It`s been a while since I last blogged. So many good things have happened the past year. The Lord has been so faithful and even that is an understatement! He`s been so good and loving and I feel very grateful. From my injury that`s healed now, to opportunities He gave, He`s always been there guiding and teaching, blessing and purifying my heart. And even through tough times, He was there to comfort and strengthen and save when I couldn`t go on any longer.

 

I guess last year, God spoke to my heart through experiences… My motives were revealed, heart issues were made to come out and it`s so comforting now looking back because I knew the the Lord is more concerned about my heart more than I’ve ever imagined. And He wants to change me into the person He wants me to be, looking more and more like His Son Jesus.:)

 

So I`ll take this opportunity to share with you some of the things I’m so thankful for last year which I wasn`t able to share. :) Hope you`re also doing good. Really missed you, guys!

Last year, I got the opportunity to serve at the Korean Cultural Center. Helped out with their print designs, taught in culture classes, and went out to culture caravans in public schools around the city. It was so fun and I learned a lot of things. It’s always nice to learn about new culture and meet a lot of new friends.

I wrote on my application paper that I hope I’d love the Philippines more as I explore and learn more about Korean culture. And it really did happen. During my stay in KCC, as I watched and enjoyed Korean culture and watch Koreans love their culture, I loved and appreciated my heritage more. I felt proud about my own people and  prayed that someday, I would also be able to contribute something for the Philippines.

Youth Ministry last year has been so much fun! When we started the year, our college students were just new in church and now almost all of them are serving in different ministries. It’s amazing how the Lord is working in the lives and I pray they’d love and seek Jesus more!

Hey friends! It’s Monday! How did your weekend go? I really had so much fun yesterday, even though I’m still wearing a cast (which I will still be wearing until November).

 
In my previous post, I’ve mentioned that last month, I slipped on our laundry floor and ended up getting a fracture on my foot. I know! It’s funny and I should have been careful! LOL But sometimes accidents do happen even if you try your best to avoid it. Mine happened so fast (like 2 seconds) and I didn’t imagine I’d break a bone!  But God has a reason for everything, right?

What makes me laugh today is that I never realized that this funny thing would change my life for a couple of months. I really didn’t prepare for this. I mean, I never thought I’d ever break a bone in my entire life. I was even smiling and making jokes in the doctor’s office while I was being treated, until he said “You’re gonna wear this cast for a month.” I’m like “Okay! 1 month…” And then I stopped because his words finally sank in.

“One month…?”

5 long weeks I wouldn’t be able to to walk and do the things I normally do. How about church? Work? Volunteer stints? How will I even eat out? My world suddenly stopped for a while~that moment, sitting at doctor’s office.

And now more than a month has passed, and I have to extend wearing my cast for another 7 weeks. It’s hard, but I’m grateful. ‘Cause Jesus is teaching me so many things. It is in my brokenness (and literally, in this moment that I have a broken bone! LOL) that He shines the brightest.

195. Friends who constantly visits me and brings me treats the past month.
196. My super patient parents and my sisters (esp. Ava) who nurses me, helping me move around!
197. My super nice and funny doctor!
198. My super awesome youth group who’s been so supportive.
199. For lessons you teach me, Lord!
200. Time to rest!
201. For all the love showered by friends, family and churchmates.

Photo Credits: Click photo

It’s been a very long time since the last time I got to post something up on the blog. Oh, if regrets can only be seen and measured… 
  
My computer is still being repaired  today and I’m still using my Dad’s old netbook. Thankful because I found a way to get the keyboard working--- so I am posting today! Yey!

I really missed all of you! How are you doing?

The whole time I was away, I realized so many things  about life, about friendship. September has been a season of plowing in my heart. And it’s great to have the soil soft, ready for planting seeds again. {Seeds of love grow best on good soil and only God can work on it like a farmer to make it ‘good’ and ready for planting.  He pulls out the weeds so seeds of love and forgiveness can grow, and plows to make the heart softer .} And it’s easier to love again—although it's not easy when your heart is being plowed! Ouch! lol

Jesus’ birthday gift for me is  a plowing season for the soil of my heart, so I could learn to love a little deeper than before. And I am soooo grateful.
How has it been for you last month?
No matter our circumstance, God always proves Himself faithful.


188. Thank you Lord for opportunity to reconnect with all friends! I missed them badly! And I thank you that even though we haven't seen each other in years, nothing has changed.

189. For my old officemates whom I badly miss as well. Seeing them last week was fab!

190. For new friends I met through this blog. I can't wait to meet them in person!
191. For friends in church who are ever so cute and charming! ;) They make me look forward to the future with joy!
192. For giving us friends so we don't have to be alone.
193. Jesus, for being my best friend ever!

The blog has been quiet lately, and that`s really made my heart so sad. I`m really wishing to write more and share more, but it has been a busy month and if I was not busy, I was going through something. But then again, maybe God is just making more stories to write about.

 

And now I got some stories to tell.

