Wednesday, April 12, 2017
When I was a child, I remembered how we would go out in our farm to see and observe the growth of the rice that our farmer planted. I was even so scared to cross the bamboo bridge back then but the challenge was worth it. It was a beautiful scene to see the rice field. The plant sways as the wind blows.
For decades now I have not seen that rice field anymore. My parents turned it to a fishing pond and had it rented.
Living in the city limits me to see this kind of scenery. Only when we go out of town that I have the opportunity to see a rice field again.
How I would like my children to see this beauty of nature and God's creation. To run and play in the field.
It is also a wonder to witness how it was planted and until the day of it's harvest time.
In our season of life, Arnel and I has a different harvest field.
And God would like us to start with our family.
Our children is our first harvest and mission field.
It will take a while to see them bloom and to make a harvest of their own but in their growing years they need a lot of wisdom and understanding. We, as their parents need to be God dependent farmers of the seed that was planted in the hearts of our children.
So God can use us to allow these seeds to grow into Christlikeness.
Sometimes I am thinking what if they are already grown ups and can decide on their own. When our influence becomes lesser and lesser to them. Will they grow fullfilling God's mission?
We do not know. Only God knows. P
Praying pervently for them is our main weapon.
Just like what our Pastor would say: We cannot pass on our Faith to our children. Faith is experiential. They need to have a personal encounter with Jesus.
Letting them know how God is teaching them in their daily experiences and what the Bible says about their situation would help them run the race. Reminding them too to fix their eyes on the price which is Jesus.
Our harvest field starts with our family then with others. It may take a while to win some souls for Jesus but praying for them will help a lot.
I somehow felt like giving up sometimes when I experience rejection in sharing Christ. But I realized that whenever I do, it's like I am nailing Jesus again from cross. He never gave up on me despite of my insuffiency. He allowed me to serve Him even if I do not deserve it.
How about you? Where is your Harvest Field?
"And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." - Luke 10:2
For decades now I have not seen that rice field anymore. My parents turned it to a fishing pond and had it rented.
Living in the city limits me to see this kind of scenery. Only when we go out of town that I have the opportunity to see a rice field again.
How I would like my children to see this beauty of nature and God's creation. To run and play in the field.
It is also a wonder to witness how it was planted and until the day of it's harvest time.
In our season of life, Arnel and I has a different harvest field.
And God would like us to start with our family.
Our children is our first harvest and mission field.
It will take a while to see them bloom and to make a harvest of their own but in their growing years they need a lot of wisdom and understanding. We, as their parents need to be God dependent farmers of the seed that was planted in the hearts of our children.
So God can use us to allow these seeds to grow into Christlikeness.
Sometimes I am thinking what if they are already grown ups and can decide on their own. When our influence becomes lesser and lesser to them. Will they grow fullfilling God's mission?
We do not know. Only God knows. P
Praying pervently for them is our main weapon.
Just like what our Pastor would say: We cannot pass on our Faith to our children. Faith is experiential. They need to have a personal encounter with Jesus.
Letting them know how God is teaching them in their daily experiences and what the Bible says about their situation would help them run the race. Reminding them too to fix their eyes on the price which is Jesus.
Our harvest field starts with our family then with others. It may take a while to win some souls for Jesus but praying for them will help a lot.
I somehow felt like giving up sometimes when I experience rejection in sharing Christ. But I realized that whenever I do, it's like I am nailing Jesus again from cross. He never gave up on me despite of my insuffiency. He allowed me to serve Him even if I do not deserve it.
How about you? Where is your Harvest Field?
"And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." - Luke 10:2
Monday, April 3, 2017
There we were looking at the city lights while enjoying the company of each other.
My husband knows whenever I need a break. He takes me to places that he knew would give us positive thoughts.
Sometimes I feel discouraged and somehow feels not doing enough, not capable enough and not KNOWING Him enough.
When we entered the place it was our theme song playing. Wow, what a great plan you have for me Lord, I told myself. There was a cold breeze. A perfect time for a relaxing night.
As Arnel and I talked, we thought about our plans for us, our children, home and our service to the Lord. It was so joyful to dream Big and talk about what else can we do.
Our desire as parents, is for our children to grow in the grace of God and we continue to pray that they will be followers of Christ, and love Him with all their hearts.
When my child Simone fell off the stairs a month ago, I was awakened.
I had daily plans listed, my calendar is filled with my plans for the month, for the week and for the day. We planned on going for my son's theater arts that day but we ended up going to the ER to have my son checked.
