The Change That Had the Greatest Impact in My Life

I wanted to share my thoughts on the topic Mhel of Blank Pixel is asking the participants in her Thirty on 30 contest to write about - Changes in My Life.  So here it goes....

As the saying goes "The only thing that is constant in this world is change."  There are many changes that happen in each of our lives. But if I were to ask myself what is the change that had the greatest impact in my life....

I could easily have said that it was when my mom decided to go abroad.  That was when I was just 10 years old.  When she left, I learned to wash and iron our clothes, cook our food and clean the house.  I didn't want my "mody" or "mommy na daddy pa" to do all the house work for us.  So, I obliged myself to do the house chores (Read another angle of this story from my post entitled Dalawang Mukha ng Pag-ibig ng Ina - a Pinoy Expat  Blog Awards Nominee)...BUT IT WAS NOT.

I could easily have said that it was when I finally graduated from college which opened doors to different work opportunities. After working 4 years for a business entity in Makati, I went back to the University to teach a Microbiology course - that gave me a sense of fulfillment....BUT IT WAS NOT.

I could easily have said that it was when I first fell in love at age 16 and then fell out of love one year after.  How painful it was that a man you love would say that he loves you and yet easily find a replacement for you! (Imagine in just a matter of days after separating ways!)  I thought I would never find love again..... BUT IT WAS NOT.

I could easily have said that it was when I was found by my soul mate at age 25.  It was like the whole world was against us, especially my parents.  I guess there's really some truth in the Filipino saying "kapag pag-ibig ang pumasok sa puso ninuman, hahamakin ang lahat masunod ka lamang" (When true love enters the heart, it will do anything just to follow its desires.)  Though it was not our intention to be disrespectful to my parents, we (with my present husband) decided to marry each other though they did not fully agree.  We thought that my mom would not attend the wedding, but she did anyway (not without much tears though). It was a really dramatic moment...BUT IT WAS NOT.

Jesus Loves Me. Image by Rainer Topf, Stock.xchng

I could go on and on telling about the many changes that happened in my life ...about having my first baby....about undergoing cesarean section and having ligation...about blogging..... But to cut short this blog post, the change that had the greatest impact in my life was when I ASKED JESUS INTO MY HEART TO BE MY SAVIOR AND LORD.  I was just 14 years old when I did that. 

As the Bibles says, all men are sinful and because of this sin, all men deserve to die, not just physically die but to be condemned to suffer in the fiery hell for eternity.  But God loves the men He created so much, He sent Jesus into the world so that when the time is fully come, Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for the sins we have committed.  Jesus already paid the debt we owe that we may not be condemned to hell in the next life.  But we need to repent of our sins, acknowledge that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, seek His forgiveness and trust Him to be the Savior and Lord of our lives.

That I did...and in an instant I became a true child of God. Since then, I had dedicated to live my life for Him, to always seek to do His will and not mine.  Why does this change had the greatest impact in my life?

• It did not only change my present but my future as well.  Whatever I do now, whatever circumstances I'm in, I believe that God is in control.   
• It did not change my outside looks but it changed my heart. Not only have I been forgiven, but I also have learned to forgive the people that hurt me.  
• It did not only change my spiritual life, but it changed every facet of my being.  You know why I excel in what I do? It is because of Him.  You know why I'm blessed?  It is because of Him.  You know where my security come from? Not in riches or wisdom or having loved ones but in having the assurance that if ever I die, Jesus is my Savior and He will take me to heaven not hell. How wonderful it is to feel safe and secure in the arms of God's love.

Finally, let me end by answering the question by Mhel "what do you still want to change in your life." My answer is STILL A LOT.  Becoming a Christian does not mean that you are perfect and not sinning anymore. But because Jesus has the power to change lives, I have since then learned to sin less and less but not sinless.  It is an everyday process and some changes that I still need to work on include my patience, my gentleness, my patience, and my patience.  Oh did I just said patience three times.  That means I had to work on this a whole lot more (remember I have 5 kids?)

Well, that's it about my sharing on this topic. Would you like to understand more and experience the change that Jesus brings? Get Saved Today.

The Little Star and Merry Christmas

Image by Harmon Fisher, Stock.xchng

Here's a video of Pat Boone telling the story of Little Star.  It's a perfect story for telling the Christmas story with a twist.  Children will enjoy this one.

