My Reading Project and S.M.A.R.T.Heart Goals

Last month, I have made a decision to start again with my reading project. I began this actually during the last quarter of last year. Sad to say, I was not able to get it going, for some reason. So when the New Year rolled in, I resolved to do it all over again, thus my Reading Project 2014.

My 3 books for January 2014

 I was so excited that I hurriedly took a picture of the 3 books (Be the Miracle by Regina Brett, Not Even a Hint by Joshua Harris and Long Walk to Freedom – The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela) that were in my hand and posted it in my Instagram pinionsandplumageoflove and Facebook accounts, without even considering if I would really be able to accomplish this “small” feat. I thought, “Well, I’m off to a good start. I’m following S.M.A.R.T. guideline for goal setting. These 3 books are doable in one month (I’ve started reading on the 2nd week of January).” Then, February approached and I’m not finished with the 2 books (Not Even a Hint and Long Walk to Freedom).

 

The book I got to finish before January ended: Be the Miracle

The book 2 I'm trying to finish before February 9th. Yikes! :)

What happened? Didn’t I just follow the SMART thing? Isn’t it the smartest thing to do? My thoughts at that time:

Wasn’t my goal Specific? – My big goal is to read most if not all of the books I have accumulated throughout the years. Because of my busyness before (I was working fulltime in a non-government organization), I seldom had the time to read, although it’s one of my hobbies and stress relievers. So when finally I gave birth and opted to stay at home and “work fulltime” mom, I came to a decision to read all my books. Now, isn’t that specific?

Was it Measurable? – After putting down the first book (Be the Miracle) and ticking off the small dot in my planner signifying that I was done, imagine my bliss. I was ecstatic! I remember, my husband would always laugh at me (in a loving way, of course) whenever I begged for some time off to be alone and for him to take care of the baby just so I could finish my book one. One book in 3 days? Yes, I believe my goal was measurable.

Wasn't it Attainable or Achievable? – Devouring all the books in one month is of course neither realistic nor possible. Unless of course I burn them, then the fire would eat them up in just hours. How do I make it achievable? It’s like ordering a 2-pound juicy steak in a restaurant. Instead of chewing the whole thing, what do you do? You cut it into bite-size pieces and savour the flavour as you chew it, right? Thus I think, reading 2-3 books per month is workable.

Was it Realistic? – I can say that what I set for my reading project goal last month is realistic or sensible, in a way. Why? Honestly, I was already finished with three or four chapters in my two books (Be the Miracle and Not Even a Hint). They were actually unfinished goals in December (yeah, I know, it had broken my heart already). I was thinking that I would be able to finish these two in no time, then start off with the 3^rd book and by the end of January, I would just say, “Done!” So, is it realistic? For others maybe. For a mom with a 2-year old super active and precocious daughter and a household to run, it could have been, with a little squeezing in of time.

Was it Time bound? – Definitely! Hahaha! I wanted those 3 books read by the end of January. Isn’t that what time bound means? The beauty of this time thingy is that after you accomplished your goal no matter how small it is, you feel good inside, right? I read somewhere that one of the differences of the happy people from the unhappy ones is that the happy individuals set goals with time consideration while the unhappy folks don’t. Yes, they do set goals but without thinking when to bring them about. I mentioned above (#2 Measurable) the joy I felt when I finished my first book in my list on the date that I set it to be done. Yes, it’s a small thing but really, no, it mattered much.
 

After my evaluation, I asked myself, “So, where did I go wrong?” At that moment I realized something – my heart was not into it when I set my goal. Yes, my mind was working but my heart was not moving along. It was simply “just to have a goal” and “for the sake of goal setting”.  At that point I understand, it’s not enough just to have my brain working on my goals, I have to involve my heart too.  The brain gives the reason and the logic while the heart provides the passion and the excitement. The brain is the engine while the heart is the fuel. My brain could give me a lot of things I should accomplish for this year but it is my heart that would energize me to get them done.

How about you? How are you doing with accomplishing your goals so far? Do you think my S.M.A.R.T. Heart would help? I would love to hear from you.

