FINANCES Archives - Page 6 of 7 - Truly Rich and Blessed

The Riches of Family, Friendship and Faith

November 15, 2010 by Tina Leave a Comment

The kids and I, along with my parents, are currently in Brunei. We’ve actually been here for almost 2 weeks, and will be going back to Manila early Wednesday morning. I wasn’t supposed to go, but decided to anyway, trusting in God’s providence and plan. So I applied for official leave from work and joined Papa and Mama on the trip. Since Rysse is still breastfeeding (yep, at 1.3 yrs!) I had to take her with me (even if she wasn’t I’d still have taken her with me! hehe). Tim wasn’t supposed to go, but because many people love him here in Brunei, especially his Ninang Lisa and Ninong Bhot, and Lola Lyna, we were blessed to be able to bring him along as well.

It has been a wonderful trip so far. I can’t exactly call it a vacation, since we also gave some seminars on financial education (for FREE!) for our Filipino friends here, as part of our family’s personal advocacy to help Filipino families, especially OFWs (being an OFW family ourselves before), be financially free and truly rich both materially and spiritually. Later, if our plans push through, I’ll be giving a training for Kids for Christ Brunei’s couple coordinators and facilitators. So, it hasn’t been a laze-about-all-you-want trip for me. But, nonetheless it has been a great one, and here are my top 3 reasons for saying this:

1. The Riches of Family

My sister and brother-in-law are based in Brunei. They have been here for quite a while now, and don’t really get to go home a lot. Ate has a relatively new job (after staying in her old job, where she wasn’t getting PAID! Gosh, her ex-boss owes her big time!) and so they won’t be able to go home for CHRISTmas. So it is GREAT to be able to spend time with her and Kuya B right now. Being with them, along with Papa and Mama, and the kids every day (Tim is sooo attached to his Ninong and Ninang now!) makes my heart so full – I am so blessed and truly rich because of my family.

Awesome travel companions Lolo and Lola

Arriving at Brunei International Airport – It’s 2am!

Hungry travellers

Happy to be with Ninang – they’re inseparable now! 🙂

Being away from my darling Bebs has also made me appreciate him more and more, and I am so grateful to God that we have been able to live, work and serve together ever since we got married. A lot of Filipino couples are forced to live separately because of work abroad, and their kids suffer the consequences a lot of the time. In my parents’ case though, they were both blessed to find work in Brunei, and were able to come here with all of us kids in tow. Personally, I believe that growing up in Brunei was part of God’s plan for me (and our whole family). Learning the Malay language, and being exposed to people from different cultures (Malay, Chinese, Indian, etc) helped prepare me for my stints as a singe missionary in Malaysia and Timor Leste. Our family also became a close-knit one, and we try as much as possible to have regular family time and annual family meetings to catch up on one another’s activities and plans for the future.

2. The Riches of Friendship

Being in Brunei has made me appreciate more and more the friendships I have made with other people, both here and in the Philippines. I am blessed to have spent my teenage years in community, starting here in Brunei. It was so nice to see old and dear friends – Titos and Titas, CFC and non-CFC alike, Ates and Kuyas from SFC who are now mostly in CFC, kids who I used to take care of in KFC now in YFC, (I am ANCIENT! hahaha) and even friends who are not in community. These friends have witnessed how I have grown from a geeky, clumsy teenager into a not-so-geeky (I hope!), though still a bit clumsy woman, now with my own terrific husband and two amazing kids. No wonder being here in Brunei always feels like home. Spending time with new friends like Cathy, Steph and Jacqui (Catholic youth from Brunei who went on mission to Timor) has also made me appreciate again the beauty of friendship based on mission and faith.

Rysse: “Hi Auntie Cathy!”

Too bad the picture is blurred! Rysse and I with Cathy and Jacqui. Pic below is Cathy with our loving Lola Lyna – We love you po and thanks for everything! 🙂

3. The Riches of Faith

Last but definitely not the least, this Brunei trip has made me fall in love with Jesus, all over again. He first wooed me during my rebellious teenage years, and despite my trying to reciprocate His love, I kept falling into sin and turning away from Him. Despite this, He just kept pursuing me, waiting for me to say “Yes” with complete conviction. I admit that even now, after being on mission for so long, there are times when I am still stubborn and want my own way, and am too tired or preoccupied to really sit down and be with Him.

