It is my prayer that you will continue to find extraordinary joy in the seemingly ordinary things you do each day. I pray that you will be strengthened in every way— to do the tasks that are expected from you, as you fulfill the roles entrusted to you. As you look forward to seeing the fruit of all your labor ten, twenty years down the road, may you find complete satisfaction and peace in the knowledge that you are right where God has called you to be, doing the very things he has assigned you to do. I pray that you will continue to be filled with wisdom and much grace as you shepherd the hearts of your children. May you be reminded today and always of how much of a treasure you are, not just in the lives of your children, but in the generations to come after them.
I once heard somebody say that out of all the relationships we are blessed with on this earth, that of being a parent to our children is the one that will eventually require us to “let go”. In that sense, we can say that our parenting “task” is temporary. We only have a few years given to us to mold and teach our children. After which, we must trust that the seeds we have planted into their hearts and minds will bear lasting fruit. We must trust that all the teaching and training we have deposited into their lives will pay off and be a blessing to them, so they can be a blessing to the world they are in.
Our task is temporary, but our role— and the outcome of fulfilling our roles— affect eternity.
Have a wonderful day, mom-friends! You are blessed!
After a couple of days, I now get to use my laptop again. Is it just me or have I really been relatively “silent” the past few weeks??
I have been feeling quite guilty the past few days, since the doctor ordered that I stay away from anything that could cause any stress or tension. She advised against homeschooling (we’re THIS close too, you know? — THIS close to finishing!); Action flicks or series are a no-no; And personally, I haven’t had the drive to go on the net either— not even to write.
I expressed this sense of “guilt” to Dennis (nothing serious though)— how I haven’t done any housework in a long time, how I haven’t been able to homeschool, to blog….And what he said greatly reassured and encouraged me: “Yes you could be a homeschool teacher now, a housewife, or a blogger….but right now, you have to choose to just be a mother. Nothing else. That’s your priority now.” (He actually said this in English ha! hehe ) As the doctor said, the priority now is to protect this baby that’s in my womb and to try to help it thrive.
I know this sounds so basic, and it really should be something that I should’ve grasped already, but again, there are just times when you need someone to say it to you out loud. I am really not used to not doing anything and not seeing any fruit or evidence of productivity in this household as far as I’m concerned, and so….there are random moments when I am just itching to be able to move about already. But I thank God for the wisdom of my husband, who constantly reminds me that the purpose of bed rest is really to be able to REST.
I guess it’s always a good thing to be reminded of this thing called priority. Making something a priority is a choice we deliberately make. It means out of all the the many things that I can do, out of all the demands that I feel I have to do— THIS is what I choose to devote my time and efforts in.
When we look at our budget and checkbooks, what do they give away? What do we value? When we check our calendars, what do they tell of what we have chosen to take priority? When we assess how we build and keep our relationships, what do they say about what is truly important to us?
Whether we are aware of it or not, we make choices everyday as to what our priorities are. I hope we make choices, not only based on what will satisfy our current interests or fulfill our ambitions, but based on the roles we have been given— as wives, as mothers, as women of purpose.
I wrote this post yesterday, but I wasn’t sure if I should publish it so I just saved it and kept is as a draft.
Anyway, here it is now.
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Two hours prior to writing this, I was in the bathroom changing when I noticed that once again, I started spotting. Since we just had our second ultrasound a few days ago showing that there’s still some bleeding in my uterus, I didn’t think it was something that should cause alarm. I actually thought it’s an expected occurrence as a result of my uterus’ present condition. (Oh, BTW, results of our second ultrasound showed a heartbeat and a slight increase in the volume of the bleed).
I decided anyway to contact my OB, just to ask if this was somewhat expected, and what measures I should take. She immediately replied that I should now go on a complete bedrest, go back to taking medicine, and that if bleeding progresses, I should go straight to the DR (delivery room).
Honestly, the thought of me having to go to the DR gave an overwhelming sense of worry and fear. I started sending text messages to some of my good friends to pray for me and the baby. I specifically asked that they pray against worry and fear on my part, too, since I kind of saw it coming. I had a feeling that in a few more minutes, I was likely to start imagining what I didn’t want to imagine, and that would make me start feeling what I didn’t want to feel….which would make me do what I didn’t want to do (cry).
