In Quietness, In His Presence

I read Psalm 131 tonight. And I felt my heart speaking the verses. For quite a while, being calm and quiet has been my weapon in facing certain things in my life. It's not because I'm afraid but because I chose to submit to the Lord. Right now, all I want is just to enjoy my walk with Jesus. And at this time, it is a walk of quietness and stillness with Him.

My heart is not proud, Lord,

    my eyes are not haughty; 

I do not concern myself with great matters 

    or things too wonderful for me. 

But I have calmed and quieted myself, 

    I am like a weaned child with its mother;

    like a weaned child I am content.

Israel, put your hope in the Lord

    both now and forevermore.

I don't know why. But I'm starting to get poetic lately. I just usually express myself through my journal, pouring out everything. But lately, God inspired me to be poetic. :) He certainly does! So, I'll just grab it while the bubble is there. :) I got inspired reading those verses that I made a few lines of mine.

In the midst of clamor,

I chose calmness.

For my mind to ease

and my heart to rest.

In Your Presence, O God

my soul finds peace.

What else would I ask,

when you are enough?

[Journey on Waiting 5] Going poetic

As I was going through blogs about waiting, I've somehow made reflections that I would want to express it in a poem. :) It's been so long since I wrote a poem. That last one I believe was in college. Here goes my freestyle poem writing... Haha!

Why wait?

-------------------------------

Why should I wait?

When they say,

that all that matters

is today?

Why should I wait?

When they say,

things can happen

without delay?

Why should I wait?

What's the deal?

Well, my Maker told me,

"For I am God, you be still."

What's the point of faith?

What's the point of hope?

What's the point of tomorrow?

If we don't wait?

What's the point of grace?

What's the point of the cross?

What's the point of salvation?

If we can't wait?

Don't focus on waiting.

But fix your eyes on the Blessing.

For the Blessing in waiting,

is a relationship with a King!

Happy Waiting! :)

28: Career Choices

My first job is still my current job. After I graduated from college, I immediately looked for a job that suited my degree. And gratefully, God gave me the best job. I can't believe that I'll be turning 7 years in the company this August. I remembered I was about to give up when I thought that nothing great was going to happen in my career. Then, all of a sudden, opportunities came, just at the right time. Talking about God's timing. :)


There are times that I would think about trying other companies and seeking better opportunities but I really never do anything about it. I never submitted any resumes or even deliberately look for jobs. Those were just spur of the moments. But not until I got back from Canada. I was opened to a lot of options. And my desire to work abroad grew. Actually, I got a change of heart because I never wanted to work abroad before. 


But right now, I'm not yet sure if this is what God wants for me. It would take a lot to actually leave my current job because I still enjoy what I do and now having the chance to really mentor a team, it would also be a lost privilege for me. When there was a door for me to go back to Canada, I wanted to take control and push it. But I didn't. I trusted God. Because I believe that no one could ever hinder His plans. It was a great opportunity but God knows what's really best for me. 


Just this week, I posted my updated resume to job sites and I received some responses through email and even got a phone call. I wasn't expecting any of it. And I actually felt scared. I'm not sure if I would even be qualified or if I'll even pass the interviews. It was the same feeling when I was looking for a job for the first time. I'm not even sure if it's even the right thing to do for now.


I was very much encouraged with the message today. Practicing God's presence. This is what I really need to do more than anything else. To be able to hear God clearly and know His will for me, I need to be in His presence constantly. I got so focused thinking what are the next steps I need to do instead of focusing on God. More than anything else, I need to understand the heart of God for my career. Why, what and where? And make it the desire of my heart as well.

^{Hebrews 13:5}

 Keep your lives free from the love of money and 

be content with what you have, because God has said,

“Never will I leave you;

  never will I forsake you.”

Knowing that God will never leave me no matter what, I just have to wait and be still.

