Amazing Grace Archives - Truly Rich and Blessed

50 Days of Amazing Grace: Days 21 to 29 — Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled, Beloved.

May 18, 2014 by Tina 2 Comments

50 Days of Amazing Grace is an annual series {of short, to-the-point posts} that aims to inspire and empower you to live as an ‘Easter person,’ i.e. one who is joyful and ‘sent forth’ to proclaim the wonder of Jesus’ Resurrection. It is inspired by the Easter Season, which, for us Catholics, lasts for 50 days. (You can find the first and second series of posts here and here respectively. For this year’s series of posts, click here.)

As I mentioned in a previous post, it seems ‘slow blogging’ is becoming my default attitude when it comes to writing on this blog.

It’s always in the back of my mind though, as I go through my day and attempt to check off as many items as I can on my list of to-do’s — “I should really update TrulyRichMom (TRM),” I say to myself. Or, “This would be something nice to blog about on TRM!” Or, “I wonder if my TRM readers miss me?!” 🙂 (Ha, ha! Just kidding about that last one!)

When I decided to do this series again — for the third time — I set out to write a post every day. I said that I would do it for God and for YOU, my readers, in the hope of inspiring others to have a more meaningful Easter season.

Alas, the season is halfway over, and I have ‘failed’ in achieving my goals so far.

Or, have I?

I don’t really know but I do know this… I have been trying to set my priorities right lately. I have been trying to live more and do less. It has been very, very difficult, and most days, I’ve found myself failing miserably! (Sorry, Honey! Sorry, kids!)

Which is why I take comfort in today’s Gospel reading (John 14:1-12):

And in the Second Reading too, especially in the highlighted words below:

1 Peter 2:4-9

Beloved: Come to him, a living stone, rejected by human beings but chosen and precious in the sight of God, and, like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it says in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying a stone in Zion, a cornerstone, chosen and precious, and whoever believes in it shall not be put to shame.” Therefore, its value is for you who have faith, but for those without faith: “The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and “a stone that will make people stumble, and a rock that will make them fall.” They stumble by disobeying the word, as is their destiny. But you are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may announce the praises” of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

Reading the above brought tears to my eyes — because I remember again how blessed I am that He “called” me “out of darkness into his wonderful light.” I am not a perfect person, and I’ve committed many dumb mistakes in my past. I still do now, actually. (Sorry again, Honey and the kids!)

Isn’t it wonderful then that Easter is all about second chances, and God’s victory over the darkness of sin and death? Let’s continue to celebrate it daily, even beyond the liturgical season of 50 Days!

Reflection: In the days to come, I will not let my heart be troubled. I will trust in God and in His plans for me, His beloved.

Prayer: Thank You, Lord, for always assuring me of Your great love for me. Jesus, I trust in You!

P.S.

I wrote a post on Philstar.com this week about “blogging intentionally and parenting purposefully.” I’d love for you to read it and come back here to share your comments! 🙂

50 Days of Amazing Grace: Days 5 to 19 — Of Making Memories and Choosing What Truly Matters

May 8, 2014 by Tina 10 Comments

Let me start this post by apologizing for not being around these past 2 weeks. I can’t believe how quickly time has flown since my last post.

At the same time, allow me to say ‘thank you’ to you for sticking around. It’s been an amazing, tiring, frustration-filled, inspiring, refreshing 2 weeks for me (and my family) and while I haven’t been ‘busy’ here on the blog, I have been busy elsewhere. I think I’ve unintentionally come to adapt the ‘slow blogging’ concept that my friend and fellow blissmaker Martine wrote about recently.

Screen shot from Make It Blissful

Let me quote from Martine’s post so you’ll know what slow blogging means to her — and to me:

Blogging about living less hurried lives;

… about what I’m really loving at the moment (I don’t mean product reviews);

… about time-outs and out-of-town escapes with my family;

… about the art of meaningful blogging, writing;

… about taking my imperfect life and reflecting on what is still joyful and happy about it.

And this, my dear friends, is what I’ve been doing the past 2 weeks. (Or at least trying to.)

Making memories with my family.

