What's Up for the Holiday Season

          Starting next week, school kids will have their two- week holidays. They are all now excited to spend this school break in plenty of plans like camping, a trip to the snow, visiting museums, and others. And amidst all these hectic schedules and plans for the school break, we are caught up, at times, in our everyday endeavours with all the demands and challenges of such a season. Yet when we come to our loved ones, we should unceasingly remind ourselves to endow to them the best of everything. 

imagecredit: https://www.pexels.com/photo/scenic-view-of-beach-248797/

         In my own way, I want my kid to remember the value of sharing on this holiday season. Indeed I want him to appreciate lots of joy in the element of sharing. As a father to this five year old so loveable boy,  I always want him to relive with others the feeling of being so wonderful when he is able to share his presence, time, toys and everything with them. The idea of sharing goes beyond one's limitations such as physical, social, psychological and others. When we can muster sufficient courage to embrace our limitations then continue to share ourselves to others, I believe that such thing counts as one of those essential things in life. 

          Hence, try to spend a little while to think your own particular way of spending the holiday season with your kids. Be able to share with others especially your time for there is nothing that can replace it even all the latest gadgets we have nowadays. 

                                               

What I Want My Kid To Remember During The Holidays

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         Amidst the business of this holiday season, we are caught up, at times, in a day to day bickering due to all its fast changing paces. However, when we come to our loved ones especially with our kids, nevertheless we consistently see to it that we leave them nothing but the most positive influences in life.

          Personally, I want my kid to remember especially on this season the idea of sharing. In fact, I believe in what others say that one of the most essential things in life is sharing. Yes. That's exactly what I want my little boy to remember when he becomes a grown up. I want him to relive and relive the feeling of being so wonderful when he is able to share his presence, time, skills etc. with others. The idea of sharing goes beyond one's limitations such as physical, social, spiritual. Although it is a fact that we all have our own limitations yet what counts most for us all is that we can muster sufficient courage to embrace them and move on with life. 

Melbourne's Yarra River: by Angelyn Vania Sihombing

          I need to show to my kid that one's real strength goes deeper and never lies merely on the surface. Moreover, at times, paradoxically, we come to terms just with our own weaknesses and never appreciates our own strength. That's exactly what I want to impart with  my kid that when he grows up, essential things in life are those which are kept deep in ourselves such as our values and traits.....considered as our treasures and beyond any price.

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THE GIFT OF A CHILD

          Each day brings to us numerous experiences. My week, though not yet over, has been full of wonderful experiences and surprises. With all those lovely things happening with me and those around me, I could say that life at times depends on one's perception of every opportunity that knocks on his/her door.

          Everyday as I walk going to my workplace, I usually pass a certain park along the way. Melbourne is such a wonderful city that anybody can hang around with some of its famous parks such as The Shed Skatepark, Luna Park Melbourne, Gasworks Arts park, The Royal Botanic Melbourne and many more.

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          Just this week, when I passed by the park, there were few children who were enjoying the park's facilities such as slides, thrills and spills, shaded areas, seats,  and others. As I observed them, there was that presence of the sense of innocence on them.

          They really have their own world notwithstanding what is going on with this beautiful and sometimes complicated world that we adults have. Playing with peers is such a very important element in a child's development. They should be accorded with any chance to mingle and enjoy other children as well.

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          On the other hand, every adult especially those parents need to play their role positively and effectively. They should learn to express in a very concrete way their love and care for those children around them. An adult's great love is not expressed on any material possession or gift but rather this is relayed in an intimate way such as giving one's presence and affection to a dear child.

  

SIGNIFICANT DREAMS in LIFE

          Dreams have so many interpretations. On this post, I won't dwell on them yet what I would like to share are insights on a friend's dreams. What was significant in her dreams was their resemblance to her waking life. Below are some of her dreams as she narrated them:

* Dream 1: 

          "I see in my dream a guy whom I haven't met in my life. One time, he is bringing a soccer ball with him. Then he brings me to his house which I notice that it is not lighted enough. We go through the kitchen door. Their house's style is  extremely different from houses way back home. When we enter the kitchen, there's an old man sitting on a chair in the dining area. Then as we come into the living room, there is this old woman sitting calmly on a sofa". 

from: www.dreamstime.com

 -----relevance of this dream to the dreamer: when she was married to her husband,  she remembered that he looks very much alike with that guy in her dream. Then asking him about soccer game, he said he was previously playing the game and in fact, he was once a winner of the "Best Player" award. Further, she recalled that when they went to her husband's house, she recognized it as that in her dream. It was there that she also met his mother and step dad. 

