Glory's First Happy Meal

It was another sweltering afternoon. Crazy hot and humid.Munch, Glory and I were out buying sweet potatoes and as we walked past McD, the air-conditioned environment and pictures of ice-cream proved too enticing. We ducked in for a quick snack and to enjoy the cool air. 

I put Glory into the red baby-chair, Munch got us a Milo McFlurry (not fantastic. stick to

 the Oreo McFlurry), and we happily tucked in. One mouth for Munch, one mouth for me. Aaahhhh.... shiokness!

We didn't realize how wrong it looked till Glory opened her mouth wide and said "Aaah!"

Oops. There we were, 2 adults, enjoying our ice cream when the kid has nothing, not even water.

With all seriousness, she looked at us, then at the ice-cream, and went "Aaah!" again, holding her mouth open in anticipation.

Now we were feeling seriously paiseh.

We quickly scanned the menu for salt-free and sugar-free food, and discovered that we could get her a corn-in-a-cup! And that's how Glory got her first Happy Meal.

Happy Glory with remnants of her First Happy Meal.

ok, we admit. Mama drank the Milo, Papa ate the cheeseburger. All Glory had was the corn. Some of it.

All gone!!

As all kids know, the major part of a Happy Meal is the toy.

The toy that came with her meal was a spherical thingy which opens up to reveal a mirror.

And when you press a button, the mirror lights up and reveals some dinosaur-like creature.

It was all lost on Glory though. 

She immediately proceeded to break the toy in half...

And gleefully did a chicken dance...

=) It was a Happy Meal alright.

So you think you are wise?

"Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbour bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness." James 3:13-17

So often i look around and see things which are not right.

This is oppresive. That is unjust. That is perverse. This is negligent. That is hypocritical. That is highhanded. That's just not working.

And i try to think up ways to "solve" them. 

And then i do what empty vessels do best - make a lot of noise. And when there's not much of an avenue to voice up, haha, i blog.

It relieves a kind of itch - it helps me clear my thoughts, it helps me get heard * or pretend i am*, it sometimes helps me see things in a different way, it sometimes reveals fallacies and presumtions and prejudices i have that is illogical.  It sometimes simply allows me to just rant, sometimes helps me remember. 

But it sometimes feels awful and empty after a while. It is, in the end, just an exercise of the mind, a scratching of emotional itches, a rousing of passions. Just a soulish activity which can never really satisfy.

It is not real wisdom. It is not real solution.

Am still slowly digesting The Spiritual Man. Last night's reading was about how good deeds done in the flesh is still unspiritual and worthless. I *think* i get the theory behind that, but i haven't quite grasped the practicality of it. Like i said i am really c-r-a-w-l-i-n-g through the book.

Is it similar to "wise" actions that result from logical and careful deliberations vs those that result from the spirit's leading? Does it vilify any reliance on logic and smarts and strategies? Or willpower or human determination? Or are we just to recognise the fultility of these, and seek to be increasingly spirit led?

In any case, it made me think about the recent "Aware saga" - yeah i know, you probably retched when you saw those words. It makes me feel sick too, and not merely because it has been over-reported everywhere. I find the whole episode sickening and saddening, and i don't agree with either sides.  

Religious beliefs and ideological differences aside, i think the "means" is wrong for both parties. 

And for the side that i personally feel should be called to a higher standard, my instinctive disappointment and discomfort is that its stance is so combative and legalistic, and speaks so little of love. 

I believe we should speak up for what we believe God would have us stand for *applause for Miss California 09 Carrie Prejean* (for her answer, not for the semi-nude shots).

I am not apathetic about God's standard, but i don't believe the right battle to fight is in the realms of AGMs/ EGMs/ jihads/ riots. 

I wonder if righteousness can be further institutionalized, i wonder if the spirit behind it can be effectively legalized. I doubt, but perhaps the lawyer/governor-types think so, and hence see this as a worthwhile battlefield. 

I suppose i am the mother/educator-type who believes in nurturing and loving  (and some say brain-washing?). i believe that every soul must be invested with sincere love and prayer because of their inherent worth, that change and repentence will be brought by the spirit, and that a nation is righteous when its people are righteous, not when its laws are righteous. 

In any case, i cannot assert that i am right and they are wrong - perhaps we just have different functions in the same army.

but i think the passage above serves as a measure of our plans and strategies - are they borne of spiritual wisdom, or are they earthly, unspiritual, of the devil.

Earthly -

results in us harbouring bitter envy and selfish ambition in our hearts, 

disorder

evil practice

From Heaven - 

Demonstrated by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.

Pure; 

peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 

Upside of a meltdown

The entire family caught the flu bug last weekend.(What a waste of a long weekend!) Must've been the goat farm visit in the sweltering heat, coz Joash got it too. 

Thankfully, it wasn't a very serious bout of flu & fever, and by Wednesday, Glory had more or less recovered. 

So on Wednesday night, she decided to celebrate. 

By staying up all night. Talking, singing, pointing and clapping. 

She exclaimed at the shadows cast on the walls, and marvelled at the carvings on our bed. She waved and said hey-oh to the fan/ window/ shadows (Note: Hey-oh means hello in Glorish, coz i think she can't make the "L" sound yet). She peered into our faces and gave us silly grins, and grabbed our noses whenever we dared to look like we were sleepy.

Which is fine and fun, when you are a baby and can take naps the next day to make up for the overnight partying. 

But not when you are working mummy, who is herself recovering from flu, making another baby in her womb, dealing with back pains and a strange stitches-like pain in the side, trying to do exam revisions with classes of boys who do not seem to think much of the exams. (Or of anything, for that matter. But that's another story for another day.) And having no lunch because the only break i had coincided with the students' recess - which meant the canteen was too crowded and boisterous for a belly-toting preggy.

Anyway, by the end of Thursday, i was exhausted and miserable. 

"I'm so tired," i told munch when he got into the car.

And i started to cry.

So he drove me to the spa! =)

There's just something about being alone in a darkened room, with soft music and bubbling water. The feel of the warm water, the soothing jets. Having no other duties for the next two hours but to lie back and relax, enjoying the soothing strokes of the masseuse, basking in the dreamy zone of drifty consciousness. Aaaahhhhh.....

Was much better after that. 

"So was that my Mother's Day present from Glory?" i asked, as we made our way back.

It wasn't. 

Ha, more good things to come!

See, sometimes, a good cry has more upsides than we know.

=)