Perfect Love Casts Away Fear

I have a confession to make. I just watched "Frozen" last Sunday. Yay! I watched it with my husband while our baby was asleep. It's a sort of "date at home" because on that day, well after we watched Frozen and everything was done, he went out of town/city for work. He'll be gone for five days. Oh well, that's not the story of this post, hehe. It's about the movie. It's so cool, it's Frozen! Hahaha!

Everyone was raving about this movie. I was really so curious about it that I asked my husband to look for ways how we can see this movie now that it's no longer in the movie house. Long story short, he found it.

I found this Disney movie entertaining just like any other Disney movies but with a lot of twists and lessons too. I'm sure you have read a lot of reviews and most of them talked about the twists. So I'm not going to talk about the them anymore. There's one thing that resonates in my heart though, and that is how Elsa and Ana were reared by their parents. As a parent myself, I always look for tips and insights on how to raise my own child. And I'm so thankful that I saw a valuable lesson from this movie which I believe that every parent/s should also take note of.

Elsa was born with great power in her hands but this was not explained well to her nor to her sister, Ana. They started as really best of friends, always looking forward to tomorrow where Elsa could make a snowman and both of them would just frolic in the ice-turned floor of the castle. It was an innocent merry-making moment that turned into "this-is-getting-out-of-hand" incident when Ana was accidentally hurt by Elsa, although the latter's purpose was really to save Ana from hitting the icy floor. We know what happened next. The parents went to their troll friends. The grandpa troll told Elsa that her greatest enemy would be fear. Since then, Elsa lived in fear. That scene spoke to me.

The very thing that they didn't want Elsa to have, that is fear, was in fact the very reason why Elsa "shut out" everyone around her, including Ana.Why did the opposite happen? It's because they magnify the negative without pointing out the positive. If fear would be Elsa's greatest enemy, what could be her most important friend? If fear is the poison, what is the antidote? The parents failed to ask the grandpa troll. The grandpa troll didn't remonstrate it. Elsa grew up feeling imprisoned with fear of hurting the ones she love. The antidote she herself concocted was just to hide in isolation, to conceal and "don't let them know."

But like any other Disney movies, Frozen has a happy ending. I like that part when Elsa asked Ana after she  turned from ice to flesh again because of that one act of true love, "You sacrifice yourself for me?" Ana answered, "Yes, because I love you." Then realization came to Elsa and she said, "Love. That's it." And she was another woman; no longer living in fear but in love. It was like, only at that moment she understood that all along, it was love she was looking for. It was love that she needs to have in her heart so that fear would have no room at all. Good thing, it was not yet too late. :)

"There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 4:18), according to the Bible. As a parent, I would like to instill love in my child's heart. Of course, my baby is not perfect and neither am I. There are not so good things in the heart of a person or even a child. But it's for me not to magnify on those things lest my child would grow in fear out of trying her best to avoid doing those bad things. I believe that my husband and I are placed in this world and entrusted with this so great a gift, our baby, by our God to nurture and nourish her in love. In love, point out the good things in her. In love, correct the wrongs and provide opportunities for improvement. In love, lead her in the right path. In love support and uphold her. In love, simply love her.

As I've mentioned above, there are lots of lessons we can learn from this movie but if there's one thing that I would like to remember and pass it on to my daughter is that love is powerful enough to cast away all fears she might have in her heart. :)

Disclaimer: Photo not mine and just grabbed from the Internet.

The Perks of Having God Your God

Jeremiah 27:3 “Obey my voice, and I will be your God and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you."

Today, this message spoke to my heart. We are in the midst of a crisis. I feel like we’re about to hit the rock bottom and then this message came.

Contemplating our struggle and this verse, I asked the Lord these, “What command of Yours have we not walked in yet? Have we not obeyed you, Lord?” – Something to that effect. And then the help we’ve been waiting for came… Today.

Jeremiah 27:3 is a word of command and promise. But the number of promise exceeds the command:

Command	Promise
Obey His voice	God will be your God
	You will be His people
Walk in all that He commands	It will be well with you

What resonate in my heart are the words “… and I will be Your God.” What does it mean when God said that? What are the benefits of making God your God? I have written below what it means to me.

