Free eBook on Career Transitions to Celebrate My Birthday

It has been a while since I last updated this blog. I had been busy working on my goals this year and accomplishing my pending goals last year.

One of the goals I was not able to accomplish last year was to finish one of my books. So, I spent the first few months of this year to finish my manuscript and prepare for my book launch. I'm happy to share with you that my latest book From Career Woman to SAHM, WAHM then Businessmom: Lessons from My Transitions is now available on Amazon! :) I released it this month as my gift to myself. I'm marking my birthday this year with this milestone. I'm also having a FREE BOOK promotion as part of its virtual launch on April 18-19, 2018 as my way of paying it forward and being grateful for the life that I live. One of my mentors, Bo Sanchez, said that after we have become successful, we should now strive for significance. That is helping others to become successful like us. 

I'm passionate about this book project because this was inspired by the many lessons I have learned in my own life and career transitions. I want to help other mothers through this book. I want to help other moms find the courage to step out of their comfort zones into their courage zones. Some moms feel trapped in their full-time jobs and feel that they have no choice but to stay there because they need to help contribute to the family income. With this book, I want them to them that they have options. More importantly, I want them to share with my fellow moms how God has been instrumental in my career decisions and successes.

What sets this book apart from the other books on career transition is that it includes a spiritual perspective. I encourage people to go through career discernment when considering any career changes. Most books just discuss the practical and financial aspects. But because I am a Christian and a Catholic, I shared that I went through career discernment. I also shared the Bible verses that inspired me in my discernment.

I may be an author and career coach, but I cannot separate my being Christian from those roles. My faith is so much a part of each aspect of my life. The truth is that I strive to live out my faith and Christian values in each aspect and role in my life. Thus, I cannot help but mention God and how He has been a big factor in my life events and transitions. 

At one point, I paused and asked myself if I should share the spiritual side of my life and career transitions or should I stick to writing about professional and practical advice on my book. 

I've decided to go all out and share everything. I felt that if I withhold that part of my story, it would be incomplete. I felt that I would not be sharing the entire truth and the whole picture with my readers if I do not mention God and give credit to Him. 

I think that will also set me apart as a career coach and counselor. I'm a Christian career coach and counselor. Thus, I also encourage my clients to consider the spiritual aspects of their concerns and circumstances. 

Let me end this post by sharing traits that I believe mothers should have to be successful in making a career transition.

Top 3 Traits Moms Should Have

First, we need to have faith in God, ourselves and our abilities. I love this verse from 1 Corinthians 2:9: "What no one ever saw or heard, what no one ever thought could happen, is the very thing God prepared for those who love him." Another verse that inspired and encouraged me was Jeremiah 29:11. “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a future full of hope.”

Second, we need to have the courage to act on our dreams and step out of our comfort zone into our courage zone. We need the courage to try new things or do things differently, to think out of the box.

Last but not least, we need the perseverance to keep on keeping on even when we are not yet reaping the fruits of our labor or we do not receive the recognition that we want to get. We will have our own time to shine if we don’t give up.

Virtual Book Launch

I have so much more to share but this is just a blog post. :) You can read more about my story in my book. I invite you to claim your FREE COPY of my latest eBook on April 18 or 19. You can reserve your copy now when you click here.

Join our virtual launch also and get a chance to win exciting prizes.

How do you join?

1. Simply tweet or share on your Facebook account about the free download and the link to the Amazon page of the ebook. 

Example: I just got my #freedownload of the #ebook From Career Woman to SAHM, WAHM then Businessmom! Get your copy  here: http://bit.ly/Career_Transitions

2. Make sure to use the hashtags #transitionsebook #careertransition

3. Tag our Facebook page Hands-On Parents while Earning.

4. Make sure that your post is public, so we can see it.

You can read more details on our event page when you click here.

Give Love on Christmas Day Year 5

My family and I watched the movie Christmas on Division Street yesterday morning after having a pancake breakfast that I prepared at home. It is one of the movies I recommended in one of my previous posts here that families can watch to bond this Christmas season. Yes, we're still in the Christmas season. Today is just the 10th day of Christmas. So, don't take down your Christmas tree and decors yet. Savor the season at least until the Feast of the Epiphany of the visit of the 3 wise men or more popularly known as the 3 Kings.

