God’s grace is upon us when we :

1.  Survive these daily ordeal of dealing with inconsiderate neighbors who park in our driveway. We basically have to beg everyday for the parking space that rightfully belongs to us  and we get really tired of  doing this task on  a daily basis.  Houses  with  a parking area alloted for a single car  have a  minimum of two to three  cars per family. God help us !

2.   As a family are still one , we have each other ,  we love and support one another no matter what problems and difficulties we encounter in our daily lives.

3.   Never get sick of any serious illness, meet accidents or encounter violent and troublesome people.

4.   Are able to give all the love and care our only child , JM needs .

5.   Have loving and supportive parents and in-laws who never fail to give support and assistance when we encounter difficulties in our married life.

6.   Have the means to help those who are less fortunate than us :  the sick, poor, the orphaned and the elderly.

 We pray to Almighty God to grant us  spiritual strength ,  health of mind and body to be able to accomplish the mission of our life here on earth and bring forth glory to His Kingdom in Heaven.

School breaks, from a mother’s point of view means :

1.  waking up late,  so no hassle to  beat the early morning school rush;

2.  having my nine year old son help out in home chores ;

3.  fun and laughter at home in the company of my only son ;

4.  having enough time to tutor my son in contents not being covered in his  grade level plus advance Catechism lessons ;

5.  being able to take my son out on trips during our free time ;

6.   more busy days when he is at home compared to regular school days  ;

7.  and most importantly , having my son close to me and keep me company in the duration of the school break.

- I know what it’s like not to have a child at home. The house is so empty, lonely and quiet. Thank God for my son JM . You are a blessing from above !

One of the things that I encourage JM to do during his spare time is artwork. His favorite subjects are landscapes , animals , movie characters and his family. Water color, pastels , and colored pencils are the mediums that he uses. When an idea comes to his mind , he immediately expresses this by drawing. With a one month mid-year break to look forward to, I’m thinking of other ways by which he can express himself through art. We’ll shop for ideas this weekend.

“Let the little children come unto Me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these . “

- Matthew 19:14

Attending mass as a family is important because of the Church teaching that we should bring children with us  at an early age. However, many of us encounter difficulties in keeping our children quiet and attentive during this hour. Children in Church offers help and tips to parents on how to manage babies and young children during masses.

I’m tying the  shoe lace of my school shoes for the last time this semester , today is the last day of my final exams, and the last day of classes . Full of hope that I will get flying colors in all my subjects in the two programs that I’m attending and looking forward to a month long vacation of fun and play, just made me realize that half the school year is gone. How time flies ! Wish me the best during the month long break.

- JM, 9 yrs.

Boat of Sweets

A peddler’s boat passed by this morning , calling the attention of prospective customers with a honking sound that she has something to sell. I was not quite sure what the sweet old lady was peddling. When I took a look at the murky water of the canal, I saw an old boat where these tiny , cute bowls containing Pandan flavored jelly, topped with coconut cream being peddled with another kind of sweet. I flagged the boat down and  told the kind old lady to pack me two boxes. I know that my husband likes this kind of sweets , but I don’t particularly like coconut cream. After she handed over the boxes , a smile flashed across her face as she paddled away and said, I’ll pass by regularly , when  you have learned  to like my coconut sweets.

Off she goes , the boat of sweets.

This week till Tuesday next week, JM will be completing the final exams. for the two programs he’s attending in his grade level. This means a thorough review of all subjects he’s taking, plus the rush in completing his last minute reports and projects. It will render me busy as well , because at times like this , he needs coaching in subjects taught in a foreign language aside from English. Preparation of his review materials on my part consumes a lot of time but is worth it when I see him gain confidence in taking the exams. Because of our busy schedule in the next seven days, I might not be able to do my regular post , but I will try my best to find the time to do so. He’s looking forward to a month long term break after the exams. Classes resume after Halloween.

