A Pleasant Surprise from our Balcony

Our orchid Pinky in bloom.

I almost could not believe my eyes as I looked at our balcony and saw our orchid with flowers once more.

It has been months or maybe a year since Yanthy and I last saw our orchid, whom we named Pinky, with flowers. For many months, seeing Pinky without flowers, looking dry and seemingly dead made me and my son sad. There were days when we thought that Pinky’s already dead but we did not have the heart to give up on Pinky. We chose not to throw our orchid. We chose to not to give up hope that one day we will see Pinky with flowers again. We kept on watering our orchid and exposing it to the sun in our balcony.

Thus, imagine our joy and amazement as we saw Pinky blooming in our balcony in all her glory! Pinky had three pale pink with white flowers in bloom and three more buds waiting to wow me and my son! Amazing! We wouldn’t be this surprised and in awe if we didn’t know what happened in the past months or year. It pained us to glance at our window day after day and see Pinky in our balcony without flowers. But God turned our sadness into gladness and rejoicing! So, we hurriedly took pictures of Pinky again so that we have a remembrance of how beautiful her flowers have bloomed after what seemed to be a very long wait.

Then, it dawned on me that God used Pinky to encourage me and give me hope today by reminding me that He makes all things beautiful in His time. I realized that just like with Pinky, I should not give up on my dreams and prayer requests especially if I know deep in my heart that I seek to do God’s Will through these dreams and blessings.

So just like in today’s Psalm (27:13-14), I choose to believe that “I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” I choose to “wait for the Lord with courage; be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord.”

The message in my desk calendar confirms this message from God. It says: Keep believing. Trusting God doesn’t mean staying put and doing nothing. Trusting Him means doing all you can with all He gave you – with Him on your side.

Yes, that’s what I’ve been doing and will continue to do. I will do what is necessary within my abilities to make my dreams a reality and my prayers to be answered. Then, I will wait for the Lord to surprise and wow me just as He did today from my balcony. I praise and thank the Lord for speaking volumes to me in the magnificence of His creations! Thank you, Pinky for being God’s instrument in inspiring me to keep believing even when I do not see.

20 Summer Activities with our Kids that are Budget-Friendly

It’s summer time! Parents and kids alike are excited to enjoy the good weather, the sun, and to go some place where their families can bond. But aside from going to the pool or beach to swim, can our families also have a good time together this summer? Yes, of course!

You might be asking, what other activities can the kids and the parents alike do that are simple and easy on the budget? Let me share some activities that I have identified last year before the summer months and which I continue to use as guide as I plan our summer activities. This list can be long and I don’t recommend that you stress yourself trying to squeeze each and every activity on this list in the next six weeks of summer. As I’ve mentioned, I started using this list as guide since last year. That means my family and I did not do all these activities last year and I’m not planning to do all of them either this year. We did some last summer. My plan is to choose from this list again a number of activities we can do this summer. So, I encourage you to just pick a few or a number from this list what you think would be most enjoyable for your kids and yourself and schedule when to do them in the coming days.

Yanthy with my parents during our picnic
to celebrate my father's birthday.

1. Have a picnic. I love picnics! Many of my happy memories as a child are during our family picnics. I’d like to continue this family tradition in my own family now. It’s simple and very affordable but the joys that it brings lasts a lifetime. We already had a picnic at Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife in Quezon City two years ago when my father’s celebrated his birthday with his first grandson. Yanthy was only a year old then. While it brought back good memories for me and my parents, it created new wonderful memories for my young family. One good thing about Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife is that the entrance fee is only P8.00 for non-students or adults and senior citizens enjoy free entrance. They also have picnic huts and picnic tables that you can use for free. So when we went there in the afternoon, we just brought with us food and drinks and enjoyed ourselves while having a picnic at one of the picnic tables. Yanthy had some time to wander around but the mini zoo was already closed by the time we were finished eating. The mini zoo is open only until 4 pm. Thus, we plan to go back again there in the future.

During an ocular of La Mesa Ecopark in preparation for
the outing of the singles in our community.