And the timing couldn’t be better. Everybody was out to attend church and so there was no one home but me. Being alone meant I could cry and worry and not have to hide it!
But I decided I didn’t want to be in fear. I didn’t want to cry and worry. I was alone, which actually meant I could pray and lay my petition before God without any interruption!
So that’s what I did– I tried to fight against worry and got myself to pray. But truth be told, no matter how hard I tried to pray faith-filled prayers, and no matter how I tried to stop myself from crying, I couldn’t deny the fact that I knew deep down I felt some amount of worry and fear. Sure, I could always try to deny its existence, but knowing myself, I’ll eventually give unless I am able to completely lay it before God and let Him speak to me and my situation.
So there I was, trying to control the amount of tears that started to roll down my cheeks as I kept asking God to take away my fears and as I kept declaring God’s promises out loud. Sometimes, it’s one thing to know it, it’s another thing to hear it again….and again…being spoken over your situation.
As I kept asking God to take away my fear so I can just pray in faith for this baby that’s developing in my womb, I felt that God was leading me to do only one thing: to worship Him.
And so that’s what I did. I kept singing the song “Bless the Lord” by Jon Owens. Over and over, I sang it, and the more I did, the more I was able to take my mind off my situation and began to remember God’s greatness. Finally, at one point of the song, as I sang, “In the splendor of your majesty, from deep within my spirit sings holy, holy, holy….” , I was reminded of the verse in Isaiah when he said “I see the Lord, seated on His throne, high and exalted….”
That’s it. That’s the picture of God right now– He is seated on His throne. He is not rattled or alarmed by my situation…nor by any other situation for that matter. God is seated on His throne. He is seated, He is on His throne, He is sovereign, He is in control; He sees everything, He knows everything….. and this God who is over all actually calls me His daughter. And He loves me. He has a plan for me and my family, and even for this pregnancy and this baby. This God who is over all, is faithful and He says that His plans for us are always good, pleasing, and perfect. This God who is over all already knows what will happen tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that… and He says that He is and He will be the same faithful and powerful and loving God in each of those days, just as He was– and has always been– in all of my days, even the ones where I knew I messed up.
Here’s my conclusion for today: There is no faster cure for worry and fear than to worship. When we worship, we don’t necessarily forget about the things that concern us, but knowing God now becomes our more pressing concern. When we worship, we don’t necessarily negate the reality and the weight of our fears and problems, but God’s greatness now bears more weight in our hearts and minds than our present situation. When we worship, we remember how finite and weak we are, and how limitless and powerful God is.
The Psalmist said it well— “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not be afraid…”
Thank you Lord.
PS:
I hope this song ministers to you as much as it did to me.
“I got it from her, then she grabbed it from me!”, stated one of the Sy sisters.
Do you notice the craftiness of this statement?
Sister A was playing with something then sister B simply “got” it (of course, sister B is the narrator, therefore the good girl, in the story here). She didn’t take it by force, she didn’t grab it, she just….”got” it. It was okay for her to get it. Getting something doesn’t sound so aggressive or rude.
But what came next was so wrong— sister A “grabbed” it back! Oh that was wrong! It was rude, it was selfish and it was disrespectful! Sister A needs to be dealt with!
Oh so crafty….
It’s amazing how young children are already so capable of playing with words and using them in such a way that they can water down their own sin and highlight that of their “adversary”.
Of course Dennis and I didn’t buy this one bit. Sister B had to know that she wasn’t just “getting” something. She, too, was grabbing. More importantly, she had to know that she does not have the liberty to change the label of her sin just to make it sound more acceptable.
Isn’t this our default response in general though? When we sin, the natural response of our flesh is to change the label of our sin to make it seem more palatable. It is much easier to confess our sin once we have tweaked it a bit and made it sound less sinful and selfish. In a world where being politically correct is a must, we have gotten used to choosing our words and making them work for our advantage. It’s really no wonder why more and more of our children are growing up not knowing the weight of sin, or that sin is sin. More children grow up thinking that sin is relative, and the consequence of their sin is relative too. The consequence of their sin is now highly dependent on how well they “repackage” it.
As parents, we are to see beyond actions and hear beyond words. We are to look into the hearts of our children. We are to see beyond the packaging and know what is really inside.