I was reminded that it is His plan and not my plan.
And I remembered and shared to my husband how we can have a long list of our plans and desires, personal appetites...but have we tried to ponder and ask God....Lord, what is your plan for me? How can I bring glory to you?
Regardless how long our list is, how rigid we are in planning and how we persevere to achieve our plans. I realized that it is still the desire of the Lord that will prevail. His desires and not ours.
Then, I looked at the millions of city lights and remembered the Harvest.
There is so much to do and so many people we can draw closer to the Lord. Multiplying efforts in winning souls for Christ.
Adding more passion in presenting Christ to others.
"Being extra on fire to bear witness for Christ is not a request, but a command that needs obedience from those who claim that Jesus is their Lord and Savior."
I remembered the Apostle Paul, how intentional he was in sharing and encouraging the Philippians despite of him being in jail.
"If there's anyone who should strive to multiply the people that God is rescuing, it is none other than we who know Christ. If there is anyone who should proclaim the glory of Christ, it is none other than we who are followers of Christ." - Joey Umali
The wind became chilly as the moon moved deep into the night. It is so lovely to watch the glimmering lights and smell the cold breeze.
I felt refreshed and we ended with some plans we thought that whenever we have any plan, we pray about it and we should always say Lord willing...because it is only through His will that it can happen.
To seek Him and to KNOW Him who died and gave His life for us.
" To Live is Christ, To Die is Gain" - Philippians 1:21
My husband knows whenever I need a break. He takes me to places that he knew would give us positive thoughts.
Sometimes I feel discouraged and somehow feels not doing enough, not capable enough and not KNOWING Him enough.
When we entered the place it was our theme song playing. Wow, what a great plan you have for me Lord, I told myself. There was a cold breeze. A perfect time for a relaxing night.
As Arnel and I talked, we thought about our plans for us, our children, home and our service to the Lord. It was so joyful to dream Big and talk about what else can we do.
Our desire as parents, is for our children to grow in the grace of God and we continue to pray that they will be followers of Christ, and love Him with all their hearts.
When my child Simone fell off the stairs a month ago, I was awakened.
I had daily plans listed, my calendar is filled with my plans for the month, for the week and for the day. We planned on going for my son's theater arts that day but we ended up going to the ER to have my son checked.
I was reminded that it is His plan and not my plan.
And I remembered and shared to my husband how we can have a long list of our plans and desires, personal appetites...but have we tried to ponder and ask God....Lord, what is your plan for me? How can I bring glory to you?
Regardless how long our list is, how rigid we are in planning and how we persevere to achieve our plans. I realized that it is still the desire of the Lord that will prevail. His desires and not ours.
Then, I looked at the millions of city lights and remembered the Harvest.
There is so much to do and so many people we can draw closer to the Lord. Multiplying efforts in winning souls for Christ.
Adding more passion in presenting Christ to others.
"Being extra on fire to bear witness for Christ is not a request, but a command that needs obedience from those who claim that Jesus is their Lord and Savior."
I remembered the Apostle Paul, how intentional he was in sharing and encouraging the Philippians despite of him being in jail.
"If there's anyone who should strive to multiply the people that God is rescuing, it is none other than we who know Christ. If there is anyone who should proclaim the glory of Christ, it is none other than we who are followers of Christ." - Joey Umali
The wind became chilly as the moon moved deep into the night. It is so lovely to watch the glimmering lights and smell the cold breeze.
I felt refreshed and we ended with some plans we thought that whenever we have any plan, we pray about it and we should always say Lord willing...because it is only through His will that it can happen.
To seek Him and to KNOW Him who died and gave His life for us.
" To Live is Christ, To Die is Gain" - Philippians 1:21
Wednesday, March 22, 2017
Few weeks ago my youngest son Simone fell off the stairs.
He was rushing to go down and was not minding my husband's call until he slipped and fell for like 4 steps.
"Come Here" my husband keeps on calling him. But there was no answer and all that Simone was aiming is to go down.
I was shocked with the scream of my husband seeing Simone with a big "bukol" on his forehead. All I can do is pray. We rushed him to the ER and requested for prayers from our spiritual family. By God's grace he was active and was not complaining of anything.
After the doctor examined him and waited for few hours while they observed, we were released. I felt and saw how Arnel was devastated with the incident. I know I was to blame because as a mom I am primarily responsible of taking care of my children.
When we arrived home, we had a family meeting and thought of how can we prevent something like this. I told my husband that I will make sure they will hold on me while they are going down.
