Nate's long awaited CARS 2

Elle's 2011 Birthday

One of us remembered how Elle wanted a full-length mirror.
But none of us realized how in the world we'll cram it inside a cab.

But we managed, as long as everybody will not move an inch from whichever position they were in when the mirror was shoved inside. :)

Yummy indian cuisine, if we only knew how to eat them right

biggest gift ever crammed inside a cab

Elle

hahaha

FUN EVENING! But I had to leave for work which is just a couple of blocks away before they could even start latte time...or else i would never leave for work. :)

Jen's one-to-one

Jen and I finished One-to-One today.  One-to-One is a personal discipleship where you discuss spiritual foundation: Salvation, Lordship, Repentance, Baptism, The Bible & Prayer and The Church.

I share my story.

Jen shares hers.

Then we mix our stories with God's story. :)

Both Jen and I are mighty excited with God's activities in our lives and the lives of our family.

Thank you, Lord!!!

Rainy saturday morning at my (not so) secret me-time spot

am on fire this morning...nothing beats talking about God with your family

perfect combination

hearty breakfast

"heartier" conversation

excited about her walk with Christ..

Sweetie, you can't be more excited than God
who's been waiting for you all your life :)

happiest girl

whose heart wouldn't melt?

Nate's royal sweetness

Trip outta town

I love get-together with my high school friends, Katips.

We've been friends and tight since 1997. :)

i love joyride with all windows down

Food trip & Videoke

Fun!

(flavored) Vodka night

joyride

Breakfast smorgasbord in town

Door to Door

I was asking for directions to Meycauyan, Bulacan when a teammate asked me if I am going there because of church thing. Another teammate overheard us and curiously asked if I preach the gospel by doing door-to-door or if I preach on a public bus.  

http://godeverywhere.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/young-girl-holding-bible.jpg

Had we not been interrupted I would be excited to tell them that that's not how it works anymore.  The goal is still to tell people about who Jesus is and how much the Lord has done for you and me.  No mistake about it.  That will always be the core value of the church. 

But how we do things DOES change.  No one wants a preachy person. No one enjoys being told what to do especially if there are no affections involved. And the Gospel isn't a salestalk.  

We instead build relationships. Discipleship is relationship. Because after all, our lives will be the only Bible for many. 

Jesus in fact let us in on one tip: people will only know that we are His disciples if we love one another. John 13:35

So what did my teammates ask me? 

1. Do I get on a public bus to preach?

- I get on a public blogsite regularly to share day-to-day grace of God that I personally experience.  It's simply hard to contain it.

2. Do I do door-to-door and INTRODUCE who my Lord is?

- I do door-to-door on the issues in my own life and REMIND MYSELF who my Lord is. For example:

1. Will I feel offended if a family member won't give up the PC for me?

2. Should I hold back my savings from my own father who needs money for other kids he's taking care of?

3. Should I omit the smiley face in my text message to Jen as I tell her what upset mom this afternoon to  show her I am irritated at her?

Build relationships. The actions we take tell a lot about who the Lord is in our lives.  And of all the lords out there, there is only one true Lord who tells His people to love, love, love. 

His Name is Jesus.  ♥ ♥ ♥

I'll stay if you stay

It was a windy early morning many years back when my boyfriend and I sat at Sunken Garden in U.P. contemplating our relationship down the road.

"I'll stay if you stay..."


That's what he said to me.

It was years after when I heard these words again.  Jesus spoke those words to me, one quiet afternoon at home. 

Jesus:   Remain in me and I will remain in you. (John 15:4)


Je:   But I’m not going anywhere, Lord, now that I found you.  You are my only god. I will absolutely stay.


Jesus:   You did not choose me but I chose you (john 15:16)


Je:   I promise Lord I will remain in You. I will not stop going to church, I will continue tithing, I will memorize your Word, I will attend small groups.  I’ll stay so you’ll stay.


