It is easier for a father to have children than for children to have a real father. -Pope John XXIII

Daddy,

I love you very much. You are the best dad in the world. I am happy and thankful to Jesus for giving me a dad like you. I will forever be grateful being your daughter.

Love,

Alyssa

Daddy,

I love you! You will always be my prince and I am your princess. You are my hero and you are the best daddy.

Love,

Kishi

Daddy,

I Love You!

Zeyah

Patuloy Ang Pangarap!

PATULOY ANG PANGARAP

by: Angeline Quinto

Isang pangarap, ako'y naniniwala

Ako ay lilipad at ang lahat makakakita

Sa isang pangarap ako'y naniniwala

Hindi ako titigil hangga't di makakaya

Unti-unting mararating, tagumpay na makikita

Patuloy ang pangarap

Di pa makakapaniwala sa aking makikita

Lahat ng panalangin ko, ngayon may kasagutan

Lahat ng pinagdaanan at pinaghirapan

Nagbigay ng kalakasan  upang marating ang...

Kahit saan, kahit kailan 

Alam kong ako'y patuloy

Sa marami pang tagumpay

Patuloy ang Pangarap!

Jelly Bean Prayer

Red is for the blood HE gave.

Green is for the grass HE made.

Yellow is for the sun so bright.

Orange is for the edge of night.

Black is for the sin that were made.

White is for the grace HE gave.

Purple is for the hour of sorrow.

Pink is for the new tomorrow.

I love you Aly, Kishi and Zeya!

DENIED!

My family and I have been watching the Bible series in the History Channel every Sunday. And one thing I have learned while watching is that God is the same YESTERDAY, TODAY and TOMORROW. When He says something, He really means it. When He says that He will curse a place or a person, He will fulfil it, however, when He says, He will bless you and prosper you, He will fulfil it too! And just recently, I was a little worried about my Green Card application. I was denied of my green card. According to USCIS, my education is not equivalent to the first professional degree for physical therapist which is a Master’s or Doctorate. Nevertheless, I believe God is working behind the scene and has been guiding me on how to be a better physical therapist. And guess what, God has been preparing me to be not just a good one, but to be the best by letting me enrol and be accepted to a doctorate program here in the US last year. One of the reasons why I applied to a doctorate program is for me to learn more about the US practice, to learn the latest trend in evidence based practice and to be the best clinician I can be for my patient and the company. Hopefully I will be finishing it next year and will have the title of Doctor of Physical Therapy. Yes, you can call me Dr. Michael Chua next year. Lol...  Having said that, I will have the degree that is equivalent to a US PT degree and hopefully will get my green card next year too! Is that a coincidence? Or is it God who is actually working behind the scene?

Maybe you are like me, who have been denied of a green card, a visa, or a job. Don’t be discouraged, because God is working behind the scene. We will all have challenges in life. During those times, it is very easy to talk about your problems. I myself am like that, I would call other people, friends and co-workers about my situation, I would complain to them about my issues in life. I would actually talk to my wife about my problem. Maybe you received a bad report; maybe you are facing financial problems. But one thing I realized is that, the more you talk about something, the bigger it becomes in our mind. I have this friend who keeps on complaining about his car, he actually has a pretty decent new car, but he keeps on complaining about it. Well guess what, it finally broke down on him. It’s because of the power of attraction. He kept on nagging and complaining about it and he got what he wanted.

Remember that, even if you don’t see how things would work out. God does. You have to speak positivity in your life. You’ve got to speak goodness instead of mediocrity in your life. Instead of talking to God how big your problems are, talk to your problems about how big your GOD is! So Dr. Michael Chua, here I come! GreenCard here I come! Blessings here I come!

SNOW much FUN!

