A glimpse at a gift

source

That's exactly what it feels like.  




Today, it struck me (after getting out of the bathroom I had to pause from changing clothes and went to a spot where I cried and thanked Jesus repetitively) to realize how these specific prayers in the past are underway:


1. Prayer: My cousin ate Mitch and her family to be found by Christ and to know God for who He really is.


What's happening now: 
All the kids in their household were sent to a kids bible camp of CCF and they plan to do this again.  One of the teens wants to join Kids Church in teaching kids.




2. Prayer: Mocha to be delivered from her relationship with a same-sex friend


What's happening now: 
They broke up last week.  6 months ago when we were relaxing in a resort Mocha said that if she will pray to God her prayer would be, "Lord if You think this relationship is not right, take it away. But let it come from her not me because I can't leave her." And in February of this year her partner got attracted to a young girl and began building relationship in the last two months with that young girl while she's still with Mocha.




3. Prayer: Lord save my family. Let them enjoy Your glory while they are still on earth.


What's happening now: 
My youngest sister accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior last year. 
My older sister was awestruck in January of this year when what Jesus did on the cross sunk in and she is slowly but steadily getting to know more about God. 
My mom listens and participates in our discussions about God and I couldn't help but notice how she agrees with what's being taught in the church that we go to which was different from her church.
It is very, very difficult for me to honor my parents because of our dark past. But my perfect Father in heaven is enabling me, slowly but steadily, to honor my earthly parents.  When I was in high school i would tell the people I know that I don't have a mom because of this hatred for her.  A week ago I posted a picture of her that has her best angle in my facebook wall. People liked the picture. But beyond that picture where people cannot see was a startling reality that I love my mom and when before I was ashamed of her now I want to brag about her.




I am expectant, gleefully waiting to watch God bring supernatural levels of reconciliation in my family. 








Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 
-Romans 12:12

Desperate for a Christian friend

Yesterday, my youngest sister, Jen, was filing me in on her recent trip to Baguio (yes, her first time!) 

Invariably, the topic changed to God about how He has been so generous with us. We never tire of discussing happily how we have been playing church all our lives until God finally got our attention, our real attention.  


It was just me two years ago but God is so awesome to keep to yourself so I began to engage this young sissie of mine and lifted her up to God especially during our church's 7 days of prayer and fasting.  And now she's growing deeper in Christ. 


I looked at how I discipled her and thought to myself, it would be hard for our ate who lives abroad to hear too about this Jesus that saves and transforms lives since I am far from her. 


But of course I was looking at it the wrong way.  It's not me who will change my ate. It's God. I am only tasked to push against the rock, but only God can move it. 


I didn't realize that right away but I kept praying for her anyway. My specific prayer was that God would send Christian friends to my ate and to her husband who lives in Europe so that both of them would be encouraged to pursue God... that somehow having Christian friends they would be exposed to a lifestyle where there is a God and He is active even in the most mundane detail in their lives.


More than a year later, I never heard any excited news from my ate about meeting Christian friends.  There's a flat mate and a staffer at her work but neither was introducing Jesus to her. And I want a Christian friend for her!  I have been growing deeper in Christ through my small group that's why I was adamant in my prayer that ate will find one too.


In January of this year, I BBM'd my ate to join the annual prayer and fasting. I didn't expect her to agree but she did.  At the end of the 7-Day Fasting, my ate inundated my blackberry with messages about how amazing God is. Anyone can easily say how amazing God is especially if there's an answered prayer but then often it's the answered prayer that's amazing and not God. 


But when my ate sent a long message about how awesome Jesus is to take our sins and put them on Himself and take off His righteousness and put it on us, now that's the encounter!  It didn't sink in right away but when it did I found myself down on my knees in worship. What did?


Well, if you were reading the entire blog you would've noticed that what I specifically asked was for God to send Christian friends to my sissie so that she will hear about this Jesus.


Guess what? God didn't.  He didn't send even one Christian friend.




Because He sent Himself instead. 






