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.

Halloween and All Saints' Day Celebrations in our Home (Keeping it Hallow)

It has been a blessed and fun-filled weekend for our family! My sons had a great time celebrating Halloween and All Saints' Day!

We do not participate in trick or treat activities. (You can read why here in my previous post.) We do not decorate our home with spooky/scary objects. My kids do not dress up in popular Halloween costumes like scary characters or super heroes.

My kids dress up as Saints or Bible heroes instead. Our activities during these days are centered on things that are hallow or holy. Our discussion is centered on the Saints. You may read my previous posts on why we celebrate Halloween or All Saints' Day differently here and here.

I learned about this alternative celebrations of Halloween (short for All Hallows' Eve) and All Saints' Day when my husband and I decided to pursue homeschooling as a way of life for our family. I "met" Teacher Mama Tina (Truly Rich Mom) through her blog and through her blog posts, I discovered the Catholic Icing blog maintained by another blogging and homeschooling mama. These women behind these popular blogs opened my mind to alternative ways to celebrate these holy days with my family/young children. It was also through Teacher Mama Tina that our family became part of ROCKERS, a Catholic homeschool group. We've been participating in the All Saints' Day party organized by ROCKERS in the past years. These activities have blessed our children a lot! I'm so grateful to God for leading us to this group! Finding other parents who have the same beliefs and stand on these topics is truly a big blessing!

Now, let me share how we celebrated these holy days in our home this weekend.

1. Saint Dress-up - I gathered the costumes and props that the boys can use for this activity early on Friday morning. Since we had been  participating in All Saints' Day parties in the past couple of years, we have some costumes already. Add to that the costumes that they will wear this year. (Our ROCKERS activity for All Saints Day will be on November 7.)

I'm so thankful to God for inspiring me with this activity. It was very simple but the boys had a blast playing pretend the whole two days! They just could not get enough of this pretend play.

Mateo as St. Michael Archangel minus the wings.

Mateo as St. Peter.

Yanthy as San Lorenzo Ruiz.

Yanthy as St. Joseph.

While they enjoyed dressing up and pretending to be little saints, I enjoyed taking photos of them in their costumes.

2. Guess the Saint Matching Game - I also prepared a simple game for the boys to help them become familiar with the Saints in a fun way. I gathered some of their toys and other items in our home that we can use in this game. Then, I printed out some photos of Saints. (I got the photos from Happy Saints website.) I lined up the toys/props together with the corresponding photo of Saints.

I briefly introduced the props and the Saints to the boys. Then, after playing pretend for some time, I asked the boys to identify the Saints by simply looking at the items/props. I asked my eldest son to match the photos with the items/props. As for my toddler, I asked him to simply voice out his answers. I was one happy and proud mom last Friday! My eldest son answered our matching game almost perfectly, making only one mistake but correcting it quickly afterwards. My toddler (2-year-old) was also able to identify a number of Saints! These are days when I'm so thankful to God for leading us to homeschool our kids! I felt rewarded and honored by God by simply witnessing these 'achievements' in my kids. Seeing them enjoy learning about our Catholic faith and living it out gives me a sense of fulfillment.

3. October Saints and Feast Day Word Search - I got this free printable from this website. I asked my eldest son (6-year-old) to answer this last Friday. He started answering it in the afternoon but he was not able to finish looking for all the words that day because he was too eager to play pretend Saint. So, I asked him to finish it yesterday.

4. Saint-Themed Food - I got most of my inspirations for this from Catholic Icing's posts. Thank God for the internet and for blogger moms like her! The kids and I enjoyed our 'feast' of Saint-themed food in the past days.

That's me with little St. Joseph the Carpenter and little S. Matthew the Tax Collector.

Little St. Matthew and little San Lorenzo Ruiz.

5. Participating in the Holy Mass - Our main activity for our All Hallows' Eve celebration was participating in the Holy Mass. The boys and I went to Mass in our parish. My eldest was dressed up as St. Michael the Archangel. My toddler wanted to dress up as Moses but I convinced him to dress up as San Pedro Calunsod instead.

Our cute San Pedro Calunsod.

