I`m posting up most of what I`ve read last week. I really didn`t want to keep the list too long… So I’m listing down which ones really made a mark on my heart. Hope you will enjoy!

 

 

Have a great week ahead, guys!  As for me, I guess, I`m gonna have a little vacation at home because of my fever and colds, and the truth is, I`m actually loving it—I mean, that I got time to rest! ;) I think I was just waiting for a reason to take a little break.

 

God bless you!

 

1. You Are What You Tweet by Heather Gemmen Wilson

2. God`s Will And The One by Kuya Kevin *recommended*

3. The First Rule Of The Two-Hour Blogger by Martyn Chamberlin

4. A Little Like Love by Kathy Cheek *favorite*

5. A Blogger`s Prayer by Ann Voskamp, A Holy Experience

6. 6 Things Every Christian Blogger Needs To Know, by Anne Voskamp

7. A Great Marriage Requires Men and Women Who Are Different, Bonnie Gray

I have a terrible cold today. Feeling feverish so I wasn`t able to finish my work due this morning. Really tried my best to wrap it all up before my 7am deadline, but no matter how much you “will” it, if your body isn`t cooperating, it just wouldn`t work.

 

I`m starting to understand what rest is really all about. It`s not enough that you just have to get a good sleep after a long tiring day at work. Rest is actually a responsibility, a duty, a part of life that we have to enjoy and put on our priority list. It`s goes on the same rack as our dreams, hopes, our prayer life… God has designed rest to be one of the beautiful things we can look forward to and we should give time to. Something significant and enjoying at the same time.

 

Today, as I rest ( I feel bad I only got to stop and put things down when I got this cold and felt that I`m not doing well physically), I`m gonna think about pretty things and just enjoy the Lord and the things He does for me. Rest, rest, rest! ;)

 

He will once again fill your mouth with laughter
and your lips with shouts of joy.  Job 8:21 NLT

Here`s my list of God`s gifts this week:

126. Awesome, awesome anniv party in church yesterday! It was amazing to think the God had been faithful for 10 years. I`ve only got to witness only 2 of those years yet (Papa officially became the local pastor in 2009) and I can`t wait to see more!

127. The sweet love pouring out in the hearts of everyone in JCOB. I feel that I can touch, hear, smell, see…and taste (the mommies really cook so well!) in church now.

128. Cute and awesome performance of the young people in our version of the Lifehouse skit. I love how they`ve improved in such a short time.

129. Discounts we got when having materials printed out.

130. Delicious, delicious puto (rice cakes) of every kind and Nanay Josephina`s laing. Really made my day!
131. Sam`s testimony that really made me cry.

132. Celine and I met again on Sunday after 5 years! She was a friend back in college and it`s so cool to see her again!

133. Mom and Ava who tidied things up in my closet. I was surprised to find it clean this morning.

134. For sweet, sweet people from JCOB Cavite who traveled long hours just to visit us.

135. For really great friendships in church. My heart is really full of love, love, love.

 

Thank you, Lord for such sweet things you bring in life. They may not seem grand to many people but you fill my heart with love and that is soooo enough. I`m so blessed with all the people surrounding me today. Everyone`s such a blessing!

 

My college algebra professor once told me that I don`t trust people easily. That time, I found his statement so hard to believe. I was convinced that I trust people far too easily, but then went on admitting that once that trust is broken, I find it very hard to trust again.

 

Hearts can get really fragile, don`t they? I felt like mine was made of thin glass—easily picked up but also easily broken. Vulnerability came easy for me when I was younger, until the thin glass started to break little by little.

 

Best friends who replaced me. Confidants who betrayed me. Leaders who rejected me. They were like thumbprints in the heart that wouldn`t go away. They haunt me whenever I am about to open my heart to somebody, threatening I would get hurt the same way it happened before.

 

Terrified, I`ve learned to shut the door in my heart. I still make friends

but I don`t let them in to the farthest, deepest rooms of my heart.

I`ve learned to keep people at “reasonable” distance. I was so afraid

to trust, afraid of being hurt, left alone and rejected. I really didn`t want to hand over my heart again to anyone anymore.

 

 

Until I learned that in all these, in times like these… I should forgive. Until I let forgiveness flow in my heart, I would never be able to freely love again. I would never learn to trust anybody. I would never open up myself  to be loved and be held close in the someone`s heart.

 

The pain and hurt of the past…they would go only if I would pardon those who have wronged me and resolve that they do not owe me anything anymore.

 

No matter how deep the pain… I can forgive. I will forgive. We can forgive. We must forgive.

 

The God who always held us close is Someone whom we have hurt so much the same way like those who have hurt and wounded us deeply. And yet, He chose to open His heart to us—still—no matter how utterly wrong and stubborn we`ve been. He has always and will always leave Himself vulnerable to love and love again…even after we fail and fail.

