Truly Rich and Blessed

Truly Rich Reflections: Water Into Wine

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My family and I came home on Sunday night from Baguio, where we attended an inspiring (though at times, tiring) weekend retreat organized by , our Catholic community. Since then, my mind and heart have been overflowing!

I tried to “capture” some of our Baguio moments through this photo collage, but I don’t think it does justice!
Which means I really MUST write a post, yes? 🙂

There is SO much I want to blog about — so many lessons learned especially during the first month of the year! So many blessings to share, so many wonderful homeschool experiences and “a-ha!” moments! So many people I want to give a “shout out” to, so many answered prayers!

So.many.things.to.write.about. 

The problem is I don’t know where to start. I don’t know how to begin.

So… while I try to organize my thoughts into a post (or series of posts, maybe?)… And before I write an article for one of my “sideline” writing projects… I just want to share with you one of, if not THE biggest, blessings we’ve received since 2013 started, via a screenshot of my post on Facebook:

For those of you who may not be aware of our initial fears, doubts, worries concerns about the little one in my womb, you might want to read this post on the truth about my pregnancy.

After making that “confession,” I felt as if a huge burden had been lifted off my shoulders. Because I knew that we were no longer “alone” in our journey. I knew that people from all over the world were lifting us up, especially our baby, in their prayers. And for that, I am/we are forever grateful.

You have shown us how powerful the gift of prayer can be. You have helped us see how Jesus turns water into wine, and creates miracles, every single day.

So, dear friends, please forgive the lack of any other updates / detailed posts for now. I just want to leave you with this song by Chris Tomlin, which I have personally dubbed as our “theme song” for our baby (Tim’s is “On Eagle’s Wings,” while Rysse’s is “Still.” Why? 🙂 Oooh… more topics for future blog posts!):

Whatever you may be facing right now, believe that Jesus, our Miracle-maker, is near. Through the powerful intercession of His Blessed Mother, who is our own mother, too, He will fill your “empty jars.” He will turn your “water” into “wine.” He will make all things work together, for the good of those who love Him. (Romans 8:28)

My mom, my dad, me, Tim, Rysse and Anthony
We were surprised to be asked to be “models” during one of the sessions at the retreat, and my dad was asked to proclaim how we would witness to Christ’s love and mission as a family. I had tears in my eyes listening to him speak. (I think my mom did, too!) We are not a perfect family, and have our own struggles and sins and failures, but we are truly blessed to have God and one another.
(Photo credit: Tito Arthur del Rio)

Amazing Grace for Moms: Thriving by the Grace of God

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I have a confession to make — this post has been loooong overdue! I know I said I’d continue the Amazing Grace for Moms series throughout June, but before I knew it, June had snuck up on me and flashed by at the speed of lightning, and now it’s already July! 🙁 My sincerest apologies to you all, and especially to those who submitted posts for this series. 🙂

Anyway, I’ll try harder to be regular with this starting this month, OK? (The operative word being “try.” LOL!)

To start off, here’s a guest post from Mommy TG, i.e. Teresa Gumap-as Dumadag, who, like me, is a Catholic homeschool mama, writer and blogger — among other things, too! (Check out her complete profile here.) May you be inspired by her story and be amazed by His grace! 😉

Thriving by the Grace of God

Thrive is defined by Merriam-Webster.com as:
1.    to grow vigorously: flourish

2.    to gain in wealth or possessions: prosper

3.    to progress toward or realize a goal despite or because of circumstances. 


In The Free Dictionary, it is defined as to make steady progress; prosper.

I feel so blessed already just by reading these definitions of the word thrive.  The word kept coming into my mind as I was thinking of what to share when Tina invited me to write a guest post for her blog’s 50 Days of Amazing Grace.  

Let me share how the different definitions of thrive has been applicable to me.

 I won’t be able to share the details of my story in this post but I will do my best to give you a glimpse of my adventure with God as manifested in my professional life and the choices that I made over the years.
I graduated from the University of the Philippines in Diliman with a degree in Hotel and Restaurant Administration.  I was already offered a job even before I officially graduated.  I started as a Management Trainee in a fast food restaurant, got promoted and given bigger responsibilities, and became Officer-in-Charge of a branch in just two years.  Then, I resigned from my job and turned my back on a promising career in the restaurant business. 

Many people did not understand why I made that decision.  Many people are either unemployed or underemployed, or are dreaming of being able to apply what they studied in their jobs.  There I was living the dream of many and yet I chose to let go of something very good.

Why did I resign?  I resigned because I had an “aha” experience.  I realized what my true passion was.  I realized that though I liked the restaurant business and I was good at it, there was something else that made my heart race faster and my mind ever so active.  It was helping people develop to their full potential by inspiring them and training them.  I discovered this as I was handling the training and development of our staff in the restaurants where I was assigned.  I experienced a different kind of fulfillment and joy.

So armed with that discovery and faith in God whom I believe was the one who planted that desire in my heart to make a career shift, I left my stable and promising job and looked for a job in training.  