New Year

Psalm 139: 23-24

The Message

 ^23-24 Investigate my life, O God, 

      find out everything about me; 

   Cross-examine and test me, 

      get a clear picture of what I'm about; 

   See for yourself whether I've done anything wrong— 

      then guide me on the road to eternal life.

These are my verses for the year. It is my prayer to God that He will continue to search me and test me, to know my heart, to guide me and see if there's anything wrong in my life, to lead me to the life that He wants me to live. 

I'm excited of what God will be doing for me this year. I will be going home after 3 months, and I don't know how things will be when I get back. But, I'm really excited. I know there will be a lot of changes this year. I'm looking forward to that too.  :) 

Happy New Year!!!!!!

Why here?

Recently, I've been constantly amazed with stories of people I meet here on what led them to move here in Canada or to be more specific, in Vancouver.  Amazed because I think I will never have the same courage that they had when they made such decision. When they move here, not everything was certain. It's not like when I got here that I have a house to stay and a job. I basically knew how I will do things here. But for them, everything was an act of obedience partnered with faith.  Every time God asks me to move to a different place, everything is always laid out for me. When I moved to Manila, everything was clear for me. I have a job waiting for me and I found a place even before I got there. God knew that I never wanted to work in Manila ( I was very specific in my prayer), for a lot of reasons. But He was very clear and there was really peace when I made that decision. 

I'm just wondering how I would respond if God would bring me to a situation that certainty is not a part of it. God works differently in each of our lives. I have a friend that every time he would make big decisions, God would always bring him to a crossroad. That's just how God works in his life. I'm just really inspired by the faith and courage of people who come here not knowing how things will be for them. All they know is that, it's where God wants them to be. And they just obey. 

What's your story? What led you to where you are now? 

God told Abram: "Leave your country, your family, and your father's home for a land that I will show you." - Genesis 12:1

Top 10 of 2011

Happy New Year! :)


I guess it has always been a normal thing to do every time a year ends - reminisce all the things that had transpired for the whole year. Not just in television, but even with our own personal life.


Just like what we see on t.v., I'm gonna make my top 10 highlights of 2011!


10 - Got my extension for my Canada assignment. God knows I needed it. :)
 9 -  Memorable vacations and travels - Virginia/Quebec/Alberta. Note: The people you're with make the places memorable. :)
 8 -  I got promoted at work. Lesson learned: Everything has its own perfect time.
 7 -  Be able to enjoy a new hobby of making hand made cards and to share that joy to others.
 6 -  My family free from debt. God has really been good to us financially.
 5 - Finally became involved with Coastal Church through serving as a greeter. Aside from the joy of doing it, it helped me in my social skills. heee...
 4 - Overcome insecurities by God's grace. Yes, one of the highlights of my life. :)
 3 -  New relationships. I'm grateful for my new friends from work and church. My treasures here in Canada.
 2 - To be finally free. From what? From things that I didn't had the courage to face before. And I'm just glad that God made me dealt with them.
 1 - A very intimate and special journey with God. This year is one of the biggest turning points in my life. 


What's your top 10? I would love to read about it. :) All glory to God for a wonderful year! 

May you welcome 2012 with a huge smile! :D

don't be confused

When you're a parent, you read books about parenting, take care of your children, provide for them. When you're an employee, you go to work every day, do your tasks, report to your boss. When you're a student, you do your home works, study hard to get good grades, stay up late to complete projects.


There are a lot of identities you can associate yourself with. You can be both a parent and and employee. Or, you can be a student and a daughter/son to your parents. And you do such things because those are the normal things of what a parent or a student or an employee should do, (or the like).


This doesn't make any difference of being a Christian. It's your identity showing that you are a believer of Jesus Christ. And it's not being religious when you read and meditate on God's Word every day, pray to God constantly or serve God through the church. These are normal things to do if you consider yourself a Christian. You also need to feed your soul.


We all get confused sometimes, thinking that Christianity is a religion. But for me, Christianity is a way of life. It's a path you are choosing as you do your day to day things in life. Somehow, it has been stereotyped that being passionate and loving to God is being religious. I hope that we try to get rid of that concept in our mind and just embrace without confusion that being a Christian, that's just how it is. 

