Laundry Sat: A Mountain of Laundry and a Torrent of Love

Two plastics hampers overflowing with laundry. There are also plastic bags filled with more laundry -- one is filled with delicates, another is filled with used rags, and another filled with bed sheets and curtains.

 

That was the scene in our maid's room that currently has no occupant because we don't have a maid right now.

 

We've been sending our dirty laundry to the laundry shop outside our village's gate for months. But my husband computed the monthly cost and told me one day that we'd save more money by buying a fully automatic washing machine. Thus, we bought a washing machine one Saturday.

 

The following Saturday (that was last Saturday), my husband taught me how to use our new household help.

 

My first time to use our new washing machine.

 

I needed him to demonstrate to me how to use it because I'm the kind of woman who needs demos to learn with machines and other technology-related items.

 

So, we began by loading the kid's dirty laundry (colored clothes first before the whites) inside the washing machine. 

 

I'm glad that it's so easy to use. You just need to put in the detergent and fabric softener and bleach (if you use fabric softener and bleach) and the clothes. Then, attach it's hose to your faucet. It will automatically fill up the tub with water that dissolves the detergent. Then, it begins to wash your clothes. You just choose the correct setting for the kind of clothes or items that you want to wash. Then, you can do other things while your washing machine takes care of your dirty laundry. You can just come back for the clothes after they are washed.

 

I love how this washing machine can give me and husband extra time! We can clean up or tidy the house while the clothes are in it. I can cook food while doing the laundry. I can homeschool my kids while it takes care of washing our dirty clothes. I can work on my laptop or take a nap if I want to. 

 

You can also dry the clothes in it but we like to hang the clothes to air-dry to be more environment-friendly. Anyway, it only takes a few minutes to hang them. I also like that the clothes are almost dry when you take them out of the washing machine so air-drying them takes only less than a half day or a couple of hours on a really sunny day.

 

So much for our mountain of laundry! Now, let me share with you about that torrent of love. 

 

Since it's the feast day of St. Joseph, husband of Mary and foster father of Jesus Christ, I'd like to honor my husband through this post as well.

 

Having him by my side during these maid-less months made these past months less burdensome. He has been there to literally share the load (laundry and all!). In fact, he is one of the reasons why I find reason to rejoice on a terribly exhausting day.

 

I'm grateful that he has been coming home early enough so we can hear Mass daily with our kids and have dinner together. I'm grateful that he makes time to do some chores before he goes to his office or at night.

 

Just like St. Joseph, he is the strong man behind our family. He provides not just for our financial needs but for our other needs as well. He's the one who usually reminds us to pray the Rosary. He also helps me in disciplining the kids. I'm grateful to God that he gave me a husband who chooses to be involved in our children's lives.

 

Here's a blog post I wrote to honor him last February titled Recognize Love in the Little Every Day Things.

 

Do you also have a mountain of laundry somewhere in your house? I hope you find a torrent of love as well amidst the dirty laundry.   

When things are at a stand still

Have you ever had those days when things suddenly come to a screeching halt because of something else that's very important?

 

I had those kind of days last week.

 

My Sweetheart and me

My husband had a medical emergency. He suddenly had a high fever and was having chills one late afternoon that I had to drop everything I was doing to care for him. The following day after the onset of his fever, I thought (he also thought) that he was better. We even prepared for the worship that we were supposed to lead for Feast Ortigas. But while we were discussing about the exhortation and the songs, he suddenly had chills again... They were the kind of chills that moved me to bring him to the emergency room of a hospital. I was already afraid that he contacted dengue or malaria.

 

He was confined for a few days.

 

Good thing that the diagnosis was that his fever was due to a viral infection. I felt relieved.

 

But the many things I needed to do remained UNDONE, UNFINISHED. They were at a STAND STILL. The materials for the Stress Management Workshop I needed to conduct (which I conducted yesterday) and my manuscript for my upcoming book on breastfeeding had to wait.

 

I could have chosen to bring my laptop with me while watching over him at the hospital. BUT I chose not to.

 

Deep inside I felt that God had a message for me. I felt that God was teaching or reminding me something through this situation.

 

So I chose to listen and meditate on whatever I felt God wanted me to learn during those days.

 

Here are some of my insights. Some of them I already knew. A few are new lessons.

 

1. When things are at a stand still, it doesn't mean that God is not moving things for us. We don't need to see all the time all that God is doing for us and in us.

 

2. God sometimes allows road blocks in our journeys to give us time to rest, listen to Him and think. I thank God for those days when I was able to rest and relax with my husband while he was confined in the hospital. I felt that his confinement was a blessing in disguise for we were forced to stop and rest.