Celebrating the Holy Eucharist yesterday at the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption, the parish I grew up in, made me realize how blessed in the Faith I am. Growing up in a parish where almost everyone knew everyone else, it really felt like “home” to be there again. How I hope and pray that my kids can experience this too in the Philippines! Seeing the youth getting confirmed yesterday brought back memories of my own confirmation experience. We had to attend classes for over a year and go on a retreat and have lots of one on one discussions with our facilitators to help prepare us for this blessed sacrament. Personally, I considered it as a sort of “coming of age” for Catholic teens like me at the time. Witnessing the confirmation yesterday made me more inspired and empowered to live out my Catholic faith, and teach our children to do the same. Having Bishop Cornelius Sim as a family friend and pastor is such a blessing too!

That’s our beloved Bishop Cornelius Sim, “confirming” the youth

Lolo Bishop putting on Rysse’s sandals. How we love you Bishop, a true servant of the Church!

Indeed, being here in Brunei, the “Abode of Peace” has brought so much peace, love and joy into my heart. Being able to help others, not just spiritually but financially as well has been a great bonus too! I am so so grateful to You Beloved, because of my family, friendship and faith, I am truly rich!

HOW ABOUT YOU? What are you TRULY RICH in? Feel free to comment below! 🙂 If you’re interested in attending financial education seminars FOR FREE (at no charge to you whatsoever, all you need to invest is your time and transportation expenses!), please send me an e-mail at .

Juday and Sarah’s "Hating Kapatid" – Disappointment, Gratitude and Prayers for OFW Families

July 26, 2010 by Tina Leave a Comment

I had the chance to watch the latest movie starring bigtime local movie stars Judy Ann Santos and Sarah Geronimo with a dear friend (Hi Jes!). Before the movie, we had lunch at one of my alltime favorite places, the Pancake House (the food is good though their service STILL needs improvement after all these years, hehehe). We were both satisfied with our meal (I had my favorite pan chicken combo set! Yum! With a filling taco, spaghetti and iced tea! Jes had pan chicken too! Hehehe. 🙂 So satisfied and expectant, we went to the cinema. Even while waiting in line, we were still debating whether to watch “Hating Kapatid” (we both heard that “Inception” was good) but decided to go ahead with it.

Alas, almost 2 hours later, we came out of the cinema wishing we had gone ahead and changed our minds. Although we are both not BIG fans of Filipino/Tagalog movies, we both expected that this Juday-Sarah teamup would not disappoint (ok ok, I guess you could say our expectations were maybe a bit too high! Blame it on the media hype! Or our falling for it! huhuhu). Needless to say, WE WERE DISAPPOINTED! (We want our money back!!! hahahaha). Sorry to all the Juday (Hi Kaw! Miss you! hehehe) and Sarah fans out there.. but PUH-LEASE naman! What a sad state our Filipino film industry is in, if “Hating Kapatid” is something to go by!

The shameless endorsing, mostly by Sarah, for products such as Belo cosmetics, Extreme Magic Sing, Jollibee, Charmee, Cebuana Lhuiller, Globe Tattoo (these are the ones I can still recall), was, in my own opinion, totally uncalled for. But then again, I think this has been the trend for a lot of other Tagalog movies lately (though I haven’t watched any others yet, and after “Hating Kapatid” I’m sad to say I may not watch one again soon! Sayang, I’m so proud to be Pinoy naman! Kaya please naman, yung mga moviemaker diyan, WAKE UP! Especially Viva Films!!! Hay naku, nakakahiya na noh?!)

Another disappointing part of the movie was the scene where Luis Manzano’s character brought Sarah to a place where he said (and I’m trying to recall the actual words here but am having difficulty) was where he spent some of his spare time – he brought her to a wake, in a seemingly remote place (read: rural), like a barrio or something, basta, somewhere. The family of the deceased was depicted as poor, and Luis’s character was reading a prayer or novena for the dead. Nakakainis kasi parang ginawa pang parang joke joke lang yung part na yun. I mean.. “Hello??!!” “Respect for prayer anyone? Respect for the dead, maybe?!” Grrr.. makes my blood boil talaga… This and the poorly edited scenes (as in, like you really see scenes na parang cut off!) and so many other things (weak plot, etc etc) left me HUGELY DISAPPOINTED.

