My Portion and my cup February 3, 2009

 

 5 LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; 
       you have made my lot secure.

 6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; 
       surely I have a delightful inheritance.

God is just really good. With all the things that have been happening to me, and around me,He never fails to reassure me that I need not worry because no matter what happens, He holds my world in His hands. 

Last Sunday, I got to lead worship at church again. When Yash told me the night before, I immediately started thinking about what my line-up would be. Immediately the song Healer came to mind, I’m not really sure why. We’ve never really sung it at church yet, although not really because of the whole scandal involving its composer. I guess it just wasn’t time yet. But last Sunday, God really moved in such a powerful way. 

He reminded all of us that in the old days, among the 12 tribes of Israel, the Levites were not given any portion because as God said “I am your Portion”. Grabe noh?! What security! What an assurance! To know that God is our portion! While we were singing the lyrics, it was like we were all making a declaration that despite all the difficulties that we were facing or that we might face, God is our portion and we will never lack. And the best thing was that we weren’t just declaring it over our finances, true, most were probably claiming it as a promise over their finances, but it was more than that. We were declaring it over our families, our jobs, our businesses, our spiritual lives. We declared healing over relationships, and even on our country.

Before singing I shared the above verse to the congregation. This was the verse that God gave me at the beginning of the year. And I’m claiming it everyday. I will not  be shaken by what I see or hear or feel, because He’s with me. I will not worry about what tomorrow may bring, because all I know about tomorrow is that He’s got me in His hands =).

Goals for 2009 January 6, 2009

Ring out the old, ring in the new,

Ring, happy bells, across the snow:

The year is going, let him go;

Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Happy New Year everyone! I can’t believe it’s 2009! When I was a kid, I always thought that the world would end by the year 2000, you know that Jesus would come and everyone I know would go to heaven, well anyway, that didn’t happen. 

I didn’t post my goals for 2009 right away because I had to  think hard about what I really want to achieve this year. I didn’t want to make goals just for the sake of making them. When I met with my lifegroup last Sunday, we had  time to write down our dreams for this year, we plan to make a dream board for the whole group so that we could track other’s progress, and give each other a push when we slack off. There’s no motivation like having close friends aiming to do the same thing you are doing.

• Be consistent with my devotion and Bible reading. This is my priority for the year. I need to reconnect with God this year. I felt misplaced last year, used up, even though I barely did anything, but this year, I know that God has so much in store for me, I just need to let go and let God.
• Pray and fast. This has always been my waterloo in my spiritual life. But this year, I’ll make up for all those mini-meals I used to sneak in (shhh) during our scheduled fastings at church. 
• LOSE WEIGHT. I’m not the only one who wants this to happen. My dad is so determined to make us lose weight that he bought us an exercise machine, and telling my mom to plan our menu for the whole week so that we can have balanced meals. I basically need to lose about 40 pounds (yes 40!!!) to have normal weight. This needs a complete lifestyle change for me!! Less rice (ugh), less French Fries (double ugh), less of all the food I like eating. But then, as the Witwicky motto says, “No sacrifice, No victory.”
• Read 40 new books this year. If you know me, I really read a lot. So this year, I’m challenging myself to read 40 new books, and make reviews of all them! New meaning I’ve never read them before, meaning I can’t include all the novels I read about thrice a year (like Pride and Prejudice and This Present Darkness).
• Bring my small camera with me all the time. I’ve missed so many opportunities to take photographs (like when Y and I eat at a new restaurant), so when I blog about them, I have no proof of all that I’ve done. 
• Take photography lessons. My dad bought a new Nikon D80.  I haven’t had the time to really maximize its features but this year, I’ll be taking photography seriously, I’ve been looking at a couple of classes but so far I can’t fit them into my schedule, so I’ll self-study for awhile and maybe take classes this summer.
• Go back to graduate school. Now this I really have to do. I’ve been putting it off for too long. But this year, I’ll just go for it! But first I have to decide if i’ll continue my MA in Literature or transfer to Educational Management…
• Satisfy my wanderlust. Basically I want to travel again. I was planning to go to Pagudpud this coming April for Y’s bday. I’ve already contacted different resorts, but this afternoon, my mom said she didn’t want us to go, so scratch that,  I still have 3 months to convince her to change her mind though.It’s also been 10 years since I went out of the country. That’s too long don’t you think??? So this year, I’m planning to go with my parents to Singapore for the G12 conference. I just need to renew my passport first so we can book our flights right away. And as a bonus, I thought I would be missing the Delirious? concert here at the Philippines, but as it turns out, they’re a special guest at the conference!!! How cool is that?
• Finally, finally learn to drive. So I need to get my student’s license again…
• Expand what I know about cooking and baking. My goal for this year is to learn all my mom’s recipes. 
• Be consistent in meeting my lifegroup. I handle a bunch of really amazing, passionate girls, but I haven’t been able to meet them so much last year. That will change this year.
• Reconnect with old friends. I haven’t seen my college barkada in a really long time, hopefully we can schedule a day out this year. Plus, it’s been 10 years since my high school graduation! It’s time for a batch reunion!