I read some short reviews about this movie before I included it in my previous blog post. I'm really glad I did that. Moreover, I am glad we watched this movie yesterday. It's a beautiful and touching movie. I could not keep my tears from falling minutes after the movie is over. I felt affirmed that my family and I did the right thing on Christmas day this year. (If you want to watch the movie on YouTube, you'll see the link here.)

We have a Christmas tradition that is already five years old. We first did it in 2012. You can read about the first time we did it and what moved me to suggest it to my husband here.

So, what is this Christmas tradition I am talking about? We give out brown bags to street kids.

This was my eldest when we first started this tradition.

I recently shared in my blog post Birthday Cake for the Birthday Boy that we make sure that we have a cake for Jesus as part of our Christmas feast. Aside from having a birthday cake, we go all out by making loot bags for Him, too. We give these loot bags (brown bags) to Jesus' favorites, the poor around us. We've decided to give it to street kids.

Our 3 wise boys or 3 kings ready to bless street kids! 

This photo was taken last year on the Feast of the Lord's Epiphany.

We've been doing this every year, usually on Christmas day. But there was also a year when we gave out these brown bags on the Feast of Holy Innocents (December 28) when we celebrated the first month of our youngest child. Last year, we got very busy and tired on Christmas day so we gave away brown bags and toys on the Feast of the Lord's Epiphany or 3 Kings with our 3 boys wearing crowns pretending to be the 3 Kings.

Our two Kings, Yanthy ands Mateo, giving away brown bags to street kids last year.

Every year, we usually think that we might not find street kids or a lot on the streets on Christmas day because the DSWD also exert effort to clean up the streets by finding shelter for these kids. But we are often surprised that we still find many homeless people, not just kids, roaming or sleeping on the streets on Christmas day. This makes me sad. I always wish each time that we had packed more brown bags.

Yesterday, after watching the movie which was about homeless people, God moved my heart again to ache for these poor people. I wished to have more resources so my family and I could help more homeless people. But God was quick to affirm me by telling me that my family and I already made a difference to the people we gave brown bags to. We may not reach all the homeless in the Philippines or in the world. But we definitely touched the hearts of those who received what we gave away. And as I write this post, God whispers into my heart that writing about our family tradition and experience can inspire and move others to do the same on Christmas day or any day of the year.

I'm so thankful to God for this beautiful family tradition and meaningful family bonding activity. It's a reminder to our family of the true meaning of Christmas... following the example of Jesus Christ and giving Jesus a gift through the poor around us. One of the priests who celebrated the anticipated Simbang Gabi in our parish asked us this question during his homily. "It's Jesus birthday, right? What is your gift to Jesus this Christmas?" Those were some of our family's gifts to Jesus on His birthday this year. But as we gave these gifts, Jesus gave us more. He gave us joy and inspiration.

Let me end this by sharing these words of Jesus in the Bible:

"Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." Matthew 25:40

God Always Makes a Way for His Words to Come True

At the start of the year, God told me that I can again pursue my dream of publishing at least one book this year. I was hesitant at first, knowing how busy my schedule is. But I claimed it and listed it in my Novena to God's Love again. (You may read my blog post about dreams and how the Novena to God's Love has helped me make my dreams come true in the past years here.)

I'm not yet through planning for my dreams and goals this year. But I was starting to feel discouraged yesterday and the other day because there's simply a lot that a mom like me with three small children needs to do daily. Homeschooling two kids with different grade levels, breastfeeding a toddler who recently turned one and is teething, caring for them daily, managing a household and an online business, maintaining blogs and trying to finish some backlogs from last year are what fill up my hours each day. Yesterday and the other day, I began wondering, "How can I write and finish at least one book with this?" I felt that I was just too busy to squeeze in that dream and goal into my already full schedule. I was wondering how God can make a miracle out of my situation again.

Then, God answered me this morning during my prayer time with this:

"Just because you don't see a way 

doesn't mean I don't have a way." 

Wow! Isn't that great? God read my mind once more! And He answered me clearly and powerfully in a way I could not doubt His voice!

