Author Archives: Gabriel

Most families today lead very hectic lives.

Hence, getting the family together for a family meal is very challenging for the typical contemporary family these days.

Mom’s and dad’s demanding work schedules, the kids’ ever increasing after-school activities, endless errands and the likes are causing families to have less and less time to spend together.

Yet, we all know how important it is to make time for one another.  Having a family meal together is definitely one of the best settings to do so.

With some simple ideas and plannings, meal times can be enjoyable and memorable for the whole family.

For example, you can involve your children in the planning and preparation for the weekend morning breakfast. This helps to develops in them a sense of ownership.

Or you can designate certain meal times as exciting treats for them to look forward to.  For example, at one stage my second son requested for Fridays to be sandwich days when he returns from school for his lunch. You can also choose an evening each month to be movie night at home where the whole family can enjoy a movie together with their dinner in the living room.

Making the effort to create a routine of having regular a sit-down meal with your family is definitely worth the pay-offs. Below are 3 key benefits the family meal time brings to your children: 

Your Children Eat Healthier

Your children are more likely to eat healthier and more nutritionally balanced foods when they eat home prepared meals with family members.

You can also better keep track of their diet and manage their portion size. Foods prepared away from home tend to contain more refined sugar, unhealthy fat contents, poor quality salt, flavoring additives such as monosodium glutamate . and ingredients that are more likely to be inferior in quality. Check out this blog post.

Take the opportunity to encourage and expose your children to try different varieties of healthier foods and expand their tastes even if they dislike certain foods initially.

In the past, my eldest son  refused to eat mushroom and insisted that he would throw up should he unknowingly ate one. Recently, I found out to my pleasant surprise that he and his two brothers were able to finish a sizable portion of stir fried white button mushrooms with green vegetable and brown rice for their dinner. This happened only after years of encouragement over family meals.

Obesity amongst children is a worrying problem today and this could be due to a lack of supervision of our children’s meals especially when they take their meals away from home. Many parents today are also lax when it comes to their children’s diet and tend to give in to their children’s preference and especially  for fast food.

Cook healthier foods for your family and have more regular family meals to make sure your children are consuming the right amount of calories and good quality foods for their bodies.

Your Children Grow Up Happier

With extra hours put in at the office and the children turning in early, there are times when I do not get the opportunities to converse with my children days on end.

Families members have  so much competing commitments these days that members hardly get the chance to catch up with one another.

By making deliberate efforts and commitments to have family meals together, everyone can catch up, reconnect and exchange updates on what has been happening in their respective lives. Eating together serves to build family bonding and strengthen the foundation of the family identity.

Additionally, such family routine establishes a sense of emotional stability and security that are important to nurturing our children during their growing up years. Children who grow up in positive and stable family environments are more likely to mature into strong, resilient and confident adults.

Family mealtimes can also be great stress reliever with sharing of jokes and lighthearted discussions. Children who are left to eat alone will not have the opportunity to talk about their problems or have a relaxing chat to take their mind off any stress that they may be facing.

Miriam Weinstein, author of “The Surprising Power of Family Meals.”,  commented that one of the biggest benefits of having family meals is the comforting knowledge that the family will get together on a regular basis for a low-key check-in.

Partaking of such meals together should be unhurried affairs. These are opportunities to inculcate the healthy habits of eating at an appropriate pace to our children and also passing the legacy of mealtime fellowship to our next generation.

In the US and Singapore, there are movements that promotes taking the time to eat together as a family. See here and here.

Your Children Becomes Smarter At The Meal Table

Mealtimes are great occasions to teach children the life skills of making conversation, listening as others speak, table manners and etiquette. For examples, you can teach your children to say please and thank you; sit with the right posture; chew their foods with their mouths closed and eat tidily.

Family meals give children opportunities to converse with adults as well as to pick up on how adults use words with each other. Kids who are exposed to regular family discussion times learn to use a broader vocabulary in their dialogues.

You can also teach kids responsibility and life skills by assigning them meal-related chores such as setting the table, serving members of the family and clearing the table and doing the dishes.

In conclusion, there are indeed good enough reasons to make a big deal of the family meal.

Ralph Waldo Emerson commented: “the first wealth is health”. To father champions, we need to teach our children about building good health through right eating habits. Without good health, our children do not have the energy to excel in what they do and enjoy life.