I have realized that no matter what plan we have only God knows what is really in store for us. And I praise God for He was in control.
Few days after the fall he was showing me his drawing he said that the black ones are the bad guys and the others are the good guys.
He was able to hold my son while he was falling.
Many times we call our children "Come Here" but they do not listen.
I am also like them with our Heavenly Father.
He calls on me..."Come Here"
But sometimes I ignore Him and would still go on my way.
Coming on their way is sometimes difficult for our children and so with us.
Just like Jonah, God asked him to come to Nineveh for a big job but instead he went away, sailed in a ship and went on a different way.
And whenever we do not come and respond to His call there will always be a consequence in not abiding to His will.
"God is the same way with me. When He calls, He wants me to respond because of who He is, not for what He might give me.
He calls in quiet moments, when I’m awed by a sunrise. He calls in the chaos of a busy day.
He calls me at the crossroads of decision.At sunrise He reminds me that He’s the Creator God.
In chaos, He tells me He’s the Prince of Peace. At the crossroads, He extends His strength as I make a choice.“Come here!” He calls.
But too often I rush to the phone instead of the throne. Rather than going to the Bread of Life, I race to the world’s empty pantry.
Instead of talking it over with Him in prayer or seeking His will in His Word, I consult other sources for worldly wisdom." - Rachel Carman
"Come Here" the Lord says I want to show you and make you feel how much I love you.
He was rushing to go down and was not minding my husband's call until he slipped and fell for like 4 steps.
"Come Here" my husband keeps on calling him. But there was no answer and all that Simone was aiming is to go down.
I was shocked with the scream of my husband seeing Simone with a big "bukol" on his forehead. All I can do is pray. We rushed him to the ER and requested for prayers from our spiritual family. By God's grace he was active and was not complaining of anything.
After the doctor examined him and waited for few hours while they observed, we were released. I felt and saw how Arnel was devastated with the incident. I know I was to blame because as a mom I am primarily responsible of taking care of my children.
When we arrived home, we had a family meeting and thought of how can we prevent something like this. I told my husband that I will make sure they will hold on me while they are going down.
I have realized that no matter what plan we have only God knows what is really in store for us. And I praise God for He was in control.
Few days after the fall he was showing me his drawing he said that the black ones are the bad guys and the others are the good guys.
He was able to hold my son while he was falling.
Many times we call our children "Come Here" but they do not listen.
I am also like them with our Heavenly Father.
He calls on me..."Come Here"
But sometimes I ignore Him and would still go on my way.
Coming on their way is sometimes difficult for our children and so with us.
Just like Jonah, God asked him to come to Nineveh for a big job but instead he went away, sailed in a ship and went on a different way.
And whenever we do not come and respond to His call there will always be a consequence in not abiding to His will.
"God is the same way with me. When He calls, He wants me to respond because of who He is, not for what He might give me.
He calls in quiet moments, when I’m awed by a sunrise. He calls in the chaos of a busy day.
He calls me at the crossroads of decision.At sunrise He reminds me that He’s the Creator God.
In chaos, He tells me He’s the Prince of Peace. At the crossroads, He extends His strength as I make a choice.“Come here!” He calls.
But too often I rush to the phone instead of the throne. Rather than going to the Bread of Life, I race to the world’s empty pantry.
Instead of talking it over with Him in prayer or seeking His will in His Word, I consult other sources for worldly wisdom." - Rachel Carman
"Come Here" the Lord says I want to show you and make you feel how much I love you.
Saturday, March 18, 2017
Intentional discipleship comes with modeling sports and motivating these learners.
But what Motivates them?
They love playing and Sports :)
My husband and I decided to spend more time in playing sports with the kids. It is one way of moivating and encouraging them. My eldest and I played badminton while the rest of the boys played basketball with their Dad. Arnel is good and energetic in sports that is why we are banking on this hobby. We were up early to make sure we will be at the venue by 8am.
We had fun and laughter despite of the body aches for being first timers.
It was appreciating to know that even if my eldest Elijah is not a sporty person gave his full energy, he said he have to since it it is a family activity and you do not want to spoil the moment. The more that we learned from him that loving someone means going out of your way despite of the inconvenience. We also felt encouraged and motivated. I Praise God for my son!
"It is far more important to determine a person's MQ than IQ - their motivational quotient rather than Intelligent quotient" - Law of Encouragement
Watching my kids play and enjoy the morning time gave me joy and a thankful heart that we have the opportunity to do this with our children. Living and loving them.
