God has created a truly diverse and amazing world. On Saturday I shared about the Japanese puffer fish that creates complex and beautiful sand art on the sea floor to attract a female using only its fin.
Another creature that astounds me with their innate skills is the tailorbird.
I hear a lot of people say, “Kids pick up languages so much faster than adults.” Now that I have a small child, I think one of the reasons why is because of their tendency toward repetition.
How fast would anyone learn a language if they were repeating the new words over and over and listening to the same thing a hundred times? Little kids can watch the same video 317 times and still want to watch it again. [FYI, this works really well for kids’ Youtube channels!] You can read them the same book every day for a month and they will still want you to read it again. I have to sing the same song over and over and over.
My childhood friend, Thian, who I knew since elementary school in Bangkok, visited me from Canberra recently. We had some good catching up to do and spent much of our time in our usual light-hearted talks. It is such a blessing to have genuine friends who you can catch up with after a long period and still feel like you’ve never spent years apart.
Attention all parents: Please take comfort in the fact the the Victorian Government is investing in the state’s teachers. The days of mandatory Professional Development for government school teachers are steadily increasing each year. I have recently been enrolled in a professional development program that spans eight unspeakably gruelling days.
As a beginning teacher I would relish the prospect of the latest research-based approach to teaching, learning or school operation. I would also look with disdain upon the more experienced, some would say jaded, teachers. They’d seen it all before and knew that this new whizz bang theory wouldn’t change their practice one iota (there’s my mandatory Greek for the week).
I remember three sisters who attended my primary school growing up. Sadly they were victims of horrendous bullying and I shudder to think of the long term psychological scars. I don’t know the exact trigger for the bullying, but I guess they came from a poorer family and spoke and dressed differently.
The youngest sister, Mary, was in my class. On one occasion, I remember the mother of the girls having an angry outburst at a school BBQ and running across the playground. Many of the children and their parents were pointing and laughing, some exclaiming, “She isn’t even wearing a bra!”
I recall feeling bewildered, and thinking “I am not perfect, will they laugh at me too?”
I recently had fraudulent activity on one of my credit cards. The person went on a shopping spree, purchasing at various cell phone stores, online stores, grocery stores, etc. All in all, over $2500 worth.
I had to call my credit card company and explain that I had not authorised those transactions; they had been purchased “in my name” without my consent.
Have you ever wondered about the meaning of the third commandment, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain” (Exodus 20:7 NKJV)?
I wish there were more answers to how to raise children. How hard is too hard? How soft is too soft? How much is too much?
I’ve been going through a weight-loss program called “Noom.” Truth be told, I did really well the first 2 weeks (lost 2 kgs) but then it was my birthday weekend, we had our father-in-law with us for 3 weeks, and many more excuses later I’ve gained back everything and then some. But while I haven’t been 100% committed to the nutrition, exercise, and sleep recommendations on the program, I have been reading the daily tips pretty faithfully.
“Noom” provides psychological, scientific and practical tips each day to help you modify your thinking & behaviour.
Today, it told me the physiological effects of stress (that includes weight gain) and reminded me to start each day with a smile and enjoy JOMO (joy of missing out). It also told me to forget my to-do list and start the day with a “done” list. Huh?
I was driving when Joshua cried out, “Rain!” I sighed, anticipating tugging two wet children through the streets. But Micah said, “Mummy, the rain is good! It makes the flowers grow.”
And so it does.
I’ve been reading the Book of Ezra for my personal devotions and was struck by the dual reaction of the Jewish exiles when they returned to Jerusalem and rebuilt the foundation of the Temple.
The first temple built by King Solomon had been destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC and the Jewish people taken captive. When God moved King Cyrus of Persia (who had conquered Babylon as prophesied) to empower the Jewish exiles to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem in 538 BC, nearly 50,000 people fulfilled that call.
I play for a futsal team regularly on Tuesday nights. Apart from being my favourite type of cardio, it is also a great way to build good friendships with teammates that are outside of the church circle. Everyone in the team is courteous and most of the time show excellent sportsmanship. Most of the other teams we play against show a similar attitude.
But there is always bound to be a team that does not adhere to the shared code of sportsmanship. And our league has one such team. The players have very limited skills and try to make up for it by playing dirty and rough. It gets even worse when they are trailing on the scoreboard. They resort to elbowing, kicking of legs more than kicking of the ball, and constantly complain to the referee.
