Lego House…

It’s been a rainy day today… after doing the chores and quite time… I ensconce myself on my bed listening to my music…my playlist aint eclectic. Im not in the mood for a diverse selection, I settle for a contemporary lovesong, I narrow from Ed Sheeran, Tyler Swift, Lady Antebellum, JT, Katharine McPhee, Jennifer Paige, Boys Like Girls, Christina Perri, BSB…and my mp3 shuffles these 13 songs. I think you can guess already what the possible songs are.

Patience 101: Another Confession

One more week... that short yet painstakingly long to wait. ~ mlca

Oh dear! retaking patience 101... Honestly, I’m no expert when it comes to patience... I fail most of the time. Regardless of the many forms of it...like waiting for your turn in the lonnnnnnnngggggggg queue coz the other end is slowpoke, waiting for your order coz  the cashier tries to multitask, waiting for students to submit their requirement coz they have that harum-scarum attitude and you are beating the deadline for the submission of grades, or waiting for my husband to come home especially, since it takes him 4 hours to travel home,… those sorts of waiting-- not just waiting for trivial things to go by… what peeves me and completely blows my “good-natured tolerance” off is when you set a date and your date (my spouse for that matter) arrives 40 minutes late…and come to think of it that it is a weekly thingy. There is no room to overlook, right? Yeah, this confession is something that I am not proud of…

Frustration

I am human and I do feel frustrated at times. When things don’t come my way or the way I hope it would be – I am bombarded with disappointment, sometimes vexation.

How do I cope when I am attacked with this dangerous emotion? Before I share my thoughts about this one, let me exposit the context of this emotion…

Here it goes… I have been waiting for something to materialize… I know God has promised me these things… and I know He will deliver His promises – every single thing of it. However, there is this one thing I truly desire…let me call this stability… the thing is, we don’t know where our promise land is. And I am dying to settle in for good…but as of the moment, it seems like my desire is far from the horizon…and what we have right now are so uncertain, precarious, and shaky. There is no single thread for me to hold on to concerning this promise. So, I am freaking out! Then, frustration tries to sneak into my system… hoping to beat me down and wallow with depression. But I am certainly fighting for my sanity—now that is a hyperbole!

Last Tuesday… I was reading the book of Joshua… God faithfully accomplished what He promised to Moses…and like He said, He would not wipe out all those tribes for a good reason:

Here is what God exactly said:

<< Deuteronomy 7 >>

---

22“The LORD your God will clear away these nations before you little by little; you will not be able to put an end to them quickly, for the wild beasts would grow too numerous for you. 23“But the LORD your God will deliver them before you, and will throw them into great confusion until they are destroyed. 24“He will deliver their kings into your hand so that you will make their name perish from under heaven; no man will be able to stand before you until you have destroyed them. 25“The graven images of their gods you are to burn with fire; you shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves, or you will be snared by it, for it is an abomination to the LORD your God. 26“You shall not bring an abomination into your house, and like it come under the ban; you shall utterly detest it and you shall utterly abhor it, for it is something banned.

I always believe God knows what is best for us…and whatever is the delay in the completion of His promise…That is because He knows the perfect time for it. His timing is always flawless.

I know God’s promise is a done deal… It is sealed…and it is happening…I may not see it… I just need to be patient and to keep on believing and hoping. God is sovereign.

So my way of coping whenever frustration tries to outfox me (frustration is really like Swiper the Fox ) is to go back to the Word of God. This is my source of strength… a reminder of God’s faithfulness…and Frustration has no room in my nous and my heart because it is simply otiose to entertain it.

I am boldly confessing that to myself! So, I am holding on.

13th on 12th

I just wanna have a catchy title though it really has something to do with what I’m gonna say… It’s our 13th wedding anniversary today, Sept. 12. According to wedding traditions, 13th wedding anniversary is called Lace at the same time Chrysanthemum…but I don’t care much about traditional wedding names or gifts or whatsoever purpose those terms may be. I am not after of how many years have gone by in our marriage… My quest is not with the time but with the daily journey I have with my husband… the growth that we have as a couple and as individual.