But as the title of my post goes, a sense of GRATITUDE also came over me as I was watching the movie. Since the plot was about Juday and Sarah growing up with their OFW parents absent for 20 years (STRAIGHT! Without coming home! My gosh! Can parents actually stand being away from their kids for so long without going home kahit paminsan-minsan lang?!) I could relate in a way, since my own parents were OFWs in Brunei for 30 plus years. BUT the difference was (and here is where my GRATITUDE to God comes in), they were blessed to have the opportunity to bring us kids along with them. My siblings and I grew up in Brunei and even if Ate and Kuya had to go back to the Philippines for high school and college (younger bro and I went back for college lang), Papa and Mama made it a point for us to have regular vacations together, either in Brunei, the Philippines or some other ASEAN country (though this happened only when we were younger and fares were cheaper hehehe), at least once a year. I remember how happy I’d be to have my Ate and Kuya with us, and how we’d try to copy the fashion “trends” from the Philippines that they’d bring along with them (does anyone recall the “socks with Berks slippers” trend?! LOL). Being an OFW family left me with many valuable life lessons, and exposed me to different cultures, nationalities and languages, which ultimately contributed to my being a lay missionary. Also, even though we grew up more “comfortable” than others, my parents instilled in us the value of hard work (do your own chores and don’t depend on any househelp!), discipline and service to others, which I consider important life skills that I intend to teach my own kids. They also taught us (and to this very day, still do! Love you Papa and Mama!) that FAMILY should always come FIRST, after God of course.

So in that sense, I am grateful to God for “Hating Kapatid” because it reminded me of the importance of FAMILY. And of how money or material goods can never replace the love and care and presence of parents. I’m not disapproving of our beloved OFWs and am really one with them in their hope for a better future for their kids. All I’m saying is if one IS an OFW and has children, then find ways to reaffirm them of one’s love for them. Save as much money as you can, find ways to make your money work for you (invest, etc) and if possible COME HOME NA. Because your kids are only kids once. It makes me even more committed to work together with hubby for our family’s financial freedom. To pray more, learn more, earn more. Included in my prayers are all of my fellow kababayans everywhere who have left the Philippines for a “brighter future” for their kids. That GOD will unite their families despite the distance. That He will touch the leaders of the Church and Catholic communities (like ours with the Migrant Workers Program) to reach out to OFWs and their families.

“Hating Kapatid”, though truly disappointing, at least left me with a sense of gratitude for the abovementioned reasons. Also, I am grateful for the time spent with Jessie, a sort of one-to-one time with her, after such a long time away on mission. What happened after the movie also left me deeply grateful! Hubby and I ended up visiting a very dear family friend, Bishop Cornelius Sim of Brunei! We had a great time catching up with him and always feel so blessed to count him as our friend! 🙂 At least, spending time with hubby and Bishop made me forget the disappointment “Hating Kapatid” brought about, hehehehe! 🙂 Here’s to FAMILY and FRIENDS, things I’ll always have gratitude in my heart for! 🙂

For other people’s reviews of “Hating Kapatid”, you may want to check out the links below:
http://www.reeladvice.net/2010/07/hating-kapatid-movie-review.html
http://www.viva.com.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1722:hating-kapatid-the-movie-reviewed&catid=1:news&Itemid=2 (of course, this may be considered biased! hehehe)
http://manila-life.blogspot.com/2010/07/hating-kapatid-movie-review.html
http://www.clickthecity.com/movies/?p=8454
http://elyvalendez.blogspot.com/2010/07/hating-kapatid-movie-review.html (in Tagalog)

Insomnia, Procrastination and Financial Freedom

July 21, 2010 by Tina Leave a Comment

I think I have a severe case of insomnia. Or maybe it’s all in the mind. Hahaha. I’ve gotten so used to getting up after the kids have gone to bed and staying awake late at night at the computer that it’s become a hard habit to break. In Timor Leste, or East Timor, I would usually not sleep because I had to translate a lot of materials into Tetun, the local language. Now that we’re back in the Philippines, it’s an entirely different case (can anyone say blogging-addicted?! hahaha). Although, actually, I SHOULD be translating, since there are still loads of pastoral formation materials that are still of use to our Timorese community members. Yes, shoulda, woulda, but AREN’T. Humph. Talk about hard to break habits again, there goes one of my bad habits – procrastination!

