Psalm 8:3-8
19 May 2011 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: God's Majesty, landscape, sunset
“When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him?
You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.”
Why did God create pain?
02 Nov 2010 Leave a Comment
I used to ask the question why God created pain. Maybe the thought came to me when i imagined how painful it would be to die from an accident or sickness. I’ve always wished that i would just die in my sleep. Then i read about this somewhere and i realized that God created pain as a protection for us. It lets your body know that something is wrong and it needs to be fixed. Just imagine your hand is bleeding and you still don’t know that something’s wrong. It serves as a warning that we have limitations. Same with our emotional condition. We experience depression, emptiness, confusion because our emotions are telling us that something is wrong. I believe sometimes we need to experience pain to search for peace, to hunger for truth and to see God.
Yesterday, November 1, we visited the cemetery in memory of our relatives. Death is something we all fear because we fear the unknown though sometimes we are so busy with this life that we don’t have time to think about it anymore. But anyway, I was in the car on the way to manila at around 2am.. and maybe because of all the accidents happening around, it just struck me how easily i could lose this life. It just reminded me again how i should not waste every moment and the gift of life God has given me… how important to invest in things that will last forever… how i should not just focus on myself, work, problems, material things but on loving God and others.
Maybe God created pain, troubles, suffering to draw us nearer to Him. After all, our pain and troubles are just temporary because there is such a thing as life after death. That’s what the bible says… and we can go to heaven if we just believe and have faith in Jesus. He even died for us that if we just believe and surrender our lives to Him, we will have eternal life. Sounds easy but I don’t think the crown of thorns and 39 stripes on his back was easy… skin definitely broken and flesh thorn out.
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More Thanksgiving, More Blessing
26 Oct 2010 2 Comments
Tonight, my family and I celebrated the faithfulness of the Lord in our lives.
Over the years, we’ve been through so many ups and downs, even though at times it felt more down than up… but through it all, the one truth that we can hold on to is this – that the Lord never leaves nor forsakes us.
In one evening, we invited all our relatives including my Dad who flew in from Cebu and hasn’t joined our gatherings for almost ten years, and just poured out our gratitude for how the Lord has sustained us through the joy and tears.
I read something somewhere and it really made me think. It said: Growing old is a privilege that many our denied. Often we fear the idea of age… but if you really think about it, every day, every minute, every breath is a gift from God.
At 95, my Ama experienced the healing power of God when she fought the odds and diagnoses of doctors and was released from the hospital. The fear of losing her brought our family to our knees – we cried together and prayed together and God is faithful – he answered our prayers. She is now back at home and though not as strong as before, she is with us and we are grateful.
My Ahia turned 30 this year. It’s an age we twenty-plus people dread. But once again, it is a privilege given by God. My brother has been through a lot. At a young age, he’s carried burdens on his shoulders that no young man should. And yet, he has and he does – by God’s grace. I’m so proud of him though I often fail to tell him or to show it. His courage in sharing his testimony was so inspiring, I know God will continue to work behind the scenes and we’re grateful for it.
I never imagined my little brother would grow up so fast… now he’s graduated from university. Even this, we acknowledge as nothing but God’s provision and blessing. How often we take for granted the many things that we think are just supposed to happen – but the thing is, things don’t just happen… God let’s them happen.
So tonight, I shared a video that I put together to just give God back all the glory. Without Him, we are nothing and have nothing. And as the pastor shared with us – more thanksgiving, more blessing. I can’t wait for the year ahead.
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If Grace is an Ocean, We’re All Sinking
17 Oct 2010 Leave a Comment
He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden, I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are, And how great Your affections are for me.
And oh, how He loves us oh
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all
We are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.
So Heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest, I don’t have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about, the way…
And oh, how He loves us oh
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all… How He Loves.
(David Crowder Band)
Broken Glass
14 Oct 2010 Leave a Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: relationship
Relationships are like broken glass, sometimes, its better to just sweep them away rather than pick them up because you’ll get hurt in the process of picking them up.
In the first place, if a relationship is made of glass, it’s not even worth having… because a slight push or tumble could easily break it. It might be great to look at during the ‘honeymoon’ stage but God doesn’t see the way we see things. I believe God designed relationships to be like diamonds, strong and hard yet beautiful at the same time. Well it’s not beautiful at first since it’s just a plain old rock, but through fire and testing, it will emerge to be so beautiful that everyone can see the light shining within.
Disciplining or Pruning?
28 Sep 2010 3 Comments
in life, pruning Tags: discipline, God, life, pruning, satan
At around 12:30am, my mom woke me up with a painful heart. At first I thought it was physical, and then she started crying. They were not tears of physical pain, but rather tears of emotional distress. Someone had texted her again and this wounded her deeply to the point of physical pain. After more than 1 year of battling with breast cancer, we have learned never to ignore any kind of pain especially those close to the chest, thus, causing me to panic and get angry at the same time. While I was trying to comfort her, I told her that I am going to call the doctor and ask what we can do, she stopped me and told me “no”. My mom was hyperventilating already trying to calm herself down while I was hugging her feeling so helpless. Then suddenly I found myself praying, not a prayer asking for help, but a prayer of confusion and anger. I asked God “Why?”. Why regardless of my prayers of healing for my mom and prayers for peace within our family is this still happening? I told God that death is unacceptable because I am not ready to face that kind of pain.
After a few more minutes, my mom started to calm down. I called my dad, who was already home, to come up to our room. During this whole ordeal, I suddenly remembered the recent retreat I attended 2 weeks back, and a prayer I prayed 2 nights back. The retreat was Secrets of the Vine and it was about bearing fruit for God; and in bearing fruit, pruning is necessary. The prayer I prayed was me asking God to prune or discipline me in order that I may bear fruit for Him. It dawned on me that God could either be disciplining me or pruning me. I continued to cry when I realized how stupid I was in trying to dictate to God on how to answer my prayers. I prayed and asked for forgiveness.