Sooo amazing!!! 






Jesus is indeed in the business of healing lives, opening eyes and revealing Himself--the Only exceeding joy.

A letter to Sheloi, my new friend. My broken, new friend.

Hi, Sheloi.

Thank you for your message.

I want to make a point, Sheloi. But first I want to show you some pictures. I am so excited about these sculptures that I want to share it with you! Come, see!

Beautiful, aren't they? There are more in the website of its sculptor: http://www.kylochua.asia/


Check out that site when you have time. That guy sure have a way with clay. He's such an awesome sculptor!



Anyway...


"Pathetic and broken hearted ex girlfriend, ugly and a loser"


Those are the words you used to describe yourself in your message to me.  Sure, maybe other people would agree with your chosen adjectives. They would look at you and feel "awa."  Or they would shake their heads at you.  But when you walked down the street to Coffeebean where jhapi and I were waiting for you, when you poured out all the tears and hurts in your heart, I couldn't find the pathetic and broken-hearted ugly and a loser ex-girlfriend. I just couldn't find it. 

What I saw in you instead is this:

A lump of clay.

A lump of clay who feels lied to, used and then thrown away. A lump of clay trampled by the thief whose aim is to steal the life in you.  You are being victimized right now as I type this.  Yes, there's that kind of thief. That thief is not a fiction. It's real.

You don't believe me? God said it Himself. Look,

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy."

- John 10:10

I believe the devil is not done with you yet. He's probably still furiously making plans to destroy you. First, to torture you with memories. Then fill you with lies that you were never good enough--that you are replaceable by a prettier girl and that no one will ever pick up that used up rag doll. Anymore. Ever.  Then the devil will fill you with anger and bitterness and hopelessness. Until you will be what the devil plans you to be: 

Stolen from.

Killed. 

And destroyed. 

God said it Himself that that's what the devil intends to do.  But the good news is His word didn't end there. Want to hear the rest of His word in that verse? You probably already know it, but c'mon! I've read it too many times and yet I want to read it over and over again because it tasted so sweet in the soul.  Here it goes,

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

John 10:10, The Message

That's Jesus talking!!! 

So take heart, Sheloi.  Sure, the devil was allowed to go this far to hurt you but only because Jesus knows what He's about to do next in your life. 

See, the word 'NEXT'? I highlighted, "bolded" and underlined it. There's too much promise in that word that I couldn't emphasize it enough!

Aren't you excited, Lump Of Clay???

Yes, you are the lump of clay. 

So, Ms. Lump of Clay, I want you to meet this Potter. This Potter who is more involved in your life than anyone else. This Potter who knew you even before He created you. This Potter who loves you more than you can possibly ever understand.  

Soar, sheloi!!! God wants you to soar. He doesn't want you imprisoned and shackled. 

He wants you free!

The devil tried to destroy you but you know what? No matter how the devil tries to destroy you, know this...even better write this truth in your heart: the lump of clay is in the Master's hands. Firmly in the Master's hands.

God sees you right now the way a potter sees a lump of clay. He is filled with numerous thoughts about you and is probably excited right now to mold you again, more beautiful than ever before and then fill you with life.

I hope to see you again in the future, my new friend. Because I, too, am very excited to see what God is about to do in your life! :) 

All the best, Sheloi! 

And oh, remember the pictures of the beautiful sculptures in the beginning of this blog?

I told you, I was trying to make a point. (Wink!)

P.S.


Imagine God singing this to you. ♥♥♥


Fly by Julianne


♫♪ Oh my if you could only see what I see
see a man full of endless possilibilty...


I wanna see you fly
Don't let anybody else or anything clip your wings
Just soar
Created to be great, you were made for something more...


I want you to be bold
I want you to be strong
and conquer, conquer


If you could only see yourself through My eyes
I see a man who's loved and worth every sacrifice


The promise land is just around the bend
let the wind take your wings and bring you home ♫♪


(Deut 31:6, Eph 2:10)

Brigs getaway

BRIGS is a group of friends from my past job 5 years ago.  We got that name from a private joke ü

We hardly see one another but amazingly the connection is still there, strongly there.