"So if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that's where the action is. See things from his perspective." - Colossians 3:1-2

Being Cautious

Today, I had some thinking of what had happened for the past days, on people that I'd interacted with.  


Then, I was reminded by God of this verse -  “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’" (Matthew 25:40)


And, it was like an ouch! Many times I forget that what I do or say to someone, I'm doing it to the Lord. And I feel bad thinking about it. I tend to forget that God also cares for the people around me. If they get hurt because of what I do, God feels the same hurt for them. I realize how insensitive I am on how God would feel towards my words and actions.


I'm not perfect and I know I've hurt people without me knowing it. I hope that they will forgive me for it. I pray that in every person that I would talk to, I would see Jesus in them. That way, I will be more careful with what I do and say. I know it's never easy especially if pride or selfishness will try to take over. I just have to look up, continue looking UP.

[Journey on Waiting 4] Right Wave

Last night, we watched the movie "Soul Surfer" during the Thursday Life Group at Coastal Church. It was my second time to watch the movie but it spoke to me differently last night. If you have watched it, you would remember the scene when Bethany's dad told her to wait for the right wave. That in the midst of the silence, you will learn to be patient. 


For the past weeks, I've been in an emotional roller coaster ride.  Most of these days are my longing for my family and friends. And because of this, my focus and desire started to shift to hoping that I could have someone here that I can just be with. And yes, I've been bugging God about it. But last night, I was reminded of waiting. Trusting. Being patient. I asked God so many questions and even reminded Him of some things as if He is not aware of everything. And everything always boils down to, just wait.


I know that this is really just an emotional struggle for me. I realize what difference it could really make when you're surrounded with people who love, encourage and care. But God is really amazing. He keeps me sane. He sustains me. He never let me go. 


I know that my right wave will come even if  things seem so quiet and I can't really see anything clearly. I just have to continue trusting to the only Author of my life.


Glory to Him. :)

"For to me, to live is Christ..."

Duty or Delight? - Week 6

I finished week 6 on the second week of July. Going through all the sessions had really helped me big time. Week 6 talked about victory. It was a reminder for me that no matter what, I have been victorious when I received the Lord Jesus in my life. He has won all the battles even the future ones for me. I just have to live that victorious life.

As I close this journey, I could not really show how God has really been amazing for the past months in my life. But, really, He has been. I am overwhelmed. It had been an interesting ride. It was journey that I had to walk alone with God and it was a life changing one.

Now, I continue my life looking forward to more interesting journeys.

I just want to leave again this verse, Psalm 37:4
"Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart."

Always, always delight in the Lord. :)

Summer Vacation

I've really been grateful to God to be blessed with time and money to go and visit my relatives in the US. Last year, I spent Thanksgiving with my aunts and uncle in Chicago, Papa's siblings.  Even if it wasn't really long, I was still glad that I was able to spend time with them as well as meet my cousins for the first time. I was also able to spend little Christmas time last December with my another Tita and her family (still Papa's sibling). They drove from Virginia to New York and fortunately, around that time I was in New Jersey. Indeed, places become more memorable when you spend it with family and friends. 


And again, just this past week, I had the chance to visit Virginia. Not only Virginia, but also Quebec. Tita Merlyn invited me to join her family for a vacation in Quebec. It's timely because it's summer and I have been saving my vacation leave credits. The perfect summer vacation, I thought! And indeed, it was!


My trip went as going to Virginia (well, 2 connecting flights in between from Vancouver), then after two days, went on a 14-hour long drive with Tita Lyn, Tito Elmer and Shaun going to Quebec. (Kudos to Shaun who was the driver ;>)Then, after five days in Quebec, went back to Virginia and did more sightseeing. It was a twelve-day vacation. Sweeeeet, right?! Hehe...


