Hello there, book lovers! You couldn`t miss the news I`m about to break right now!
OMF Literature is holding a HUGE sale of their books, slashing 40% of their regular prices!
With news like these, who wouldn`t panic? My heart is racing, I can`t wait to get into an OMF Bookshop now!
I’m listing up Christian Wallpapers I actually use and love. I hope these, too, would inspire you as you open up your computer every day.
Please also don’t forget to leave some love and encourage those awesome, faithful artists who do these cool wallpapers and give them for free.
My favorite is INSPIKS where you can find the coolest Christian resources and wallpapers. Everything below was via Loswls’ links except for the last one.
Drop by again soon! I’ll also be posting links to other sites as soon as I can! Have a great day!
Take Time To Praise by Loswl
I Will Praise You by Loswl
Redeemer by kristen_w
by Alyssasezello :: aka pixel8design
Acoustic Melodies by R♪ch♡rd F. Mc♫eil™
Action Speaks by Inspiks
Fear Not by Alyssasezello :: aka pixel8design
Sweet Righteousness by Inspiks
Life by Inspiks
True Love by Joe Cavazos
Renew Your Mind by Bible Lock Screens
Here’s Part 2 of the Christmas Décor Ideas Series. Happy CHRISTmas!
Stop in the hurry of Christmas and listen for the angels’ song
Stand in the quiet and hear His voice
With your heart, hold on to Jesus
For the hope He brought is living on
And the song that warmed the winter night
Still changes lives
Joy to the world! The Lord is come
Joy to the world! Let your heart prepare Him room
We receive our King
Let heaven and nature sing!
1. Tulip centerpiece from Country Living. This looks really, really lovely!
2. Starry, pink Christmas balls used as fillers for a fruit tower.
3. Hot Pink Christmas Table setting. Noticed the silver berries? Silver, Crystal and Pink always look good together, don’t they?
4. Modern Christmas mantle from House To Home.
5. White Mini Christmas Tree also from Country Living.
6. I find this candle design from Martha Stewart very creative. The frost on the glass containers look sweet and .classy. Something I would want to decorate my home right now! ;)
7. Christmas Tree ornament idea from Country Living.
8. Tropical Christmas. I like how fresh flowers is used here. Also from Country Living.
*Lyrics from the song “Joy” by Avalon.
More photos coming up.
See you in the next post. Thanks for dropping by.
Happy Holidays!
I love the holidays because it is when the prettiest things come around—lovely decors, good food, huge gifts. And of course, the prettiest gift came on the first Christmas: A Beautiful Savior.
Here are a few of the lovely things that comes around during Christmas: Decorating Ideas I found in design websites and I hope this helps as you look for inspiration to decorate your own homes and spaces.
Just don`t forget that all the preparation and the celebration is all about the One who was born for us on that night. We don`t know the exact day God gave Jesus to us, but we`re celebrating His birthday on the 25th anyway—because we want to remember that day when His love was made perfect in us.
Pink, White and Light
1. Elegant Flower Ornament. I really love unique ornaments like this. Classic!
2. Cedar Chandelier. I`m making something like this for Simbang Gabi.
3. I really love these clear Christmas balls. Modern and elegant!
4. Christmas Tree Motiff: White, Pink, Silver and Clear. Sooo girly!
5. Fireworks-inspired twinkler that would brighten up any room. This will definitely look great in a Kid’s room. We`ve got a pink cabinet like that in the photo and adding this twinkler will definitely make the kids love it even more.
6. Japanese-inspired Parasol lamps. Even if there`s no snow in the PI!
7. Butterfly Wreath.
Part 2 coming up!
Merry Christmas!
Ok. I know I`m 23 years old and I`m too old for fairytales. But am I really to old for it?
“It`s God who sees the beauty in everything. I choose to agree with Him.” –Sweetpea Beauty
What`s more is that Sweetpea Beauty doesn`t hate her stepmother neither does she pray for her doom but would do everything to save her from the deceptive magic mirror!
If you`ve got younger sisters or daughters, or if you`d want to remind yourself that God sees your heart and thinks you`re beautiful just as you are, you can get yourself a copy now. Girls will never be too old for fairytales! So that gives me an excuse to be excited and start looking for the DVD on stores as soon as I can. But then, I`m not sure if it`s already available in the Philippines. Anyhow, you guys can buy in general bookstores if you`re in the US or purchase it online. www.bigidea.com
Remember, God sees the beauty of your heart! ;) Always put that smile on your face, girls!
The glimmers on my window are pictures that God paints for me to share.
