Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Maligayang Kaarawan Jeulia!

Bago ang lahat, pasensiya na po sa mga nagbabasa na hindi nakakaintindi ng wikang tagalog (sa bagay, malamang unang linya pa lamang ay sinara na nila ang site na ito). Ang blog na ito ay dinidedicate ko sa matalik kong kaibigan noong kolehiyo sa Politeknikong Unibersidad ng Pilipinas na nagdiriwang ng kanyang kaarawan ngayon. Sa apat na taon sa kolehiyo, limang beses sa isang linggo, halos buong araw magkasama, sobrang dami naming mga alaala na naiwan sa isa't-isa. Kung di ako nagkakamali, nakilala ko si Jeulia sa kadahilanang nalate ako sa unang araw ng pasukan. Akalain mong may naidudulot din pala ang pagiging late kung minsan. hehehe. Umupo ako sa natitirang silya na malapit sa inuupuan ng mga naging matatalik kong kaibigan at isa na dun ay si Jeulia. Simula noon, nagsimula ang aming pagkakaibigan.  

Hindi namin inaakala na magiging magkasundo kami sa halos lahat ng bagay. Nagkakasundo kami sa opinyon, saloobin, hinanaing at panghuhusga sa mga bagay-bagay. Minsan isang tingin lang namin sa isa't-isa, nalalaman na namin ang nasa isip ng bawat isa. Laking tuwa siguro ng mga magulang namin na sa dami ng opinyon na aming naiisip ay hindi kami naging mga aktibista ng unibersidad. Kahit ganon pa man, ayaw namin maapektuhan ang aming pagaaral. At alam na naman namin na walang napapala ang mga nakikirally at nagboboycot ng mga klase.  

Sa loob ng classroom, tahimik lang pero ubod ng talino si Jeulia. May mga tao talaga na pinanganak na sadyang matalino na. Kahit hindi mag-review, mataas ang mga nakukuha niyang marka. Gifted child. Batang Bona Kid. hehehe. Sa labas na kaanyuan, napakasimple lang niya. Walang arte sa katawan. Hindi siya mahilig sa mamahaling bagay. Mas importante na mabusog at makakain ng masarap. Favorite food: chicken strips ng KFC, na may extra rice at bumabaha ng gravy!  

Sa murang edad, maraming pagsubok ang dumating sa kanya (alam mo na yun). Humanga ako sa tapang niya at hindi niya pagsuko. At bilang kaibigan hindi rin ako sumuko sa pagsuporta. Ngayon, masaya ako na maayos na ang lahat. Ang bait ng Diyos talaga sa mga taong may mabubuting kalooban. (Ito na ang part na iiyak ka mare.hehe.babaw ng luha)  

Ang layunin ng blog na ito ay gusto ko lang ipaabot sayo Mare na hindi kita nakakalimutan kahit kailan. Hindi ko rin nakakalimutan na inaanak ko ang panganay mong si Jeuliana. Alam ko marami na kong utang.hehe. Alam ko magkikita din tayo ulit pero sa ngayon, ilista mo nalang muna sa papel. hehe.  

Maligayang Kaarawan Mare! Sana nagustuhan mo tong simple kong regalo para sayo. Effort din pala magtagalog. char! Pero ok lang kasi para naman sayo. I love you! 

PS: Mare, fan ka pa rin ba ng Chicosci? nasaan na sila? hehehe. Rock n roll!

xoxo, 
Joselle

Friday, July 27, 2012

Confessions of a Whiteholic

I went to the bathroom and put some things that I got from the grocery to the cabinet beneath the sink. Since birth, I like to have my things in order. Let me clear it up though, I don't have OCD. Maybe a little. Hehe. So I fixed everything that was there to fit them all in. For some reason I saw this tiny box hiding from a pile of bottles of shampoos, conditioners, and lotions that I snuck out from hotels whenever I travel. Hahaha.


I am not endorsing Dra. Vicky Belo's product here. I just wanted to show you this picture because there is an interesting story behind it. I didn't realize that I still have one left of this whitening soap. As far as I remember, I asked my Ate from the Philippines around a couple of years ago to buy me some of this, and also whitening lotions.

Only in Asia will you see thousands of varieties of skin whitening products. There are even whitening pills, and to an extreme level, whitening surgical procedures. You would also see people outside on a hot sunny day with an umbrella to shield their silky white skin from the sun.

