I hate my bestfriend's boyfriend

Today, I feel very convicted. It was my friendt R's bday and I dread seeing her boyfriend there.  Just like any blood and tight girlfriends, i'm protective of her. I think R is too good for her. He was separated, focused on his collection of chickens more than the annulment and he swears a lot and said a lot of obscene words to R when he accused her of changing his facebook password. My point is, if he is treating her that way already out of a very trivial matter then how is he going to react or treat her if it is a huge matter. Would he start beating up R soon? So i refused to be in the same room with her boyfriend...so much i was willing to miss Z's baby shower and R's 30th bday.

Good thing Z did not invite him.  But he did show up at R's bday of course.  I didn't know how to act around him. I don't want to be friendly lest he thinks everything's ok and hurting R again will be ok. So i did what every coward girl would do: pretend he did not exist. Not even if he was standing right there before me.  And in that brief moment i felt the firm tugs of conviction.

As we made our way to our car, i kept thinking about what just happened. We were on our way to attend the 8pm service and it was a good 30 minute drive...enough for God to talk to me.

1. God calls me to forgive...not to save.
2. Jesus would never ignore any person
3. I can be there for R without necessarily agreeing with her
4. R is too good for him but Jesus is too good for me too, isn't he? Yet Jesus entered into a relationship with me anyway.

What makes me busy

Today, as I relish my day off, I realize that my facebook and internet activities are ABOUT the things that I value in my life.

God

Family

Relatives

Small group

Girlfriends

Kids Church

Education

These are where my time and energy and resources mostly go.  Not via facebook literally, hehe. 

So when there's an invitation that's not part of this list, they go to the bottom of my priorities.  If an office mate would invite me to watch movies after work on a Saturday, I remember my nephew Nate who stays with us during the weekends and how I only have four opportunities in one month to build a relationship with him.  

Or if cliques from high school would meet up for a drink on a night when I don't have to go anywhere, I imagine the expenses that can buy dinner for the family instead or that can buy something for a lonely tita that I care about.

See,  there are things that I don't do in order to do well what I need to do.  

We only have one life, 16 waking hours, two day off's a week and two paydays in a month.  

And we would want to make the most of it.

What, get a life?

I am.

This is my life: God, my loved-ones, my dreams.  These make me happy.  To live a life dedicated to building relationships within my ability and magnify Jesus' Name in stewardship and relationships.  And until He tells me to come and jump off the boat to a greater territory and greater responsibility, this is where I'm staying.  

- For where your treasure is there your heart will be -

Luke 12:34

Raquel's 30th birthday

I don't really know what's the deal with turning 30. Maybe because I haven't been there. But hey i'll be there in a couple of years. Anyway, I may not understand it but I agree with her about rounding up all your friends in one room.

I hope to do this too one day. Not just my--let's see... 15 small group friends, 4 Brigs, 4 Katips, more or less 7 individual girlfriends I met and kept through the years..so about 30 girlfriends of mine--but also my family (but of course because I'm a family-girl!) and several favorite aunts and cousins of mine in one room.

Yes I will do it one day.  

Not just in my funeral :) but I hope to be able to honor them and thank them all together for everything that they have done for me. 

And to honor God for giving me on earth treasures that moths don't eat and rust doesn't destroy. 

So this is Raquel's 30th birthday.  

God spoiled her and gave her a great night last July 21 with all of her girlfriends. :)

Sunrise Buckets.  

When I told my cousins that I am so in love with Bon Chon, she promised me she'll take me somewhere where Bon Chon will pale in comparison.  

Yep. This is the place.

The place has a beach-y feel.

The plan was to have a little drama about some of us 

not being able to make it since it was a rainy night.  And then we're going to enter together, carrying our cupcake wish for her, say a little speech before we sit down.

She hardly noticed our cupcakes. But she did notice that the people who canceled were there after all. 

We're not able to pull off the cupcake speech because the place is not conducive for little dramas like that...

...but it's ok because she was happy nonetheless.

So this is our cupcake wishes for her. 

