Witnessing

This was what I just posted on my FB status:

"Blessing, after blessing, after blessing. It has been 3 weeks now since Alvin and I responded to the challenge of our Parish Priest to pray the rosary, DAILY, as a family. It was hard for both me and Alvin because admittedly, we are both LAZY when it comes to praying the rosary. But true enough, like what Fr. Ruben said, the week doesn't end without us receiving a blessing. I'm not talking about the small stuff here, but the big stuff. And today, we received the biggest answer to a petition we have been asking for more than 4 years already! Thank you, Lord! Bringing back all the glory to You. P.S. Thank you Mama Mary for the BIG help."

I already mentioned in my previous blog that we started praying the rosary every Sunday after we made it as one of our action plans during our Marriage Enrichment Retreat. But now, we have managed to pray it everyday! I'm just thankful that Sammie and Liam are both cooperative and are trying their very best to be quiet every time we have the prayer at night. I am actually proud of Liam because he is the one reminding us about family prayer time every night and he is willing to skip some shows or parts of his favorite shows for us to be able to pray.

Blessings? accreditation matters (big developments!), more work for me (which are scheduled ahead of time...I've actually turned down a couple of calls in the morning because it will be impossible for me to make it on time...and I just can't wake up the kids from their sleep), approved 3 year multiple entry visa for my in-laws and the means to finance their travel, a big opportunity opened for Alvin at work to shift his field from Manufacturing to planning (office-based) and now.....drum roll....a permanent job for Alvin! hurrah! :)

Just thankful and grateful. :)

Being Prayed Over

I have been prayed over a LOT of times already. So I am not really new to being prayed over.

But being prayed over by my 4 year old son?

Guess how I felt when he did.

Are you for real, anak?

What did I do to deserve such a good boy like you?

Like in my previous posts about my son, I am writing this because I want to remember something special that my son did.

Wednesday: Sam had the tummy bug and since Wednesday I have been doing laundry, heavy laundry, aside from the usual chores at home.

Friday: kids went to childcare. at breakfast I already felt something different in my body. When I picked them up, I was informed that Liam had vomiting episodes. Now, that makes us three. no, that makes us five, since Anika, and Lance also showed the symptoms of the tummy bug. Even if I was feeling sick already, I decided to wash their beddings and soiled clothes from childcare (because I wanted to get rid of the germs and eliminate of the germs having another go at our home and making the kids sick). Result, by dinner time I was having chills. I really needed to drink medicine.

After dinner, Liam was playing with the tablet. I was having chills.

Liam (looking so concerned): Mama, do you like me to play your song?
Me: is it okay?
Liam: yes (he then selects "A Thousand Years" from the list of songs from the tablet, as it has been my current favorite.)

Liam: Is that a relaxing song mama?
Me: yes
Liam: Don't worry mama, I will take care of you.

Liam then goes to my side and gives me a massage at the back, asking me if it was making me feel better.

Liam: Don't worry mama, when you are sick, me, Papa and Sam will take care of you.

Liam then starts to pray, makes the sign of the cross and prays over me! Asking Jesus that I feel better already. He prays it with so much sincerity and concern, I already felt better just listening to him and looking at him pray over me.

Mother's Day is fast approaching, but who needs gifts or cards when you get to experience something really special like this? I really felt loved and special that moment. I didn't cry but I had an overwhelming feeling inside me. I felt I was in good hands. I felt that I can count on my son.

Thank you, Lord for the gift of my son.

Thank you, Lord for the gift of prayer.

Thank you for that very special and humbling experience of my son praying for me.


Liam praying for me was more than enough, but he still gave me these early presents for this year's Mother's Day. The tree was an output  from his Pre-school and the card was  an output from the KFC assembly last Sunday.

Discerning and Getting Answers

We started praying for it October of 2011. But, I guess we were not really paying attention. Oooops :-)

After we came back from our Manila holidays, we still prayed for it. But still, we weren't paying attention.

Christmas came and 2012 started. Now, we really have to pay attention! We prayed and we prayed some more and we prayed harder, and this time we LISTENED.

After making sure that we are in tune, ready and waiting for HIS answers, we slowly got answers :-)

We prayed to arrive at the best decision. We prayed that He sends us His message through friends, family or to us directly. To send His Spirit so we'll know or we'll have the idea that what we just heard/read/saw thru friends, family or even strangers are the answers we have been waiting for :-) We were ready for a "no" or even a "wait" but it seems that the answer to our prayers is a "yes."

True to what they say, if you really put your attention and really listen, you will get the answers you are looking for.

We haven't made the big decision yet, but we're nearly there :-) We will know, just like the past few days we have been receiving affirmations, that all will be in place, that all will be fixed when it's time.

