The Power of Words

excerpts from Bo Sanchez's Soulfood about the power of words

“If you want to change your life, change your words.” I believe that if you change your vocabulary, you change your life story.

Your words have physical power. They impact your life. They impact your body. They impact the people around you. They impact your world.

Sometimes, God will lead you into a storm. Because storms are good. Storms shake you. And shaking is good. Shaking takes away your pride. Shaking takes away your complacency. Shaking forces you to grow.

Don’t be afraid of storms around you. Be afraid of the storms inside you.   The stress. The tension. The worry.   I urge you to surrender all that to the Lord.

Most of what you’re experiencing in your life is a result of what you have ordered.

Complainers get more of what they complain about. When you complain about your problems, you’re asking for “larger servings” of your problems. Because that’s the power of your words.

Don’t talk about how you are; Talk about how you want to be. Don’t talk about where you are; talk about where you want to go!

Don’t just talk about your problems; Talk about your purpose. Because problems weigh you down. But purpose lifts you up. And I’ve learned that if you pursue your purpose, many of your problems get solved along the way.

So don’t dwell on your difficulties. Dwell on your dreams!

Words Have Power Over Your World. Aside from having power over you, in some mysterious way, it also has power over your world.

Speak The Blessings

1. Bless Your Entire Life:
I’m God’s beloved and it is His great happiness to bless me. I’m anointed by God to serve and bless the world. God’s river of blessings is flowing to me at every moment of my life. Everything I need comes to me. I’m a blessing magnet. I’m guided by God at every moment. 

2. Bless Your Body:
I’m getting better and stronger everyday. God’s power of health and healing are flowing through my body, my mind, and my spirit. With long life, I will serve the Lord, in Jesus name.

3. Bless Your Loved Ones:
My loved one is growing closer to God. Deep inside, the Holy Spirit is busy working, changing, and transforming this person. This child of God is set free from all addictions. God’s purpose will be fulfilled in this person’s life. I declare that as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord, in Jesus name.

4. Bless Your Relationships:
God is blessing my relationships. Love is increasing. Service for one another is growing. Forgiveness, humility, and understanding flow like a river in my relationships. Old wounds are being healed. Bonds between us are getting stronger and deeper, in Jesus name.

5. Bless Your Decisions:
The steps of the good person are ordered by the Lord. God directs my steps. God helps me to distinguish what is right from wrong. God shows me the paths to abundance, in Jesus name.

6. Bless Your Problems:
All things will work for good to those who love God. This difficulty that I face now shall bless me in a very big way. What was intended for my harm, God will transform and turn into my benefit, in Jesus name.

7. Bless Your Finances:
I’m rich and getting richer. I’m generous and getting more generous. God’s abundance is supplying my every need. Everything I touch prospers and succeeds. New doors will open before me. The right people will walk into my life. God will prosper the work of my hands. As I use my core gifts to serve others, I will be richly rewarded. Money is flowing to me in great abundance. I can earn any amount of money I choose, in Jesus name.

       Go ahead.

       Create your miracles by your words.

Mother Tongue in the Singapore Education System

Attending local education in a foreign country entails adhering to the school education system. For other countries, it can be a breeze esp if the foreign children speak the local language (eg. in the US, English). But for countries like Singapore where there is a required Mother Tongue subject, adjusting to the education system can be quite challenging.

For foreign students, esp Permanent Residents (PRs), who started primary 1 in local schools, taking up mother tongue is a requirement. They can choose from the 3 mother tongue choices available - Chinese, Malay, Tamil. When I was scouting for a primary school for Kelvin 5 years ago, I spoke to a few school admin officers regarding mother tongue and the possibility of applying exemption. All of them have informed me that NO ONE can be exempted to take MT, esp in the case of my son who is a PR. Every student going to P1 should first choose a MT and then the school will observe the child's performance throughout the year. If the child performs well, then he has to continue. If the child does not do well, then there is an option to apply for exemption or take foreign language in lieu of mother tongue. From then on I wondered how MT and my son's performance in the subject will affect his marks - PSLE, O level, A level, entrance to uni. I know, it's looking too much too early into the future. But this is my son's future we're talking about and I think most, if not all, parents would want a better future for their children. We could pave they way for them to achieve success. Any wrong or right decision we do now will definitely have an impact on what will happen to them in the future. As I am writing this blog, I looked back into the email reply from MOE on my queries.