* Dream  2:

          "In my dream, my boyfriend goes away one night. He wears a back pack and what he gestures to me as we part ways is that as he walks away, he just turns his back then gone".   

-----dream's relevance: It was a dream before she separated from her daughter's father. The next day after she had this dream, her boyfriend's uncle informed her that he went away just bringing his back up with him. 

from: www.dreamstime.com

* Dream 3:

         " In my dream, I hear somebody knocking my bedroom door and when I open it, there is this lady standing then she hands over to me a baby". 

-----dream's relevance: After a few months, she and her family learned that her sister was pregnant and later, delivered  a baby girl during her (dreamer) birthday.

          Our dreamer has other dreams which she claimed that later they became realities. In her case, there is that sense of connectedness between her dreams and her life. Were they all coincidences or not? I could never tell - perhaps they were or it could also be that she has the gift of foretelling certain events in her life through dreams. 

          Recalling back our dream study, we dwelt on several interpretations of dreams. In my friend's case, I  invited her to focus her energy on those parts  that she considered relevant to her waking life. A dream is composed of various important parts and it is the dreamer's option to pick out those which are most touching to him. After all, it is the dreamer who can evaluate a dream's impact on her/his life. On the other hand, my role lies on being a facilitator in identifying connections of any dream to one's waking life. This is done by allowing the dreamer to undergo certain accompaniment so that he will see his dream's impact. 

p.s. I thank my friend, EMILY C. DEVILBISS of Maryland, USA for sharing her story.

A GRACE-FILLED WEEK

          This week has been a week full of blessings for me. Indeed God has been so generous to me and to my loved ones. With all such goodness, the more that I was able to affirm my faith in Him that He is such a loving and a very patient God. As human as I am, there were several shortcomings this week yet I was also conscious and tried to make ammends for them.  I could not count with my fingers  how many people whom I interacted with within the week however one thing for sure is  that I am able to see God's goodness through them. 

          In other words, they became God's living instruments to concretize my relationship with Him. Personally , other people can raise questions such as the following:  

Where was God in the midst of these world's events like the crisis and war in certain places?

Where was God when there were bushfires, earthquake and other calamities?

Where was God when no new plaque swept away the human race?

Where was God when millions of babies born in the whole world?

http://www.dreamstime.com/antennas-stock-photos-imagefree8958853

          Truly we can have countless questions in our minds and hearts yet what is very  clear with me is that I have experienced God in concrete moments throughout the week. Consequently I had no single doubt of His presence. Nevertheless I can pinpoint instances this week that I have witnessed His goodness and patience. And I know that He sent His messages through this week's life's events so as to constantly invite me to self repentance. However in  my realization that I am an underserving sinner, what came out as a consolation is the reality that God's great embrace is present and patiently waiting for me to come back to His fold. 

          Finally, the presence and love coming from my most treasured possessions - my wife and my little boy Kurt- reinforced this faith and love of God in my life. 

REMEMBERING in our HEARTS OUR LOVED ONES

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        Significant people are ones who can give us comfort and strength when things are getting rough and tough...when everything seems so blurred, they come to our rescue and offer us a sense of perspective. Thus, it is but fitting to remember them always in our hearts including those who are away from us anymore-our faithful departed.

          Their memories and legacy will constantly remind us of their presence. They are merely physically absent from us yet their examples and good deeds guide us in choosing what is best for us. We always have 24 hours in a day and how great it is when we are appropriate a part of these 24 hours to offer our prayers for these significant people for they would always be present in our life.

NATURE is GOD's manifestation of HIS great LOVE for mankind...

          Physically absent yet their love would always be our source of inspiration. I remember concretely  my mother who died many years ago. Ever since I  was  a kid, she was my mentor in my prayer life. She everyday initiated us into prayer by reciting the holy rosary. Every Sunday is always a day of obligation. When everybody seemed to be enjoying their rest on Sundays, she constantly became the first person to wake us all up and prepared ourselves for mass.

          Hence, I offer my daily prayers for my beloved Mama and for other faithful departed and this allows me to continue my connections with them. Do you also keep in your hearts and prayers your own departed loved ones?...