That's all that I needed to be encouraged and empowered to act on my dream and goal again. It was a very timely reminder to me to just keep putting one foot forward and make even baby steps of faith to move closer to my dream.

I excitedly shared about this on my Facebook account and said that I'm targeting to launch at least one book on Mother's Day this year.

Then, I followed up a potential artist who can do the illustrations for one of my children's stories. In minutes, I got the answer that I've been praying for! She confirmed that she will do the illustrations for my upcoming book Mommy Loves You Just the Same! I am beyond thrilled and happy! hahaha God just made a way for me again! I can't help but be amazed! Thank you so much, Lord! 

I'm so excited to see my story come alive in her illustrations! This storybook is special to me because I wrote it for my two older children while I was pregnant with my third child. We were preparing for the coming of our third baby and I wanted to make the two older boys especially my second child that I love them just the same even though they will have another brother.

Moreover, I wanted to continue my breastfeeding advocacy through this book. I think this is a perfect accompaniment or follow up to my book BREASTFEEDING: A Journey Worth Taking because I want to show in the illustrations that breastfeeding/tandem feeding has helped my sons in their transition to becoming big brothers. This is something that most books on becoming an older sibling did not show. Thus, I am so happy and I feel so blessed to have found an artist who is also a breastfeeding mom like me. I believe that she is the perfect artist for this story of mine.

Oh, before I forget, did I tell you that she's also expecting another child? Yes, she's pregnant now with her second child. Isn't God truly amazing? This makes her understand my feelings more when I wrote my story.

I believe that it was really God who ordained our meeting last year at an event where I was invited to speak. It was a gathering of breastfeeding moms and their families and our booths were situated beside each other. We got to talk to each other and I found out that she's interested in illustrating a book. And the rest is history, or should I say His story. ;)

That's all for now. I will update you about our book in the coming days and months and I hope you'll support us in this book project. In the meantime, please pray for both of us so that we'd be able to finish this book project amid our busy schedule as moms.   

Do you also have dreams that you are unsure if you can achieve them this year because of your current situation? Don't give up right away! Look to God for inspiration and strength! 

QUICK UPDATE:
Our book is almost done! It will be launched on May 19, 2016. :) Jia is now finalizing the inside pages of our book... just doing minor edits to it before the virtual book launch. You may see the book cover and pre-order a copy when you click here. Join the virtual book launch here.

Lessons (re)Learned at the Start of a Brand New Year About Dreams

It's the first day of the new year. I reviewed my list of dreams in my Novena to God's Love booklet through the years after my morning prayers. After that, I wrote down my dreams for 2016 in my new booklet. 

I had been doing this for years. It was a joy to read the dreams I have written in my previous booklets and the dates when these dreams were fulfilled. I felt so blessed to be reminded of the many dreams God has helped me fulfill just in the past three years. (I'm not sure if I started with this practice earlier than 2013 because I could not find other booklets.) Remembering these blessings gave me so much hope to face this brand new year with joufl anticipation for more dreams coming true and becoming my reality.

While pondering on my list of dreams last year (2015), I (re)learned some lessons about dreams and dreaming. Let me share them with you.

1. Dreams do come true, whether big or small. - I wrote a number of dreams in my Novena booklet. We're supposed to write seven dreams on it only. But in some pages, I wrote multiple dreams. Thus, I am amazed that most of the dreams I wrote on its pages were fulfilled. It's simply amazing! Reviewing them encouraged me to dream new dreams and to just keep on dreaming.

2. Don't just dream. Work hard on your dream too! - It's not enough that we dream dreams. We need to do our part in making them happen. I love the quote which says, "Pray as if all depended on God. Work as if all depended on self."

I remember a funny story I once heard. A speaker said that the first step in making our dreams come true is to wake up from our dream and to do the necessary work.

Many of my fulfilled dreams entailed a lot of work on my part. I made a lot of sacrifices. I put in a lot of work hours. I hustled. I did what was necessary. And my efforts paid off because almost all of the dreams I listed last year came true by the grace of God and with a lot of hard work!

3. There's a perfect time for your dreams to come true. Learn to let go and let God be the God of all your dreams. - As I mentioned earlier, not all of the dreams I listed came true. A few are still in progress. I have started workign on those dreams but the results that I wanted to see and experience have not happened yet. 