 

How can I not extend that same love and forgiveness to others?

 

I, even I, am he who blots out
your transgressions, for my own sake,
and remembers your sins no more.

                                      Isaiah 43:25

 

“…And I will be kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.” –Max Lucado

 

 

I always loved Jon Abel`s story. I always come back to this video whenever I feel like I need to find God`s purpose in the things I`m doing or in the circumstances I`m in.

 

This is night, however, is different. I think about it and listen to his story because I feel like I need to be adequate in order to be loved by people around me. And I just need to be reminded that it`s not how well I`m doing things that merits my Father`s love. In fact, there`s nothing I can do to merit His love. He just freely gives it to me. Just as I am. Whether I succeed or fail.

 

When I was younger,  I really worked hard to gain the approval of people around me. I thought that if I do well in school or in my craft, people would like me and they would not leave. At some point in my life, I felt that people are around me only because I am useful, but if I weren`t, I wouldn`t even be called a friend.

 

I was so afraid to fail God, too. I really never wanted Him to leave. I thought that if I mess up or fail to reach the standard, He wouldn`t look at me the same way He used to.

 

But I was wrong.

 

God loves us just as we are. He delights in us and He just does.

 

I always tried to understand the measure of God`s love for me. But the more  I do that, the more I think how impossible it is for someone to love me with that kind of love that never runs out. What I`ve learned was that we need not understand that kind of love at all. We don`t need to grasp that kind of love with our finite, human minds. We just open our hearts to God and allow ourselves to be loved ever so deeply by our loving Heavenly Father who formed us in His hands.

 

“The instrument He is most concerned about is my heart.”

That`s my favorite line from Jon Abel`s story. God really doesn`t care if I become the greatest, most talented, most useful person who has ever lived. He is concerned about the status of my heart, if my heart is in sync with His, if I am secure and if I`m trusting what He says about how he loves me and if I am completely surrendered and obedient to Him.

 

Yes, He is most concerned about my heart. And that is a big relief. ;)

 

Nothing can separate
Even if I ran away
Your love never fails
I know I still make mistakes
But You have new mercies for me everyday
Your love never fails

You stay the same through the ages
Your love never changes
There maybe pain in the night but joy comes in the morning
And when the oceans rage
I don't have to be afraid
Because I know that You love me
Your love never fails

Finding The Good Side In The Things That You Do

I’m currently working on a print project for a gym and it really feels quite strange knowing that this is not “me”. ;) You know, the masculine, strong, heavy body-building kinds of stuff.

 

Last week, I also got to edit a soccer video although it wasn’t that much masculine ‘cause there were footages of girls playing soccer (and they were really doing well, by the way).

 

 

What I really like about my job is that in a way, I get to have a good look inside the lives of different people—even for just a moment.

And that’s really a good thing, isn’t it? I have to be “in character” most of the time like how actors do it and it`s so fun!

 

 

Sometimes, I feel like a kid when doing commercials for children. And then the next day, I try to become corporate…like receiving an award from the president. I get to see the world from the standpoint of an architect, designer, doctor and even party people. I get to see the world from views I wouldn’t normally have taken.

 

Everyday, seeing all these people and feeling what it’s like to be in their shoes… I’ve learned look at life and appreciate the many different opportunities God is giving to each of us. I know He had always been faithful in my life and in the lives of the people closest to me. But to see His faithfulness in the lives of people I don’t even know…it’s really something different. 

 

When I see them happy, when I see them reaching for their dreams… When I see them struggling and crying.. Seeing their victories and defeat… I learn to appreciate my own happiness. My own struggles. The little victories. The painful defeats. I learn to look at life knowing that I`m a part of this big world that God is taking care of. And yet as small and insignificant as I am compared to this huge world and the millions of people in it, God still looks at me with value, something special and someone He cherishes in His heart. And I couldn`t help but be amazed with how he constantly cares for the little details of the lives of  everyone of us!

 

Video Editing and designing don`t always sound and feel good as it seems. It has its own struggles. The pressure and the environment is really something you would have to patiently endure. Just like any other career, I guess. What matters is that we find the good things in what we are doing, wherever we are… that we hear what God is speaking to us through what`s happening everyday. What`s important is that we appreciate our lives as it is, because God is always holding us in His hands. Our dreams, our hopes…God doesn`t forget them. So we need not worry about anything at all. 

Let`s stay strong, everyone!

 

How was your weekend, friends? I`m really starting to love the weather, even thought it really gets so sunny sometimes. ;) Last Saturday, the young people in church and I went to do our devotions outside and we played a little game called Hug The Tree. We were hugging trees in the park and it was so funny! Perfect start for the summer.

