Simple Joys: First Ligo sa Ulan Experience

It rained so hard the other day and I just felt the urge to let them experience how it is to enjoy the rain:

Summer 2014

It has recently dawn on me that summer is really over.  I am not talking about the heat though, because the rain every now and then does not seem to help lessen it. But I am talking about the activities we do when kids are on vacation.  No more out of towns at a whim, no more late night movies and dine out bonding (although we can do these still on Friday nights).  And no more late morning wake up call and brunch, except on a Saturday.

I am not a fan of summer because of the unbearable heat, but I love the carefree lifestyle it brings when every one doesn't  have to be pressured to wake up early because of school.  Early mornings is better when the house is quiet and I can enjoy a coffee and my bible or a book.  And we experienced 4 weeks of no house help (one month vacation in her hometown), and my mom staying for a while at my sister's place, so we were left alone to do everything.  It was hashtag- #sakitsakatawan #exhausted, but it was fun for all of us because we get to help each other and have the excuse to eat out because I do not have the time to cook! :-D

On June 9, the carefree mornings will officially be over.   But I thank God that we were able to make the most out of it.  Those special times we spent with our children were surely times they will treasure in their hearts.  I have received advise from many older friends who have grown up kids not to take these times for granted, because there will come a time when their world will no longer revolve around Mom and Dad, and we have to make sure we have invested times they will miss about us. And we always make it a point to create beautiful memories with them.

Sharing you some Summer 2014 memories:

Post ITR Guilt

I am not proud to say  that the busyness and sleepless nights I went through during the income tax season had forced me to forgo my morning quiet time with God and expectantly had put me in a hibernate mode when it comes to what should my purpose in life be- to declare God's love and mercy to those who does not know Him.  I feel guilty that I did not trust God enough to know that even if I spend my whole day spending time with Him, He has the power to give me the strength to meet my deadlines and He could have made it less stressful for me.  The past days, guilt is pounding my heart so much that I am having a hard time doing my quiet time with God because I am ashamed to talk to Him. My unfaithfulness could have made Him decide to make it impossible for me to finish my work or even beat the deadline.  He could have showed me that if it His will for me not to be able to complete my task, it will happen that way despite my 200% effort and sleepless nights.  But He showed me mercy and love.  He remained faithful to my prayers of help despite my unfaithfulness.  He showed me over and over again that He loves me despite of hibernation mode.

This morning, I asked for forgiveness and thank Jesus for the forgiveness of my sins.  Because this is why Jesus died on the cross to pay for all my sins once and for all.  He knew that my heart will still cause me to sin despite of my decision to follow Him.  I am not proud to say that again, I stumbled.  But God's love and mercy and grace is new every morning.  And I won't allow the devil anymore to make me wallow in guilt and not enter God's presence.  God has forgiven me, and He is giving me another chance to take the direction He want me to follow.  His presence will guide me into His will in my life.

Thank you Lord Jesus for forgiving me and dying on the cross for me.  Thank you for giving me another chance and for making me realize that I have not fully surrendered my life to you.  Please help me, transform my whole heart and please lead me to Your will.

Lamentations 3:31-32
For no one is cast off by the Lord forever.
Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,
  so great is His unfailing love.

The Cross

Hope.

Love.

Grace.

Peace.

Joy.

Life.

The CROSS has given me hope when I had none.  It has shown me love like no other and grace beyond imagination.  The peace and joy in my heart amidst life's turmoil and challenges I owe it to the CROSS.   It has has given me life-  a purpose to live and direction to take.

The cross is JESUS CHRIST saving me from my wickedness, from a life that is so dark and bound to eternal separation from God.  The cross is God's love for a sinner like me, undeserving to be saved, undeserving to be called to His family.  Yet He extended me grace and love, and until now, I am grateful and in awe of that kind of love and grace.

Before I met Christ, I was living a life of sin.  I was full of pride, conceited, controlling, critical, to name a few.  I was living a life where my goal was to become financially free because I want to spend more time with my family.  It was a good and noble reason, to be able to be there 24/7 to my husband and kids.  But I never really admitted that deeper reason for such goal.  I wanted to be rich because I wanted all money can buy.  I want to be envied and look up to.  I want power and authority.  It was all about feeding my PRIDE.

