For the Courageous and Humble

After my first two jam-packed weeks of December, this week came like a rest week for me. :) I should really be resting now since I got a stiff neck... :( Never thought that having this was pretty hard-- when I look up, down, left, right... Or just have a simple sneeze, there's pain in the neck. Ouch. :(

Since it's pretty hard to move or do something really physical (but still thank God I got to do some of my laundry), I got more time to do some contemplating about the weeks that passed, some reading and writing. Activities that you don't need to move much haha!

And also I still have my hangover from these weddings and got some revelations about love in the context of a husband and wife (told ya, I still have my hangover!). :)

I heard from many people (mostly men), that love is only for the courageous. A man needs to be courageous when he lays his intentions of pursuing the woman that he loves. A woman needs courage to say "Yes" to the man and be completely vulnerable before him. A couple needs courage to face challenges together as a team and not anymore as individuals. And the list goes on. It's like embedded on my mind that if you want love, you got to be courageous.

One of my favorite shots from the #MikLang wedding :)

But God somewhat revealed to me, through these weddings that I have recently been to and through some conversations and observations from the couples that I know-- that if you want love (or you want somebody to love and be with that person for the rest of your life) you got to have not just courage but also humility. :)

People tend to just focus on the "sugar and spice and everything nice" when entering marriage that they almost neglect this part of the reality that marriage is also hard work and the wedding is not an ending but only a beginning (I was never married though, but most of the married couples that I know usually say this, or at least that's the idea when they relate some of their husband-wife stories).

"Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Saviour. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church..." -Ephesians 5:22-29

It's a commitment to forevah! (Image from fashionplaceface.com)

Marrying someone comes with a string of commitments...

Commitment of service

Commitment of sacrifice

Commitment of submission

Commitment of purity

Commitment of pursuit

Commitment of purpose

If we are not humble enough, we will not be able to do these. God's grace is needed, and God gives grace to the humble.

We need humility to serve, whenever we do our sacrifices, whenever we submit to God and also for us ladies, to our husbands. We have to have it to keep our purity, to keep pursuing the one you love and to continue to live under God's purpose (this is intertwined with our commitment to submit to God). And yes, I think we got to also have courage to swallow up our pride and be humble. That we are not always strong and not always right. Be brave and humble to know and accept that we have imperfections too, that we are not perfect, so we won't be hard on other's failings.

Just like Jesus, who showed our love for us when He humbled Himself. God became human and made His dwellings among us. He's been so humble that He chose to die a shameful death on the cross just to prove His love for us. And He was also courageous when He chose to do that. He was courageous AND humble.

Love is then, not just for the courageous... It's for the courageous and humble. ♥

3 Weddings and a Birthday

The first two weeks of December feels like a year! A lot of things had happened... or should I say, many couples got married for it's becoming a norm to get married on December here in the Philippines. All of the 3 weddings that I've been to are weddings of my friends from the church. :) (And I was also present to all of their bridal showers!)

#PeeweeIrisIDo

This year, it was my first time to celebrate my birthday in a friend's wedding! :) I wasn't really a guest but I was part of the team who prepared for it (I was more involved in the creative and styling part). :)

Last meeting (night before the wedding) for the Peewee-Iris nuptials

I had sleepless nights before the wedding because of the preparation but it's fine with me. It's always been my desire to be involved in a wedding specially if it's for a friend and when I'm with my friends! :) Thank you Lord for the roaring strength! :)

Happy wedding and happy birthday! :D

December 6 started early for me since I have to be in the wedding venue early in the morning. Thank God for my parents who went with me there early and had a breakfast with me at Coffee Bean! :)

This was also a test of faith for all of us! It was really a risk to held a wedding ceremony outdoor since there was a threat that typhoon Ruby will visit us with her rains and thunderstorms. But! Thank God He answered our prayers! It was a sunny-windy day and not even a single drop of rain came! What a happy wedding for the couple, Peewee and Iris and a happy birthday to me! :)

The wedding ceremony and reception ended and it has been a long day, so I thought that we will don't celebrate my birthday anymore but! Surprise! We celebrated it at again, in Coffee Bean! :) God knows how I really appreciate this, even though we are all feeling groggy and sleepy, my friends and my sister still made some time to celebrate my birthday with a few hours remaining for the day. :) A pleasant surprise indeed... :)


#MikLang Wedding

The following weekend (December 12, 2014), I witnessed another glorious wedding! A sunset and the Taal lake in front of us and a rainbow behind us! No event stylist or wedding coordinator can intentionally pull this off... only God. :) Both of the couple are my friends and I've been with them in Cambodia to share God's love to the Khmers. I'm thankful and I appreciate this couple, sooo much! One of the reasons is that they are so generous with advises and imparting wisdom when it comes to courtship and being in a relationship. :) They honored God in their relationship and they are proud of it! And it was also their first time to kiss on their wedding day! ♥

(Dear Papa Lord, can You also bless me with a glorious wedding like this one when Your right time (and the right man) comes to me to get married? ^-^)

God somewhat "spoiled" us with these: a sunset and a rainbow!