My husband and I, together with our kids, have yet to have a picnic at Rizal Park, UP Sunken Garden and La Mesa Ecopark. We’ve been to UP before to walk and run around when I was still pregnant with our second baby. Next time, we will definitely have a picnic and do more stuff together. My husband and I had been to La Mesa Ecopark several times in the past when we were still single. We had a lot fun there before with our single friends so we also look forward to having fun there with our tots. Just like in Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife, there is minimal entrance fee. It’s only P50.00 for non-QC residents. You can even grill your own food there because they have barbeque pits that you can rent for a small fee. That would make your picnic experience extra special.

2. Biking – You and your kids can do this in your neighborhood or at CCP Complex. My family planned to go to CCP Complex last year to bike but it didn’t push through. I hope we can go biking there this year at least one weekend since we go to PICC every Sunday to attend The Feast (our community’s weekly worship celebration with Holy Mass and talk). Just make sure that the kids are not left unattended especially when biking in areas where there are no assigned bike lanes and that they wear helmets while biking. This Sunday, my family and I will join in the celebration of Earth Day 2012 at the CCP. There will be plenty of activities such as family fun run, picnic for the planet, doodling, face painting and mural painting for kids, kite-making workshop, bike workshop and Larong Pinoy tournament and workshop among others to be facilitated by Greenpeace. The event will be from 6 am to 5 pm at Liwasang Kalikasan near the side of Aliw Theater. Purchase any of the souvenir items (baller ID and button pin) which are P50.00 only will already serve as entrance fee and ticket to participate in all of the activities. The family fun run at 6 am has a separate registration fee of P400.00. I’m so excited to go!

3. Make fruit shakes or smoothies together. – Let the kids help you wash and cut the fruits or if they are too young, involve them by letting them put the fruits that were already cut into smaller pieces into the blender and let them push the button in the blender. This is a healthy alternative to sodas and other drinks with caffeine and too much sugar. To make your drinks healthier, opt for yogurt instead of evaporated milk. We love making fruit shakes at home even when it’s not summer. Our favorites are papaya, banana and mango.

4. Play piko. - You may use a chalk to write on the cement. If you will play on dirt or soil, you can use a stick to draw on the ground. When my son and I cannot go out to play, we use his crayons to draw the lines on our floor and use Scotch Brite eraser pads to erase them when we’re done.

5. Play Frisbee. – Kids love to throw and run so I’m sure they will enjoy playing this game. I recommend that you play this game in big spaces like in UP Sunken Garden, La Mesa Ecopark, Rizal Park and other parks or fields near your place.

6. Fly a kite. – This is a great activity in big open spaces when the wind is strong. Some good places for flying kites are UP Sunken Garden, Esplanade near Mall of Asia and The Fort in Taguig. I learned earlier that there are people like the Fort Bonifacio Sport Kite Community who fly kites as a sport and you can watch them during weekends around 3 to 6 pm at The Fort. Sometimes, they would even give free lessons. Actually, every year NIDO organizes a Kitefest. This year, the NIDO Kite Fest was held last Sunday at Greenfield City Sports Field, Sta. Rosa, Laguna. We missed it this year but maybe we can attend a kite fest next year. We need to plan ahead for this since it’s a yearly event anyway.

Running after bubbles at a birthday party.

7. Blow bubbles. – This is fun in its simplest form. My little boy can spend so much time blowing bubbles anywhere you’d allow him to. I suggest that you always have bubbles with you because this is a sure boredom buster. Bring it with you when you go to parks and playgrounds. There are many kinds of bubble toys nowadays. You can choose from a wide variety from the smallest to the biggest bubble toys, from the manual to the battery-operated ones. Have fun with your kids taking turns in blowing bubbles and running after them.

8. Have an ice cream party. - You may want to make it a choose-your-own-topping ice cream party. Let the kids’ imagination run wild as they add toppings to their ice cream.

9. Make your own pizza. – This is similar to the concept of an ice cream party. You teach the kids how to prepare a pizza by buying frozen pizza dough from the supermarket or by using a pandesal that’s cut into halves. You and the kids spread pizza sauce or tomato sauce on top and decide what toppings to put on your very own pizza. Depending on the kind and size of dough you use, you can use your ordinary oven at home from the oven toaster to the convection oven, whatever you have.

10. Play badminton. – We started teaching our eldest son badminton last year when my husband and I played badminton again with some of our friends. We stopped for a while when my tummy was already big and I was nearing my due date. Maybe in the next month/s, we can get together again with friends to play one of our favorite sports.