Jesus:   You will remain in me by keeping my commands (john 15:10)


Je:   Oh yes, Lord, that's what I said. I will keep your commands. I will not stop going to Church, I will continue tithing, I will memorize Your Word, I will attend small groups,


Jesus:   My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. (John 15:12)

I don't get it. Love each other? Of course! I love my family and friends. I really don’t have any problems with that.  It ridiculously sounds simple! 

It took many months but Jesus slowly showed me what He meant.

I love my family and my friends….but only because they love me too.  Now when I don’t get my way, I don’t feel like loving. That’s how it’s like already with people who love me, I realized, horrified. Oh how less love there is in me for those people I don’t even know and especially people who mess with me!

And Jesus is asking us to love each other. 

But it’s tough, really tough to love. Well, I can choose to be unkind just to give way to my anger. But...but I would be doing exactly the opposite of LOVE.  

And would Jesus remain if I defy His command? I don’t think so.

But It’s just so tempting to unLOVE when you're angry!

These were the words battling in my mind when suddenly that small voice that we’re all so familiar with, the tender voice of the Shepherd, softly spoke in my heart:

“Apart from me you can do nothing….”  (John 15:5)

At first I was scared because if I don't obey Jesus' command to love and He leaves me then I am nothing!  But then it dawned on me, Jesus will be with me to enable me to do the very thing that He commands SO that He will remain in me.

We fondly refer to it as GRACE.   Amazing, isn’t it?


That's who my God is!

Sorry cupcake

Edgy because both Jen and I were sleepless and stressed with bills, we spoke to each other in harsh tones and slept on it. 


I didn't see her when I got home from work. She must've stayed out late. When I woke up the next day, I didn't see her again. But I saw these cupcakes on our dining table. 

I love Sonja's

Papa need not tell me that Jen left it for me. I knew right away.  I realized that Jen and I have unconsciously started this habit of leaving cupcakes in the fridge or on the table as a way of saying sorry.


So I sent her the following text message:


"Ancient kings offer rare spices and jewelry.


Natives perform tribal dances.


Governments sign treaty of peace.


Pirates wave white flags.




...but the Liboon sisters leave cupcakes on the dining table as a sign that the war is over.  


Thank you friend. :)"

Ultraman

Huge ship chains.  Have you seen one of those? I wonder what would it sound like if you were to snap those chains as if it were a twig. Of course there's no such sound because no one can snap these giant twigs. 

But I heard that sound. That breaking sound. I did. I heard that sound in the life of the most neurotic girl I have ever known. Me. Through Jesus, God broke some of the chains in my life that have been limiting me. FEAR.

Now the following disorder might strike you as weird but hey we all have that little weird in us. 

1. Plug-o-phobia - fear of magsaksak sa outlet (my parents feared that I would be that abnormal the rest of my life. I once had to invite a neighbor in because I wanted to watch tv but I had to ask the neighbor to plug it for me.)

2. SOCOlogy - abnormal fear of crime (emphasis on the word 'abnormal' bec everybody fears crime...but not as sick as I did)

3. Dashboard confessional - fearing that I will go to hell because in my hour of death there won't be any dashboard confessional with a priest available to listen to me confess my sins.

There are other fears that I'm still waiting for God to shatter completely. For example, my ULTRAMANism which is fear of mountains that pretend to be mountains at night but really is Ultraman looming large before me. 

Or fear of sea where Ultraman might suddenly jump out of the water.  No, really, that's how I feel even at this good age of 27.  I got ultramanistic at Kennon road when I went home from Baguio last New Year and when I watched Poseidon a few days ago. 

Sometimes I'm bigger than my imaginary Ultraman. But often Ultraman is bigger than me. I shrink back in fear. Although I'm not totally healed from this fear, I kinda like it. I like it not because it scares the heck out of me just thinking of how big Ultraman can get but because it makes my God all the more majestic. As big as any fear is I am glad to remember the truth that nothing can get bigger than my God. 