After an hour, everyone was sweating, hungry and thirsty...but we all have a heart full of love.
My children becoming my best friends and heartfelt companions.
All because of the loving grace of God!
"Choosing to be content, learning to reach for God instead of happiness, celebrating life with my children, learning to endure with GRACE." - Sally Clarkson
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
Last year we started doing our Morning Basket. It's like our Morning time daily habit in our homeschooling.
We always start with singing worship songs, it includes understanding the meaning and learning the message.
It also includes devotion, memory verses, read alouds and reading their preferred books.
This usually takes us an hour in the first part of our homeschooling day.
It is my favorite part of our homeschooling time as we prepare our hearts in our homeschooling by singing songs of worship.
This is also when we share ideas and then they throw in some questions. I just love seeing my children reading books together.
I remembered when Kyle told me that Amazing Grace is his favorite song. I asked why and he said " because we do not deserve grace but even if we do not deserve it Jesus died for us and saved us that is why it is an amazing grace." One of the reasons why we homeschool.
I heard this once and would like to share it "homeschooling is not our savior but it allowed us to know our Savior" - Edric Mendoza
God used homeschooling so together as a family we can seek Him and find His heart in our lives.
For our todders they love singing Jesus Loves me over and over :)
This month we are also studying Good Good Father by Chris Tomlin. The song touched my heart the first time I heard it and would like to impart it in my children. In their young age, I would like to instill in them that they have a God who is a great father and when in times of doubt and need they will remember this song that would remind them of His great love.
Singing and studying worship songs not just sets our children's heart but it also plants a seed that they will carry on in their life journey.
All Praise and Glory to God!
We always start with singing worship songs, it includes understanding the meaning and learning the message.
It also includes devotion, memory verses, read alouds and reading their preferred books.
This usually takes us an hour in the first part of our homeschooling day.
It is my favorite part of our homeschooling time as we prepare our hearts in our homeschooling by singing songs of worship.
This is also when we share ideas and then they throw in some questions. I just love seeing my children reading books together.
I remembered when Kyle told me that Amazing Grace is his favorite song. I asked why and he said " because we do not deserve grace but even if we do not deserve it Jesus died for us and saved us that is why it is an amazing grace." One of the reasons why we homeschool.
I heard this once and would like to share it "homeschooling is not our savior but it allowed us to know our Savior" - Edric Mendoza
God used homeschooling so together as a family we can seek Him and find His heart in our lives.
For our todders they love singing Jesus Loves me over and over :)
This month we are also studying Good Good Father by Chris Tomlin. The song touched my heart the first time I heard it and would like to impart it in my children. In their young age, I would like to instill in them that they have a God who is a great father and when in times of doubt and need they will remember this song that would remind them of His great love.
Singing and studying worship songs not just sets our children's heart but it also plants a seed that they will carry on in their life journey.
All Praise and Glory to God!
Wednesday, January 4, 2017
Finding Joy at Home
For the past few months our family started to have a family fun night at least once per week. It is part of our actions on being more intentional as parents. It started as a new bonding experience and now they are always asking for it. It gives us so much joy to see them being together and spending quality time.
Whenever we do our family fun night we either watch a movie or we play board games at home. It was a good initiative because the kids also had the chance to bond with their siblings.
We cook food either pasta or some wraps and ice cream. We prepare their favorite food or if time will not allow we would order pizza.
We chose Word for Word ( Scrabble) to be our board game of the month. It is educational and makes the kids really think. My 2 boys Elijah and Kyle are competitive. They would really want to beat each other, this gave us a chance to teach them about being a good sport and they are learning from the experience.
To make the game more exciting. We had an agreement that 3 consecutive wins will be a grandslam and the winner will be served by the losers. They team up to make sure we will not get a grandslam 😃
Aside from this we started to have our grateful tree last November. We wanted to cultivate a thankful heart in our children's lives. We studied the history of thanksgiving and how grateful we are that we live in a country where we can express our faith freely.
Our grateful tree grew as days pass by.
God also taught us to do SATs during our fun night. We learned this from our spiritual family. S stands for Sorry, A for Appreciation and T for thanksgiving. Though we have been doing the T, adding S and A will be a great practice. It is the best time to affirm our children more rather than being corrective most of the time.
Affirmation uplifts their spirit and creates a positive home atmosphere. They feel appreciated and special.
The first time we did our SATs, my 2 older son learned to apologize for things that they have done wrong for the week but failed to realize that they hurt or offended somebody. It is a good practice since they will be aware and be more tactful on how they speak.