What I learned through these dreams is that no matter how hard we work on something, if it is not yet time for these dreams to come true, these dreams would not be fulfilled. God still has the final say. 

I remember another beautiful lesson I learned years ago. A speaker shared that it's not enough that we do God's Will in our lives. We also need to make sure that we do things God's way and that we follow God's perfect timing. Let Ecclesiates 3 remind us of this truth: "God appoints when all things will happen." 

So, if like me, you have dreams that are still on stage 1 or stage 2 and there are still a few or a number of steps that you need to take, don't despair and give in to frustration. Let go and let God be God of those dreams that are yet to come true.

4. Some dreams are more important than others. - Like what I said earlier, I sometimes listed more than one dream per page in my Novena to God's Love booklet. I had so many dreams that I wanted to be fulfilled last year. God taught me to prioritize when He allowed our maids to leave us one after the other. We didn't have a helper for almost half a year. Working on my personal goals and business goals on top of Mommy duties and household chores was extremely challenging. I had to decide which dreams had more weight in my heart. So, I chose to prioritize my dreams and goals related to my role as mother over those dreams and goals related to my roles as author and mompreneur. I'm glad I made that choice! I felt so at peace and fulfilled even though I had to delay my pursuit of those dreams. I believe that I can delay finishing another book. But I wouldn't be truly happy if I keep my kids waiting too long all the time because I'm so busy chasing my other dreams. 

How about you? Do you have dreams that you want to see realized this new year? Do you also make a list just like me? Do you make time to reflect at the start of each brand new year? Feel free to share your thoughts and your dreams on the comments. I'd love to hear from you!

Happy New Year and may your dreams come true!

What is Your Child Most Grateful For?

I came across a Facebook post of a friend and thought that it's an interesting read. Since my eldest son and I are already finished with our homeschool lessons and he was already playing with his toy cars, I thought of asking him at least the first question in case he's in the mood to answer.

He was hesitant to answer the first question at first. Then, he would whisper his answers into my ear. I encouraged him to say them out loud but he just laughed. 

Anyway, he seemed game. So, I proceeded in asking him as many questions as he was willing to answer. I copied and pasted the questions on a Word file and typed in his answers. I wanted to remember his answers to these questions at this time of his life. He's currently six years old.

His answers gave me a lot of insight to what was going on in his mind and more importantly in his heart.

I believe that it was a wonderful way to cap our afternoon after completing our homeschool lessons. But little did I know that his answers to a couple of questions, particularly question number 8, would bring happy tears to my eyes.

As I've mentioned earlier, while he was playing with his toys, I was asking him questions. He was relaxed and in a good mood. I wanted to seize the opportunity to know him more through these questions. I just kept asking and typing answers as he blurts them out.

But there was one question that made me stop and ask him to come near me so I could kiss and embrace him.

It was this question.

"What are you most grateful for?"

Without batting an eyelash or looking anywhere, he said these words while looking at me...

"Being with you!"

Wow! I was speechless. I just felt the tears roll down my cheeks. Then, I drew him close, kissed him and embraced him. I told him, in my broken voice, that his answer made me very happy. I also added that being with him is one of the things I am most grateful for in my life.

Three words. Three powerful but loaded words from a six-year-old. Suddenly, I felt overwhelming joy for making the choices I have made in the past 7 years of my married life. I'm so grateful too that my eldest son appreciates my decision to be present to him and to his brothers, that it makes him happy and grateful, that he likes me to be with him. Wouldn't all parents want to hear that from their children? I think parents would want to hear that from their children regardless of their ages.

He was and still is one of the reasons I have chosen to work from home and to prioritize my Mommy duties over my work duties. I sometimes get frustrated when I don't meet my personal deadlines or when I am not able to do certain things I am passionate about because there are still MANY things that I need to attend to as a wife and as a mom. Yesterday, however, all those frustrations simply melted away. I felt like I was just handed a BIG REWARD that no amount of money can buy. 