 

3. When medical emergencies happen in our families, we are reminded that our family members are definitely more important than any other deadline or goal. That everything and everyone can take a back seat in the meantime because your loved one is far more important.

 

4. When things are at a stand still, God is teaching us not only to trust in Him but also to be dependent on Him. These are times when most of us feel helpless. But thanks be to God for those moments because we are reminded that we depend on Him. I praise and thank God that He always proves that He is faithful and oh so dependable.

 

5. When things are at a stand still, we are somehow forced to smell the roses and to focus on the present moment. We live in the now. I thank God for those days and even the day after my husband was discharged from the hospital. Again, I could have started working again on my materials and many other things that are waiting for me. BUT I chose to linger with my husband and just be present to him.

 

I have already conducted the Stress Management Workshop for one of my clients yesterday and I praise and thank God that it was successful. I know that if not for His grace, wisdom and help, I would not be able to lead and inspire the participants. The wonderful result of the workshop is another proof that God goes before me always. That He works things out for my good and for the good of my participants even while I was resting and caring for my husband. That when we trust Him to do for us what we cannot do, He gladly fills in the gaps.

 

Me and my participants posing with their one/two-word big lesson
from the Stress Management Workshop I conducted.

 

 

My husband and I were not able to lead the worship at The Feast in Ortigas that Sunday when he was rushed to the emergency room. BUT I was still able to lead people into worship yesterday through the workshop I conducted. I was hesitant at first to include a time of prayer and worship in the design. I'm glad I followed God's lead because I discovered a few minutes ago (when I read all the post program evaluation forms of the participants) that the worship/prayer time was the activity that many of the participants liked the most. Amazing!

 

My upcoming book? Well, the manuscript is still undone. I'm slowly but surely working on its completion. But I think there's a difference now in the state of my heart. I am more at peace. I am more at peace of the fact that I have not met my target deadline in completing my manuscript. I have learned to accept the fact that the launch date for my book is beyond my control. Since I've learned to recognize this, like my participants yesterday in the workshop I conducted, I am less stressed. I have chosen to entrust the result of my efforts to God. I have chosen to simply do my best and let God fill in the rest. Anyway, He told me that my obedience is more important to Him than the results of my efforts.

 

I think the most important lesson/insight I got from my husband's confinement is this: All the good that I'm doing and would like to do CAN WAIT. But caring for my husband and my kids CANNOT. Thus, I pray that I would be conscious and disciplined enough each day to not let my family WAIT for me to be available to serve them in favor of the other good things that I'm busy with because my primary service and ministry is to my family and in my own home. I know that the book that I'm working on would bless many babies and moms and their families. But working on this book project should not rob my own family and my own kids of my precious quality time.

 

The loves of my life next to God.

 

Oh how I love God more for teaching me this awesome lesson on family life! I thank the Lord for humbling me enough to acknowledge my mistakes and shortcomings. I thank Him for opening my eyes. I thank Him for gently and lovingly guiding me back on the right path to holiness.

 

How are things at your end? Are there some things that are at a stand still in your life? What do you think is God's message to you now? Feel free to share by leaving a comment. Would love to hear from you.

 

The Power of Intercessory Prayer

I once read the book The Power of the Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian. I actually read it when I was still single and didn't have a boyfriend (as in no boyfriend since birth). Why did I read the book? I read it before giving it as a gift to a married friend. I'm glad I did it. Not only was I happy with my purchase (knowing that I'm giving an inspiring gift), I also learned from it. I thought that what I learned would prove to be useful when I'm already a wife. So I tucked those lessons in my heart and in my mind for some time since it took me a while before I found my one true love. :)

 

Fast forward to my present life. I'm now a wife with two active little boys. I work from home and my husband works outside the home in an office relatively near our new house.

 

Last Friday, as usual, my husband went to work early in the morning at around the same time that I was busy cooking in the kitchen. I said a prayer in my heart as he went out our front door and as he drove our vehicle outside of our gate.

 

Then, I went on with my tasks.

 

A little later, while I was at our second floor hallway, I walked past our altar. I stopped. I was moved to pray some more for my husband. I said a prayer again for him. This time I read the prayer to the Holy Family which was printed behind the picture of the same image. This picture is a replica of the icon that was here in the Philipines I think more than a year ago. After praying, I went on again with my household tasks. I prepared the kids for lunch and my eldest for his session with his teacher (which was scheduled at 1:30 PM).