Anyway, most of the Filipino parents I know opted for the children to take up Chinese as they deem it the most useful among the 3 with the Chinese economy growing and all. Other parents opted for Malay as it has some resemblance to Filipino (national language in the Philippines). In both cases, some children adjust well in the first few years of primary education, while others just couldn't cope. Since we didn't have a choice but to choose one language, we opted for Kelvin to take Chinese as his MT, same reason as most parents did - to hopefully have an edge in the future. We just hoped and prayed things will be fine with him.

Fast forward...Now, my son is already in P5.  He performed quite well in P1 and P2, getting Band 1 marks which really surprised us. He really had an interest in the subject.  He was even offered to take Higher Mother Tongue in P3 (or P4, can't really remember), which was a surprise for me because I thought only those students who get higher Band 1 marks will be offered the subject. Again, we had a dilemma. Will we let him take Higher Mother Tongue which although may be more difficult, promises some benefits in PSLE (extra points I think) and in higher education? I consulted Kelvin MT teacher and his Kumon tutor. Both suggested he take the subject.  Everyone warned us that MT, along with the other subjects, will have a big jump in P3. And I still have to consider than another subject will be added in P3 - Science. After much deliberation of the pros and cons, we decided for Kelvin to turn down the offer and just take the normal MT. Kelvin still did quite well, but his marks went down as compared to P1 and P2. He got Band 2. His MT teacher suggested we get a private tutor to improve his performance, and we did get one. Come P4, his grades dropped tremendously in MT, while the other subjects improved as compared to P3. He still passed, barely hanging in there. I think with all of the activities he had in school for year 2010 - remedials, CCAs - he got so exhausted with the schedule taking into consideration he still needed to have tuition at home once a week for his Chinese. He decided he didn't want to have tuition in P5. He wanted to try it out on his own. I agreed to his suggestion. We will then observe his results for CA1 and decide from there. It's either he gets tuition again, or we apply for exemption, or any other option.

Thus, the panic and stress I now feel at the start of the school year when he ventures into preparing for PSLE, coupled with forum discussions on other parents' dilemma with their kids taking mother tongue or foreign language.


I browsed through MOE website again and talked to other parents who have the same concerns.  I heard and read a lot of different experiences and views on the matter. It just got me more confused. I don't like being clueless especially concerning my kids future so I called the school's admin officer to ask for more information and possible options. Most of the info I got was already known to me. I called MOE to verify info and also ask for options. I noticed there were conflicting info regarding requirements, esp with the foreign language in lieu of mother tongue. I then decided to email the principal and set an appointment so we could discuss the matter further. I prefer face to face discussion so I could ask all the possible questions I could think of. I would be more comfortable knowing that all my questions are answered. This week, I had the discussion with the principal and I was "enlightened". Here are some points we discussed:

• students who start P1 in Singapore have to choose a mother tongue (MT). No one is exempted. After a year of observing the child's progress in learning MT, parents can opt to apply for exemption and apply to take up a foreign language (eg. French, Japanese, German) in lieu of MT. A proof of enrolment in a language centre is required to be submitted to MOE. The principal suggested that as early as P2, if the child really cannot cope with MT, foreign language should be considered as an option so as to have a good foundation in the subject at the earlier stage. It would benefit the child more in the long run. The set back however is that the child will have to take language courses outside the school, meaning extra hours taken away from supposed time to study at home. Another thing is extra cost to enrol the child in a language centre.
• In case of exemption, only those children who have special needs will be considered, or those Singaporeans who have studied overseas for some time and came back to study in Singapore. This is still subject to MOE approval.
• For those who opt to apply for foreign language, big sigh of relief as this is not included in the PSLE. Their marks will be computed differently from those who have taken MT in the exams. This means greater chances of having higher PSLE results, depending on their performance in the 3 subjects (English, Math, Science).
• Bear in mind that even if the MOE approved FL in lieu of MT in primary, the student still needs to apply for FL in secondary. This FL is also included in the O levels and the student needs to pass the subject.
• Opting for FL in lieu for a child in the upper primary level is not really recommended, according to the Principal. This is because it will be a big change for the child in terms of learning. Besides, he has already been exposed to the language for around 4-5 yrs of his life. Unless the child's grades are really that low in MT while in other subjects are quite high, then option to take FL would be deemed more applicable and beneficial for the child.
• If the child is passing in MT, and is already in P5 (as inthe case of my son), the Principal suggested he continue taking MT and try harder to pull up the grades from P5 to P6. At the same time, maintain if not improve the performance in the other 3 subjects. This way, if the child does good in the 3 subjects, it can pull up the results of the MT. Focus on the oral skills was highlighted as this takes up a big chunk in PSLE markings.
• whether the child takes MT or FL in primary level, he needs to keep the choice of language in secondary level, or switch back to MT in the case of FL in lieu. The important thing is to pass the language in the O levels. One good news to me about the discussion of O levels is that even if MT/FL results for O levels is low, as long as it is passing, it will not have that much impact because the core subjects (Math, Science, Humanities, etc) are the ones being looked into, unless the course of interest is about languages probably.
• PSLE marks 188-200, children can opt to take Normal Academic or Express. Another sigh of relief. Before the discussion with the teacher, my idea of PSLE result to qualify for Express is 250! Great pressure for my son I would say. But now that I have been informed of the lower range, I am more confident that there is bigger hope :)

At the end of the discussion, I was enlightened, relieved and hopeful. Getting the right information is really helpful.

Now we just need to wait for Kelvin's CA1 results to have a final say on this matter. Talking to Kelvin the night before I met with the Principal, he mentioned that he wanted to continue taking MT. I guess he really is keen on learning the language. He is quite hopeful that he will do good in PSLE and I want to support whatever he decides on. 

It's just sad to see that he gets too much pressure on getting good marks. It takes the fun out of learning something when focus is more on the marks.

Keeping fingers crossed.

Ira's P1 Orientation Day

Before the end of the year last year (2010), most schools have already held their orientation programs for incoming P1 students for 2011. We attended Ira's orientation at Montfort. 

He was more excited to see who his new friends will be because he is already quite familiar with the school grounds having visited Kelvin there for the past 4 years. I was actually not worried much about Ira cause he has excellent social skills - meaning he can be in a room with strangers and still be able to mingle, play and talk with no problems. 

When we got to Montfort, all incoming P1s were asked to sit in front of the hall together with their classmates. They queued up per class. Ira was one of the smallest, if not THE smallest. He was glancing at me to check if I was going to leave or not. I told him everything's going to be fine cause the teacher was there and he would meet new friends.

They were brought to their classrooms to get familiar with the room and to meet the rest of the class and their form teacher. Ira was paired with one of the biggest boys in class! I later found out that he was also a Filipino and lives near our place. They were away for a few hours while the parents were left in the hall for more serious business.

Ira on his way to the classroom with his new friends

with Kuya Kelvin and Lyle at the canteen after the orientation program

ok now he is a bit bored and tired. Good thing we were on our way home

So much for orientation day. He made friends. He met his form teacher. He is excited for next year. But not with the homework :)

Ira's 2nd day in school (2011)

On his second day, waking up was still a breeze. He got up right away, ate his breakfast, took a bath and went down to wait for his school bus. Again, I went to school with Kelvin. Then checked up on Ira while he was queuing before the national anthem.

patiently waiting...

a bit bored

waiting for the  national anthem to start.