One of the greatest challenge to the family unit today is busyness. Without a strong and close-knitted family, our children cannot grow up to be secure, confident and happy. Therefore, we must not allow busyness to be an excuse for not making meal times a family routine and tradition in our homes.

Finally, integration is key to be able to function well in our packed schedules. Make meal times not only bonding times but also mentoring and coaching time for our young champions.

I miss many aspects of growing up in Singapore in the 1970s as a kid.

As a toddler, I lived in an attap house in a small kampong with chickens roaming freely outside our home. It was located in Lorong Lew Lian (Durian). Today, Lorong Lew Lian has become totally unrecognizable to me compared with the images I still have in my mind. Just off Upper Serangoon Road, my heart ache each time I pass by the area as the Lorong Lew Lian I knew is forever gone.

Growing up in a kampong was colourful. I remember a particular day when my parents were out and a stray dog wandered into our house. I was scared and climbed up some furniture with my hands clinging on to the window grill for my dear life. I dared not to come down until one of my parents returned home. By then the dog was long gone.

I also remember an occasion when I received an earful and canning from my dad for a prolonged absence from home playing with sands.

Then there was also an evening of frantically packing our belongings due to a fire breakout in a neighbouring kampong. Fire spread very quickly from kampong to kampong and one cannot afford not to be on the alert. Fortunately, our vicinity was spared of disaster.

Now each time I pass through any kampong in neighbouring countries, fond memories would return and I wish I can actually relive them again.

I also miss the five foot ways and the wet markets. My late mother used to work as a hairdresser not too far from our home along Lim Tua Tow Road. I was usually there on Saturday mornings. My condition to accompany my mom there every week was a comic from a particular mama shop. A comic cost less than fifty cents then.

I also still remember when live chickens were caged up in the markets and one could take time to make his or her choice selection. Now whenever I pass by the few remaining wet markets in Singapore, I would revel the familiar smell that would bring back a sense of nostalgia

Then there was the Bengali (Indian) man carrying a basket full of freshly-baked French loaves, suji biscuits and triangular shaped curry puffs on his head walking from kampong to kampong to sell his produce.

The community centres of old were nothing more than single story wooden houses  with simple activities like carom, chess, and basketball. – a far cry from today’s community clubs which offer activities such as zumba classes, yoga lessons, French language courses, sushi making workshops and with facilities such as gyms and cafes.

To say that Singapore has come a long way in 49 years of independence is sheer understatement.  Our progress has been nothing short of remarkable for a struggling island with limited natural resources.

In 1983, as a fourteen year old, I participated in the National Day Parade playing the tuba for my school’s brass band
This year, my fifteen- years-old son performed as one of the mass dancers.
“It is an honour for me to be part of this year’s NDP 2014 and so far it has been a very enjoyable experience” – Michael Lee Yong En, Woodgrove Secondary School

Today’s Singapore is characterized by its clinically clean and green environment, efficiency of public services, iconic skyscrapers, wide choices be it in cuisine, entertainment or education and modern conveniences one can expect of a modern metropolis.

I ascribe our success in a relatively short span of time to the legacy of one man; visionary founding father of modern Singapore, former Prime Minister and Minister Mentor Mr Lee Kuan Yew. His vision was probably ahead of his peers when he said:

 ‘A faint hearted people would have given up long ago. We never gave in, never mind giving up. For that alone, we deserve to succeed. If we press on, in twenty years we shall build a great metropolis, worthy of a hardy, resilient and stout-hearted people.’ ~~ (Lee Kuan Yew in his National Day Speech, August 8 1972)

I believe that the Singapore of 2014 has advanced even beyond his wildest imagination.

But just like any other nations, Singapore is not perfect and not without challenges.

Whilst Singapore has fared well in many aspects of nation building and won numerous accolades, it also has to grapple with issues such as the accelerating cost of living, integration of foreign workers and talents into the Singapore society, emotional well-being of its citizens in a high pressured society and as well as the adverse effect of gambling fanned by the entry of two casinos .

• Singapore was ranked as the costliest city in the world ahead of cities such as Paris, Zurich, Sydney and Tokyo in the 2014 Worldwide Cost of Living Survey by the Economist Intelligent Unit.
• In a 2011 poll by Gallup, Singaporeans were ranked as the least likely worldwide to report feeling positive emotions ahead of countries like Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan and Haiti.
• British gambling consultancy firm, H2 Gambling Capital, reported Singapore as having the second highest gambling losses per adult resident in the world after Australia in a 2013 ranking.

