Three Simple Thoughts

I've been keeping a journal for like four years now. I finished another notebook (actually it's a planner and I turned it into a journal hehe) just yesterday, and did some "throwback" reading of my past journal entries.

Image from www.scribetime.net

My journal entries are my conversations with God written on paper. :) I write whatever I'm feeling, my prayers and even tantrums or just about anything! Most of them are also my devotional entries from His Word, the Bible. I noticed a short yet helpful entry that I had last June 6 that I would want to share here. :)

¹⁹ When you lay siege to a city for a long time, fighting against it to capture it, do not destroy its trees by putting an ax to them, because you can eat their fruit. Do not cut them down. Are the trees people, that you should besiege them? ²⁰ However, you may cut down trees that you know are not fruit trees and use them to build siege works until the city at war with you falls. -Deuteronomy 20:19-20

I don't know... But three thoughts from this passage came to my mind on the time I read this:

1. Do not tolerate sin. Cut away the things that cause you to sin in your life.

2. There are things from your past that you can learn from them and help you grow.

3. But there are also things from your past that you can't neither benefit nor grow from it. Cut them or let go of them so the burden will be lighter. It can help you advance in your battles in this life.

Simply put--- Don't tolerate sin. Learn to grow. Let go to grow.

I wrote this on my journal for over a month ago, but I think God is reminding me again of these three simple thoughts from this "throwback" journal entry. Truly His Word is always timely. :)

WWJD in a Sportsfest

WWJD stands for "What Would Jesus Do". Just want to share my God-moment that I had last Ministry Sportsfest in my home church. We had basketball, volleyball, badminton for sports and a cheering competition. I came from the Kids Ministry and I joined our volleyball team with some of my co-volunteers. So we had practices for few days and I also supported our cheering squad.

To make this one short, we didn't win any of the sports and even the cheering competition. Though we are really promising in all of it (except for the basketball sport hoho!). This made me a little sad, thinking that God didn't honor our sacrifices and hard work. We gave our best and all that but still things didn't went in our favor. Then I thought of Jesus.

Sometimes, it's really not about winning, but it's about giving your all. Yes, this sounds very cliche... But just what Jesus did, He gave His all to the world without the assurance of winning all of the people. But still He loved and He gave, and I believe that is what we did in this past sportsfest-- we gave our all, fiercely, lovingly and with joy... without the assurance of winning. :) In the end we gained new friends and built relationships with other kids ministry volunteers that we didn't even know that existed until this sporting event. This I believe is far more important than winning trophies and awards. :)

Isaiah 49:4
But I said, “I have labored in vain;
    I have spent my strength for nothing at all.
Yet what is due me is in the Lord’s hand,
    and my reward is with my God.”

Point is to give your all in whatever God had called you to do... for what is due us and our reward is with Him. :) Like what our motto in Kids Ministry says, "Whatever it takes!" So thankful that God called me to be in this ministry... or should I say, family! ♥

FUN. FAITH. FAMILY. :D

Photo collage from Ren :)

Better together! :)

The "Why" behind the "What"

Hangover.

That would be the one word that best describe what I am feeling right now after our Victory Kids Teachers Summit 2014 last February 20-22 at Island Cove, Cavite. Ever since the first time I attended this Teachers Summit last 2012, it has always been part of my yearly faith goal to be able to attend. It's really a great time for the kids ministry volunteers to be refreshed, equipped and to be reminded again of why we do what we do.

Let me share a short story with you why I ended up being a kids ministry volunteer. It became so influential in my life that I am now an art teacher for kids. I was "forced" by my former small group leader and by a friend who was with the same small group with me to join. Both of them were active volunteers in the ministry here in our local church. They said I would best fit in the Preschool age group, since I was a Fine Arts graduate and they have craft-making there. So I signed up even though I really don't have that great desire to be part of it. I thought before, God blessed me with these talents so it's not bad if I use them for kids ministry, and I have few friends there (and my sister volunteered in this ministry before me) so "jelling in" with the people will not be that hard. :) But as the time goes by, I've spent more time with them and found out that they are the craziest, fun, loving, patient and passionate people that I have known. It's like they are the great combination of both "serious" and "funny". God used this ministry and the people for me to see His vision and know His heart for the next generation.

It's like someone pushed me towards a black hole and I couldn't do anything but to go with the magnetic force that is pulling me towards it. I kind of think that what happened to me. Kids ministry "magnetized" me towards itself... but I like it. I am thankful for it. (naks!)