Our little Saint Michael the Archangel minus the wings. ;)

After the Mass, my eldest son invited the priest celebrant who has become our friend to have donut with him at home. The good priest granted my son's request so as not to disappoint him. My son was so happy and proud to share to our priest friend that he has been pretending to be Saint Michael and other Saints that day. He also shared about the Saints that his younger brother pretended to be in our past costume parties and in our upcoming party.

6. Praying the Holy Rosary - It was really part of my plan to pray the rosary with our whole family on All Saints' Day but initially I thought of doing that at home. But since we got to the church where we were supposed to attend Mass yesterday very late (I forgot that the traffic to the church would be horrible on November 1 since we need to pass a cemetery on our way there.), we've decided to pray the rosary in the church instead.

7. Cloud of Witnesses Art Activity - After some more pretend play yesterday, we officially closed our All Saints' Day celebration by doing this activity. Before packing away all the toys, props and costumes, I asked my eldest son to draw a cloud. I cut the white cartolina and asked the boys to glue the photos of the Saints that we used on the cloud. I asked each child what they know about the Saint that they choose to stick to the cloud before letting them glue it on the cartolina/cloud. It's like asking them to make a recap of our lessons on Saints. Again, I was so proud of my little saints. They remembered a lot of what I have shared/discussed with them. All my efforts in preparing for these holy days and in homeschooling them primarily to mold their faith and character paid off. I felt so blessed! 



The boys with their cloud of witnesses.

8. Singing of Songs - Of course, we had to sing songs! haha My boys love music so I let them enjoy songs that are related to our celebration of All Hallows' Eve and All Saints' Day. We played worship songs in the background as we engaged in our activities. One of our favorites during Halloween or All Saints' Day is Friend of God. I let my sons sing San Lorenzo's song over and over. My eldest son even played it in the keyboard repeatedly in the past days.

9. Watching Saint Videos - We also watched videos of Saints on our pc and in my laptop. We watched their favorites -- St. Matthew and St. John the Baptist. (Click here to watch these videos.) They were named after these Saints. I also showed them other videos of Saints and Bible heroes.

 

10. Reading and Storytelling about Saints - We read books about Saints and I told them stories of holy men in the Bible. My sons could not get enough of the story of Moses and how God used him to deliver the Israelites from the Egyptians. They repeatedly asked me and my husband to read about this miracle from our book One Mighty, Awesome, Incredible Rescue. The boys kept pretending to be Moses and Aaron most of the time! 

Mateo as Moses and Yanthy as Aaron.

They also loved the story of Daniel and the lions. Good thing, I found a video in YouTube about Daniel.

Below are the books we read in the past days.

Before I forget, let me mention that we also invited one of my kids' playmates to our house. I told the boys that they can invite our neighbor who usually plays with them to have snack with us last Friday. The boys happily shared our Saint-themed food and toys with their friend. It was during our conversation with their playmate that I realized that my husband and I truly made a wise decision to homeschool our kids. At 2 and 6 year old respectively, our sons know much about our Catholic faith already. They are familiar with a number of Saints and the Holy Mass. Their playmate who is already 7 years old and who is studying in a Catholic school inside our village was not able to identify/recognize any of the props or Saints that my boys were playing with. He also didn't know what Holy Communion is although he said that there is a Mass in their school every Wednesday. I felt sad for the little boy. I asked my eldest to introduce the Saints to his friend/playmate. My son eagerly introduced the Saints and their props to his friend and they played with these toys afterwards. We also shared to their playmate briefly about how we celebrate Halloween in our home. Their playmate went home just before we went to Mass.

It has been a grace-filled weekend for us! We didn't have  a perfect celebration but it surely filled our hearts with joy and made our spirits soar. We are looking forward to our homeschool group's celebration next week and our celebrations again next year. I'm hoping and praying that next year, there would be an All Hallows' Eve or All Saints' Day celebration for kids in our parish so my sons can participate there. 

On Motherhood and Mission Work

"Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God." Matthew 22:21 (You may read the other versions/translations and commentaries about this verse here.)

 

This was our point for reflection last Wednesday when our Parish Priest visited us at home during our eldest son's birthday celebration. This was also part of the Gospel yesterday.

 

I had been contemplating about how blessed I am to be given the privilege to have children this past week since it's our eldest son's birthday week. I feel a deep sense of gratitude for God for blessing my womb and allowing me to bear not one, but three children.