1. If God is your God, then you have a 24/7 day access to Him. You can and may call on Him anytime and anywhere. There are no busy lines, no voice prompts to tell you, "Please try your call again later" and no secretaries to keep you on hold. It's simply God listening to you as you utter your prayers and petitions. Actually, there's one promise (and there are lots) of God regarding this. It's found in Jeremiah 33:3, "Call unto me and I will answer you." See that? He didn't promise that His angels or any other in heaven will be the one to respond to us. It's Him and no one else! What a privilege! What an assurance!

2. If God is your God, then you will be His people. What does this mean? For me, it's like this. You are working in a foreign land.  Then something really bad happens in that place or a war breaks out. The president of the Philippines will do everything in his power to make sure that you and other Filipinos are safe and protected. Why? Simply because you are part of "his people", his constituent and he is your president. Another example that I like is the story of the centurion who went to Jesus to ask for his servant's healing. The centurion might have thought that since the sick servant was his man and that he was his leader, he was then responsible for his man. So he went to Jesus for help. So, if God is your God, He will take care of you. He's got your back. He's got you covered.

3. If God is your God, then everything will be well with you. Now, it doesn't mean that you won't have any problems or challenges and it will just be a bed-of-roses kind of life. That's not what it means. I believe that as long as we live on this side of heaven, there will always be obstacles to be won and problems to be solved and overcome. What it means by "it will be well with you" is that even if there are difficulties in life, you will not be overcome by them but the other way around. Why? Because God is your God! You will be able to say to your problems, "I have a big God and He can knock you down." 

Just like what happened today. The challenge we're facing seemed so overwhelming, as if there will be no answer. Then God who is my God rescued us. He took care of the problem and saved us. 

I don't know what you're facing right now. It could be something bigger than you, you feel like it would eat you up. Or it could be as small as a pebble you can just kick it. Whatever situation you are in now, if God is your God, then He's got your back. :)

Note: This should have been posted last January 22, 2014.

 

Grateful for Lola Belen

Ate Belen has been with us for almost 6 years (even before our baby was born) now. She is helping us in some household chores like cleaning the house, dusting the furnitures, doing our laundry and ironing our clothes. A year after our wedding, we didn't have our baby then, and both my husband and I were working full time. We were both busy and passionate with what we're doing so everytime we come home, we always found ourselves super tired and would just want to eat and then hit the sack. Realizing there's a need for help, we approached and talked to Ate Belen (she also helps in maintaining the cleanliness of the office where I used to work and my husband is currently working). She didn't think twice. She offered her service without even asking how much we're going to give her. And since she has other commitments, we asked her to work with us on a part-time basis. Then 3 years after, I got pregnant and gave birth to the most beautiful baby in the world (hehehe, pagbigyan nyo na po ako, I know every mom can relate, heehee).

Our li'l fashionista with Lola Belen at McDonalds

My mom is in the States while my mother-in-law lives in Montalban (which is quite far from us) so it was really hard for me as a new mom to take care of the baby while making the house spic and span. I would often find myself frustrated because I felt like I was not a "good enough" mother and homemaker. But Ate Belen was there to encourage me and tell me that I needed to take good care of myself first before I would be able to give my baby the love and care that I would like to bestow her. I remember the time when I was not able to wash the dishes and I felt so bad because I couldn't stand seeing the clutter in the sink, she said, "Hayaan mo na yan dyan. Ako na bahala. Kumain ka at sabayan mo ng tulog ang anak mo para may lakas ka 'pag nagising na sya. " And everytime I would thank her at that time, she was quick to say, "Eto naman, wala yun. Para na din kitang anak." Ate Belen has become a mother to me and my husband and a Lola to Wynona. Ate Belen has become a friend to us.

Lola Belen with baby at home

Last January 17th, Ate Belen celebrated her 60th birthday. As much as I would like to throw her a surprise party, for some reason I wasn't able to do it. I am hoping that one of these days we can take her out for a special lunch or dinner although I know she deserves more (we gave her a gift that hopefully she'll be happy to use :)).

