I just got word– it is the hard drive.

Here’s the thing.  I have four talks to do this month of February and the lessons are in that hard drive. I decided to get a new household help and I already have my own personalized “manual”– with English-Tagalog versions– and it is in that hard drive. All the lesson plans I have crafted from scratch in an attempt to get myself going and psyched-up for homeschooling– they are all in that hard drive. All the customized household management stuff I had made that suit my system of doing things? …In that hard drive. Files upon files of downloaded material from whatever “research” I have made– you guessed it! In that hard drive. Most of all, drafts and thousands upon thousands of pictures representing MEMORIES are in that hard drive.

I am asking myself, “Why did you not create back-up files?? How could you have been so careless??”

I guess the thought ALWAYS crossed my mind. It’s just that there was always something “more important” that I had to take care of at the times that that thought came up. And I am sure all those things that were “more important” that I just had to do were valid. They were not excuses I came up with just to avoid backing up my files. Who wouldn’t want to have the security of having back-ups??

Here’s the lesson here:

Some things may not seem as important as others….until they start screaming “Urgent!”

Another thing:

Some things will never even scream “Urgent!” or “Important!” ….You just realize they are, when they’re gone.

Also,

“Stuff” are just stuff, and will always be just stuff. They are placed on earth as tools to help us, thank you Lord for that. However, it is a dangerous thing to be so reliant on them, as many of us are (Yes! I’m talking to you Thammie!!!). They can just snap and break and….be gone. Just like that.

Reality check: Am I letting technology take over how I function??

….I think I’m just having withdrawal symptoms. That, or denial syndrome.

Here are some of the things I do that have been working for me so far:

1. Choose your supermarket.

Consider the following factors: product prices, travel time and distance (Are you commuting? Are you taking a cab? Are you using your car? How much will you be spending for the fare or the gas?), parking fees…

2.  Make a list.

Lists are our friends. They keep us away from impulse buying and help free up space in our brains so there are less things that we have to remember. Einstein did this, and look at the theories he came up with!

Free your brain!!!

3. Set a budget and stick with it.

Remember: there’s always next month to buy all those other items.

4. Bring a calculator.

Or the one in your cellphones would do. I have this thing that I just can’t get out of my system…I just have to calculate unit costs….per gram, per liter…..but one centavo saved per item, in ten years of grocery shopping will add up to… wow I’d be a millionaire!!

5. Don’t go to the supermarket on an empty stomach.

Hunger is your enemy! (I should know.)

We hear this often, probably because it does have an effect on our spending.

6. Leave the kids at home.

Well, sometimes I get to follow this. The supermarket is such a wonderful world for the kids, it’s like their version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. This is always a difficult decision for me. On one hand, they do get to learn a lot in supermarkets; On the other hand, we also tend to spend more whenever they join us. So I just follow this piece of advice when the need to save more overrides my desire to be with the kids….which seldom happens.

7. Look out for items that are on sale.

Your well-loved products might be selling for half the price this time!

This could be tricky though, make sure you don’t end up buying something you have no use for just because it’s on sale. These things have expiration dates, my friend.

8. Bring cash.

As they say, cash is king. Plastics (credit cards) have a way of deceiving us into thinking that we are on a shopping spree. Cash would remind us of reality.

9. Don’t be deceived!

The words “New and Improved!” translate to me as “New and improved packaging so we can get more of your money!”.

10. Choose the least busy time.

“Fools rush in.” This just doesn’t just apply to love, you know. Don’t you notice that when there are more people, our competitive spirit seems to rise up, causing us to be more aggressive in shopping?? In the same breath, when we are in a rush, we usually end up buying on impulse.

Be wise and think through your purchases.

Okay, that’s ten. Any more will ruin the beauty of this numbered list.

Of course, I’m sure some of you have more great ideas. Please do share!!!

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photos (in order of appearance.. hehe):

bbc.co.uk

kara.allthingsd.com

causerelatedmarketing.blogspot.com

It doesn’t take very long for parents to realize that humans (i.e. kids) are born with a self-centered orientation. That’s a nicer way of saying that we are generally born selfish. This is one of the things we never teach our kids, but for some reason one of the earliest fights they have with their siblings revolve around what’s theirs.

“That’s mine!”                                                                                                                                                               “Me first!!”

“I was first!”

“She didn’t follow me!”                                                                                                                                                “But I need it!”

“I want that!”

It all sounds too familiar. It’s also no wonder if all of a sudden Christmas becomes about them and what they wish they could get during this season. And who can blame them? They do see a lot of presents under the tree; They would hear songs about making sure they are nice so that Santa would give them gifts; People would always ask them what they want to get this Christmas. What’s a kid supposed to think??

We can be sure that our kids’ will most likely be thinking of the presents they’ll be getting for Christmas each day that they wake up and find those beautifully-wrapped gifts under the tree. It’s like they catch this “All I want for Christmas” bug every year. If there is any hope of beating this bug, then we have to be deliberate about teaching them that first, Christmas is about Jesus’ birth and what that means for all of mankind; And second, this season is a chance for us to mirror God’s heart when He gave us His only Son.

One of the ways we can overcome this self-centered nature is by being generous and coming up with things we can do in order to be a blessing to others.

Here are a few things we can do to teach our children about generosity:

1. Wrap your gifts as early as you can and place all of them under your tree. Assign each kid a pile of gifts that he/she will be giving away. Instead of focusing on the excitement of receiving lots of gifts, let them be extra excited at the idea of having less and less gifts under the tree, which implies that they’ve been giving out more and more of those presents.

2. Instead of making a Christmas wish list of what they want to have, let them make a Christmas wish list of what they wish to bless others with.

3. Before the house gets filled with presents from other people, schedule a “let’s give away!” day with your kids. Mark your calendar before it gets filled with party schedules and set a day or two just to go around the house searching for things you can give away.

4. Go to the grocery with your kids and let them pick out some goodies or snacks that they’d like to buy for street children. Let them be the ones to pack those goodies, and set a time when you’ll drive around town just to hand out those goodies to the kids.

5. Prepare something that you would like to give your guests this Christmas. Have the kids pack those things, too, and let them be the ones to hand out those gifts as the guests arrive/leave your house.

6. Involve your kids as you pray and decide on what and who to give to this Christmas.

7. “Adopt” someone you know is away from his/her family this season, perhaps invite them over for Christmas dinner or on Christmas morning.

8. If you have extra cash, why not buy groceries for a family you know is in need, and just surprise them?

9. If your kids are old enough, set a date when you can help out in a community feeding program. Real Life Foundation is one of those organizations who have this regularly.

10. Organize or be part of an “Operation: Christmas Shoe Box”. This is where kids would each have a shoe box to fill and wrap to give other community kids. They can fill their boxes with toys, toiletries, books….whatever they think other kids would find useful….and when their boxes are full, they can wrap these and take them to the nearest group or church who is a part of this project. In our case, we would be taking our boxes to our Victory Greenhills center at Promenade. We would then be setting a day when all the other kids would be distributing these to one of the kids’ community groups we have chosen to bless this Christmas.

I just shared some of the things we have been doing in our family for the past years with the kids. I’m sure there are lots more you can do (please share what you have come up with!).

I have no doubt that this is one thing your kids will thank you for when they grow up. Even as early as now, Alyanna and Mika would have a different glow in their faces as they smile every time they hand out gifts and goodies to other people. As early as now, they are already experiencing the promise of Proverbs 11:25 that “he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.”

Merry Christmas!