The boys should stand straight, hand on their backs.

quick glance just after the national anthem to see if I was still there

on to the classroom they go

he didn't have any problems at all. He adjusted quite well.

While he was in the classroom, I went on with my duty as parent volunteer, ushering the parents to the theaterette to attend another talk which ended just in time for the P1 recess.

Again, during recess, Ira went along with his buddy, asked for money to buy milo. After that, he went to the courtyard to play with friends.

just had recess 

playing around with his classmates

getting to know his friends thru play

From what I have observed, Ira enjoyed his first few days in P1. I hope he continues to enjoy school even when the homeworks come pouring in :)

Bo Sanchez

I have been subscribing to Bo Sanchez's Soulfood emails for almost a month now. I heard about him only about a year ago, from friends, from their postings in facebook. His quotes and advice are quite interesting, inspiring and I guess, straight to the point. It applies to real life - at least that is what I can say based on my reads.

I like his website and the things he is writing about and sharing with other people. From his webpage, he said:

My dear friend, I prophesy to you…

• Spiritually, you’ll grow closer to God.
• Financially, you’ll grow towards freedom and abundance and generosity.
• Physically, you’ll grow healthier and happier.
• Emotionally, you’ll grow more peaceful and joyful.
• Relationally, you’ll grow in love.

That’s my dream for you.

More than a dream, this is my prayer for you.

Major Topics To Make You Grow

You will be inspired. And you will be taught the steps to change and grow in every area of your life. “Practical” means it’s going to be down-to-earth. It’s action-oriented. Yes, I will tell you to get off your butt and change your life.

Here are the topics I’ll be tackling…

• Family Life: How to strengthen your marriage and raise your kids
• Wealth/Money: How to reach financial freedom, get out of debt, save, invest
• Dreams: How to set your goals and have the passion to achieve them
• Spiritual Growth: How you can grow closer to God, deepen in prayer, etc.
• Single Life: How to find your one true love and prepare for marriage
• Time Management: How to accomplish much more and still achieve balance
• Simplify Your Life: How to live simply and abundantly, celebrate what you have
• Inner Healing: How to be healed from inner wounds, let go of the past
• Service: How to grow your community, ministry, service for God
• Personal Stories: A collection of stories I wrote that have touched many lives

Bo Sanchez

I am looking forward to making my 2011 happier and more prosperous with the help of his wonderful stories and doable advice/suggestions. And, of course, the faith in myself that I can make the changes to live a happier, healthier and peaceful life.

I will also be sharing bits and pieces of his Soulfood emails in my blog.

P5 level camp 2011 - Day 1

The day has finally arrived. Kelvin will be spending 3 days and 2 nights away from home. He is probably excited, a bit worried but definitely looking forward to having fun with his friends. 

Yesterday, we prepared all of his stuff to bring to camp. It was quite a long list. And there were things that I needed to buy on the last minute. But we were able to complete the list just in time. 

We got him a new sleeping bag. I asked him to practice keeping it (as advised by Ate Malou) cause the usual problem is that the bag won't fit into the sleeping bag bag anymore!

rolling in the sleeping bag

tuck it in as much as you can

squeeze it in the bag

and, voila! It's done.

preparing things from his list

Checked once... twice... three times to be sure!

finished putting everything (almost) in ziplocs as advised by form teacher, Ms Tay

When the packing was done, I helped him put everything in the bag to see if the things would fit. They did, but he couldn't carry the bag anymore! So we had to repack them into 2 bags - one is the big red bag, another is the day bag which he will be using during the days at the camp. 

During bed time, we talked to him about how he feels about going to the camp. I told him that he is going to enjoy it and he will learn a lot from it. And in case he misses us, he just needs to pray at night and everything will be ok. Of course, there's the advise of doing his best and having fun in all the activities. And the "be carefuls" and "always keep your stuff". He said he'd be fine but requested that I bring him to school. 

ready to go to camp

From today till Friday, we will just have to check the mjsp5camp blog for updates on happenings at the camp.