Though I know she won't be able to read this, I am writing it nevertheless just because she deserves a spot here. Ate Belen is one of God's wonderful blessings to us and we are so grateful for her. I don't think we can thank her enough for the love and service she has rendered us all these years.

To Ate Belen, happy 60th birthday! May the Lord add more years to your life and may you live abundantly! :)

Take God at His Word: A Lesson I learned (once again) from My Li'l Fashionista

This morning my li'l fashionista asked me to "read Jesuts (Jesus). She was actually referring to her Bible, The Beginner's Bible which was a gift (on her dedication day) from Aunt Jessie, a friend of mine and hubby. We were reading the story about Jesus calming the storm. I read and re-read it becaues baby wanted to "read 'gain, Mommy."

After reading it, I reenacted it just because. I quoted Jesus, "Don't be afraid! Peace! Storm stop!" Little did I know that the story and those words spoke to baby's heart. What do I mean? When we were eating lunch, she hiccuped. I told her to get her water bottle and drink. It was a bit dark inside her room because I turned out the light, there's a little sunlight coming from her bedroom window though. Baby didn't want to get her water bottle because she's kind of afraid, "kakot (takot) baby, Mommy." So I said, "Why are you afraid? Mommy is just here. Kasama mo naman si Mommy." Upon hearing it, she immediately stood up and was on the act of getting her water bottle. I thought she was encouraged by my words. But then she looked at me and with a smile on her face said, "Mommy, sama Jesuts baby!"

Wow! Isn't that something? I was stunned. I have already forgotten about the storytelling activity we had that morning. I never thought it would sink in that soon in her very young heart. I was like, "How did she grasp the concept of Jesus being with you that you don't have to be afraid? She has not yet "met" Jesus and her heart takes Him at His Word. What great faith - the kind that pleases God! I was humbled. I was reminded once again. God is God and He does what He says He will do. All He asks from us is to take Him at His Word, to believe, to have faith - as small as a mustard seed, or should I say, as big as a child's heart.

In response to my li'l fashionista I said, "Yes, baby. Kasama mo si Jesus." And off she went to get her water bottle. :)

Our li'l fashionista "reading" her Bible :)

28 Months and Counting...

Yesterday (January 4th) marked the 28th month of my baby. Yes, by God's grace, our li'l fashionista is 2 years and 4 months old now! Yay! For sure, time flies. :)

It's also been that long that I have been breastfeeding her. It was not easy at first. There were hurdles along the way, one of which was I have inverted nipples.That didn't stop me though from giving the best gift I believe I could give my precious one. Looking back, I never thought we would come this far. It was the best decision I have made as a new mom.

So, why did I choose to take that path? Why didn't I use my condition (inverted nipples) as an excuse? Because of the gazillion (exaggerating here, heehee) benefits that my daughter could get from my breastmilk. Let me enumerate some (out of the gazillion, haha) which are based from my personal experience. :)

1. Giving birth is not a walk in the park, specially if it took you long hours of labor before the baby came out. In my case, it took 19 hours and I delivered via C-section which was not the original plan. That means, hubby and I were both lacking in sleep, very tired and just wanted to get some rest. Long intro, huh? What does it have to do with breastfeeding then? If you've chosen to breastfeed, you and (hubby too) would get that much needed rest. Why? You (and/or again, hubby) don't need to get up at the wee hours of the night just to prepare milk or formula which by the way is a long and tedious process (for me). You have to sterilize the bottles, boil the water and make sure that the milk temp is just right before you give it to your baby. When you're breastfeeding your newborn, you don't have to wake up the hubby, it would just be you and baby, thus hubby can rest. As for you mom, you just stay on the bed with baby and let her properly latch on to you. I don't think you'll get so tired with that, right? :)

2. One of the things I love and will always cherish is the bonding time I have with my baby every time I breastfeed her. It's really different from the bonding time you have when you play with her or other activities you do with her. The first time I breastfed her, it was such a magical moment. I couldn't help but cry. It was like I was beholding a miracle. I, looking at her while she was sucking for the very first time. It was like, "wow'! Until now, I still feel that special bond that we have. :)

