Showing posts with label Benji Travis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Benji Travis. Show all posts

Monday, September 19, 2016

#MommaDiaries | RAISING COMPASSIONATE KIDS

I had the privilege of meeting my favorite daily vloggers a few weeks ago. I had won a trip to the US for VidCon, but unfortunately could not go. KY went instead, and got to have lunch with Judy and Benji Travis of itsjudyslife. This was back in June.

Early last month, I received an email from Judy telling me that they were flying over for work with Convoy of Hope - the charity they had supported for Dancember, and that there was a slight chance we could meet!

Of course I was excited. But since this wasn't a sure thing, I had to keep mum about it, and only told my girls.

Judy and Benji Travis have been running Dancember, a seasonal fundraiser to give back to community, from their home garage for the past 7 years or so. Last year, their chosen charity was Convoy of Hope - an organization that helps feed street kids in the Philippines and other parts of the world. The Travis couple flew in to check on the progress of one of their projects in Iloilo.

After their trip, Judy happened to show their eldest daughter, Julianna, who will soon be 4, a video of the kids they were helping at Convoy of Hope. This is the video below.




As a parent, it warms my heart to see Julianna's compassion for these kids. Because I am tuned in to their daily vlogs, I see how Judy and Benji try to raise compassionate kids, and how they make it a point to stress the importance of sharing. I often wonder how my own kids would react to something like this.

A few weeks ago, for Linggo Ng Wika, RL came home to tell us this story.

RL, as Senator Manny Pacquiao for Linggo Ng Wika Day.

RL: "Mom, my friend Carlos came to school wearing a vest. He had no other shirt inside and the kids were making fun of him."
KAYE: "Awww. Did he cry?"
RL: "No, because I spoke to my classmates and told them to put themselves in Carlos' place. What if their moms made them wear an Igorot costume, and they had no inner shirt. And then their classmates would laugh at them. How would they feel?"
K: "Then, what happened?"
RL: "Then no one laughed anymore."

Parenting is hard work. But with kids like these, I guess we are doing something right.


Wednesday, January 20, 2016

#GuessWhat | A BIG SURPRISE!

I have been wanting to write about this since I first got the news. Itching. Eager. And all the synonyms you can think of to mean such. But I didn't get the go-ahead from the campaign manager until last week, so I had to keep this piece of news all to myself. Well, myself and a few good friends. Hehe. But first, let me give you a brief background.

A few days after the New Year, I decided to join this year's Prayer and Fasting. Not because I wanted something from God, but because I knew I needed to work on my prayer life this year. I have not been so faithful - you get lost amidst the hustle and bustle of everyday life. I have been so busy, and although I know it is not an excuse, I have been lacking and missing-in-action in my daily quiet time with God. I know, bad. But such was life in 2015. I have no excuse, really.



So on Day 1 of Prayer and Fasting, I was particularly giddy. At the office, I was telling my assistant how I wanted to transform our office and how I planned to shell out the money for it. When asked how I was going to pay for everything, I declared out loud, "Mayaman ako, anak ako ng Diyos!" ("I am rich, I am God's child!") That evening, as I was going through the questions in my guide book, I came across this particular Q: "How has God been faithful to you in the past year?" As I reflected on this, I couldn't help but feel grateful because God has been more than faithful. I recalled a post that came up on Facebook Memories back in December, and it was this Christmas Wish List I wrote about 5 years ago. And it's funny, because I appeared to be so needy back then. But anyway, that post made me even more grateful as I reflected on God's goodness, because compared to back then, today, I have everything I need. So yes, back to my reflection on 2015... I was feeling a tad overwhelmed because God provided - He gave me even the things I didn't ask for.

As I reflected on the next question on my faith goal for 2016, I didn't know what else to put. I kept thinking about work so I decided that my faith goal for 2016, aside from financial breakthrough, would be a successful 2016 for work (sidenote: we have been struggling, so yes, work needs a major turn-around, a miracle to get us out of the red). As I prayed to cap the day, I asked the Lord for this specifically. Because I knew that was the burden He placed in my heart. I knew it was a burden for a reason. And for my personal goals for 2016, I negotiated, "Lord, I know You will take care of me. I will not ask for anything else but breakthrough for (insert place of work here)." That evening, I went to sleep at peace.

Backtrack a bit to December.