As weeks past, we have added more board games in our list. The kids are enjoying it and they would always ask for our family fun night even if it is not a Monday. They look forward to it. They love spending the time with our family in playing, laughing and having a good conversation. In return, it helps us to know our children more.
As parents, we want our children to love our family and home. That they would find it as their comfort place and will not look outside to gain the joy that they can get at home.
It is an atmosphere that we want to develop. Having a positive environment full of love, affirmation and hope in God.
It starts with Jesus, when they have come to know the Lord and obey His teachings they were convicted to choose their friends.
Jesus sets the atmosphere in our home. He is the head of our house and the silent listener in every conversation.
I remembered reading this...when your child commits a mistake or whenever you want to correct them. Talk to them like how Jesus will talk to them. It impressed on our hearts to be more careful with the words that we speak because how we speak is how our children would speak too. We are their models.
By God's grace we want our children to have and to practice the habit of being thankful even in small things. To see the positive in every struggles. To have the habit of asking forgiveness and being forgiven. To speak words of affirmation and be appreciative with others.
Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.
Stephen R. Covey
Every family needs to have intentional parents, we are still striving at this but being intentional helped us a lot to improve as a family. To be our children's friends and in their hearts they would know that here in our world we, their parents are their first best friends.
All Praise and Glory to God!
For the past few months our family started to have a family fun night at least once per week. It is part of our actions on being more intentional as parents. It started as a new bonding experience and now they are always asking for it. It gives us so much joy to see them being together and spending quality time.
Whenever we do our family fun night we either watch a movie or we play board games at home. It was a good initiative because the kids also had the chance to bond with their siblings.
We cook food either pasta or some wraps and ice cream. We prepare their favorite food or if time will not allow we would order pizza.
We chose Word for Word ( Scrabble) to be our board game of the month. It is educational and makes the kids really think. My 2 boys Elijah and Kyle are competitive. They would really want to beat each other, this gave us a chance to teach them about being a good sport and they are learning from the experience.
To make the game more exciting. We had an agreement that 3 consecutive wins will be a grandslam and the winner will be served by the losers. They team up to make sure we will not get a grandslam 😃
Aside from this we started to have our grateful tree last November. We wanted to cultivate a thankful heart in our children's lives. We studied the history of thanksgiving and how grateful we are that we live in a country where we can express our faith freely.
Our grateful tree grew as days pass by.
God also taught us to do SATs during our fun night. We learned this from our spiritual family. S stands for Sorry, A for Appreciation and T for thanksgiving. Though we have been doing the T, adding S and A will be a great practice. It is the best time to affirm our children more rather than being corrective most of the time.
Affirmation uplifts their spirit and creates a positive home atmosphere. They feel appreciated and special.
The first time we did our SATs, my 2 older son learned to apologize for things that they have done wrong for the week but failed to realize that they hurt or offended somebody. It is a good practice since they will be aware and be more tactful on how they speak.
As weeks past, we have added more board games in our list. The kids are enjoying it and they would always ask for our family fun night even if it is not a Monday. They look forward to it. They love spending the time with our family in playing, laughing and having a good conversation. In return, it helps us to know our children more.
As parents, we want our children to love our family and home. That they would find it as their comfort place and will not look outside to gain the joy that they can get at home.
It is an atmosphere that we want to develop. Having a positive environment full of love, affirmation and hope in God.
It starts with Jesus, when they have come to know the Lord and obey His teachings they were convicted to choose their friends.
Jesus sets the atmosphere in our home. He is the head of our house and the silent listener in every conversation.
I remembered reading this...when your child commits a mistake or whenever you want to correct them. Talk to them like how Jesus will talk to them. It impressed on our hearts to be more careful with the words that we speak because how we speak is how our children would speak too. We are their models.
By God's grace we want our children to have and to practice the habit of being thankful even in small things. To see the positive in every struggles. To have the habit of asking forgiveness and being forgiven. To speak words of affirmation and be appreciative with others.
Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.
Stephen R. Covey
Every family needs to have intentional parents, we are still striving at this but being intentional helped us a lot to improve as a family. To be our children's friends and in their hearts they would know that here in our world we, their parents are their first best friends.
All Praise and Glory to God!
Friday, November 11, 2016
We planned about having an annual family fun day but the Lord impressed it in our hearts to have a Family retreat at the same time.
We wanted to know how our children are experiencing God in their lives, how deep is their relationship with Him and how we can be more intentional in passing on a godly legacy.