Just to say since I have mentioned "magnetic force" and stuff, the theme for our Teachers Summit this year was "Magnet". It's making your kids ministry attractive to kids, to the parents and to the volunteers. All of the sessions were great and of good help but I just want to highlight my favorite part-- the worship night! We just sang to God with songs throughout the night with some short exhortations from the Word in between. One of them that struck me the most is this from Luke 2:41-46

"Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions."

Then the pastor asked the crowd, if there's anyone in the room who have been serving in the ministry for a time and that it's already becoming a routine... and didn't realized that Jesus was not with him/her anymore. Just like what in the verses mentioned, Joseph and Mary were just observing a custom (or in our case, serving in the ministry) which is generally not bad. But the thing is they were unaware that Jesus was not with them anymore. Many raised their hands and I'm one of them.

Ouch.

It has been really a super jam-packed February for me-- the meetings, preparations and stuff was starting to take a toll on me and I haven't realized it if it weren't for this worship night. I still have my quiet time and devotions... but it's not enough. It's like I am still not satisfied with it. It's like I'm running on a marathon and the sun is up, bright and shining and I'm all sweaty and tired but I just got to drink an ounce of water. Yet I still go on and run. I go and run and somewhere I don't know, I "left" Jesus and was unaware of it. During the worship night, I realized what was lacking in me was more of God's presence. That is why I feel always tired, I feel like almost giving up, stressed and burned out weeks before the Summit. One of the songs that we sang was a quite old song of Matt Redman, "Better Is One Day".

If I can just find the right words to explain how I felt during that time! Like I said, it's like I'm running on a marathon and the sun is up, bright and shining and I'm all sweaty and tired... but this time someone splashed a pail of cool water all over me! Or it was like God's presence was a pool or a body of cool water, and I dived into it!

AND THAT'S REFRESHING!!!

I realized the importance of really, REALLY in constant presence of God specially when you are serving in the church. You may really know the importance of what you are doing and may be really sold out in serving God and His people. But you know, when you are tired... you are tired! When you are dehydrated, even though in the heart of hearts you don't want to quit, you just can't go on because you are running on an empty state.

The pastor continued and it's should be a constant reminder for all who are serving in the church, in full time capacity or not, that ministry should always, ALWAYS be an overflow of God's presence or love in us and don't go running in the ministry with an empty supply. When you are always in God's presence, remembering the "why" behind the "what"... why are you doing what you are doing... will always be there with you.

A great reminder! I do what I do because of Him. :) ♥

A Love Letter For No One... Yet.

You got mail!

Dear You,

I think this is really a corny/cheesy idea... writing a letter (or a blog post on this matter) for you, but I'm doing it anyway. Maybe because of the season, it's February! It is when my Facebook news feeds are filled with posts about love. It is when the preachings in my home church (Sunday service, youth service and even in our Kids Church Tweeners service) are all about love. And it is when the malls are full of hearts and reds. Maybe somehow these also compelled me to do this. :) A little cheesiness won't kill me anyway. :)

I just want to say that I'm praying for you... Whoever you are. Before I wasn't that consistent, but this time I'm pretty much more disciplined in doing it compared before hehe. :) I think I'm more guided now in what to pray for you, God is just leading me so. :) I'm praying that you will be the man that God wants you to be, that He will bless the works of your hands and will make you fruitful in every area of your life. I'm praying that you will be a man that is after God's own heart and be excellent in your craft, that you will be a leader serving out of love, who is generous and a man of integrity that flees away from sin. A man who have a child-like faith. And above all else your greatest concern is honoring God, pleasing Him and glorifying Him.

Sometimes I think that you are not existing, and yes I'm open in being single for life. If that is the case, then this letter will be "null and void" and all of my prayers and preparations are just in vain, like a "chasing after the wind". But I am just keeping myself open with the idea of single blessedness so I may not be so focused with the fulfillment of the promise (you) that I'm on my way to neglecting/ignoring the Promise Giver (God). I just want to keep everything in good placing but really, I'm still praying for you and believing that one day I will meet you (or maybe I have already, I may still just don't know now).