There's only one reason why. If you have fair skin, you are beautiful. That's really so odd when originally, Filipinos were born with brown skin. It must be from the influence of the Western countries that ruled our country before we won independence. It might also be from the influence of Hollywood like girls would want to be as pretty as Kristen Stewart or their local idol celebrity, Anne Curtis. There might be also the hierarchical idea that when you look mestiza or mestizo, you can fit in to the class A society. There are a lot of reasons why but it all boils down to this saying: "you always want what you don't have."


Growing up as a dark-skinned Filipina, when I reached the awkward stage of my life (high school), I would always go with my mom when she would do her grocery shopping just to buy my whitening essentials. The things on my checklist were, whitening facial wash, whitening facial moisturizer, whitening soap, whitening lotion, and even whitening deodorant. Sadly, I was insecure of my skin complexion. Thank God I was never bullied by my classmates because I was quite active in class and I made good friends. It's just sad that the "crush ng bayan, muse, cheerleaders" were all fair skinned. How unfair?



However, there came a turning point in my life that I got to stop that crazy obsession. I realized that I was blessed to be born with this kind of skin color, that God made me like this for a reason, and I finally understood all that when I met my husband. Fortunately, my husband prefers a morena! (: He is a Filipino who grew up in Japan but he never was attracted to Japanese girls. For him they're pretty and cute, however, they're just not his type. He would always remind me how beautiful my skin is and that I don't need to waste money to change the way I look. (parang nanalo ako sa lotto diba?pak!)

Moreover, when I moved to the states, I was not self-conscious anymore. People here appreciate black beauties more. It's funny because in here, you won't see any whitening products. They would rather fancy about having sun-kissed skin so you would only see a lot of tanning products available at stores. Nobody also covers themselves with umbrellas whenever they go under the sun. To them, that's just weird.

Most importantly, I have great confidence now because I believe that we are all beautiful! Whatever we may be, white, black, thin, heavy, tall, short, straight hair, curly hair, big eyes, chinky eyes, we are all equally and highly favored because we are all God's children. We are made in His image and likeness (Genesis 5:1-2). We should be content and appreciate what God has given us. Knowing this completely saved me from the bondage of all my insecurities.

My only piece of advice is always stay happy because there's nothing that can make you feel beautiful and radiant than when you're feeling good  from within. Keep a heart that is pure and white as the clouds. 

Thank you so much Lord for making me the way I am. Thank you to my husband too for always making me feel beautiful, validating the person that I am and my existence.

May you find this post inspirational and empowering.

xoxo,
Joselle


Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Long Distance Love Affair


photo from tumbler.cute!



This morning, I woke up with a vibe so peculiar, I couldn’t even fathom. But when I saw today’s date in my alarm clock, I quickly sensed why. Like I imagined a light bulb light above my head. Ding! Hehe. So to get ready for work,  I put on a pink silk fuschia top and a skirt. I accessorized my outfit along with a pastel pink necklace and a pink purse. I was overly dressed in pink!! Hahaha. It is because I am happy and excited! Obvious ba? (: Why? Exactly a month from now, my husband and I are going to be together again!!! Woohoo! (: How time flies by so crazily fast. For some who may not know, unfortunately, we’ve been physically apart for almost four months now. However, it only seemed like it was yesterday (:

Looking back, three months after our wedding, he had to fly to Beijing, China for a business trip. Then, one day at work, a coworker of mine asked me, “how’s married life Joselle?” My response was “It’s great! And not so great at the moment.” I caught him puzzled by my answer. So he further asked, “Why so?” And I told him about us not being able to see each other for 5 months. Then he said “I don’t know how you do it but I just can’t imagine myself in your shoes.” Then, I said “ I know it’s hard, for now, but we’ve been in a long distance relationship (LDR) for 3 years so this is not something new to us plus I try to look at the bigger picture” I must have left him puzzled again with those last 2 words. Anyway, he stirred the conversation about him and his wife. He just got married too after weeks of dating and at the same time, right after his divorce papers were finalized with his ex-wife. Then at the back of my head, I thought, “wow, I also don’t know how you do it”. Although I wish them well and I have nothing against their whirlwind romance, I was just a bit surprised of its unconventionality.

