SELF LOVE ISN'T SELFISH Archives - Truly Rich and Blessed

Woman, You Are Meant to Shine! (An Invitation)

May 21, 2018 by Tina

One of the things that I had been praying for during my bedrest period was that I would be well enough to attend this year’s Jewels Conference. I went to the first conference, and had been waiting for the next one… which will be happening soon—on June 2, to be exact!

So I am very grateful to God for answering my prayers—I’m finally off bedrest, and there’s a big chance that I can go! Woohoo! 🙂 (I still need to see if I can though… since I still need to take it easy. Husband’s and my parents’ orders!)

In any case, I’d like to extend this invitation to YOU, my dear fellow women out there. Take some time off to rest in God’s presence, and be reminded of how precious you are in His sight. (This goes out especially to my fellow moms. You deserve a break. We all do! 😉 )

Dear _____________, (fill in the blank with your name)

Let’s face it.

It takes a woman to understand another woman’s soul.

The anguish of a broken heart, the pain of childbirth, the challenges of raising a family and taking care of aging parents.

It’s tough to be a woman. Yet, each season every woman goes through also promises an exciting journey of struggles and victories altogether.

That is why the Jewels Conference was conceived. To be a venue of inspiration and renewed hope for women, no matter what season we all are in.

And I’m inviting you again (and all the other women you know) to be part of the Radiance: Jewels Conference 2018.

Jewels Conference 2018 is happening on June 2, 2018 (Saturday) from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City, Manila.

Speaking of hope and inspiration at the conference are lay preacher and international speaker and author Bo Sanchez, Rissa Singson-Kawpeng of Kerygma Magazine, Sr. Eppie Brasil of Regina Rica, showbiz personalities Dimples Romana and Ai Ai De Las Alas, and worship leader Veia Lim-Vinas. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to miss this!

You still have time to avail of your tickets to our much-awaited all-women gathering! I hope you’ve blocked off your June 2 already to spend a day with Jesus.

My prayers go out to you and your families.

See you at the Jewels Conference!

Peace and Love,
Marowe Sanchez (and me! LOL!)

P.S. For more details about the Jewels Conference, please visit the Jewels Conference too! Here’s a glimpse of what happened at the first conference:

P.P.S. Hurry! Get your tickets today at ! Regular tickets are priced at P995 and Premium tickets are priced at P1400 (with Jewels journal and reserved seating area).

And in case you need more convincing, here’s Kuya Bo Sanchez personally inviting you to the conference:

Please pray that I can go? Hope to see you there! 🙂

Mothers Need to Love Themselves, Too (Thank You for the Reminder, Watsons!)

May 9, 2018 by Tina

Image from Pixabay.com

As a mother, I know how it is to just give and give and give. To love and love and love… your kids, your spouse, and others around you even.

I also know how tiring it can be. How we moms can fall into the trap of loving others too much and then we forget to love ourselves, too. And lest you think that this is “selfish”, i.e. loving yourself is something only self-centered and vain people do, allow me to share this beautiful reminder from the Bible (Mark 12:28-31):

“One of the scribes, when he came forward and heard them disputing and saw how well he had answered them, asked him, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus replied, “The first is this: ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

See? Even God wants us to love ourselves, because we are made in His image and likeness, and because He Himself loves us very, very much.

Oftentimes though, we moms tend to forget that. I know I do. We often don’t look at ourselves the way others see us, especially our kids. This video from Watsons Philippines shows that so well:

The reality is that we moms are often hard on ourselves; completely unaware that to our children, husbands, and loved ones, we are “perfect.”

Yes, a mother’s love is truly selfless and our “jobs” never end (even during weekends!) but we truly deserve a break every now and then. We need to pamper ourselves and allow others to pamper us. Because happy mothers who look good and feel great in turn make their loved ones feel great, too.

Of course, I’m not referring to ourselves only—let’s look at the moms in our lives, too, especially the one who gave birth to us and gave us life in the first place. They deserve to be pampered and feel special, too, of course!

