Even billionaires couldn't hold their marriage together. 1st Jeff Bezos. Now Bill Gates with his worth estimated at US$130,000,000,000. Will the 90-year-old billionaire Warren Buffet make it?

Is there hope for us? Marriage seems like a fleeting thing.

I knew nothing about marriage when I just got married. 26 years later, heard this sermon on Sunday - The Hallmark Of A Cool Husband.

Be sacrificial. Just like Christ sacrificed His life for the church He loves.

Ephesians 5:25 you husbands, show the same kind of love to your wives as Christ showed to the Church when he died for her (TLB)

Are you a sacrificial husband? Maybe you are like me, learning to be less self-serving. Isn't that the essence of what we went through together during Father School? Remember, we washed our wives' feet? Being thoughtful is cool!

How do you keep your marriage together?

Photo: Taken when family was on autumn vacation to Osaka. Wonder when can we travel again.

#marriage #sgfatherschool #husband #DadsforLife #mumsforlife ...

My child teared up and said, "Dad, I waited so long for you."

When I came back from work yesterday (2012), you told me something I will never forget.

"Daddy, I waited for you to bathe me. I waited so long and you did not come. So Aunty Analyn bathed me."

As you were telling me this, there were tears in your eyes.
I can see that how much you wanted me to bathe you and play with you.
But I did not appear.
Those tears were precious to me. It speaks of your desire to be with me. It touched my heart deeply. I was moved.

There was a man in the Bible. He is Jesus' friend. Jesus loved him dearly. His name is Lazarus. He was very sick. He waited for Jesus to come for him. He waited so long and Jesus did not turn up. Eventually he died. He was not the only one waiting. His sisters, Mary and Martha waited for Jesus too. The moment they saw Jesus, they said,

"If you had been here, Lazarus would not have died."

We can see how much they wanted Jesus to be there. But He did not appear on time. Lazarus died while waiting for his friend.

Those remark made when Jesus arrived must have touched Jesus' heart.

"..if you had been here my brother would not be dead" (John 11:21 Bible in Basic English)

I could hear Mary and Martha crying,
"Jesus, I waited for you to heal my brother. We waited so long and you did not come. So now Lazarus is dead."

I guess there must be tears in Jesus' eyes because they waited for Him. They wanted and desired Him to be there. Jesus must have felt wanted.

#dadsforlife #malachi4 #malachi456 #sgfatherschool ...

My wife told me she is an orphan now. She lost her dad about a month ago. Her mum left 6/7 years ago.

Hosea 14:3 For in You (God) the fatherless finds mercy

I need to be kinder, gentler, and more loving towards my wife than before.

#fatherless #marriage #sgfatherschool #husband

Image: Karim MANJRA on Unsplash ...

I told my wife she should embrace her mistakes.

And then she gave me a huge hug.

Source: https://twitter.com/Dadsaysjokes

#sgfatherschool #dadsforlifesingapore #mumsforlife #marriage #marriedforlife ...

Fun tweet by mom Jessie

"It’s finally my son’s birthday, after 364 days of me telling him it’s not his birthday." 🙂

Share your hilarious experience with your kids in the comment

#parentingtips #parenting101 #sgfatherschool #dadsforlifesingapore #funparenting ...

Is your child gifted?

Source: Bringing Out The Best In People, Alan Loy Mcginnis

"The history books are full of stories of gifted persons whose talents were overlooked by a procession of people until someone believed in them. Einstein was four years old before he could speak and seven before he could read. Isaac Newton did poorly in grade school. A newspaper editor fired Walt Disney because he had 'no good ideas.' ...Haydn gave up ever making a musician of Beethoven, who seemed a slow and plodding young man with no apparent talent—except a belief in music.

There is a lesson in such stories: different people develop at different rates, and the best parents (added by moderator) are always on the lookout for hidden capacities."

Do you believe in your child? Jesse didn't believe in his child. Eventually this child became the first King of Israel. His name? David

#gifted #giftedandtalented #parentingtips #parenting101 #sgfatherschool ...

How to Turn Your Child Into A Thief

Source: Bringing Out The Best In People, Alan Loy McGinnis

"Psychologist C. Knight Aldrich, who worked for years with delinquent children, wrote a fascinating article some time ago in a psychology journal explaining how parents can quickly turn their children into thieves.