We praise God for allowing us to learn more about parenting with the past few retreats and workshops we have been to. God allowed us to create our own Noble Family Vision and one of these is for our children to Love the Lord with all their hearts.
However we cannot pass on our faith alone. We need to connect their hearts to the Lord. Faith is experiential. They may know the Lord from their minds and not from their hearts.
It's all about nurturing ghe heart of our children.
"Seek first Hist kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you"- Matthew 6:33
The purpose of the retreat is like a starting point for our children to experience God's sovereignity and allow them to feel the Lord's presence moment by moment and we wanted to plant the seed of gratefulness and thankfulness in our children's heart.
Hotel Kimberly, one of our favorite hotels in Tagaytay is having a month long celebration of Thanksgiving. It was so timely with our retreat's theme.
We started with some family activities like Kite flying...I love this moment. Watching all of them playing together, seeing all of their smiles and laughter. I praise God for the time,
sometimes it is difficult to go back with these old ways when we live in a world full of gadgets.
We also allowed our kids to play and run around while waiting for the availability of our room.
I remembered few years back how we were so active in joining halloween costume contest. Our children were always looking forward to this event. Most often than not their mummy costume will always be a hit and they would win the grand prize. We wanted to change our children's heart and replace this tradition with something that is glorifying to the Lord.
The same weekend when we are about to start our 3rd decade in our marriage we opted to have our family retreat and an annual family fun day.
After their kite flying we allowed them to have a rest and enjoy the place before we started with our first activity.
We started with singing worship songs Sean and Simone happily danced while singing.
We also discussed our schedule for the entire stay. This is to give them an overview what to expect and what we will be doing together as a family.
Aside from this we set our rules:
1. No gadgets
2. No cellphones
3. Be prepared to share and Be Honest
4. Be cooperative
5. Have an open heart
We read Psalm 105 and rekindled God's goodness. How faithful God was to the Israelites was the same faithfulness He is giving us. Despite of our sinfulness, failure, and unlikely attitude He never changed.
The venue was close to nature and gave us a closer feeling of God's presence. I prepared a journal for the entire family.
I was blessed to download this Thankful Journal from www.notconsumed.com. It was what we needed at the right time.
I know my boys are not a fan of writing too much however keeping a record of how you feel is like pouring your hearts into something.
I remembered how Rick Warren wrote it in his book A Purpose Driven Life.
Writing helps clarify what God is doing in your life. Dawson Trotman used to say, "Thoughts disentangle themselves when they pass through your fingertips." The Bible has several examples of God telling people to keep a spiritual journal. It says, "At the LORD'S direction, Moses kept a written record of their progress.
We started pouring our thoughts on thanking the Lord for who He is.
"Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." - Ephesians 5:20
Then Arnel and I started asking our children their view of our family. Are we walking in spirit? What needs to improve on? How can we improve as parents?
My 2 sons Ivan and Kyle were able to share their thoughts which gave us opportunities to know what can we do to be better.
While they were sharing we kept quiet and just listened. We tried to absorb and understand their feelings.
We closed with a prayer.
Part of the schedule were activities from the hotel that the kids participated with.
Pizza Making
Cupcake Decorating
Scavenger Hunt for Arnel and Kyle (Dad and son activity). They enjoyed this very much and they won!
This was their wacky picture entry :)
There was a bonfire too but we were not able to join it anymore.
And there was this beautiful sunset.
Then they had an early night sleep after eating their dinner. Arnel and I went down for our Dinner date while watching a movie under the moonlight.
During our dinner time we talked about the Lord and our family and what actions we can do next.
The following day we continued with our Bible Reading in Psalm 106 and talked about God's goodness.
We explained what Grace is. How God blessed us with a lot of things that we do not deserve. I was teary eyed while it was my turn to share. I can feel how unfaithful I am to our faithful God. But at the same time grateful for His unconditional love, so many times I have failed Him but He remains gracious and merciful.
We were blessed to smell the morning fresh air while having breakfast.
We praise God for his mercies are new each morning. Each day is a gift and a blessing. How we live each day is a matter of choice.
Having a conversation with my loving husband about God and our family are one of the things I am grateful for. Sometimes we reminisce and we have never thought time will come that we will always sit down and talk about the Lord. God brought us in this stage of our marriage and we are fully thankful. That is why I believe in God's grace because without it we will not experience this joyful and intimate moment.
God's work is really marvelous. During our stay God allowed our paths to crossed. We were able to spend time on our 21st anniversary with Arnel's cousin who introduced us. Praising God for this time.