So, for Mother’s Day, here are some ideas to make each mom feel like the perfect woman who looks good and feels great always:

Give her a homemade gift card for a foot and hand massage. It should be redeemable forever.
Put together a special basket for her filled with beauty and wellness goodies such as face masks, massage oil, a bottle of multivitamins, and nail polish. Basically, the basket should include items every mother will enjoy.
Give her gift cards from her favorite store. If she loves beauty, then she will enjoy shopping at Watsons. If it’s fashion she’s into, she will surely love the wide selection at The SM Store. (I know I certainly do!)
Write a letter or poem telling her why she is the best mom in the world and what makes her perfect. (Hmmm… maybe I should hint about this to my kids? Ha, ha!)
Serve her breakfast in bed. If you can’t cook, slice some fruits and serve it with toast and butter on a beautiful plate.
Take her out for dinner and a movie. Take note of what her favorite restaurant is and what movies she likes to watch.

I hope the abovementioned ideas will help us show our appreciation to the moms in our lives—including ourselves! *wink wink* I’m not kidding, moms—we deserve some TLC, so don’t be ashamed to suggest these ideas to your family members! 😉

Thanks to Watsons Philippines for their video which reminds us to love ourselves more! Visit and follow for more inspiration on how to look good, feel great!

Wrap Yourself in God’s Word: A J.E.W.E.L.S. Experience

August 28, 2017 by Tina

Have you ever heard of Bible Journaling? I would often see it on social media, usually in the posts of my friends from other Christian denominations. I thought it looked like a worthwhile thing to do, because their posts were so inspiring. So when I learned that the next J.E.W.E.L.S. Feast Valle Verde gathering would be a Catholic Bible Journaling workshop, I jumped at the chance to attend it. And I am so glad that I did!

The workshop was facilitated by Tita Ditas Español (pictured below) and Ate Fides Reyes, our sisters from Feast Ortigas, which is where J.E.W.E.L.S. originally started. (By the way, for those who don’t know, J.E.W.E.L.S. stands for Jesus in Every Woman Empowered to Love and Serve.)

God used them both to teach, inspire, and refresh all of us at the workshop in a special way. They shared their own Bible Journaling experiences with us, and gave us practical tips on how to get started with our own Catholic Bible Journaling journey.

One of the things that stood out was the W.R.A.P. method:

W stands for the Word of God.

Read the Bible and reflect on the verses.

The Word of God was written for YOU and for me! 🙂

R stands for Reflect.

Reflect and write down the verse or verses that struck you. Ask yourself: What is God trying to tell you with the verse? What does the verse tell you about God? What does it tell you about how God wants you to live your life?

A stands for Action.

The Word of God will not be effective if we don’t take action. Once we have reflected on God’s message for us, we must commit to His one big message for us. This is where we draw, write, trace or doodle whatever represents that message or course of action we are willing to take.

(We workshop participants had so much fun doing this part, especially because Tita Ditas and Ate Fides had brought so many journaling materials for us to use — colouring materials, stamps, etc.)

P stands for Prayer.

Pray for guidance and the grace to become the person that God intends you to be. (Pray for others, too, that they may hear His Word through you!)

I’m sure I’m not the only participant who came away from the J.E.W.E.L.S. gathering feeling renewed and “full” of God’s Word. May ALL of us — women, men, and children alike, young and old — commit to WRAP ourselves in God’s love every day, especially by immersing ourselves in His Word!

Note: This article was originally written for the Feast Valle Verde Bulletin. Please do come and join us if you can every Sunday — you can choose between the 10 a.m. session or the 1 p.m. session. 🙂 More info via the . May the Lord bless you abundantly in every way!

On Taking Care of Our Self: 3 Easy Ways to Care for Your Skin

May 31, 2017 by Tina

This post is brought to you by VPharma.

I mentioned in an older post that “Our Self” — particularly, our health — is one of our “treasures” here on earth. God gave this world just one YOU, and there is no reason why you should not take care of your self. After all, God loves you and created you for a special purpose, and if we are not OK, how can we do the mission He has entrusted to .us?

So, yes, it’s OK to take care of your self. In this post, let’s talk specifically about how to care for your skin.

Now, just a disclaimer here, I am NOT a skincare expert, and I am not very consistent in caring for my own skin. But I do hope to do better in this aspect, and I’ve gathered a few “simple” tips that I hope you and I will benefit from.

1. Drink more water.

Many skincare advocates say that keeping yourself hydrated is actually one easy, doable way to take better care of your skin. In an article on WebMD.com, dermatologist Dr. Kenneth Ellner was quoted to have said, “Dehydration makes your skin look more dry and wrinkled, which can be improved with proper hydration.”