 

Just after lunch, a friend who is also a lay preacher and Feast Builder sent me a text message (sms) inviting me and my family to attend the Healing Mass that evening at SM Sucat. I really wanted to attend the Mass when I first learned about it. I was hesitant though because I'm not sure if I can handle the kids especially that there will be a long waiting time and it is expected that there will be many people in attendance. My husband will be coming from his office so he would be late as well. The text message I received however made me rethink our initial decision.

 

 

I've decided to change my mind. I've decided to go to the Healing Mass. I thought of my husband and his health concerns. He's hypertensive and is borderline diabetic. I thought that if he could not come to the Healing Mass, at least I would pray for him while attending that Mass or I will bring his picture and ask Fr. Suarez to pray over his picture.

 

I tried calling him in his office to inform him of my change of plans but I could not reach him. I called again several times until just before leaving the house but I still could not reaach him. He forgot to bring his cellphone with him that day that's why I had to call him in his office landline. I also sent him an email to inform him of the new development.

 

The kids and I, together with our new maid, left for the Healing Mass. I was confident that my husband got my message. He's usually online anyway. I thought that maybe he was in a meeting that's why he has not responded.

 

We got to the venue and were happy to be early enough to find some vacant seats. I prayed that my husband can get to the venue early so he can be prayed over. If not, I thought that at least he would arrive in time for the worship after the talk.

 

Then, there was change in the program. The talk and worship was done first before the Healing Mass. Usually, the program at The Feast starts with the Mass. But I was so happy with the change in the program. The more that I prayed for my husband to make it just in time to be prayed over by Fr. Suarez.

 

It was already pray over time but my husband was nowhere in sight.

 

Then, a little while later we saw him lining up at the back. He went to us and we were so happy to see him finally. That's when he shared to me his "story."

 

He recunted that he went to the ER (emergency room) of St. Luke's Hospital around 10 AM. He had difficulty breathing. While there, he found out that his blood pressure was elevated. He was asked to stay in the hospital for some time. He stayed there until around past 3 PM. Then, he was discharged.

 

After that, he went back to his office and that's when he read my email.

 

I was in awe after I heard his story.

 

I believe that it was the Holy Spirit who moved me to intercede for my husband that day. It was the Holy Spirit that paved the way for us to change our plans and to go to the Healing Mass.

 

I thanked God that night for always watching over me and my family. I thanked Him for the power of intercessory prayer that was at work that day. I thanked Him that I have learned to apply the lessons I read from the book The Power of the Praying Wife. It sure was handy that fateful day! I thanked Him for making a way for me and my immediate family members to be prayed over by Fr. Suarez. I have heard about him in the past years but I have had the opportunity to attend any of his Healing Masses. It was definitely a memorable first!

 

Are you also a wife or parent? I encourage you to get (buy or borrow) a copy of the books by Stormie Omartian in The Praying Series. I'm sure that these books will bless you as they have blessed me and my family!

 

Let me end with these lines: Prayer knows no bounds. Prayer allows us to reach those who are far from us -- physically or otherwise. So, take time to pray today for those you love. Pray even for strangers when you feel the prompting to say a prayer for them. Let the Holy Spirit lead, guide and use you to be a vessel of His Power.

 

Have a blessed day!

 

WAHMderful Life Feature Interview

I am blessed and honored to be featured today at Martine de Luna's new site WAHMderful Life: WAHM Support and Sisterhood.  I "met" Martine at the WAHM (Work-at-Home-Moms) Manila Facebook Group, which she also started/founded.  I've been learning a lot from this group.  The WAHMies are very supportive, too.  If you're interested to learn how you can become a work-at-home-mom like us and you want to find work-at-home opportunities, I suggest that you join our group. :)  Just look for WAHM Manila Group in Facebook and make a request to be added to the group.  To learn more about our group, read Martine's post here.

 

 

I'm glad that I took the time to answer her interview questions this morning; for I got a big surprise from Martine afterwards.  She emailed me the link to her site where my interview was featured.

 

 

Here is the link to my WAHM Story.  May it inspire other moms who are also dreaming of working from home one day or sometime soon; so they can have more time for their families.

Fill your wives' love tank with these simple and budget-friendly ways

Valentine's Day is fast approaching.  Wasn't it just yesterday when we celebrated Christmas and New Year? I wonder if you, moms, have already recovered from the busyness of the Christmas season. I'm happy to share this article/link here which you can in turn share to your hubbies.