But He took it all away, He toppled the stairs  I was climbing.  Until I was brought to the edge  and eventually fell far deeper to where I started.  Depression and hopelessness engulf me fast and I didn't know how to start all over again.  And that is the time when He called me to Him.  THE BEST TIME OF MY LIFE EVER WAS WHEN I CAME TO KNOW MY SAVIOR AND LORD, JESUS CHRIST.  He forgave my sins and welcomed me into God's family.  I will never forget how the peace of God has replaced the hopelessness and worry in my heart.  It was a peace truly beyond understanding.  Slowly, I learned to let go of the reign I have on my life and let God direct me according to His will.  And it has never been better - the joy in my heart, whatever life's circumstances I am into is truly amazing.  

Today, my purpose in life is to live according to God's will and purpose.  Am I perfectly doing it?  The answer is no.  I still struggle with my old self where at times my pride gets the better of me.  But I pray to God and He never fail to offer His hand and help me get back up and star over again.

God loves us all that He gave His only Son, Jesus, to die for us and save us from our sins.  All of us are bound to go to hell, and yet out of His love for us, He made a way to bring us back to Him.  He gave the gift of salvation through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  That gift of CROSS/SALVATION is freely offered to us and the only thing we need to do is to accept it by repenting on our sins, asking for forgiveness from God and living a life where Jesus becomes not only our savior but also our Lord.  Then we start a journey towards Christ likeness.

Life here on earth is short. This Holy Week, let us find time to reflect-

From all I have been through, from all the success I have reached, am I truly happy?  Do I have peace and genuine joy in my life?

Or do I feel emptiness?

After my life here on earth, do I know where and how will I spend eternity?

Realizations Amidst the Busyness

With the year end BIR deadlines just finished and the Income Tax season drawing near everyday,  life became an everyday of restlessness and chaos. I became so busy and anxious to finish everything and it's been slowly making me become a "monster wife and mom".  I feel guilty of getting irritated easily  and focusing more on my exhaustion and my wanting of everyone around me to be considerate of what I am going through.  I felt that the kids and Vergil should not be wanting too much of my attention since I have so much to do and so many deadlines to beat. I actually feel wrong for wanting that.

But now I realized that I have been dealing with my work with my own power, thus the exhaustion and anxiousness.  I forgot to pray to God for power and guidance.  I failed to trust Him-  that I should be doing the right thing, and trust Him to help me.  I should have not put my work on top of my daily conversation with Him and over my husband and kids.

And there's my issue of ungratefulness.  God has blessed me the opportunity of working at home and yet getting an income more than what I can get from working as an employee.  He has given me the opportunity to work but have the choice to stop and prioritize taking care of my family from time to time.  But lately, I have been grumbling.  Just like the Israelites whom God has called out of Egypt and has guided through their way to the promise land, I too, had been grumbling of tiredness.  How ungrateful I am!  I did not even think of those mothers who are working 8-12 hours a day in the office who would joyfully grab an opportunity same as mine.  I was so focused on myself, I forgot how blessed I am!  God has called me out of my cursed life as a sinner and saved me.  He's with me all through out my journey in the desert -  He provides, protects and continually reminded me of how He loves me.  But I started to complain, I am not proud of that.

Today, God, in His unending love and mercy, has given me another chance to change.  From becoming too dependent on myself for power to focusing on Jesus for power.  From being ungrateful to becoming a person who knows how to count all my blessings and realize how undeserving I am and yet He has graciously given.  From a person who makes wrong priorities to a person who leads the path of life according to His will. And from a person who grumbles to a person that should be praying instead.

 I am not proud that after all the display of God's power, love, forgiveness, grace and mercy in my life,  I have failed to put my total trust in Him in this time of busyness and chaos.  How silly I am to choose to rely on my power when God's power is so available to me.

Today, I must keep in mind-

                          1.  Don't be anxious, PRAY.
                          2.  Remind myself, work comes after God, family and others (relationships)
                          3.  Be grateful, count your blessings.

