On the Money Kids

December 26, 2012 By 13 Comments

Elijah guested on Edric’s show, On the Money, for the Christmas episode along with four other kids (three were also homeschoolers). He had such an amazing time. He kept talking about how cool the studio was. But, I think the best part for him was just being with Edric. He is at that age where bonding time with Edric matters a lot. They do one-on-ones every now and then and Elijah comes back from these occasions with his emotional tank full. I wish I had a spy camera that can record their conversations because neither of them divulge as much as I would like them to when I ask them what they talk about.

After the ANC interview, I asked Elijah what he answered and how it went. And he just said, “You have to watch it, mom. I can’t tell you.” Well, I finally found the link for it. On the Money:Christmas Episode Every time I watched Elijah answer, I thought, my goodness, he is like a little Edric!

Elijah’s first field trip to a TV studio. It just so happened to be his daddy’s show!


Selah.Pause.Pay Attention

October 23, 2012 By 21 Comments

I love the quietness of the evening, after the kids are tucked in bed and sound asleep. It’s hard to imagine Edric and I have four of them when it is this still. Stillness is so important to me. The responsibility of child-rearing, homeschooling, ministry, work (when Edric needs me), and various commitments to family and friends can often cannibalize whatever space should be preserved for pause and meditation.

These past few weeks, Edric and I have been unusually busy. Because of this, our time in the Word and prayer has been rushed or neglected. And the irony is, we have been doing a whole lot of ministry. One weekend was a couples retreat, the next was a parenting seminar for young families, and Edric spoke two weekends in a row for worship in various places. In between there were things like counseling, activities and new enrichment classes for the children, Elijah’s end year assessment and Edan’s graduation, parties we had to attend, evenings out for necessary meetings, sick kids, out of town trips, planning for the Global Home Education Conference in Berlin, booking our Europe itinerary, dealing with some challenges in our discipleship group, schedule changes and added responsibilities, etc…Of course, my homeschooling schedule was crazy, too. I missed a couple of days here and there.

Most of these experiences have been incredible blessings and God has allowed Edric and I to learn how to manage stress and flurry better. But circumstances and busy-ness also made Edric and I vulnerable to spiritual attack. All the ministry work turned us into a beeping signal on the radar of the Evil one. He constantly tried to divide us and cause dissension. Edric and I were getting irritated at one another for silly things and we became such nit-pickers. Since schedules were kind of hectic, there was hardly any time to get together and address the issues. We were living from one spiritual high to another, but our responses to issues between us seemed infantile. I would make hurtful comments when I was upset and Edric expected me to adjust to his needs and demanding circumstances without giving much thought to my own feelings.

But God, in his faithfulness, reminded both of us that we were focusing on each other and circumstances. We were not focusing on him. We were not making enough time for him. When Edric was preparing for last Sunday’s message on the topic, “Selah. Regularly,” he shared with me his renewed conviction to take a pause from all the activity and pay attention to God. I thought it was such a timely insight and I needed to practice immediately.

Well, lo and behold, last Saturday, God gave me the opportunity to apply the message. I had to call a company that does home service lab work. My grandfather (Angkong) is 93 years old and lately, his blood pressure has been low. So he needed some tests to be done. I tried to contact the company atleast 5 times without success. Every time I would call, I would be put on hold then re-routed to a basement storage area where the guy would say, “Ay, ma’m basement to. Tawag ka na lang sa tamang number.”

After this happened a multiple number of times, I told him that I had been put on hold and connected to him, even after he gave me the supposed right number to call. My tone was starting to change. I increased the volume for emphasis. Inside I was soooo annoyed. I wanted to pick a fight with mister basement guy even if he could do nothing to solve my problem. I didn’t care about the futility of doing so. But God reminded me, at the height of my aggravation, that I had not stopped to pray and ask for his help. Selah. Pause. Listen. So I hit myself on the head five times with a book to keep myself from getting angry. (It was a paperback!) Then, I hung up courteously.

The verse that was very clear in my mind was, for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. (James 1:20 NASB) So timely, Lord! I composed myself, called the company again and got through. That was a Selah experience for me. God spared me from losing my temper but it was a close call!