I have many crushes but I'm praying that God will guard my heart and keep me emotionally pure haha! Please pray for me that I will be pure even in my emotions. I am praying the same to you. :) Reserved and preserved. :) As early as today, I'm already learning to love you and honestly sometimes it is not that easy, but I know God is helping me (He is my greatest "stirrer" you know! Haha!) It is also my prayer that God will not just prepare us but also our families and friends. Geez I have lots of friends who are excited to see you and sometimes I think they are even more excited than me haha! So don't be surprised if you have to meet many people from different groups of different shapes, sizes and backgrounds. :) But still no pressure! All is well in God's perfect time and ways. :)

This doesn't look like a love letter don't you think? Haha! It's quite challenging to write a letter addressed to no one. At least for now. :) And I hope one day when we both figured out who is the "you" in this letter, we will just at least have a good laugh at this! ;)

                                                                        From,
                                                                             Your soon-to-be bestfriend & suitable helper                                                            

Patches and Wineskins

I attended the first installment of our February/Love month series called "Crazy Love" in our church's Thursday youth service yesterday. To summarize our guest preacher, Ptr. Dan Monterde's message about love, using this very popular verse (and I believe this was also the first-ever Bible verse that I've memorized) in John 3:16

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

He just gave 3 points about love from this. First is "Love is a decision" (God decided to love us. He loves us. Period. Love is not about feelings or emotions.), second is "Love is giving your best" (God gave His best to us, His only Son Jesus Christ) and "Love is eternal" (God is eternal, He is love and His love is eternal).

But I just want to emphasize on one of his message's chunks that was under point number 2 which is "Love is giving your best". He shared to us that loving is about giving and not gaining. The question should be "What can I give?" and not really "What can I gain?" Then he continued and gave some examples on how can you give your best to the person you love. One point is to respect the person's current season. It's also becoming the best for your love when you respect and maximize your own season right now--being the best child that you can be for your parents, being an excellent student or an outstanding staff in your work or just honing your craft or fostering your character (because a lot of people are looking/waiting for the best person for themselves but they are not being the best for the person that they are looking/waiting for). Every season have its reason (or reasons) and every season is a preparation for your next one.

Then I remembered these verses from one of  my quite recent devotionals in Matthew 9:16-17

“No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

This reminds me of seasons in our lives though Jesus didn't mention any word that you can directly relate to it. It just says that there are some things that we are not fitting to do in a particular season. If we still do, things will just get messy (the tear will get worse or the wineskin will burst). Unshrunk cloth will not fit on an old garment, neither new wine on old wineskins. It's like some of your old ways will not be fitting to do on your new season. There are some things that you do as a student that you cannot do as a single young professional. There are some things that you usually do as a single person that you cannot do as a married one. There are some things that you are so used in doing when you are 20 that you cannot do when you are 40. Of course we can still use our "free will" ticket and still do those things but just like the verse paints it, things will get messy. We may not see the effects for now but in the future we will.

It just doesn't fit.

Results might be unmet expectations, disappointments, broken hearts, regrets, should've, would've and could've thoughts, etc.

No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.

So let's preserve ourselves. :) Seasons will not adjust for us-- for our feelings, whinings and mayhems. Besides God is super wise that He knows what He's up to when He put us in the season that we are in on such a time as this. :) He is wise and He superbly loves us too that He will put us in our new seasons just in His right time and ways for our own good. :)

We only got 86,400 seconds in a day

First day of 2014. Felt like year 2013 was the longest year ever because many things happened (personally for me and in our nation) and it's overwhelming sometimes to think that it all took place in the same year. But like any other years that have gone before... it ended. And today it's another year for all of us to face.

It was like a roller coaster ride for me. There were a lot of ups and downs, twists and turns. There were times of mourning and times of celebrations. I've build new relationships with new people and bonded more with people that I've known before. All in all I am thankful to God for the year that was. 2013 started with a bang and it also ended with a BANG! Yes, a louder one! Haha!

Gratefully smiling! :)

Personally I have many things to be thankful for to God this past 2013-- for my family, friends, loved ones, in kids ministry at church where I am actively involved, for all the answered prayers (even to prayers that are still unanswered), for my new work, for the mission trips that I had (in Aparri and Cambodia)... the list could go on and on. For our nation Philippines, it's been really a tough year for us, but still thank God because He made the Filipinos tough. In our weakness we are mede strong because in our weakness, God's power works best. :)

For 2014, I relate it to a song that's been playing in my mind for these past days. It's not a new song, but it is a good one. :)

"We gotta start looking at the hands of the time we've been given If this is all we got and we gotta start thinking
If every second counts on a clock that's ticking
Gotta live like we're dying 

We only got 86,400 seconds in a day to
Turn it all around or to throw it all away
We gotta tell them that we love them while we got the chance to say
Gotta live like we're dying" -Live Like We're Dying by Kris Allen

I know that in God there are no calendars and there is no such thing as "new year", because I know that He is not bound by time. He is above time and He holds it. But for us unfortunately, we are. So maybe that's why God caused our ancestors to invent clocks, calendars, planners and organizers so we can keep track of our time.