Which leads me to recall a recent activity that was organized by my ever-thoughtful-and-practical Papa last Saturday, especially for my siblings and I. It was a seminar (part of a series actually) about financial freedom and education for today’s everyday Filipino. Papa wanted my siblings and I to be more aware of how we could save and invest our money, and also protect our families, especially those of us who already had kids. So he invited Wilson from the IMG (International Management Group) Wealth Academy to give us the first two lectures (S1 and S2) which are usually given at the IMG office, but can be done for small groups, like families or businesses, if requested.

Hubby and I attended, and even though we both were already aware of the basic principles that Wilson was talking about (since hubby is already an IMG member), it was still enlightening and empowering to listen again to the basic steps we need to take to attain financial freedom, TO BE TRULY RICH. It made me realize that PROCRASTINATION (something I’ve been very, very guilty of lately *please forgive me, those of you who I owe “work-related” things to* hehehe) is never a good thing. INSOMNIA on the other hand, well, it depends on what’s keeping you awake. I guess if one is not sleeping because one is trying to earn or learn or burn (more brightly for the Lord through prayer, reading Scripture or ministry) then insomnia could be a good thing.

So tonight.. errr… I mean today (gosh, it’s 3.30 am already?!!!), with all you readers as my witness (YIKES!), I want to put this into writing:

I WILL TURN AWAY FROM PROCRASTINATION AND EVERY EVIL THAT IT BRINGS

I WILL USE MY INSOMNIA TO LEARN ABOUT EARNING AND ALL GOOD THINGS

I WILL WORK FOR OUR FINANCIAL FREEDOM BUT PUT GOD FIRST ABOVE EVERYTHING

WITH THIS VOW, I SURRENDER TO GOD’S WILL, OF HIS GOODNESS I WILL FOREVER SING. 🙂

Amen. And now, it’s time to sleep. 🙂 Because I also know from experience that a tired sleep-deprived woman makes for a grouchy, easily-impatient wife and mother. 🙂 So, if you’re still awake when you read this, and SHOULD be sleeping, GO TO BED! 🙂 It’s the BEST thing you can do (WE CAN DO! hehehe) for yourself, your family and your work! 🙂

Bonoite (goodnight in Tetun) everyone! 😉

3.30am July 20, 2010 J

Of Husband And Wife – A Truly Rich Love Story

July 12, 2010 by Tina Leave a Comment

This one is dedicated to my hubby. I have been blogging since January 2010 about varied topics but this time I’d like to post a special entry for Bebs (hubby and I call each other “Bebs”. This has evolved over the years from “Be” [pronounced “Bay”] and we have our own funny story behind its “evolution”.) Anyway, I’m rambling a bit na so I’ll continue…

Earlier, Bebs and I were blessed to have a sort of “date” time when my parents unexpectedly took our kids along with them to send my niece and nephew home. There was no electricity at home and it was SOOO hot so Papa and Mama and our two little ones joined my Kuya and family for a “joyride” in the air-conditioned comfort of our family van. So hubby and I took advantage of the time and went malling (one of our favorite past-times when we were still single and childless 🙂

Even though all we did was look at a few cellphone stores in the nearby mall to see if there were any good offers, window-shop a bit for (what else?!) stuff the kids might need, and have dinner at one of our favorite Italian places (yummy!!!), it was a blessed time for us as husband and wife, and a kind of “day off” for me. Don’t take me wrong though, being a 24/7 hands-on mom is not something I resent, but having some time for yourself is important too right? And of course, time with hubby. I once read somewhere that the greatest gift a father could give his children was to love their mother (or something to that effect 🙂 And I totally agree! (hahaha biased!)