Here’s the way to do it. Let us say that your son—as most children do at some time or another engages in some petty theft. Perhaps he steals a package of candy. If you say to him,

“‘Now we know what you are—you're a thief! We’ll be watching you from now on,’’ it is quite likely that he will steal more and can quickly graduate from stealing candy to stealing Cars.

On the other hand, you can react with both firmness and gentleness by saying,

“Tom, that wasn’t like you at all. We’ll have to go back to the store and clear this up, but we’re not going to make a huge thing of It. What you did was wrong, you know it was wrong; and we’re sure you won’t do it again.’’ After the treatment, most kids’ stealing careers are over."

My reflection as a father:
Calling my kid xxxx time & again and labelling my child is probably one of the worst parenting mistakes I have ever made.

My prayer as a father:
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight.

Do you have a similar experience with your kid?

#parentingmistakes #parenting #malachi4 #dadsforlife ...

HOME ALONE (Part 2)

When my father received the letter, he called me immediately and both of us cried and cried on the phone.

I decided to visit him. I brought him to church and he became a Christian on his first visit to church. Now he calls me frequently. After talking to me, he would speak to my wife and my children.

I remember there is a Bible verse that says

“…he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers.” (Malachi 4:6)

Is this true? Is this really happening to me? When I, as a son turns my heart towards my father, my dad would reciprocate and turn his heart towards me?

He must have waited for my footsteps for years. Only the letter arrived. That changed everything.

My dad is now 83 and he suffers from kidney failure. He has dialysis 3 times a week. Whenever he is having his dialysis, he would call me and we talk. We live hundreds of miles apart. I guess by talking to me, it relieved the pain of the dialysis. Perhaps, the joy of talking to his youngest son will make him forget the pain. Maybe, he just wants to hear the voice of his own child.

Now he is waiting for the footsteps of his other children. Will they come home?

“’…every man has his secret sorrows
which the world knows not —
and often times we call a man cold,
when he is only sad.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Does that sound like only my dad? It described my state as a son before I reconciled with him.

Would you hug your loved ones during this festive season? Would you hug your dad?

#christianparenting #malachi4 #sgfatherschool #familytime #familyislove #familylove ...

HOME ALONE (Part 1)

This is a a true story, from a graduate of Father School.

How is it like to be sick for 38 years, and bedridden?

“Beside the pool was a man who had been sick for 38 years. When Jesus saw the man and realized that he had been crippled for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to be healed?” (John 5:5‭-‬6)‬

I would like to share a story about my father. He has been suffering for years. His kind of pain is not exactly physical ailment. He has 4 children. All of whom are not on talking terms with him.

Which is worse? To be bedridden for 38 years or being separated from your own children for 38 years? I try to put myself in my dad’s shoes. Imagine the isolation and loneliness, especially during Christmas or Chinese New Year. No footsteps of your own children coming home. Familiar laughter of children is frequently heard, but the sound of merriment is from house next door – not from his own grandkids. There is little life in my dad’s house. Home alone for Christmas or Chinese New Year. That fits the description of my father perfectly.

I went to Father School several years ago. I was encouraged to reconnect with my father. I did not have a good relationship with him. For years I was not home. In fact, I just wanted to stay as far away as possible. With encouragement from my lecturer, I wrote a letter to my dad. I expressed my thoughts, my feelings, my misgivings for not calling him ‘dad’ for years. I felt like a failure as a son.

“I am sorry, dad.”....

To be continued...

#malachi4 #christianparenting #christianparents
#sgfatherschool #familytime #familyislove #familylove ...

A good place to spend time with those you love - God, wife, children... Guess where is this place in Singapore?
a. Springleaf
b. MacRitchie
c. Pierce

Your answer?

#sgfatherschool #discoversingapore #singaporerediscovervouchers ...

He is one of our own, graduate of Father School. Here's his story. He just opened a seafood congee stall at Pasir Ris Central Hawker Centre, level 2.

