Truly Rich and Blessed

On Parenting and Choosing Love

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You all probably know by now what a crummy week I had and how Lent didn’t start out the way I had hoped it would.

Too many times, I have sought out God’s mercy (one can never do this too often anyway, right) and poured out my frustration in tears. I realize now, more than ever, how difficult is to keep love — not just in Lent — but in everything I think, say and do.

I thank God though, that the bad days seem to be over (at least for now).

Writing this cathartic post about choosing love, especially if you’re a parent, on Philstar.com seemed to help me a bit, and I want to share it with you all. (Yes, you can judge me after you read it, and I won’t mind, because I love you like that. 😉 My life is an open book, anyway, and I don’t hide my faults.)

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Click HERE to read my honest, soul-baring post.

Oh, and if you want to tell me what you think about it, feel free to leave a comment here. 🙂

Or tweet me, like some people did. 😉

God bless your weekend, folks!

Truly Rich Tips: How to Have a Joyful Lent (on Philstarnews.com)

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How do you observe Lent?

Do you go around with a sad look on your face, or complaining about the sacrifices you feel have been “imposed” on you?

Do you feel burdened by the practices of your faith?

Or do you go through the 40 Days of Lent with a quiet joy in your heart?

With the feeling of hope that after these 40 days, there is something much, much greater to look forward to?

On my latest post on the Philippine Star’s website, Philstar.com, I share a few tips on how you (and your family!) can have a joyful Lent.

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Yes, it IS possible. 🙂

Want to know how?

Click here to read my post. And feel free to come back here and share your own tips or thoughts in the comments section. 🙂

Have a blessed, joyful, meatless Friday ahead folks! 😉 And a great weekend, too!

On Taking Time to Honor Our Spouses

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I know I said my next post here would be all about my goals for the year, and my “One Word” for 2013. I already have it drafted but I’m just waiting for the graphic to go with it. (I’m SO excited about this, really! I hope you’ll stick around so I can share the post with you once it’s ready!)

In the meantime, allow me to take this time to honor my husband. We celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary on Monday, January 7, and I got all mushy and decided to dedicate my post for the week on Philstar.com to him and our love story. I realized that, when it comes to having a healthy marriage, it’s the little things that matter. 
Our latest couple photo 😉
I hope you’ll take the time to read that post, if you haven’t already. Just hop on over here. I’d love to know how you honor your own spouse, too, so feel free to leave a comment below. 
Leaving you with these beautiful words about marriage from EWTN for now (emphasis mine):
A sacrament is a visible sign of an invisible reality. Matrimony is a sacrament and as such it is a sign to the world of the invisible God living in our midst – the living God who bears fruit in the lives of two people. They are a continual sign of His Power in the world. There is special grace and power within every couple God has joined together. Everything they do singly or together, is a living out of their sacrament. Simple things like washing dishes, running a sweeper, driving to work, struggling to make a living, budgeting a small salary to meet big expenses – yes, these and al I the other facets of life together, have power hidden within them to make them holy. Married life is the ground of holiness, love is the seed planted by God. Life together with its agonies and joys, pain and sacrifices, frustrations and tensions, moments of exultation and despair, all act as the rain and sun, thunder and lightning on a young sprout.

The faults and weaknesses of each one are compensated for by each other’s virtues. Each possesses what the other lacks. This results in a loving dependence on each other for spiritual growth and transformation. If a married couple can form a habit of looking at each other in a sacramental way – seeing the beauty of God in each other’s souls – seeking to enhance that beauty by upbuilding each other- mutually growing in the image of Jesus – then that Sacrament of Matrimony bears the stamp of the living God.

If you’re married, I highly encourage you to take the extra time this year to honor your spouses. Take the time to see the little things they do for you and your family, and let them know how much you appreciate them. Believe me, it will make a difference somehow.

Of course, relationships, especially marriages, that have God at the center, will be even more blessed! I know it’s a struggle to do this — to be in a “love triangle” with God and your spouse — but I’ve learned that, despite the challenges, you’ll find that married life will become so much easier.

Let love be sincere; hate what is evil, hold on to what is good;

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love one another with mutual affection; anticipate one another in showing honor.

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Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.

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Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer.

Truly Rich Reflections (of sorts): `Tis the Season to Be Champions! :)

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Hello, everyone! 🙂

I’m still “recovering” from the  (KCon) last weekend — it was a great time of blessing, inspiration, encouragement and affirmation from the Lord for all of us who were present. Hubby and I were part of the service team/staff and so we weren’t able to bring the kids (the only “dim spot” in the brightness of the event!).

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Our bodies are still aching and craving rest (at least mine is!) even if we were entitled to a rest day yesterday (i.e. no work at the Lighthouse, our office!). Anthony ran errands and accompanied his mom to the hospital (do say a prayer for her, please? She has dengue, according to the doctor, but is recovering at home), while I had my hands full with Tim’s lessons and bringing him (and Rysse) to his soccer class.

So do forgive me if I won’t be posting about the KCon yet! 🙂 (While waiting for that post, please feel free to check out my tweets, and a whole bunch of other people’s tweets, about the KCon . 🙂 Or you can just search for the hashtag #KerygmaConference2012 on Twitter!)

Suffice it to say, I learned a lot, prayed a lot, cried a lot (ahem! I’m a certified crybaby, didn’t you know?), sang a lot and got tired A LOT! Above all, I was BLESSED a lot. And even more convicted to live the best life, according to God’s call for me. 🙂

Speaking of living the best life, one of my takeaways from the conference is to really be a CHAMPION in whatever field God has called us to. It’s just so perfect that my post for the week on Philstar.com talks about discovering what “season of life” we are in right now. I hope God will speak to you through it. Just click here to read it, and please do feel free to share your thoughts with me on or ! 🙂

Whatever season of life you’re in, believe that God has a purpose for it. 
Believe that He is calling you to be a champion. 
Believe that He wants you to win in life. 
Believe that He will make all things possible, according to His plan and will.
let us choose to focus on Jesus, as the Reason for the Christmas season.
`Tis the season to be champions! 🙂
Praying for you,
Tina

We Are Not Perfect Parents — On Philstar.com

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I’m over at Philstar.com’s unBLOGGED section today, sharing yet again about how imperfect we are as parents… And yet, I still hope and pray that somehow, someday, by God’s grace, our children will grow up to love God more than anything or anyone else in the world (including us)… and that — despite our failures as parents (devastating, daily, destructive failures!) — we are still raising “little saints.” (Lord, help us!)

Please do head over to unBLOGGED and read my post here if you have the time. I’d love to get your feedback through the comments section! 🙂

God bless, everyone, and stay safe, healthy and dry, despite the heavy rain here in the Philippines!

Disclosure

Truly Rich and Blessed contains paid advertising banners and some contextual affiliate links. An affiliate link means that I receive a commission on sales of the products or membership sites that are linked in some of my posts. So, if you click on a link and make a purchase from or become a member of an affiliate site, then I may make a commission from that purchase — at no added cost to you! Thank you for supporting Truly Rich and Blessed this way.
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