Some of the highlights were the old Quebec city which was very European, the Baker restaurant which really served delicious cuisine, the underground mall in the city of Montreal, the beautiful architecture of the different church buildings in Quebec, the house of Thomas Jefferson in Monticello, Virginia Beach and Busch Garden. What I also enjoyed in Quebec is the French language. Finally, I was able to use my 'Bonjour!' and 'Merci!'.  Haha!


Well, enough of the places. My vacation was not just purely sightseeing. It made me think more about life. Listening to Tita's stories about how her life had been and how their life(at the time of my grandparents) had been (same story Papa would also tell us), reminded me to be more grateful of what I have now. And somehow, encouraged me more to think of long term goals and to take them seriously. It also reminded me to think less of my self and put family always as first priority. These are the insights I took back with me to Canada.


And of course, travel tips based on experience! Tita was very prepared with unexpected happenings. Some few tips that I learned for long trips...


- always bring raincoats, especially when you go to a place with unpredictable weather (like Canada...hehe); we got stranded for some time in a gasoline station because of a strong wind and rain, and we have to get out from the vehicle because the wind was so strong that the van was already moving; thanks to the raincoat, we didn't get wet...


- always bring emergency light devices; may not sound true, but it is...hehe....the resort we stayed in had a power outage and there was no generator! Good thing, Tita brought flashlights and candles...we had candle lit dinner! Hehe...


- if you are doing a long drive, bring more food! It will really help you save money...that is why we had the crabs travelled from Virginia to Quebec with us...hehehe...


- summer clothes on summer! I had to change my pants when we arrived in Montreal to shorts because it was very hot...no to dark colored shirts, yes to shorts and light colored-tops... Hehe...


Whew! Hope you have a great summer time too! It is really the best time to have a break from school or work. Any activity, need not to be expensive, as long as it refreshes you and let you get your mind off from the stressful things, go do it! Enjoy summer with family or friends!

Duty or Delight? - Week 4

There were three important things I noted in my journal which I believed God wanted me to be reminded of.


Rely
Pruning
Repentance


During this week 4 journey, I re-examined my self on how much have I been relying in the Holy Spirit.  It's sad that most of the time, I don't.  Especially when things seem to be so easy to control, I just go on, on my own. I realized how much blessings I missed of not continuously relying in the Helper.  I'm just grateful that the Holy Spirit never stopped knocking at my heart and made me see that I need Him in my day to day. 


Are you familiar with how the branches of the grape vine are being pruned? Do you know that Jesus figuratively called us the branches, as He is the vine? When we started bearing bad fruits, the gardener who is God will start pruning us so that we will start again bearing good fruits. I'm in a pruning period right now. There are just a lot of things that God has been dealing with me lately. The process of pruning is never delightful but always painful. But, you know what? Jesus is the vine. No matter what, He will hold us together.


And part of pruning is constant repentance. That's why we need the Holy Spirit. Someone who will always remind us and help us resist in going back to our old self. It's never easy. I can attest to that. I'm still a work in progress also. But, we should never give up and just continue to find strength in God to overcome temptations. Repentance is also a day to day thing.


When you plant something, do you check from time to time the condition of your plant? Or if it bears fruit, do you check if it is a good fruit? One thing I always forget to do in my Christian walk is inspecting my crops. What are the condition of my fruits? Are they pleasing to God? I pray that I will learn to inspect. It's also a way for me to  see if what I've been doing have been glorifying to God or just simply pleasing myself.


"Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it. Though I did regret it—I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while— yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done. At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter." 2 Cor 7:8-11

Duty or Delight? - Week 3

When you are so down to the mouth, it's really comforting and encouraging when you are reminded of God's character and of who He really is in your life. If you will agree, it is really when we have adversities in our life that we come to know Him more in a very personal way. 


Since week 3 of my D or D journey, I have started praying the same prayer Paul had for the Ephesians. 


