Hi! We're here to share with you our family's L.I.F.E. thoughts, tips, and stories about raising boys and girls (and that includes me and my husband.) May what you find here be a blessing to you today.
Love,
Carmen Gutierrez 💜
The Most Important Reminder For Me This Quarantine Season...
ECQ will be changed to MECQ or to GCQ and that makes me hopeful and grateful but also sometimes anxious about the changes outside my home and the possibility of a second wave of infected cases. Paano na ba kikilos at ano na ba ang mga dapat kong gawin. I sometimes feel lost about what should I keep on doing despite extreme changes in my environment and permitted ways of doing things.
I realized that the most important REMINDER FOR ME this quarantine season...
is God's Purpose for my life.
and truthfully, it's what I need IN EVERY SEASON... so after the quarantine, I might just re-title this post! 🙃
I guess there’s never a time that people have more hours logged in on social media apps than during this quarantine season. Everyone’s scrolling and scrolling, and that includes me when my kids are asleep. If I won’t be intentional, I’d lose my precious 1 hour of rest just on acquiring mostly junk & points of insecurity from my social media newsfeeds.
But getting me reminded of God’s purpose for my life almost always wakes me up. It pulls me back and gives me direction when I feel lost on some days. Because that is unchanging.
These words of the Lord are what I believe God wants me to hold on to, no matter how easy or difficult the season is. Whether going out or staying home, having a lot or having little, feeling accomplished, or feeling insecure. I need the Words from the true Anchor of my soul--Jesus.
I wrote them down and placed on a board at my thinking place—the kitchen sink area, tuwing naghuhugas ng pinggan 😄
I am told to stay at home and shift most of my social interactions online as per our government's mandate. I do miss going out but I realized
God’s purposes for me remain the same despite my circumstances. And I should press on till they are accomplished. Methods and means on how to live it out may now be different but we can go to God and ask for ways on how we can keep doing what's essential. He has these truths FOR YOU as well.
Every January, some of my friends and I, we follow a practical guide that helps us to align ourselves in accordance to God’s purpose and unique calling in our lives. It's a guide that helps us answer important questions in our life that are aligned from the broadest (Purpose) to the most specific (Plans). Sa tagalog, mula sa "bakit ako nandito sa mundo" hanggang sa "ano ang mga dapat kong gawin" na naka linya sa dahilan na yun. Though it's already May now, I think since we're all facing the new normal, it's just fitting to look into this as if it's the start of the year... a time when we feel like we have new beginnings.
Up there in the top photo, what I wrote down on my kitchen board is just my Purpose column. Yan kasi yung pinaka important na column. Pero may kadugtong pa yan... that column came from a guide of 4 columns.
I am now going to share that guide with you. Okay? 🙂 Get ready. Read through and go back to this part with your pen and notebook/journal and start drafting yours after reading it and re-reading it and re-reading it. I’m so excited for you to have your own! ♥️
It’s called 4P’s Reminder.
Nope, hindi yung proyekto ng gobyerno. 😅
This is something Rouie & I learned from a homeschooling conference, shared by Joy Tan Chi-Mendoza, a few years back.
When we heard of it, we took note of it and drafted our own for our personal lives. And we’ve been using & customizing our grid every start of the year since then. Planning our pursuits gets easier and easier each year.
Here it is! I made an infographic so that you can just save it in your device. (You can just get it and go... you know...yung tipong kukunin lang yung kelangan tapos aalis na lang basta basta ng walang sinabi, ganern... 💔 Echos lang!!! 😆Hindi ikaw yan, ako yung madalas ganyan haha 🤣)
Sample...sample!
Note: I just put in 1 item per area just as an example but in my real list I have more items per column especially on the last 2 Ps.
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PURPOSE
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When it comes to writing the 4P's of your very own life, think of your general purpose in life--your lifetime role (e.g. as a human being, as a child of God), a role that doesn't depend on your social/civil status.