#JacqDaWedding aka #BIGatinwedding

This was on December 13, 2014 or 12-13-14!

Hahahaha! I was laughing all the time during the wedding ceremony! The bride, Jacq, is also a friend of mine and so far she's the most unique bride that I have known! Why? Because she's the only bride that I know who was howling (like cheering herself) while she's walking down the aisle! Woohoo! :D It think I was smiling big (and howling also) while she was walking towards her groom, holding her pomelo-colored bouquet and wearing that usual big grin on her face! (and Daryl, the groom, was crying by the altar. Aww...)

God's grace was really evident in this wedding... there were a lot of setbacks and it even rained before the ceremony started! But just what Jacq said, the wedding still took place because of God. And I say, "Amen!" :)

It also felt like a reunion for me since I had friends that I didn't have spent time with for some seasons now who were also present in the wedding. :)

The color motif was black and white... Not common colors for a wedding right? :)

So yes, it's been a loooong first two weeks of December! Not to mention I have also attended several Christmas parties too in this span of time... :)

All I can say is... Thank You Lord. :) For the 3 weddings (and more to go) that I attended and for another year (and more) that You have blessed me with. :) I just turned 26 and I believe the 2nd quarter of my life will be better compared to the first one because of You, Jesus. ♥

‘But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
    whose confidence is in him.
They will be like a tree planted by the water
    that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
    its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
    and never fails to bear fruit.’
-Jeremiah 17:7-8

Bridal Shower Madness

Over this past weekend, I've been to 3 shower parties that started last Friday til Sunday (well, it was a Shag (Shower and Stag) party that I attended last Friday). :)

It's been really a weekend of laughs and sharing of wisdom and encouragements.

I've never been into a romantic relationship, and I will never be unless the goal for that relationship is marriage. Though it's not a popular idea nowadays, I still believe that it is a wise move because it will help you to at least spare yourself from unnecessary hurts and pains and emotional roller coaster rides.

From all of these shower (and a shag) parties that I attended, I just have some thoughts about marriage, relationships and love (don't think that I'm an expert on these, but talking to many godly people who have been there is really like stumbling upon an oasis in hot desert where you can gather enough water for your own journey).

Shower filled weekend!

Enjoy your season of being single.
Yes it's not really new but this still rings true. :) It will going to be a whole new world once you get married. There are many things that you enjoy doing while you are still single that you may not do again once you already have a spouse (example: sleeping alone in bed hehe!). And if you are not happy being single, then most probably you will never be happy being married too! Save money while you still don't have your own family to support, develop yourself as a person, be the right person for the one that you are going to marry by preparing for him/her, be a blessing to many people, etc. There are a lot of meaningful and significant things that you can do while flying solo. :)

Don't rush but instead also enjoy your time being single with the Lord. We need Him in every season of our lives (single or not), and I believe we will be needing more of Him and His grace once we got married with an imperfect person like you and me. :)


Every story is different.
Every love story is different from each other and God have His ways in doing it beautiful for His children. What important is, God is the Writer and the Builder of that story and relationship. :)

Unless the Lord builds the house,
    the builders labour in vain.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
    the guards stand watch in vain. -Psalm 127:1

Be who you are.
You don't need to be somebody aside from being yourself. Like Jesus, believe that someone will love you and accept you... ♫ just the way you are... ♫ :) Of course there will still be some things that you need to develop like character traits, but what I mean is you don't need to change if your goal is to be liked back by the person you admire, or to change so that men (or women) might notice you. I believe that when we enjoy being ourselves, God will be pleased--who is our Creator. I'm saying this specially to women. Don't think like...

"I think I should be like her..."
"I should be like this because this is what he likes..."
"If I can be more like her, maybe he will notice me..."

Stuffs like that.

Our goal is not to be someone else... Our goal is to be more Christlike! Not to be "very likeable" or be "crushable". It is to be Christlike! So don't focus on them but focus on Him-- Jesus! :)

There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:...

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
-Ecclesiastes 3:1 and 11

Image form amendesigns.com