Okay, that’s it, I think, if I think of more, I’ll probably just edit it. So Happy New Year again everyone! Oh and check out what my dad bought me when the family went out last week! I have the best dad in the world!

 

My first pair of Nine West Shoes

 

2008 in retrospect December 31, 2008

I did this last year at my old blogdrive account, so I thought I’d make a yearly thing. Here is my whole year summarized in 40 questions.

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?

Plan an out of town trip for me, my bf, my sister and husband. I did the research on where we could go, I’m looking forward to our next trip this summer!

2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don’t make resolutions, they never made sense to me because I’d either forget about it or ignore it.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? 
yes, my sister gave birth to their 3rd baby, my nephew Jaden! We finally have a boy in the family!

Jaden Christoffer

4. Did anyone close to you die?
None, thank God.

5. What countries did you visit?
Once again, I didn’t go anywhere this year but I’m hoping to go to Singapore by March next year, then I’ll be planning for a trip to Hongkong and Macau by December!

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
A savings account.

7. What date from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
December 15, 2008. I can’t say why because it’s very private. =)

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
No lates, no absences, no delayed submissions!!!

9. What was your biggest failure?
I didn’t try to enrol in my MA classes, or be more active in trying to form my lifegroup, I’lll be making changes this year.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nope, just the occasional fever and colds, and really, really bad dysmenorrhea

11. What was the best thing you bought?
My new laptop!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
hmmmm…. that’s a little tough to answer right now.

13. Whose behaviour appalled you and made you depressed?
Some people from church

14. Where did most of your money go?
hay…food as usual, and paying for my laptop.

15 What did you get really, really, really excited about?
The trip to Anawangin and Capones Island.

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?
CS Lewis Song

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

i. happier or sadder? sadder
ii. thinner or fatter? thinner…crap.
iii. richer or poorer? hmmmm…the same

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
I wish I’d saved more money

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Procrastinate!

20. How will you be welcoming the New Year?
The usual, we’ll be at my mom’s side of the place, my cousins will set up the place so we’d have a live band and we’ll sing our hearts out until the countdown. But this year, I’m going to Y’s place at Bulacan before going to Pampanga! I’m excited! But nervous at the same time…

 
22. Did you fall in love in 2007?

I fell in love with Wicked the musical!!!

23. How many one-night stands?
None!

24. What was your favourite TV program?
 Ugly Betty, Grey’s Anatomy, Pushing Daisies!

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Nope.

26. What was the best book you read?
Chasing Daylight

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Idina Menzel, I heart her!!

28. What did you want and get?
To buy a camera,have a laptop, enjoy my job and be happy

29. What did you want and not get?
lose weight.

30. Favorite film of this year?
hmmm….i honestly can’t think of one right now…

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I went with Y to Greenhills, we ate at Pasto, he bought me an EDGE card for my DS, he got me a CD and a card. We had the midweek service where I was prayed for by my dad!!

32. What is one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

being able to accomplish the goals I set for myself, and yes that includes losing weight…

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
anything that makes me comfortable

34. What kept you sane?
Y

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Johnny Depp

36. Who is your real-person crush?
duh?

37. What political issue stirred you the most?
Since it’s the latest, this one.

38. Who did you miss?
the most important persons in my life were always a phone call away

38. Who was the best new person you met?
never met them in person, but I’ve beenreading some good blogs lately.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.
If I change, everything else changes,

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year
‘Cause my comfort would prefer for me to be numb, and avoid the impending birth of who I was born to become. – CS Lewis Song, Brooke Fraser

*****AND LASTLY!!!
1) GOALS/DREAMS FOR THE NEW YEAR:
I decided not to answer this since I’ll be making my a separate blog post for this one.

Vacation blues December 27, 2008

It’s Day 5 of  my 2 week long Christmas vacation (I don’t count weekends because I don’t really have work during those days), and I have been the most unproductive person I know! I had all these plans of the things I would do during my vacation, but so far, I’ve done nothing! What is wrong with me? Have I been so tired these past months that I just decided to rest?

Am I still daring to dream? December 6, 2008

I was reading my old blog at Blogdrive, and I chanced upon this entry. I wrote it about 3 years ago, and 3 years later, I’m wondering if I still feel the same way. Oh, I know more than anything that God is still the number one supporter of all my dreams, but the question for me is whether I am still the dreamer that I was 3 years ago. 