:-)))

Great Wealth

1 Timothy 6:6-8
Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.

Once again, God reminded me to probe deeper in my heart.  And reminded me that the true great wealth does not lie in what I have or I can have, but in being contented and being grateful. He reminded me that my greatest wealth is the ETERNAL LIFE that He,with so much grace and love, had given us through the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I am guilty of not putting into heart the warning the apostle Paul gave in the verses that followed that of above-

1 Timothy 6:6-8

But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

I am grateful that before I once again plunged in to the wrong direction, God so lovingly reminded me today of getting on the right track.  Of pursuing the path of His righteousness and will.  I pray that the Holy Spirit will strengthen me against the temptations of the world and the temporary happiness it offers.  I pray that God will protect my heart from pride and from wanting to please man instead of Him.

Have a blessed day everyone!

The Best Thing That Ever Happened In My Life

3 years ago, if someone had asked me what is the best thing that ever happened in my life, I am pretty sure I'd get into a thinking mode and sort the happy moments in my life and decide which of them is the best thing.

But if you ask me now, I will answer straight away:  the day I accepted Jesus Christ to become my personal Lord and Savior.

It's been almost two years since that day, but I will never ever forget the day when God enabled me to go down on my knees and confess how sinful I am and how I needed Jesus to save me.  That time, I experienced the peace and calmness I have never experienced even in what I thought was the happiest day of my life.  It was peace beyond anything.  Amidst the storm and waves of life, I had never felt more secure and at peace. 

And I never imagined before, that I would become so grateful today that he allowed me to go through so much two years ago.  Now I know how much He loves me, because what He allowed to happen, has made me and Vergil go back to Him.  It has made us seek Him and taught us to let go and surrender control of our life to Him.

He opened my eyes to the reality that life on earth is not what should we live for, but we should live on the life that is after- ETERNITY.  Have you ever wondered where will you go after your life here?  Honestly, I had the thought before the time I met Jesus in my life, and I was worried sick because I was not sure I'd be going to heaven.  But today, I am assured that I will be with God.

Today, my heart never fails to swell with so much gratitude to God for enabling me to seek Him out.  I am very grateful that Jesus died on the cross for me... for all of us.  His gift of salvation is being offered to all.  Just like any gift, we just need to accept that gift.

Wouldn't you want to accept the greatest gift of all?

The video below (by Peter Tan-chi Jr.)  is a good reminder of how lost I was once,  but God loves me very much, that he sent His only son to save me. 

Flunked the Work Test

I've been busy the past days because of the 3 new clients I got.  There's still a lot to go through until everything settles down into a merely routine.  And because of it, I've been under a lot of stress lately, been having less hours of sleep and I become irritable to Vergil and the kids.  And God convicted me, it should not be that way.

God has given me those clients not to do the same mistake I did before- putting work above everything.  The control freak (black dog) in me took the opportunity to cloud once more my knowledge of what God wants me to do.  But I am glad that He made me realize early on what I should be doing- to trust Him to help me with my work.  To be conscious of my priorities-  God, family and others, work and ministry.

Well, I am not proud to say I flunked the test of trusting the Lord for my work.  I had so many deadlines and so little time to do it.  I panicked, plunged myself into work, rearranged my priorities (work on top!) and I ended up irritable, stressed (emphasis on two big, ugly pimple on my chin!), tired and not happy at all!  What I should have done was to keep my priorities in check, and then prayed to God to take control of my deadlines and work.  I have our powerful God to help me but I relied on my own strength once again!  How foolish I am!!

Lesson learned-

1.  Never compromise your priorities (right priorities, I mean).
2.  When you think it is impossible to do something, trust in God.  He is the God of the impossible after all.
3.  Pray, never ceased to pray.
4.  Do not rely on your own strength.

Psalm 28:7
The Lord is my strength and my shield;
    my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart leaps for joy,
    and with my song I praise him.

Have a blessed day everyone!

God's Love And Mercy

I am not sure, but I think I mentioned before how I gave up a good offer to return working full time over working at home - bookkeeping on retainer's.  I only had one client at that time so imagine the difference of the amount of income between the two.  But I chose to obey God when He told me to concentrate becoming a wife and a mother He wants me to be.  That the same time, we were struggling financially and the offer could have helped us.  But we trusted God and His plans for us.  I knew He will provide for us and will never leave us through the trying times.

It's been more than a year and God has been faithful to His promises.  He gave us so much undeserved love and mercy that I never thought I'd experienced.  He provided for us while he taught us to lean on Him for everything.  He's been faithful the whole time although I was not.  Most of the time, I stumble and hurt Him.  But He forgives me over and over that I feel sick knowing how unworthy I am of it.

