LIFE AND WORK BALANCE EQUALS...

https://www.coloursofnature.com/9-tips-for-a-work-life-balance/

At times do you feel and sound healthy?  Do you feel your life goes along well?  Do feel you are able to balance your life such that you are able to manage things that you are engaging in your life.  I will make myself as an example. I am currently engaging in the following :

       1.  Family life – wife and a mother

      2.  Conducting tutorial, emotion management and speech therapy to my little girl and assessing her progress in these areas  ( in partnership with my very hardworking and dedicated husband)

       3.  Monitoring a senior high school

       4.  Conducting faculty observations

      5.  Teaching college students in Behavioral Management and career guidance and counselling

      6.  Writing another textbook

       7.  Helping college students in research

       8.  Preparing my research for international publication

       9.  Conducting counselling to special cases only

       10.  Assisting a preschool in curriculum development

      11.  Giving random talks and workshops to specific groups or organizations in the community

       12.  Organizing a prayer group: 2000 Hail Mary Devotional Group

I could add up the list. You may be overwhelmed seeing the list. Majority of the items in the list are not done every day (some are done ones a month).  It is family and work that eat up most of my time.   However, the intention to help and at least do an act of kindness  ( actually I go beyond my one-act quota in a day…and I get to report that to God at mass) each day comes in the way.  Oh, I forgot to include in the list that I and my husband adopted 10 stray cats feeding them three times a day (every single day).  And I and my husband feel so blessed doing this.

I may be “tired and weary”  yet a happy and fulfilled soul who simply desires peace and quiet at times in God’s arms.  Please don’t get me wrong …I get this every day with my husband…:-)…I so love his warm embraces every single day.  But, someone like me who underwent spiritual retreats, recollections and silencing moments wants to go back to some moments that I once or many times had. 

Life and Work balance.  I facilitated this topic to some groups in our community. With my engagements, I am being reminded many times to do this.  But then this topic for me is simply equated with God in a moment of true silence in prayer.  That for me is a balance.  Yes…GOD equals – LIFE AND WORK BALANCE.

Could Either Be My Moment of “Death” or ...“Growth”

https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photo-different-stages-life-birth-to-death-concept-growth-leaf-white-background-image83630461

I was 80% finished with my writing and all of a sudden pressed the wrong key.  Yes, I had almost all of my work deleted.  I pressed my chest and simply grasped my breath.   I thought I could get cardiac arrest at that time (Oh God forbid!!!).  I thought I could simply die (well it was not that simple at all as I thought).  No tears came out.  I prayed really hard…God help me…

And then, at least in 2 to 3 minutes, I felt I had to bounce.  I needed to do something. It was so hard.  I could not imagine if I could easily pick myself up that fast but God is so good that He did.  I thought I did but He did. 

I truly found the material I wrote super valuable.  However, the most amazing thing happened.  I was able to retrieve everything and even put in more “meat” in my work than the previous one. 

Here is the catch.  I thought of it at first as a big accident.  I never had time to be angry with God.  but then I thought God did His “editing” work with my craft. 

From where you are now, you may be able to relate with my “brief sort of accident”.  You may have gone through certain painful experiences that had shaped you as a person, tamed you in a way and built a much better character out of your experience.  I had so much of that.  And just one intense moment like what I had could either be a moment of death or a moment to leap and grow…Truly life brings us options.  The choice is ours to take.  And I was sooo close to a not good end...if not for my sooo close Friend up there...

THANK YOU GOD...:-)

RIGHT PERSON OR RIGHT TIME - A VALENTINE MESSAGE TO YOUNG PEOPLE

Hello everyone.  I am back to send you a message on Valentine's Day.  I was invited to give a talk a while ago (February 10, 2018) to college and some senior high school students.  The topic was: Right Person or Right Time.  Wow, I find this topic truly "yummy" to give to the students.  Adolescents are truly close to my heart.  I truly understand and sometimes speak their language at my age.  I also love the fresh and high spirit of the young ones.  It makes me feel young and fresh too.  

Now for my message...

RIGHT PERSON or RIGHT TIME.  

Valentine’s Day is approaching.  Four days more.  You may be wondering about the following things:  who to date, where to bring my date, will I have a date, or will the day be the same with other days of the year.  But still, you insist or desire in your heart it would be a special day. But wait...first try to make a shift to the following ideas.

The topic that you assigned to me is on Right Person or Right Time.  Young as you are you may wonder which way to go between the two.   When you say, RIGHT PERSON, you have certain standards set for a right person.  Who sets the standards?  It is basically subjective.  You may have gotten your standards from your learnings – family, school, readings or peers who may be sharing their own standards of MR Right and MS. RIGHT. 

