Love of a son: A surprise on Father's day

Father's day here in the Philippines is about to end but it sure was a memorable one.Not only because we had a delicious lunch at home with my in-laws and my mother but also because I felt happy that my four-year old son greeted his father without me reminding him. His dad told me that while I was still sleeping ,our son,Kurt, woke up early and went out to see him in the yard.I just want to insert before I continue that my husband is an early riser not like me. Back to the real topic, Kurt greeted his dad and told him that he will give him a surprise.Our son went inside and guess what he brought for his dad.I am not good with suspense so I'll go on and reveal what,Kurt took one of the tokens that he helped me make, which are to be used in the church, because he knew his dad will also be given one so he took the chance to be the one to give it. I didn't teach him to do that and I felt proud of my little boy.He really made Father's Day a very memorable one for his dad with his own little way.I thank God for giving me a thoughtful son.

Tokens of Love for Father's Day

I was assigned to prepare some tokens in our church for Father's day. Looking for simple but significant remembrance on Father's day was hard. Last night in one of the duty free stores, I found the perfect gifts for all the fathers in our church. Do you want to know what I bought for them? Small display plaques which are just right because I can paste the copies of the Father's Prayer on them.I really thank God for helping me find them. They are affordable and at the same time the right tokens for the Father's Day celebration. I believe that even though dad is no longer present here on earth,if he was alive he would be proud of me and that knowledge makes Father's day worth waiting for. The most important thing is that father's day would not be only for those on earth, it should be a day to celebrate a Father in heaven who is always with us.

Gold's Reminder:Don't let the enemy bite you

The five year old son of one of my co-workers bit my four year old son on the stomach. They were playing together for about fifteen minutes when I heard my little boy cry. His cousin who was looking after him told me about the incident.Though my son had a shirt on, the boy's teeth made a mark on his stomach and even scarred. Before it happened I tried to pull my son away from that boy because I noticed that he was pushing him.My son insisted that he would play with the boy for a few minutes longer while I talked to some people so I let him. I wanted my son to be independent and didn't think something like that would happened.I even thought that it might improve his social skills because he didn't have playmates at home.Now I really felt bad for him .His experienced with that playmate might make him suspicious of other kids.I talked with the boy's mom and she said her son's reason why he did that awful thing was because he wanted to play alone and that my son was a nuisance.His mother also added that it was the first time for her son to bit someone like that. I can't scold the boy because that was his mother's role. I didn't bother to tell that boy how bad he was though I really wanted to.I just told my son not to play with that boy again.I know it was not a good experience for my son. He didn't suspect there are kids like that.This made me realized how unaware we are every time the enemy strikes.He set an attractive trap while we are away from God and then bite us.We should always be on guard and we should be aware of God's warnings in order not to be bitten by sin.

Do you love going to church?

I think to some people going to church maybe one of the hardest thing to do.I've observed that there are many people in the malls, theaters, sports complexes, and the like but few are seen in their churches.God is with us twenty four seven but are we with Him. I sometimes feel sad whenever there are occasions that I need to skip going to church but I feel sadder every time I feel lazy to go there.The saddest thing for me is being inside the church but not in there because of other things in mind besides worshiping God. I admit that teaching Bible Studies motivate me to go to church.It was one of the reasons why when our pastor asked me to teach, I didn't have second thoughts. I was happy to hear it because I really need something to do in order to be more enthusiastic when going to church. Now I pray that other people will also include themselves in some church activities but that doesn't mean that the activities will become the focus when going there.They are just part of it.The main reason and the priority will always be our Father in Heaven. It will be a dream come true if the churches are full of people who praises and glorify His name and yes will be the answer to, Do you love going to church?

Time with Him

I sometimes feel bad for neglecting my time with God. Sometimes praying becomes a task and I feel bad about that. I know God wants us to have a real relationship with Him not a scheduled one.I'm posting my prayer here to remind me to always find a quiet time with Him and include Him in everything that I do.

Dear God, I feel so bad
I never thought of you today
Now I feel really sad
For I didn't have time to pray
Please Lord help me listen
Help me feel Your loving presence
Let Your light above glisten
Cause nothing makes any sense
If You're not included in my list.
I hope that this prayer will be
A reminder to pray and bend my knees.
In the sweetest name of Jesus, Amen.

Father's Love; He's name is John

Among the twelve disciples, John is my favorite. This is because my dad is also called John. Dad's favorite verse is even found in that book.
" For God so love the world that He gave us His only begotten son and whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have an everlasting life."
John 3:16
Dad is the eldest among seven siblings.When his father died,He was only a teenager so he became the bread winner of his family He stopped schooling and worked hard to help his mother provide for their needs. I can say that Dad is a good brother and son.

Perseverance and determination are two of his many good traits.He pursued his studies in college at the age of twenty six. He finished it and became an Agriculturist.

As a husband he was not the kind to give flowers on Heart's day but you can see his love for mom everyday. He was a very supportive husband and of course as a father,he was created to be one of the best.

He got sick when I was in Junior High and underwent an operation so I was not able to attend my recognition day in school.Some people said I didn't attend because I was rank number two instead of one and they assumed that I was a sour loser.

It was then that I remembered his words when he noticed that going to school became a burden and the main reason was that,
I was affected by the academic competition and some comments from my classmates and other people that year ...
He just said one night, when we were about to sleep," Gold, you don't need to prove anything.We know your strength and weaknesses.We understand that you can't handle some of those who criticize you. What matters to me and your mom is that your health wouldn't be affected.Whatever the result, we will be happy as long as you're healthy."

His words made me feel that I am accepted for who I am and not because of what I can do.I also realized then that people who keeps pulling me down don't matter.I may be losing the battle academically because I was letting go and was giving up to stop the pressure around me but these things didn't affect me physically and emotionally because I kept my promise to stay healthy till I reached the senior year .Though my rank remain the same I was happy that I had passed that test of endurance.

Dad walked with me in our graduation march.He looked as handsome as ever after a year's operation.Mom watched with pride in her eyes. I was indeed one of the happiest graduates of that year.