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!

 

Yesterday, my hands were really full with all scripts to write, program to finalize, and people to contact. But God really is amazing and he brings people (or things) that reminds you to put that smile on your face `cause He is always there to bring brighter days.

 

 

It`s so bad I don`t have a picture, but Kuki came over to the sanctuary to practice Ava`s songs for Love Story. He`ll be playing guitar with her.

 

(Viola and Kuki in Cambodia last summer. Sorry didn`t have a relevant photo. They`ll kill me for this. haha)

 

I was thinking it was just an ordinary day, ordinary rehearsal. But God fills our days with pretty surprises when we least expect it. We had a great time laughing the whole day over everything.

 

It`s so cool because they also decided that Kuki would sing with Ava and Honey and I were giggling because their voices sounded great together.

 

We were singing with them and never stopped eating! I loved the dumplings, congee, and spring rolls! Mom was asking as to buy this and that and then Jessica came bringing a lot of chips for us to munch on.

 

Kuki will be back next Tuesday and we couldn`t wait.

 

Kyle, who will be hosting with me on Acoustic Night also left me a message on Facebook and his excitement is contagious! I also couldn`t wait for Love Story!

 

Acoustic night is fast approaching, and although we are nervous, we know that God has greater things in store. So excited.

Today was the jamming session at the park where the music team sang a few songs and gave away promo materials for Love Story.

We met this young girl named Janet who was waiting for her mom and we got to chat with her and even jam with her. Later she said she`s gonna see us on church on Sunday and it really felt great `cause we were aiming to promote for the acoustic night but God gave us an even prettier…and a very early gift. We really didn`t expect it. But God really works in mysterious ways and you just can`t put Him inside a box. He works in wonders that will really sweep you off your feet.

This picture of Ava and Honey was taken exactly where we were singing (Yeah, I sang a few lines! haha) and everyone was just having fun, really having a good laugh and a good snack time, thanks to the little santol fruits that honey brought with her.

It was really a tiring day. We walked around for more than an hour slipping invites into mailboxes and handing out flyers to people we pass by. But it was very rewarding and very fulfilling because we know that our work is never in vain. We know that God will do wonders and we just did our part in becoming his hands and feet.

We also got to visit Edison at Concorde and you wouldn`t believe how surprised his face looked the moment he saw us at his doorstep. We were all laughing the whole time and we couldn`t say a single word even after we stopped laughing. And Edison never really stopped laughing. He kept on saying that he couldn`t move on.

Anyway, I just got a message from Kuya Uriel and he said he`s in the Philippines and he might be coming to church on Sunday. Isn`t that amazing?

Well, I guess I`m back. After a month of taking a break from graphic designs, video editing, and all computer stuff, I`m having a great time doing designs again.

My new project is for JCOB Nova`s posters and for the Acoustic Nights` promo materials.

I`m loving playing around with photos these days—hence, the result is my previous entry—although I have to try harder faking my own photos. I don`t think I`ve ever become good in editing my own. haha

But I`m looking forward to doing more creative stuff for church in the coming days and weeks… I`m going back to again to my old Everyday Design Challenge, and I`ll be putting it up on my design blog.

I`m also accepting video editing and graphic design projects, in case you`d need a hand. ;) And I`m back scrapping too! You can visit my design blog and I`ll be posting links and tips and all other stuff I`ve read and encountered in the past and I hope to be of some help to those who are beginning with Photoshop, Premiere, and After Effects.

 

 

Anyway, here`s a quote about prayer that I stumbled upon this afternoon in my laptop.

"It is in the field of prayer that life's critical battles
are lost or won. We must conquer all our circumstances there.
We must first of all bring them there. We must survey them there.
We must master them there. In prayer we bring our spiritual
enemies into the Presence of God and we fight them there. Have you
tried that? Or have you been satisfied to meet and fight your foes
in the open spaces of the world?"  J. H. Jowett

Isn`t that cool? I, myself, am reminded that before I do anything else, I would have to bow down in prayer before the Almighty of God. All of our efforts are in vain if God is not with us, or if He doesn`t approve of our plans, or if we`ll only be doing it on our efforts.