Notice the common denominator? :D

Food time!

BRIGS

If you want to gobble up and lick the buffalo wings to the bone, you gotta put on some gloves. 

Singing happy birthday for Raquel

After party we moved to Starbucks to catch up and play a little Guesstures. 

We were very careful not to laugh so loud because this Starbucks outlet was filled with students studying thick books.

Weekends

I had a wonderful weekend! 

The most important thing that makes a weekend wonderful for me is RELATIONSHIPS.  Just like my friend Light said, my language of love too is bonding time.

Saturday, I went to the Dedication Day of my friend, Lovely's first baby and I got to see the girlfriends I kept from the past.

With Lovely

With Dean

Sunday lunch I was with my small group. We had our regular session at Mcdo.

Afterwards, we moved to Chatime to celebrate a surprise Scrapbook Birthday Partea of Max, Yanyan's only daughter.

Then I ran off to QC, well, cabbed my way to QC to make it to my cousin Tep's music recital which she herself arranged.  She's the girl on the right wearing a yellow top, giving last-minute instructions to the kids.

This is the WAMES family (except for Iqui who's squatting on the floor) 

Ninong Wenzel (left) is the one who taught his family music. After years of family training and practicing they were able to put up their own music tutorial center.  

Last night, I learned that Tep is pretty much the one running the center now and she's only 22 years old! I am so impressed i want to sleep over to get myself updated on her life. 

I'll definitely blog about it. :)

After a quick after-recital dinner, I cabbed my way to Podium to catch up with these beautiful ladies who were part of a small group I joined at work.

I got home at 3am. 

I couldn't remember the last time I went home at this hour. I used to feel thankful finding everyone asleep because I didn't want them seeing me wasted and reeking of alcohol and cigarettes.  Last night as I switched on the lights, I felt thankful too but a different thankful. 

I literally "aww'd" inwardly as I saw them sleeping heavily, blankets tangled on their bodies.

I can feel God being so generous to find everyone (except for my sissies who were at work) tucked safely at home. 

And I had a quick but strong rush of realization for the nth time about how much God has tremendously transformed my life.

:)

"I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of."

John 10:10

Lovely

I attended my friend's child's Dedication Day.  I don't see this person regularly and in the last few years I only saw her once a year so I made it a point to go to this occasion because she means a lot to me. 


She was so busy mingling with guests so I sat at the corner and quietly finished my meal.  But as I was watching her, I felt slightly overwhelmed as I recalled the past.  How much this person has done for me sort of sank in again. 


Sometime in your past there's a person who listened up to the wee hours of night at some curb whose silence was occasionally disturbed by a Taho vendor.


A person who always shared her lunch and refused to eat when you promised yourself to be shy because this lunch-sharing has been going on for weeks now because you were struggling financially.


That person who was perfectly content watching you as you "roll with your cooler friends" 
but always ready, as in I-got-your-back ready, when the cooler friends walk away. 


Who sat still as you incoherently cried out all the pain...and never left even if you have told the story five times that night.


Who invited you to stay at their already crowded little home when you've nowhere else to go.


Had nothing and still gave the little money she had stashed in her closet.



Lovely, isn't it?


That's right. She is Lovely.




Lovely is the kind of person who seems to live her life operating on this specific task from God: 






Show this person that I love her.




(And although this post is about Lovely my friend, I couldn't help but linger on that last thought. God is so like that. He sends people to us, people who will love us.  It sounds cliche of Him, right? Well, think of it this way. Would you employ so many people to serve and love a person who wronged you in every way? I doubt it. But God is like that. He makes His sun rise on His enemies as well.) 




I want to be a Lovely too in other people's lives. I want to have a heart like she does. 

Gen, Tin and Tats' Birthday dinner

I always relish being with my small group.  This evening was filled with tons and tons of laughter as we played Unspeakable. 

Happy birthday Gen, Tin and Tats!

Effort to write birthday wishes under the table

Super fun!

They didn't mean to do this at the same time hehe

Team Left

Team Right