Anyway, when I told him that I try to look at the bigger picture, it’s like I try to see ourselves with what we would become in the long run. If you put it technologically, it’s like envisioning what does not yet exist but might someday. Like the rich and famous visionary, Steve Jobs. Hehe :P  

Actually, how I envision myself with my husband is pretty simple. As cliché as it may sound, I only dream of us growing old together and still in love. Of course, I suppose everyone dreams the same. It’s just a matter of knowing how to live out that dream into reality. Since I knew my husband was God’s gift, my companion for a lifetime, (click here to find out how I knew he was the one) I believe at the end of the day, there’s a happy ending. (:

In our long distance relationship situation, we might find it hard right now, but as I said, we know there will come a time where we would be able to enjoy living permanently and happily together. That all of our sacrifices wouldn’t go in vain because our faith in this relationship is stronger and bigger than all the trials.

Where did this kind of faith come from? Ultimately, it’s from God. In Psalm 62:5, “For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.” I needed a deeper and personal relationship with God and that helped me survived our 3 yearlong LDR. In those three years, it gave me an opportunity in serving the Lord through my family and through my CFC community. God became my number one priority and true enough, He let everything fall in to place. In Deuteronomy 7:9, it says “Understood, therefore, that the Lord is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps His covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love Him and obey His commands.” One of my aunts once told me, when we put other things on top of our list other than God, and when time comes that it's taken away from us, our world will falter. But when we put God first in all things, no matter what happens, we would be fine.  

If you look at magazines, self-help books, or simply look it up on Google and search for the secrets of LDR’s, more or less, some of it highlights about keeping the importance of open communication, trusting one another, living your own life or coping up by keeping yourself busy, surrounding yourself with family, hanging out with friends that will serve a good support group, and etc. While all of these can be claimed truly important and can make a big influence in keeping the LDR strong, still my #1 secret (not a secret to all) would be putting God in the center of the relationship. Not only was our relationship cultivated, but it also equipped us for a holy marriage. We prayed together as a couple, we became active in our church/community and in respect to that, we gained wisdom and knowledge from other Christian couples too. Moreover, in my prayers, I would always ask for patience incessantly. Again, I will make use of another cliché. That is “Patience is a virtue.”  It is also one of the fruits from the Holy Spirit. Like Christ who patiently waited for and worked toward his mission here on earth, I, myself too, must patiently wait and trust that in God’s perfect time, we would be together again.  Romans 12:12, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”

PS: Hubby and I will be meeting in California on Aug 24th for the 18th Annual  Conference of Singles for Christ as proxy couple coordinators. I am looking forward to it! Let the countdown begin! (:



Xoxo,
Joselle








Thursday, July 19, 2012

Family+ Friendship +Faith=Fernandez


I remember on my recent post "The Vow," I told you I was going to blog about how my husband and I have gotten so sure of each other. Somewhat, I recall posting a note on my Facebook account a year ago in this regard.  If you haven’t read it, here you go.  I copied and pasted it below:

 
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As some of you may know, I just got engaged on March 14,2011, on our 3rd year anniversary with the sweetest guy I’ve ever met, Alan Fernandez. Three years ago, I knew deep down that he is the one, my God’s gift and I was right. You might be wondering why I knew that it is him. Here are few points that immediately come to mind:

  • He came to my life at the right time. Well actually, he did realize and confess his feelings right after I left the country. Peculiar as it may sound, to me timing was just perfect. He gave me comfort and joy when things seemed hard for me at the start of my journey in a foreign land.
  • He is ever so thoughtful and sweet. On our first year in the relationship, each month, he would always remember our ‘monthsary’ by sending me presents. Big or small, to me it doesn’t matter. What matters is  he never forgets our special day and rest of important dates in my life.
  • When 8,708 miles separate us, I don’t miss the habitual companionship, I miss my best friend.
  • Understanding the absolute fact that we believe and worship the same God. Our values and beliefs are completely the same. And that he is willing to go an extra mile too for Christ.
  • He is ever loyal and faithful. Happy to know that I’m his first and will be the last.
  • He makes me a better me. I am influenced by his kindness and humility. He’s so respectful and polite to others. He’s the kind of man who doesn’t carry any grudges or dramas at all. He doesn’t like conflict, thus we barely fight. For him, life is short and should not be wasted.
  • He’s frugal and simple. Though he is better-off in life, you won’t see him wearing branded and expensive clothes. He is good in handling his finances and he dislikes owing money from other people. He knows when to spend and how to save for the rainy days.
  • Realizing that his weaknesses are my strengths, and his strengths are my weaknesses, we complement each other perfectly well.
  • He is my #1 fan. Even without make-up on and with hair all over the place, he still tells me I’m simply beautiful.
  • He knows my worth and treats me with high respect. The topic of chastity is mutually absolute.
  • His voice is literally music to my ears. I can just imagine ourselves singing our hearts out together as we grow old, when there’s nothing left to be said.
  • My opinions always matter and everything I say or do makes sense to him.
  • Accepting the fact that our marriage won’t be all smiles all of the time, no marriage can be better for me than the one I will share with him.