 

One of the blessings of motherhood that I feel most grateful for is the honor and privilege of raising kids and bringing them up to love and honor the Lord.

 

When I was still single, I had been actively serving the Church by immersing myself in a lot of evangelistic activities/work as part of the Catholic Charismatic communities I was a part of. Through these communities, I had the privilege to share about the Gospel and the love of God to many people.

 

I also shared my story/personal testimony to different groups especially after I published my first book When My Bridegroom Comes.

 

I travelled less often and gave talks less often after I got pregnant and had children, one after another.

 

I am home most days especially now that I am pregnant with our third child.

 

But one thing that God impressed upon my heart is that I am right where He wants me to be at this time of my life - at home with my children.

 

I feel a profound joy and peace knowing this.

 

I used to dream of doing big things for God and the kingdom when I was much younger. But when I got married, slowly but surely, God made me realize that my first and primary mission work is at home. That the first people I need to bring to the Lord are my family members. And now that I have children, my main mission (aside from being a witness to my husband) is to bring the hearts and souls of our children to God.

 

I learned that I am as much in mission as the missionaries who leave their families and homes to proclaim the Gospel in other countries.

 

It may seem that I am doing very ordinary or sometimes insignificant work (like routine chores at home) but the truth is whatever I do here at home for the glory of God is still part of my missionary work.

 

Before I should dream or work to evangelize people outside of my home, I need to evangelize the people in my own home.

 

God has entrusted these precious hearts and souls into my care.  I pray that I would do well in raising them to be the kind of men that God wants them to be.

 

Like what I shared with our guests last Wednesday, I actually think that it is much easier to give talks outside the home than to evangelize our kids daily, not so much with words but more so with my actions. I make a lot of mistakes daily and my kids witness these. It's humbling and at the same time challenging to keep on choosing to be faithful to the mission and to the call to follow Jesus and to encourage others (our kids particularly) to do the same.

 

Yesterday, the priest in his homily highlighted the verse "Give to God what belongs to God." He reminded us that we were all made in the image and likeness of God. Therefore, it is our duty to bring back humanity to God. His words affirmed me of my duty to bring my children to God. Yes, I will also do my share in bringing other people to God but I will begin in my own home, with my children.

 

I felt God encouraging me through these developments since I have started teaching our Catholic ABC curriculum to our two sons. It's my way of making sure I am able to pass on my faith and the catechisms of the Catholic Church to them even at a young age. I wanted to make sure that our Catholic faith is an essential part of their education. Actually, that's one of the main reasons my husband and I chose to homeschool them. We want them to have a solid faith foundation.

 

I've learned that is so easy to teach academic subjects to kids. But teaching them values and forming their character is not that easy. It's not something that you can teach in one or two sessions and you'd expect them to take those values on. I can teach my sons, especially the eldest, academic concepts in one or two sessions and he would remember a lot of what we have discussed. But with character formation, it's a different story. I need to exercise patience and I need to consistently give reminders. I need to model the values and be a good role model to my kids day in and day out.

 

That's why I believe that it's only by the grace of God that our kids are growing up to be these kind of kids -- loving and prayerful. With all my flaws and shortcomings, I thank the Lord that they are taking on the values that we want them to take on.

 

One of my joys as a mother is witnessing my sons pray with all their hearts to God. I rejoice every time I see them automatically turn to God in prayer for whatever need or concern they may have. My heart leaps for joy when they are eager to go to Mass to worship God and when they participate with hearts full of devotion. During these times, I feel that all my efforts are being rewarded.

 

When they remember things that we have discussed about our faith, I feel a sense of fulfillment because I know that I am somehow fulfilling my mission as their mother.

 

Give to God what belongs to God... these children belong to God. They were entrusted temporarily into our care. It is my duty (together with my husband) to lead them to God. I dream and look forward to that day when I would see them serving God and honoring Him in their own unique ways. Will God call one of my boys to serve Him through the priesthood? I don't know. If it does happen, I would be honored to have raised a son who will serve the Church in that capacity. But whatever God would call them to do, I pray that I would be able to give the support that they need to fulfill that call and mission.

 

I love these lines from one of my desk calendars:

 

"God knows the feelings of discouragement, inadequacy, and failure which conscientious parents feel. But it was His idea to make them parents and to give them this particular set of children. He is Father to the parents, and promises every kind of help they need." (emphasis mine)

 

I do not think that it is coincidence that these lines were featured today in my desk calendar. I know in my heart that it is the Lord speaking to me through my desk calendar this morning.