Our last activity was to give out our thankful card for family members and hotel employees that we want to thank for their unique service.
We want to model to our children how to have an attitude of gratitude.
One thing I love about the hotel is we can see smiles everywhere and hospitality is genuine.
We want to encourage our children to learn and practice thanking workers in places we are visiting. Giving them small tokens because we want them to have a giving heart.
Training shapes the Habits - Clay Clarkson
"Even a child is known by his action, by whether his conduct is pure and right" - Proverbs 20:11
This is Kuya Alex - whenever we go and visit the hotel farm he would always go out of his way to explain new additions in the farm. He would also tour our kids. I admire his service and kind heart.
He is our all time favorite, Kuya Chito whose smile is endless. We always want to thank him for his excellent service and hospitality. You would feel that his service is from his heart. His service is one of a kind.
Don is a super employee. He hosts the program in the afternoon and he serves as a chef in the evening. What I admire about him is his beautiful and warm smile that is unlimited. You would not see that he gets tired despite of his busy day.
Praising God for their lives and thanking the Lord for their faithfulness in their job and the kind hearted service they have given us.
It was really a blessing that you get to experience a family event in such a beautiful place close to nature.
The kids enjoyed feeding the animals plus we learned a lot from their edible farm.
It was a first for us having a retreat as a family and we plan to do this as often as we can, it helps us to determine what level of relationship they have with our Lord, how deep is their love for Jesus and assessed ourselves as parents.
We will continue with our thankful journal for the entire month, adding entries each week as a family.
Part of this is our gratitude tree that we will also make to be thankful each day, it is a way in adding our daily thoughts of God's faithfulness.
Our family is still a work in progress but by God's grace we want to build positive memory banks in our children's lives and at the same time we wanted to create a family tradition that will nurture our children's hearts and will be glorifying to the Lord. Our prayer is for our children to carry this tradition once they have a family of their own.
Leaving a godly legacy for God's purposes.
Whatever goals we set for our children, we must also set for ourselves. Whatever we want to be on our children's hearts must be first on ours. We are the whetting stone of the hearts of our chidren -Clay Clarkson
All Praise and Glory to God!
We wanted to know how our children are experiencing God in their lives, how deep is their relationship with Him and how we can be more intentional in passing on a godly legacy.
We praise God for allowing us to learn more about parenting with the past few retreats and workshops we have been to. God allowed us to create our own Noble Family Vision and one of these is for our children to Love the Lord with all their hearts.
However we cannot pass on our faith alone. We need to connect their hearts to the Lord. Faith is experiential. They may know the Lord from their minds and not from their hearts.
It's all about nurturing ghe heart of our children.
"Seek first Hist kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you"- Matthew 6:33
The purpose of the retreat is like a starting point for our children to experience God's sovereignity and allow them to feel the Lord's presence moment by moment and we wanted to plant the seed of gratefulness and thankfulness in our children's heart.
Hotel Kimberly, one of our favorite hotels in Tagaytay is having a month long celebration of Thanksgiving. It was so timely with our retreat's theme.
We started with some family activities like Kite flying...I love this moment. Watching all of them playing together, seeing all of their smiles and laughter. I praise God for the time,
sometimes it is difficult to go back with these old ways when we live in a world full of gadgets.
We also allowed our kids to play and run around while waiting for the availability of our room.
I remembered few years back how we were so active in joining halloween costume contest. Our children were always looking forward to this event. Most often than not their mummy costume will always be a hit and they would win the grand prize. We wanted to change our children's heart and replace this tradition with something that is glorifying to the Lord.
The same weekend when we are about to start our 3rd decade in our marriage we opted to have our family retreat and an annual family fun day.
After their kite flying we allowed them to have a rest and enjoy the place before we started with our first activity.
We started with singing worship songs Sean and Simone happily danced while singing.
We also discussed our schedule for the entire stay. This is to give them an overview what to expect and what we will be doing together as a family.
Aside from this we set our rules:
1. No gadgets
2. No cellphones
3. Be prepared to share and Be Honest
4. Be cooperative
5. Have an open heart
We read Psalm 105 and rekindled God's goodness. How faithful God was to the Israelites was the same faithfulness He is giving us. Despite of our sinfulness, failure, and unlikely attitude He never changed.
The venue was close to nature and gave us a closer feeling of God's presence. I prepared a journal for the entire family.
I was blessed to download this Thankful Journal from www.notconsumed.com. It was what we needed at the right time.