It's been over a year, and although I was not as faithful as He is to me, He showered me with blessings. Today, I am working at home, I am my own boss and He gave me income more than what was offered to me before.  God is so good and I am so grateful that he encouraged me to wait and be patient.  His words guided me all the way to what I have now.

Today, as I reflect, I asked for God's forgiveness for all the time I follow the ways of the world and not listen to the Holy Spirit.  I am still a work in progress, but I have learned and realized that God loves me so much that He is always there to welcome me back when I go astray.  I am grateful of everything- from the trials that developed me and brought me to seek Him and to the blessings that He gave me. Indeed, God is good and faithful. He is loving and merciful never wanting us to perish.

Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Batch Meeting

Had to go home to meet them.  Too bad it was a short trip

.  

Know the Shepherd... Intimately

I've been studying the book of Zechariah during my quiet time these days through John MacArthur's Book Bible Studies available in his website Grace To You.   It has been a tremendous help for me to better understand our God in the Old Testament.  It has given me a lot of insight about our God.

And yesterday, while studying the book through the help of John MacArthur's study on the book, he shared a story which is so profound that I just need also to share with everyone-

I always think about the story of the actor who went to the sort of a drawing room function. And there was a lady there, a fancy place, you know, ladies had their glasses on a stick, you know, one of those old fancy deals. So this one lady who was the hostess came to him and said, "Sir, we would like for you to recite for us." So the actor was in his glory, wanted to recite. And wanting to get the benefit of all that he could from his audience and having a rather unlimited repertoire, he said to his audience, "What would you like me to recite?" And there was an old preacher there, probably crashed the party, and he said, "I'd like to hear the twenty-third Psalm." And the actor said, "All right, I'll...I don't prefer to do that, but I'll do it on one condition," hoping that the gentleman would back down on his request, he said, "I'll do it if you'll do it after me."
The old pastor figuring twice is better than once said, "Fine." So the actor began and his intonation was flawless and his diction was beautiful. Masterfully he went through with great intensity the twenty-third Psalm. When he was done, there was applause. And the old preacher, he got up there and he had kind of a ministerial twang and his diction wasn't that hot, his interpretation wasn't so great. He got all done and there wasn't a sound. And there wasn't a dry eye in the place. And the actor was overcome with the silence, stood up and he said, "I think I know the difference. I know the Psalm, but he knows the Shepherd." That's the difference. There are lots of people who know the Psalm, sadly there aren't so many who know the Shepherd. 

And it hit me-  many claim that they know Jesus.  But the difference between those who are like the Actor and those who are like the Pastor- is the HEART.  Knowing from the HEAD is different from knowing from the HEART,  and knowing from the heart comes from knowing someone intimately.  Just like in a relationship, you cannot love someone you don't know.

We become intimate with others by spending more time with them.  We get to know everything about them- what they love, what they hate, what pleases them etc.  And when we fall in love with the person, we want to please them, we don't want to hurt them.

Same is through with our God.  We can only love him wholeheartedly if we spend time with Him and know Him intimately.  And we can say we truly love Him when we commit to total obedience of His will. Although there are times when we stumble, He is forgiving and merciful.  Although there are times when following His will seems impossible with our own strength, the Holy Spirit's power will strengthen us and make it possible for us.

Spend time with Him and get to know Him intimately by making time to study His word.  There you will understand how great, loving, merciful our God is. There you will get to know, not only the Psalm, but the more of the SHEPHERD.

:-)

SM Southmall Bowling Center

I don't know how to play bowling and so I was not interested to check the place out.  But Miguel insisted we visit the area.  He went ahead with his dad while we stopped by the department store first for some stuff.  They both decided they to play playstation while waiting for us.

I was surprised when I got there though.  The place is huge and there were other activities aside from bowling and play station.

Bowling Area

Game Zone

Billiards

Massage Chairs

Dance Revo

Bowling Area 

Maxene in one of the massage chairs

I tried the massage chairs for PHP20 (6 minutes).  I highly recommend it for those who just need a quick relaxation.  I wished though I have put in PHP50 for 15min.  :-)  Will try uli next time. 

They also have a snack bar, not sure about the offers and prices.  

Well, it's a good place for barkada's to hang out and for families to bond.