Yes, rankings will always be subjective. But the examples point to real issues faced by Singaporeans.

According to the Statistics on Marriages and Divorces 2013 report, the number of marital dissolution (divorce and annulments) rose and marriage rates fell.

The tests ahead will become tougher as Singapore faces pressure of maintaining a mature economy that is challenged with mounting regional and global competition; supporting the healthcare and well-being needs of a rapidly aging population (900,000 people will be above 65 years old in 2030) among other complex issues.

We will need to prepare our next generation to champion the Singapore cause: handling the challenges ahead and propelling Singapore to the next level.

Our next generation will need to gear up in intellectual capacities, bodies well-nourished and fit for the long haul and spirits that are full of hunger and resilience. They need to capitalize on their God given strengths.

I count myself blessed to have the privilege of experiencing the old and new Singapore. Singapore has become a thriving metropolis. It’s not perfect but it is home.

We’ve got to take the good with the bad and work through issues with the next generation for a better Singapore.

We have just celebrated our 49^th birthday and we are entering into the Jubilee 50^th year of independence – a sort of coming of age and some believe tipping point as the nation continue re-evaluate itself: “what do we stand for and why do we exist? What sort of Singapore do we want?” 

Jubilee offers a window of opportunity to have a fresh beginning and new vision for the future.

This evening we celebrated my birthday together with Joseph’s, my youngest son. His birthday was yesterday, 22nd of July.

At Flamingg Mangos Restaurant , Jalan Malu-malu Sembawang Springs Estate

Nine years ago this evening, I spent my birthday in the hospital ward of Thomson Medical Centre with my wife.  She was recovering from an ordeal the day before after delivering Joseph.

Joseph’s delivery had been smooth. After the delivery, mother and my newly minted baby were wheeled back to their respective rooms and my wife’s  gynecologist had gone home.

Then, the struggle against a potential life threatening condition began. She developed postpartum hemorrhage, which is excessive bleeding after delivery of a child. Not treated immediately, it could have led to the death of my wife.

Thankfully for some reasons, her gynecologist Dr Yvonne Chan came back to the hospital to check on her.  This was not a usual practice for gynecologists following a delivery as nurses are sufficiently trained to provide post-delivery care. We learned from her months later after the ordeal that she had prompting in her heart that night to return to the hospital to check on my wife.

Thank God she responded to this prompting. Her return was timely just as the bleeding began.

I had no clue to the severity of what was happening other than my wife’s  bleeding had not stopped after delivery. I was informed by Dr Chan that my wife needed to be wheeled back to the delivery room to stop the bleeding. Looking back, I remembered that I was at a loss of how to react. To panic or to remain calm? 

Dr Chan however, was composed throughout as she went about her “business”. Periodically, Dr Chan would ask to see me to update the situation, always in a relaxed manner.

A  few hours later, my wife’s condition stabilized and she was returned to her bed. It was during the same conversation we had with Dr Chan months later that we learned from her that the most straightforward way to stop the bleeding that night was to remove the womb. This decision would have been less difficult  taking into consideration that by then, my wife and I already had 3 children. After all, the life of my wife was the priority.

However, Dr Chan was determined (and I’m sure confident) to save both the womb and my wife. She stopped the bleeding by massaging the womb for hours.

We thank God for Dr Chan and above all, we thank God.

After her physical struggle against potential death, my wife faced a different kind of struggle whilst recovering in her room. Little had I realized that on the night of  my birthday with her beside her bed, she had been battling against the fear of death.

I remember on that night – she turned to me almost apologetically and commented that I had to spend my birthday with her in hospital. Ofcourse it did not matter and I told her so.

Some consider fear an emotion while others believe it to be a spirit. For my wife, the fear she had to face was certainly very real and tormenting. Fear was attempting to consume her sanity.  Having a Christina faith, she battled the fear with the most and only effective weapon available that she was familiar with –   prayer. Very intense prayers.

She fought, overcame and became a testimony to many fighting fears in their lives.

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” The Holy Bible, Psalm 23:4

Because of Joseph’s cesarean birth and the post delivery emergency, the medical bill had been very substantial. After deduction through Medisave and a goodwill discount from Dr Chan (she had delivered all three of our boys), the bill still came to seven thousand dollars.

