Latest Story

Thank you, O Lord, for the three wonderful mothers in my life

Thank you, O Lord, for the three wonderful mothers in my life

ShareA wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies…She gets up while it is still night; she provides food for her family… She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks… She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:  “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.” Charm is deceptive, and...

Read more »

Holding onto Our Faith Amidst Death

tita rochelle

ShareFor the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable , and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” 1 Corinthians 15:30 Death is the great enemy of mankind. It comes to everyone without exception. It violates our dominion of God’s creation, breaks apart relationships, disrupts families, and causes us to grieve the loss of loved ones....

Read more »

A Pain that will Certainly Pass

IMG_2039.

ShareHow could I ever comfort someone in so much pain? Our family is in total pain right now because our aunt is in her terminal stage of cervical cancer. Last night, we were all in the hospital all very sad but managing to be strong for everyone most especially for her, my cousins who are all very young, and their dad who is still in Saudi. It has taken me so long before I could speak up to lead a prayer. I was even very hesitant to sing praise songs to my aunt. Graciously, I was given the courage...

Read more »

Bringing Back the Child in Me

IMG_1998.

Share“Philippine Games” brings back the child in me and refreshes the energy that was lost throughout the years. I never thought I could ever play with college students in such a setting wherein no one thinks they are already old, and where no one is overly conscious about getting wet with sweat, dirty with dust, and tired with excitement. Philippine Games wasn’t really what the CRS had given me, so I had to prerog it just so I could complete the required PE units to graduate. My first day in class is unforgettable because that was the day I...

Read more »

My son’s first Sunday school experience

ShareToday is the first complete Sunday school attendance of Lucas in Sumulong Baptist Church. Last Sunday, we let him see what’s going on in the Sunday school before the service finished; and satisfactorily enough, we established his excitement to attend since last week. I was the one who brought him in the room where the Sunday school for toddlers was being held. Surprisingly, he willingly went inside and joyfully participated in the activities. As a mom, I was hesitant to leave my son for the first time with people he is unfamiliar with. But because I wanted to train...

Read more »

Even when ‘tests’ do not stop, my hope will never falter

ShareAs part of our two- and- a- half- year routine of periodic laboratory tests such as urine culture and medical diagnostic examinations such as renal scan and VCUG, our son would have to undergo a micral test as advised by his pediatric nephrology doctor. This, according to her, would be a means to find out whether protein is excreted in the urine. Further, this could identify the extent of the kidney damage on my child since he was diagnosed to have a grade 3-4 vesicoureteral reflux when he was 4 months old. Micral test is a shorter term for...

Read more »

Transforming Perceptions

IMG_1239.

Share“A paradigm is how you see reality, your view of the world, your map of the territory. The fastest way to change a person’s paradigm is to change his or her role. As soon as our role changes from being single to married we see the world differently. As soon as our role changes from husband or wife to parent we see the world differently.” – Stephen Covey   When I was a child until I reached my teenage years, I perceived life as a garden. I even always wrote about myself as a butterfly which undergoes metamorphosis from...

Read more »

When Toddlers Use the iPad and Other Smart Phones

February 20, 2012
By
My son playing with iPhone and his cousins with iPad

ShareMost children today have surely had an experience using computer applications (through the desktop, laptop, PSP, smart phones, or iPad). They usually use these for different purposes such as education and play time. What is no surprise today, however, is the rise of toddlers capable of utilizing devices like iPad. My child is no exception to this. Cute it may seem that young ages are able to use sophisticated technology, psychological and physical problems may serve as a caveat. Some of the caveats may include: 1. Your child’s incapacity to healthily interact with other people (even children of his...

Read more »

Making a ‘Healthy’ Spaghetti for Kids

IMG_0686

ShareA wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies…She gets up while it is still night; she provides food for her family… She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks… She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:  “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.” Charm is deceptive, and...

Read more »

What Shall I Fear?

IMG_0707.