I honestly can’t answer that, I don’t have one. I’m still trying to figure out what’s been happening to my life for the past 2 years. On one hand, I have a job I love, relationships I am proud of, but on the other hand, part of me, maybe the bigger part, is still completely not satisfied. I feel like there’s more that I need to do , despite the fact that I am pushing myself harder than ever before, I feel like it’s not enough, or maybe I’m, just doing the wrong thing, or I’m letting myself do too much that I’m not able to focus on the significant ones. 

Throughout history we have heard of amazing feats that man has accomplished. During the 16th century, it was inconceivable that man would ever soar in the sky like a bird. And yet now, we have men in outer space.

All these historic events started from one thing: a dream. From Einstein, the Wright brothers, and all the other great men who dared to defy the odds and forever change the way we live. The quest for their goal started from something as simple as a dream.

And as the world watched as history unfolded, unbeknownst to the throngs of men on earth, an applause can be heard from heaven. For God is rejoicing.

Now the question…

 

Why is God rejoicing?

 

Because that’s His nature! That’s what He does,that’s what he always does when we dare to dream, when we see things in our mind that the wordl ahs not yet seen. He wrote the book on making the impossible possible!

 

Need examples? Let’s check the book.

• The sun is not supposed to stop at midday and stand still for an army to defreat it’s enemy…but don’t tell that to Joshua
• Teenage shepherds are not suppose to battle 9 foot giants ( and cut off his head)..but don’t tell that to David.
• 5 loaves and two fish are not supposed to feed a crowd of five thousand ( and take note, that’s only the men!)…but don’t tell that to the little boy who gave his lunch to Jesus.

And these are just some of the stories, there’s the donkey who talked to a man, the widow and his family who lived on a jar of oil..and so many more!

You see, since the beginning of time God has been waiting for us to dare to dream. There is pure delight in Him when we stretch our faith and hope for things that are new. Did He not send fire from Heaven when Elijah prayed at the altar on Mount Carmel? Did he not divide the Red Sea for the Israelites to be free from the slavery they suffered from?

And that very same God is still waiting today! HIs heart races, His pulse quickens, His excitement cannot be contained when His children think of conquering the impossible.

He’s waiting for you.

He’s waiting for you to defy the standards set by your mind, throw caution to the wind, dive into the deep. DARE TO DREAM!

 

For when you do, God smiles from Heaven and starts to dream with you.

November Round-up December 2, 2008

Let’s do away with the long blog posts, and let me just show what has happened this month through photos…

 

November 12-15

TFCA High School Camp at Rizal Re-Creation Center

This  was one of the rope courses that the students have to finish. I never tried though, was too afraid I’d fall down…hehe

My newest baby!

I convinced my dad to let me use his credit card again so I can buy a new laptop. I wanted to buy a camera actually, but I had to prioritize the laptop. My old one was getting dilapidated (my fault) I could still use it but I wanted to invest in something I would use at work, so I got this instead.

 

me with Roberts Liardon

 

This is me with our  guest speaker last November 23, Roberts Liardon. He’s the writer of the God’s Generals books. And yes, yes for those who will react, I know about his rise and fall too, but that didn’t stop me from learning from his preachings.

 

time to go home!

 One of the rare times during the camp that I wasn’t holding the camera. 2 weeks after the HS camp, it was the Grade 4-6 students’ turn, but this time they had their fathers (for the sons) and mother (for the daughters) with them. It was nice seeing the children bond with their parents, and even parents bonding with each other! Hope we could do this again next year!

 

food from Something Fishy

 

more food from Something Fishy

Right after we arrived from Camp, my sisters and I, plus J, the kids and Y all went to Eastwood to treat our parents at Something Fishy. It was their 27th anniversary! Can you believe it? 27 years, and I swear I think they’re more in love now than ever before. Just look at them below!

Happy 27th anniversary

We got them accomodations at this hotel. They were very grateful that they bought us bags and shoes when they got home! Haha, my parents are really generous people.

 

And so that’s it for this month! Whew, add to that the 6 classes a day, all the meetings, and curriculum making, I was so thankful when had the holiday last December 1. Although I didn’t spend all of it at home, but I did start with my Christmas shopping! Ha! 2 more trips to Greenhills and I’ll be done!

Protected: Green eyed monster. November 10, 2008

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October 1 October 2, 2008

Yesterday, I did something I haven’t done in a really loooooooooong time…

 

Finally, after 3 – 4 months, I was able to play with my Nintendo DS! I haven’t had time to play it because so much has been happening these past few months, I feel bad for my puppies in Nintendogs, they were filthy and hungry when I checked on them again. Hopefully, I’ll have time to de-stress with my DS over the next few days. 

Nothing like Professor Layton to make you forget lesson plans, and quarter exams…