![[Matthew & Rose]](http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_eWUnpSS93JA/SG94UBWUHiI/AAAAAAAAABI/FBFEFBifDHU/S1600-R/test4.png)
It certainly felt good to settle down to studies and campus life after a hectic month of travelling and adjusting to life here.
It has also been a week when we began to prepare for our second examination of the Adolescent Psychology course scheduled for Friday next week.
Pastor Peter Lui and Pastor Glen Lim made a detour of their U.S. trip to visit us on Monday and to reconnect with Professor Ben Freudenburg and his wife, Jennifer, whom Pastor Peter met in 2006 in Singapore.
It was an exciting time on Thursday when we attended the ‘Healthy Me, Healthy You’ Early Childhood Conference. Dr. Tom Ahlersmeyer, President of the Concordia University, gave an inspiring opening speech to the 300+ early childhood educators present at the one-day conference. Professor Ben, the keynote speaker, challenged the participants to stay faithful to their vocation and keep ‘healthy’ to make the greatest impact on young lives. Matthew & Rose also shared briefly some of their experiences of the Malaysian kindergarten education scene.
The university campus was a hive of activities on Friday as the first batch of new students enrolled for the new semester that starts on 2nd September. We shall see many things taking place on campus the next few weeks with many other students returning from the summer break.
We are also slowly gearing up for the full-load of studies ahead of us.
Besides studies, Professor Freudenburg is opening many doors for us to learn about various aspects of building strong family. Many visits to various community organisations to learn about their family life programmes are expected in the coming months.
Just Pondering…..
The parting thought of the last blog of ‘my life depends on relationships’ lingered on in me much of this week. As I carefully looked around during the week from the perspective of this truth, I easily discovered its reality.
The giving and receiving of gifts, extending oneself to serve others, affirmations given, physical and emotional supports experienced, being in one’s presence in times of need, various expressions of love, were all about relationships.
Is there anything that we experience in our daily life that has nothing to do with relationships? What about personal enjoyment in solitude, like eating a plate of ‘kolo mee’ (noodles) on your own when you are starving for it? Or looking at the beauty of your surroundings as you take that stroll in the quietness of the morning?
There was an ancient learned religious teacher who sought for an answer to, among all the things one must have to be successful in life, that one most important thing a person must have to succeed in life. The answer he received was ‘relationships’.
He was told to ‘'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your mind. ….Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ Simply put, it is to have good relationships with God, with others, and with yourself. The answer tells us that our very lives depend on these relationships.
This answer may appear strange to some, especially in regards to relationships with God and oneself.
Maybe it’s good to pause right here. Let’s take some time to chew on this thought during this coming week and see what comes out of it.
Do write to me about what you think on this issue of the importance of relationships in life.
Word of Wisdom
A proverb: ‘Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.’ Reflecting on this proverb of last week further in the context of relationships, it tells me how I am on the inside determines the kinds of relationships I am building, which, in turn, determine the course of the life I am having. The heart is the core. The health of our relationships depends solely on it.
What’s ahead!
As serving staff of the Family Life Department, we will be attending 3 full days of the Faculty Seminar this week. We are not sure of all the details of this seminar. We were told that this was to equip us to serve the department better.
On Saturday afternoon, we will be making a field trip with Professor Doyle to a shopping mall as part of the requirements of the course we are presently doing under her.
It will be a great time of studies…and more studies from now on.
A Week In Passing
It has also been a week when we began to prepare for our second examination of the Adolescent Psychology course scheduled for Friday next week.
Pastor Peter Lui and Pastor Glen Lim made a detour of their U.S. trip to visit us on Monday and to reconnect with Professor Ben Freudenburg and his wife, Jennifer, whom Pastor Peter met in 2006 in Singapore.
It was an exciting time on Thursday when we attended the ‘Healthy Me, Healthy You’ Early Childhood Conference. Dr. Tom Ahlersmeyer, President of the Concordia University, gave an inspiring opening speech to the 300+ early childhood educators present at the one-day conference. Professor Ben, the keynote speaker, challenged the participants to stay faithful to their vocation and keep ‘healthy’ to make the greatest impact on young lives. Matthew & Rose also shared briefly some of their experiences of the Malaysian kindergarten education scene.
The university campus was a hive of activities on Friday as the first batch of new students enrolled for the new semester that starts on 2nd September. We shall see many things taking place on campus the next few weeks with many other students returning from the summer break.
We are also slowly gearing up for the full-load of studies ahead of us.
Besides studies, Professor Freudenburg is opening many doors for us to learn about various aspects of building strong family. Many visits to various community organisations to learn about their family life programmes are expected in the coming months.
Just Pondering…..
The parting thought of the last blog of ‘my life depends on relationships’ lingered on in me much of this week. As I carefully looked around during the week from the perspective of this truth, I easily discovered its reality.
The giving and receiving of gifts, extending oneself to serve others, affirmations given, physical and emotional supports experienced, being in one’s presence in times of need, various expressions of love, were all about relationships.
Is there anything that we experience in our daily life that has nothing to do with relationships? What about personal enjoyment in solitude, like eating a plate of ‘kolo mee’ (noodles) on your own when you are starving for it? Or looking at the beauty of your surroundings as you take that stroll in the quietness of the morning?
There was an ancient learned religious teacher who sought for an answer to, among all the things one must have to be successful in life, that one most important thing a person must have to succeed in life. The answer he received was ‘relationships’.
He was told to ‘'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your mind. ….Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ Simply put, it is to have good relationships with God, with others, and with yourself. The answer tells us that our very lives depend on these relationships.
This answer may appear strange to some, especially in regards to relationships with God and oneself.
Maybe it’s good to pause right here. Let’s take some time to chew on this thought during this coming week and see what comes out of it.
Do write to me about what you think on this issue of the importance of relationships in life.
Word of Wisdom
A proverb: ‘Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.’ Reflecting on this proverb of last week further in the context of relationships, it tells me how I am on the inside determines the kinds of relationships I am building, which, in turn, determine the course of the life I am having. The heart is the core. The health of our relationships depends solely on it.
What’s ahead!
As serving staff of the Family Life Department, we will be attending 3 full days of the Faculty Seminar this week. We are not sure of all the details of this seminar. We were told that this was to equip us to serve the department better.
On Saturday afternoon, we will be making a field trip with Professor Doyle to a shopping mall as part of the requirements of the course we are presently doing under her.
It will be a great time of studies…and more studies from now on.
A Week In Passing
Acknowledgement…
This blog is updated with the creative input of Miss Trish Wong, an incredibly talented multi-media IT savvy young lady. She may be contacted at
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