Today, when I came home after running an errand, Nicole came up to me and said that she wants to watch some home videos of herself.

Nic exclaimed, "I want to watch the video when we go to the market, and I blocked Nathan!"

"Block Nathan!?! You are so naughty…Nic…I didn’t know you did it on purpose!" I replied.

Oh no! And all this while, I thought she was oblivious to the fact, that she was obstructing her brother.

Take a look at the video, and u will know what I am talking about.

 

On a lighter note, I was just talking to some friends about the kids.

Have you realized how fast the kids forget you when they are young?

What do I mean?

Well, when you spend time and play with your kids, they will really become attached to you, but if you go for a business trip for 1 week, or overseas for a longer period of time, you will find that babies and very young children forget you very quickly.

It’s kind of like when you are a young Christian: You may be very touched when you first get saved, and very motivated to come to church.

But if you give church a miss for even 1 week, or if no one comes along and encourages you along the way, you will gradually just forget God and become cold towards Him.

I guess that’s why – God is always like a good parent, always trying to lead us back our quiet time, and to a godly fellowship.

Last Sunday, as part of my Field Education Tour at Trinity Theological College, I had the privilege of going to Maghain Aboth Synagogue at Waterloo Street.

This was by far the most interesting trip, as there was so much to learn, and so much culture to absorb!

The name of the synagogue translates to "Shield of our Fathers" and it is the oldest Synagogue in Southeast Asia. It was built in 1878 and is currently gazetted as a National Monument.

There are 2 synagogues in Singapore, with the other located at Oxley Rise.

Interesting Fact: This synagogue was originally located at Synagogue Street, but as it was too small, it shifted to this location in 1878. Synagogue Street still exists, but there is No Synagogue there.

A tour of the synagogue was given to us by the Yeshiva boys (Overseas Rabbis-in-training, that come to Singapore to assist the local Jews). It was a real pleasure, having them to show us the place. A Big Thank you to our guides Eliyahu and Yossi, for their patience and willingness to answer all our questions!

From the front, the Synagogue has 2 entrances. Women were separated from the men, and they have to be in the balcony during a service. As a result, the ladies had to enter the building from a separate entrance.

Here’s a video of the overall tour of the place. Forgive me for the lousy sound, as the Blackberry does not pick up sounds that well. I miss my N95 8GB on this trip.

The Ark:

We started with a tour of the inner sanctuary or the ark. Inside the ark, beyond the curtains (or called a  parochet – a fringed curtain with detailed embroidery) one will find scrolls of the Torah. They are encased in wooden containers and there were quite a few scrolls inside. In fact, when a member passes away, he/she can commissions a scroll to be hand-written and given to the Synagogue in his/her memory. 

The Bema:

We were then brought to the center of the room where the pulpit (Bema) is placed. The Chief Rabbi will make prayers here with the reading of the Torah. The reading of the Torah can take place in English or Hebrew, but all prayers all made in Hebrew, as this is the original language given to them by God.

Famous Seats:

The Jews have played a prominent role in the development of Singapore & all the people of influence had seats in the sanctuary.

Making a quick scan of the place, I found the seat of David Marshall. He is the First Chief Minister of Singapore and he is also dubbed the "Father of Independence". This man was the No 1 guy before MM Lee came onto the scene.

Another famous seat I recognized were the seats of the whole Benjamin family. Remember FJ Benjamin – these are the people who bring in brands Giorgio Armani, DKNY, Guess, Etc.

Interesting Fact 2 – A service can only start when there are 10 men present.

On an average Saturday service, there will be about 150 Jews worshipping in the Synagogue.

Situated In the complex, one can also find a Kosher shop which sells Kosher produce. The shop even sells Kosher Chocolate (Kosher – food fit or allowed to be eaten or used, according to the dietary or ceremonial laws)

The whole trip was really fun and eventful and I really enjoyed myself.

The Yeshiva boys also have a blog, and you can check out the team photos there.

Is ‘face’ really that important!?!

I was not at home to watch the opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympics, but all I heard was good reviews.

I learnt that China made us proud, by putting up an outstanding opening ceremony and that the whole event was flawless!

However, as the games started, the world began to hear rumors about fakes and lip syncing!

Well, it turned out to be true!

Lin Miaoke, the 9 year old girl who sang Ode to the ‘Motherland’ was Lip syncing. The voice actually belonged to another girl who was yanked from the opening ceremony at the 11th hour.

The reason being, she just did not look good enough, as she had chubby cheeks and crooked teeth!

Above that, the live images of the fireworks during the opening ceremony, were not "live" at all. Some images were pre-recorded to give the impression of flawless perfection!

Frankly, I think the Chinese already out-did themselves with the content of the ceremony. The show would have been perfect already, without these little ‘extras’.

It could have saved itself from this Public Relations Disaster, if it just kept things straight! The same thing about life, is that when the dust settles; people will always remember the controversies.

It will be interesting to see how history records these games!  

Last weekend, it was great to have Ps. back from the Europe Conference and he preached a sermon about Servanthood.

This is one of the main themes for CHC in 2008, and all of us are looking to grow in this area in the coming months.

The theme also tied in nicely with our early morning prayer. For these 2 weeks, the church is waking up early to pray from 7am – 8am at Jurong West and at Heart of God church in Paya Lebar.

Today is day 3 and I am tired….

I was telling my mass class that to be at Paya Lebar at 7am, I have to wake up at 6am. – I have not woken up at 6am since Secondary School – talk about crucifying my flesh.

But the prayer meetings have been good!!!

And I am looking forward to the next one tomorrow, as I know that keeping myself disciplined is one of the keys to success!

Furthermore, according to the Sermon on Sunday:

1. Servanthood is Willing (Serving is an issue of the heart where surrender is needed)
2. Servanthood excels
3. Servanthood is swift
4. Servanthood is never convenient
5. Servanthood is honoring
6. Servanthood is work
7. Servanthood is caring for people (Hey! Even Barak Obama practices this) .

INCONVENIENCE (Point 4) is something we are discovering this week!

I am so glad that so many people are coming to the prayer meetings, that we have been having a packed hall in both Paya Lebar and Jurong. (Approximately. 4000 people have been gathering to pray)

Yesterday, we introduced another pray center at Church of Singapore in Marine Parade.

If you are thinking about joining us, come down this week! You won’t be alone and best of all – YOU WON’T REGRET IT!

Just the other day, I was scrolling through my hp and I stumbled upon 1 of the videos, that I have completely forgotten about. It was actually recorded upside down, so I had to rotate it.

It’s about Nicole singing about her favorite food.

Since young, she has never had a problem eating her food and thinking of ways to get more of it! (Read about her ice-cream entry, if you don’t know what I am talking about)

Well, the little maestro has even created songs about her favorite food.

Here, she sings about French Fries, Keropok (Prawn Crackers) and Strawberry Panda!

As you watch the video, you will notice the joy and groove that she puts into every word – It really brings a smile to my face, as I watch it!

It kind of reminds me of what it says in the bible:

Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

PS 37:4

Hey! If we can sing and trust in the Lord with such simple faith, it will definitely bring a smile to our Father’s heart.

It makes me wonder how anyone who loves God (as one loves food) can be sedated about their faith in Him!