As someone who admittedly does not drink enough water every day, this is one tip I must put into practice!

2. Use a moisturizing soap.

We have been using natural, moisturizing soap for our family for quite some time now — soap like Naturali Premium Cold-Pressed 100% Virgin Coconut Oil Soap. As you may (or may not! Ha, ha!) know by now, I am personally a fan of virgin coconut oil or VCO because of its awesome benefits.

Naturali VCO soap has antibacterial, antifungal, and antimicrobial properties and cleanses our skin thoroughly and naturally. It’s unscented and uncolored to avoid skin irritation, and is gentle enough for babies and kids to use. It also moisturizes your skin — the natural way, of course!

3. Protect yourself from the sun.

The sun can do great harm to our skin if we are not careful, though it is also good to get exposed to sunlight at the proper time. This article from the Mayo Clinic puts it best, with the following tips:

Use a broad-spectrum sunscreen.
Avoid being under direct sunlight between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Wear protective clothing.

Of course, these are not the only things we can do to care for our skin. If you’re looking for more skin care tips, especially those that dermatologists themselves apply to their own skin care, try checking this article on Prevention.com for starters. 🙂

I pray that these tips will help you somehow — please feel free to share your own self-care / skincare tips below! 🙂

One Simple Way to Boost Your Health (and Your Own Milk Supply!)

May 20, 2017 by Tina

This post is brought to you by VPharma.

Over here at Truly Rich and Blessed, we try to emphasize that one of our “riches” is actually something that is often overlooked (or, in my case, neglected at times!). And that is “Our Self.” I am quite guilty of this actually, so I have been *trying* to take better care of myself, including my health!

This journey actually started a few years ago, when I started consulting some friends of mine who consider themselves as “crunchy moms.” I even declared my One Word to be “Health” that year. I must confess, though, that I (along with the rest of my family) still have a long way to go to be considered 100% healthy and health-conscious as we do sometimes indulge too much in not-so-healthy things.

Having said that, we do try our best to keep healthy. I also discovered one simple but effective way to boost your health (at least it works for me and my family, plus some of my friends, too!). I actually got this tip from Chefs Jon and Raquel Chua, during one of their cooking workshops held at The Parenting Emporium. They mentioned it and I have been doing it ever since.

Can you guess what that one simple way to boost your health is?

Here you go:

Put malunggay powder in your food.

The Chuas actually recommended Mega Malunggay at the time, to be exact. It comes in capsule form but you can easily open the capsules and use the powder. Malunggay or Moringa Oleifera contains more vitamin C than oranges, 3 times the amount of iron in spinach, and 4 times the calcium amount in milk. It also contains essential proteins, helps heal inflamed joints and tendons, and helps normalize blood pressure and sugar level. Furthermore, Mega Malunggay also contains 100 mg of sodium ascorbate, a non-acidic form of vitamin C.

So I started putting malunggay powder in our food, especially the viands that have sauce and soup. I also sprinkle the powder in the kids’ rice (we eat red or brown rice) and they are already used to it. I also put malunggay powder in omelettes, pasta sauce, chocolate drinks, and even mix it with instant noodles during the rare times the kids are allowed to eat them (read: “emergencies” when Mama has no time to prepare something healthier and more nutritious! Yes, we still let the kids eat food like that sometimes. I know, I know! Huhuhu! We really should lessen those occasions or even eliminate them.)

Actually, if we baked our own bread and other goodies that would require an oven (which we don’t have), I’d probably add malunggay powder to the ingredients as well. That’s how convinced I am about its health-boosting properties!

Of course, it’s already a well-known fact that malunggay also helps boost one’s milk supply if you’re a breastfeeding mom. So adding malunggay powder to your food will also help you provide the best nutrition for your child. (You can also consume the malunggay capsules directly, of course.)

Personally, I am so grateful to God for providing us what we need to be healthy in nature — in this case, in the humble malunggay tree. Having malunggay capsules ready to consume or to be split open (to get the malunggay powder) is an added bonus though, and makes it more convenient for busy people (especially moms!) like me to get a dose of healthy, natural, organic goodness.

Now, I’d like to hear from you: Do you have any tips for boosting one’s health? Or even one’s milk supply? Please feel free to leave a comment below.