Marriage and Beyond

posted by Jennie on Apr 18

1. Join me in Plurk.

2. Put a little smile in your day!

3. Happiness is a choice.

4. Troubled and confused.

5. I’m waiting for the little guy’s temparature to go back to normal. (he has been with fever since Thursday)

6. Belgian chocolate is hard to resist.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to catching up on sleep, tomorrow my plans include watching Prison Break 4 x 17 with the hubs and Sunday, I want to attend church if Jed is well already !

posted by Jennie on Apr 16

The hubby has been working like a horse this past few weeks, taking care of some camp logistics for next week’s Summer Youth Camp: Call of Duty. He has been going from school to school to follow up on the delegates for this year’s camp event.

We’re more than thrilled that a handful of those who committed their lives to Christ some years back are now stepping up and leading another generation of young souls. A few more days and they are all set to leave for the campsite.

Meanwhile, I hope that Jeff gets a good deal for surplus shocks replacement and automotive lifts. He’s on his way to Banawe as I type this entry. The vehicle that he used to bring to the site the previous years will not be available, so he needs to bring the seasoned car and take it on a long drive. That is why he is making sure it is ready for the travel.

posted by Jennie on Apr 14

PARENT TALK 101 with Rev. Clem Guillermo as speaker, will be on June 6, Saturday, 2-5pm. It will be held at the NIA auditorium, National Printing Office Road corner EDSA, Quezon City (across GMA7). P150 per person (this includes the hand-outs for the seminar)

posted by Jennie on Apr 13

If there is anything true about marriage, it is the fact that when you enter such ceremony, you should not expect to see any exit sign anywhere within its bounds. This is true especially in the Philippines, where there is no divorce. This is the reason why a couple should not just consider marriage just because. On the contrary, it should be thought through a hundred times, or even more.

Read the rest of this entry »

posted by Jennie on Apr 13

We really made sure we celebrated through the holidays.  Two days were to celebrate Papa’s 60th birthday and the rest were spent with our families: our own and church family.

some random photos from our simple family get together as we celebrated with papa as he turned 60.

The little guy had his hair trimmed again. It’s his third time with the barber’s and it looks like he’s really used to it already. Except for the time that he kept on playing with the trimmed hairs that fall on the trimming cape and the hairs went flying to his eyes. He stopped right then when he felt the sting.  He has really warmed up to the barber’s procedure from the shaving to the trimming and the vacuuming. 

random photos from yesterday’s youth and baptism services (I forgot to take pictures of the communion and the morning services)

And what could be more appropriate but top the celebration with the communion and baptism service. Both of which symbolize the very essence of the season. Baptism and the Lord’s supper reminds us about the Savior’s death, burial and resurrection. The elements used during Communion, the unleavened bread and wine, represent Jesus’ broken body and His shed blood. The baptism by immersion shows perfectly the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. It also is parallel to what happens to a believer when he accepts Christ as Lord and Savior as described in 2 Corinthians 5:17. The old life dies to sin, is buried and a new life in Christ begins.

posted by Jennie on Apr 12

After having transferred my beauty blog, KikayCorner.net to wordpress last week, I knew I had to get down to business and have the online store running after the long wait. It is inevitable. Countless of inquiries of beauty products that I endorse, I just knew I had to put something up for my readers to have access to a few of the rather scarce and not always commercially available natural beauty products.

It is not easy to be a webmaster of a handful of niched blogs and put rich content on them on a regular basis. A challenge, to say the least. But I’m definitely loving it! Especially after having seen that my experimentation with yet another new blog (another niched one) is topping the search engine. I get really giddy, when some of the newly acquired SEO skills of the hubs is passed down to yours truly and actually see my posts rank. We really hope that we grow forward to becoming better webmasters.

Meanwhile, as I go about my business in keeping this online shop, I have yet to create a merchant account and maybe later add in some other girl stuff like Marni necklace and who knows I just might get back to making my very own Swarovski crystal blings and sell them online.

I used to design and create my very own swarovski crystal jewelries six years ago and they sold like hot pancakes.  Literally! I even customized for some clients and even had the items shipped abroad.  I doubt I could still take in the same bulk of work, unless of course, I outsource.  It is neat that shipping is made easy by a local courier who picks my merchandise for free and have them shipped anywhere in the world. Sweet!  

posted by Jennie on Apr 12

As tiring as Sundays are always for us, especially for Jeff (he preaches all day long during Sundays, three times to be exact), today is really a fruitful and blessed day for us. Our hearts are filled with joy as we see the core of our church family getting serious in nurturing their relationship with Christ.

It has been close to a month now that the core group has been meeting every single day for daily devotions. My heart is more than pleased that a door has been opened for yet another cell group in the community. We aren’t multiplying exponentially just yet (church attendance wise), the Lord is clearly more interested in working on the foundation, our core group. The contagious fire is ongoing and this alone is a testament of the Lord’s hand upon Sumulong Baptist Church-Makati.

Jeff will be extremely busy the next couple of weeks working on some logistics for the upcoming Call of Duty. Meanwhile, we plan to enjoy our family day tomorrow. We have lined up some family activities and watch a movie and maybe a couple tv series.

