Overcoming Fear

Last Saturday, I went to Cypress Mountain with friends to do snowboarding. This is my second winter in Canada but I never tried snowboarding or skiing because of one reason - I was scared. But my friend, Anni who loves snowboarding so much succeeded in convincing me to at least give it a try. And so I did.


Surprisingly, I actually enjoyed it. But it wasn't easy at all for me. The rest of the guys I was with learned so fast and it was their first time too. It took me more than 1 hour to just complete my first run, going down the bunny hill. Everyone was already going up and down for so many times while I was stuck with my first run. Two reasons - I was having a hard time getting up and I got scared when I slide down so fast that I had to let my self fall to stop.


When I did my second run, I somehow improved and learned on how to balance and to slow down. But still, I fell so many times - in different positions. Haha! My whole body was hurting already that it took me a long time contemplating if I would do a third run. And oh, everyone has moved already to the next level that I was the only one left at the bunny hill. Hehehe... I wanted to do the third run to prove to myself that I can overcome my fear but I didn't want to at the same time because |I was scared that I might get injured since I was already hurting. That moment was Stifany vs. myself.  Well, I'm glad that I did the third run. I was just praying that God would keep me safe. I felt that I had to do the third run or else I would keep thinking of what ifs. I know three runs was not much as I should have done more. But as for me, I know that was enough. The reason I tried snowboarding in the first place was to prove to my self that I can conquer my fear. And, I believe I did a pretty good job on it. :)


If you would ask me if I'll do it again, maybe... :)


Just glad I went home in one piece..hehehe....

We all have our own favourite verses or books in the Bible for different reasons. The verses below are some of my favourites in the New Testament because every time I read these verses, I always feel like I'm cheering for Jesus. My reaction had never changed every time I read them. I would always go like, "Oh yeah, com'n...you can't beat that (referring to Jesus' words)..." 

These verses are when Jesus was challenged by the religious leaders - Pharisees and Sadducees because they want to have something that they could use against Jesus.

Enjoy the verses and be amazed. :)

Mark 11:27-33

The Authority of Jesus Questioned

 ²⁷ They arrived again in Jerusalem, and while Jesus was walking in the temple courts, the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders came to him. ²⁸ “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you authority to do this?” ²⁹ Jesus replied, “I will ask you one question. Answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. ³⁰ John’s baptism—was it from heaven, or of human origin? Tell me!”
 ³¹ They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ ³² But if we say, ‘Of human origin’ …” (They feared the people, for everyone held that John really was a prophet.)
 ³³ So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”
   Jesus said, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.”

Mark 12:13-37

Paying the Imperial Tax to Caesar

 ¹³ Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Jesus to catch him in his words. ¹⁴ They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not? ¹⁵ Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”   But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” ¹⁶ They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”
   “Caesar’s,” they replied.
 ¹⁷ Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”
   And they were amazed at him.

Marriage at the Resurrection

 ¹⁸ Then the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him with a question. ¹⁹ “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. ²⁰ Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without leaving any children. ²¹ The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third. ²² In fact, none of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too. ²³ At the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?” ²⁴ Jesus replied, “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God? ²⁵When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. ²⁶ Now about the dead rising—have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the account of the burning bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? ²⁷ He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!”

The Greatest Commandment

 ²⁸ One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”   ²⁹ “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.³⁰ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ ³¹ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
 ³² “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. ³³ To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
 ³⁴ When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.

Whose Son Is the Messiah?

 ³⁵ While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, “Why do the teachers of the law say that the Messiah is the son of David? ³⁶ David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared:   “‘The Lord said to my Lord:
   “Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies
   under your feet.”’
   ³⁷ David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?”
   The large crowd listened to him with delight.

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