These and many more are the best answers I can give on how I knew he is the one I’m tying the knot with.
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In a nutshell, I believe the top three most important factors I considered in searching for a suitable partner or spouse can be abbreviated to these three F’s. Family, Friendship, and importantly, Faith.

Let’s begin with Family. Of course it is very important that my family accepts the person I’m marrying and vice versa. My family’s opinions do matter because I know that they’re only looking after my best interests. Luckily, I’m glad that we hit the bull’s eye on this because our families have known each other for such a long time. Both parties knew us well and they couldn’t be happier that we found each other. I’m sorry to whoever wrote the song ‘You and me against the world’ but I just can’t put up with that. Wouldn’t it be nice if you got along well with your partner’s family? I’m sure all of us desire to live in peace and harmony, don't we? And to know what kind of family he’s from saves you from future dilemmas.

Next is Friendship. Your spouse is your companion for the rest of your life. As my father-in-law once said, the best part of marriage is having a conversation partner whom you can talk with anytime, any topic under the sun. We all have friends and everyone should have friends. We know that some friends stay and inevitably, some friends go, but how can we turn a friend to a potential partner, and a potential partner to your spouse who is going to be your companion and best friend forever! There’s an article that I came across with on how to search for a suitable partner from a Catholic source that I want to share with you. It says that:

The only legitimate way to acquire intimate knowledge about other persons is sincere friendship. Moreover, when the time comes for romance, it can provide a richer and more secure basis for marriage if real friendship has preceded and accompanies it.  It is as important to maintain a chaste friendship. Even if a friend is found unsuitable as one’s potential spouse, the friendship remains worthwhile. But a romantic relationship is appropriate only when it can lead to engagement and marriage. Cos as soon as such a relationship begins to intensify, the underlying erotic emotion leads to significant temptation, and so continuing the relationship becomes an occasion of grave sin. 

After reading this, I realized that the reason why my family strongly encouraged us to go out with a suitable group of friends and why they would be disappointed whenever we go out alone together is because they only wanted to protect us and our friendship. On one of our long trips, my mom went with us to Vegas as our chaperone and I was just happy that Alan took this very well. He even covered my mom’s plane ticket. He’s truly a gentleman :) And ladies, (especially my sisters.hehe) keeping yourself chaste before marriage and finding a guy who would respect you for that is a guy for keeps! Your chastity is the best gift you can give your spouse on your wedding day, trust me, it’s worth the wait! (I realized chastity should be a different story. But this was how I knew Alan was the one) Anyway, I know this is not easy but how could this be possible? That leads me to the last F.

Faith. It is the biggest factor for me. As I journey and grow with my faith and my beliefs, he should do so as well. Again, allow me to seek help from that same article I read to assist me with my justification:

If possible, one should consider only those who share one’s faith. Since marriage should be a full communion of life suited to handing on that whole life to children, a Catholic should marry a Catholic who completely shares his or her faith and moral commitment. Differences in religion detract greatly from unity of mind and heart while impairing parental unity in a most important respect.

From personal experience, my parents are both Catholics. But why did they drift apart? I believe it’s because it was only my mom who remained faithful to her spirituality and my dad did not at that time. However unfortunate that was, it served as an important lesson to us. As mentioned from my past blog, if you want your marriage to stay forever, for more than a lifetime, live in God’s presence. Actually, both of us joined a community before we got married and it helped us in so many ways.

