Do Singaporeans in general have patience and a humble attitude?

Many of us had watched or read Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's National Day Rally 2008 speech on 17 August 08. PM Lee talked about gracious living and measures the government had taken, such as service excellence and courtesy campaigns, to "make people aware of their behaviour and conscious of the impact on others". I wonder if the majority of fellow Singaporeans resonate my sentiment that Singaporeans are not getting any more gracious towards one another, especially towards foreign workers amongst us.

Take a very recent observation. My wife lamented to me that on one of her shopping trips to Parkway Parade, while trying on a pair of Charles & Keith shoes, a lady was shouting and humiliating a native mainland Chinese sales girl because of the latter's poor grapse of the English language (or Singlish). Surely better understanding and empathy could be extended to the poor sales girl, instead of openly calling her names and challenging her to return to her motherland.

Lord, I pray that Singaporeans can be more gracious towards foreign workers and accept them openly. Because they are also created by You, we are to respect and love them regardless of their backgrounds. Give us a heart of humbleness and patience in our daily encounters with one another. In Jesus' name I pray and give thanks, amen.

Let your kids fail sometimes

Let's face it. Who doesn't want our kids to be successful or have a headstart in life? When the kids are in their pre-teens, we tend to fix their problems and attend to their needs every step of their ways. I've seen parents doing that even when their kids reach adolescence!

Dr James Dobson reminded us that teens desperately want to be thought of and treated as adults ("The New Dare to Discipline", Dr James Dobson, OMF Literature Inc., reprinted 2004, pp. 72-73). Chip Ingram emphasized the importance of letting our teenage and adolescent kids face up to their own consequences in order to foster responsibility, confidence and success ("Let Your Kids Fail", Chip Ingram, Focus on the Family with Dr. James Dobson, April 2007, pp. 18-20). In other words, let our kids fail sometimes. We could try to give advice or opinions but ultimately we need to let them make their own decisions and grow up to be responsible adults. I like what Ingram said about the parent's role: "A parent's job is not to make sure a child has a smooth or comfortable life. Our role is to put safeguards around them when they're young to keep them from ultimate harm; to gradually widen those safeguards as they mature; and to help them to grow into the person God wants them to be."

Dear heavenly Father, I know each child is unique as they are wonderfully made by Your hands. I pray that I would be able to let my kids flourish in their own ways and not hamper their maturing process. May You guide me in the nurturing of my children according to Your ways instead of overly protective of them when they reach adolescence. Teach me to be a good listener and counsellor to my children when they need advice and guidance. Thank you, Lord. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

Making personal prayers through scriptures

Do you have a prayer for some one but do not know which scripture you could draw upon to bless this person? It happens to me quite often!

I was reading the past issue of "Discipleship Journal" (Issue 120 Nov/Dec 2000) and stumbled upon an article "Making Scripture Personal", contributed by a reader, Sue Skalicky. Instead of ruminating on scriptures , Sue's advise was to find a scripture and apply a personal touch to it in our prayer for the person we wish to pray for. This could be done by inserting blanks where we could write the person's name into the appropriate place in the verse. She gave Jeremiah 29:11-13 as an example:

"Father, You know the plans You have for ___________. Your perfect plan is to give ________ hope and a future. If _________ will call upon You and come and pray, You promise to listen and hear. I pray God that ____________ will seek You. For You will be found when ___________ seeks You with all his/her heart."

Thanks, Sue for the wonderful tip.