"So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom." -Psalms 90:12

Image from funkycalendar.zoomshare.com

I just turned 25 last month, and it's been a fruitful and fun first 25 years of my life (thanks to Jesus). :) A lot of things happened that was not really part of my plan but it still went great. It's only a proof that God's plans are always better than mine haha! So it's like 2014 is the first year of the second quarter of my life (thinking if I'm going to live a hundred year just like my grandma). I have lots of plans, but of course they are still subject to change depending on God. :)

May we plan according to God's will in our lives. May we plan with a heart of wisdom. May we set our goals with faith not just in ourselves but with God who can do immesureably more than we can ask for. May we live like we're dying, living a life fully for God. :)

Charge on to 2014!

More than just a "true love's kiss"

I recently watched the newest animated film from Disney, "Frozen". I wasn't really interested with it at first, but I've been hearing comments, reading Facebook statuses and receiving persuasions from friends that the movie is great and that I should watch it. Since I’m more of a fan of animated films, I gave it a try and watched it with my sister (because a friend told me that I should watch it with her because the plot is basically about two sisters hehe).

Frozen!!! ♥

The movie is a good one… So good that it inspired me to write this blog post haha! :) One thing that I really liked about the movie is how they defined “true love”. It was Olaf (the living quirky snowman) who said that true love is “when you put someone else’s needs before your own.” True love is not just about couples, like what they have shown in the movie.  True love can also be expressed between family members like when Anna saved her ice queen sister Elsa for being killed at the expense of her own life. They thought that Anna will be saved by having that “true love’s kiss” because they thought (and she was convinced) that it is an act of true love, but it was her “sacrificial act” for her sister that saved her from being frozen for the rest of her life. To make it simpler… True love is equals to sacrificial love.

I kind of can relate to the character of Anna. Not that I can easily fall in-love and can marry a man whom I just met, but in the sense of how she thinks she will meet her “the one”. I think like that before... I’m sure that a lot of ladies out there would think that maybe she will meet her “the one” in a gathering and they will have that instant connection because they have the same wavelength, or because he can finish the sentence that she started, or simply because he can make her laugh so easily. There is nothing wrong with these, but I think it is wrong to conclude that just because you can easily connect with each other, and you like the person and the person liked you back, then this must be “true love”.

Oh it must be true love! (Naahh...)

True love is equals to sacrificial love, and sacrificial love is more than just having the same likes and dislikes, or you can feel "butterflies in your stomach" when he/she is near or having that same connection… It’s more of a decision. I remember the scene in the movie when Anna had to choose between Kristoff (her “true love”) and her sister Elsa—she chose to save her sister over her “true love’s kiss”. She decided to make that sacrifice. She decided.

Hug!!!

In this I remembered my grandparents in my father’s side. My grandma just celebrated her 100th birthday last July but last week she already left us and I believe she is now with the Lord. And I ponder about her marriage with my grandpa who is now around 98 years old. They must have made lots of sacrifices for each other to make their marriage work until death do them part. Then last Sunday, one of my aunts from my father’s side again, Auntie Vilma, celebrated her 50th wedding anniversary with her husband, Uncle Rey. It must have been 50 years of sacrifices, too! And tomorrow is my parents’ wedding anniversary! For that, 28 years of sacrifices (and counting)! Sacrifice can be defined as, “the surrender or destruction of something prized or desirable for the sake of something considered as having a higher or more pressing claim.” Sacrifice of time, of effort, of money, of your right to speak your mind or even your right to remain silent (haha!) etc. for the one you love. You have to decide before you can make a sacrifice. So then true love is a decision, not just an emotion.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. -1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (now that is a lot of sacrifice)

There are people who asked me if I’m ready to be in a relationship, or if I’m ready to fall in-love. Actually, I don’t know. And who knows but only God. And how will I know? Or do I really have to know that now? Because it's always easier to say "I am ready" or even "I am not". Maybe I will know when that time comes when I have to decide. When? That I do not know (and I think I don't have to know). :) But somehow I think you are ready for love when you are already willing to make sacrifices. I have tons of crushes (ok I'm exaggerating), but my frozen heart is reserved to melt for that one person, who maybe will make me sing ♫ For the first time in foreveeerrr!!! ♫ (hahaha! ok, enough of this)

♫ For the first time in foreveeerrr ♫

 
But of course the greatest display of sacrificial love of all is when Jesus died for us. :) Someone can sacrifice his/her time, effort, resources etc. for you but no one can surpass this True Love in its truest form! ♥

⁶ You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. -Romans 5: 6-8