At that time, it was a huge sum of money to me. I guess as I walked to the cashier on the day of discharge, I was just going to pay through a couple of credit cards and then figure out the source of repayment later.

Lo and behold – at the cashier counter I notice a small display informing of a one-year interest-free installment scheme offered by a particular credit card which I held.

Praised God! I was thankful for credit cards! (Disclaimer: use credit cards in a wise and sensible manner and always repay fully on-time!)

I occasionally like to joke and introduce Joseph as my seventeen thousand dollars child!

Joseph, just like his two elder brothers, has been a delight to my wife and I. He is well rounded with many interests, conscientious, respectful and with a hint of occasional cheekiness.

I decided on his name after much prayer. It was a close call between Joshua and Joseph. Reason was simple: my eldest son and I are named after two archangels of the Bible: Michael and Gabriel. My second son’s name is Caleb. In the Bible, the Israelite entered the promise land led by two key leaders: Joshua and Caleb. Yet, I also liked another Bible character: Joseph. That Joseph had to go through a series of painful trails (betrayal and being forgotten) and yet remain faithful and conscientious throughout and became the second most powerful man in Egypt.

I was deliberating for quite a while: will it be Joshua or Joseph?; both equally “powerful” names. Then, one night I was listening to a preacher at a Christian conference. I was tired that evening and I fell asleep halfway through the sermon (confession time!). But for some reasons, just when the preacher was explaining the meaning of the name “Joseph”, I awoke suddenly! And just in time to catch her explained that Joseph means “fruitful vine”.

That was enough to seal the deal. Son number three will be named Joseph. I wanted him to be fruitful in all that he does.

Indeed, our son Joseph has been fruitful. But more than just fruitful performance, my wife and my wishes for Joseph is that he will be of good character just like the Joseph of the Bible. Throughout the life struggles of the Biblical Joseph, a few things stood out: he was faithful in all the duties given to him no matter how mundane (he became a servant as a result of betrayal from his own siblings and then a prisoner for a crime he did not commit before becoming number two to Pharaoh), he never gave up his dreams (indeed he is contemporary referred to as Joseph the Dreamer) and finally he learned to forgive and saw the silver linings in his troubles.

“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.” The Holy Bible, Genesis 50:20

 And above all, throughout his life, it was written a number of times that The Spirit of God was with Joseph.

Indeed, the Spirit of God was there at the hospital ward when my wife had to go through the ordeal after delivery. And the Spirit of God continued to be with Joseph as we saw him grow over the last nine years. One time, he fell from his cot and hit head first the flooring. Our hearts dropped but we could only commit to God and trust that there would not be any devastating injury to Joseph. God is good and Joseph has grown to be an active and happy child.

On this day, we celebrate not only Joseph and my birthday – above all we celebrate God and His goodness in our lives!

Happy Birthday Jo!

Recently, I spent close to three full days with Michael at the 2014 edition of the National Achievers Congress (NAC) organised by Success Resources.

NAC has been running for 22 years.  I have this to say: NAC brings so much value in terms of putting the Best-in-Class speakers on their platform  and offering tickets at such ridiculously low price that it is simply madness  not to get tickets for yourself and your family members to attend. Especially your children.

This year’s star speaker was Nick Vujicic, the motivational speaker who was born without arms and legs.

So why bring your children to an event that is largely attended by budding entrepreneurs, corporate executives, insurance and property professionals and the likes? Indeed, Michael was among the youngest serious attendees. Here are my reasons for bringing my 15 year old to the conference. It was for him:

1. To learn about success and wealth creation principles that are not taught in his school
2. To be comfortable and confident in professional meetings
3. To be educated about alternative sources of generating wealth

Most of us are taught from a  young age to study hard, get good grades, go to university and get a job with good pay and benefits.

Nothing unsound with that.

Except that many of us may not be aware that the majority of hugely successful and wealthy people know a lot more secrets to success than purely following this advice. In fact, some of them do not even follow this advice at all and yet became more successful than those who do!

Don’t get me wrong. I am not downplaying the value of formal and structure education. In fact, I spent close to twenty years of my full-time career in promoting formal education.

But I strongly believe that our children need to have access and exposure to learning that are not taught in school.