Yanthy playing at the nearby playground
after his soccer camp.

11. Go to playgrounds in your own neighborhood or other nearby subdivisions and parks. - I loved going to parks when I was a little girl. My younger brother and I grew up in a neighborhood where there’s a nearby park and we loved going there and playing there with our cousins and childhood friends. Nowadays, there are plenty of parks and playgrounds to choose from and many of them are free of charge.

12. Have a puppet theater. - You can even make your own puppets that you’ll use in your puppet theater. I bought our eldest finger puppets and hand puppets when he was younger and we still play with them now especially when we tell stories.

13. Go to a charitable institution to share your blessings to the poor. – I’m excited to go to Tahanan ng Pagmamahal orphanage this month. I’ve decided to celebrate my birthday this month through an outreach. I’m organizing a princess-themed children’s party at the orphanage on April 28. This will be the first time for my son to participate in an outreach so I’m doubly excited for the event.

14. Play with clay. – You can even make your own home-made edible clay if you want instead of buying from the stores. This activity sparks kids’ imagination and creativity and improves their fine motor skills.

15. Go to a weekend market. – There are a number of weekend markets to choose from. There are weekend markets in Quezon City and in Makati. Not only do you find good deals and fresh products here, you also get to bond as you buy produce for your household. Plus you let your kids experience buying food and non-food items outside of the usual grocery or supermarket setting.

16. Do art activities or projects. – Unleash your creativity along with your child’s as you engage in more art activities and projects this summer. There are many simple art activities you can do together. You can ideas from my previous post here. If you are really bent on honing your child’s creativity and you have the budget for it, then there are many art programs you can choose from. There are even programs that allow parents to participate with their children so it becomes a wonderful binding and learning activity for the family.

Yanthy at his first soccer camp.

17. Play soccer. – This is an easy sport for the kids to learn and play since kids naturally love to run around and kicking is something that they learn fast. You just need a ball and plenty of space preferably with grass and your child will have his/her first experience of soccer. But you can also choose to enroll your kid to a soccer camp this summer like what we did with our eldest son who is now enrolled at Team Socceroo Summer Soccer Camp. Next year when he’s already four years old, I plan to enroll him at the Younghusband Football Academy.

Our first visit at Museo Pambata.

18. Visit museums. – There are a number of museums which are accessible and are easy on the pocket. We have already visited the Aerospace Museum in Villamor Airbase and Museo Pambata in Roxas Boulevard before. But we plan to go back to Museo Pambata again because there are other areas or theme rooms there that we weren’t able to explore the last time. They also have reopened new theme rooms. We only spent a half day touring the place then. I suggest that you allot at least a day to visit the place. You can also schedule several visits so you and your kids would have ample time to explore the different rooms. One of the things I like with Museo Pambata is that children below 2 years old can visit for free.

19. Go to the zoo. – Another memory of my childhood which I’m fond of is our visits to the zoo. I remember that my parents brought us to Manila Zoo a number of times when my brother and I were still small. We also went to mini zoos like the one at Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife. Now that I’m a parent myself, I plan to bring my kids to the zoo as well as one of our family field trips. One of the zoos in my list is Avilon Zoo in Montalban. It has a smaller counterpart in Pasig called Ark of Avilon so if you are not willing to travel all the way to Montalban, this is a good alternative.

20. Expose kids to music. – If your kids love music like my kids, I suggest that you expose them to different kinds of music by playing music at home often, letting them play with toy and real musical instruments and bringing them to concerts and performances. Let them meet musicians as well if you have the opportunity and if your musician friends. You can also let them join music and movement classes if you have the budget for it. One of our to-do’s since last year is to attend trial class of Little Mozart. But this is something that’s not limited to the summer months because it’s a year round program. I was planning to enroll my son since last year when he turned two in a music and movement class then I found out that My Masterpiece Movement has a program called Super Saturdays. I love the Super Saturdays program because my son likes it and he gets to interact with other kids. And believe it or not, it’s free! It is held every second Saturday of the month but there are exceptions like this Saturday, April 21, where my eldest son, Yanthy, will be joining for the second time.

Enjoy the summer heat and have fun with your family!

