Marriage and Beyond

Another treasure from an aged journal. The hubby and I used this lesson in one of our couples Bible study sessions back in 2002 or 2003. It blessed me to leaf through the pages of my devotional journals and got reminded how the Lord was as real to me then as He is to me now. He has not changed, ever remained faithful even through times that I tend to be faithless. I hope to share these Biblical truths that I jotted down in a page of my old journal.

The Three Biblical Requirements for Marriage:

1. A man and a woman.

“So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.” Gen. 1:27

2. A sexual relationship.

God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Gen. 1:28

3. Lifetime commitment.

3Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”

4“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female, 5and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh‘? 6So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”

7“Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”

8Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. Matt. 19:3-8

If only one or two elements are present, there is a distortion of God’s plan. A few examples might be:

1. Two men in a sexual relationship with a lifetime commitment.

2. A man and a woman in a sexual relationship without a commitment. (outside of marriage)

3. A man and a woman in lifetime commitment without a sexual relationship. If the situation exists due to events beyond the couple’s control, there should be no guilt. However, if both parties are healthy, Scripture instructs a couple not to abstain from a sexual relationship for any extended time.

3The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4The wife’s body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband’s body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife. 5Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 1 Corinthians 7:3-5

One of the things that I had planned for the day is get on my arty-crafty suit and get on some stuff that needs fixing. One of which is the magnetic bracelet mom gave me a few years back. For some reason one of the magnets was detached. Instead, I got my apron and baked some good ‘ol Choc-Oat-Chip cookies. I just thought it was just the best time to bake a bunch. It’s the hubby’s birthday tomorrow and I really have no present to give him.

Stuck with a kid, busy with this and that and no get away car to steal even for a few hours to grab a hold of a birthday gift, I know I will just have to make it up to the hubby. I’m also preparing a simple pasta dinner for his boys come tomorrow night. (boys: team mates from Marikina United Football Club). So as not to wear myself thin tomorrow, I decided to bake the goodies today, so I can relax and celebrate with my birthday boy in the morning and get down to work after lunch. (to cook until I drop, lol!)

Meanwhile, here are a few snapshots of my Choc-Oat-Chip cookies.

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I am so thrilled to have been able to create this slideshow via Roxio online . This is the first time ever. I’m no pro and I know it’s not much, I still have got a lot of things to learn. I did not even experiment on the captions, but using this online slideshow maker is so easy. I got to choose my music background, theme and have the presentation look like it was done by a pro. The best part about it is it’s free.

The photos from the slideshow are from our December 8, 2001 wedding. How time flies, we will be married seven years before the year ends. Now that I see how easy it is to create this kind of slideshow, it won’t take awhile until I do a couple more especially that of our little guy’s milestones. I have tons of photos and now I could put all those to good use.

The number seven item of my previous Friday-Fill Ins entry reads that I was anticipating a movie time with the hubby Friday night and a date the night after. Well, both did not happen. He was so tired when he got home Friday. He had to to go to our church in Makati and another church in Novaliches to return the sound systems that were used in their last mission’s trip to Palawan. Saturday wasn’t a good time as well. There were just lots of things that needed to be done.

So here’s what we did. Continue Reading »

Are you a wife, a girlfriend, or a mother? Do you like receiving flores during special occasions? Well, I do. I love it, but only if they come from friends and relatives. For some reason, I don’t like receiving flowers from the hubby. Some people may think it weird, but this is just the way I am. I know that to send flowers is just about the most normal thing in the world especially during Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day. Continue Reading »

One of the things a couple must do is have a regular getaway - just the two of them. We used to be able to leave our little guy with my folks, every couple of weeks or so when they were still here. We just go someplace as regular as the mall or just go out for a ride for two to three hours.  This is something we have missed doing since my folks left.  I know my father will be more than glad to take care of my son from time to time when they arrive from America early next year.  They miss each other so much.

This activity allows for married couples to go back to the time when it was just the two of them.  Oftentimes concerns that arise in families can be overwhelming that we are driven to forget what made us decide to be a family to begin with - Love. This was the reason why we traveled and explored the island of Cebu when our son was three months old. As first time parents, having a newborn was very overwhelming and that trip was a needed break for both me and the hubby.