I suddenly remembered the Boiler Room at Messiah where I usually go to pray and cry out to God. Missing Messiah! <3

I had nothing to do the yesterday so I tried to come up with something using Photoshop. The other day, I had  just finished the first revision of the church poster and flyer that I was assigned with,     and it seems I had fun making silhouettes of people`s photos. So yesterday, when I saw this picture of Lee Seung Hyo, here`s what I came up with:

Now that was crazy. But haven’t you ever dreamed about starring in a romantic movie with your favorite movie star? Yeah, like highschool! haha (And how I wish I had a prettier picture, `cause that one`s really grainy! Tsk)

And don’t you ever dream of being on the magazine covers?

Okay. The last photos are too much. I tried to upload them on Facebook but kindda disgusting, aren’t they?

Actually, I changed my profile picture using one of these but I uploaded the wrong one--the first edit--and a friend posted a comment on my wall about the editing flaws on the hair, and it was freakin’ embarrassing. haha

Well, I don’t think I’ll ever want to do something like this again. Eeky! Not to mention, immodest. ;(

One thing I learned today: Learn to be content and love yourself just as you are. You may not be a model or a movie star, but you don’t have to Photoshop your face into models’ bodies. We are beautiful the way we are. ;) Always. And I`m laughing while writing that one.

But I might buy a dress like the one above `cause it`s so very pretty and smart. A longer one, by the way. And I MUST exercise! <3  Mom, Ava and I talked about walking all the way to the market every morning at 5.30am and walking back to our house. That`s 2 KM over all, just enough for warm-up, but would be a big change, a good start--with my sedentary lifestyle!

We are supposed to love ourselves for who we are, but that doesn`t mean that we won`t have to take care of ourselves anymore. We are called to take care of our bodies because they are a gift from God, they are beautifully handcrafted by the God of the universe Himself. Exercise, eat the right food, stay away from unhealthy things, keep a fit shape, and wear decent, presentable clothes. You don`t have extravagant. Well, that`s another story right there. But  taking care of oneself--that`s what a modest, godly woman should do. If we are taking care of our character, aren`t we also supposed to take care of our bodies. Both always goes hand in hand.

So having said that, who wants to go with me on a trip to the salon for a haircut? ;) Let`s go, girls!

Before I go, how about a poster with my name on it?

Okay, okay. Enough of this crazy thing. See you soon! ;)

A couple of weeks ago, my dad and I were  talking about how to get a new make-over for the church and we went on talking about lights, and flooring, a new stage and everything else `cause there`s really nothing yet, since we just moved into a new building and the space we`re renting happened to be an old clinic. The walls are light beige and everything is so bare and there`s really a lot of work to do.
Well, I`ve researched a bit and found out the we`ve got really cool Filipino interior designers and I`ve found an inspiration from Frederick Quesada. His Portfolio here. And I`m really loving his designs. His design for Twilo is a perfect inspiration for the kids church.
1. Big Tree—I posted on Twitter before that I`m excited about putting up a giant tree but I still didn`t know what material to use. Ate Kathy and I were thinking about making a little pixie forest with Christmas lights but I thought that was too much. And this one would just be enough. Cute yet it looks quite elegant..
2. Bible Characters Mural-- We`ve got a fine arts student in church and Viola too, who loves doing cartoons. Maybe they could team up and do the murals.
2. Story telling Corner. I thought that having a storytelling corner with a couch would be great. Looks classic and like those on children`s shows.  Perhaps we would lay down a mat and the kids could sit right there. Great for Bible storytelling time.

This one`s from Martha Stewart and by the way, there are so many cool stuff over there: crafts, house design, tips, etc.
This painted mat is also from the website and would definitely look good.
3. Colorful Cabinets. Cabinets don`t have to boring. I found this colorful ideas for shelves. But I`m wondering which colors to pick!
    

4. Colorful Stuff. Actually, I was thinking of painting the wall plain and just put in colorful things like curtains, lamps, baskets, etc. and adding a bit of accents on the wall.

I hope  I`ll be able to put all my ideas together this week so I`ll be able to draw and submit my proposal to Papa. I`m also doing another proposal for the sanctuary`s design and it`s really a huge work—with all the budgeting and creativity I need to put together.
But this is really fun and exciting. See you soon!