 
 

I can very much relate with the suggestions in the article.  I'm sure that all moms, whether stay-at-home (SAHM), work-at-home (WAHM), mompreneur or working mom, would highly appreciate receiving one or a number of these gifts from their husbands. Because moms are usually busy taking care of everyone in the household on top of the many other things they can be busy with. I'm also looking forward to experiencing one or two of these with my husband. We already started sharing the love even before this love month started last week by watching the movie Les Miserables one night while the kids were being put to sleep.  We capped the night sharing our thoughts and insights about the movie. Last Sunday night, we shared our thoughts and insights on the readings in the Mass and the homily of the priest after walking home from the church.  Love those bonding times when we get to communicate heart to heart. 

 
 

How about you, what would you love to receive from this list from your husband? Share it with me by leaving a comment on this post.

 
 

Advance Happy Hearts' Day to you and the special people in your lives!

 
 

Click this link to view all the 7 Gifts Women Will Love that Don't Cost a Thing. 
 

A New Mission

I received a new assignment from God while celebrating Mass with my family last Sunday and listening to the priest's homily about the life of Saint Pedro Calungsod. 

 

Photo source here.

 

I was particularly struck by some lines that he said:

 

"Lahat tayo tinawag para mag-misyon... 'Wag mong sabihing simpleng may-bahay ka lang, simpleng empleyado ka lang, bata ka lang, estudyante ka lang... Basta handang mag-alay, maaaring mag-misyon. Kung saan tayo inilagay, ito ang ating misyon. Doon tayo tinawag." (All of us are called to be on a mission... Don't say that you're just a simple housewife, a simple employee, a child/youth, a student... As long as you are ready to offer your life, you can be on a mission.  Where God has planted/placed you, that is your mission field.  That's where God called you to be on a mission.)

 

I could relate to the homily very much because I have been on mission with God since I was in college.  God planted this seed of being a missionary wherever God puts me in my heart when I was a part of Christ's Youth in Action.  I continued to respond to this call when I was single and was serving actively in Ang Lingkod ng Panginoon Community and in the Light of Jesus Community. Today, I continue to be on mission with God in my home and in every place and circle where I find myself in, doing my best to reflect Jesus in my life, preaching and sharing my life story when needed.

 

As I was listening to the priest give his homily, I was reminded by God of another former community, which at a certain time of my life, I thought would be my community for life - the Carmelite Missionaries.  Yes, I was a former aspirant of the Carmelite Missionaries and I fell in love with their way of life.  I thought I would join them after college.  I even made a movie with them entitled Unseen Devotion, which I heard from them was translated into different dialects and shown at their search-ins throughout the country.  Anyway, God led me to the marriage vocation instead and now I continue to be on mission as a wife, mom, writer/author, HR consultant, etc. (To find out more abut my state of life discernment, you'll have to buy and read a copy of my book When My Bridegroom Comes where I narrated it.)  What I remember though during our search-ins was that there was a talk towards the end of our year long discernment on the different states of life and there were sharers/speakers invited to share their stories of how God led them to their current states of life.  God inspired me during the Mass last Sunday to volunteer to the Carmelite Missionaries to be one of those sharers/speakers for their future search-ins.  I lost touch with my fellow aspirants already.  I also do not know if my former Vocation Directress (Sister Paloma) is still in the Philippines.  But I'm excited to get in touch with the Carmelites again and volunteer my humble service.

 

 

Today, I woke up reminded by God of the new mission He has given me last Sunday through the commentary for today's Gospel:

 

This Gospel asks us to be prepared at all times for whatever God will call us to do. It could be something unexpected — something that we have not planned. If we are serious in doing God’s will, we must be attentive to the voice of the Holy Spirit and where He is leading us. It is not easy to be at the beck and call of the Gospel, but that is what being a disciple of Jesus is all about.

 

 

It's truly unexpected that God would ask me to get in touch with the Carmelites again.  But if that is what is God is calling me to do then I will do it out of obedience.  Whether this service of mine pushes through in the near future or not doesn't matter much to me. I know that my important task right now as God's servant is to do the little thing that is required of me and then He will take care of the rest.  So, I got to go now and will search for the contact number again of the Carmelite Mission House here in Manila. 

 

Let's continue to pray for courage to respond daily to God's call to us to be on mission for Him and the Gospel!  As Pope Benedict said last Sunday, "May the example and courageous witness of Pedro Calungsod inspire the dear people of the Philippines to announce the kingdom bravely and to win souls for God!”  

 

A Very Helpful Presentation on the RH Bill by 700 Club Asia

I stumbled upon this video through a post shared by one of my priest friends in Facebook.  I took time to watch it and I was glad that I did make time to see it.  The featured speakers interviewed for this episode did a good job in expaining the RH Bill.  I encourage everyone to take time to watch this and learn from it.