If you’re considering treating your spouse to that overseas getaway and you have Rome in mind, make sure all logistics are covered. Look into the Rome hotels available in RomaClick.com. Continue Reading »

This is the first time I’m going to join this fun meme.  For someone like me who can go on and on about the hubby, it will be sweet to allot a special time of the week to focus on just that. 

For my first ever entry for “My Husband Rocks Friday,” I would like to blog about my gorgeous husband’s masterpiece for the week: our three year old son’s first ever study table.  We tried canvassing for a good reliable table for our soon-to-be-officially-homeschooled-three-year-old-kiddo, but all we found were unsturdy, non-durable, laminated type and they were all expensive for the quality!  The hubby figured he will just make one for our son and that he did.  Although the assembly was done roughly by the man who made our bed box from the scrap and extra wood that were still available, the hubby was still the one who painstakingly puttied every inch of it, mixed paints and carefully did everything with precision.  He has been working on this for the past couple of weeks (mainly because he only works on it during his days off-Mondays).  He has always been my ever reliable handyman. Thank you Mahal for making our home so much sweeter with all the things you do for me and our son.

The hubby applying putty on the table

working on the first coat of paint

 checking out the finished product

and finally, the hand over day.

Without our taking note of it, these shirts have really been a favorite to the both of us.  I just keep finding pictures of the both of us donned in the same shirts.  It’s probably about time to get another uniform.  Striped designed shirts this time perhaps. 

In previous posts about the “Five Love Languages” by Gary Chapman, I have mentioned two languages, which are Words of Affirmation and Quality Time.  The third love language is Receiving Gifts.  If this is your love language, it just means that you feel loved when you receive gifts.  There are people who have this as their primary love language.  But for others, this is their secondary love language - as in my wife’s case.  My wife’s primary language is Quality Time.  But she also likes receiving gifts, especially on special occasions.  What I have always done was always surprise her with a gift. Continue Reading »

One of the major issues in marriage is the finances. There are some couples that we know that manage their finances as if they are still not married. Although they may have their reasons, this kind of set up may have some setback in the later years. When a couple gets married, they give each other their full being, that’s precisely why it is called a union. How can it be called a union when finances is taken off the equation?

We have always believed that there is no other way our family lives but through transparency in everything. This was the very first thing we were told to value right from the first meeting we had with the pastor we saw for pre-marital counseling some seven years ago. The starry eyed couple we were back then were introduced to the realities of finances in a marriage and how it breaks many families if the issue is taken for granted.

One of the things that we have learned through the years is to consolidate bills such that the interest rates that we then have had reduced to a minimum. Continue Reading »

Having a handyman for a husband can really be a total blessing. It is indeed a bonus. It was something I learned when I was already in the marriage. Being a handyman is not exactly a requirement quality of a husband. I mean he is not expected to be operating rollformers or something. But it came to me as a real treat when I actually did not have to bother to go get that next available plumber for a leaking lavatory or even to have a complicated bath tub faucet replaced. Continue Reading »

No, we are not wearing uniforms, but we might as well have. To top the long weekend, we just hang out after the storm “Frank” forced us into an unexpected blogging hiatus. It was unexpected all right, but a welcome break nonetheless. We met up with my sister and her hubby at the mall and just had fun together.

It’s fun to just stand back and watch you sometimes.

You’re such a terrific father. I’d even say you’re a natural.

But I also know that God is the difference in your life.

The Lord blessed me with such a great husband.

He blessed our family with such a great father.

When you became a father, only then it occurred to me

that it is possible to fall even deeper in love.

Thank you for your devotion to our family.

I’m so thankful to be married to you.

“My lover is mine and I am his;”
Song of Solomon 2:16

When I was new to the wedding business, I have always wondered what it was in the month of June that couples crowd in to get hitched in this particular season. Like most traditions, this too can be traced back to the Ancient Roman times. This yet again backs up the saying that “All roads lead to Rome.” A pagan origin, suffice it to say. But whether we like it or not, it is here to stay.

The Romans almost always made sure all weddings are done in June, because it was the time that they paid respect to the goddess of marriage, Juno. It was always believed that luck goes with the couple as they enter the marriage during this season. June weddings is an age old tradition.