If I had not taken a pause to listen to the Lord, I would have blown up on the phone. I felt the heat rising. I was charged with irritation. There was nothing I wanted to do more than blast out insults and criticism for this company’s customer service. (At the same time, I also thought…this must be what people feel like when they try to call our organization and can’t get through! It is infuriating!) Well, what saved me was the gentle voice of the Lord reminding me to be Christ-like, to respond with grace to an unfavorable and inconvenient situation, and to be humble and kind even if I was upset.

The gist of Edric’s Sunday message was, PAUSE. PAY ATTENTION. In the midst of flurry and busy-ness, in the midst of stress and situations beyond our control, we need to take an intentional pause to consider who God is and what character trait he wants us to develop. Paying attention to who God is reminds us that he is the sovereign orchestrator of circumstances. He wants us to discover and experience how amazing he is and change what is wrong about ourselves so we can live the abundant life he calls us to.

If you would like to watch the message and Elijah’s testimony, check out Selah. Our nine year old son, Elijah, also gave his testimony that day.

Better than 20/20

September 6, 2012 By 67 Comments

As a mom, there’s no hurt like the hurt you feel when your child experiences pain, disappointment, tragedy, loss…I can’t explain how it tore me up to hear the ophthalmologist tell my son, Elijah, that his grade had gone up to 400/425 — 400 for the left eye and 425 for the right eye. It wasn’t so much about the grade, although I was shocked that it had progressed to that degree since his last eye check-up at 7 years old. It was more of the disappointment I saw in his face and the sadness he felt when he heard the news.

The reality is that his condition is genetically inherited. I first discovered he was near-sighted when he was about 6 years old. He couldn’t read a billboard that was very visible to me. So it occurred to me back then that something was wrong with his eyes. Edric has glasses but his grade isn’t too bad. I am still 20/20. So Elijah probably got it from my dad who is also near-sighted.

When Elijah was 7, his grade was already over 200. But we thought it would stay that way for a while. He’s just 9 now. I dread to think of what his grade will progress to by the time he is 13. According to the ophthalmologist, his eyesight is going to get worse (whether he wears glasses or not) and there is really nothing that can be done, except changing his eyeglasses every year. By 19 or 20, when he stops growing, he can have laser surgery for his eyes. (Praise God for modern technology.)

After the verdict about his eyes at the doctor’s clinic, I watched Elijah settle in a corner as he tried to remain composed. But I know my son. This was difficult for him. He was not okay. His eyes were getting red and watery and he didn’t want to make eye contact. I pulled him close and asked if he wanted to talk about it. He replied, “In private.”

Okay, I understood. The doctor went on to say that he may “have a hard time in school.” (I guess he meant reading stuff off a black board.) We told him that Elijah was a homeschooled kid. (Another blessing.)

Edric helped him pick out new glasses, which we will pick up on Saturday. And we both took him out to lunch to give him attention. Elijah is very much a time person so he opens up when you share a meal with him, when you walk together, or when you are sitting down next to him reading or discussing a book. Over lunch, he began to explain his feelings. He shared how disappointed he was because God had not answered his prayer. His prayer has been that God would make his eyes better. The other thing he was concerned about was going blind. My poor son was afraid that he would completely lose his eyesight. We both hugged him and assured him that God loved him and that we loved him – that we were going to do our best to take care of him no matter what.

Elijah loved the Persian food we had for lunch. His stomach was satisfied and he enjoyed our company. It was an opportune moment to help him process how he was feeling. Edric shared with him that God has a plan for everything. He reminded Elijah that if he wanted to, God could easily cure his eyes, but he hasn’t. We have to trust him. He reminded Elijah that when we pray for something and God doesn’t answer our prayer, he has a purpose.

There was another instance like this in the past when Elijah was also disappointed with God. Five years ago, Elijah prayed very hard to have a baby sister. During the ultra sound, he was allowed to come in to watch the sonologist. With big faith and confidence in God, he couldn’t wait to hear her say that we were having a girl. But the sonologist announced that we were having a boy – our third son (Titus). Elijah couldn’t contain himself. He burst into tears. “I prayed, Daddy! How come God didn’t answer my prayer?”

I wasn’t in any state to comfort him. Seeing him so wrecked about the news made me feel like crying, too. I was excited to have another boy but I feared for Elijah’s tender faith. Edric took him outside of the room and wonderfully explained to him that God always has a good plan. Eventually, our little Elijah understood what this meant and he embraced Titus as his youngest brother. Three years later, God gave us Tiana. Everything worked out according to God’s time-table.

