He Has Been Good To Me

Do you have one of those days when you feel that God is hiding from you? Why hasn't he answered your prayers? Those days when the message of Psalm 13:1 "How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?" feels more accurate than ever?

After we lost Tyler, we often hear people say how strong our faith in God is. They would say it's a good thing we didn't 'give up' on the Lord. I often wonder why people would say that. I don't really know how to answer them because, for me, there wasn't any other way but to continually trust Him. The last paragraph of my devotion below explains it beautifully and i would like to share it with all of you.
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One of the hardest challenges I’ve faced is finding God in loss. I remember sitting with a mother in a hospital, praying for the recovery of her daughter. The daughter had been married only a year. While delivering the woman’s baby, the doctor nicked something with his knife. Now the young woman was fighting for her life.

Her mother was inconsolable. When we prayed, she felt no peace. Within hours, her daughter was gone. After that, the mother stopped going to church. The young husband was angry and didn’t know how to care for his baby alone. Where was God?

That question is often asked in suffering or loss. And often the only answer appears to be silence. The promises of Scripture fade in the agony of sorrow. The Holy Spirit seems to withdraw from hearts that grow chilly. Where is God when airplanes crash? Where is God when a spouse is unfaithful? Where is God when a baby dies? Where is God?

Psalm 13 echoes those concerns. In verse 1, the psalmist David asks God, “How long will you hide your face from me?” But this isn’t the end of the psalm. Rather, the psalmist goes on to assure us that our God, who is enthroned on high, stoops low to see and hear and know us—even when we can’t see his face and his words are like a foreign language to us.

“I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation,” said David (Psalm 13:5). Likewise we continue to love and trust God, not for what we get out of it right now, but because it is the only way to make sense of this life. We trust in God, not because we always feel the wonder of his divine presence, but because there is truly no one else to turn to but God. And in time we will live to say, “He has been good to me” (Psalm 13:6).
- Wayne Brouwer

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Jesus in My Heart


The most amazing thing happened last night. My 4-year old son accepted Jesus into his heart as his Lord and Savior. I couldn't be happier!

Several weeks ago, Dennis and I have been talking about sharing the gospel to Troy. We were not sure if he's too young to understand but we tried anyway. I told him that we are all sinners and how Jesus died to save us from our sins. Later on, I asked if he wanted to ask Jesus to come into his heart. He said 'uhm...can we just ask Jesus to come into my room?' ...uh, okay...so that didn't really work. I tried explaining further but he was already distracted.

On most nights, Dens would tell one Bible story to him before bedtime. Sometimes he'd be interested and would ask a lot of questions but there would be nights when he would ask for a different story about superheroes. So we were not really sure how he was taking all these in.

For the past months, I have been worrying so much about where to send Troy to school next year. Throughout my 'journey to the big school', i have learned so many things about parenting and teaching our child about Christ. I learned that his environment (i.e. school, church) may influence him but it is not a sure-fire way to salvation.

That was an eye opener for me.

I wanted assurance that my children will come to know Christ and grow spiritually. I realized that I cannot be passive about it by simply praying that he will be saved. We, as parents, are accountable to God for our childrens' salvation. We need to take that responsibility seriously.

Last night after Troy prayed his bedtime prayer with me, he asked me if Jesus is already in his heart. I responded by asking if he wanted to ask Jesus to come into his heart. And he said yes. So i said 'Do you want to pray with mommy?' He nodded and i asked him to close his eyes and repeat after me. I prayed the sinner's prayer and he carefully repeated every word that i said. I know that some words like 'Savior' and 'Sin' are still too deep for him to fully comprehend but he sincerely prayed with me nonetheless. We prayed that God will help him continue to be a good boy and help him grow in Him. After we prayed, i hugged him and told him how happy I am that he accepted Jesus into his heart. He was also very happy and told even Dens what he did when his father arrived home from prayer meeting. He said 'Papa, you know Jesus is already in my heart!' I was so happy I wanted to cry!

Our task doesn't stop there. Now we will need to guide him to be the kind of person God wants him to be. I pray that Dens and I will be good stewards of this wonderful blessing that our Lord has given us.