Thank you for the blogs that I have read recently, the friendly chats with friends and relatives, the mommy stories that I read and heard. Our decision is slowly taking form now...when I start doing some actions in response to some of the "clues" we have been receiving and we don't encounter any glitches or problems, then we are truly on the right path
:-)

Quiet Times

I miss my quiet times.

It's not really the me-time that I miss, but the quietness and the stillness of everything around me. The peace that I experience within me.

I miss the DAILY early walks that I have on my way to work back in Manila, where I can talk to Him and tell Him everything and anything. Those were long talks Lord and I was very much attuned with what You were saying because everything was quiet. I knew that I was in a state of grace. It was the best way to start my day!

I miss the long travel hours from my home to work that allowed me to think of how my day has been, the blessings and the answered prayers.

I miss talking to Him, just doing that, and not be bothered by a thousand and one thing needed to be done for the day.

I miss connecting with Him. I miss just being with Him.

Lord, in the daily grinds of my life, You are the first one to go. I know I am abusing the fact that I know that You are just always there, waiting for me to make time for You. But the thing is, do I ever make time for You? I say I miss talking to You, and yet I prioritize other things than sparing a minute or two to talk with You. I am sorry.

I have been bombarded with a lot of things-to-do and I have a lot of things going in my head, everyday. I can't pause. I can't stop.

I want to re-connect with You. I realize now how much I've missed You, on how I missed our quiet times together.

In the busyness of my life, allow me to have that peace and stillness, so I can be with You again.

Unbelievable

Unbelievable. I still can't believe that three days ago, on our way home, after a family dinner, my sister called me up and told me the good news that Liam won in the CFC raffle! His prize? A two-way ticket from Aus to Manila (off-peak season)! Truly another blessing!

Alvin and I agreed that after every two years, the whole family will be travelling. Of course, this is what we want but this will depend on some factors, like our finances. The first on our list of destinations is of course, the Philippines. We would love to go back and visit our families and friends. For some weeks now, we have been toying with the idea of going "home" next year. No concrete plans yet. But we always include our plans to go home in our prayers and that God may make things possible for us. Well, God has answered our prayer in a way we least expected!

Looking back at all the raffles we joined, especially when we were in Manila (thru Supermarket raffles at that), and not having won anything, I didn't expect and I can't believe that we will win something like this!

Of course, we still have to spend for three more fares but getting one free seat is a big help already! We can already add the money we were supposed to use for Liam's fare to our travel funds. And Liam winning the raffle somewhat has put a "pressure" on us that we already have to push thru with our plans and a confirmation that He agrees that we come "home" for a visit. I am happy and excited as well. It is definitely one trip I look forward too.

God is good. He answers our prayers in different ways and suprising ways like the one we had. Let us just keep the faith and who knows, tomorrow might be another lucky, oh, make that another blessing-filled day! :)

Working Holy Week

It is actually not my first time to spend Holy Week here in Sydney. But last year, I was still too excited to see the differences on how we celebrate back in Manila since we just arrived here. Of course, there were the more obvious differences like people here are not so "in to in" like we Filipinos are. They don't have the "pabasa", a Filipino tradition where the elderly usually recall the Passion of the Christ by singing it from start to finish, continuously. They also don't have the Way of the Cross that goes around the entire neighborhood or community. They don't have Visita Iglesia. They don't have Pinetensya, where people with masked faces hit their backs with wooden sticks until they bleed as a sign of them asking for forgiveness.

This year was a bit different for me. For one, I didn't expect that I would be having a working holy week. As what I have posted in the FB status, I am not at all used to working during the holy week, but I am not complaining that I am. After all, these casual works are still His blessings. It was bit tiring. But more than that I was actually missing the practices that we had back in Manila. Then it made think, this set-up, working during holy week, is actually a good way to show what your priorities are. In Manila, you didn't have any choice because everyone is in Holy weeek mode. Everyone is quiet, reflecting, praying. You can't go out to the malls because most often than not, it will be closed. But here, you have all the reason to miss out on those activities because this is only one of the very few long weekends that you get to enjoy here (unlike in Manila, where there is a humngous amount of long weekends!). So people here, really grab that opportunity to go out and travel or unwind. I made me think that you can actually easily go with the flow if you don't have Him as a priority.

I don't want to sound like a self-righteous person but I believe that Holy Week is not something you spend on travels or parties. I believe that each one of us should allot a special time this week to reflect and to pray. This is just once a year! As I've said, I can't blame the people here.

Now, I got a little off track there, but going back, I was surprised to see myself working from Holy Tuesday to Holy Thursday knowing that in the past, I used to spend those days in Church already. Oh well, things change. It was a good thing though that even if I was working, I was still able to do some reflection through the student presentations that I witnessed in St. Andrew's Primary School in Marayong. Just watching the kids and listening to the songs really gave me goosebumps.

My holy week is still not done but work is. I am relieved. I am thankful and I pretty sure, sooner or later I'll get used to working during the Holy Week.