 

Anyway, I wasn`t able to post my reading list last week. But don`t worry, this one isn`t gonna be long. I hope you`d find time to read all of these. All of them are actually my favorites. ♥ ♥♥

 

1.Sponge Christians, Internet Café Devotions.

2. Boys Who Read, The Rebelution

3. 5 Pillars of Manhood -How Men Should Love and Respect Women, Jaeson Ma

4. Just Love, 365 Days of Love, Jaeson Ma

5. JMA Prophesy 2011-Year of Transition, Jaeson Ma

Finally, I got time to write tonight! Don`t you thank God for things that seem to little, things which you often take for granted, but means so much when you lose it?

 

Sometimes, we don`t appreciate many of the things we enjoy everyday—like taking the train, waking up late on weekends, night out with friends, and in my case, my time to write. They are the best things in life, actually—when you are able to live a normal life and you are able to delight in life`s little pleasures.

 

This week had been a great one for me. I`m back to the *normal life* I haven`t had for quite a while. I`m back to work, taking public transport, sitting next to different people along the way. And I just love watching people!  I love watching students, office people, everyone. Makes me realize that the whole world is big and there are endless people to show love to.

 

Oh, how sweet the light of day,
   And how wonderful to live in the sunshine!
   Even if you live a long time, don't take a single day for granted.
   Take delight in each light-filled hour… --Ecclesiastes 11:7-8

How about you? What seemingly unimportant and *little* things you love about life, but which you don`t get to notice most of the time?

I really think it`s already summer in Manila. I left this morning to submit a video edit and you wouldn`t believe how hot it is outside! It actually feels like April, to think that February had just started!

 

Since there isn`t anything we could do about that… I might as well enjoy. Summer is beautiful gift from God, isn`t it? I know many of you are looking forward to summer because it is really cold in countries with winter.  But for the past few years, it hadn`t gone really cold here in Manila even when it`s supposed to be cool months. Except this year, of course. So I was just wishing it would last a little longer. Oh how I love sleeping with blankets! It feels bad that I would have to put away cold-weather clothes before I even got to wear most of them.

 

Now enough of my frustrations with the weather. I really wanted to share what I saw on my way home for Kuya Noy`s Production House this afternoon. 

From the prod house, I rode a jeep (the common public transport in the PI) and the route passes by a public elementary school and high school. Since it`s lunch time, kids are already going home and so the almost-empty jeep I was riding instantly got filled.

 

That little girl who sat beside me really touched my heart. She was small and cute and had black hair which curls at the ends. I overheard her discreetly calling her two sisters who were sitting beside the driver. The little girl was so excited about the little frosties that were in her sister`s bag, which are sold on sidewalks for a peso or $0.025. The older girl was quite funny since she chose which was biggest before handing the smaller ones to her sisters. I watched them as they happily enjoyed the sweet treat. And you could see in their eyes and on the way they ate it, that they`re actually wishing for more, but that`s just what they can afford. And it really broke my heart.

 

Almost everyday, I think only about myself. How to earn more. How to fulfill my dreams. How to do well in the things that I do. How to be faithful in my ministry. I`m living a really sheltered life, actually…and I  do forget about other people.

 

I do forget about kids who don`t have enough. I forget that “the world” I am living now is just a part of a big reality, that there are people who needs to be helped, to be hugged, to be loved.

 

And I remember that the world does not revolve around me. My dreams and life isn`t the only thing that matters. The truth is, they appear selfish when brought beside the smiles of the little girls on the jeep this afternoon.

 

And I remember

what it means

to really love and obey Christ.

 

 

²⁰The young man said, "I've done all that. What's left?"

²¹"If you want to give it all you've got," Jesus replied, "go sell your possessions; give everything to the poor. All your wealth will then be in heaven. Then come follow me."

Matthew 19:20-21

 

365 DAYS OF LOVE: Today, I regret not being able to help the girls in any way… But I pray for them that they would know about Jesus` love and that they will have a good life. And I hope I`m gonna meet them again sometime.

Until then, I will open my heart and my hands to other little girls and boys and will not be afraid to show love. Perhaps, I will carry with me treats so when I get to meet them (and others) again.

Aaaw! I miss blogging so much! My hands had been full for more than a couple of weeks and as much as wanted to write and post, I sometimes feel too sleepy to even check and clean-up my mail.

But I really want to thank you, friends, for always dropping by.

Your kind comments had always encouraged me and I pray that everything will always go well for all of you.

 

I think I`ve been sleeping a lot lately, but still it`s not enough to compensate for my lack of “on-time” sleep. My bedtime has changed from evening to morning because of many tasks I should finish and I`m afraid my body clock has turned around. I think my body clock`s set on American time while I`m here, living in Asia.

 

Anyway, I really wanted to write down my Thank-You-List last Monday, but I got too tired after that awesome pastors conference in GCF…so I  had to put it off until now.