 

He knows how much I need His words of affirmation and encouragement.

 

I thank the Lord for choosing to use me in spite of my sins and imperfection. May He continue to give me the grace to walk faithfully in this path and to plant the seeds of faith in these young hearts and souls.

 

What God Gave Me After I Gave My All

I wanted so much to write a blog post right after the 3-day promotion of my book ended yesterday afternoon (Philippine time) but I was too tired already. I also had so many insights. I could not decide what to focus on as I reflected on the wonderful results of my eBook's virtual launch.

 

Today, as I was asking God for direction, He led me to pick up a book that I read long ago. I was moved to reread the conclusion of the book. I couldn't help but smile as I read these lines.

When you give, you create a vacuum.

That vacuum — that empty space — attracts blessings! What blessings? The stuff that you gave away will be returned to you, only of far better quality and greater quantity.

The more you give, the bigger the vacuum you create. The bigger the vacuum, the stronger the magnet — and the more blessings you'll attract into your life.

That's why giving your all is the secret of big returns.

There's magic when you give your all.

Because you also attract all that God wants to give to you.  

I read these lines from the book Take Charge, Give All by my favorite Bestselling Author Bo Sanchez.

 

Two more lines in the book's conclusion struck me.

And don't look down on how small your all is.
Nothing is too small for God.

Wow!

 

I think those lines sum up what had just happened to me as I worked on the release  and virtual launch of BREASTFEEDING: A Journey Worth Taking's Kindle Edition. I gave my all in the entire process. Many times, I felt that my all wasn't enough to give me my desired results. But at some point, God assured me that giving my all was enough. He would supply the rest. I need not do everything that other people or experts say I should do to make my endeavor a success. (You may read more about my struggles and reflections while working on this project here , here and here.)

 

True to His Word, God responded overwhelmingly to my humble offering of my all.

 

The Gospel last Sunday spoke volumes to me. I felt like I was the little boy with the five loaves of bread and two fish. I felt that my meager contribution isn't enough for the overwhelming need of the people around me.

 

Yet as the priest shared in his homily that evening, "Share the little that you have and let God multiply it to bless many!"

 

That's what God did with my five loaves and two fish. He happily accepted my contribution in spreading the benefits of breastfeeding to families and introducing Him to families, beginning with mothers who embark on this worthwhile journey. Then, He blessed and transformed it! He multiplied my efforts and He used my eBook to bring His message of love and hope to mothers and families all over the world.

 

I thought I was just carrying out God's Will as a dutiful servant and daughter. I forgot that when we obey God, our loving Father, we also open ourselves to His many blessings. And like what Brother Bo said in his book, when we choose to give our all in loving God and in loving the people around us, we attract God's blessings into our lives.

 

Truly, God cannot be outdone in generosity! He surprised me big time with the results of my breastfeeding book's virtual launch. When I gave my all to God in this project, God gave me back blessings beyond my expectations! My book BREASTFEEDING: A Journey Worth Taking hit the #1 spot on Amazon's Best Sellers List, Top 100 Free in two subcategories — Motherhood and Child Care! It stayed on the #1 spot for most of the 3 days that my eBook was on promotion. Thus, I got #1 Amazon Bestselling Author ranking for August 1 and 2 — those were the first two days of the promotion. (I didn't see the ranking report on the third day of the promotion because there was an error in the report on the third day.) Aside from that, my book's ranking went up to #3 in two bigger categories — Family Relationships and Parenting. (Read the details of this wonderful news here.) 

 

 

I'm so grateful to God for the courage and grace He gave me to give my all to Him. If I have not given Him my all, I would not receive this hundredfold blessing from Him.

 

Is God moving you to give your all to Him at this time? What makes you hesitate? What scares you? Ask God to help you grow in faith and to give you courage to face your fears. Open your life to God's miracles! Give your all to Him and wait with expectant faith that God will give you bigger and better blessings in return.

   

 

 

I'm linking tis post to the Catholic Bloggers Monthly Link up Blitz for August.