Hello friends, I haven’t been blogging for quite a while, I've been very busy with everything. My family (wife and kids) got here in the US (finally!). I've been working extra and helping out other facilities and been very busy with school finishing my doctorate degree. So I guess I have all the excuses not to blog. I have been out and about in the cyber world and it’s nice. Lol…

Well, just today, we had winter weather. I was supposed to do some errands first thing in the morning such as buy meds for my wife who is sick, do taxes and work out. Unfortunately the snow stopped me from getting outside. I was a little upset and frustrated. First, I haven’t been working out for more than a month and would really love to get back in shape again and I also need to buy medicine for my wife. Unfortunately, the snow stopped me and frustrated me. Our neighbors were also a little irritated because of the snow. But one thing I noticed about my wife, she was happy and just enjoyed the snow, she even played outside with the kids in the snow and had a positive attitude about it. Saying “Just enjoy daddy.”

You know what my friend, every day; we will have opportunities to get upset, frustrated or get offended. You will have plans that will not work out, or someone at work or a family member that is rude to you (not new to me).Maybe you are supposed to do something that should have taken an hour and it ended up taking six hours! Guess what my friend, reality is that, life is full of inconveniences. We cannot control our circumstances, situation, weather and the people around us, but we can definitely control our reaction. Life is all about how you respond to it.

My wife would always say that I should have a more positive attitude and expect God’s favor  We should always remember that most days will not go exactly as we plan. But always remember that God created us to live in peace. If we get upset or frustrated because you were late, or somebody at work offended you, you are just giving away your power. So this is a warning to the people around me at work or my family. I will no longer give away my power and will live at peace and enjoy life! :-)

Keeping an Attitude of Faith

Are you praying to God for something that is taking so much longer than you expected? No matter how long it is, never ever give up. I like my wife’s attitude, her prayer to God is that she will go to USA, and have a good house, a nice car and debt free. I loved her attitude on not giving up. She made up her mind that she will have all of those promises coming soon. Every morning, she wakes up with an attitude of faith; I even remember her posting a picture of a car in our bedroom, saying she will have that car someday. She didn’t have it immediately, but with God’s time, she believed she will have all those promises someday.

So no matter how long you may have been waiting on God’s promises, never ever give up. Your time is coming, your blessing is on its way, it may be today, it maybe tomorrow, it maybe next week, maybe next month or next year. Always keep in mind that with God’s time, you will receive those blessings. All you have to do is just keep believing and trusting God that He will push you through the challenges you have in your life.  I like how my wife Puppen insisted her faith; she kept doing good and declaring God’s promises over her life. She decided to surround herself with encouraging church people; she kept a song of praise on her mouth. She kept the faith and attitude of Victory. What am I saying here my friend, be like my wife, surround yourself with good encouraging people, keep an attitude of faith and keep believing and trusting God that your blessing is about to come.

Focus

In our life, we will encounter many challenges, many distractions, many pessimistic people, people who will try to pull you down to their miseries, people who will keep you from being happy. And most of these people are around you, maybe someone in your work place, your office, your friend, a neighbor, your boss, your co-worker or maybe even your closest relative. To tell you the truth, they are really frustrating, but the reality is that they have little significance when you look at the big picture. Do not allow the negativity of strife to keep you from being successful.

In the Bible, Jesus encountered several negative people who tried to pull Him down and doubted Him. Those people are His friends during His childhood, His neighbors who didn’t believe in Him when He came back to His hometown, His very own relatives, well actually, His very own disciple also doubted Him. Same with David who fought Goliath, his brothers and even the king doubted David if he could kill the giant.

What am I saying here my friends? In order for us to succeed in life and enjoy the blessings that God has prepared for us, we need to ignore the people who doubts us, the people who are negatives, the people who will not celebrate our success. We should learn to separate ourselves from those people.  Let us learn the example of David and Jesus and keep our focus on what is really important in our lives. Instead of being led away by those frustrations, focus on the bigger picture.