Fruits in a Boat

This is something different to what we are accustomed to. Shopping for fruits in a boat ! You will find “merchant” boats in canals all over the city, peddling not only fruits but also vegetables , ice cream , sweets , noodles , even second hand appliances.  I usually  wait for my favorite fruits boat in the mornings (they’ve got the freshest harvest from the farm) and my ice cream (coconut ice-cream available daily) boat in the afternoons. It’s a different kind of shopping experience !

Adults have childhood memories of days spent playing outdoors and exploring the environment  around them. Children a generation ago are the parents of today, and you might expect such outdoor play to be part of their families lifestyle. But today’s overscheduled kids are increasingly “plugged in” to electronic devices and media and unplugged from the fundamental and formative experience of nature in their own neighborhood. Their senses — including, most sadly, their sense of wonder — are bombarded, overwhelmed, and ultimately diminished. Studies have linked excessive television viewing to obesity, violence, and even lower intelligence in kids. Children who regularly spend unstructured time outside: play more creatively , have lower stress levels, have more active imaginations , become fitter and leaner,  develop stronger immune systems , experience fewer symptoms of ADD and ADHD ,  have  greater respect for themselves, for others, and for the environment.  Get your child involved  in “Green Hour” a day — a bit of time for unstructured play and interaction with the natural world – it can set them on the path towards physical, mental, and emotional well-being . This can take place in a garden, a backyard, the park down the street, or any place that provides safe and accessible green spaces where children can learn and play.  Children who spend time outdoors are healthier, overall, than their indoor counterparts

Mobile phones! They are so annoying. For countless ages, from Adam and Eve to the early 1990s, human beings managed to exist in various conditions of peril, demand and activity without being in constant telephonic contact with one another. So why in the world does everybody from senior executives to teenagers have to be constantly yak, yak, yakking about everything and nothing?Recently I came back from a trip abroad. In an airport these days, you would think that you have suddenly been transported to the day room of a giant mental hospital, a travelling Bedlam. People sit on benches and in snack bars talking into tiny microphones concealed on their persons, but they look like so many schizophrenics talking to themselves. When the plane lands people make the obligatory three phone calls: One is to say, “Yes, I’ve just landed at Heathrow” or wherever; the second, as they wait for their bags, is to say, “Now we are waiting for the bags”; the third call is, “Now I’m going to the car, I’ll call you from the car.”Does life really need such play-by-play commentary? Recently I got off the undergound in central London. Coming toward me on the pavement was a phalanx of people. Every single one of them was talking to somebody, hand-to-ear or just babbling in the air. These were not the homeless. These were the “connected.” The train going up to Manchester had a ‘quiet car’ where you were not supposed to talk on the phone, so I took refuge there. No sooner was I settled in my seat, contemplating freedom from someone’s dinner plans or business affairs, when the phone rang for the young woman across the aisle. I shot her a withering gaze. “My boyfriend,” she said, pointing to the phone. “I don’t care,” I said, pointing to the ‘Quiet Car’ sign. It’s in church, however, where these phones are most annoying. Why do most people even bring them to church? The whole idea of prayer, whether communal or private, is that we put other things aside to lift our hearts and minds to God. Last Good Friday one woman in my church got no fewer than three phone calls in the middle of the service of the Passion. Like many parishes these days, my church has a sign at the entrance telling people to turn off their mobile phones. But people often forget. Phones ring, often at the bottom of some giant suitcase that passes for a purse/handbag. I have a better solution. Leave the mobile phone in the car. You don’t need it. Some things are more important than your phone call. Church is one of them. Of course, some people, such as doctors, emergency medical workers, police officers and firefighters have to be on call. They can put the phone on ‘vibrate’ mode and go outside to answer when summoned.
The rest of us should pay attention to the Mass. People and priest celebrate the Mass together. The congregation would not want the Mass interrupted by the priest stopping to answer his phone in the middle of the eucharistic prayer or homily. Likewise, their ‘full and active’ participation means no phones. There’s a spiritual principle here. We need to be fully present to God and to each other. We cannot always be thinking that something else, somewhere else is always more important that the person we are with and the situation we are in. Most of these calls can wait. Hang up the phone, and live life in the here and now. Please God.

- Excerpt  from an article written by Fr. Peter Daly