"I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints..." - Ephesians 1:17-18


Are you always amazed of God's faithfulness? I am. Everyday. Every end of the day, I would just look back and wonder how I survived that day without grumbling. I can't help but praise God and thank Him for His faithfulness that no matter what, He will sustain me. But what amazes me more? - God's faithfulness even if we grumble or disobey Him. I'm just glad that He is not like us. He always keeps His promises even if we are unfaithful to Him. Remember the story of Israel? 


I remembered one blog that I read saying that I am not that powerful to influence how another person would behave. Well, it's true. We never have the power to change or transform a person. Only God could do that. And we could only be transformed through His Son, Jesus Christ. Why do we need Jesus? Because God knows that no matter what, we will continue to disobey Him. There's nothing we can do to live up to His standard and that's why He made a way for us. I'm just glad that God made a new covenant. How about you?


I want to share these verses to you: Ezekiel 36:26, Psalm 86:11, Jeremiah 32:39. I hope you'll look them up. They all have one thing in common - heart. Do you know why God said in Prov 4:23 that above all things, we should guard our heart? Because He also said that the heart is deceitful above all things (Jeremiah 17:9). That's why it is important that we always walk in God's protection. It is only in Him that we will have the strength to truly guard our heart. But what if you're heart right now is shattered? I suggest you look up those verses. God can give you a new heart. Isn't that amazing?


Because God always protects us, He will always hold us together even if we really wanted to just give up. He will never let go. Jesus is described as the chief cornerstone because He is the foundation of the church. He unites us all. He is the Rock that will never be destroyed by any force. Are you standing on the strongest Rock? If not, you might want to throw that rock. It's never too late.


One of the things I really struggle with is memorizing verses in the Bible. It's really good that we have a weapon that we could use to defend when the enemy attacks us. Jesus promised us the Holy Spirit. In John 14:26, Jesus said, "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." The Holy Spirit will always remind us even the verses that we thought we don't know to overcome any temptation. 


If you will be asked what is your greatest inheritance, what would your answer be? How about God? The one who chose you before the creation of the world, who redeemed you by sacrificing His Son, who remains faithful, who transforms and protects you, who strengthens you. God is my greatest inheritance and no one could ever take that from me.

i picked up this rock at english bay so that i will be reminded 

WHO I am standing on

Duty or Delight? - Day 1 and 2

Just a background of what Duty or Delight is...


It is a book I purchased online from Life Way store. It is a 6-week journey book of knowing where you stand with God which is based on the Scripture of Ephesians 1:3-23. It is pink and I love it! :) But more than that, it is a book which is totally applicable to the journey I'm going through right now. A journey of re-discovering myself. And knowing where I stand with God is the best way to start it. By the way, the author of the book is Tammie Head. You can google her or the book if you want. :)


The first week talks about the different pitfalls of feeling being chosen by God. I realized that I'm totally into those pitfalls. 


Day 1 was about the first pitfall which is twisted theology. There were these 2 check boxes in the book. I felt sad when the box I checked was that I felt I was the one pursuing God. The other check box was that God was the one pursuing me. I was reminded by Ephesians 1:4 that God has chosen me even before the creation of the world. That it wasn't because of who I am, but because He has already planned of pursuing me even before the world. Isn't it sweet? :) 


Day 2 was about the second pitfall which is my insecurity. Do you ever have that feeling that what you're doing for God is never enough? That if you just miss a day without reading His Word or doing your quiet time, you feel guilty and you felt like you've totally failed God? Sad to say, but I do. And I realize that there is nothing I would do that could lessen God's love for me. When I read Genesis 3:7-10 - it was when Adam and Eve hid behind the trees because they got ashamed of their nakedness, then when I read Genesis 3:21 - God made garments of skin for Adam and Even, my heart crushed. I realized how insecure I am with God's love. At the same time, I became in love with God more. God would still want me even if I'm broken. 


Day 3?? It will be on my next blog. 


I just want to praise God for giving me the chance to be better, not by my own effort, but all because of His love and grace through the Lord Jesus Christ.


:)