Truly Rich and Blessed

Caring for Our Resources: 3 Tips For Maintaining Your Car

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*Sponsored Post*

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I’ve mentioned before that our resources are considered part of “the riches we already have” while here on earth. Material things like the homes we live in, the clothes we wear, the cars we drive, and so on and so forth are all resources that the Lord has given us. So we must do our best to take care of these things, especially if we want to be good stewards of our “riches.”

When it comes to maintaining your car—which can be used not just for personal purposes but even for the Lord’s work like going to Church, attending prayer meetings, doing outreach activities, and the like—here are a few tips that you can follow:

Check your engine oil.

This should be done as regularly as possible. If your car is in good condition, check the engine oil monthly. If it has an oil leak or you seem to be adding oil often, check it more often. Of course, if you notice that your car seems to be leaking oil, get it checked and fix the leak as soon as possible to avoid further damage—and to be safe, too, especially if you’re driving with kids in the backseat!

Check the air pressure of your car’s tires.

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This is best done once a month and before you go on any long road trips. You should also check your car tires to see if there are any cuts, abnormal wear, or visible buldges in the sidewalls.

Wash your car.

This may seem like an obvious thing to do but there are car owners who still don’t do this as often as needed. If possible, wash your car every week. Don’t just wash the body—try to remove dirt from the fender walls and undercarriage, too.

There are actually more things you can do to keep your car well-maintained—the three tips above are certainly just the “tip of the iceberg,” so to speak. If you’re looking for more tips, Cars.com is a good resource—it has a special section called “Service & Repair,” which contains tips for maintaining your car. God bless us as we strive to take care of the riches we already have! 🙂

Our Discoveries: Nature to Nurture Multi-Surface Cleaner

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In the About page of this site, I mentioned that being “Truly Rich and Blessed” is all about:

GROWING OUR FAITH, LOVING OUR SELF, STRENGTHENING OUR RELATIONSHIPS, MAXIMIZING OUR RESOURCES, AND DELIGHTING IN OUR DISCOVERIES AND EXPERIENCES.

When it comes to Our Discoveries and Experiences, my aim is to look at different products, services, and other matters that help “enrich” our lives. One such “discovery” is Nature to Nurture Multi-Surface Cleaner, one of my new favorite natural cleaners. (I’ll share why in a bit!)
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But first, let me explain a bit… you may be wondering how something like a multi-surface cleaner helps “enrich” our lives. Sounds kinda weird, doesn’t it? Or does it?

Well, personally, when I use the word “enrich,” I mean my life is made a bit better and even a bit “easier”. And using Nature to Nurture’s Multi-Surface Cleaner has certainly made my life better and easier. Here’s why:

1. It’s plant-based and safe even for little hands to use.

Nature to Nurture’s Multi-Surface Cleaner uses tea tree essential oil as its anti-bacterial agent. You can use it so safely clean high chairs, toys, cribs, countertops, walls, furniture, appliances, electronics, outdoor toy sets, gears on bikes, and even saint statues! (See below. 🙂  Our toddler loves to help me clean up, especially when I let him spray surfaces and objects with Nature to Nurture’s Multi-Surface Cleaner! I don’t have to worry about nasty chemicals getting onto his skin either—we just wash his hands afterwards, easy peasy!)

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You can also use the cleaner on surfaces like granite, sealed stone, glass, painted surfaces, stainless steel, porcelain, floors (hardwood, tile, laminate)—doesn’t that make your life oh-so-much easier (and thus, your life is “enriched” a bit)?

2. It makes cleaning up hassle-free.

Nature to Nurture’s Multi-Surface Cleaner automatically comes in a spray bottle, which makes for easy clean-ups. It effectively removes grease and deep-seated dirt on different surfaces. We use it all the time on our Comflor playmat (which I’ve written about before),  and because we use our playmat all the time, we need to make sure it’s always clean.

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Our daughters are usually the ones assigned to help keep the playmat clean (though the toddler often tries to grab the Multi-Surface Cleaner spray bottle from them when they are cleaning it! Ha, ha!). I make sure they use a dry, clean cloth with the Cleaner—otherwise, they’d be spreading dirt on the playmat if the cloth used is dirty. I ask them to clean the mat in the morning and before we use it for other purposes, like preparing vegetables for cooking (yup, we really use our playmat in different ways!).

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 3. It’s economical, effective, and environment-friendly.

For only P199.00 for a 510-ml spray bottle, the Multi-Surface Cleaner really provides value for your money. I’m sure even non-parents will find it super useful and economical, and the bonus is it’s not just safe to use but it’s super effective, too! Tea tree oil, one of its main ingredients, is known for its “antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties.” It’s also biodegradable, so you can be sure that you are not spreading any bad chemicals into the environment.

All of these factors combined really make Nature to Nurture’s Multi-Surface Cleaner “worthy” to be on “Our Discoveries and Experiences” list. Because, again, whatever helps make our lives better and “easier” is something that can enrich us! (Catch my upcoming posts about Nature to Nurture’s other products coming up soon. Honestly, all of their products are really worth recommending! And I’m not just saying that because this post and the upcoming ones are a collaboration between me and Nature to Nurture—we’ve been using their products even before this collaboration!)

Find out more about Nature to Nurture via their website. Or check out their products in person when you visit The Parenting Emporium, your one-stop shop for all things parenting-related!

A Prayer and Song for the New Year

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The new year is already upon us, and yet, I still feel like there was so much that was not accomplished in 2017. Seriously, I often feel that I am “behind” on everything—home life, work, homeschooling, even my prayer life!