I don't know about you but when I became a parent, so many things in my life changed. It was like my life was overhauled. I personally chose to stay home with my kids most of the time. I prioritized spending time with them over spending time with other people including my friends because my kids are still very young. I thought that my true friends would understand my new priorities and if they are parents themselves, the more that they would understand why it is extra challenging to go out of the house with small kids or a baby in tow, especially when you don't have a helper or nanny to help you out and you don't know how to drive.

So my days were mostly spent being with my kids... Attending to their needs, singing to them, listening to their stories and songs, reading to them, teaching them many things, praying with them, playing with them, cuddling with them, eating with them, etc.

Being a hands-on parent is no easy job. It's exhausting especially if you have more than one child to attend to. But it is also very rewarding like what I experienced yesterday. 

I was grateful that I took the time to ask those questions to my child and that I patiently waited for him to answer. I got to know him more. I gained insight into how he sees himself, what makes him happy, what makes him sad, what his dreams and plans are, what he wants to teach other people and many more.

There was another question that he answered that made feel really loved by my son. 

I asked: "If you can help one person today, who will that person be? And what will you do to help that person?"

He answered, "You! I will help you by playing with Geordan. (Geordan is his baby brother.)"

Isn't that sweet? 

Pondering on his answers confirmed what I have read many times in numerous articles and books. Children want our presence more than our presents. I'm glad that yesterday, my eldest son proved that to me to be true. He did not mention any toy I gave him or any play center that we visited. I'm grateful that my son has learnd a valuable lesson from the choices I have consistently made over the years and that is: People are more important than material things. 

Yesterday, I discovered that my son values my presence more than the toys that he likes to have or the places he wants to visit. I'm delighted to know that something as simple as being with a parent can make him happiest and most grateful.

Photo source here.

How about you? Do you know what your child is most grateful for? I encourage you to take some time to ask. You might want to use the same list of questions I used. Who knows, you might also get a very wonderful surprise like what happened to me! Here is the link to the article I was referring to in this post.

If you want to be with your child more often and you are dreaming of working from home or having a home-based business but are not sure how to transition to this kind of lifestyle or what you need to do to make it happen, I can help you through my coaching program called iHOPE. You can read more about it here.

From Vision to Reality: The Hands-On Parents while Earning (HOPE) Summit

It started as an idea... an idea that did not leave my mind until all the relevant details were so clear to me, I could almost touch them.

I believe that this idea was God-inspired for it was well-aligned with my vision and mission in life. The idea was planted in my heart and was rooted in my life purpose.

What started as an idea blossomed into a beautiful vision. The details seemed to jump out of my head and heart in the days that followed. 

Excitement filled my days as I started to pursue this idea and worked towards making my vision a reality. But my days were not always sunny. I was not always hopeful and sure. There were days when clouds of doubt slowed me down or hindered me from moving forward. There were also days that were so dark, I felt like I was running blind. 

What helped me carry on was my certainty of WHAT I want to see turned into reality (MY VISION) and WHYs I want it to happen. Because my reasons for working hard to make it happen is very clear to me, I was fueled with passion even in the most trying circumstances. My WHYs for choosing to pursue this vision and dream enabled me to remain committed all throughout. 

I did not stop believing that it's possible to turn my vision into reality even in the midst of adversity. 

And so it happened. Maybe not exactly as I originally imagined it to be... But the event I imagined unfolded before my eyes almost as I envisioned it to be. 

As Arnold Schwarzenegger once said, "If you want to turn a vision into reality, you have to give 100% and never stop believing in your dream."

Photo source here.

My reasons for wanting this event to happen far outweighed the challenges that came my way. Thus, instead of letting them to become obstacles in my path towards my dream, I used these challenges to push me to work harder to turn my vision into reality. My WHYs were burning fiercely inside my heart and my VISION was so clear, attractive and exciting that I couldn't help but be pulled towards it even on days when my eyes seemed covered with dark clouds.

I love this quote from Steve Jobs.

Photo source here.

Today, I'd like to take time to thank every one who helped me turn this idea, this vision into reality. I'd like to thank the companies and brands who chose to believe in me and my advocacy and chose to support parents who want to be hands-on with their children while earning for their family.