ShareThe Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1 Accidents usually happen when we least expect it to be. Just last Saturday after bringing Lucas to the doctor for his PPV 7 shot, I decided to cook carbonara for my family. I already put  in place everything I needed except for some ingredients which I asked Lucas’  yaya to buy at the nearby grocery. I was done chopping the garlic and onion when I decided to continue  opening the cans...

Read more »

Yet Another Wonderful Year- ender

IMG_0614.

ShareThe family usually ends the year with an out- of- town vacation. Since I have become part of the Gonzales family, we have spent end- of- new- years at Holiday Inn Clark Field. As always, last year’s vacation began with a picnic at the Clark Field Picnic Grounds. Every picnic feels just so right to ease our hunger from an almost tw0- hour travel from Manila. It is also a prudent thing for us to have a picnic instead of having lunch on restaurants. Aside from spending less, we get to enjoy an unusual experience with nature and of...

Read more »

The Acacia Hotel Manila Experience

IMG_0640.

ShareTwice have I been to the superbly luxurious Acacia Hotel Manila. First was during a family Christmas Party, and second, which will certainly be among the many, was during the Acacia Hotel Manila New Year’s Countdown. Its magnificent design indescribably caught my awe and indulged my mind with its elegance. Add the remarkable hospitality exhibited by the hotel personnel and the cozy room, the Acacia Hotel Manila experience was certainly one of the best.     It was such a great thing to start the new year in a place that exudes style, comfort, elegance, and tranquility. The Acacia Hotel...

Read more »

How I had a Truly Meaningful 2011 Christmas

December 26, 2011
By
IMG_0033.

ShareThis Christmas was relatively my busiest Christmas ever.  It was during this Christmas when I excited myself too much with buying gifts for special people in our lives and preparing little things for other people as well. But no matter how busy (and somehow stressed) I had been, things turned out to be more delightful and meaningful than what I thought they could be.   A week before Christmas, the Gonzales clan celebrated Christmas at the Acacia Hotel Manila. A sumptuous lunch was served in one of the function rooms of the hotel. Apparently, the senior members of the...

Read more »

When Plans Need to Change

December 19, 2011
By

ShareChristmas preparations became more exciting for me when I came up with the decision of spearheading a gift- giving project for kids that will involve my high school batch mates this time. For four years, I have been used to doing a gift- giving project in our community. However, this plan of continuing my yearly activity which I planned to expand by involving more people suddenly needs to be changed. Well, the change is necessary. The kids in our community could perhaps wait for a more exciting Christmas with us next year. For now, our help needs to be channeled...

Read more »

How I forget that I am fearfully and wonderfully made

ShareI never thought I would ever feel anxious because of my desire to be better every day. I just suddenly felt out of place and too old for my age. The fact that I don’t smoke and drink… Oh, and neither do I truly party… These facts which dawned on me weeks ago made me insecure with my cohorts. I started to have this feeling when someone told me, “Get a life!” How does he call my life if I don’t have one? Am I too boring to even be considered lifeless? At that point, I decided to restore...

Read more »

For when I am weak, then I am strong

November 21, 2011
By
For when I am weak, then I am strong

Share  I know that I can’t stop my son from growing. Soon, he’ll be ready to do more things on his own. Well, he is an independent child. At the age of two, he is very determined to accomplish small things on his own. I am not certain whether I must be happy with such character or I should do something to prevent him from being completely independent. Being independent on the one hand is certainly strength in one’s character. However, the acceptance and toleration of his trying to be completely independent threatens not just my authority over and...

Read more »

Someone and Something Greater this Christmas

November 14, 2011
By
Someone and Something Greater this Christmas

ShareHo! Ho! Ho! Christmas is nearing, but who is coming to town? Would it be Santa Claus? No, not really… Someone greater is actually coming to greet us. It could be you or anyone around you. Christmas is popularly celebrated to spread the spirit of peace, joy, and love through giving. It has been commonplace that we send sweet regards to our family, friends, and relatives through gifts which are all unquestionably adorable actions; however, wouldn’t it be more wonderful if we make Christmas a lot happier for less fortunate people who are not ordinarily within our reach? Surely...