Attending an NAC conference will jump start your children’s education about success and making money that even many of their teachers are ignorant about. Even those who are aware (I have teacher friends who make more money from passive incomes than their teachers’ pay) simply do not have the time nor energy to impart their knowledge as these subject matters are not part of the school’s academic curriculum.

At the recent NAC, Michael and myself learned some recurring lessons about success and wealth creation that were shared by the various speakers. Here are some that we picked up:

1. Have an attitude of gratitude
2. Have self-acceptance and self-respect
3. Focus on your passion
4. Believe in yourself
5. Have faith
6. Happiness is the key to success
7. Take positive action
8. Never give up
9. Be generous in giving
10. To dream BIG and aim to change the world
11. Surround yourself with successful people, who share your passion and who believe in you

My take away from the speeches is that achieving great success is not rocket science. But first and foremost, it is a science.

Achieving success is largely dependent on systems; strategies; formulas and patterns. These systems are often simple and straight forward.

Even those in artistic pursues such as drawing, music, dances and theater will reveal that performance of these art forms are largely systematic in approach to solve problems. Andrew Matthews, one of the key speakers at NAC,  shared that he is confident to train anyone in a very short period of time to draw.

Book signing with Andrew Matthews

With my autographed copy of “How Life Works”

With Publisher Julie Matthews

When we observe the world around us, it becomes obvious that we live in a universe that is kept in order as a result of systems and laws. Our planet exit in a system: the solar system. Nature functions successfully in an ecological system.

Success and making money is no exception.

Numerous systems exist today to enable one to earn multiple streams of passive income. One of the hottest current trends that was shared at NAC is Internet Marketing. One can learn simple steps to create passive niche incomes even when you sleep.

Hard work still applies though as these are not “get rich quick” scams. Yet, these are legitimate and alternative ways of wealth generation that our children can only learn outside school hours.

However, it occurred to me during the NAC that achieving success is not science and system alone.

I would use the metaphor of driving a car. The car itself with it various components is an engineering system that enable one to travel far distances effectively and efficiently and in comfort. However, without starting the engine and thereby engaging the starer gear, there is an absence of power to get the system to work and begin any journey.

In the same way, success and wealth generation systems requires power engagement. This is when I realized that achieving success is also a spiritual pursue.

When the speakers shared about the importance of faith, belief, making a decision to take action, programming our subconscious mind to think big, persevere; etc, these are fundamentally engagement of our spiritual resources.

Pastor David Yungi Cho, Senior Pastor of the largest Christian congregation in the world, refer to these as belonging to the “fourth dimension”.

One of the lessons that was taught at NAC was that we are what we believe ourselves to be. We must first see our achievements in our minds before we can experience them in our reality.

One of my favorite bible stories is found in the book of Numbers chapter thirteen.

In this story, the Israelites were at the threshold of entering the land of Canaan, God’s promised land to them. Their leader, Moses, sent out twelve men to spy the land and among them were Caleb and Joshua. Upon their return, the men reported that indeed the land was very fertile and rich in resources. However, ten of the men spoke fearfully of how huge their enemies were. Their fear was spread to the rest of the people like rampant cancer cells. Only Caleb and Joshua had the champion mindsets and believed that the enemies were theirs for the taking. They were bold enough to speak out against the popular opinions.

The fact of the matter was that God had already promised that He will deliver the enemies into the hands of the Israelites and they just needed to take the action of moving in to conquer. In fact, God was programming into their subconscious minds that victory was their through His promises.

Yet, the bible recorded for us how the Israelites saw themselves:

“We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”  Numbers 13:33, The Holy Bible

When we have self-limiting beliefs, our actions exhibit a lack of self-confidence and this is how others will perceive us.

Tragically, all of that generation of Israelites except Caleb and Joshua died without entering the promised land because of their fear. Only Caleb and Joshua had the faith to believe that their God was bigger than the giants of the land and took actions to conquer the land successfully. They became champions and giants of the Christian faith.

In closing, it was also note worthy to Michael and myself that most of the speakers were from families with below average income when they were young. In addition, at some points  in their own professional lives, many of them had close to bankruptcy experiences. However, none of them allowed their modest backgrounds or their past failures to hinder them from achieving the overwhelming successes that they have achieved today.

Michael made a telling comment during the conference:

“Attending this conference made me feel that there is a “conspiracy” in my school. Here at the conference, all the millionaire speakers are telling us that we can succeed and become millionaires (in-spite of our grades). In school, our teachers are telling us we cannot succeed and become millionaires (because of our grades).”