So how did I know Alan was the one for me? Simply because Alan scored 3 points! I mean he possessed all of these 3F’s :)

Likewise, with a grateful heart, we would also like you to experience the same happiness and fullness of life we enjoy right now. I hope this would help you in finding your suitable partner, your soul mate, and your God’s gift. Good luck :)



xoxo,
Joselle

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Our Love Blossoms Together- Highlights

Guess what?!! Alan and I have something special to share with you all my dear friends! I am just so excited to share with you all our wedding video edit!!! Besides the on-site video edit, our videographer made this for us and my husband finally got a hold of it on Sunday. So for all those who were not able to be with us on our wedding, especially to some of my family and friends here in the US, we wanna take you all there! And this has been possible through Inxites, our official wedding videographer. A wedding videographer was one of the most important must-haves for us. Actually, I insisted and told my husband that it's a non-negotiable deal. Hehe. And he completely agreed. (thank you love!) Their rate is not as sky-high compared to others. Nevertheless, the quality of their works is just as amazing. And we enjoyed working with them. So highly recommended! 

Needless to say, this special day comes only once so we want to be able to capture and remember it forever: the day when God made us one. So I've linked the video below and just to give you a heads up, it's 18 minutes long. Here are the highlights of our Love That Blossoms Together. 12.29.11. Enjoy!!! :D  


We also want to leave with you our priest's inspiring and beautiful message from our wedding. May you find this inspirational to your marriage and to those seeking and waiting for their partners in life.

     "All marriages are made in heaven. In fact, it is as old as human being. Your love and your marriage is made in heaven. So if you want your marriage to stay forever, to last for more than a lifetime, live in God's presence. 
     If you live in God's presence, you will be reminded of God's love in the Trinity. So overflowing that God himself became man to show His love for us. If I'm living in that presence, I will also have to empty myself for the other, so that the other may become full, may become more mature, we have more life within God's presence. 
     You will always remember what the gospel said, forgive, always forgive. Even if it comes to you seventy times seven.
     There's always this 'plus points' as alpha. Alpha plus alpha when you are living in God's presence. That's the grace of God. That despite of everything, despite of all the odds, you're living in the society, you will be together because God is giving you something else. So only this point, my brothers and sisters, Alan and Joselle, live in God's presence, you'll be okay."

xoxo,
Joselle

Monday, July 9, 2012

Run Joselle run!

The AJC Peachtree Road Race was one epic event of my life! It's the biggest race in town with around 50,000 runners/walkers. I've never seen that much of a crowd overflowing with adrenaline rush ever in one event. I'm not really a runner, trust me. I had asthma when I was young, so I find it hard to do long runs before. So how was I able to conquer 10 kilometers/6.2 miles if that's the case? Well, my enthusiasm for running started just last year. One day, it was around June, I just woke up one day and decided that I wanted to cut some weight off before my wedding. All I really wanted was to look good and fit in my white dress. That was my main motivation that got me into working out and eating right. At first, I tried running in the treadmill for 30 minutes every other day or 3-4 times a week. I also tried this diet that I learned from my cousin called, Banana Diet. The only thing I ate for breakfast was one piece of banana. And since I was already running, when I was invited to join a 5K race, I immediately became open with the idea. I finished my first 5K race in 30 minutes. It was fun and I was excited for my first legit race shirt! Hehe. Even after the wedding, I kept running as my work out. But I knew that I needed to have some kind of motivation again at least to keep me going. Then one day, I learned about the Peachtree Road Race and immediately signed up for it. It's twice the length as the first one that I had so I was kind of nervous about it. This time I stepped out of the treadmill and tried the outdoors. If you know me, you'll know outdoors is such a big deal for me as I'm not a fan of the sun. Hahaha. If not around the neighborhood, I ran along a trail in a park nearby. 