Yesterday, Elijah was once again at a crucial point in his faith journey. As he wrestled with his disappointment with God, he was emotionally vulnerable to doubts about God’s goodness. His outlook on the future was also bleak. God had to make Elijah recognize that he had to choose to trust in him and thank him for this unchangeable in his life.

After lunch, I reaffirmed what Edric shared with Elijah. All of us go through difficulty and trials. No one is exempt. But if our perspective is right, then our thinking is right, and our behavior will also be right. But if we have the wrong perspective, our thinking will be wrong, and our behavior will be affected by wrong thinking… For example, if our perspective on God is that he is good and that he loves us then we can believe that he has a plan and purpose for our lives. And as a result, we can choose to be joyful, happy, and thankful despite our circumstances. Elijah listened to this and received it well.

Edric and I spent a good three hours with Elijah yesterday and something magical happened in those hours. Elijah’s attitude changed. On our way home, he was smiling his big, bright smile. He was chatty and positive, and he was raving about the food we at. He’s back, I thought to myself. Thank you, Lord! Elijah told us he had a great time, that he loved the food and most especially, he felt better because we got to talk about how he was feeling “in private.”

As a writing assignment, I asked him to do a blog entry about his experience at the ophthalmologist. This is what he wrote:

Today (September 5) I had my eyes checked and the grade of my eyes had risen double in the past three years. I felt disappointed because, before I had my checkup we prayed that my eyes would be better. But God had a different plan. He had a bigger plan. He loves me, so he will only do things to help me. And someday (or soon) God will fulfill his plan.

All of us have our own dreams for ourselves, but God has the best plans for us. I really wanted my eyes to get better, but I know that God can’t just make eyes better, he can make them perfect. It may not happen, but I know that God loves me. He will not allow anything bad to happen to me.

I want to be thankful because at least, I can still see!

In heaven, my eyes will be perfect and I will see better. This is the verse I want to share in Jeremiah 29:11 “I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope.”

Over breakfast this morning, I said to him, “You seem so positive and different than yesterday when you found out. What changed?” “I know God has a plan,” was his sincere reply. Does he still feel sad about his eyes? Yes. But he is choosing to believe in the goodness of God.

Elijah may not have 20/20 vision, but if he can see with spiritual eyes, he will see far more than 20/20 will ever give him. After all, “we walk by faith and not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7)

The REAL Cutest Newsman

August 13, 2012 By 22 Comments

My husband, Edric, has been a host of a show called On the Money for the last couple of weeks. It airs 3:30, 6:30 and 11 on weekdays on ANC with replays on weekends.

How it all came to be was really quite miraculous and God-ordained. It wasn’t anything that either of us was expecting, but there was clear leading from the Lord, from his word, wise counselors, and circumstances to venture into this unchartered territory. His main motivation was to allow God to use it as a platform for ministry and influence.

He’s kind of been taking it step-by-step, show-by-show, without giving much thought to the implications on people’s perception of him as a TV personality. In the first place, popularity was not his goal. But being on ANC every single day and several times a day has given him a lot of “face” time. He was even voted as “Cutest” Newsman of 2012 by Spot.ph.

Whoa! This was surprising news to him when he heard about it this morning. It had a bit of a “showbizzy” feel to the whole blurb about him. Frankly, I didn’t think it really captured who he is. I wish they had let me write the article! It was really more about his physical appearance. But Spot.ph did say that this was all about brainless fun.

When he told me this morning, he was laughing and said he was actually embarrassed. “Are you sure you’re not flattered?” I teased him. “No way! That’s the last thing I would want to be recognized for!”

I believed him. He doesn’t like that kind of attention. It’s sort of anti-thetical to what he would like to be known for (if at all). I know he’d rather be known as someone who passionately loves God and lives for him. But they don’t give out awards for that, at least not on TV. That would be the day!

He does hope that the show, On the Money, will help Filipinos to better manage their finances. And beyond that, he is looking forward to how God will expand his borders for the sake of the gospel.

It is definitely challenging to be in the media. For example, I watched his interview about being voted “Cutest Newsman” and everything he said about God was cut out when they wrote about him online. That’s to be expected, of course. So the best way he can represent his beliefs and views about faith is to be excellent at what he does so that people will care enough to listen. And that’s my prayer for him. That’s his prayer for himself.