 

 

Sharing the Gospel as a Family: Our DZME Experience

The disciples approached Jesus and said, “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?”  He called a child over, placed it in their midst,  and said, “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.  Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.  And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.  “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.  What is your opinion? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray?  And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray.  In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.”

 

 

This was the Gospel according to Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14 last August 14, 2012.  My husband and I were invited to share our reflections on this Gospel passage that night in the radio program, Kristianong Pamilya at DZME 1530 khz. We got the inviation to share our reflections through the recommendation of one of our co-parishioners with whom I had a Bible study session one time.  The invitation naturally excited me because it was an opportunity to share God's Word and to inspire others to live out the Word of God. 

 

 

We became a bit worried however when monsoon rains continued that week after causing floods in many areas in Metro Manila around a week before our scheduled radio guesting.  My husband said that if the strong rains will continue on that day, we will call Brother Bobot who hosts the program together with his wife and tell him that we can't make it.  It's dangerous to travel from our place (south of Metro Manila) to Caloocan where the radio station is given the bad weather and the conditions of our roads. 

 

 

So, we prayed for better weather and for God's guidance.  We also monitored the weather reports on the days leading to our radio guesting and on the day itself.  It was still rainy when we woke up that Tuesday but not as much as in the past days and the weather reports did not predict any strong rains in our area nor in the Caloocan area.  Thus, we decided to push through and I left the house together with our kids and our maid to meet my husband in his office so we can go together to the radio station.  We met my mom along the way too so she can watch over our eldest son while my husband and I are sharing our reflections. 

 

 

God heard our prayers.  He made a way for us to get to the station just in time for us to have dinner and have a chat with Brother Bobot and his wife before the actual program.  Even our baby cooperated by sleeping throughout the entire program.  Our eldest son was relatively behaved. :)  And our sharing and discussions with the hosts went smoothly by God's grace. 

 

 

We were about to leave the station already and were just waiting for our copy of the program in dvd when our baby woke up and suddenly vomitted.  We thought that it was nothing to be concerned about because it wasn't much and we thought it was simply due to his awkward position while sleeping in the past hour.  We got inside our car and left for home. 

 

 

Sadly, our baby's vomitting did not end there.  He vomitted some more while we were on our way home.  My baby and I were soaking with vomit.  I breastfed him when we were nearing our house thinking that it would help replenish what he lost but it did not help because he vomitted again after that.  My husband decided that we would rush our baby to the hospital to prevent dehydration and to find out what was causing the vomitting.  

 

 

Our baby was put on dextrose right away and was under observation.  He vomitted one more time while we were at the emergency room.  We were then advised that he will be confined for further observation and tests.  They said that they will get some blood and urine samples.  It was his first time to be confined since I gave birth to him.  I was reminded of the difficulty we experienced getting blood samples from him for his newborn screening.  I prayed that it will not happen again.  But it took two tries before the nurse was able to get some blood sample for testing.  I still thank God for giving us the grace to endure it and that the second try was already successful. 

 

 

At the pedia ER

 

I was advised not to breastfeed him for the next 5 hours to let his tummy rest.  But our baby kept on crying and he could not sleep even when on dextrose.  Thank God one of the nurses came to our room after hearing our baby's cries and told me that I can try breastfeeding again for around 15 minutes only.  That was after around 2 hours since his last feeding.  Then, we'll observe again if he will vomit.  If he does, we will postpone his next breastfeeding session. 

 

 

I kept praying all the while I was breastfeeding him.  I asked God to heal my baby's tummy and that he would not vomit again and that he'd fall asleep.  God answered my prayer.  He slept peacefully in the next hours and he did not vomit again.  Since our baby did not vomit after our last feeding, we went back to our routine of breastfeeding around every two hours but I was still limiting it to 15-20 minutes to give his tummy time to recover gradually.  We were happy again when our baby did not vomit the whole morning and we were able to get some urine sample already.  

First confinement in a hospital.

When his attending doctor arrived, she said that all the tests showed normal results and we were advised to try giving him a bit of solid food again to see if he will vomit again.  We gave him some rice or "lugaw" that day then oatmeal the following day.  Thank God he did not vomit again.  We thanked God as well that he was still playful even while in the hospital.  He even played with his big brother who stayed with us in the hospital overnight.  After 2 days and 2 nights in the hospital, our baby was finally discharged!  Praise God! 

 

Crib party at the hospita with Kuya Yanthy.