I have sympathy for our teachers. They face tremendous pressure in facing multiple demands: performing non-teaching administrative duties, addressing parental expectations, meeting academic KPIs and managing  challenging student behaviours. It takes a lot out of our teachers to be consistently positive with their various challenges.

As parents, let’s do our part to supplement our children with lessons that their school do not teach them.

See you and your children at National Achievers Congress 2015!

This website may primarily be addressing fathers. But make no mistake; our wives play indispensable and complementary roles with us in raising confident children.

This is not to discount that single fathers can successfully raise their children. But most will share their tremendous challenges in trying to fill the mother’s role as well to their children.

We fathers are always pushing our children to take risks, run further, climb higher, go faster. Our wives on the other hand are the protectors of our children. They are the ones concern about their emotional, physical and spiritual safety and well-being. Slow down, be careful, watch out are their common vocabulary.

I know this because I was once chided by my eight year old’s mother for allowing him to run eleven rounds around the sports stadium. “That’s damaging for an eight year old”! I later found that out to be true.

Whenever any of my sons experienced some pains be it emotional or physical, I would be the one to say “get up and move on” while their mother would be comforting and assuring.

Without fathers, many children will probably grow up with courage deficiency.  Without mothers, I just wonder how many of them will end up with broken limbs or even be alive!

Just as mum cannot replace fathers, father cannot effectively play the roles of mothers. The fictional character Dorothy on the TV show The Golden Girls once said: “It’s not easy being a mother. If it were easy, fathers would do it.”

As humans, we have a natural instinct to yearn for our mothers for comfort, and assurance when hurting. Soldiers in war have been known to cry out for their mothers when hurt or dying from wound.

Children look to their fathers as heroic role models. But it is mothers that children go to for emotional solace.

In a sense, fathers and mothers showcase a complete image of God. Fathers present God as a might warrior: “But the LORD is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail…” (Jeremiah 20:11). On the other hand, mothers present the nurturing and caring side of God: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings,…(Luke 13:34)

I recall the time when my eldest son met with an accident. It was I, at one point in the hospital, who gave him a rhetoric William “Braveheart” Wallace-like pep talk to pump up his confidence during his lowest moments. And it helped. And yet throughout the recovery period, it was mum whom he turned to for emotional attention. It was mum he wanted to gently tend to his wounds.

Thus the call is for husbands to show gratitude to and honor our wives for their partnership in raising our young champions to become confident leaders for tomorrow. And here’s seven simple and yet powerful suggestions:

1. Appreciate her efforts, take notice of the little things she does and thank her often, for example, for cooking a wonderful family meal.
2. Devote time each day to talk. Institute it as a regular and habitual event such as nightly chat over Camomile tea in the living room after the children have gone to bed.
3. Hear her concerns for the children and offer reassurance and commitment to help.
4. Share the household chores and give her breaks to do what she likes.
5. Give her special threats, not just on special occasions but as surprises.
6. Come home from work early, give priority attention to her and the children. The iPhone, newspaper and TV programmes will have to take their queue numbers.
7. Teach the children to appreciate and respect their mother. Discipline them immediately and firmly whenever they show any signs of disrespect (no matter how minor) towards their mother.

Mothers are the unsung hero of our next generation.

Author and university professor Jane Sellman wrote: “The phrase ‘working mother’ is redundant.”  American comedian and actor Milton Berle once said: “If evolution really works, how come mothers only have two hands?”

Watch this witty video and decide if you agree with the message:

To all mothers, Happy Mother’s Day, you deserve this wish EVERYDAY!

 Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character

A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.
Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.
She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life.
She selects wool and flax
and works with eager hands.
She is like the merchant ships,
bringing her food from afar.
She gets up while it is still night;
she provides food for her family
and portions for her female servants.
She considers a field and buys it;
out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks.
She sees that her trading is profitable,
and her lamp does not go out at night.
In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.
When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
She makes coverings for her bed;
she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
Her husband is respected at the city gate,
where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
She makes linen garments and sells them,
and supplies the merchants with sashes.
She is clothed with strength and dignity;
she can laugh at the days to come.
She speaks with wisdom,
and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
She watches over the affairs of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
“Many women do noble things,
but you surpass them all.”
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
Honor her for all that her hands have done,
and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

Proverb 31:10-31
Taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version.