I really thank the Lord for many things. Jesus knows how much I`ve been afraid of letting go of my dreams and replacing it with His. I know it`s silly. How can I not trust Him?

 

The wrestling took such a long time and one Friday night, I just prayed and told Him to take over, that I want to be a part of the big picture He`s drawing, that I want to give my life for the cause and wouldn`t have my own agenda anymore.

 

Two days later, I`ve got so many things to do… Things I never thought I would be doing… Never even in my dreams! And I am so amazed of Jesus` heart. I`m just gonna trust Him.

 

So today, I thank Him for all the wonderful things—that are all heartwarming.

119.He`s been a really patient and loving Father even if I`m such a stubborn young lady.

120. For reminding me of my purpose, what I am created for…even if I always try to run away from what He has called me to do.

121. For patience, and love and grace that is underserved.

122. For sisters who rebuke me when I`m not listening to Him.

123. For friends and family and new acquaintances whom I love and who loves me.

124. For the strength to overcome weaknesses.

125. For overflowing organic greens and sweet treats!  I always prayed for them!

I`ve been away for so long! It`s been a very busy week, but a very enthralling one, by the way! My Dad asked me to come with him, my Mom and another church elder to this Pastors Conference downtown and God was so amazing!

 

I was expecting big things to happen, but God showed me even more. Will tell you about that in another post `cause I would write down a whole page and forget that I`m supposed to write down my reading list to share with you.

 

Well, here`s what I`ve been reading this week. I`ve been copy and pasting this since Monday, but I guess I missed a few. So sorry about that. I`ll try to be more faithful doing this in the coming weeks.

 

Anyway, my fave for the week was Kuya Kevin`s The Power of A Modest Woman. I was reminded that modesty and purity is  an essential part of a lady`s feminine glory…And boys who don`t value that shouldn`t be considered. Okay, Kuya Kevin didn`t say the last statement. haha That was me.

 

It is very important for girls to be modest, not only to preserve themselves (I mean, ourselves) and to be holy before God, but this is also something that would test the motives and the heart of the guys who are pursuing us. I would feel very honored to be loved for what`s inside my heart rather than because of physical appearance or skills, with a love that`s unconditional. I`m sure you also feel the same way.

 

1. The Power of A Modest Woman, KuyaKevin.com

2. Collected Wisdom, Noel Piper.

3.What Parts of My Childhood Faith Must I Left Behind, Andrea Lucado.

4. Molly Piper`s blog. I started reading through everything in her blog when I first read her post about her second baby`s death. So encouraging!

 

You are never too old

to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” -C.S. Lewis

 

  I have a new dream birthed tonight. Or rather, it was an old dream that has come to life again. I wonder why it always dies so fast…lives in like a few days and gets buried in memory over and over… But I even wonder why after dying many, many times, it still comes back over and over.

 

Maybe I just don`t believe in myself. Maybe I am always living in what people have labeled me to be. Quiet. Shy. Behind-the-scenes. I`ve loved working like that though. Just doing what you want to do, what needs to be done…

 

But there`s something deep inside me that`s stirring up. Everytime. I feel like if I don`t step up and have the courage to do this, I`ll regret it all my life. People may not believe. But how can they do that if I don`t believe in myself.

 

Nothing to lose in trying. My dreams to lose if I won`t.

 

But is this the same thing God is dreaming for me as well? Is this aligned to His will?

I should have a date with the Dream Giver Himself!

Did you enjoy this morning`s Japanese-style fried chicken recipe? I sure did. Now, here`s an extended list of all beautiful recipes from Shiori.

Most of the recipes from Shiori are western recipes made Japanese-style. I picked the ones that`s more Japanese. Just be a little patient with the links though. The original site is in Jap and Google translate (like other website translators) wasn`t able translate it perfectly.

 

Have a good time cooking!

 

1. Spring Picnic Lunch Box

Click here for the recipe.

 

2. Ozoni

Click here for the recipe.

 

3.Bacon and Spinach Quiche

Click here for the recipe.

 

4. Miso Soup and Salmon + Sweet Potato Milk Rice

Click here for the recipe.

 

5. Mango Pudding Melts

Click here for the recipe.

 

6. Taco Rice

Click here for the recipe.

 

7. Meatloaf Jap-Style!

Click here for the recipe.

 

For more recipes from Shiori, click here..

It`s 2:44am here in Manila and I`m still up—and hungry! Now, I`ve seen this yummy Chicken recipe earlier, on With Magazine,  and it makes me crave for food even more!

 

What`s really amazing about this dish is that it is not your usual fried chicken recipe. I got a little too excited when I found out it has grated garlic, ginger juice, yuzu pepper and a little rice wine (the alcohol would evaporate, so it would be just fine).

 

I can`t wait to try this one out! Here`s the recipe for you guys! Thanks for dropping by!