Waiting Expectantly: An Easter Reflection

"And God granted his request." I was reminded by God this morning as I woke up that He has already granted my request. God first impressed this message to me last Monday morning during my prayer time when He led me to review the prayer of Jabez in 1 Chronicles 4:10:

"Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory!" And God granted his request.

God granted his request. I felt God telling me in my heart that He has already granted my request. God granted my request. Wow! What wonderful news!

Then, to drive His message further, He spoke again to me through my desk calendar.

Keep Believing! God wants us to ask! And when we do, we should expect to get it. "Therefore I tell you, all that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours." – Mark 11:24

It shall be yours. Claim it as early as now. Wow! What a very encouraging message from God! I felt God telling me not to doubt as I wait for the good news to be told to me. He’s asking me to rejoice as early as now because whatever I’m asking for from Him is already mine. Amazing!

I praise and thank God for this beautiful message to me this morning. It gives me hope! It encourages me to keep believing that God has already answered my prayers and granted my requests. I was struck by the tense of the verse in 1 Chronicles 4:10. It’s in the past tense. It has been done. It already happened. Wow! I felt God telling me that even as I wait now for the good news from the people I had been talking to, God took care of everything already. He has done what I have asked Him to do for me. Wow!

I can't help but remember Tommy Walker's song entitled I Have a Hope.

These messages that I received from God today affirms God’s messages to me during the Grand Easter Feast as spoken by our leader Bo Sanchez. He said last Sunday that it truly is difficult to wait. But he spoke an encouraging message to all of us who are waiting for something or a prayer to be answered. He said, "You may be on Good Friday or Black Saturday now but your Easter is coming and is now here. Even when your circumstances, your problems, other people, your neighbors, or your finances are telling you that things are not well, God tells you, all is well. All is well! All is well because that’s what God tells you! All is well! Believe!"

God is so good and merciful! He knew that it would be challenging to wait for our prayers, requests and miracles to be granted that He gave us His promises so we can hold on to them as we wait for them to unfold before our eyes.

Just like the message of Easter Sunday, we are already victorious in Christ because Jesus Christ has conquered sin and death. We go through Good Friday and Black Saturday with hope because we know that our Easter is coming. Jesus knew He will resurrect on the third day. That helped Him go through His Passion. He knew He was doing the Father’s Will even though He was suffering. He knew that He will receive His crown of glory eventually when He sits on the right side of the Father in heaven.

One of the stories Bo shared was his experience with bullies when he was a kid. He said that he was like the morning entertainment to the bullies then and he just laughed about his situation because he could not do anything. He got used to the bullying already. Then, it happened that the biggest bully named Jesse asked for his help and became his friend. One morning, while Bo was walking and was starting to be surrounded by bullies again, his new friend Jesse walked towards him and placed his arm on Bo’s shoulders. He declared, "Eugenio (Bo) is my friend. Anyone who picks a fight with Eugenio, picks a fight with me!" With that statement, the bullies started to walk away from Bo one by one and they never bothered him anymore.

After Bo told this story, he said these words to all of us listening. You might be surrounded by bullies now. Your bully could be some of the people around you, your sickness, your finances, your problems and concerns… I want to tell you that you have a friend who stands beside you now. His name is Jesus. And Jesus says to those bullies, "You pick a fight with my friend here, you pick a fight with me! And I will fight you for my friend to the death!"

Tears just rolled down my cheeks as Bo said those words. God spoke powerfully to me through him. Last March 10, I also felt bullied by people much older than me. I felt bullied by people who outnumbered me. I felt surrounded by bullies who kept on insisting their will on me, who didn’t want to respect my decision, my beliefs and my choices as a person, as a Christian and as a leader. I felt that no one was on my side to defend me. But as I stood before the crowd that kept on bullying me with their actions (some of them rudely pointing their fingers on me as they spoke in an angry and loud tone of voice) and their harsh and insulting words, I felt Jesus’ powerful presence telling me that He stands by me no matter what. It was all that I needed to endure that experience. I recalled how Jesus Himself stood before a council of elders and how He was accused falsely. I remembered how he stood before a crowd mocking and insulting Him. recalled how people accused Him and hurt Him though He did not deserve that kind of treatment. I recalled how Jesus chose to be silent and chose not to defend Himself from their accusations, and how He just looked to God the Father for strength and courage to face and endure His situation. Remembering what my Lord, Master, Teacher and Leader did during His Passion enabled me to endure that night. I looked to Him for inspiration. I chose to follow His example and embraced my cross. I chose to obey the will of God the Father no matter how difficult and painful it was. I chose to remember that it was necessary to go through Good Friday before the Resurrection of our Lord. And so that’s what kept me going. I held on to the promise of the Lord’s resurrection that those who walk with Him to Calvary and die with Him will also resurrect with Him.