We look forward to watching the installments of Heroes and 24 –  our weekly fix. I have read that Satellite TV San Francisco delivers and I’m sure if we had the same kind of service, we can actually watch the episodes spontaneously as it is shown on FOX. But for now since we do not have the same service available like that of San Francisco Satellite Television, we plan to watch Freedom Writers on Monday and wait until Tuesday night to be able to watch 24 and Heroes. You might want to check San Francisco satellite tv for info on their packages, for as low as $9.99/mo. Meanwhile, the hubs and I are looking forward to watch what will come out President Taylor’s negotiation with the terrorist on 24.

posted by Jennie on Apr 11

Emmanuel. King of King and Lord of Lords, came down to earth, before the cross and paid for our sins.

“You were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold… but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.” 1 Peter 1:18-19

Well, who is this angry man I see
In the mirror looking back at me?
It’s a man who’s tired, a man who’s weak
And it’s a man who needs a Savior 

And who is this fearful little child
Crying out for home, lost in the wild?
With a lonely heart that’s fading fast
It’s a child who needs a Savior
A child who needs a Savior

And what is this longing in my soul
That I get so scared and angry?
I need more than just a little help
I need someone who will save me
Come and save me
I need someone to save me
Who will save me?
Come and save me

And who is this one nailed to a cross
Who would rather die than leave us lost?
He’s come to rescue us, come to set us free
Hallelujah, hallelujah
It is Christ the Lord,our Savior

posted by Jennie on Apr 10

posted by Jennie on Apr 7

This is the outline of Jeff’s message last Sunday, A Closer Look at Jesus’ Death. Nothing can be more appropriate for the season.  Be blessed.  

Why was there so much blood?

Luke 22:20 Jesus said, “This cup is the New Covenant in my blood which is poured out for you.”

 John 6:53-54″…Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, you have no life in you.  Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood, he has eternal life.”

Leviticus 17:14 “The life of every creature is in the blood”

1. Jesus shed His blood because of our sins

Hebrews 12:4 “In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.”

2. The blood means that Jesus sacrificed himself for our sins

Exodus 12:7″…Take blood and put it on the side and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs.”

Exodus 29:12 “Take some of the bull’s blood and put it on the horns of the altar in that temple, with your finger, and pour out the rest of it at the base of the altar.”

Hebrews 7:27 “Unlike the other high priests, He does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for His own sins and for the sins of the people.  He sacrificed for their sins once for all when He offered Himself.”

Hebrews 9:25 “Now He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself.”

3. Jesus saved us from our sins

John 3:17 “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.”

What exactly happened on the cross?

Wrong Idea:

 *Jesus was dying just to give us an example of how we’re supposed to live for others

Biblical truth:

*Jesus’ death was a complete sacrifice

What does the blood of Christ mean to each of us personally?

*It means forgiveness

Hebrews 9:22 “In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”

Ephesians 1:7 “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”

*It also means ownership

Acts 20:28 “Be shepherds of the church of God, which He bought with His own blood.”

*It means reconciliation

Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.”

John 1:12-13 “Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God” ¹³children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

posted by Jennie on Apr 6

We are blessed to have been able to get hold of books like The Strong Willed Child by James Dobson, On Becoming Babywise by Gary Ezzo, Standing Tall by Steve Farrar, et.al., at the times that we needed them.  The hubby and I read Standing Tall and On Becoming Babywise just before I gave birth to our son and The Strong Willed Child, during the threat of the terrible twos.  We officially call it a “threat,” because it really only lasted a couple of months, tops.  The Lord clearly led us to this book to have us figure out how to handle that critical period of raising a child.

Sure it was a battle of the wills, the most frustrating time ever. But the Lord led us to the Biblical way of handling that phase and now we enjoy the benefits of having a loving and secure child who not only respects authority, but is also a joy to live with. Oh no, he is not all bright and shiny, he has his days as well. But nothing that a sincere talk cannot handle.  He knows who is in charge and he knows that he is loved.

The war between attachment parenting and the other extreme was at its peek when I gave birth to our son.  But I knew that as a family, we did not have to conform to either of the two.  We listened to both sides and figured out from there which is extreme, which is not and decided to be led by no less than God himself through his Word.

Here is another parenting insight from Biblical Parenting.  Be blessed and may we impact the lives of our children the way the Lord has intended us to.

Many parents use a simple behavior modification approach to raise their children. If you get your homework done, then you can go out and play. If you clean your room, then you can watch a video.  Unfortunately children trained this way often develop a “What’s in it for me?” mentality. “If I don’t get something out of it, why should I obey?”

God is concerned with more than behavior. He’s interested in the heart. The heart contains motivations, emotions, convictions, and values. A heart-based approach to parenting looks deeper. Parents still require children to finish their homework and clean up their rooms but it’s the inner motivation and character that they’re addressing.

A heart-based approach shares values and reasons behind rules. It requires more dialogue, helping children understand how their hearts are resistant and need to develop cooperation. A heart-based approach is firm but also relational. It’s a mindset on the part of parents that looks for heart moments that then bring about significant change.