So, what do you do when God doesn't remove your fears? 

Use it to glorify God. 

In the middle of fear remember who your God is and fear will melt into worship. :)

2x + 6a equals, "Tutor, I don't know..." (blush)

DEAD!

Chasing after my 10 year-old dead dream...so hard, I'm scared. It's taking so long, I'm scared. Something might go wrong, I'm scared.  Holding on to Dad above, the only One who's able to give life to the dead (even dead dreams) and calls those things which do not exist (like a college diploma) as though they did.

-(romans 4:17)

My Dad above who has incredible dreams for me (1 Corinth 2:9)

AFRAID!

Fear is always related to future events.

"We may never know what the future holds, but at least we know Who holds it."(pastor paolo)

I know that God will not demand for me to be INSTANTLY and PERFECTLY brave at ALL TIMES in going after my dreams. But He will journey with me, instructing me and teaching me in the way I should go. And like a loving Dad that He is, His eyes will be upon me as I go (Psalm 32:8)

So if i get afraid...I will remember WHO is it that's walking with me, WHO is it that never leaves me nor forsakes me and then fear will melt into worship. 

EXCEEDINGLY ABUNDANT!

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all

that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us…”

- Ephesians 3:20

"Dream big because your God is bigger than your biggest dream."

- The Fire House

I can forget all the equations and formulas but I will remember Your promises. I'm going to believe You, Lord. I will move and I will wait. Only through YOU I can do anything. :)

U! Can Inspire

It's my second time to join U! Happy Events this year.

This time U! facilitated a popcorn day for kids who have cancer.

I came there planning to bless and encourage a kid. I left blessed and encouraged instead. I met myzobel who cheerfully fight a good fight without any traces of depression or defeat in her. I have yet to visit her. Hopefully soon. 

Meanwhile, here are some of the pics of the event.

                                          There were so many volunteers that the ratio was 4:1.

Myzobel and her volunteer partners

Me and my friend Ega during lunch break

I invited my girl friends, BRIGS, to this event. We're all moved and deeply encouraged.

More than 24 hours awake because I had gy shift the night before

Love 'em cupcakes (got from U! official pics)

Went for a quick frozen yogurt after the event

Wonderful kids playing along with the main cast of Happy Feet!

The small room teeming with volunteers eager to engage!

Sundays with Nate

Nate's Sundays usually consist of:

1. Kids Church

2. His favorite Teriyaki Chicken at Tokyo Tokyo

3. Hang out at FullyBooked 

4. Mandatory purchase of 1 toy car

At fullybooked

Goofing around after kids church

Nate is so dearly loved by his titas

Ask God what you deserve...

...and be blown away with what you have instead.

Several days ago, I prayed and set aside a small amount of money for a Coffee Bean time with Jen especially after our recent fight.  God responded instead by giving us a chance to finish One2One at Wensha Spa yesterday.

While waiting for our masseuse, Jen and I were musing about how we tend to take for granted little treats like this from God. The trivial the treats, the more we exclude God.

The mindset then was God is way, way too prestigious to be thanked for trivial treats. You can thank Him for salvation, restoration and all the heavy words in the bible. But for a free haircut, front row tickets, gift cert for a 1 hour body scrub, Donsol vacation or an offered window seat on your first airplane ride?


It's just too weird to associate a GOOD GOD in these little treats.

But most people would think that it was a GOOD LUCK.



Je: You know what would make you grateful to God for a trivial treat such as those I mentioned?

Jenny: What?

Je: Just remember how sinful you are and how you don't deserve anything but punishment and death.



After all, you wouldn't think that a man on a death row would deserve a spa right?



You and I are no more different than a man on a death row and yet, God, oh so good and great that He "...richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment." (1 Tim6:17)


Grace is so attractive. The more you know about it, the more you fall in love with the Inventor of Grace.