But deep down inside, I know that this is not what the Lord wants for me this year. Nor any other year. And I’m sure He doesn’t want it for you either.

God doesn’t want us to already feel like a failure even before anything has happened. He doesn’t want us to feel that nothing has happened when, in fact, because of His goodness and faithfulness, so much has already been done.

Two wise and prayerful mom friends of mine—Ate Stef and Ate Abby—whom I consider my “mentors” and sisters in Christ, actually say that such negative thoughts are “of the devil.” They always remind me that thoughts like those are meant to create doubt and fear in our hearts, and make us lose our focus, which should be on the Lord and His never-ending mercies.

So, this year (and beyond!), I invite you to join me in prayer—that this year, we will do our best to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus alone, who will always be faithful to us:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us—and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith. (Hebrews 12:1-2)

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Let us pray together for greater faith:

Father, I abandon myself into Your hands; 
Do with me whatever You will. 
Whatever You may do, I thank You. 
I am ready for all, I accept all. 
Let only Your will be done in me, 
And in all Your creatures. 
I wish no more than this, O Lord. 
Into Your hands I commend my spirit; 
I offer it to You, Lord, 
and so need to give myself, 
to surrender myself into Your hands, 
Without reserve and with boundless confidence, 
For You are my Father.Amen. (Source.)
Let us make this song—one that spoke to me so powerfully during last year’s Kerygma Conference—our song. Indeed, Jesus, You never fail.
Below are the song lyrics, if you want to see them in full:

NEVER FAIL

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You are loving in all Your ways
Gracious through all my days
Faithful in all You say
Jesus You never fail

Mountains bow at Your feet
Oceans part when You speak
Beauty forms when You breathe
Jesus You never fail

I believe in Your word
I believe in Your promise
I believe You’ll reveal
Your plans that I can’t yet see

You’re stronger than any storm
Sovereign above it all
Reigning forevermore
Jesus You never fail

I believe in Your word
I believe in Your promise
I believe You’ll reveal
Your plans that I can’t yet see

I believe in Your ways
I believe in Your goodness
I believe You’ll complete
The work You began in me

In trial or triumph
In sickness or strength
In end and beginning
You will never fail

In drought or abundance
In loss or in gain
In seasons of waiting
You will never fail

In trial or triumph
In sickness or strength
In end and beginning
You will never fail

In drought or abundance
In loss or in gain
In seasons of waiting
You will never fail

I believe in Your word
I believe in Your promise
I believe You’ll reveal
Your plans that I can’t yet see

I believe in Your ways
I believe in Your goodness
I believe You’ll complete
The work You began in me

I believe in Your word
I believe in Your promise
I believe You’ll reveal
Your plans that I can’t yet see

I believe in Your ways
I believe in Your goodness
I believe You’ll complete
The work You began in me

 Here’s to a year ahead for all of us, and our loved ones, too!

3 Things You Can Do to Improve Your Family’s Finances

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I’m not a financial expert but I would like to believe that our family’s finances are in a much better “place” now compared to six years ago. You see, when my husband and I were still fulltime lay missionaries we had the wrong beliefs about money. We were not able to save much because our missionary allowance back then was just enough for our growing family’s needs, though I must admit there were “lean” days.

Back then, we had no idea that Filipinos like us could invest in mutual funds and stocks, and that it is important to build a strong financial foundation. We were clueless as to what phrases like “build your emergency fund” and “make your money work for you, not you work for money” meant. We didn’t know that you could combine the words “millionaire” and “missionary,” and that becoming a “millionaire missionary” (or a “missionary millionaire”) was a fine and worthy goal.

That’s why we are so grateful to God for the people He has sent our way, the learning events He has allowed us to attend, and the books and articles He has allowed us to read. Slowly but surely, He is helping us improve our family’s finances. (We claim it in Jesus’ name!)

But it doesn’t stop here. I believe God wants all families to experience His abundance and provision, so that more people may be blessed to bless others. So, if you think you need help with your financial situation right now, head on over to Philstar.com, where I share three simple but significant things you can to improve your family’ finances. (I also invite you to the Family and Finance Conference 2016, so go ahead and click here!)

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Do You Pray for Your Husband? {Plus Links to Other Places I’ve “Been” Lately}

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As I mentioned in my last post, I have been elsewhere virtually this past week. I’ll share the links to my articles and posts on other sites at the bottom of this post, in case you want to read them. In the meantime, let me share the following excerpt from my first post on Make It Blissful:

Let me begin this post with a confession: I don’t like my husband all the time. In fact, on some days — days that have been extra challenging — I find myself wondering, “How in the world did we ever end up together?”

Okay… there, I’ve said it.

Thankfully, those days are few and far between now. After being married for seven years, I know that moments like those are fleeting and I know now how to handle those thoughts. There are many “strategies” laid out by marriage and relationship experts on how to deal with difficulties with your spouse but I always find myself coming back to this: prayer.

Read my entire post about The Power of a Praying Wife here and feel free to answer this question, “Do you pray for your husband?” in the comments! Or just share about how prayer has helped your marriage. 🙂

P.S. Elsewhere on the Web these past 8 days, I was over at Smart Parenting’s website sharing tips to foster openness with your kids; on CatholicMom.com with an old but still timely post on decorating for Lent; on Philstar.com sharing about the inspiring young people behind the Noche Buena and Start Again projects; on theAsianparent.com editing useful articles for parents, and helping tweak Catholic Filipino Academy’s website — won’t you drop by and take a look? 🙂

 

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