 

 

Last Friday God told me to take a big step of faith. I was invited to speak about Multimedia in a Christian arts café. I was so hesitant and really very afraid. lol You should have seen me! I really wasn`t confident speaking about Multimedia. Long story, but it was really one of my greatest fears. I actually got feverish the night before and thought about giving up.

 

So on Friday night, my fingernails all turned blue (they look a lot like freshly boiled peanuts! haha) and my knees were really wobbly. I would`ve fainted if not for His grace! The pastors who were with me, along with my sisters, were laughing so hard because I looked like close to having a heart attack!

 

Click here to read what I wrote in my journal that night!

 

And I`m so grateful, even if I looked so funny that night, because God taught me a lesson about courage, about taking that first fearful step out of your comfort zone no matter how afraid and unsure you are.  I feel so much humbled and even more dependent on Him for strength. Is there really anything we can do without Him?  

 

 

It`s so amazing how God desires for us and a makes ways for us to step out of fears and into His promises. We only need to believe Him and gather all the courage we`ve got to take a leap—even if all the courage you`ve got still equates with wobbly knees. Even if we looked funny or unsure, we`ve moved forward. We`ve walked past our fears. We believed when He said He will be with us and will never leave us alone. We obeyed. And that`s what`s important.

 

When God speaks,  oftentimes His voice will call for an act of courage on our part... and yieldedness is vital in listening to what He has to say.                                                                          

                                                           --Charles Stanley

Thank you Lord for:

 

184. For Courage, to stand up and move on even when we feel like giving up.

 

185. For calling us and holding out your hands when we are too fearful to take a step.

 

186. For people you use to encourage and strengthen us.

 

187. For always believing in us.

 

Everyday, when we wake up God splashes color and goodness around us. But we seldom get to notice. How many of us stop for a while to enjoy the sunshine? To feel the cool breeze that blows on our face, surprisingly, on a summer morning? To watch carefully as rain pour down from the sky and into the leaves and petals of the flowers that grow outside our windows…and to notice that these are jewels after all—crystal jewels that are not rare but priceless!

 

171. For new baby cousins!  We`ve got two new addition to the family, and they`re both under age one! Adorable, cutie babies!

 

 

172. The good health of my family. Everyone`s healthy and feeling good.

 

173. A bunch of really good Christian friends! I don`t know what to do without them!

 

My cousins and I went for a short break at the park on Sunday. And it brought back a lot of little girl memories! Don`t you miss playing with your cousins under the sun? Or dressing up your dolls with them?

 

{on the photo: Ate Glaiza, Gladys, My sister Ava…

and Viola on the swing.}

I missed that very much!

 

I had a fascinating week and Mother`s Day was awesome! I mean, not yet for me…but I`m happy for my Mom and I`m happy for her life and how God has used her in the lives of people around her—and that includes me.

 

My Mom is really a gracious lady…and it`s unbelievably cute and amazing how she turns from a caring, loving mother into a strict, scary disciplinarian when the opportunity requires her to. How can you expect  a Mom to be always gentle and quiet raising up a noisy, controlling kid like me. She must`ve have had a hard time… I guess, even now.

 

 

So i`m really thankful to the Lord for my Mom. I could say all the beautiful words but that would never be enough to describe her. Beautiful. Lovely. Sweet. Caring. Kind. Always concerned about me. Always loving and forgiving towards this stubborn child.

 

 

I could never have a better Mom.

It`s Monday morning here in Manila. A weekend has just passed and I am grateful for yet another week.

 

But if I would be completely honest, I would say that weekends get too exhausting for me the these days and what I now look forward to are weekdays because that`s the time when I can actually rest and take a break from my weekend activities.

 

But I thank the Lord because even in exhausting times, He comes and gives our hearts the rest we need and long for.

 

Yesterday, we`ve got a little film showing for the young people lined up but had to cancel it because our guest speaker had a little emergency, and requested to move it next week. Summer camp had also been cancelled due to conflicts with the church summer program schedule. Being the one in charge of both of those events, I somehow felt disappointed when I heard of these recent updates (which both came out this weekend) and I was a little heartbroken.

 

But I realized tonight that the time off that I could get after these cancellations could actually be an instrument of the Lord to give enough time to rest and be restored.

 

I guess He knows, even if I`m keeping it silently in my heart, how badly I need a little get-away from it all. How I needed to go back and find a hammock to hang in the garden, look up and pray under the clear summer sky. To feel the warm breeze once again…and thank the Lord in my own quiet moment with Him.

 

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.                      (Isaiah 40:28-31)

For Ava who took over on Multimedia this morning so I got to sit down and enjoy the preaching. 146.

Jesus helped me finish the Sunday School topics until August! 147.

 

Filled up the scholarship application tonight.

2 more weeks to prepare! 148.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I read Tomihiro Yoshino`s poetry book

“In the Palm of Your Hands” and still feels refreshed everytime I do.149.

 

Viola and Carlo who came to the Switchfoot concert.150.

Becca music for the complementary passes to the Switchoot Concert. 151.

 

Serving in the kids ministry which brings light to my heart. 152. 