Every year, Judy and Benji of itsjudyslife hold a fundraiser for various charities. They call it #Dancember. Their main charity for 2015 is Convoy of Hope - a group that works to end hunger for children across the globe. All throughout the month of December, whenever they reach a specific milestone amount, Judy, Benji and their friends dance on their vlogs. They also hold a 24-hour live broadcast around the third week and showcase other vloggers and social media personalities. Overall, for #Dancember, they raised a whopping amount of P228,000! So during the live broadcast, I decided I was going to contribute to their good cause. I donated!



Now, this particular #Dancember is special because Judy and Benji worked with a campaign manager, Prizeo - they were actually giving out a prize! Each $5 donation earned a participant one raffle ticket. They were giving away a trip + VIP experience to VidCon2016!

So back to Day 2 in January... 

I woke up to an email from Prizeo telling me I had won that trip to VidCon! Not just for me, but also for my nominated friend. I had nominated KY since we both watch itsjudyslife religiously. There I was, staring at the screen for a good 5 minutes, filled with unbelief. Thousands had contributed to their cause. Out of thousands, only one would win, and that person was me. A random pick, but God chose me!



Let me just say that although a trip like this wasn't part of my faith goals for 2016, I was believing in God's provision - trusting He knows the desires of my heart. The cool thing is - this was part of KY's faith goal! She had prayed for this because she recently started her own YouTube channel. KY was, needless to say, ecstatic. Beyond ecstatic!

He gives you even the things you do not ask for. Truly, the Lord holds nothing back. He is our Heavenly Father who loves us more than anyone else would. What more if you make your prayers known?

Do you believe in breakthroughs? Prayer is a powerful tool, and it comes free. The Lord is faithful, and I am humbled by His goodness.


“Ask, and God will give to you. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will open for you." Matthew 7:7 NCV

#DareToBelieve


Thursday, March 12, 2015

#BentoNews | AN AWESOME DAY FOR BENTO!

Not many of you know (well, because I never wrote about it - I've been planning to, but I haven't had time - until now, hehe) about my obsession with this daily vlog on Youtube.

I will reserve the details for another post, because I am writing this in the morning, right before work. 

I just wanted to share that my absolute, favorite daily vlogger - JUDY of itsJudysLife (well, one of her many vlogs) took notice of my nori art the other day!




Aside from the Nori Art, which showed Benji (Judy's husband) and the #CoffeeMonday shirt design, I had put a lot of thought into what went on my dinner plate. I didn't have stir-fry or gyudon, so I cooked up a small batch of Spicy Angus Beef Tapa from JAMfoods instead, served it with Kimchi (Benji's favorite side dish), Avocado slices (Judy's fave), half a soft boiled egg (something I learned from Benji's food channel - another one of his faves) and cherry tomatoes (both their favorite!).

I posted this on my bento Instagram account, and had KY retweet it on Twitter.


Day 227: It is... ‪#‎CoffeeMonday‬!!! Missing Coffee Mondays on the vlogs!
So tonight, I thought I'd cut up some nori for dinner to make this deco plate
in honor of the man who started my Monday (and everyday!) Coffee habit - @benjimanfood!
On the plate: Spicy Angus Beef Tapa from @jamfoods, kimchi, avocado, cherry tomatoes, and a soft-boiled egg!
Nori art set on top of cheese and premium Jasponica rice from @donamariarice!
‪#‎omnomnom‬ ‪#‎nommy‬ ‪#‎soDood‬ @itsjudytime PS. Happy Birthday to Miya and Keira!!!


I posted it right after dinner, thinking they'd probably see it just in time for breakfast on Monday (they live in WA). Lo and behold, the following day (Tuesday here, Monday evening there), Judy replies to KY on Twitter!


You can be sure that KY freaked out. Hehehe.

Yes, my nori art made COMMENT OF THE DAY! How awesome is that??!


A clip from the actual vlog where Judy mentions KY and my Twitter and IG accounts. Yay!

Here is the actual vlog where she mentions my work. Skip to 17:12 if you don't want to watch the whole video. But hey, her kids are cuties so you may want to check them out.




Thanks, Judy! xx

Awesome, awesome day for Bento! 




| To check out more of my bento work (ie. Charabens, Apple Art, Nori Art), visit my Instagram page: @momma_makes_imbento.



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