Join Life Can't Wait's First Giveaway

Mom Marice is hosting a giveaway in celebration of the blogversaries of her Life Can't Wait and Up Now and What's Next blogs. Just look at the prizes to be given away: $40 cash, 10,0000 EC credits and ad spaces for first prize; $20 cash, 9,000 EC credits and ad spaces for second prize and $10, 6,000 EC credits and ad spaces for third prize and a lovely necklace as a special prize.

The contest rules are pretty simple to follow which includes writing a blog post like this. To see the complete contest mechanics click this link.  Hurry! The contest ends December10, 2010.  This giveaway will not be possible without these wonderful sponsors:

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Keeping the Kids Healthy with Fiber-Rich Foods

Fruits. Image by Sergio Roberto Bichara, Stock.xchng

It is important for kids to have a well-balanced diet to keep fit and healthy. Certainly fiber is one those food components that should not be left out of our kids' diet. What is fiber and its health benefits?

Fiber is an important component in our diet. It comes from the indigestible portion of plant-based foods. Though it doesn't really provide any nutrients, it has a couple of health benefits for the regular consumers.

Having fiber in the diet helps improve bowel movement. Moreover, the fiber acts like a broom when toxins as well as cholesterol and fats in the digestive system bind to it and are transported out of the body. This helps reduce the risk of having colon cancer and heart disease, too.

Another benefit of fiber is related to keeping slim or losing weight. With fiber in the diet, one feels full sooner and longer thus eating less. Compare eating with satiety a single serving of whole wheat bread to 2 servings of white bread.

Vegetables. Image by Rob Owen-Wahl, Stock.xchng

Some examples of fiber-rich foods that can be easily included in one’s diet are legumes (lentils, dry beans and peas), vegetables, fruits, brown rice and whole grains (wheat, oats, barley).

The only question now is "How can we make our kids eat this type of food?" I thank God that my kids are able to eat fruits, vegetables and whole grains especially oats. Though some of them are a little picky. Brown rice, they have yet to try. As moms who prepare the food they eat, we need to train them early on to eat these sort of food. It also helps if we show them by example that we are eating these healthy food choices.

Kitchen Organization Tips

I saw this video maybe about a month ago and I would like to share it with you because it is very nice to have some tips on how to organize your kitchen especially if you have a rather small one. Three quick tips I've learned are

• to keep like things together for example keep the spices together or ingredients used for baking. The lady in the video uses this technique in her cupboards as well as in her refrigerator.
• to use a mini-container to put the common things you need while cooking like the salt, pepper, oil, seasoning, etc so that it will be easy to get them and put them back to where you store them.
• keep the counters clear so you have more working space by hanging some things up or keeping the things stored in the drawers or cupboards.

Watch the video and you will learn a thing or two on how you can improve the organization of your kitchen and especially your refrigerator. I particularly like how the lady in the video used the lazy Susan and some spice racks in an unconventional way.  With a kitchen like hers, I think cooking and working will be more pleasant.

If you have other kitchen organization tips, I hope you will also share it in the comments section.

Boggle Me Thursday

If you like to play Boggle, then you can join this meme.  It is fun and it improves word skills.  To participate, just click on the Boggle Me Thursday button below.







This week's Boggle, I found 26 words. Could you see if I missed any words? Ooops I just saw flea and fleas.

Instead of use in a sentence...silly or otherwise, for a change, I'll ask silly questions with the boggle words today.

Do you ride the ox, the bus or the sub to the sea?
Do you like files, lies, fleas or flies?
Life is slow, would you stay low or lax, make a list or fist?

Have a nice day!

How to Do Face Painting - the Butterfly

Last weekend, my kids had a little animal song presentation and we thought of doing some face painting on them. The face painters were not professionals but I guess that's fine. What we did was just buy some face paint and paraphernalia, print some sample pictures of animal face paint projects and imitate them. I also did the one with my daughter (girl in the right picture).  Though the face paint were not that perfect, all of us, especially the kids, had fun in the process of doing them.

Blue bird face painting

Dog face painting

Butterfly face painting

Butterfly face painting

If you're interested in doing some face painting also for your kids especially during costume parties or talent presentations, you could watch this sample face painting video to give you some idea. Who knows you might be interested in turning it into a part-time business as well.