Blogs and bloggers God uses to strengthen my weary heart. 153.

 

Photo credits: cookiecaramel, justmenooneelse,

and notouraverageaugustbaby on Tumblr

and cutestfood.com

How was your Easter celebration yesterday? I had a great time in church. It was great to be reminded of the Resurrection, that we`ve got a God who is alive and had not been limited or chained by death.

 

Sometimes, we miss the real meaning of Jesus raising up from the dead, only noticing and appreciating His death. While His death means our sins had been paid of, His coming back to life also means something more significant for us.

 

It means victory.

It means new life.

It means that we too may die but we will not remain dead forever.

It means we don`t have to be beaten down by our sin.

It means we can triumph over adversity, trials, and sicknesses.

It means today we live, not as abandoned children, but as redeemed children of the King.

It means we are never alone, without help. He is with us. Because He is alive and not dead.

 

{Image credit: Kath Davis}

His life is our life.

and His victory ours.

No need to fear about anything.

Because He is with us.

So we can hope about the future.

Be content today.

 

{I love that I have a God WHO IS ALIVE…and will remain alive…today, tomorrow and forever. }

 

Here are my victories and hopes this week! This is because of your victory that morning, Lord!

New hope. New opportunities to study and work. 146.

Provisions for my first step into the scholarship application. 147.

Awesome 1st day of training for Sam {the new trainee I`m teaching for Multimedia in church} 148.

Awesome week with my Aunt Eden whom I haven`t seen in 10 long years, 4 year-old cousin Ashley and their 4-months old baby Patrick (whom we may be adopting). 148.

Pretty, funny and crazy overnights in our house with more aunts and cousins.148.

Ice scrambles! They make summer cool, happy and fun! 149.

 

I`m cooking again! Made creamy macaroni soup for the family last night. Tonight, I`m making macaroni fruit salad! Mmmm… Can` wait! 150.

How about you? What are your hopes and victories today? This week? This month? Why not write them down? Let`s share beautiful Easter stories!

 

Photo credits:

Love-at-first-sight- on Tumblr.

Kath Davis via Tumblr.

and  mochacafe.info

The first quarter of the year had been truly wonderful for me… This season, God had showed me a sweet side of Himself, that He is a really thoughtful God who delights to make us smile and make us happy.

 

Well, things had not been perfect and easy. My grandma died a few days into the new year, but God had been so faithful. And I`m not just saying that. I really saw His goodness right before my eyes. He has brought families together and restored broken relationships… and it`s really true that even though things can get imperfect or even painful sometimes, God ultimately meant it to happen for something good.

 

What really amazed me was how God showed me that He is that loving Father who delights to see us smile. When I really didn`t expect it {or maybe when I have already given up on it}, God had been so kind and good and amazing to give the little desires of my heart one by one. Yey!

 

The ocean waves, the long drives, walking barefoot on grass (the ones I mentioned on a previous post), and all other little things I love… God has been orchestrating things so I could enjoy them to my hearts content. And it's heartwarming because God had been speaking to me through these little things that if He cares to give the tiniest details that make me happy, He is also concerned about the other bigger things that concerns my future. I just have to wait and trust Him.

 

For a while I thought that God could not be this thoughtful and sweet. I know that He is… but to the extent that He would really do a lot to make this little, struggling, untrusting heart of mine happy… {You wouldn’t believe how many surprises I got just this week!}. I know that this is His way to strengthen my heart and my faith in this season of my life.

 

Here are photos of some of the best things that has happened the past three months. {These are the ones I easily found over a multitude of photos. Honestly, I wish I had taken more. But the thing is, I only take too much photos when I’m bored. So that means, I’m really enjoying. Anyway, I’ll add more to this post when I find everything.}

 

How about you? What has He been doing in your life? Showing you? Or teaching you?

 

{A few weeks ago. Went out for coffee at 4am My pastor Dad, Mom, Ptr. Elmer and (his wife) Tita Amy Fujiwara. 137.}

{Last January, with cousin Dane… A few days after grandma died. 138.}

{Feb was our church’s anniversary.

(From left to right) Carlo and Viola, Ate Jeniffer and her baby Yogur. 140.}

 

{The youth group I love the most! 141.}

 

{My cousin Andrew was born a few days before our grandma died. His older brother Euri was born a few days before grandpa died in 2005. It’s nice to think that sometimes, someone goes but God offers new life. 142.}

{March. We helped our friends (who are abroad) to surprise her mom on her birthday. It was my first time to organize a thing such as that. I love doing it. I love my friends and their mom. I love making people happy. 143.}

{Because I love to blog and I got my first invite as a blogger.

These are Jay and Adz of Think Like A Beginner..

and of course, my Ava dear (my sweet sis!) Awesome! 144.}

 

145.

 

{A week ago! I’ll tell you why it changed my life in another post. 146.}

 

And truly, we just have to patiently wait on the Lord for His answer to our prayers. I still am waiting for a lot of things, but I my heart can rest knowing that He honors the desires of my heart.

 

Right now, I even have more than what I am asking for.

 

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!

 

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!