We were invited to stay at Pico Sands Hotel last week — such a wonderful blessing from the Lord! 🙂 I’ll be writing about our trip on Philstar.com soon, so do watch out for my post!

Choosing what truly matters to me. And what matters most now, during this particular ‘season of life’ that I’m in.

Soaking in God’s goodness by basking in His gift of nature… again, with my family, the people who are most important to me.

The view from our room at Taal Vista Hotel, where we stayed last week during our epic ‘family field trip,’ which began with our stay in Pico de Loro. 🙂 Will write about it soon! *fingers crossed*

I wrote about this before — about “being” vs blogging. About being more intentional with the (limited) time that I have.

I believe that God’s amazing grace abounds more when we choose to live with intention. When we parent with purpose. When we do what is meaningful.

It’s not about ‘doing it all’ — like I said in my World Moms Blog post last month:

…we may want to do it all but most of the time we don’t have to. Sometimes, all we have to do is just be. Just be a wife. Just be a mom. Just be yourself. Just be.

When we focus more on just ‘being,’ we’ll usually realize that God is totally enough — solo Dios basta — and He’ll take care of all the ‘doing’ that we need to do.

So go ahead, dear friends. Just be. Make memories. Choose what TRULY matters most.

Reflection: Whenever you feel tired or overwhelmed (like I have been lately, hehe), remind yourself, “Solo Dios Basta — God Alone Is Enough.” He will give you the strength you need!

Prayer: Dear Jesus, may I learn to let go of all my frustrations and fears. May I learn to just ‘be’ and choose what truly matters most in life. Amen.

***********************

P.S. Like I said, I’ve been busy elsewhere so if you feel like reading more of my writing around the web, please feel free to click on the links below. Happy reading! 🙂

On World Moms Blog: An Open Letter to the Mom Who Wants to Do It All (I think I need to read this again today!)

On CatholicMom.com: How to Sanctify the Mundane Tasks of Motherhood (I need to read this again too!) and World View Wednesdays: Bring Back Our Girls — Pray and Act for Nigeria (And the World) (My heart was breaking while I was writing this! 🙁 )

On Smart Parenting: My reviews of Indigo Baby’s Jar of Love and , plus an article on 7 Mom-recommended Baby Carriers

On Philstar.com: The GK International Farm Village Kids’ Camp

50 Days of Amazing Grace: Days 30 and 31 – It Will Get Better

April 30, 2013 by Tina 6 Comments

Yesterday was another “down” day for me. I hate to say this (and I don’t want to seem like a terrible mother by doing so) but having the two older kids home with us while caring for a newborn is turning out to be quite challenging (think having to remind them to be careful and gentle with their sister, to be quiet when she’s sleeping, to not touch her head and face all the time, plus the usual “no fighting,” “stop doing that to your sister/brother” stuff, etc. – repeat one hundred times!).

Add to that the fact that we’ve been monitoring Anne’s condition since Sunday, when she started having an elevated temperature and showing signs of dehydration. Mix in a little or no sleep plus crazy, post-natal hormones, and you have the makings of a very grouchy, on-the-verge-of-crying-almost-every-ten-minutes mega emotional mama! (Yep, that was me yesterday!)

My mom, who so lovingly came over to stay with us and help me out, caught me crying at one point and gently reminded me, “It will get better. It’s always difficult at the start. But it will get better.”

And you know what? It is getting better.

I was finally able to get more sleep last night because Anne and I have “mastered” the art of breastfeeding while lying down (she wasn’t used to it at first, I guess she got used to me feeding her while sitting down when we were in the hospital).

Also, I decided to see the kids being so excited to touch their baby sister and wake me up whenever I would try to take a nap as a good thing – they just want to spend time with us!

It helped, too, that my mom took the older kids to their place this morning so I could get more sleep. They’re staying the night then coming back tomorrow. So I was able to nap this afternoon while Anne was sleeping.

Anne is also much better now, thank God, and thanks to all who prayed/are praying for her – including you, dear friends! 🙂

What helped the most though was choosing to look at our blessings. How could I NOT move on from my “state of despair”?

If you’re going through something right now and are down and out, remember this: It will get better. With God’s help, it will. Trust me.