I’ve put my “friend” hat on (which I do as a wife when he needs a confidant or someone to bounce off ideas with), and we have talked about whether being a TV host will conflict with his priorities – God, wife, children, work, ministry (in that order). And we have talked about whether it will detract from his homeschooling advocacy. We have also discussed what the gains will be, as well as the possible pitfalls. (Thankfully, ANC values integrity and wants it’s personalities to do the same. At least it seems that way.) We’ve both come to the conclusion that the biggest temptation is really pride.

At the end of the day, Edric doesn’t want being on TV to change the core of who he is. I don’t want it to either. He didn’t even want to look at the Twitter feeds or Facebook comments of people who were talking about him being voted “Cutest Newsman.” It was partly because he found it silly, but partly because he didn’t want to focus on that and get a big head about it. I was the one who wanted to look at all the comments while we were playing a board game with the kids. But the kids were like, “Mom, you are violating our game rules. No Ipads.” Geez…so strict!

There we were, playing a board game as a family, and Edric was fully present and engaged, focused on the children, on all of us.

Cutest newsman or not, I’m blessed to be married to Edric Mendoza. He does look good on camera but I’m more thankful that he’s got a good heart, a heart that loves the Lord, that loves his family. I know the world doesn’t care much about this. But the kids and I do.

Hapi at Kids Expo

March 13, 2012 By 14 Comments

Over the weekend, Homeschool Association of the Philippine Islands (HAPI), a non-stock, non-profit organization representing various homeschooling providers and independent homeschoolers and groups, had a press launch at Mommy Mundo’s Kids Expo at the Rockwell Tent. A number of media people came to ask questions about homeschooling in the Philippines. ABS-CBN, Yahoo! News, Philippine Daily Inquirer and several other press interviewed Edric which was great because he got to talk about how the homeschooling movement is growing in the Philippines. Performances by Catholic Filipino Academy’s Ensemble and TMA’s Home Grown Band delighted the audience. Invited guest speakers, Louise Mabulo (Top 5 Junior Master Chef Finalist) and Paul Tan-Chi (Former Ateneo UAAP men’s basketball team captain and now President of Axeia Land and Subdivision and Housing Developers Association) talked about their own positive homeschooling experiences.

Paul is my younger brother and I would like to share what he talked about. He said, “One very important thing that being homeschooled instilled in me is the desire to please God in everything that I do.” This desire motivated him to be a good basketball player, to do well academically, and to make wise choices. When he was on the basketball team and everyone was teasing him because he didn’t have a girlfriend, he didn’t cave in to the peer pressure. He didn’t date anyone because he was waiting for the “right one,” aka Jenny, whom he eventually married. (I love that lady! She has become a dear friend.) HAPI also featured Darryl Tan, a 10 year old with genius level IQ.

The press asked very insightful questions. Some had to do with socialization (of course); options for homeschoolers in terms of programs; whether it is possible for working parents to homeschool; what the disadvantages of homeschooling are; how do kids transition to the conventional schools; and until what age should parents homeschool their children.

I liked what Rita Yokingco of CFA said in response to the disadvantages of homeschooling. She humbly admitted that the problem with homeschooling is overcoming your own character weaknesses as a parent. A parent needs to practice Christ-centeredness and walk with God in order to successfully homeschool. I totally agree! I really believe that the biggest obstacle to homeschooling is ME! My selfishness, pride, insecurities, impatience, distractedness, lack of discipline…these are the obstacles! It is not my children’s capacity for learning. God reminded me that I need to “step up” my homeschooling game by aligning myself to Him and being filled with the Holy Spirit.

By the way, Rita taught her two sons who both got into science high schools. Their biggest adjustment was not the academics. She told the press that her sons were most shocked by the amount of negativity, swearing and cursing that marked their peers. Within a month’s time they learned to process how differently they were raised and accept that their peers were not brought up with the same values. But they didn’t have a hard time dealing with the school work.

What was most exciting about the HAPI press launch was hearing about the national conference this May 19, 2012. Laying A Strong Foundation This conference is for parents who want to know how to be better parents, for homeschoolers, and for those who are interested in homeschooling. Hope to see you there!

 

 

 

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