It is my goal to be the kind of wife that God has designed and called me to be, for my John…As I declare that, at the back of my head I am also saying so HELP me God! That is a God-given role that needs the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit to walk a godly life as a wife and mom to our three children.

I am sharing the greetings that my “sweetie” posted in my FB account…

I had no idea last night why he let me go to bed ahead of him,  that was part of his pleasant surprise. I was certainly titillated when I read it this morning. Who wouldn’t be? (Oh by the way, he called and asked If I did read his message)

Ooops! Here is a closer look.

There! That message says it all, right?

Here is my response to his message…

Of course, that isn’t readable so here is a clear one…

and for the Finale of this entry…here is the video I made for my hubby last November 16, 2010!

You Got Me by Colbie

Timing

A few weeks back, I heard a good news about my friend who used to be in my DGroup. I was ecstatic to hear that she’s already engaged to a church mate in our home church… her FB account was full of well-wishes… and she posted the 2 Fast 2 Furious album displaying the precious moment of the engagement party… I could not help but commented in that particular album…I said “When it is from God... nothing is too soon, and nothing is too late...God has a perfect time.” I do believe that!

I am always thrilled for my friends who are single and are patiently waiting for God to fulfill His plans in their lives… I can only reckon how hard it might be for them to resist the temptation of plowing ahead with God’s plan…especially if age is advancing every year… but given the opportunity to be single again… I think I will wait upon God…and by faith I know His ways are faultless… and I know His plans for me are perfect! God knows what is best for me.

I always trust the Word of God… This verse from the bible is God’s promise --“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. “ ~ Jeremiah 29: 11. Anyone can hold on to that promise… It is the promise that I keep dearly in my heart especially when circumstances seem not right…and when things do not make sense to me… You too can trust that God’s promise is a “done deal” so to speak.

HOPE

What is hope? This four letter word is akin to expectancy, optimism, desire, wish… The opposite of hope is hopelessness… and when hopelessness sets in the heart and mind of man… it breeds depression, despair, darkness, and self-destruction.

The cure of hopelessness is God… and there is no other.

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. ~ Jeremiah 29:11

Prayer

Prayer is somehow thought as a discipline than a lifestyle, because some people [if not most] find praying difficult. I am not expert on this subject matter… In fact I am still fine-tuning my habit in this aspect… It is my desire that my prayer life will meet God in a higher plane… that I mean—my prayer will transude more than just talking, imploring, confiding, reaching, unwrapping, and interceding [every now and then]… I do wish that my praying is like breathing ---hardwired, involuntary, genuine, reflexive, spontaneous, unsophisticated and exceedingly wonted. That is my yearning.

I read this quote which is very solacing… it says:

Prayer is not a discourse. It is a form of life, the life with God. That is why it is not confined to the moment of verbal statement. --Jacques Ellul

Technorati Tags: pray,prayer,worship,talking to God,desire,praying,God,faith

Life Is Fleeting

"Life is one of those precious fleeting gifts, and everything can change in a heartbeat.”

Life is fleeting—this is an overused statement. Everybody knows that. Death is a sensitive issue for me… after i lost my brother… the event of dying – of anyone I know- simply brings quivers down my spine and really trembles my soul.

The Experience

blogger Tags: christmas tree, christmas, christmas decors, gifts

I would just like to share the experience that my husband and I had when we set up our Christmas tree. It wasn't something so grand, for now we just had this tall Christmas tree that John and I together with the kids, and my sister too, corporately made.

It was innovatively conceptualized by all of us- made from yarn with a basket as our base. The kids helped measured the yarn, and my sister made the poinsettias decorated around the basket and placed the stars around the Christmas tree. John and finished making our tree past 2 am.

We placed the gifts inside the tree. Kids are so excited and are marking the calendar already. Though I still have a few items to buy and wrap. I am going to do that tomorrow. 

