Category: Faith

Categories
Faith Family

A Child’s Prayer

In our family, we commit to make it a point to start our day with a prayer. At times, we pray together as a family or pray individually. Our boy is now 4 years old and we encourage him to do the same as he wakes up. We started to teach him how to pray and what to pray for when he was around 3 years old. And now he has his own way of praying and what he prays for but at times we still guide him.

Last week, he was the one who volunteered to start our family prayer. As he starts praying, he started to say his thanks.

childs-prayer

“Lord, thank you for today,

Thank you for all the blessings,

Thank you for the sleep and good night, (he started to look around our room)

Thank you for my toys, and the TV

Thank you for the pillows, and the bed,

Thank you for the windows,

Thank you for daddy’s “puter” (pertaining to the computer. 😀 Hehehe)

Thank you for our work (pertaining daddy and mommy’s real work and his play time that he calls work :D)

Thank you for the electric fan…”

I forgot the others he said thanks for. I think he almost said everything inside our room. Hehehe. His prayer didn’t end there. I just want to focus on the part of his many thanks. As he was praying, besides on “naku-cutetan na kami sa kanya” and already smiling on what he was praying for, we were also reminded.

Reminded of what? Reminded to see, appreciate and say thanks to all things whether big or small. We didn’t say that we don’t say thank you to God…Yes we are always thankful about many things, a closed deal, provision for bills paid, provision for check payment, new client, the food that we eat, family, good health, the house we leave in, etc. But we forget to see the smallest things that we are blessed with like the comfy bed and a pillow that we sleep at, the clean floor that we step and play on, the window that fresh air comes in, the aircon that makes our sleep more comfortable, the computer that help us accomplish a lot of things, a TV that gives us leisure to rest and unwind, and a lot of things more.

Hearing our son’s prayer put our thankfulness to God’s blessings more seeking… seeking even for the smallest things to thank for.

Encouragement: As we begin to see how God has blessed us even with little things in our life, we begin to see life better, appreciate more, bless others more and live a life of thankfulness and contentment. 😀

“always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” – Ephesians  5:20 (NIV)

Categories
Faith

Forgiveness

stone-forgivenessHas anyone done something wrong to you but didn’t ask forgiveness for what he/she did? or Has anyone hurt you so deeply that you think you can never forgive that person ever?

Forgiving is not easy at all in any way, what more if that person you have to forgive hasn’t ask an apology for what happened or what he/she did. Some people say that “Why will I forgive, if he/she/them hasn’t apologize for what they did?”. How can we really forgive???

I had experienced this same dilemma. I have a family member, who I had conflict with, but I didn’t do anything wrong. I am not even involved in that conflict. I just mediated in their confrontation with one of our family member also. After all the talking and arguments, he said something that is not good that he will do to our family member. So I said to him in a intensified voice, that “It is not good. Do you think that will resolve the problem? It will just make it worst.” After the confrontation, it wasn’t resolved still. After the following days, I noticed that he wasn’t talking to me. This went on for more that a month and he also acted in ways that are disrespectful and rude. As he was doing this, I had a great anger growing in my heart. I was thinking, “I didn’t do anything wrong. He was the one who said bad things and now I am the one who is like at fault. I should be the one who should be angry.” But still I tried to approach and give respect but he acted the opposite. I am so angry and my heart felt so so heavy that it wants to explode.

As I was building hatred inside, I wanted to retaliate. But I was reminded that I should remove the anger that is in me. It is not pleasing to the Lord and He wants me to forgive. Then my mind is battling whether to forgive or not. Then to top it off, I have to forgive him even if he didn’t ask for forgiveness…What??? How can I do that???!!! I asked the help of the Lord to lift that heaviness I am feeling and that I may forgive. This anger has eaten me. He is the only one who can help me because I don’t now how and where to start. Every time I feel the anger, I pray.

As stated in the Bible….
“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” – Colossians 3:13 NIV

Who am I not to forgive, if the Lord has forgiven my sins. But I bet you it is NOT REALLY EASY! By the grace of the Lord, one day all the anger and heaviness was removed from me. I was able to talk to him with joy and just letting the offenses go. (Of course, it’s not instant)

What I have learned from this is “Forgiveness is not for the person to be forgiven but for us who needs to forgive.” Forgiving is lifting the burden it has given us. It releases us from our own hatred and anger that gives us that gloomy feeling. It let us live freely and peacefully. Who wouldn’t want that? By the grace of the Lord, anything that is impossible to us, is possible to Him.

Categories
Faith

Teaching your children through a mirror perspective

Our baby is 2 years old and turning 3 this year. He is now in the stage that he is learning and exploring things around him. Children are like sponge, they easy absorbs things but don’t really understand. I notice he does things the same way we do. Like he dances every time he hears music that are up beat like his dad, or he wears his dad’s baller because his dad has one too or wear his dad’s big shoes and walk around with it.

teaching-your-children-5-3-13

It is funny when he does this… It’s so cute.