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A DAY OF PRAYER

            A day is just like any other day. Basically we wake up then do our daily tasks, communicate with others, write our diaries, letters, read emails and news and many more. However excellent is any day when it is coupled with prayers. Saying our daily prayer does not require much time. We can even perform our daily mantra like saying " LORD JESUS CHRIST HAVE MERCY ON ME A SINNER" and this will be our prayer of repetition. Our GOD, no matter what name we attribute to HIM, would always be a symbol of GOOD NEWS and SALVATION.

GOD IS GREAT...

          HIS goodness is so overwhelming that He even sacrificed His own son JESUS CHRIST to save us from total damnation because of sin. In my introduction, It was mentioned that indeed we start our day with so many activities in mind yet if we try to check on them, most of them are focused on our own satisfaction and happiness. All of them satisfy our basic needs yet we need to offer time and prayer to our GOD as we are always blessed by HIM. In a week, there are seven days and it is just on a Sunday that we are required to offer a time for HIM on the celebration of the Holy Eucharist and that is even just for an hour. Yet even with my own experience, there were several SUNDAYS before that I failed to fulfill this obligation mainly due to self- centered reasons. I am sorry for all those misgivings. 

          Hence it is always appropriate and positive to unceasingly offer  a day of our week (SUNDAY) to hear HIS words and consolation. Because GOD doesn't want us to be weakened by evil thoughts and human distractions, thus we need to say our personal prayers even just a very simple one. 

THANK YOU MY LORD FOR SUCH A WONDERFUL WEEK

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         Life as it is is such an excellent gift from HIM above. Everyday I wake up, I always see to it that the first thing that I will do is to thank GOD for each day's blessings. Just the very fact that I am able to wake up together with my wife brings so much color to my day.

            And this week, I have received so many great endowments from HIM above. Almost every day, me and my wife have the chance to videochat with our angel Kurt back home. Much to our great joy, the opportunity to witness the activities of our boy ranging from his effort to utter words though he is still incapable to do it, his effort to walk little by little and sometimes he attempts to run as if he can do it....his playing time with his cousins and other loved ones who are as well feeling blessed by his presence...all of these and his other activities transmit to us a very positive energy.

"LIFE IS SUCH A JOURNEY"

          The gift of life and love as well coming from my better half is another reason that makes my week such a wonderful one. She is so loving, caring, and attentive to my needs as a husband, a friend, and as a companion. Such a young woman, she carries with her a very positive energy that is also so contagious thus bestowing on me such positive energy in performing my daily tasks. There is no greater love a person can give to his/her partner than sacrificing his/her own happiness for the sake of the other. And she is willing to do that for me as her husband. And I thank you my LORD for such a blessing.

          Another blessing that comes to me this week is the gift of friendship from people who become part of my life and journey. My friends from the community, those who are my mates in my work, and even my e-friends----these people are essential to me since they give me strength and positive energy to move on with all my daily endeavors. Furthermore, they lighten up  my load when things go wrong and turn as personal challenges. 

          With all these gifts above, I could say that there is always a reason for me to be happy everyday in my life. With the desire to share these to others, it is my constant prayer that we will appreciate everything that GOD has showered on us.  

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A BEAUTIFUL DAY

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        What a beautiful day for me today----everything became a sort of a blessing.... From the moment I woke up, shared the early morning breakfast with my wife, and even at work, everything was on its proper place. My mates were mostly energetic as well hence I also received that positive vibes from them. That's my personal experience- that when I and those people around me are  showing positive vibrations, tasks and relationships tend to become light.

          Its is true that when we radiate positive aura to others, we will also receive positive aura in return. More over I believe that being positive goes along with one's ability to stay focus in all things to be fulfilled.

                           

          Being constantly focus in everything we do is not an easy thing. It entails a rich resources of patience and stability. Patience in the sense that as human as we are we tend to overdo things- we like to accomplish multiple tasks at the same time. I'm not saying that it is wrong or it is not possible. many gifted and trained people are able to accomplish such task yet  a large number also including myself are at times lost since the sense of being focus is absent. Can you recall concretely any event in your life wherein you are trying so hard to fulfill a certain task when suddenly a separate and unrelated thing popped up? Or you are at the verge of making it to the finish line of your work when suddenly your mind wanders so very far away? These are frustrating moments in our life yet they are also very true to you and me.

     

          Thus, it is with such gratitude that I thank my God for allowing me to stay focus today in my tasks and my relationships. And may this be my prayer that I will continue to be focused on one thing at a time so that I can also achieve quality in my tasks and relationships.  

Last Updated: August 8, 2026 Saturday