As you consider your children, remember the words that God said to Samuel, “Man looks at the outward appearance but the Lord looks on the heart.”

This concept is explained more fully of the book, Parenting is Heart Work, by Dr. Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller, RN, BSN.

posted by Jennie on Apr 5

While the hubby is so ready to go off to Tagaytay this coming Thursday, I cannot help but feel the need of just staying in the Metro and enjoy the easy traffic and non crowded malls. But then again, the humidity and rising temperature scream out for us to go enjoy the cool weather of Tagaytay. Baguio would have been a neat choice, except that it is a little too far. It is just nice that there is this closer alternative to Baguio. It is easier to be spontaneous and go there when time permits.

Whatever it is we decide to do on Thursday, we had to make sure all bank transactions are done. Wednesday is going to be the last banking day for this week.  Social security payments are done, the same with utility bills. Congestion is going to be inevitable, as expected.

As much as I do not want to burst the hubby’s bubble of having a quick getaway to Tagaytay, I hope to gently remind him of the pending things we need to do in the house. We still have not decided on which corner to use for our homeschooling base and how to go about its present state. I hope to be able to get all this settled before having our Bora getaway this coming June. I know it is still two months away, but I have always been prudent especially with things like these. It is hard for me to just sit down and do nothing. Cramming is not really my kind of thing. 

We’ll see, we’ll see. I will lovingly say my thoughts out loud tonight and if the hubby still wants to pursue Tagaytay, then it will be it.  Truth to tell, I so understand his need to relax and enjoy the holidays.  He has been so busy and really tired these past weeks because of the youth camp preparations.  And I also can make use of a better weather in Tagaytay.

posted by Jennie on Apr 3

One year ago today, I was in one of those hospital beds in Medical City – a confinement that lasted almost a week. It was longer than my hospital stay when I gave birth to my son. I was then enrolled in my review classes and everything had to be on a halt. Not to mention the board exam that I was to take in the next couple of weeks. It was actually the onset of a year full of bed rests, doctor’s visits, endless medications and all those tens of thousands of pesos that went along with it. Being sick is not easy, to say the least.

“This year will be different,” this is what I claimed in faith. The first quarter of 2009 is almost over and we are all doing okay. I believe one of the major things that contributed to our being healthier is having the Vaxigrip Flu vaccine during the first month of this year. The event invite where we got the shots came in just in time because we were really scheduled to get our shots the first week of February.

A collage that I made from the Bakuna event that we attended. We got our little guy ready the night before by letting him know that he’s getting the shot together with mama. We were all surprised that he volunteered to get the first shot. Even though he stepped back when he saw the syringe, I still think it was best that I had him ready for it. So there will be no room for trauma for anyone – worked for us from day one.

If there was anything, I am more than thankful that our family attended the Bakunado Campaign through the efforts of Sanofi Pasteur last January. It was because of that event that I was made set to be more vigilant than I ever was. It was a real eye opener. If there was anything that I learned as I browsed through http://www.bakuna.ph, flu is nothing like a simple case. I learned a whole lot about the strains of influenza, its causes and how it spreads. The truth of the matter is, a whole bunch of complications can stem from what I used to call a simple case of influenza (Trangkaso in our vernacular).

After the roller coaster ride our family had with influenza last year, I can never emphasize enough the importance of getting the Flu vaccine yearly. It is our best shot in getting a better quality of life .

posted by Jennie on Apr 3

One year ago today, I was in one of those hospital beds in Medical City – a confinement that lasted almost a week. It was longer than my hospital stay when I gave birth to my son. I was then enrolled in my review classes and everything had to be on a halt. Not to mention the board exam that I was to take in the next couple of weeks. It was actually the onset of a year full of bed rests, doctor’s visits, endless medications and all those tens of thousands of pesos that went along with it. Being sick is not easy, to say the least.

“This year will be different,”  this is what I claimed in faith. The first quarter of 2009 is almost over and we are all doing okay.  I believe one of the major things that contributed to our being healthier is having the Vaxigrip Flu vaccine during the first month of this year. The event invite where we got the shots came in just in time because we were really scheduled to get our shots the first week of February.

 

A collage that I made from the Bakuna event we attended. We got our little guy ready the night before by letting him know that he’s getting the shot together with mama. We were all surprised that he volunteered to get the first shot. Even though he stepped back when he saw the syringe, I still think it was best that I had him ready for it. So there will be no room for trauma for anyone – worked for us from day one.

If there was anything, I am more than thankful that our family attended the Bakunado Campaign through the efforts of Sanofi Pasteur last January. It was because of that event that I was made set to be more vigilant that I ever was. It was a real eye opener. If there was anything that I learned as I browsed through http://www.bakuna.ph, flu is nothing like a simple case. I learned a whole lot about the strains of influenza, its causes and how it spreads. The truth of the matter is, a whole bunch of complications can stem from what I used to call a simple case of influenza (Trangkaso in our vernacular).

After the roller coaster ride our family had with influenza last year, I can never emphasize enough the importance of getting the Flu vaccine yearly. It is our best shot in getting a better quality of life .

“A Flu Awareness Campaign brought to you by Sanofi Pasteur.”