Ano yung purpose mo sa mundo na hindi nakadepende sa kesho may asawa ka man o wala, may anak ka man o wala, mayaman ka man o mahirap. -
Then ADD to that your very long-term role/s (e.g. Wife? sana long term yan till death do you part diba; Mother? mula preggy ka hanggang sa buong lifetime ng anak, ikaw yan; Are you into Business? or into the Corporate Ladder? you'll spend your prime years 20-50 years old age range in this area so long term yan; Are you a Follower of Jesus? ? If yes, may great commission tayo to lead others to His saving grace, tama ba? 🙂)
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PRIORITIES
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Your order of priority relationships (people) and your areas of passion (work/business/hobbies) may change from season to season (e.g. single ka ngayon tapos next year married ka na yiheeee) so you can just reposition. But I believe the top 1 to top 3 in your LIST should be your relationship with God, then relationship with your spouse (kung single ka, it's your parents) then relationship with your children. Children should not be above your spouse. Kung hindi ka agree mag chat na lang tayo hehe.
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PURSUITS
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I suggest you put in goals that you intend to achieve for this year only. Short-term pursuits of attitude change / establishing habits or even project growth that you can measure your quality progress at the end of the year. It's nice to celebrate at the end of the year diba?🥳
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- PLANS
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Or Practices... meaning habits you want to establish. Think baby steps. If you'd like to pursue becoming a vegan (I salute you! dream ko yan na hindi ko sure if I really want haha) I suggest planning your gradual shift of lessening meat intake, and connecting with a group as your support system as the first few steps...yan pa nga lang baka mahirap nang ma-establish in a year. Wag mag hoard ng To-Do's baka maging drawing na lang ate girl. 😅Pursue a few then add the next steps next year. ☑️
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Carmen 2020
Explain pa more...
Here's template for you!
💜
You can hold and save to your device.
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To be aligned with God by faith about these essential life questions. It’s been a great help for me that’s why I can’t help but share it with you as I did with the girls in my Victory Groups. 💜
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To be focused and not easily swayed left/right on what’s new or what your friend is doing or what your IG idol is doing.
Ako 'to!!! Top #2 ko sa Strengths Finder result ay FOCUS kaya anything that helps me to thrive in that area, and bless others by helping them focus, too, I grab it! Kaya i-try mo na! 😊
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To have a better gauge of progress and achievements at the end of the year or at the end of a project. Milestones achieved are energizing!
Speaking of projects...Yeeeeessss!
You can also use this for projects, too!
For example, I made a 4P’s Reminder for my BLOGSITE PROJECT. And these are its benefits for me on this subject:
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When I get tired of editing or discouraged about writing, I go back to the PURPOSE, my “WHY am I doing this again?”
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When I tend to get pressured over demographics of readers, I go back to my PRIORITIES—my WHO/what—and I get to be reminded that this blog is primarily for young wives and moms with little children like me, whom I would like to share Jesus to, not to please people or measure up to the better ones.
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When I get tempted to do this and that, copy this and that, which will be on top of what’s already lined up for me to do, I go back to my PURSUITS. Because those are the things on my plate—my WHATS, that I need to finish before I add another set of things I want to do.
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When my days get busy I get reminded of my PLANS to execute and/practices I need to keep doing like my schedules on writing, layout, replying and praying for people I get to interact with through this platform.
Why I absolutely promote that you do this...
More tips on making your own...
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NOT in one sitting! Pray & work on each column a few days each. Hindi po ito isasubmit hehe so work on it carefully.
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Better to do it with a friend. Para ma accountability ka, ka-celebrate, ka-encourage when you're lazy na or feeling unable.
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I guess there are no wrong answers...again, hindi yan isa submit! Maybe just wrong grammar 😂 but who cares! Make it barok or conyo. Enjoy personalizing it!
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HARD COPY IS THE BEST! Yeah digital age but digital means it's on your phone with a hundred thousand other things you want to do at una na dyan ay mag FB/IG/TWITTER/TikTok. Hard copy. Dikit mo sa ref nyo or sa literal na wall mo sa room. Pwedeng not the whole spreadsheet... maybe just your Purpose column? Like mine? (see photo at the top of this page) Or for you maybe your other P columns? Up to you. Okay?
There you go!!! Your turn now! I hope you’ll have a great time drafting and finalizing yours!!! ✨You can do this with your friends, your business partners, love partners yihee, your staff, your Victory Group, etc. Make your own LIFE 4'Ps Reminder for this year plus if you have big projects, make a mini 4P's Reminder about that, too. I promise you it'll be so useful!
"DO or do not. There is NO TRY." - Yoda
Chat me when you’re done, okay? and maybe even tag me? 💜I’d love to see what you’ll come up with! Excited for you! 🤗