Snow Storm

As a physical therapist travelling to other facilities, I usually encounter several challenges along the way, like road block, big trucks and heavy rains. And just recently, I had a new challenge, it snowed really bad. The snow was so bad I can’t even see the road I am going through. It was so bad, that even the lines along the interstate are cover by approximately an inch of snow. All I did was drive carefully and slowly. I thought I couldn’t make it home due to the heavy snow storm. But all of a sudden, here comes two big trucks pouring out salts on the road to make the highway safe, it made a way for me and the rest of the travelers. In the end, I am safe in the warmth of my house.

You know what my friend, life is like that, and we will encounter bad snows in life. We will encounter difficulties and challenges in life. Sometimes we will encounter heavy rains, road blocks and accidents. Something will happen that your plan will move you out of your course. But be encouraged that God is working behind the scene. He is pouring out salt on the road to make your path safe. He is preparing a way for you to make it straight and your road safe. We will encounter difficult times my friend, but it is not the end. It is only the start of your journey in life.

Complaining.

I’ve been working approximately 70 hours a week and as a physical therapist that travels to some facility, it will wear you out. And one of my co-worker asked me where do I get that energy, enthusiasm and desire to work. I told her, I don’t go to work because I have to. I go to work because I like to. I go to work because I get the chance to change and touch lives. And since we will probably spend more time and energy in our work than any other area of our life, I think it would be better to come at peace with this part of our lives.

Instead of complaining that I need to go to work today, I think about the people who don’t have a job. Instead of me complaining that I need to wake up early, I think about the people who can’t get out of their bed without help. Instead of me complaining how far my other facilities are, I think about the people who don’t have a car and walk instead. Instead of me complaining, when my family will be with me here in the US, I think about the people who can’t even talk to their family because they are gone. Instead of me complaining I have a lot of paperwork/computer work to finish at work, I think about the people who don’t even have a computer. Instead of me complaining about my daughter at the hospital and the bills, I think about that I am able to send money to pay bills and that she is safe and healed. Instead of me complaining about how hard to treat Alzheimer’s and Dementia patients, I think about the patient who don’t have therapist, nurse or doctor.

Here’s the thing my friend, it is all a matter of perspective. Yes, we all have limitations, we all have a ceiling, and our body can only work a certain number of hours. But if we keep a right perspective in our lives. I believe we can enjoy His blessings.

Today, let me encourage you my friend, God is a good God. He has good things in store for you. Don’t talk about your defeat, problems and mountains. Talk about how big your God is. Talk about how you can overcome that situation. Just keep believing, keep pressing forward, keep the faith. God created us not to be an average person, He created us all to be an above average person and you are made to excel. Here’s the thing, when you complain, you remain. But when you praise, you get raised.

Wealth gained by dishonesty will be diminished, but he who gathers by labor will increase. –Proverbs 13:11

The Story of Ruth

The story of Ruth in the Bible is very interesting. She had been through a lot of crisis; she lost her husband and has to live with her mother in law. Just imagine you living with your mother in law? Whoa!?!?!?  And she has to move away to a different city with her mother in law Naomi. Ruth decided to go with her and take care of her. And during those times, they had a hard time looking for food. And every morning, Ruth would go out to the field and look for left over wheat that had fallen behind the ground. Ruth and her mother in law Naomi will have to share that.

Then one day, the rich owner where Ruth picks up her left over wheat came into the field and saw Ruth. Boaz the owner asked his farmers who is that young girl? They said, “that is Ruth, she is a widow and is new here, she comes in here every day and pick left over wheat.” Boaz the owner of the field instructed his farmers to leave more wheat for Ruth.”

Look at Ruth’s situation, there she is, just minding her own business, doing what she think is best, being faithful to her mother in law, being at her best and focusing on their needs and all of a sudden, she was blessed by an unknown owner of the wheat field.

What am I saying here my friends? If we just mind our own business, do our best in what we are doing, taking care of our own needs, being the best that we can be for other people, I believe God can do that also in our lives like what He did for Ruth. I believe God has so much in store for us such as favor, promotion, blessings, healing, wisdom and provisions which are just there waiting to be picked up.