Parenting on Purpose

Grow and change  Grow and change Look around and you will see Everyday a little difference Nothing stays the same you'll see. I Theatre's musical showcase The Ant and The Grasshopper  is all about change. Yet not everyone is keen to embrace the changes that occur each day. There's the Grasshopper, who lives from day to day, composing songs and dancing to the beat of the springtime sunshine. There's the Ant, who attempts to deal with the upcoming winter by neurotically gathering food and neglecting the beauty of the world around her. There's the Caterpillar, a little creature who is afraid of everything and everyone, and who spends her life resisting every iota of change. There's the Ladybird, who deals with change by escaping south to a warmer climate. And there are of course the Bees, who make it their business to question every single change that happens to everyone other than themselves. I Theatre has taken a classic tale from Aesop, and tr...

Aesop's traditional tale of an ant and a grasshopper is a moralistic story about the importance of work and what happens to those who choose to idle and waste their time away. As I Theatre recounts: Once there lived an Ant - a hard-working and ever-busy Ant who never seemed to have time for play or relaxation. And then there was Grasshopper, with time on his hands and nothing much to do all day. And visiting from time to time, there is Caterpillar! Somehow they were friends. All day long Ant would work hard, without stop or rest, collecting grains of wheat and storing them carefully in her larder.   And Grasshopper would laugh, and say. 'Why do you work so hard, dear Ant? Come, and rest awhile, listen to my song. Summer is here; the days are long and bright. Why waste the sunshine in labour and toil?'   Whilst Caterpillar calmly carried on, doing what caterpillars do best…   But Summer does not last long – and soon Winter and the frozen cold will come… ...

Moving house has been described as one of the most stressful experiences in life. We can attest to that. Personally. Over the past few months we have put our apartment on the market, sold the place within the span of two weeks, completed the sales transaction, moved all our belongings to our uncle's warehouse, moved to our temporary home hosted by our aunts', and finally moved in to our new place. And this is only a partial move; we have not yet installed all the lights, and all our belongings have yet to arrive (we have had a total of four separate moving trips so far)! Getting ready for renovations after weeks of waiting for the defects checks to be completed. Our intention was to move in before Christmas, so that we could celebrate and enjoy a fresh start in a new home. But that was not to be, due to extensive defects checking and rectification; and this was not even considering the renovation schedule. And so we chose to move in just before the New Year - but that w...

This is the second of a two-part paper that was submitted to the Singapore Bible College as part of the requirements for my Graduate Diploma. It was for the module "An Introduction to Christian Spirituality". Christian Spirituality & Parenting Just as Christian spirituality is an amalgamation of a person’s relationship with God, Christian parenting adopts a similar perspective. A key understanding of parenting stems from our relationship with God the Father. Ephesians 1:3-5 articulates this relationship clearly, indicating that God “chose us in Him before the foundation of the world”, and that in love, He “predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will”. As God adopted us to be His children, it is God who is the perfect model of parenting for us to follow. Matthew 7: 9-11 elaborates, “Which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you t...

This is the first of a two-part paper that was submitted to the Singapore Bible College as part of the requirements for my Graduate Diploma. It was for the module "An Introduction to Christian Spirituality". Reflecting on Christian Spirituality Christian Spirituality as based on the Bible has to do with “things that are of God”. It incorporates aspects of being, thought, speech, actions, passion and relations (Lang, 2016b). This definition of spirituality adopts an integrated approach and considers a person’s relationship with God in a holistic manner; not only focussing on traditional spiritual disciplines such as the reading of God’s Word, prayer and worship, but also a person’s purpose and calling, and how his or her actions serve as a Christian witness to the larger social group and global community. This paper will discuss the “Spirituality of Parenthood”. It will examine how as parents, our understanding and practice of Christian Spirituality has a direct impact on o...

It was only a few months back when we had our lovely holiday experience in Hong Kong. We had then stayed in the Cosmopolitan Hotel, a lovely place located at the northern tip of Hong Kong island, near the world-famous Ocean Park. Most people have asked us why we chose Hong Kong as a destination for our kids given the island's reputation as more of a food and shopping paradise. We shared with them that there is actually more than meets the eye to this territory known affectionately as the "Pearl of the Orient".  The view from Stanley, one of our favourite spots in the beautiful city of Hong Kong. Rooms in Hong Kong are small, and we had a hard time looking for a place to stay that could meet the needs of our two very energetic children. We settled for the Cosmopolitan Hotel, given that it was one of the few hotels that had affordable prices for its Family Quad Room, a large room that could accommodate all four of us comfortably. We were pleasantly surprised when we r...

When Singapore girl Toni Lee makes a wish, little does she know that her dreams can come true! The 10-year-old travels back to ancient China, and becomes the poor painter Ma Liang, who is presented with a special gift by the Spirit of Creation. Anything Ma Liang paints can come to life! And he uses this gift to provide for the poor and the under-privileged. But what happens when the tyrannical Emperor finds out? Will this spell the end of Ma Liang and the Magic Paintbrush? "If only.... " A Singapore girl faces her dreaded exams; and her parents don't seem to understand how she feels. I Theatre's last production of the year, the Magic Paintbrush , is a theatrical work of genius. The first time the play was run was in 2000, and the musical generated so much hype it was made into a book by publisher Marshall Cavendish. The 2016 version stole the hearts of the audience from the get-go. With powerful songs put together by the I Theatre music trio of Kenneth Lyen, Ba...