Montfort Junior School's P5 level camp 2011

Last year, at P4, Kelvin attended the 3 day, in-school, day camp. This was in preparation for this year's 3day-2night P5 level camp - Montfort's year-starter tradition to promote interaction among teachers and students. It's a way for the teachers to get to know the boys, and vice versa. 

In November, the school held a camp briefing for the parents wherein details like dates, location, expectations and activities were discussed. Here are some of the details:

Camp Objectives

• to foster class spirit with "faith in one another" amongst the students and their respective form/subject teachers
• to engage the students in understanding the philosophy of Olympism (friendship, respect, excellence)
• to provide a viable platform for the students to apply the lessons learnt in the A.C.E.S. programme (Adventurer, Camper, Explorer, Survivor)

Camp Activities

1. Adventurer - rock climbing
2. Knottings - gladiator
3. Cooking - backwoodsmen cooking
4. Explorer - nature ramble
5. Survivor - rafting
6. Orienteering - map reading
7. ACES - challenge valley
8. Personal Target Setting and Reflection processes
9. Campfire

The camp fee is $105 inclusive of camp photos in CD-R, Camp Tee (souvenir), live update website, specially tailored camping programme, 3 sets of specially catered meals for breakfast, lunch, dinner and supper (all halal, some vegetarian), prizes for campers (Best Performing Group and Best Camper for each group), 24 hrs first aid coverage with transportation facilities.

The parents also visited the campsite at Sarimbun Scout Camp (70 Jalan Bahtera Singapore 719921). We took a chartered bus from Montfort to and from the campsite. It was a very long journey going there and the bus driver got lost! After taking several wrong turns, we finally arrived at the campsite. The camp organizers gave us a tour of the grounds and a glimpse of what activities the kids will be doing. As of press time (feeling like a reporter), I cannot post the pictures taken at the camp yet but will do once the camp is over.

At the end of the day, I felt excited for Kelvin because I knew it was going to be such an unforgettable experience for him and his friends. 

Ira's first day in P1 (2011)

It's the big day - the start of the new school year, and Ira's first day in primary school. I was quite excited and a bit worried. We have been discussing his wake up time and he suggested it should be 4am since he knew he was hard to wake up. Kelvin used to wake up at around 5-530am when he was taking the school bus. Fortunately, on the first day, Ira woke up quite early. I was just finished making his breakfast (chicken pop corn) when I came back to the room to wake him up. He was already awake! He was probably too excited also to really sleep through the morning.

eating his breakfast - chicken popcorn and milk

After having his breakfast, he took a bath (another concern of mine last year since I used to bathe him and he didn't want to shower by himself. Good thing he decided to be independent just before the Christmas season)., brushed his teeth, and then I helped him dress up.

We were quite early, 6am and he was already dressed up. It was not until 620am till the bus came. He was ready for school. The rest of us followed with Kelvin, and took a commuter bus.

a bit sleepy while waiting for the national anthem

mood change

preparing to go to the classroom

with his Filipino classmate Andre

They have been partners since orientation day.

P1E boys getting ready

to the classroom we go

recess time with Buddy Isaiah, also a Filipino. 

A very nice boy. He is quite responsible for a P2. 

thanks for guiding Ira on the first day, Isaiah

After eating his snack, I asked him to go to the courtyard to see Daddy. They talked for a few minutes and he was off to explore his new school. He actually didn't need that much orientation as far as school grounds are concerned as he is quite familiar with the school since he has been visiting the school every time Kelvin has an activity. I can say he adjusted quite well on his first day.

recess time is done. Queuing up before going back to the classroom

After dismissal, we decided for him not to take the school bus home so we could all have lunch together, with Kelvin, too.

lunch at Kopitiam

daddy with Kelvin, who is already in P5

So much for our boys' first day in school in 2011. Hoping they can cope well and enjoy the rest of the year with new friends and teachers.