 

 

We thanked the Lord for answering our prayer to heal our baby and to provide for our needs while we were in the hospital.  I was thankful that my mom was with us when that happened and she was able to sleep with our eldest son in our condo while my husband and I rushed our baby to the hospital.  We thanked God that our hospital expenses were covered by Medicard and we only paid less than P50.  Most of all, we thank God for the grace to just trust in Him all throughout the time that our baby was vomitting and confined. 

 

 

What were my thoughts about that experience? 


I thought that it was just the enemy's way of trying to rob our family of our victory after successfully proclaiming God's Word through a radio program.  But he was not successful in distracting us or in making us question God's plans or His Will.  We praise and thank God for the grace to be still and to depend on God's mercy and grace.  Instead of feeling bad or asking God why it happened to our baby, we used the opportunity to bond as a family and to count our blessings amid the trial.  We claimed that we are victors in Christ and indeed we were!  That experience did not dampen my spirit or resolve to continue preaching the Good News.  I knew that the God we serve is faithful and He proved His faithfulness once more as He delivered our baby and our family during that time.  To God be the glory!

Teaching The Lord's Prayer to Kids

"Our Father in heaven, holy be your name.  Your kingdom come, your Will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.  Do not bring us to the test but deliver us from evil. Amen."

"Hail Mary, full of grace!  The Lord is with you.  Blessed are you amomg women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus."

"Holy Mary, Mother of God.  Pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen." 

Yesterday was a significant day for us as a family.  It was our first time to pray the rosary with the active participation of our eldest son, Yanthy, who is three years old. 

We've been praying the rosary as a family since my husband and I got married.  We usually take turns leading it.  When our first born son was already a toddler, we let him join us by letting him touch or hold the beads of the rosary, by kneeling with us or by simply listening to us.  As he grows older, he gets exposed to it more as he witness me and my husband lead the rosary prayer in our home or in our community before the start of the Holy Mass.  We also pray the rosary together when we travel in our car during weekends.

Yesterday, as we were on our way to my parents house in San Mateo, Rizal, to celebrate my mom's birthday, Yanthy joined us in praying the rosary by leading the recitation of The Lord's Prayer.  He is so close to memorizing it.  He can already recite it with very little help sometimes on how the next line will start.  My husband and I were so happy and proud!

It has been our goal for our first born son to learn The Lord's Prayer when he was around two years old.  Since we noticed that he is musically-inclined and musically-gifted (he learns songs quite fast), we made it our goal for him to learn The Lord's Prayer through song.  He is already close to achieving this goal.  He can actually sing most parts of it without help.  We noticed though one factor that delays him from achieving this goal.  There are many versions or ways of singing The Lord's Prayer even in our own parish.  We realized that it would be easier  for him to learn it if he would hear it sang the same way each time.  Anyway, we chose to relax on that goal a bit and just watched him enjoy singing with the choir each time during Masses.

Then, the other day, my husband had a brilliant idea!  He made a "book" for our Yanthy.  He made a "book" on The Lord's Prayer where he printed the lines to the prayer in big fonts and he chose pictures that help illustrate the lines per page.  He printed these in bond paper and arranged them in book-style on a folder so our eldest son can read it like he is reading his books.  Yanthy liked it very much!  He read it many times the other night!   He also tried to memorize it as he read it without anyone telling him that we wanted him to memorize it! :)  My husband was surprised.  I told him that he should not be surprised anymore if Yanthy does that because he was already memorizing his books as early as when he was around two years old.  Memorizing his books is like second nature to him already.  Therefore, no one has to tell him to do that.  And he seems to like doing that.  So, I congratulated and thanked my husband for his great idea and for doing this for our son.

 

Yanthy loves to read and he love books a lot. Thus, it was really a  great tool to help him memorize The Lord's Prayer.  This book that his Dad made for him is now among his new favorite books.  He even chose to bring it yesterday to his grandparents' house to show it to them.

But he did not use it yesterday morning to help him lead The Lord's Prayer during our family rosary.  Yanthy tried to pray The Lord's Prayer from memory, making our family rosary yesterday a very memorable one.

My husband plans to make another "book" for our son after he has mastered and completely memorized The Lord's Prayer.  He plans to make a book on the Hail Mary next.  We are so excited!  I'm confident that our son would be actively praying it with us even before he turns five years old.

Let me summarize the different ways with which we taught our eldest son how to pray/memorize The Lord's Prayer.  You might want to adapt or find these useful in helping your kids learn some prayers too.

