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!

Did you RSVP?

From the book, "Heaven", by Randy Alcorn.

Ruthanna Metzgar, a professional singer, tells a story that illustrates the importance of having our names written in the book. Several years ago, she was asked to sing at the wedding of a very wealthy man. According to the invitation, the reception would be held on the top two floors of Seattle's Columbia Tower, the Northwest's tallest skyscraper. She and her husband, Roy, were excited about attending. 

At the reception, waiters in tuxedos offered luscious hors d'oeuvres and exotic beverages. The bride and groom approached a beautiful glass and brass staircase that led to the top floor. Someone ceremoniously cut a satin ribbon draped across the bottom of the stairs. They announced the wedding feast was about to begin. Bride and groom ascended the stairs, followed by their guests. 

At the top of the stairs, a maitre d' with a bound book greeted the guests outside the doors. 

"May I have your name please?"

"I am Ruthanna Metzgar and this is my husband, Roy."

He searched the M's. "I'm not finding it. Would you spell it please?" Ruthanna spelled her name slowly. 

After searching the book, the maitre d' looked up and said, "I'm sorry, but your name isn't here."

"There must be some mistake," Ruthanna replied. "I'm the singer. I sang for this wedding!"

The gentleman answered, "It doesn't matter who you are or what you did. Without your name in the book you cannot attend the banquet."

He motioned to a waiter and said, "Show these people to the service elevator, please."

The Metzgars followed the waiter past beautifully decorated tables laden with shrimp, whole smoked salmon, and magnificent carved ice sculptures. Adjacent to the banquet area, an orchestra was preparing to perform, the musicians all dressed in dazzling white tuxedos.

The waiter led Ruthanna and Roy to the service elevator, ushered them in, and pushed G for the parking garage. After locating their car and driving several miles in silence, Roy reached

over and put his hand on Ruthanna's arm. 

"Sweetheart, what happened?"

"When the invitation arrived, I was busy," Ruthanna replied. "I never bothered to RSVP. Besides, I was the singer. Surely I could go to the reception without returning the RSVP!"

Ruthanna started to weep-not only because she had missed the most lavish banquet she'd ever been invited to, but also because she suddenly had a small taste of what it will be like someday for people as they stand before Christ and find their names are not written in the Lamb's Book of Life.

Throughout the ages, countless people have been too busy to respond to Christ's invitation to his wedding banquet. Many assume that the good they've done-perhaps attending church, being baptized, singing in the choir, or helping in a soup kitchen-will be enough to gain entry to Heaven. But people who do not respond to Christ's invitation to forgive their sins are people whose names aren't written in the Lamb's Book of Life. To be denied entrance to Heaven's wedding banquet will not just mean going down the service elevator

to the garage. It will mean being cast outside into Hell, forever. In that day, no explanation or excuse will count. All that will matter is whether our names are written in the book. If they're not, we'll be turned away.

Have you said yes to Christ's invitation to join him at the wedding feast and spend eternity with him in his house? If so, you have reason to rejoice-Heaven's gates will be open to you. If you have been putting off your response, your RSVP, or if you presume that you can enter Heaven without responding to Christ's invitation, one day you will deeply regret it.

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.  - Eph 1: 7 - 8

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Don't forget to RSVP!

Community Activity - Fun fun fun!

Last June 24, Accenture Vancouver conducted again a community meeting across all projects. But this time, it was a different meeting. It was more of getting to know other employees across different projects. It was really one of the best gatherings I've attended in my whole Accenture tenure. 


We were divided in different colors so we got to interact and work (I mean play) with employees of different projects. In the morning, we went to our break out sessions which were really fun. One of the sessions I chose was the Laughter Yoga and for 15-20 minutes I was just laughing the whole time. It was a crazy session! Some of the highlights of it - walking in penguin walk, saying hello through laughing, and talking in gibberish. My jaw was so painful of laughing. 


In the afternoon, we went into our own teams and started playing all the games prepared. It was like Amazing Race but not really. Hehe... We just need to play the games as much as we can to collect more chips. No pressure! Just to have fun! I got to play lacrosse which is something new for me. All of the games involved teamwork which really made us apply what we do in our actual work life. 


The best parts of the day were the tug-of-war which is not just 2 teams but 4 teams against each other. And, saving the best for last - BBQ ended the day! Yummy burgers and hot dogs! Some employees had their families came during the BBQ. 


Oh, the best part really? Our team - Red 11 won a Team Spirit Award! Haha! Just for having fun! :)


Here are some of our pix, thought I didn't have the pix of our team. We were too busy playing. Hehe...  These are pix with Pinoy folks!

Duty or Delight? - Week 5

I had finished Week 5 about two weeks ago. I just had the time now to write about it.


Week 5 I must say is my favorite week. It's about L-O-V-E.  And, that week was really special because the message totally made a huge impact with the way I think and feel towards the things that I've been dealing lately.


But anyways...I just want to talk about God's love.


Have you ever tried comprehending or understanding the love of God for you? I tried sometimes. But, we just can't right? We can never find the right words to explain it. Instead, we just accept it and embrace it wholeheartedly. I know how much God loves me. He greatly displayed His love through our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.  And, He did that for all of us. But, what's nice about our Father? He never stops showing His love. He is just so sweet! 


During this week 5, God has revealed to me something that really changed my heart. I must say, He spoke straight to my heart.  I just found myself, not thinking, not analyzing, not questioning but peacefully trusting, accepting and smiling. I was in awe! That's the right word. I felt God working in me, just loving me. :) 
(And now, I'm smiling again as I'm typing this.)


As God loves us, teaching us what love is and how to love, we should also respond to that love. But, as simple as it may sound, it is not that easy. That's why He commanded us to love Him. 


Loving God means worshiping Him through spiritual disciplines and serving Him. We could do that, right? How about loving God means loving the person that you can't stand to be with? Well, that's hard, isn't it? That's why Jesus made it also a commandment, to love our neighbors. 


God taught me 'Forgiveness' in a very hard way...always the hard way. But, it made me better. It has taught me to love God more. It has even made me understand more of God's character, the great Forgiver. 


How about you? How has God been teaching you about loving Him lately? Obedience is an act of love for God. Do you agree?


Deuteronomy 6:5 
"Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength."