One of our duties as mothers is to disciple our children and plant in their hearts, the seeds of faith that will help them become followers of Christ. As a new mom back then, I was not able to take this seriously other than the usual religious rites my children must go through. The daily rigors of meeting their basic needs such as breastfeeding, bathing, and then later on cooking, tutoring, among other activities were the front and center of my motherhood journey.

But now that they are growing and developing their own personalities and character, I was roused to the fact that I should start taking discipling even more seriously. I figured that investing in their spiritual growth is intrinsic since life is short, and no parent can say that they can always be there for their kids when they face life’s challenges. Life happens, we can all get called by our Creator anytime.

Investing on our child’s spiritual growth

One of the reasons why I am eager to invest in my children’s spiritual growth is the fast-paced changes of this modern world. It really is scary that we are living in the present times, and depression and suicide are but common solutions despairing people turn to when life’s challenges seem to overwhelm them.

By trying to help my children nurture a personal relationship with the Lord, I get the peace of mind that even if I am no longer here on Earth, they know whom to turn to for guidance. They will know whom to run to when their problems are too big for them to handle. They would not have to resort to vices, to other people who might break their heart and not truly look after their good, and they would not even think of ending their lives. 

Encouraging kids to follow Jesus

I want them to know that by following Jesus, and abiding by the Lord’s commandments, they get shielded from huge troubles. While they could not understand this principle fully given their young age, there are ways to explain it to them that they could understand. And as moms, that will be our challenge.

And the good thing about taking on this challenge is we get to accomplish God’s commandments while we are at it. Deuteronomy 6:7 says “Teach them to your children. Repeat them when you are at home and when you are away, when you are resting and when you are working.”

Moreover, teaching our children (and others) to abide by the Lord’s commands also come with a promise to those who teach. In the Gospel of St. Matthew, it was said that “Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:19)

Four ways to plant seeds of faith to children

So here are some ways we can plant the seeds of faith into our children’s hearts. No matter what age they are, I am sure you can adjust these suggestions based on how they could understand and absorb it:

1. Introduce Jesus to them. Talk about Jesus at home by teaching your kids how to pray and making a habit out of it. I taught my children to pray before and after meals and before sleeping at night. Tell them about your past experiences and how God has helped you with all that. Teach them to thank the Lord for everything.

2. Bring them to church. No matter what religion you belong to, it is important to bring your kids to church. And it is not just enough to bring them and to make them observe the religious rites. Explain it to them, and try to explain the priest or the pastor’s message for the week in terms they will understand.

3. Expose them to the Word. If there is a catechism or Sunday School in your church, then by all means bring the children to them. It is important to expose them to the good news of salvation in a way that they will understand. Read the bible with your children and try to impart some snippets of messages that they could understand. If they are into gadgets then download a bible app for them to discover and use. 

4. Make learning about Jesus fun and understandable. Purchase or borrow kids bible story books and read it with your children. If they are older kids, then buy or borrow age appropriate devotionals that they could read during their daily quiet time. Let them watch films and videos about Jesus and the Bible. The Chosen is one of the best series to stream and watch as a family. You can watch it for free online in their official website here.

All the above mentioned ideas will be more effective if you become a good example of Christ follower to your children. If they see Jesus’ light in you, then they are bound to bask in that light. “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16). As parenting experts say, “children will follow your example, not your advice.”

Thank you for stopping by and till next post!

A happy homemaker is a Happy Pinay Mommy!

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My daily devotionals took a twist today as my two younger kids decided to join me. My little boy made a bookmark featuring one of my favorite bible verses, particularly that from Deuteronomy 28:5 — “Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl.” This verse is posted in our refrigerator, as I find it so special given that I am an amateur home baker and I find myself needing to fill my basket to continue preparing food and nourishing my family.

I am so proud that little shot tried his best to make his bookmark look good. He used his sister’s brush pens. Shob on the other hand did her own devotional. I gave her a guide before on what to do during this time. It is basically a set of questions that I wrote in the back cover of her devotional notebook. There is nothing so hard about the guide questions, it is all age-appropriate and can help her reflect on God’s words and write about her thoughts in her journal.

Quiet time with the kids

I am just happy that while I was in my “Dalmanutha” Shob suddenly approached me and asked for a bible passage. Since she knows how to locate passages just by having a copy of the bible address, she got to read Isaiah 43:4. which reads:

“Because you are precious in my sight, and honoured, and I love you. I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life.”

She reflected on this verse and wrote in her journal. As for me, I proceeded with reading my devotionals, study prompts, and my bible. This is all followed by journaling. The littles were happy, and I am happy too. I didn’t realise that they have grown enough to have a quiet time with me already. time indeed flies. Just a heart-warming day for me, and I am sharing it with you.

How to encourage the kids to devote time to the Lord

I am no expert in this topic, but like what our Parish Priest says, “we can never tell our children what they should do, we can only influence them.” So if they see you routinely reading The Word, they too will likely get interested in it. Of course exposing them to church and church activities, as well as lessons in school will also help deepen their faith. Singing praise songs also help and seeing scripture around the house are encouraging as well. In fact answering even their simplest of questions helps too.

It will also help to get them their own bible. There are kid-friendly bibles out there – not the bible stories for kids but real bibles where they can learn to find verses using bible addresses. Give them highlighters, a small ruler, pencils, and a journal notebook intended for their own devotional. Sticky notes are inspiring too!

Journeying to God’s heart with young people in tow

Anyway, knowing in your heart that you have younger people willing to go with you in your journey to God’s heart is but enough fuel to keep on going towards the light. But as they say, progress over perfection. Baby steps in faith do count

May you have a peaceful day ahead. Shalom!

A Happy Homemaker is a Happy Pinay Mommy!

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Visita Iglesia Churches are the seven or 14 churches visited by Catholics to pay respect to the Kristo Entierro and at the same time pray the Stations of the Cross

UPDATED POST: I originally intended to just update our Facebook page with our suggestions for Visita Iglesia Churches this 2017 and 2018. But since some may not be using Facebook as a search engine, i still decided to post our suggested 2018 Visita Iglesia churches here in our blog.

Four years ago I have written about my suggested Manila Visita Iglesia Route here, and then followed by a post about Makati Visita Iglesia Churches to consider, and then after that for Visita Iglesia in Quezon City.

2018 Visita Iglesia Churches to Consider

This time however I came up with a simplified approach, ready to be shared to friends and family who are planning for the most meaningful and best route for their Visita Iglesia 2018.

Makati is home to many historic churches and shrines which are perfect 2018 Visita Iglesia Churches to consider.

We usually visit seven churches, and try our best to consider churches that have not been part of our 2018 Visita Iglesia Itinerary last year.

We haven’t done a “pure” Marikina City Visita Iglesia, so here’s what I have researched:

Marikina Churches to Consider for Visita Iglesia

Some time ago, I remembered doing the Paranaque Route:

Prior to having children, this had been our Visita Iglesia route:

This is another itinerary i took way, way back:

For those hailing from the North, here’s a Quezon City Central Visita Iglesia Church List:

Will try to update this within the day because Mommy Duty calls already Mandaluyong and Pasig peeps I owe you!

For those of you who may have other Visita Iglesia Churches or Route Suggestions, please, please drop me a line thorugh my facebook page so i could include your suggestions when update this post.

Have a meaningful Holy Week Everyone!

Leaving you with this video explaining the whole concept of Visita Iglesia:

Product Review| KAYPEE BABY Nursing Wear, Breastfeeding-Friendly Blouses and Dresses

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