BREASTFEEDING: A Journey Worth Taking (Kindle Edition) is Now an Amazon Best Seller

It's now time to celebrate after all the hard work and challenges I went through in making BREASTFEEDING: A Journey Worth Taking available in Kindle edition on Amazon. (You may read about some of the challenges I experienced here in one of my previous posts.) My breastfeeding book's Kindle edition was listed in Amazon's Best Seller List! Hurray! I also got a bonus from God. I got Number 1 Author Ranking because of this on August 1 and 2!!! Amazing!!! Wow! This is one BIG surprise indeed from Him! (Read my previous post about my decision to let God surprise me here.)

 

I will praise the name of God in song,

and I will glorify him with thanksgiving. Psalm 69:31



My author ranking as of August 1





I've been monitoring Amazon closely, hours before the start of my 3-day Free Book Promotion. I even got tensed around past 3 PM (Manila, Philippines time) when I did not see the regular price of my book change to $0.00. It was already August 1 Pacific time which is the time when the first day of the promotion should go live. I kept hitting the refresh button to see if the price would be updated. Almost an hour has passed, the price has not changed still. I was already very stressed. I sent an email to ask Amazon's help line why the price hasn't changed. I kept looking at my Amazon KDP account and wondered why the status of the Free Book Promotion was reflected there to be ongoing but the price of my book on the different Amazon marketplaces continued to reflect the regular price. There were already people inquiring in my book's Facebook Page if they can already download the eBook for free. So, I posted a few lines from Amazon KDP's website where they mentioned that due to system latencies and differences in time zones, there could be some delays in the price update.

 

After around two LONG hours of waiting, the price of the book became $0.00! I posted an announcement right away on my book's Facebook Page as well as on my personal Facebook account. I was so relieved!!! 

 

Click here to go to my book's Amazon page and to download it for free.

 

What followed was a continuous monitoring of my breastfeeding book's performance in the different categories and subcategories where it was classified. My husband, my virtual assistant (Clarice) and myself worked together to monitor the developments (book ranking, number of units downloaded, posts or articles written about the eBook and the Free Book Promotion, mentions of the book and the promotion on social media sites, etc.) and to promote the eBook Promotion as widely as we can. It was quite challenging to monitor the performance of the book and the effectiveness of the promotion because of the difference in time zones. The Free Book Promotion started around 5 PM already in the Philippines. I stayed up until around past 12 MN to check and document the developments. The result so far of the virtual eBook launch was worth the sacrifice! The many late nights that I worked on this project these past weeks were overshadowed by the outcome! 

 

This was my breastfeeding book's ranking on August 1 before MN in Manila, Philippines and on August 2 until around after lunch (same time zone).

 

One of my goals when I decided to work on this project of making my breastfeeding book available in Amazon is to see its title included in Amazon's Best Sellers List. I know that there are tens of thousands of books being sold on Amazon. I did not dare dream to be on number one spot in any of the natural categories where my book would be placed. I simply dreamed and desired to be included in the Best Sellers List. But my God had greater plans... as usual. :) He surprised me once more by giving me more than what I prayed for. 

 

BREASTFEEDING: A Journey Worth Taking became Number 1 in the subcategory Motherhood!!!

 

When I was still studying the categories and subcategories on Amazon, I did not plan to put my book in a big category like motherhood because there were too many books competing in that category. (I got this advice from many authors whose posts I read online.) I was thinking of putting it in smaller subcategories like breastfeeding and family health which had over 200 titles and less than a hundred titles respectively. But when I finally uploaded my book on Amazon, I could not find those subcategories in the choices. The only categories I could find which closely matched my book's topic were motherhood and family relationships. I added some keywords hoping that these would help my book get classified in those subcategories. I added breastfeeding, child care, pregnancy, family health, nutrition, parenting and nursing. I was not very optimistic that I would top the subcategories I have chosen even though I'm running a Free Book Promotion for 3 consecutive days. There simply are too many free books competing.     

 

My breastfeeding book landed on this spot on the night of August 1 
and continued to be in that spot as of this writing. 

 

God reminded me however that He can work wonders and miracles! The task of monitoring the performance of my book during this 3-day promotion became more exciting when it started showing in Amazon's Best Sellers List, Top 100 Free. Then, I became more excited as I saw its ranking go up until it hit the Number 1 spot for the subcategory Motherhood. It was surreal!

