here is another except of that same episode)
Wikipedia describes the term "trophy wife" as a physically attractive younger woman who is married to a man who has obtained a high level of success. The term is often used to imply that the man's intent is to exhibit his wealth and success.
Do you know that the Bible describes such "trophy wives"? We read in Esther 1:10-11 that King Xerxes of Persia asked that his wife Queen Vashti wear her royal crown and be displayed before the people and nobles so that they could admire her beauty. When she refused, he issued a decree for a "national beauty contest" to be conducted in all the land for a replacement queen. Esther won that contest.
Anyway, the topic for today's blog is about a "trophy daughter". In this instance, the word trophy is to be taken literally. And that girl is none other than my own daughter, Rachel.
She has been consistently been winning medals and trophies ever since the age of 4 years old, which are laid out on the shelf beside her bed.
Last Saturday, she and two other girls came in second in the group category of the National Story-Telling competition.
And today, she added another trophy to her collection -- 2nd runners-up in the zonal table tennis competion.
I thank my God for blessing her with so many talents. She is indeed my "trophy daughter" :-)
The term "pride and joy" is usually used to refer to one's new-born baby.
In the context of today's blog entry, it is referring to my first-born.
In a twinking of an eye, she is already 11 years old! It seemed like just yesterday when I held her in my arms.
Daddy's little girl has grown up.
My pride... and joy...
The joy I share with her, because she just won her first school medal today! Even in my "heyday", I only managed to represent my house... in chess. She represents her school in table tennis, and also in story-telling.
As captain of the junior team, she played as 1st singles in the 3rd and 4th placings today, and won 3-0, paving the way for her team members to win their opponents to take 3rd place in the zonal competitions.
Here she is captured on video after winning the 1st game 11-4.
...and again racing to a 4-0 lead in the 2nd game.
The team is wearing the shirt that was sponsored by yours truly. Looking back, it was a worthwhile investment because they have truly done their school proud.
Congrats, my dearest darling daughter. All the best in the story-telling competition this Saturday.
God has blessed you with many talents. My prayer is that you use them to His glory and honour.
Today is a special day because my darling daughter Rachel turns 11.
She celebrated it two days ago by inviting some close friends over for a quiet party followed by a sleepover.
She has come of age. For the last 10 years, the party's program was organised by us as her parents. This time around, our only involvement was to order pizzas from Pizza Hut and a cake from Bengawan Solo. We left the proceedings very much to her.
We thank our God for blessing us with her, and she has brought so much joy to us.
Happy Birthday Sweetheart!
I mentioned in an earlier blog entry that she was recently made captain of her school's table tennis junior team, and how I thought it would be good to bless the team with a tshirt. The competition starts on 22 March, and I went to pick up the tshirts printed at Spectrum this afternoon.
The prints on the tshirts need to be ironed to preserve their colours, so I made an "instructional" video (which she filmed) and uploaded it to YouTube.
Oh ya. I'll be catching the flight to Frankfurt enroute to Birmingham in another 3 hours. Will update my blog upon my arrival there.