More than that, it is also our responsibility to expose sin for what it really is— ugly, messy, harmful. It is our responsibility to show our children that there’s no way around sin— there’s no way to package it or water it down; there’s no way to minimize its consequences either. Sin is sin and that is that. Sin is ugly. And our sin simply exposes our hearts and the ugliness of our flesh.
Finally, when they see sin for what it is, it is our role to show our children the grace and love of God. When they finally learn that there’s no way they can sugar coat or relabel sin to make it any less sinful, we have to be ready to point them to Christ, who already took away all our sin, therefore allowing us to do away with the need to repackage. We have to be ready to make them understand that because of Christ, we have already been justified, freeing us from the need to having to justify ourselves and our actions. We want to make sure that we show them that because of Christ, we have a new identity—a new label, so now we can stop looking for “better” labels for our sin…because now our sins do not define us any more. Only Christ’s work on the Cross does.
I hope my children will understand this— that they are free to confess their sins for what they really are, because God already made the promise that “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from ALL (our) unrighteousness”.
There’s nothing like a long holiday to refresh and recharge! I haven’t touched my laptop for over a week— and actually loved every minute of being away from it.
Anywaaaayyy….what better way to come back than to make this *heehee* exciting announcement:
Drumroll please!
*……….* uh, how does a drumroll sound like again??
…Never mind.
Trumpets! Drums! Pots! Pans! I would like to share these pictures with you:
Yeeeaaahhh!!! We’re pregnant!!!
(Those are Dennis’ fingers, by the way.)
Of course, Dennis prefers that I announce it once we’ve been to the doctor already, but I can always make another announcement then, right? hehe
That’s all I really wanted to share. As you can see, I took three tests. I never did that with the first two pregnancies. Well, with the first two pregnancies I made sure I followed the instructions in conducting the test. My excitement (read: impatience) got the better of me this time. On the first two tries, I put in waaaay too much sample than was indicated in the instructions. So I ended up thinking that I probably got false positive results. The lines were really faint initially, so when I saw that they became distinct upon drying up, I just thought they could be evaporation lines or were caused by over-saturation, if there’s such a thing. Anyway, just to be sure, I took another test and ta-da! Same result!
”Sons are a heritage from the Lord, children a reward from Him.” (Psalm 127:3)
Here’s a list of things that made my day today: (in order of “happening”)
1. Alyanna told me she looked for me the moment she woke up because I’m “special” to her.
2. I was reminded again of how much God loves us and how merciful He is as I read my Bible.
3. Mika kept asking me to hug her.
4. Alyanna asked me to increase our homeschool time. To be more specific, she said, “Mom, how come our study time is so short na here at home? I want you to give me more work to do for school.” (In short, nagpaka-nerd siya! hehehe)
5. Dennis volunteered to do his sermon preparation where I would be staying while waiting for the kids because he didn’t want me to drive in the rain. (This one really got me so kilig earlier! heehee!)
6. I spent the afternoon reading a good book while Dennis was in front of me the whole time finishing all three of his preachings for the week. (In case you didn’t know, my number one love language is time)
7. I had really yummy chocolate-filled coffee buns—two— with good coffee. (I think this made my day until I realized the calorie content, but oh well… )
8. We went on a family date night.
9. I enjoyed a very tasty and nutty pesto pasta with really soft, buttery, and garlicky bread….oh, with barbecue sauce smothered all over fried chicken.
10. I finally bought something I’ve been praying for, for three years already!
As I finish typing this list, I could actually imagine you yawning and asking, “Is that it?” or “Where’s the ‘happening’ you mentioned earlier??”. It’s okay, I won’t take it against you.
….Come to think of it, today has been one of the “relatively-steady-and-relaxed” days for me. I chose not to think about (or do) any housework or ministry-related duties that had to be done— which I know would never get done anyway.
But you know what? Even if this was any other day that was full of events and work and stuff— I probably would still be listing down the same things here. :)
Thank you Lord for allowing us to enjoy the wonderful blessing of family. Thank you for the gift of marriage. Thank you for the joy of being with our children. Thank you for allowing us to enjoy ever day with you. Thank you that things don’t have to be grand in order for us to enjoy them. Thank you. Thank you.
What about you?
What made your day today?
Have you expressed your gratitude, yet?
PS: I told you I really didn’t think of anything work-related today….not even anything blog-related (well, except for now)— I didn’t even bother taking any pictures!