First, I'd like to thank my friends from Sun Life Financial, particularly my advisor/agent Jackie who introduced me to the wonderful people of PLDT. Through the help of Jackie and Eden, PLDT home became the venue sponsor of the first ever Hands-On Parents while Earning or H.O.P.E. Summit. I am honored to have these companies as co-presentors of the H.O.P.E. Summit together with my own company Full Life Cube.   

Second, I'd like to thank JV All Events for sponsoring the photo and video coverage of the HOPE Summit's morning session and giving me a discount for the afternoon session's coverage. I first met their owner when I was planning for my second child's first birthday party.

Third, I'd like to thank my friends and fellow members of the groups I am a part of who chose to be part of the HOPE Summit by being speakers and guest panelists: Martine De Luna of Make It Blissful, Ginger Arboleda of Manila Workshops, Jomar Hilario of Ideas That Prosper, Katrina Ambion of Mommyfide PH, Denise Bernardo of Indigobaby, Angeli Del Rosario of The Beadlady and Cherry and Jay Castillo of Foreclosure Philippines. Thank you to all of you for sharing your wisdom and inspiring stories to the parents present at the HOPE Summit.

Thank you also to Indigobaby and The Beadlady for the items you provided for our raffle.

I also thank Chef Jon Chua for agreeing to be one of our guest panelists and Chef Raquel Chua of Mama Chows for sponsoring our morning snack during the event. Mama Chows has been sponsoring the snacks in my previous events but it was my first time to meet the couple behind this company last weekend.

I also thank my friend Angelo Yaneza of Balai Pandesal for choosing to sponsor the afternoon snacks during the HOPE Summit.

I'd like to thank Arts by Ayerie for providing the lovely keychain and bag tag giveaways during our event.

I'd like to thank the following sponsors for the freebies and gift certificates they provided:

• Bert Lozada Swim School
• Gymboree Play and Music Philippines
• Halo Philippines
• Kids Acts Philippines
• Kindermusik with Teacher Suzette

I also want to thank the companies/brands who chose to support the HOPE Summit through their booth sponsorship, giveaways and raffle items. 

• Filway Marketing
• Fluffy Pwets
• GPG Bulilit Bookstore
• Heart Shapers Videos
• Mom and Milly 
• Moringana by Organica Asia
• OMF Literature
• Shepherd's Voice Publications

All these brands helped me make my vision of having a bazaar of products that support hands-on parenting and family relationships become reality.

Aside from having a bazaar of products and services at the summit, I also envisioned the following:

• a room where kids can wait should they need to go with their parents;
• a breastfeeding area;
• and organized activity for the kids while waiting for their parents.

All these were realized and I'd like to thank PLDT for providing us with an extra room and Ask Sheryl Today for facilitating the arts and crafts session for the kids.

I'd like to thank Smart Parenting Online for being my media partner again for my event. I'm very grateful for their support for all my previous events and I'm honored that they choose to promote my events in their website.

Last but not least, I'd like to thank the parents who went out of their way to attend the HOPE Summit. I was moved when I discovered that some of them are not from Metro Manila and that there was even a parent who came all the way from Mindanao to attend the workshop. Hearing their stories during the small group sharing inspired me as well.

I am amazed at how all these people and brands/companies helped me make the Hands-On Parents while Earning Summit possible! Truly, when we are clear on what we want, we attract into our lives the very ingredients that will make our dreams come true and turn our visions into realities.

I believe that that's what happened to me as I organized the HOPE Summit.

Are you also holding on to a vision? That vision could be your future. Hold it close to your heart and let it fuel your every move.

Let me end this post with this quote:

Photo source here.

Photo credit: All of the HOPE Summit photos (except the group photo) used in this post were taken by Christopher Salgado.

Check out Hands-On Parent while Earning on Facebook for more photos during the HOPE Summit.

A Hands-On Mom's Thoughts on Mother's Day

There was a time when I wasn't sure if I could conceive and bear a child. A doctor once told me that I might have difficulty getting pregnant due to my medical condition. Although her words cast a shadow on the beautiful future I hoped for, I did not give up my dream of one day having my own children.

I chose to believe that the God who planted a desire in my heart to have a family of my own can and will plant the seed of life in my womb one day.

And so it happened that my dream was fulfilled. God caused the miracle of life to grow inside my womb... not just once, but three times!