Source: Salt & Light

Raymond Tan, 32, was born to a young woman with so many relationships that his surname was changed three times.⁣

He had also been sold to a Pasir Panjang vegetable seller when he was three months old, but was later taken back. His self-worth plummeted when he realised how unwanted he really was.⁣
⁣
At age 10, his life of crime began. “From young, I felt that I had no worth. Money was the one thing that could give me worth,” he said.⁣
⁣
At 12, he was arrested for stealing at Takashimaya. By 16, he was hanging out in the back streets of Geylang, where he and his friends conducted illegal gambling activities.⁣
⁣
By the time he was 20, he had been in Boys’ Home and prison five times. ⁣
⁣
A judge told him: “Save your crocodile tears. You are not just an offender. You have a criminal mind.”⁣
⁣
Even after he became a father, he continued to gamble excessively, losing everything he had.⁣
⁣
"I went to buy milk powder and I looked in my wallet: $40. The milk powder was $69. I didn’t even have enough money to buy milk powder for my baby,” he recalls.⁣
⁣
That was rock bottom. And that was when Raymond, remembering his own bleak childhood and not wishing the same upon his children, decided to pick himself up.⁣
⁣
He decided to start a crab wonton noodle stall.⁣
⁣
It was through this that he met food blogger Dr Leslie Tay of @ieatishootipost, who invited him to his church. ⁣
⁣
“Looking back, I really felt I deserved hell … until God showed me His love, His mercy, His grace. The day I received God’s forgiveness was when I truly understood what it meant when Jesus said in the Gospels that he who has been forgiven much, loves much.”⁣
⁣
Raymond now volunteers at the Boys’ Home. Where once he was a resident delinquent, he is now their mentor. The boys see his tattoos and know immediately that this is a man who has walked in their shoes.⁣
⁣
#exoffender #transformation #new #change #hope #love #exconvict #sgfatherschool #dadsforlife #iamafather ...

I ordered a second-hand book. It is called "The Father Loves You". I was very excited when the book arrived after travelling thousands of miles. As I flipped through the pages, a note dropped out. It is a heart-wrenching message, from a son to his father.

#fatherandson #dadsforlife #malachi4 #malachi456 ...

What kind of relationship do we have with God?

If we see God as a master who is hard to please, we will introduce God to our children as a demanding master.

If we relate to God as as a loving heavenly Father, our children will likely to know God as one too.

Have we brought our children to a Master or to a Father?

#sonship #christianparenting #christianparents #sgfatherschool ...

Fun conversation with kids after school
#sgfatherschool #funparenting #funparents #funparent ...

This is a yardstick. it is also known as measuring tape in other parts of the world

Source: God's Little Devotional Book for Kids by V. Gilbert Beers

"Please bring the yardstick to me, Kevin,” said Mother.

"What's a yardstick?" asked Kevin.

“I’ll show you,” said Mother. She took the yardstick from the broom closet and showed it to Kevin.

“It’s 36 inches long,” said Mother. She showed Kevin the numbers on the yardstick. They started with one and went all the way to 36.

“But what do you do with a yardstick?” asked Kevin.

“We measure things,“ said Mother.

“We can measure almost anything with a yardstick.”

“Anything? asked Kevin. "Can it measure love?” Mother smiled. “What kind of love?” she asked.

“Well, I love hot dogs,” said Kevin. “How big is that love?”

Mother pointed to number one on the yardstick. “I think it would be about this big,” she said. “Maybe it could go to two. But how about your love for your baseball cards. How much would that be?”

Now Kevin smiled. He pointed to number six. “About this much,” he said.

Now Mother pointed to number 18. “What do you love this much?” she asked.

“Puppy!” shouted Kevin. Kevin pointed to number 36. all the way at the end of the yardstick. “I love you this much,” said Kevin.

“And I love you that much too,” said Mother. Then Mother gave Kevin a big hug. "But how much do you think God loves you?" Kevin thought for a few moments. “Hundreds and hundreds of yardsticks,” he said. “Maybe even millions of yardstick.”

#godislove #sgfatherschool ...

What a brave boy! He took 90 stitches for the sister. Shielded her from a dog. Inspired by this little hero, Iron Man & Captain America sent video messages praising his selfless love.

#bridgerstrong #sgfatherschool ...

How do you talk about racism with your children with black lives matter raging? Poem by #morganharpernicholsquotes #blacklivesmatter #fathersmatter #sgfatherschool ...

For this Mother's Day, we want to honor mothers who are serving as frontliners in the fight against Covid-19. Here's the FB post from a healthcare worker. "For us at the frontline, it is uncertain when we might get a fever or feel unwell halfway through at work...We never know if the goodbye that morning said to our child, could be our last to them." This picture is a lunch set prepared by her toddler son.
We appreciate all the sacrifices made by frontline mothers #thankyoufrontliners #sgfatherschool ...

Will they still come running to us when we are old? #dadsforlife #sgfatherschool ...