Join the "Changes in My Life" Blog Contest

Blank Pixels is celebrating its second year blogversary together with Mhel's 30th birthday with a big contest. Entitled "Thirty on 30," the contest being hosted by Blank Pixels is giving away over $300 worth of prizes (over $100 of Paypal cash, Real Love T-shirts, gift certificates, SMS prepaid load, Adgitize advertising, blog makeovers and blog hosting package) .

There are a variety of tasks to accomplish in order to join and get a chance to win in Mhel's contest. To give you an idea to join the contest you need to write a blog post about the changes in your life; follow blogs and like Facebook pages.  Other optional tasks include reviewing sponsor blog posts, first commenting on blog posts and tweeting about the contest .  All of these tasks will surely make the contest really challenging and only those who strive to win will win.  Be sure to read all the contest mechanics carefully so you won't be disqualified.  Just click the mechanics link or the banner below to see all the contest details.  By the way, contest ends November 30, 2010.  So, hurry and join now.




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Sulit's Christmas Card Making Contest

This is an early Christmas card for everyone. Well, actually this card was created by Noypi as an entry to Sulit.com.ph's Christmas card making contest with the theme

Pasko 2010: Pasko ng Pamilyang Pilipino sa Makabagong Panahon

If you would like to join the contest, you can make your own Christmas card and submit it to Sulit on or before November 30, 2010. See the complete contest details here. You can win an Apple iMac, Apple iPhone or Apple iPad plus other special awards. Even viral posters (like me) have a chance to win a Blackberry Curve.

Do you like Noypi's Christmas card? Or maybe you can create one to display your artistic talent?

Iba't Ibang Sasakyan

I've been trying to transfer some the posts from my other blog here since I can't maintain the other one due to extreme busyness.  Here is one post there.  A poem in Filipino titled "Iba't Ibang Sasakayan" (Different Types of Vehicles} by Emmuel when he was in Grade 3.  He also drew the matching pictures using Tux Paint - a free interactive painting software especially for kids three years and up.

Green Car Drawn by Emmuel using Tux Paint

May sasakyang kulay itim at puti
May sasakyang kulay pula at dilaw
May sasakyang kulay asul at berde
At marami pang iba.

May sasakyang malaki ang kaha
May sasakyang maliit ang katawan
May sasakyang mabilis ang takbo
May sasakyang mabagal ang andar

May sasakyang gawa sa Japan

Red Car Drawn by Emmuel Using Tux Paint

May sasakyang gawa sa Korea
May sasakyang gawa sa Germany
May sasakyang gawa sa Amerika

May sasakyang pang-lupa
May sasakyang pang-himpapawid
May sasakyang pang-dagat
May sasakyang pangkalawakan.

Iba't ibang klase ang mga sasakyan
Maghahatid ito sa ating pupuntahan
Mula noon hanggang ngayon
Katulong natin ito sa paglalakbay.

Would You Donate a Book by Reading an Ebook Online?

While blog hopping a few weeks ago, I came across this website called We Give Books.  It is a free website where any user can read a free children's ebook online and at the same time donate a book to a leading literacy group or cause he chooses. For every book you or your child reads, a book is donated.  The more you read, the more you donate.

This is a really good website.  Not only will you help your child learn to love books and develop their fluency in reading, but at the same time you are teaching your child to be givers to a worthy cause.  I've seen the selection of books available for reading which are categorized according to the age of the child and there are really wonderful books for reading.

There are just three simple steps to start giving books:

• First, choose a literacy organization that you would like to support with your reading.  You can choose non-profit organizations like Hope for Haiti or Room to Read. I chose to support Books for Asia, so I can help donate new books to schools, libraries, and non-profit research centers via the Asia Foundation's Books for Asia program. Recently, We Give Books delivered brand-new books to young people in Mongolia through this program. 

• Second, start reading free ebooks online. Choose a book from a wide selection of children's book and start reading with your child.  For every book you read, a brand-new hardcover or paperback book from the Penguin and Dorling Kindersley library is donated to your cause.  You can read as many books as you like and as many times as you want.
• Third, help spread the word about We Give Books so that more people will be able to contribute to the literacy improvement of children around the world.

 I hope you would also join this We Give Books progarm. Let's help share books to young children who need them around the world.