My devotion that morning after was 1 Peter 1:6-7, and it reads:
“In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
The question in the devotion was “Am I serving God sufficiently to make Satan feel threatened?” And while this question got me thinking; ironically, it also made me smile. We really should rejoice in the midst of tear-jerking trials because these could only mean we must be doing something right. Having problems doesn’t mean that God doesn’t love us or is not hearing our prayers, but these could mean that we are already being a threat to Satan that’s why we’re having all this attention.
I don’t know how my story will turn out or how our family will be 5 years after; I am not saying that all my fears disappeared after realizing all these, but it gave me peace from within and a sense of relief that I must be doing something that greatly displeases Satan, which could only mean that I must be on the right track.
To God be the Glory!
Camotes Island
15 Sep 2010 1 Comment
in adventure
Me and 7 of my friends visited the virgin islands of camotes.. but it turned out to be the worst vacation I had. It’s really different from the pictures and blogs from the net. Here are the reasons why:
1. We rode the fast craft from Pier 1 cebu at 530pm. We arrived at 730pm and guess what? it was brownout! so they just had a single flash light at the port.
2. Just like any other islands or vacation spots I went to, i thought of course there’d be tricycles to bring you to the hotel and it would just be around 15-30 minutes .. but we were shocked to find out that there were no tricycles, but motorbikes! no side cars…good thing our friend called the ticketing office to get us a multicab.it took us 1 hour to get to our hotel.we learned later on that we should have taken the ferry at jomalia port which is nearer.
3. The rooms at santiago beach resorts were not really nice and in less than 20 minutes.. killed 2 cockroaches already. ;p and the rate is P3k per room !
4. We were excited the next day to visit the Greenlake park as seen from the net.. but it was like a dengue zone swamp with 2 little crocodiles.
5. The santiago beach shore were full of plants and we couldnt swim.
6. Mangodlong beach was much nicer but it’s small and the beach is rocky.
7.Good thing the pool in the resort was nice and warm but it was also small.
8. You have to pay for every service .. we just asked for a cold water instead of a hot water for milo and they charged us another P10.00
9. The next day, we went back to the city already by 5am. The jomalia ferry was ok.. they had airconditioned rooms and flat screen tv.
Lessons learned… never trust blogs and pictures.. ask your friends. never travel to an island by night.
we had a better day at the city which is a good thing so we’re not stuck with the camotes island memory. 
Nxt time we agreed to stay at shangrila or imperial hotel instead..
And just like any other vacation, its the company that matters… and so we all had a good time and we are just thankful to God that we were all safe..
An Irresistible Woman
13 Sep 2010 1 Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: character, irresistible woman
What is an irresistible woman?
Is she a woman with a sexy body which countless men just can’t stop staring at? 
Is she a woman with a pretty face?
Or a woman with oozing sex appeal?
Probably… But for me, an irresistible woman is this…
Someone who’s willing to give time to help others.
Somone who can go out of her way to share.
Someone who can give love to everyone and bless those she meets.
Someone who makes others laugh.
Someone who doesn’t complain when things go wrong but finds a way to make it right again.
I’ve met women like these, I’ve worked with them. Women of character, integrity, honesty, faith, hope and love. They give and give without asking for anything in return. Even though they’re so busy with their own businesses, they still take time to share and help. They’re not Mother Teresa, but they’re saints in their own ways. And nothing could make me more blessed than to be part of that dgroup, hoping that one way, I could truly call myself an irresistible woman.
Brick Road
05 Sep 2010 Leave a Comment
in life
“But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Matthew 7:14
Perfect Timing
30 Aug 2010 2 Comments
in life, work Tags: choices, decision, job, timing
Three months ago, I was about to leave my current job. I got into another company, but they wanted me to train with them immediately. This wasn’t possible because there had been a mass resignation in our team and we’re really lacking in resources. Also, it was quite disadvantageous to me because they wanted me to train first before offering me a commitment. And I guess a small part of me didn’t want to leave someone important. Bottom line is, I didn’t take it.
I was then tasked to facilitate a project in our team. It was a difficult time for us since there was a lot of rework which coincided with our company sports fest. To top it all of, there was a huge misunderstanding within our company which took a lot of attention. It was quite a roller coaster ride for all of us. It was a good thing we’ve got 3 new people in the team and they’re all really amazing.
I kept on praying and praying to God to lead me to the right path. I feel like everyday I’m spending in our company is draining the life out of me. I know that love of work is a gift from God, so why the heck isn’t He giving me that gift? I got my answer a few days after, it’s time to leave.
2 weeks ago, the new company called me up again because they had another opening. Since our project was almost done, I decided to give it a go. I mean what do I have to lose anyway. This time I got in. This time I didn’t have any qualms about leaving. I knew this was the path God wanted me to take. Every single person I asked told me to go and take their offer. I didn’t at first. I wanted to negotiate. After all, God said that “Ask and you shall receive, Seek and you shall find, Knock and the door will be opened to you.” It took the new company a while to get back to me. But since I had the go signal to leave, I resigned… even without a contact yet with the new company.
The day after I resigned, I got a call. They’re giving me my asking price. I was surprised… and really thankful. I never truly thought I could get in, much less get what I want. I got it, all thanks to God. And I realized then that it was all part of His plan. If I had left our company three months ago, I would have left a trail of bad blood. It wouldn’t have been professional on my part, since I needed to honor the 3o-day notice. I would also be leaving our team with even fewer resources. And I wouldn’t have gained the experience I had with facilitating the project.
I could never fathom what His plan is. All I know is that everything He does is done in perfect timing.
Lynda
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