3. Health benefits. My li'l fashionista had her first cold only after she turned 1. That was also the first time she had fever. Can you believe that? And even if she's feverish at that time, you just couldn't tell. Do you know why? Because she's just as active as she could be. She would dance, play, chat with me and Daddy and do other activities which would say that the baby was very well (her body temp reached 38C and she was fine). Of course, it was by God's grace and mercy towards us. I also believe that it was because I was (and still am) breastfeeding her that made her body strong. I can cite lots of testimonies regarding the health benefits of breastfeeding but I still have other benefits to mention. Maybe some other time in my future posts, I will go into details. :)

4. If you will notice, I always use "li'l fashionista" when I refer to my baby. It's because she is. Mind you, I didn't teach her to be like that, she's just that. Hold your thought right there. I'm not saying that if you breastfeed your baby, she would become a little fashionista. NO! That's not what I meant. What I mean is, breastfeeding your baby makes her feel more loved and therefore she is more confident about herself. Our li'l fashionista at a very young age knows what shoes to put on if she's wearing this kind or that kind of clothes/dress. She doesn't feel intimidated if others are wearing dresses while she's just wearing pants. She's confident to wear "print on print". She looks at the mirror and says, "Mommy, nice." She even "styles" me. One time, I was wearing a black blouse with a touch of purple. I was planning to wear my brown wedge with gold stones/accents. She then called my attention and said, "Mommy, no. Ayo (Ayaw) baby. No shues (shoes. that is the brown wedge). Dis (This, that is the ballet flat shoes with a purple ribbon) Mommy shues." My hubby and I were like, "Wow!" Again, more stories about this but I have to reserve them for future posts. :)

5. When you get pregnant, you gain weight, right? And sometimes it's so hard to go back to the pre-pregnancy figure. Breastfeeding helps you with that in a breeze. Haha! Easy peasy, as they say. I lost about 10 or 20 lbs a week after I gave birth. No kidding! (Note: Of course, after two years, I started to gain weight because I was urged by my mom to eat more so I can give more (breastmilk) to my baby without losing weight. Well, that's her opinion and I listen to her, heehee!) Right now, I'm just back to my pre-pregnancy weight (I was not really super thin before) but I'm looking forward to shedding some pounds in the not-so-distant future. Ha!

6. Breastfeeding is practical, convenient, and economical. :)

7. Breastmilk is... still the BEST for our babies! :)

Well, there you have it ladies (and gentlemen, if there are). These are just some of the benefits of breastfeeding and/or breastmilk. I could go on and on... And again, these are based on my personal experience. I trust that this gives light to those who are contemplating if they will breastfeed or not. I hope this post helps you decide. Whatever decision you come up with, please know that I respect you/it. :)

Happy breastfeeding! :)

Hopeful in 2014

Last New Year's Eve, before we (my husband, our daughter and I) went out of our bedroom to look at the beautiful fireworks of our neighbors, we held hands together and prayed. Hubby and I believe that this is the best way to start the new year and we would like our daughter to see that. It was just a simple prayer of gratitude for the year past, thanking God for all the things that He allowed to happen and the blessings that came our way. It was also a prayer of trust and hope, believing that He will, once again, go with us, no matter what the new year holds.

After our prayer, which took about 15 minutes, we got dressed for the "New Year" and went to the veranda to watch the amazing fireworks. We were in Calamba (my hometown) by the way. I am now based in Quezon City together with my husband and daughter. So, after the fireworks, we went inside the house and read Psalm 91. Then we prayed for our house (which represents our family) while touching every part of it with oil. I felt so peaceful and I could tell that the Lord was with us as we were doing it. When we're done praying, we had our pictures taken (which has been our tradition since our little fashionista was born, heehee).

Yes, our li'l fashionista was wearing a ladybug costume. She was so excited about wearing it! :) The other lady is our Tita Beck.

I may not know what is coming in the future or in the next 12 months for that matter, but one thing I'm very sure of, the Lord already knows and my hope is in Him. So I say, thank You Lord for 2013 and I am hopeful in 2014, believing that the best is yet to come! :)