Another compelling reason for me to leave my job then was that it hindered me from attending regular prayer meetings in a Catholic Charismatic Community of single professionals.  Moreover, my shifting work schedule in my job made it very challenging for me to enjoy the presence of God daily in the Eucharist.  There were times when I would doze off during Mass while kneeling and praying with my eyes closed.

Shortly after I resigned, I was hired by a training company mainly for my potential.  I had little experience but the owner of the company believed in me so much that he hired me as Training Officer.  I felt God’s assurance through him.  I learned many things in that company including how to use Power Point and how to make training manuals.  

That was just the start of a wonderful adventure with God in my career or professional life.  The things that happened next to me in the years that followed were all miracles from God and a result of His grace.

It all started with a dream to have a job in the training department of the fast food restaurant where I first worked.  But God was not content in simply fulfilling that small dream that I had for myself.  He pushed me out of the first company I joined so I could grow and be fit for the much bigger dreams that He had for me.  

I was eventually hired as Training Officer of bigger companies, including a multinational company where I grew exponentially in many aspects.  It was during my employment in this company that my dream of being able to travel to different places was fulfilled.  I conducted trainings locally and abroad.  I developed training modules which were used in our branches in the Philippines and in the Asian region.  

From Training Officer, I was promoted to Training Manager.  I was very happy already with what I had achieved by the grace of God.  But God had bigger plans for me. 

I was hired by another company to be their HR Manager again, mainly because of my potential and my value system.  After that, I was hired in another big company where my dreams of having my own vehicle and being paid a specific amount as compensation were realized. 

I couldn’t help but feel so blessed as I look back at my growth as a professional.  There are still a lot of times when I just stand in awe of God as I thank Him for making all these things possible in my life.  I know deep in my heart that I would not have all these achievements if not for His grace and His help; especially since my educational background was not related to human resources management, but hotel and restaurant administration.

What amazes me even more now is that I have already realized my dream of becoming a freelance Management and HR Consultant.  The timing is also perfect for me to finally live out my dream.  I stopped working full time shortly after I got married and at the beginning of my first pregnancy.   From someone who simply dreamed of having a job in training, now I get to choose the HR projects I work on.  

I praise and thank God for helping me to keep on moving forward and achieving my goals.  I praise and thank Him for prospering me and my family through the work of my hands over the years.  I praise and thank Him for the grace to believe in Him, in His Word and in my god-given gifts.  I praise and thank Him for the grace to step out with courage and hope every time He pushed me out of my comfort zone and asked me to stretch beyond my perceived limits.  I praise and thank Him for all the doors of opportunities He has opened for me through the years until now that I’m not only a freelance Consultant but also an author and freelance writer.

I did not achieve my dream or my goals without challenges or difficulties.  The truth is I had plenty of them.  I think those were the reasons that made every achievement and victory much sweeter.  I can’t help but point to God every time I’m asked to tell my story because I would not be where I am now if not for His amazing grace.

So let me end my sharing by encouraging you, dear reader, not to be afraid to listen to God’s voice in your heart.  Do not be afraid to follow His lead.  His grace will be enough for you as He calls you to do new and bigger things.  I can say this with conviction and know this to be true because I have experienced this truth in my life repeatedly.  I pray that you, too, would find yourself to be in one amazing adventure with God.  God bless!


Teresa Gumap-as Dumadag is the author of the book, When My Bridegroom Comes. She is also a writer and contributor to several publications. However, she says her primary titles these days are WIFE, MOM and GOD’S SERVANT. You can find her blogging over at Mommy Bares All.

Days of Grace: Inspiration from The Better Mom – Live Intentionally, Love Generously, Laugh Continuously

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If you know me personally, you’ll know that I don’t believe in circumstance. Based on my experience, everything really has a purpose. And this post is sort of connected to that — though it may seem a bit “off/disconnected” for some.

Anyway, if you’ve been following this blog (and I do hope you are! LOL!), you’ll know that I recently posted about being B.U.S.Y. and restarting/renaming the Days of Amazing Grace series. Well, forgive me, but yesterday I thought that perhaps just using “Days of Grace” as the name of the series would suffice. 🙂

In the same post mentioned above, I also wrote about being more intentional about living out Matthew 6: 31-33. I was so psyched when I received an email from The Better Mom about the same topic. It inspired me so much that I’m sharing it here with you all.

Source.

So, without further ado, here’s the first “official” post for the Days of Grace series: 
The Better Mom’s post on living intentionally, loving generously and laughing frequently.


Hope it helps you as much as it helped me! 🙂


OK, time for me to live intentionally now. The kids want me to join them in the “mole-house” they made on our bed! 😉 Catch you later, friends!

Are You B.U.S.Y.? {Or, the One in Which I Restart (and Rename) the Days of Amazing Grace series}

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I noticed that a lot of my posts here lately have always had me mentioning how busy I’ve been… And I’m not liking it. There always seems to be an endless list of things to do and, to be perfectly honest, I am tired.