On this get-together we're celebrating two birthdays, a promotion and

an all-expense paid trip to Paris

and most of all, we're celebrating our God, who's been generous with us even though we do not deserve it.  

bed n bfast

happy day!

me and mocha

Brigs with jho

mocha and ega enjoying jacuzzi

in the middle of wilderness a group of girls can be heard laughing boisterously

Ega, Raquel, Enna, Mocha

FACE WARP!!!

These friends of mine are oh so worth treasuring!

some of the pics of the place we stayed in

love you brigs

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

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

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.

Stop being cheap! LIVE!

It always astounds me when God generously gives you something that you enjoy. Even small things. 

Last weekend, He gave me a vacation. All started out when I was ready to back out because I'm all tapped out and I couldn't pay for the 3k plane ticket. Marianne advised that I just tell Gen (who booked my ticket) the truth and let God decide if I should really join or not. Doc Gen responded that I can pay her back when I'm ready. I didn't tell anyone but I secretly did an ikot-talon yehey.

The best travel agents in the world cannot guarantee an itinerary better than my God can. It's just an ordinary vacation, nothing as grand as the Bahamas cruise or taking on the Swiss Alps. But I went home with more than just my bag filled with wet clothes.

Here we go...

1. Island hopping 

- We encountered a mild downpour, foggy visibility and threatening waves. I kept looking around and there were no boats nearby, no possible lifeline in case we topple over. The closest land was just the silhouette of the mountains east of us which is a visual suggestion of how far it is. That's exactly what's going on in my mind in that moment of fear. I was expecting the worst and my mind was furiously strategizing if in case we did tip over.  Oh no. Hey wait. I have a God remember? So I made a smooth retreat to the back of the boat and started praying Psalm 91.

That's what's expected from a woman of faith, to pray in the middle of fear, right? Wrong.

I looked at the faces of the people on the boat with me. Shivering from cold, laughing over some remembered anecdotes...the faces didn't register any fear at all. When the boat safely docked and my feet touched land, that's when it hit me.

There were just two kinds of Christians on that boat that day: one girl that prays with worry and the rest of the girls laughing comfortably in faith.

 2. Mother Nature 

 - Urband legend, filipino myths, childhood stories ranging from a group of teenagers who got sucked into a menacing current after cursing the sea or the tabi-tabi po chant to ward off dwarfs...these things that were fed into my young brain then formed a decision that I wasn't willing to compromise: 

Nature is scary. 

Leave them alone. You already got the city for your turf, but leave nature alone. It's nature, man! It's out of anyone's control.  But that day in Donsol, another blinder was shattered.  I look back and realize what a fool I've been to be afraid of mother nature when the One who owns mother nature is our heavenly Dad. 

I imagine a carpenter who built a little boat for his son.I couldn't help but wonder what the carpenter must be feeling when he saw his son's eyes lit up as he presented to him his creation. He must be happily waching his son playing with his new toy.  

That's the picture that I want to remember whenever I encounter nature.  Our Father in heaven is so generous to be sharing His creation with us. So there shouldn't be any fear. Nothing screams the work of God's hands better than nature. It's the best moment where you can forget everything and just marvel at God's greatness. 

"The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world and all who live in it; for He founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters."

- Psalm 24:1-2

3. Facebook-driven activities versus the real thing! 

- In my beach travels in the past, the essence of it circled on these items in my to-bring list:

* 5 sets of bikinis for an overnight swim, check.

* blush, lip gloss, hair mist, check.

* outdoor getup and beach night life getup, check.

I could go on and on. I know, I know. It's pathetic to be going to places just so you can flaunt your getups. But in this Donsol trip, I watched the girls with me and noted several things:

- no fuss over the bikinis or make-ups

- but they took advantage of the functionality of their stuff instead: underwater gears, bags, suits, etc.