 

On top of that, it also went up in ranking in another subcategory -- Child Care. It hit the Number 2 spot!

 

 

 

I thought these were already awesome news but my AWESOME GOD also made it possible for my breastfeeding book to hit the Number 3 spot in the bigger category Family Relationships, Number 4 on Parenting and Number 6 in the much bigger category Parenting & Relationships! I believe that only God can make this possible. Looking back, I realized that God really made it happen that way that I could not find the smaller subcategories in the choices as I uploaded my book on Amazon so that He can demonstrate once more His power and glory in my life as an author. I feel so grateful and honored. I thank God for fulfilling my dream, for helping me achieve and even surpass my goal.

 

 

I'm so happy I was able to document these milestones! The first time a book that I authored landed on the Best Seller List, I was not able to take pictures. It happened to my first published title, When My Bridegroom Comes. I wrote it when I was still single and it was in National Bookstores Best Seller List when I first launched it. It also became Number 1 for its category. Sadly, I do not have pictures of that milestone. I was still working full time then as Training Manager in a multinational company. I just learned the news from my mom who was the one checking the displays of my books in the bookstores. One of National Bookstore's staff at SM MOA shared that good news to her while she was going through the bookstores to check my book's performance. At least now, even though I do not have a camera on hand, I was able to take screen shots of my latest book's milestones and document all these here in my blog. :)

 

 

 

There are over 300 downloads already of BREASTFEEDING: A Journey Worth Taking as of this time. You can still avail of the FREE eBOOK PROMOTION since it will run until tomorrow, August 3. Click here to download your copy.

 

I still have so much to share but I'm feeling tired and sleepy already from all the monitoring and work that I have done in the past days. I promise to share with you more insights, learnings and tips in my upcoming posts. So, make sure you come back or better yet subscribe to my blog.

 

I need to sleep early tonight because tomorrow is the last day in my 3-day book promotion. It will be another busy and exciting day for me.

 

Good night and sweet dreams! May your dreams come true as well! Remember, dreams do come true when you choose to pursue them with God by your side.

 

My Breastfeeding eBook's Virtual Book Launch: Letting Go to Let God Surprise Me

It's 11 PM now (Manila time) according to the clock on my laptop. There's still a long list of things that I can do to prepare for my eBook's virtual launch that will happen tomorrow, August 1, 2014. BUT I'm already tired and I have no more energy to work on these other tasks. I've been working HARD in the past days and weeks leading to this event and I have done A LOT since I embarked on this eBook project. I've decided that it's time to let go and let God surprise me.

 

Download your FREE copy here.

 

Just like what I mentioned in my previous post where I shared about my adventure in pursuing this dream of publishing it internationally, I've streamlined my to-do list to make it more realistic. I chose the tasks which I think would contribute to the 80% of my desired results. I chose which tasks I can delegate to my virtual assistant and which ones that I will do myself.

 

Time went by SO FAST! It's now almost launch time!
 

 

I thank God for helping me to get this far and to do as much preparation as I can. I went to Mass this evening with my kids. We have resumed going to daily Mass since Monday this week because I was feeling much better compared to the previous months. I hardly feel nauseous these days. This is my way of expressing to God my trust and confidence in His plans. It's my way of acknowledging that God is in control and that even while I stop working, God is at work in my ministry. This act of going to daily Mass again during this week is my way of reminding myself of the important lesson that I don't need to do everything. (Read more about my reflection on this insight here.) I have done my best. I have given my all to this endeavor. It's time to let God be God and allow Him to work miracles again in my life. Isn't that exciting?

 

This decision of letting go and letting God surprise me with the outcomes also gave me so much peace... Truly, remembering that God is in control and that Christ has already won the victory for us grants us peace that no amount of preparation, planning and a long to-do list can give.

 

The reflection from Didache today titled Let Go, Let God came at a perfect time as I look forward to my eBook's 3-day promotion on Amazon.

 

I'm excited and at the same time nervous for the international launch of my breastfeeding book in Kindle edition. I know that God will pave the way for me so that I would be able to shine His light to more families through this book.

 

Let me end with this quote from one of my favorite authors, Bo Sanchez.

 

Photo source here.

Don't forget to download your FREE COPY of my eBook from August 1-3!. Visit Amazon.com and get your gift from me!