On the race day, when I saw a sea of eager people on the road, I felt a different kind of excitement. I presume it must have been the adrenaline rush. I couldn't believe myself that I had run the entire time. I would only stop at water stations to hydrate and breathe for a few seconds then go back on the track. I started to run slow on the first half of the race, then sped up on the last half. And that's how I had surprisingly made it. I could say the people on the side cheering for us helped in boosting my energy. It was really exhausting and hot but there were water showers on the side and I would pass by them so I could feel refreshed. Also, on the sides were booths that offered free food and other fun stuff. They were really tempting because who could ignore freebies?? Hahaha. However, I told myself not to get side-tracked by them because I know every second counts (sineryoso talaga). So I finished the race and my time was 1 hour and 8 minutes. (: 

Running became part of my lifestyle at this moment. The scriptures tell that in, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 "do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body." Correspondingly, we should take good care of what God has given to us. One of the important things of working out and eating right is that it teaches us self-discipline. And having self-discipline or self-control is a good virtue. Like the tempting freebies on the side of the race, if I had gone there and had grabbed free food, it would have had an effect on my running. It might have made my tummy sick and I wouldn't have been able to enjoy the race. In life, we get side-tracked by so many temptations. But having strong self-control and being focused on our goals would help us in achieving them. What I thought of running for the purpose of losing weight (superficial) had totally changed. Now I just want to be healthy and take good care of God's gift of life. But it is as important to keep our hearts clean and healthy too! (: 

I wish I could do the race next year with my hubby! By the way, he is also diligently working out and eating healthy. Keep it up love! 

xoxo, 
Joselle


Friday, July 6, 2012

Children-to-be

Before Alan and I got married, we were fortunate enough to go through a series of sessions in preparation for marriage. It was presented to us by one of our principal wedding sponsors who are actively part of a Christian community called Ligaya ng Panginoon. It is very essential for engaged couples considering marriage to go through this kind of seminar (it is also considered as Pre-cana) to be able to have a clearer grasp and understanding of the life they are about to commit theirselves into. One of the things we learned from there that struck me most was about the purpose of marriage. And one of the purposes of marriage that they shared with us could be summed up in this bible verse:

Genesis 1:28
"God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth and subdue it".

And so I asked my husband, (fiance at that time)

Joselle: Are you ready to have a baby?

Alan: When I asked you to marry me, I knew I was ready to become a father because I know you would be a good mother. (plus 1,000,000 pogi points! :)

At this point in time, we weren't able to beget a child yet. Normally, pregnancy comes after the wedding doesn't it? I feel in my bones that most of our family and friends are excited and are anticipating for our "mini-us." Even Alan and I are excited too. But I am convinced that God sets everything in His time. He knows the perfect time of my child's conception. He knows how many kids we could handle. He knows the right age gap. He even knows if we are going to be blessed with one or not. Because God is an all-knowing God. He ultimately knows what is best for us. Therefore, we put our complete trust in Him and we surrender everything to Him. As a matter of fact, my husband and I agreed not to use any kind of contraceptives as it differs from the teachings of God and that of the church. (Pro-life)

Because Alan and I had to be apart at this point in time, I believe that it is God's will that we weren't able to conceive our honeymoon baby. But that's fine for we know that, "My God will meet all our needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus" Phil 4:19.

However, over the weekend, God abruptly lavished me with too many children! What a great sense of humor God has. The 2012 Couples for Christ conference took place in our state and I was assigned to help in taking care of 150 kids!!! Was I traumatized by these kiddos or was I able to enjoy them? If you guessed the latter, then you are right. I enjoyed taking care of those little kids. Especially the little girls had gotten so close to my heart. Yes it could be exhausting looking after them and providing them with everything they need but at the end of the day, it felt as rewarding as ever. I actually miss this one group of kids who had named themselves "strawberry." (: Out of all the kids, they're the most charming, sweet, and well-behaved kids! Their parents should be truly proud of themselves for raising their little ones so well. 

These kids by the way are part of Kids for Christ. One thing I love about our community is that the couples involve their kids as well in the activities. They help build a strong foundation of faith at an early stage. After Kids for Christ, when they reach their teenage years, they become part of Youth for Christ. Consequently, after college, they become part of Singles for Christ. And when they get married, they can become members of Couples for Christ. It is indeed a perfectly orchestrated family ministry.

Anyway, going back to the kids, I am glad that God is giving me ample time in preparation for motherhood. Whether it's soon or years from now, I'm already praying for my children-to-be. That Alan and I would be able to raise them in accordance to the will of the Lord. That we could mold their hearts by God's grace to be loving, kind, compassionate, obedient, humble, respectful, righteous, generous, and most of all, God-fearing.

Isaiah 54:13 "All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the place of your children."

the strawberry team

Owie

Otel

  
xoxo,
Joselle