RIGHT TIME.  Who sets the time?  When do you say it is the right time?  It can be subjective too.  If I may ask you the question?  When is the right time?  What would your answer be?   You may say "When you finished your studies; when you have helped your parents send your sibling to school; when you have accomplished your dreams – such as buying a house, car, etc. "

My dear young people, please do not confuse yourself between the two.  The challenge that I am leaving you right now is that :

“WORK TO BECOME THE RIGHT PERSON.  YOU WILL ATTRACT THE "NON RIGHT" ONES (if I may say it).  AND SO, THEY WILL WORK OUT AND LABOR TO HARNESS THEMSELVES SO THAT THEY BECOME RIGHT FOR YOU”

As to the RIGHT TIME.  You will know when the right time will be while you labour to become the right person.  

My dear young people,  I want to tell you something that may not be so popular nowadays to the millennials who want things fast and automatic.  Technology may have eaten your values of patience and perseverance.  And you may have forgotten at times that there is SOMEONE up there who holds time in His hands.  I AM HIGHLY SUGGESTING TO COMMIT YOURSELVES TO DOING GOD’S WORK.  FOCUS ON GOD’S WORK. YOU WILL SHINE RADIANT AND READY FOR THE “RIGHT MAN” THAT YOUR HEART DESIRES.  

More than anything PRAY FOR THIS MAN.  You may or may not have met this guy but I AM CONFIDENT THAT THIS RIGHT MAN WILL BE PREPARED AND READY WHEN “HIS TIME “…that is GOD’S RIGHT TIME has come for both of you to meet. 

What I am telling you is not a fairytale.  Life is not a fairytale.  The more realities strike the more pain you will feel and the more human you become.  Grow from them.  It is in pain where you learn best how to love.  Again focus on serving God rather than engaging so much in those technologies and gadgets that will rob you off and away from truly living life to the fullest.  Stop texting and talk to those friends in front of you.  Who knows one of them may be the RIGHT ONE prepared by God for you.

Again, work your way to become the RIGHT PERSON than becoming so busy looking for MR. RIGHT...And the RIGHT TIME is in GOD's hands...you will feel and know that.  

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

PS:   I especially thank my Valentine love husband Michael for sharing his beautiful ideas on "preparing oneself to be the right person" than busying oneself with looking for "MR RIGHT"... ...he concluded my search for the right words to say.  Thank you "honey bear"...Advance HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY.

Some notes :

1. Psychology Today article entitled The Power of Love (McGrath, 2016) states that:       “ Know that love is a learned skill, not something that comes from hormones or emotion particularly. Erich Fromm called it ‘an act of the will’. ”
2.  Venerable Fulton Sheen stated " Love is an act of the will".

THE TWO THOUSAND HAIL MARY DEVOTION

I was in the US - New York (2008) when I first heard of the 2000 Hail Mary Devotion.  I wanted so much to join.  But was scheduled for a menial job to do.   It was a devotion said by a group of Filipinos.  When I came back here in the Philippines the same year, I never heard of anything like that.  Until last December 2017 during the wake of our State University President  - Dr. Ricardo Rotoras mentioned by one of our Guidance Counselors in the University.

"Ohh that again".  I exclaimed.  " I wanted so much to join such devotion but I never had any chance to join one."  Then came the new year January 2018, during one of our random conversations with Ms. Marivic Rotoras, sister-in-law of our late USTP president Dr. Rotoras.  We were desperate as to responding to the need, that is to find justice for the death for our president.  We simply decided to hold one on a first Saturday of the month.  We also decided to put in our personal intentions for family and the world.  When the decision was finalized, all else fell into place including the devotional guide and the faculty who signed up to join our first ever 2000 Hail Mary Novena at the USTP.

First Batch of UTSP Sen High Faculty who joined the novena :
Tonette, Marivic, Glenda, Iris, Mars, Lelia, Rosamie, Mark, Ekah and Magno (not on photo Angel, Ms. Torrecampo and Ms. Connie D.)

And.. today ...yes the first Saturday of the month of February 2018 is such a joyful day for all of us.  We started 7:30am with prayers that we would survive the 2000 Hail Marys....and truly by God's grace, we were able to finish the novena at 4pm.  Thank you God...so much for the grace of friendship of our faculty who just wanted to spend their time to pray the novena for the Blessed Mother Mary and offer prayers for our late president Dr. Ricardo E. Rotoras... plus the whole lot of package of intentions from each one.  TO GOD BE THE GLORY!!!

Note :  Please visit this site for your reference of the 2000 Hail Mary Devotion and join us in this devotion to the blessed Mother Mary:-)  God bless everyone...

http://saintsebastianwoodside.org/2000-hail-marys-prayer-devotion/