Anyway, while hubby and I were having dinner, I also took the chance to ask him about our finances.

You see, in our family, he’s the one who handles the budget (don’t be shocked! He’s much better at it than yours truly!). I was seeking his assurance and affirmation that despite upcoming major expenses we would still have money left over to save and invest. He assured me that we did. It is a great feeling to know that God, through hubby (and of course our families too!), was taking care of our needs!

I only pray that more than that, we would also one day reach our goal of making passive income through multiple income streams, so that we too could be more of a blessing to others. Just as God’s love makes hubby and I truly rich, we want to share His love and riches to others too!

Personally, I really thank God for my husband. Even though we have our differences and arguments, our faults and misunderstandings, I can really say that he is the one God wants for me. We complement each other and work together and are each other’s earthly reminders of God’s heavenly heart. We are imperfect as individuals and as a couple but are perfectly loved.

Bebs, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Just as that unfamiliar to many E-Heads song goes:

I take one step away
But I find myself coming back
To you
My one and only
One and only you

For this truly rich wife, it’s only YOU. 🙂

I love yah Bebs! 🙂 Thanks for keeping up with my insanity! I am proud of you and am with you 100% of the way!

To all you WIVES out there, no matter what your husbands may have said or done, always remember that they are trying to LOVE you the best way they could. Even if they fall short so many times, and hurt us and disappoint us, we must never stop believing in their LOVE for us. And whenever times get tough, and the road is rough and bumpy and getting out seems the best way to go, STOP. Take time to PRAY. Never underestimate the power of a praying WIFE.

My prayers are with you. 🙂 Feel free to comment or contact me!

Our love story evolves around MISSION

(translation: MISSION FIRST BEFORE RELATIONSHIPS)

On mission as an engaged couple in Timor Leste (that’s the Cristo Rei statue up there). Before this, we had a long-distance relationship for about 2 and a half years, because he was assigned to Eastern Visayas while I was in Manila, then I was assigned to Borneo while he was in the Philippines, then he was assigned to India while I returned home to Manila. 🙂

We went home from mission in Timor to prepare for the wedding and by God’s grace were able to do so in ONLY 6 WEEKS! When you put God first, everything else will fall into place.

We didn’t go anywhere exotic for our honeymoon but spent quality time with each other instead. After a weekend stay in a hotel, we spent our “honeymoon” week at community activities, including a retreat in Baguio and our Annual Leaders Conference.

When we got back to Timor 2 months after the wedding, we were surprised to discover that our honeymoon had already borne fruit! 🙂 Look how precious and fully formed little Timothy Alan “Tim” is at 12 weeks!

Fast forward to four years, six months later…

Our family has been TRULY RICHLY BLESSED with the addition of our baby girl Rysse, who has just turned 1 last week. We have returned from our almost 5-year mission in Timor Leste and are now awaiting God’s next marching orders!

O what a blessed beautiful life we have! Thank YOU our Beloved!

Cool website for moms! Must check this out when I have the time!

July 6, 2010 by Tina Leave a Comment

I googled “rich mom” the other day and this is one of the links came up:

http://www.getrichmom.com/

I’ve yet to read the contents of this site, but judging from its homepage, it must have some good information for moms like me who need extra moolah to support the family. Don’t get me wrong though, God has been providing well for our family despite hubby and I being “only” lay missionaries for our Catholic community. (“Only” is actually an understatement, because being a lay missionary is one of the BEST jobs in the world! We can testify to that!) However, with 2 young kids and more planned for the future (maybe 3 years down the line?!), it would not help to have additional sources of income. 🙂 Just like my “idol” Bo Sanchez, I would like our family to be TRULY RICH in EVERY sense of the word, including financially, NOT because I am or we are greedy, but because we want to bless the world through our finances as well – to serve the Lord through our finances and help fund God’s work here on earth!

So I’m claiming this now! From now on, Lord, we will declare this to the world! We will strive to be TRULY RICH in everything FOR YOUR GREATER GLORY! Lord, bless Your people who want to be financially stable and abundant so that they may bless the world! Less for self, more for others, enough for all! 🙂