But what I also notice is that he don’t just imitates funny or good things that we do but also many things that shouldn’t be done by a child. As parents, we of course disciplines our child/children by one way or another. When he does things that are not good we tell him “No, don’t do that. That’s bad!” or give him the rod if he don’t listen or if he becomes unmanageable (we give it on the hands only). Then at one instance, we heard him said “No, don’t do that!” to the people at our house playing with him. The people laughed especially my mom. Yes, it’s funny or cute hearing a little boy saying that.

But what does it really mean? It made me realize and think…It just shows that a child follows what he sees…he imitates. “What monkey sees, monkey do”.

Teaching them by saying things that are right from wrong or giving them discipline is good and that’s another thing. But what really helps them to learn, is if they see us (their parents) doing it as well. Like in a mirror, we see our own image. But for our children, we are the image they see because they still don’t have the sense of themselves but absorbs what surrounds them. As parents, we should be living as an example to them. How can you expect them to follow if you yourself don’t. For example, a dad tells his son to stop smoking but he himself smokes. How can he defend that smoking is bad, if he himself do it as well. Get the point?

It is important for us to be aware of how we are. It is a great percent of how they will become as a person when they grow up. The things they see that we do whether good or not, registers on their minds that it is okay to do because we are doing it. As their parents, it is our responsibility to guide them to what is right and not to what is wrong.

Because of this, we are more aware of our actions. If he does things that are not good, we check first if our actions have led him to be like that or the people that surrounds him. And if it does, we adjust or change the things we do. It helps us to teach and guide him better. This is both a learning process for us (the parents) and the child.

Categories
Faith

How To Find Your Soulmate

Do you believe in SOULMATES?… Finding your one perfect match in this entire world?… The one who will complete you?…

A related concept is that of the twin flame or twin soul, which is thought to be the ULTIMATE SOULMATE.

We, girls, have a thought of our IDEAL MAN. We may have a different perspective or characteristics of this ideal man but all of us have our own idea of what we want with our lifetime partner. It may be a tall, dark and handsome or an intelligent, funny and chubby guy that you want…but how will you find him?? Go on a man hunt, post on tabloids, print on fliers, or what so ever. But really, how will you find your soulmate??????

Here are 3 simple but effective ways how to find your soulmate.

3 SIMPLE STEPS

1. Fix our eyes on the SOULMAKER

Who is our SOULMAKER? ….It is GOD. Since we are looking for our soulmate, who knows best about our soulmate of course the soulmaker. He knows that one person he made for us. We should first be in one with the God before anything else…it means we should know Him and have relationship. If we follow Him and obey His commands, he will also give the desires of our heart….given that it is according to His will and if this is what he thinks is best for us.

“Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.” – Psalm 37:4 NIV


2. Fix YOURSELF first

We should fix ourself! Sometimes, we have traumas in our previous relationships or from our childhood experiences. This issues, when not resolved, are baggage and they are burden. It sometimes seems we have forgotten those events or memories but the pain made is still there and engraved. If not resolved, we tend to carry it over to our next relationships. And this comes the problem..for example, from your previous relationship you were hurt because you were two timed, it will cause you to loose your trust. Then to your next relationship, everything he does will make you suspicious and doubt even there is none. Trust is really important in a relationship to work. Because your trust is not yet healed, you will carry it over.

How can you have a relationship when you still carry on with all your baggages??????

Another is when the reason of finding your soulmate is just to complete what is missing in you or filling the emptiness you are feeling. God should complete you! In Him, we find security, peace and love. For if we find our completeness in another person, we still cannot feel complete because all human being are imperfect and inconsistent. We tend to make mistakes and fall short. But God is perfect and consistent with His love for us. He loves us unconditionally even if we are not lovable.

In order for us to have a lasting relationship, we should be both complete in God. That if ever, a person leaves us we won’t be shuttered and broken into pieces for we know God completes us and nobody else.

Sometimes, we may find our soulmate already but because we are still not ready and we hurried things up because of our impatience, things go wrong and become a disaster rather than our happily ever after. We should pursue God first to help us be ready so that everything may go smooth according to God’s plan.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” – Jeremiah 29:11


3. Fix your STANDARDS

We have different standards in choosing or looking for our soulmate. We nay want intelligence, physical, values and etc. But we should base our standards in God’s standards. Our standards are just superficial. We want to have an ideal relationship but sometimes our standards are not. If we want to have a popular, somehow bad boy and eyed by all the girls…do you expect to have a working relationship??? I think not.  Let’s say maybe not all but majority, those kinds of guys are the one’s who still loves to play around. And you want to be one of them???

If you base your standards according to God’s standard, surely you won’t make a mistake. What are God’s standard?? …Godly, Loves God more than you, and is God fearing. Surely, if he loves God more than you he will do everything to make things right, work-out and will truly love you.

This steps are simple but is very effective than any tips you can find out there. Why waste time in looking????  Why not focus on being prepared and ready when that soulmate comes.