Do you happen to be one of those couples planning a Wedding this Summer? I have just the site for you, YodioWeddings.com. This site allows for the couple to record the most memorable things people would say in their weddings. This is the technology I wish we had back in 2001 when the hubby and I got hitched. Continue Reading »

What can I say, it’s June and the wedding rush is on my sleeves again. I love weddings! I believe I have mentioned that a lot in several of my past entries. Having taken care of a handful of weddings since I got hitched myself, I know I just can’t get it off my system that even if I did it for a living for a while, I still get all giddy every time. It is just sad that I have been long in hibernation when it comes to doing weddings. The best I have done lately is share files with would be brides, giving them tips and suggestions. That’s it, no longer the dirty work that I got used to. Like going to the suppliers myself and making arrangements.

I seriously could not afford doing that extra leg work anymore. Remaining a wedding consultant may not be that bad after all. I never knew technology would meet the needs of wedding consultants like myself via OnlineBridal Shows .com. This site takes off the feeling of my being un-updated on wedding hullabaloos. This is actually one insecurity why I don’t accept very much events nowadays, of course aside from the fact that with my current schedule, I really cannot squeeze in the time that would be needed to arrange all the various details that an event requires.

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Tonight as I rummaged for a photo to fill in a blank frame, this shot took my attention. Obviously, it was taken from a traditional cam. Yep, we dated during the generation of the old school camera days. The most digital I got at that time was my beeper (first, it was EasyCall given by papa, then switched to Index) and the unshapely, bulky Motorola Handyphone that prided itself to support 4 AA’s in case of emergency. I’m sure colleagues our age would feel nostalgic all too suddenly. Imagine those times! Seriously now, I cannot imagine how much more digital it’s going to get when our little guy turns a decade old.

Sorry, I got distracted. So there, this is the hubby and me around ten years ago. Nostalgia is the least to describe how it feels looking through old photographs. Joy is what I would describe my life with my man. As I look back at all those years, I remember how silly we were and how our love has grown leaps and bounds since. This was taken a couple of years before I married him. Back in those non-digital times, I was already into taking photographs. It is just sweet to see all those photos and turn back time through memories. I look so “nene” and the hubby looks so “totoy.” The vernaculars that translates to “girl” and “boy”. Well, this was us! Minus all those fine and not so fine lines we now have.

With the big event for fathers coming up in the next three weeks, I am seriously running out of ideas of getting a hold of the best Father’s Day Gift for the hubby. My husband for six years and still counting and a father for more than three years now, I know I have a lot to thank God for. Jeff has been God’s ultimate manifestation of His love for me next to the eternal security of my Salvation through Christ Jesus.

When I seriously think about it, I should really be grateful for having not a perfect husband but a sinner redeemed by God and has chosen to press on living the life God has in mind for him and more. I consider myself really blessed to say the least. The Lord has allowed me to live and have the husband and father of my child that I now have. Continue Reading »

One of the ways we can express love aside form words of affirmation, is by spending quality time with our loved ones.  This may mean doing quality activities together like jogging together, doing household chores together, playing a sport together.  As a couple, my wife and I used to play badminton together and this is one quality activity we enjoyed doing together.  Sometimes, quality time may mean having quality conversation because for some people even doing something together isn’t enough.  Spending time to talk to each other is very important especially if this is the love language of your spouse or child.  If this need is not met in the home family members will try to find it somewhere else.

In any family, communication is very important, especially husbands and wives communicating love to each other, parents to their children and children to their parents. But the problem is that many times, we communicate love in ways that are often misunderstood by those receiving the message. A book written by Gary Chapman entitled the “Five Love Languages” explains this very clearly.

Much like communicating with other people, when we use a different language that the other person can’t understand, this creates miscomunication or misunderstanding. In order for two people to communicate clearly they must both use the same language - either one has to learn the other person’s language. Continue Reading »

Our family is one bunch of music lovers. And although each of us prefers different genres, there are just songs that unite us. Some of the songs that hubs and I love are those that word our hearts’ anticipation of growing old together. Continue Reading »