P.S. That’s my mom with Anne in the photo below. 🙂

50 Days of Amazing Grace: Day 26 – When You’re Tempted to Despair, Keep Calm and Talk to A Loved One

April 25, 2013 by Tina 3 Comments

I have a confession to make: The “strong Tina” that you may have seen these past few days almost crumbled pitifully last night.

After spending almost the whole day walking to and from our ward to the breastfeeding room and sitting down for hours to nurse Anne, I began to feel tired.

And late last night, I almost broke down.

After feeding Anne, I gave her to one of the nurses on duty, who asked me if I really wanted her to be purely breastfed. I said yes, of course. Thing is, the nurse said, she wasn’t getting as much exposure to her phototherapy treatment because she was always being taken out of her bassinet whenever she cried, so I could nurse her.

By that time, I was really tired and my back ached, and so I “gave in” and told the nurse to do what needed to be done.

I walked back to the ward feeling defeated. Once I got there, I tearfully told Anthony about what the nurse and I talked about. I told him I felt guilty because I knew the nurse would give Anne formula so she would stay in her bassinet.

He listened compassionately and told me to stop feeling guilty. Then my sweet, loving husband reminded me that we had a breast pump at home and offered to get it so I could pump my milk and give it to the nurses to give to Anne when needed. It was already past midnight by then.

I asked him if he was sure and he said yes. And so he went and came back and I pumped and gave the milk to the nurse on duty. I felt so much more relieved after that. Thank God for my husband’s common sense and compassion! 🙂

This simple – perhaps even shallow – experience brought me to reflect on this:

When you’re tempted to despair, keep calm and talk to a loved one.

It could be your spouse or a parent or a close friend. Or better yet, God Himself.

It’s time for me to go to the breastfeeding room now, so let me leave you with these words I received in my inbox earlier:

“So humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all your worries upon him because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5: 6-7

And here’s a prayer for you and me:

“Lord Jesus, through the gift of Your Holy Spirit, You fill us with an indomitable spirit of praise and joy which no earthly trial can subdue. Fill me with Your resurrection joy and help me to live a life of praise and thanksgiving for Your glory. May I witness to those around me the joy of the Gospel and the reality of Your resurrection.”

50 Days of Amazing Grace: Day 25 – God Can Use Your Past to Prepare You for the Future

April 24, 2013 by Tina 1 Comment

It’s our third day at the hospital. This morning, I posted this on Facebook:

“Baby Anne updates (April 24): The Lord really has a sense of humor! 🙂 Anne is undergoing phototherapy for jaundice – most likely due to blood type incompatibility (like Tim when he was a newborn). She’s also getting antibiotics because of sepsis (like Rysse when she was a newborn, who also went through phototherapy). For Tim and Rysse, breastfeeding was a bit easier because we were in the same hospital room in the National Hospital in Timor. With Anne, she has to stay in the nursery and I need to go to her every now and then. Nonetheless, it is a blessing and privilege to do so! Thank you again, everyone, for your prayers, support and encouragement! :)”

Although we had been praying for a safe, normal and natural delivery, and a healthy baby whom we could take home after a day or two at the hospital, I guess God had other plans.

You see, with the older two kids, we had to stay 1-2 weeks at the hospital with both of them, for the reasons stated above in my FB post. We had been hoping it would be different with Anne. But like I said, God must have had something else in mind.

It’s definitely still challenging even if it’s “round 3” for us – especially since I need to walk to the nursery every two hours (or less) to try breastfeeding Anne (I say “try” because sometimes she’s fast asleep when I get there, and won’t nurse). My mom and Anthony are a bit worried I’ll strain myself.

But, like it says in the title of this post, I believe that God can use your past to prepare you for the future. In our case, I believe God let us experience what we did when Tim and Rysse were newborns in Timor Leste to prepare us for this time with Anne.

Truth be told, I do still feel tired after the labor and delivery last Monday night. But it’s not as bad as before. I credit it all to God and His Holy Spirit, and His – you guessed it – Amazing Grace! 🙂

How about you? Have you ever had experiences when you felt that God used your past to help prepare you for the future, or even the present? 🙂 Believe that He holds our past, present and future in His hands, my friend! And live life blessed!