Today, I was not feeling alright. My heart was troubled about many things. I was thinking about all sorts of stuff that gives everyone a headache. Deadlines, Bills, Projects. And as crazy as I can get, I was grumbling. My heart was grumbling. And I was ready to go into the world, forget about His `cause, and get rich in any way that I could.
This morning, I was reading the book of Ecclesiastes. Throughout the entire book, the writer repeated over and over how running after riches is like chasing the wind. Many times, he said that we should enjoy life because life is short. At the end of the day, chasing after the things this world can offer is useless.
But there are just times when you feel like you really want to do more, earn more, and accomplish some more. You stop caring about the things that matter. And your heart is questioning why things are the way they are. No matter how hard you try, you just couldn`t understand. Why do you have to wait? Why do you have to struggle? Why shouldn`t things fall into the right place just like how it does for others?
Tonight, I found a puzzle piece of the answer. And it really made me break into tears.
I read Gary Mollander`s Glimmers on Collide. It is about God opening “windows” everyday for us to see Him, to see Him moving and taking care of us. Gary asks how aware are we about these “windows”. He says that some of us are more aware of them because of our present brokenness and helplessness. And if we are, as artists or storytellers, it is our job to “frame” these stories so others will also be aware of these “windows” where God could speak to them.
I realized how crazy I was. And right now, I am crying at the thought that whatever it is I am going through, God is using it so I can frame a window to help others see His hand every day. I think about my old posts on Facebook. I remember everything I`ve written on Multiply. The notes which people have “Liked”, the writings people say have inspired them are those which were writing during the times when I was helpless and broken. It is in broken times that we see clearly the “windows” that God opens up for us.
I know that whatever it circumstance I`m in, I could find the loving heart of God, even though I sometimes don`t understand His plans.
Right now, even though I still don`t understand many things, I would still chose to see the brighter side. I know there are pretty much plenty of beautiful things going on--if I would just see them through Jesus` eyes. It`s time that I open my eyes to another “window”. It`s time to see the glimmers God is always putting up the windows He opens up for me.
Surely, he`s also painting up glimmers in yours. Try to see them and let others know what you find in there. I`m sure someone will find God and you will be encouraging many. ;)
Okay, what are you doing on the 23rd? Ava and I just got tickets to the Philippine Premiere of 1040.
It`s a documentary about Asia and how missions is doing today. Van Ness Wu, the F4 guy, who is Christian is also in the film and here`s a clip, just in case you want a little preview.
I really hope you guys could come. I`ve heard really inspiring feedback about the film, and we just couldn`t miss this, right? We got to go into the world and we got to be equipped! ;)
Jaeson Ma, the creator of the film will be coming and will be sharing his story too. Sadly, the premiere will only last for a day.
It`s a holiday on the 23rd. So, let`s go! Tickets are only at P150. You can walk-in but they`re gonna seat you on the balcony. So you better get your tickets now so you`d be on priority—and so we could sit next to each other. Just let me know if you`d like to come. We`ve got some extra seats reserved, but we have to confirm if we`re taking them on the 16th.
Let`s go, let`s go! ;)
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.
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?
“For nothing is impossible with God.”
That`s what Luke 1:37 says.
Looking it up tonight on my Bible after seeing this picture, I honestly thought that that verse on Luke was a more wordy verse. Broken Dreams must be awakened and restored by a quotation worthy of winning a writing award, I thought. I least expected it to be six words long and as simple as that.
But Luke is 1:37 nevertheless, is such a powerful verse--such greatness in those words.
Thinking about my dreams and everything that has fallen apart, what reassuring and heart-awakening words to hear that nothing is impossible before the Almighty God that we serve.
Like shattered glass that is beyond repair, I felt like I don`t want to dream again. I mean, I still want to, I still do have dreams, but they are all completely buried in what seems to be a land where nothing ever comes true.
I felt like all my dreams would never come to happen and I somehow accepted that I might as well find a job where I could earn a living even if I don`t really love the craft I`m doing. And I`ve somehow cried deep in my heart, even if there are no tears in my eyes, at the thought that I may never touch my dreams once again. It was like a funeral in itself. It`s like burying who you are and who you ought to become.
But tonight, I will dare to dream again. I will dare to see beyond who I am at the moment, and will press on towards the future, to what`s ahead.
The broken pieces…I will try to pick them up once again. One by one. Even if they hurt my hands as I offer them back to Master who promised that He will prepare a future for me, who plans to give me hope, and to give me life and that I may live it the fullest.
Yes, tonight. I will go back to where I buried my broken dreams. Some of which were broken by others. Some I have buried myself.
And tonight, I will start dreaming and believing again. That nothing is ever impossible with God.