We love you, Troy!


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MiLi Power Crystal

I've never done a gadget review before but this one is worth mentioning. I got a white MiLi Power Crystal from my sister for Christmas.

The MiLi Power Crystal is actually an external charger (power bank) for your gadgets. It comes with several adapters to match different ports from iPhones to Blackberries. I personally use it for my iPhone 4s, Blackberry Bold, and Smart Bro pocket wifi.

http://milipowercrystal.com/
Product Specifications (taken from MiLi Philippines' site)
Capacity: 2,000mAh
Input: DC5V / 500mA
Output: DC5V / 500mA
Standby Time: Up to 230 hours
Charging Time: 4.5 hours
Self-Power Consumption Time: Up to 5,000 hours
Product Dimensions: 3.4" x 2.1" x 0.6"
Colors: Black, White, Blue, Green, Orange, Pink

I love that i don't have to worry about running out of batteries while in transit. Another thing that i found really helpful is using it to charge my gadgets overnight. My rule at home is not to charge our gadgets while sleeping because I am scared of it being a fire hazard. On the other hand, sleeping with a low battery iPhone has failed me several times when the alarm didn't go off because the battery has drained come morning. Last night i found my iPhone to only  have 6% battery as I was about to sleep. I plugged in my MiLi and woke up to a 98% charged iPhone. Lovely, isn't it?

I am not a techie person but love, love,  love this MiLi power charger! It comes it a little black pouch so it's easy to carry around for battery emergencies.

Learn more about the different types of power banks from their official website (http://miliphil.com/). The power cyrstal costs around P1, 600. Not bad for all the convenience.

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Kiddie Essentials for Your Winter Holiday


We just came back from the fun and freezing Korean weather!  It was a wonderful vacation amidst the negative 16 celcius temperature.

A lot of people have been concerned for our family since we brought our two kids (4 years old and 1 year old) with us. If you know me well, you will understand that there is no way I am leaving my kids behind on a vacation. The only time I get to travel without them is during my business trips. Not exactly the most ideal scenario, i know. But until i learn to be better at parental detachment, they will just need to come along whether i am flying to a dessert or blizzard.

So anyway, here are a few travelling essentials for your kiddos when you plan to go on your own winter wonderland vacation.

1. Layering
TOP

1st Layer - Thermals
2nd Layer - Long-sleeves shirt
3rd Layer - Fleece Jacket
4th Layer - Bubble/Winter Jacket

BOTTOM

My 2 kids have varying tolerance for cold. My son takes after his father who loooves the cold weather while my daughter is just like me who easily gets cold. So for her, i added another layer of tights before her pants to ensure her legs don't get too cold. On colder days, i even added leg warmers.

1st Layer - Thermals
2nd Layer - Jeans

2. Windburn

First, you have to try your best to avoid windburn by moisturizing and covering your face as much as you can. This is especially difficult if youre kids are like mine who refuse to wear face masks. I moisturize their faces daily but after 2 days of cold weather, their cheeks were all dry and painful.

Skin that thas been [wind] burned sting when you put sunblock or moisturizers! One that worked truly well for us was Mustela's Stelatria. Unlike the other moisturizers that i've tried, my kids did not cry or complain from the pain whenever i applied Stelatria on their cheeks. I tried them on myself and can confirm that it's pain-free! This proves that Mustela is truly very ideal for sensitive skin and is free of harsh chemicals.
3. Dry Lips

For the kids' lips, i only used VMV's Boo Boo Balm. It proved effective and they didn't have chapped lips all throughout the trip!
vmvhypoallergenics.com
4. Gloves

For days when you know you will encounter snow, you need to use water-proof gloves. Those knitted gloves will only be good when your kids do not wish to touch snow. My kids cannot avoid playing with snow so these are true essentials!
http://shop.hellyhansen.com
5. Bonnet

Choose one that covers the ears. Makes all the difference, believe me.
Hope the above suggestions will help you in planning your own winter vacation. Preparation is key. If you go prepared then you can still enjoy amidst the freezing weather. Have fun!

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