1. Constant or Regular Exposure.  We just kept exposing him to the prayers.  Praying as couple, family or praying with our community before Masses.
2. Praying Through Songs.  The Lord's Prayer is also one of his first favorite songs.  I remember when he was much younger, he would love to hold hand not only with us (his parents) but even with others Mass-goers who are seated beside us in church whenever we sing it.  He still loves to sing it these days but he likes to move around more when singing now.
3. Encouragement.  We encourage him by praising him and telling him that we would be happy to hear him memorize it.  Kids love to be praised by their parents and they are constantly seeking our approval, so this is a very good way to motivate them.  In our family, this is our way of communicating to our son/children that our faith is something very important to us.  In fact, sharing our faith with our kids is our priority in our family and one of the reasons why we chose to homeschool.
4. Teaching using our kid's natural gift and interests.  We recognized how our son likes to learn and how he learns fast.  By doing this, learning becomes fun, natural and fast.  It makes learning enjoyable and exciting for the entire family, the learner and the "teachers" alike.   
5. Praying together.  While it's good to teach kids to pray on their own, praying with their parents and other family members is more enjoyable to them at a very young age.  Thus, it's good to pray together as a family regularly.  It helps the kids develop the habit and get the message that this is a family ritual we want them to embrace.  It makes praying also more attractive to them because they get to spend time with Mom and Dad.  During family prayers also, we get to influence or pass on a lot of our values to our kids.  The kind of prayers we say during our family prayers as well as our posture when we pray are all lessons in themselves.  Children get to observe all these in us parents and we are teaching them by our example by modelling to them either good or not so good ways of praying.

This morning, as I was finishing this blog post, I heard my husband congratulate my son again.  I rushed to the bedroom to find out what it was about and was very happy to find out that our eldest son has already memorized The Lord's Prayer.  I asked him to repeat it so I can hear and witness it.  He recited it once more completely and quite fast!  he has indeed memorized The Lord's Prayer!  Hurray!  God is good!  This Sunday is now a very memorable Sunday for our family because of what our eldest son has achieved.

I hope that this post/sharing has somehow blessed you and inspired you in your family prayer life.  A blessed Sunday from our family!

God's Choice and Mine

I wrote this reflection around 5 years ago. I'm re-posting it because today, my husband and I, celebrates our fifth year together as boyfriend and girlfriend.

I thank God for the grace to recognize His anointed bridegroom for me that fateful/faithful night. I thank Him for leading me and George to each other. I thank Him for our relationship and the family we now have.

Over the years, I have discovered and accepted that he's not a perfect husband, lover or father. But like David, his love and passion for me, our family and God are enough reasons for rejoicing and to keep on loving him everyday.

Thank you once more, Lord God, for this wonderful man in my life.

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A lot of things happened recently which were not part of my plans. Like the brother from LOJ who courted me and who has been so persistent I could not shake him off. I’ve been ignoring him for the longest time. I think ever since I noticed that he’s attracted to me. I didn’t want to pay attention to him or to the things that he does to show his affection because I didn’t like him. I was not attracted to him at all. But in spite of my efforts and my schemes to stay away from him, he has managed not just to remain but even get closer to me each day. I could not understand at first. In fact, I was even irritated at some point. Then, God made me realize that although things were not happening according to my plans, things were happening according to His. I was reminded of what Gamaliel said about the apostles. He was telling the council to leave the apostles alone because what they are doing will eventually die down if it’s not of God. But if it is of God and they go against them, they might find themselves going against God. So although I wanted so much to stay away from him and ask him to stop courting me, I allowed him to continue because I didn’t want to find myself going against God.

Around past midnight of last Wednesday – that was already October 19 -- God gave me a much unexpected surprise.

We have just attended Bible study at Greenbelt chapel. When we arrived at my apartment, I asked him his insights on the Bible passage I asked him to meditate on, 1 Samuel 15. I have received this passage in my prayer time and I felt strongly that it was not only for me but that I needed to share it with him. So after much thought and prayer, I decided to give it to him. At the back of my mind, I was thinking and quite expectant that after he reads it he would decide to stop pursuing me. Well, aside from the fact that I wanted him to do that, I also know very well the main lesson in that passage. It talks about King Saul’s disobedience and God’s rejection of him as king because he went ahead of God. So I was very surprised, and a bit shocked, when he shared his insight.

He said that he was struck with verse 17: “Even though you consider yourself of no importance, you are the leader of the tribes of Israel. The Lord anointed you king of Israel.” I was really taken aback when he shared that he was struck by this verse so I asked him to explain why. His reflection surprised me even more. I was speechless for a few moments. I could not believe I was hearing those words from him. What he shared was very different from my expectation.