Source.

I’m tired of being busy.

And I’m tired of not being as focused on my family, especially my kids, because I’m busy. (I’m also tired of being the snappish-whiny-“hurry-up-kids-I-still-have-a-lot-to-do” Mama that I become when I’m busy.)

Reading this post over at The Better Mom about how to get started being un-busy helped put things into perspective again. Here’s my most favorite part:

Busyness is an endless loop.  If it’s a ticket to my self-worth, then it’s a treadmill that never stops.  Sooner or later, exhaustion and depletion set in. 

Have you ever heard the acronym for B.U.S.Y.?  Being Under Satan’s Yoke.  I don’t think it’s too dramatic to say that I believe busyness has become a weapon of mass distraction.  We’re so overbooked that there’s little or no time left over for the things that matter most. Our schedules chip away at our time with God.  At our time with the people we love. 

So, what did I do about it? 

Psalm 127:1 pointed me towards my true north: Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. 

I resolved to stop building and laboring, both in vain as well as vainly. 

I decided to become intentional, daily seeking God’s top priorities in my life.  I’ve realized that His priorities are not about accomplishments. They are about relationships.

It’s time for me to become more intentional about living out Matthew 6:31-33 (see my blog header above!).

It’s time for me to focus on my relationships and NOT my accomplishments.

At home. In our homeschool.

At work. In our Catholic community.

In everything I do. Yes, even on this blog and my other one about homeschooling.


Most of all, it’s time to focus again on my Beloved.

If not for Him, where would I be now? As a wife? As a mother? As a writer? As a person?

Where would my family be now? 

(And, may I just say, on a “shallow” point of view, where would this blog be now, too?)

I need to remind myself about this more often: I need to “kick the habit” of being busy and just be.

Source.

After all, everything is grace. God’s amazing grace! And I need to breathe it in. I need to be consistently, unwaveringly, passionately be amazed by His love and grace.

Now, back to making myself un-busy. 🙂

How about you, dear friends? Are you guilty (as I am!) of being B.U.S.Y.? If you are, fear not. Just breathe and let Him embrace you. Just be. That is more than enough! 🙂


*This post is my way of “re-starting” the Amazing Grace series I started during the Easter season. I won’t be posting every day but I will be posting as often as I can, at least once a week. 🙂 Join me as we revel in God’s love for us! 😀


P.S. I’d love to hear from you! 🙂 Please feel free to leave a comment or connect with me on or . 🙂 I’ll get back to you, I promise! 🙂

Truly Rich Reflections: I Can Only Imagine :) {The first in a series of soooooo many posts to be done! LOL!}

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OK, so I know I have TONS of overdue pending blog posts, including more contributions to the Amazing Grace for Moms series, MORE Amazing Grace Giveaways AND even more great recommendations and tips for the whole family, among others! GOSH!

Not to mention stuff I need to do for my actual job at the country’s top inspirational publishing company of all time {do I sound biased to you?! LOL!} and other writing projects! *whew*)…

BUT… I just HAVE to share what happened earlier (errr… last night!). 🙂 So, please humor me… and I promise I’ll get to all those things in a while! 😉

So anyway, we came home last night from our regular household meeting (what we call our small group prayer meetings in Couples for Christ) to find little Therese still awake (it was already almost midnight!).

Apparently, my plan to put her to sleep early so their Ate (aka our helper/nanny) would only have to wait for Tim to fall asleep backfired — she woke up while we were still at the prayer meeting and wouldn’t fall asleep again, even after her Kuya had fallen asleep! Hehe! 🙂

So we ended up playing a bit, laughing and tickling each other and reading a few books before she finally nursed to sleep. 🙂 *sighs* O how I LOVE you, our little flower! 🙂 And your brother, too! 🙂

One of the books we read was “.” I got it for only P140 at Booksale Robinsons Metro East — a good buy in my opinion, as it still had the accompanying music CD! 🙂

I first heard the song, “I Can Only Imagine,” when we were still based in Timor Leste. I remember how struck I was by its beautiful lyrics.

Anyway, when I turned to the first page, Rysse says, “I want ‘up’ kay Jesus!” (I want to be carried by Jesus!)

My heart melted at that exact moment. And all I could say was, “Me too, baby. Me too!”

*sighs* Times like these, I forget how imperfect I am as a wife, mother, PERSON (!) and can only thank God for His awesome grace! 😉

P.S. In case you’re wondering what the song sounds like, here’s a nice video from YouTube:

Oh, and if you happen to come across the book, I highly recommend you buy it for your kids (and for yourselves, too!) Here are what the other pages look like (sorry if the other photos are blurry, am not much of a photographer! *winks*:

P.S. Watch out for my upcoming posts regarding MORE fabulous giveaways and other exciting news! 🙂 Please do subscribe via e-mail for regular updates (if you haven’t already!). Thanks! God bless, y’all! 😉

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