Efforts of Love & Women in Love

Happy Hearts Day! Let's talk about efforts of love.  Do you make an effort? as in going out of your way to be inconvenient to show your love and appreciation to your loved ones? Pinaparamdam mo pa ba ang pagmamahal mo? Ouch...guilty ako.


I bring my 3 kids to school in the morning and today, my daughter Sam gave me something after she kissed me good morning.  She saved her chocolates for me.  How sweet and thoughtful! I felt touched that her simple effort can bring simple joy to my heart. Nahiya naman ako that i didn't have anything for her except my hug and kisses. Tinalo pa ako ng 8 years old. Hay hay hay!

Simple effort can bring simple joy to a mother's heart!

When i came back from the school, my Mommy, as we all fondly call her, told me to check out the card Sam gave her.  Below is a picture of Mommy and my kids.

Mommy, Sol my eldest son, LJ and Sam

This picture was taken two years ago.  I have to apologize that due to time constraint, ok ok...aaminin ko na po at ito ay dahil sa labo labo kong files na mga pictures, disorganized pa po, :-(.  I promise to post updated photos on my succeeding blogs.

Below is the card Sam made for Mommy.  See for yourself what effort an eight year old can do to show her love and appreciation.

Sam personally designed card for Mommy

Sam's message of love for Mommy, with pop up design, :-)

The card message as follows:

Dear Mommy,

Thank you for taking care of us.

Thank you for caring for us and last,

Thank you for loving us.

I pray that God will bless you more.

God bless.

Happy Valentine's Day Mommy!

Love your grandchild,

Samantha/Shalom

Surprise, surprise! If the teachers from school has encouraged the children to write their loved ones, i am so grateful.  How can Sam know that a card is exactly what Mommy would like and not chocolates?  Mommy asked if i coached Sam, i didn't.  Thank you Lord! Thank you that my child can be better than me. It made me thank God and pray that He will continuously protect my children & preserve their pure love.

Mommy lives with us and her name of endearment for Sam is Shalom. Never underestimate how children can be very personal.  

I love all my children equally and each of them has wonderful qualities of their own.  They are a work in progress in the Lord, just like me.  Sam is special to me and so is Sol and LJ.  One of the reasons why i want to blog is because i would like them to know what i am thinking, how i lived my life and why i do the things that i am doing. Oh my! mahirap yata yang goal ko for this blog.  Efforts of Love, that's exactly what i am talking about. 

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Last Thursday, i attended an all Women Bible Study for the first time. Vivian or Ybs for short (elite ang nickname niya di ba? pronounced as eve with s), forwarded a text from our host which read: ".....Bible study will be at my place, its our valentine mini celebration, please come at medyo nag effort ako, :-)"

I went with Ybs.  Our host for the day was Pinay ( yes, pinay dahil Josefina siya, i like her nickname, creative!), she is also our facilitator.  This is what we saw when we came in...err, wait, not exactly like that agad but when i asked my new found friends for consent to take pictures and blog about it, they didn't have second thoughts, they just made THE effort to make it look like this. 

Pink Effort of Love

Pinay went to Divisoria the day before to shop for the decors and some pastry liners with matching flag.  Please take note of the round fan like decor and the polka dots banderitas on the table. She shared that she spent less than p600 for these. The vase was brought for 'staging' by Ybs.  The boards with quotes, colored macaroons and little cuteness were borrowed from Pinay's other parts of the house, as shopped by the Women.

Don't forget to be awesome.  Make an effort for Love.

I love the jar like mug.  Pinay said its called a mason jar. Look at the detail of the cover.  May laban ang fresh watermelon shake in Pinay - fresh and natural, just add ice and honey to suit your taste.  I like mine as is, with ice only.

Live, Love, Listen, Speak.

Live without pretending.  Love without depending.  Listen without defending.  Speak without offending.  Wala na akong masasabi pa, amen.  Please take note of the matching liner and polka dots flag for the pastry.  Cute di ba?

Another cuteness, on the spot heart shaped cane candies.

Snack attack. 

Thank you Pinay and Ybs for the yummy sandwiches, pastries, siomai & nacho chips with homemade salsa. Thank you Pinay for opening your home for us to study the Word of God.  Thank you Ybs for inviting me.  Its all Effort of love talaga.

Over snacks, we studied Psalm 95.  Its about worshipping and knowing God for who He is. We also shared a lot of other things under the sun, from God's awesomeness, Piso fare, Paris in 5 days and a lot more.  I hope to be able to share with you their personal experiences about these.  I can be their storyteller. 

I am grateful to be in the same room with women who are in love with the Lord and His Word.

About this picture below, i have to thank all of them because they oblige to my photo indulgence, lol, biro mo, pina pose ko sila not only 3x dahil may retakes, pinahirapan ko pa lumuhod, lol.  Thank you ladies.  Di ba talagang effort for love yan?   

If you want to share your own story about efforts of love, please email or make a comment below so i can keep in touch. Take care.