My dreams, every single one them, God can make them happen. He is never changing. He is still same God I believed long ago, the same God who made impossible things happen for me. And He is still the God of the impossible. He is still the God who promised me that I`m gonna reach my dreams—because He is the One who planted them in my heart.
Thank you, Lord. I`m gonna dare to dream again because You are You. I believe in You. I trust You.
This was from my journal, dated April 2009. It was one of the sweetest lessons God has taught me on a random morning, on my way to the office. He reminded me that He always sees us through the eyes of a Father, of a friend, and not that of someone who doesn`t know or love us. Read on and I hope you`d also be inspired to see others through the same eyes that sees you. This is for every lady out there who is pursuing modesty.
Today I learned not to judge people based on how they look.
I know it`s quite basic. You can`t judge people based on your first impression on them. But it`s actually a challenge to me sometimes, especially when it comes to girls who are a bit over what the word “modesty” implies.
I`m on my way to the office this morning, when the jeep I was riding stopped to get a passenger. I saw this girl walk by the window beside me. She was wearing a super fit gray tank top, a Laaarge bejeweled necklace, and a pair of red really-super-cling-tight pants which was the craziest `cause it really seemed like leggings to me, and which I was afraid would burst any moment.) As she walked by my window, I was thinking “Ano ba namang babae yan. What in the world is she wearing?”. Then I noticed she looked young and innocent and believed that she could have looked better in a more laid-back outfit.
Before I could even move on from wishing about a more suitable outfit for her, someone in front of my seat called me “Ate”, and I realized that she was the girl I was criticizing a few seconds ago. She began asking me if I don`t remember her anymore. And I was not only silenced at the fact that I really don`t remember her at all, but also because I was surprised that the girl was someone I know.
She then began asking me questions about my old church, how I was doing… and slowly I began to figure out who she was. She was a friend from my family`s old church 3 years ago. Memories began to come back and I realized just how much I missed and love this girl.
I felt like something changed in my heart. The girl, who a few moments ago was an object of my judgment suddenly became someone I love. When I saw the girl as a stranger, I was taken aback by the way she dressed. But when I learned that she was a friend, I wanted to understand why she was like that, why she dressed the way she did. And I remembered that this girl had a lot of struggles going on in her life. She needs affection, attention, and love. Deep inside her is a little child longing for the approval of others. And I realized, I cannot judge her but SHOULD LOVE HER.
I just thought that God is seeing all girls (and boys, as well) in the eyes of a close friend, not in the eyes of a stranger. He knows the reason why some things happen the way they do. And he loves us, and believes that we can still be changed. ;)
This lesson is such a humbling experience for me.
LOVE.
Sometimes, when we`re doing the right thing, or when we`re trying to do the right thing, we tend to become self-righteous and we easily judge the people around us. But let us be reminded that we are called to love as much as we are called to be holy. You cannot “be holy” and not love. And you cannot “love” and not be holy. So as we pursue godliness, let us also pursue love; and love the people around us and not judge them but share with them about the God who loves them and who longs to embrace them and desires for them to spend every moment of their lives in His presence.
Let`s stay in love, ladies—with Jesus and with the people around us. Let`s see people through the eyes of God who never saw us as strangers but who treats us as the apple of His eyes every single day.
God bless you!
Every girl`s got a crush. Seriously. ;) Now of your a guy, I`m sure you`re now beginning to shake your head `cause this is real Girl Stuff and if your`re planning to read on, warning right here: Read at your own risk. ;)
Okay. So I`m really crushing on some come cute guy over there… In Seoul, to be exact. And I`m sure, many of you also got a crush on that part of the planet. You know, Yiruma, Lee Seung Gi, Kwon Sang Woo, etc. Well, my crush goes by the name of Lee Seung Hyo. You might find him familiar if you`re watching Queen Seon Deok `cause he`s Yellow Hwarang right there.
So now, you know him? *giggles*
Okay, now enough of that. ;)
So why am I sharing you this?
Well, I know we always have crushes on TV, movies, on the coolest, most awesome singers out there--loving the way they look, the way they smile, speak, and carry themselves. Now, I`m also always having crushes on celebrities. Who wouldn`t like guys who look smart and kind and not to mention, almost perfect?
But as we look on these kind of guys, we must be careful that the image of the guy that we are waiting for had been associated with these celebrities whom we find gorgeous and good-looking. We know that God is preparing a person for us and we are willing to wait but we must also be careful to realize that the person we are waiting for is not Prince Charming. He might not have that perfect toothpaste-commercial smile, he may not be as rich as the Prince of Wales, or he may not look as dashing as your favorite movie star…but he will surely be the one you`ll love to spend your whole life with.