Blessed

I was surfing some praise and worship songs... I do this every time I am enjoying my time out. I just love to listen to Leeland or third day or hillsongs or Chris Tomlin or Sonicflood or casting crowns [the list could go on] online. It is better this way than downloading it all because my PC does not have enough space to store my music. As i googled, I came across this old favorite PW song. I used to sing this song way back... Blessed Be your Name.

Well, I am in the midst of difficulty [just so you know] ... and being in this season, I sometimes find it hard to focus and do my quiet time... there are moments that I would come to reason that it is okay not to talk to God because I simply cant... because no matter how I tried... I find myself blank and empty... but when you are used to it... you will just go through the motion, just like washing your face when you wake up and brush your teeth. When habits are formed, it is hard to break... So I did it anyway. I do my quiet time, I read... but praising God with all my heart and with the contents of my heart... that is so hard to fake.

So going back to what I was doing-- googling PW Songs. I stumbled on this music video, like I said my old fave one, so I eagerly clicked and listened... in the midst of enjoying the song... I began to be reminded that regardless of my circumstance... God is worthy of all praise. Worshiping the Lord is not reserved when situations are good... because at all times, God is good. Bad times are inevitable... but it is a personal choice to worship God in the midst of difficulty. It is hard but you have a lot of reason to thank God still. Plus knowing your position in Christ is one good reason to thank God for.

Job is spelled m-a-n-n-a

I have been a freelance writer for quite sometime. Writing gig is a trend and our services are sought by companies and other individuals who are into online business. We write web contents, reviews, blogs and blurbs, SEO articles and whatnot.

Sometimes there are lean days or weeks. It happens. There are so many writers across the world competing for the available and yet limited writing gigs. Sometimes the SEO companies percolate all the projects leaving nothing to freelance writers. Thus, sometimes you get no projects from your inbox. Your portfolio floated on different avenues in the internet was simply left unnoticed.

You have no one to find fault with because these things are beyond your control. This is the only job I have. It is so patchy and sporadic. And because it is not stable, I need God to make things happen for me. And I can only give back God all the glory because by His grace, I get projects. He pours his blessings. I know that He is the only one who can arrange all these things. It is just like the manna supplied every day. God has never failed me. He is faithful. His grace is sufficient.

For His Glory

I have been contemplating lately... and I realized that there are a lot of things to be done and a lot of things to evaluate and balance and prioritize.

With the many things that have been thrown at life...sometimes we get caught in the web of complacency, "good-enough" - "fair-enough" mentality, fast lane, convenience and trend... even to the point of missing the best and worthwhile.

My mind is tired and my spirit is beaten. This is because I carry loads that are not meant to be shouldered, I fought battles that are not even worth the combat, thus my effort was just a mere scuffling and never intending.

Grateful with this realization -I humbled myself... willing to change, unlearn what is not right and focus on what is good and beneficial, valuable, and honorable to do and live life for His glory.

Quiet but not quite

I have been quiet for awhile...as usual busy working. But just to update my blog, I have a few thoughts that are bottled up inside me. There are things that are disturbing me and have been trying to alter my line of thinking. Things are just too trifling to make a ruckus out of it. But I am reminded that a forest fire starts from a small flicker- a careless one too. And whatever it is that is happening in my life, though how little it is, when it is not glorifying God, has to be rectified. Let me also correct that this is not about being holy...but this is about serving a Holy God.

To recall, God does not tolerate even that what we call gray areas. God sees black and white and no in between. God does not consent lukewarm attitudes or behavior. Most importantly, God deserves our best. He gives His best- His precious Jesus Christ. And the rightful response is to worship Him, honor Him with our behavior, our mind, in things we do and how we deal with others.

Because of this conviction, I fell flat on my face and plead God’s forgiveness. Sometimes, I can’t help but act in my old self, I tend to be morose, disparaging and dismal. Exposing myself is certainly not washing my dirty linen. It is with the purpose to encourage anybody who is also on the same boat that they too will not get discourage. We all are God’s work in progress and that though we are not yet perfect, God by His grace will not leave us nor forsake us but He is encouraging all of us to work it out. That by the grace of God we will overcome whatever challenges that may confront us.

So yeah... Let's work out our spiritual muscles.