Read more »

Dealing with Money in Marriage

November 11, 2011
By

ShareMoney is inherently necessary and crucial in the survival of marriage. On one hand, its presence primarily responds to the basic needs for survival of the family and further creates opportunities for leisure among members. On the other hand, its lack produces a complicated problem most especially when dealt with inappropriately.   There is a traditional misconception on the subject of talking about money as prejudicial to a relationship’s development. What is often failed to be considered by couples is the constant need for communication, planning, and agreement with regard to budget and expenditures. Running a family, which is...

Read more »

November Holidays

November Holidays

ShareOur family usually spends the holidays out of town most specifically in the north. In this November holidays, we had been to Subic where we stayed at the Travelers Hotel and Buena Casa Hotel. The vacation was abruptly planned, thus we had a hard time booking for a hotel since most hotels were already fully booked by October 30. Happily, we were able to pursue our vacation not just in line with the holidays, but as a celebration of Lucas’ birthday as well. Our stay in Subic could be characterized as days of food overload. It seemed like we...

Read more »

Preparing for a Kiddie Party

ShareMommies certainly desire to make their child’s birthdays as some of the most wonderful days for their child’s life. It is usually through a party that they celebrate a kid’s birthday because it is during such event that their child gets to have the chance of meeting his relatives, playmates, friends, and other children he could play with. Preparing a kiddie party is definitely exciting yet demanding. Crowding a venue with a number of children makes the house wonderfully joyful. But to ascertain a best experience for all the kids requires particular preparation. Here are a number of points...

Read more »

The Challenges of Being a Young Mom

ShareBeing a very young mom entails a lot of beginnings, adjustments, and sacrifices. It is a beginning of a new life – a life which could immediately transform a young lady to a young woman. The terminologies are crucial because it essentially distinguishes a person. It prescribes and proscribes certain actions that are proper to one terminology. In case of the term woman, it prescribes the appropriateness required to being one which includes being a nurturing mother. However, it also proscribes certain actions and characteristics that were once a usual part of life such as childishness. Just as how...

Read more »

Some Points Concerning the Legalization of Same- Sex Marriage

ShareOn Man’s Nature Man’s nature consists of our inherently essential characteristics that are primarily determined by God’s providential ordering of things. The divine plan can then be discovered through the explicit revelations by the Scriptures. Therefore, it is chiefly necessary to explore the Scriptures in answering questions concerning the nature of man. According to Genesis 1:26-27, “Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that...

Read more »

Seemingly Silly but Real

September 23, 2011
By

ShareAfter the intense barangay session last Wednesday, I realized certain silly but real things… That in politics, we find different kinds of people. The world is so sinful… so is politics. But no matter how sinful the world or politics we belong to, I believe there are still certain personalities who struggle to come out untainted. But sadly, there are also people who do not struggle with the status quo but succumb to it. First, there are people who dream. I think everyone is a dreamer… even for the most cynic of us. We dream about things which are...

Read more »

Yes, He’s Gradually Healing… :)

September 21, 2011
By

ShareI’ve just realized that we have already been dealing with my son’s urinary reflux for almost two years now. Days ago, we brought him under a test called DMSA renal scan where he had to be injected a valve of radioisotopes and tightly strapped in an imaging machine to capture his kidneys. It was a very stressful and anxious moment for us. Actually, it was already a repeat since he had the same test 6 months ago. Thinking about his body containing radiation for 6 hours kept me worried about him and having seen him cry for the whole...

Read more »

When Faith Keeps You Standing

September 16, 2011
By

ShareWhere do you get hope when everything seems to be hopeless? The recent circumstance faced by my sick relative has made me admire her so much. She has a rare cancer case – something which until now could not be decided by the doctors whether it originated from her previously stricken cervix or a new occurrence in the gallbladder. Her cancer reoccurrence/ new occurrence happened less than a year from her previous cancer in the cervix. It has already been three months since the tests have declared the presence of cancer cells in both her cervix and gallbladder. Having...

Read more »