It has been almost seven years now since I first became a mother. I now have three children. My eldest child will celebrate his seventh birthday this year. My second child (also a boy) will celebrate his fourth birthday and my third child (another boy) will celebrate his first birthday.

I learned in this short span of time that motherhood is not for the faint of heart. That if a mom would take her responsibility to her child/children seriously, motherhood would not be a walk in the park.

When I was still single, I dreamed that I would be a hands-on mom. I dreamed that caring for my kids would be my primary duty and that I would not be required to work.

Thank God that dream has been fulfilled!

I praise and thank God for the gift of being a mother to these children!

But there are lessons that I also learned about motherhood. 

I learned that motherhood entails sacrificial love. Motherhood means prioritizing the needs of your children over your own. Motherhood means pouring out your life to give life to another.

The above sentences are pretty loaded. Let me make them more specific by sharing how these sentences translate in the life of a mom with young children like me.

Sacrificial love for me means sacrificing my personal goals and preferences (like travelling and pursuing another course) so I can fulfill my God-given role and destiny to raise my kids. Allowing my personal dreams that are in conflict with my role as mom to die at Jesus' feet. Prioritizing the needs of my children over my own means preparing their food first before I eat my meals. Breastfeeding my hungry baby at night or during the wee hours of the morning even though my body screams for rest and sleep. Pouring my life out for my kids means spending my energy and time mainly to care for my children, to educate them and to raise them to be the persons that God wants them to be.

These are just some examples of what a hands-on mom with young children like me do every day. 

Motherhood is not a glamorous job. It's a very demanding and fast-paced job. A job that does not allow me to take day offs or vacations (even on Mother's day) because my young children are still very dependent on me. On days when I don't have a helper/maid and my husband is in the office, I could hardly go to the toilet or bathroom. I could hardly eat (even with my husband around because remember we have three children). With three children, there is always at least one child who needs my attention, my listening ear, my help and my touch.

It's a draining job to be a mother. But I've come to realize also in the past years that it's the most fulfilling job I've ever had! 

I've been a manager, a writer, a trainer, a speaker, a coach, a counselor and an author of books. I found a lot of fulfillment doing these jobs that I'm passionate for. Witnessing growth and transformation in the people I worked with in these roles/jobs of mine filled my heart with much gratitude for the opportunity to make a difference in other people's lives. 

Yet, I discovered that being a mother, being an instrument of God in bringing a child into the world, nurturing that child, raising that child to live out his purpose in life... I could hardly find the words to describe what an honor it is to be able to do this. Motherhood is both humbling and rewarding.   

I love the words of Elisabeth Elliot quoted in my desk calendar today. It says, "The process of shaping the child shapes also the mother herself. Reverence for her sacred burden calls her to all that is pure and good, that she may teach primarily by her own humble, daily example."

It's so true that as I mold my kids' hearts and minds, God is molding me as well. I'm not the only one teaching my kids how to be patient and loving. As I mother them, God is teaching me too! He reminds me daily that in as much as my sons are works in progress, so am I. That more than speaking words of instructions to them, I need to model good behavior, good values to them. 

So, today on Mother's Day, I pray that God would give me grace always to speak with wisdom and that faithful instruction would be on my tongue. That I would not eat the bread of idleness or that I would become too busy with extra curricular matters. Instead, I pray that I would be faithful in living out my God-ordained role to be a mother to my children.   

And if you are a mother who longs to make being a mother your priority over making money, I invite you to check out my newly-launched online coaching program called iHOPE. It's a three-step success system that will help parents become hands-on with their kids while earning money for their families. I created this program because I want to help families by enabling parents through this program to be involved in their children's lives while contributing to the family income.

Click here to learn more about this program.

I strongly believe that God called mothers to have a special role in the lives of their children especially when they are still young. This program is my gift to moms! Read more about it here and email me if you have questions about it. 

Happy Mother's Day to all the hardworking and self-sacrificing moms around the world! May we all be thankful for the gift of motherhood. May we reap the rewards of our sacrificial love. May we have a glimpse of the fruits of our labor in our children's lives. 

What are your thoughts on motherhood? Feel free to share them with me in the comments!