But let us not be disillusioned that when God gives us Mr. Right, he will also be Mr. Perfect. And I’m so sorry to tell these young ladies, there will never be a perfect man, and the real-life Prince Charming’s are as real as your dad, your bestfriend, you brother, and your classmate…who are really, really great but sometimes have their own less-than-perfect moments, and who sometimes makes human mistakes.
Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not envy. It does not boast. It is not self-seeking.
Love will patiently love even if your partner has flaws. Love will forgive and forgive over and over. Love will understand. Love will constantly pray for his beloved and will patiently await as God patiently teaches his partner.
Love doesn’t run after one’s desire. Love isn’t insisting that his partner would change into the guy or girl of dreams. Love gives and love desires the joy of the beloved.
I’ve never really learned so much, honestly. But as much as I am praying for a godly man, I am also praying for God to purify my heart and my love; and that as I wait, I myself would be changed by God into a godly woman.
I will never be perfect and I would also need to be understood. And I’m praying that I, too, when the time comes for me to love, would also learn to accept imperfections and I would also learn to understand..and to be patient as well.
You know, our God is a good God. And He is always sovereign and active. He is intimately acquainted with the things that we do and he loves so much than we could ever imagine. And he works in ways that we never imagined…and it is so comforting to know that even when Prince Charming is still on his learning process, God is changing him and the same way he is changing us too. And we know that his grace is sufficient for everyone of us. So let us not think highly of ourselves that we deserve nothing less than a Prince Charming. But let us be sober and be humble and trust God that whoever it is He gives us, may not be Prince Charming, but will never be less than His perfect will. ;)
Real love, ladies! <3
I had been reading Frank Dimazio`s Delays All Leaders Must Contend With and I loved this illustration about Leah and Rachel. As we all know, Leah was the least loved of the two. Jacob was so much in love with Rachel because she was more beautiful and attractive, while Leah was kindda common and with this eyesight problem. And since Leah was more of Jacob`s apple of the eye, Leah was left in sorrow. Imagine your husband not really liking you so much. I mean, for a girl that must be sooooo heartbreaking. I could imagine Leah weeping and crying at night. And of course, the Lord saw Leah`s pain and opened her womb and gave birth to four sons.
Now, the beautiful Rachel remained childless—while Leah gives birth to baby after a baby--and the lady got so envious of her sister that she told Jacob “Give me a child, or I`ll die!”.
Frank then continues about Leah, perhaps, in her younger years must have been haughty. Well, she was beautiful and favored by Jacob. Deeply loved and thought of as precious. And perhaps, God gave her children after some delay because He wants to refine her character and teach her all these important lessons which she have learned so well. In the end of their story, Rachel gives birth to children and recognizes that her giving birth is not of her own, but is a gift from God, out the power of God.
I just looked into my own life and searched about areas where I thought that maybe I can get something or get into something with things or qualities that I have in myself. Gifts. Talents. Potential. And like Rachel, who couldn`t get away with her bareness using her beauty, I learned that I cannot manipulate or turn my future around with my own talents or abilities. My future is in the hands of God. And waiting, depending, and trusting on Him is the ultimate thing that I can do in this lifetime. My life is all about Him. My future all about Him. And I could have all these gifts, and people could have all these beauty and talent. But we are all God`s sovereignty. We are not God. We can rebel and try to do things our way, but in the end it will be worthless. God will still do the things He promised, BUT IN HIS OWN WAY. It is God who ordains and does things according to His will.
You know, surrender is a hard thing to do. But that is only if you don`t know the God you are trusting. He is faithful and good. And more than just to bless us, He desires to sanctify and purge us from all these character flaws that we have. And what He desires so much is for us to entrust to Him our lives and depend on Him for our today and tomorrow, to rejoice because we have Him, to forget about our worries because He is enough.
God intended to give Rachel children, but in His own timing. The same way, God intends to bless us and bring us to the next level of our relationship with Him. But we should know that it`s not about us. It is never about our strength, or our wits, or our own understanding.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all of your ways, acknowledge Him and He shall direct you paths.”
Like Rachel, she was beautiful and she`s got everything. But in the end, having a baby is all up to God and she couldn`t do it her way.
From now on, I`m gonna trust God and let Him lead me. I`m gonna stop all these things that I`ve been thinking which actually tires me. It`s tiring to have to run your life on your own when you really wouln`t need to. And my life is not my own anyway. It`s His and I`ll just follow Him and obey.
He is sovereign. And He keeps promises. I just have to trust Him for the timing, and the way it`s gonna happen, and for everything. You should trust Him too.