I know my boys are not a fan of writing too much however keeping a record of how you feel is like pouring your hearts into something.
I remembered how Rick Warren wrote it in his book A Purpose Driven Life.
Writing helps clarify what God is doing in your life. Dawson Trotman used to say, "Thoughts disentangle themselves when they pass through your fingertips." The Bible has several examples of God telling people to keep a spiritual journal. It says, "At the LORD'S direction, Moses kept a written record of their progress.
We started pouring our thoughts on thanking the Lord for who He is.
"Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." - Ephesians 5:20
Then Arnel and I started asking our children their view of our family. Are we walking in spirit? What needs to improve on? How can we improve as parents?
My 2 sons Ivan and Kyle were able to share their thoughts which gave us opportunities to know what can we do to be better.
While they were sharing we kept quiet and just listened. We tried to absorb and understand their feelings.
We closed with a prayer.
Part of the schedule were activities from the hotel that the kids participated with.
Pizza Making
Cupcake Decorating
Scavenger Hunt for Arnel and Kyle (Dad and son activity). They enjoyed this very much and they won!
This was their wacky picture entry :)
There was a bonfire too but we were not able to join it anymore.
And there was this beautiful sunset.
Then they had an early night sleep after eating their dinner. Arnel and I went down for our Dinner date while watching a movie under the moonlight.
During our dinner time we talked about the Lord and our family and what actions we can do next.
The following day we continued with our Bible Reading in Psalm 106 and talked about God's goodness.
We explained what Grace is. How God blessed us with a lot of things that we do not deserve. I was teary eyed while it was my turn to share. I can feel how unfaithful I am to our faithful God. But at the same time grateful for His unconditional love, so many times I have failed Him but He remains gracious and merciful.
We were blessed to smell the morning fresh air while having breakfast.
We praise God for his mercies are new each morning. Each day is a gift and a blessing. How we live each day is a matter of choice.
Having a conversation with my loving husband about God and our family are one of the things I am grateful for. Sometimes we reminisce and we have never thought time will come that we will always sit down and talk about the Lord. God brought us in this stage of our marriage and we are fully thankful. That is why I believe in God's grace because without it we will not experience this joyful and intimate moment.
God's work is really marvelous. During our stay God allowed our paths to crossed. We were able to spend time on our 21st anniversary with Arnel's cousin who introduced us. Praising God for this time.
Our last activity was to give out our thankful card for family members and hotel employees that we want to thank for their unique service.
We want to model to our children how to have an attitude of gratitude.
One thing I love about the hotel is we can see smiles everywhere and hospitality is genuine.
We want to encourage our children to learn and practice thanking workers in places we are visiting. Giving them small tokens because we want them to have a giving heart.
Training shapes the Habits - Clay Clarkson
"Even a child is known by his action, by whether his conduct is pure and right" - Proverbs 20:11
This is Kuya Alex - whenever we go and visit the hotel farm he would always go out of his way to explain new additions in the farm. He would also tour our kids. I admire his service and kind heart.
He is our all time favorite, Kuya Chito whose smile is endless. We always want to thank him for his excellent service and hospitality. You would feel that his service is from his heart. His service is one of a kind.
Don is a super employee. He hosts the program in the afternoon and he serves as a chef in the evening. What I admire about him is his beautiful and warm smile that is unlimited. You would not see that he gets tired despite of his busy day.
Praising God for their lives and thanking the Lord for their faithfulness in their job and the kind hearted service they have given us.
It was really a blessing that you get to experience a family event in such a beautiful place close to nature.
The kids enjoyed feeding the animals plus we learned a lot from their edible farm.
It was a first for us having a retreat as a family and we plan to do this as often as we can, it helps us to determine what level of relationship they have with our Lord, how deep is their love for Jesus and assessed ourselves as parents.
We will continue with our thankful journal for the entire month, adding entries each week as a family.
Part of this is our gratitude tree that we will also make to be thankful each day, it is a way in adding our daily thoughts of God's faithfulness.
Our family is still a work in progress but by God's grace we want to build positive memory banks in our children's lives and at the same time we wanted to create a family tradition that will nurture our children's hearts and will be glorifying to the Lord. Our prayer is for our children to carry this tradition once they have a family of their own.
Leaving a godly legacy for God's purposes.
Whatever goals we set for our children, we must also set for ourselves. Whatever we want to be on our children's hearts must be first on ours. We are the whetting stone of the hearts of our chidren -Clay Clarkson
All Praise and Glory to God!
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