I Will Rise - Chris Tomlin (Music Video With Lyrics) from 24william24 on GodTube.

Thus, when Bo said those words to us last Sunday, I felt the amazing love and mercy of God on me. I felt His arms around my shoulders. I felt His tight embrace and the warmth of His love as He spoke those words to give me courage and strength. I felt Jesus’ personal love for me once more that day. He was and will always be my defender and my shield. I remembered the verses in Exodus 14:13-14 which was part of the passage (Crossing the Red Sea) I studied with three others on that same night.

Moses answered, "Don’t be afraid! Stand your ground, and you will see what the Lord will do to save you today; you will never see these Egyptians again. The Lord will fight for you, and all you have to do is keep still!"

God spoke further to me through Bo. He likened our problems to gold mines. He said that it’s necessary to go through gold mines if we want to get gold. He said that when we go inside gold mines, we need to go through darkness, dirt and danger. We need to uncover the dirt to get our gold. He said that our problems are gold waiting to be uncovered. In addition to that, he said that the more problems we have, the more gold we have!

I pondered on my life experiences especially my recent gold mines and I couldn’t help but agree. It seems that I have passed through a lot of gold mines but I have also uncovered a whole lot more of gold in the process. Blessed be name of the Lord!

Moreover, I realized that when we are inside a gold mine, God gives us just enough light for the step we’re on. Just like when we hold a lamp inside a gold mine, the lamp illumines only the next step in front of us. Rarely do we get to use a light that enables us to see the end of the tunnel. But it’s okay. We know that eventually, as we take one step at a time using our lamp, we will get out of the gold mine. In the same way, as we let the Word of God light our every step, we know that eventually, we will get out of our problems victorious and we will get our gold. Our gold maybe the blessings and miracles granted to us or our answered prayers. I believe though that the greatest gold we get out of our problems is the deepening of our faith. God brings us from glory to glory as we go through problems or trials in our faith journey. He lets us go through them not to break us but to test our faith and help us grow in faith. He allows us to go through suffering and pain to bring us closer to Him, so that He can draw us near His Sacred Heart.

I would consider this Lent and this Holy Week my most meaningful Lent and Holy Week so far. I felt privileged to enter into Jesus’ experience of His Passion. I felt closest to God as I cried out to Him telling Him that I am poor in spirit. I saw vividly how God’s Words in Scriptures come alive in my life so beautifully. I felt unexplainable joy amid trials and pain. I felt so blessed to be chosen by God to share His sorrows and His pain. I came to understand Jesus’ way of the cross profoundly through my experiences. And I am humbled to realize that what I went through and go through in life pale in comparison to what He experienced and endured because of His great love for me. Who am I that He is mindful of me? Who am I that He chooses to be my friend and die for me? Who am I that He chose to die for me and save me?

Then, Bo exhorted us to rise up and BOUNCE whenever we encounter problems. He encouraged us to BOUNCE BACK when we fall on the potholes in the road of life. He encouraged us to keep on saying ALL IS WELL as we keep on bouncing in the road of life.

So today, I choose to wait expectantly. God has wiped away the tears in my eyes. He has turned my mourning into dancing again. He has lifted my sorrows! He has assured me that ALL IS WELL. I believe Him. I accept His Word and His promise as truth. I let Him define my reality. I choose to hope in Him for I know that with Him I do not hope in vain.

Let me end by praying the prayer Bo taught us and encourage us to pray at The Feast.

Today, I receive all of God’s love for me.
Today, I open myself to the unbounded, limitless,
overflowing abundance of God’s universe.
Today, I open myself to God’s blessings, healing, and miracles.
Today, I open myself to God’s Word
so I would become more like Jesus every day.
Today, I proclaim that I am God’s beloved,
I am God’s powerful champion.
And because I am blessed, I am blessing the world.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.