- no fuss over what to eat or where to eat

- the time spent on activities is greater than the time spent taking pictures

- in short, these girls are after THE REAL THING. 

I remember doc gen's story when she was surfing. She wouldn't let go of her board but the wave activity forced her to. When she finally let go, I don't remember exactly what she said but the gist of it is that the view was a lot better underwater.

Bottomline? Something stirred within me. I've been having a tip of the iceberg contentment. The kind where you would rather stay on the boat and watch your friends swim because of fear. Or picture-taking safely on the shore is preferred than diving. It's like an international food smorgasbord. But I'm just gonna be contented with filipino foods because it's tried and tested.

Which brings me to the best thing that I took home with me. 

4. Realizing the best in life 

- Off the top of my head, I doodled these items in my journal under best things in life: 

travel; coral reefs; family dvd moment versus eat out with friends;  friends who challenge and encourage your faith; etc. 

The point is when you realize what you value or what you should really value, it greatly affects your lifestyle.

Just last sunday Gen said that God promises in the bible LIFE for us. And not just life, but abundant life. (Sorry, gen, you're heavily quoted in this blog :D)

Chamyto said don't make money your problem and don't let money determine how you will maximize life. Don't wait for a perfect condition before you go for your dreams because there's never a perfect condition.  There's always an unpaid bill that needs to be prioritized. But you realize in the end you always ride out the rain. 

Gen added that that doesn't mean you have to live beyond your means though.  In the end, it's always a conversation between you and God. Like if my bpi account can sustain only the coming week's necessities and I have an invitation for a vacation, I shouldn't just jump at any opportunity nor should I say no right away thinking of my piled-up bills. I should ask Him, consult Him, He owns everything that I have so it should be His final say on what to do with the money on my payroll atm. 

And God's provision is not limited by my Chase's basic salary.  

Van also said that first you obey God even if obeying Him leads you to an uncertain path.  For example, you're so gipit na and your tithes is still waiting in your wallet. If you give your tithes this cutoff, you have no idea where you're gonna get your next week's manna.  Well, Van encourages that the path where you wanna go is obedience and the unknown.

It's the best place of faith.

Fear of unknown should be changed to FAITH-especially-because-of-the-unknown.

It is ready. Ready to be poured out. God wants us to have the best in life, He created life! But we're too easily distracted with cheap desires. There are so many potentials in us and God is so ready to nourish it and make it grow, but we waste our resources on not so worthwhile stuff. 

One of the best things that I went home with from this Donsol trip is that God, through my small group, is teaching me to LIVE!

Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.

-cs lewis.

First Date

After Jesus transformed my life, I had my FIRST ever date with my parents both with whom I really didn't have any relationship. I told them about my past and what God did in my life to save me, forgive me and then free me. 


It was a nerve-racking evening, really. To confess everything to your parents? Goodness! Twice I almost backed out. During dinner I was losing it, it was too reality for me. I couldn't confess everything. I was about to excuse myself to go to the bathroom when I noticed my bible in my bag. It was opened on a verse that I highlighted in the past.




"So do not fear, for I am with you..." Isaiah 41:10




I was instantly filled with courage and a strong desire to tell them who is this Jesus that breaks chains and heals lives.

at my favorite me-time place
The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, Burgos Circle

During coffee, it was now Papa who was losing it. I was afraid his facial veins would pop out from stress and anger as he listened to me confess my story. I was starting to become discouraged when I noticed the fourth chair in our table. It was empty. Its emptiness speaks volumes. 


I remembered I wasn't alone.

The evening ended with a start. 

♫ ♪ This could be the start

Of something new

It feels so right

To be here with you ..oh

And now ... looking in your eyes

I feel in my heart

The start of something new ♫ ♪ 

Sundays with girlfriends

We have been enjoying attending services at VCF Fort Bonifacio lately.  But deep within I am praying that God would continue to lead us to Him--deeper and deeper.


Love catching up with girlfriends

Lunch at TOSH

oooh love this bad boy! finished it in no time!