He said that he was struck by that verse because that’s exactly how he feels particularly in his relationship with me. He feels so unworthy of my affection especially because he knows I’m more spiritually mature than him; but because he loves me, he continues to ask God for me. And to receive that word from God, he felt so blessed that God has anointed him. That although it’s something that he thinks he’s undeserving, he expects in faith that God will answer his prayer. He chooses to believe that God can give me to him.

At that point, I could no longer ignore or deny that God’s favor was upon him. God instructed me in 2001 to use the character of King David as guide in choosing my future spouse. I studied his life and his character so that when someone comes my way, I could discern if he has David qualities or not and that would enable me to decide whether I should choose someone or not. I have learned that David means “God’s anointed or God’s chosen one.” I have learned that David has a very humble heart and a very strong faith in God. So, after hearing his insights, I realized that he has David qualities and that God has anointed him at this time for me to choose him. So although I didn’t want to choose him, because I know that God has anointed him, I chose to trust God’s wisdom and to submit to His plans. I have anointed him that night after hearing God’s voice. He’s now my boyfriend.

I honestly had a lot of hesitations and fears but I simply chose to abandon them and trust God completely. I have so much faith in Him. I know that He would not give me something that would harm or hurt me. I know that His plans are best and that He knows me best. I know that I could not rely on my heart because the human heart is so deceptive and unstable. But I know that God’s heart is very reliable. He has repeatedly told me that He sees and knows the hearts of men and so I asked Him many times in the past to show me who is worthy of my love and I would accept and rejoice in His choice. I would be a hypocrite if I do not admit that I didn’t struggle to accept and rejoice in God’s choice. I struggled much actually but I chose not to focus on the struggle but to focus on the truth of God’s Word. I have always used His Word as a lamp to my feet and that night, He gave me just enough light to make another step of faith. I thank God for the grace to say yes not only to George but more importantly to Him.

The Year That Was

“How was your 2009? What can you say about the past year?” My husband and I were having a tête-à-tête over brunch on New Year’s Day. We were inspired to discuss what the priest shared in his homily the night before.

There’s one Bible verse that I can’t help but think of as I looked back at the year that was: “Many are the troubles of a just man but the Lord delivers him from them all.” I felt that this verse sums up the year 2009 for me. It was a difficult year. I experienced a lot of challenges in being a mother, in our finances, in my business, in my relationship with my husband and in my relationship with God. But looking back also, I am very grateful to God for His exceeding goodness and mercy and our family Blessings Notebook is a testament to the many blessings, surprises and answered prayers we received from God. Yes, I’ve been through a lot personally but God has delivered me from all my troubles. It’s true that there were times when I would ask myself if obeying the Lord was indeed a wise decision for the consequences of obeying God are sometimes difficult to bear. Yet through it all, God proved his faithfulness, amazing power and love. I have been overwhelmed countless times in the past year as God surprised me with many unexpected blessings. Things that I only prayed in my heart... things too important to me but I didn’t dare utter. But the Lord hears our every prayer in the same way that He hears our every heartbeat and prayers spoken or otherwise do not fall on deaf ears.

We used to list our blessings at the end of each year; but last year ,we decided to list them down at the end of each month because by year end we sometimes forget some of them. We realized that there are just too many blessings that we receive from God and trying to recall them at year end is a challenging task. So, beginning January of 2009, my husband and I wrote down our blessings and answered prayers at the end of each month. Some months, because of our business, we were able to write them down during the first week of the following month. Nonetheless, we kept at it until the year ended. What a wonderful list it was! I saw that during the most difficult months, in times when we were in need the most, those were the months wherein we received God’s graces and blessings the most. It’s amazing! George likened it to the story of the footprints in the sand where there is only one set of footprints in the sand during the most troubled times.

I liked our tête-à-tête very much. It’s something we rarely had in the past months or maybe year. I’m grateful to God for that moment. It was an opportunity for me to open up my heart and share my innermost thoughts with my husband. I’m also grateful to the priest who inspired us through his homily to ponder and share with each other what happened to us in the past year and what we expect for the New Year.

As I’ve written in my book When My Bridegroom Comes, these lists of blessings and answered prayers serve as my spiritual landmarks. They inspire me to trust God more as I step into the New Year. They give me courage to face future obstacles. They give me reason to hope for better days to come. How was my year 2009? It was a year of challenges, yes. But it was more importantly a year of bountiful harvest! Thanks be to God!