Tough 2012

Tough.

This is how I am describing my 2012. It is a tough year for me for I had my heart and His heart broken. Yes, my heart has been broken by someone I mostly love and accepting it is very hard for me to do. Because of it, I have also broken His heart because I have done things that I ought not to do and I have not done things that I ought to do.

Though this is the toughest year I have experienced so far, this is also one of the most graceful years in my life. With what happened to me this year, I have greatly experienced the miracle of God’s grace in my daily life.  So before this year will end, I want to thank God for always being there and for not leaving me behind in this tough 2012.

Indeed, it is Him who always been my guide in my walk, my captain of my ship and the writer of my story. Whenever I am in the darkest road, He lights my path and guide me to the right way. When my ship is about to sink by the toss of the wind, He is there to quiet the wind and keep the sail calm. And whenever I tried to get the pen from Him and write my own story, He always reminds me that He is the one who knows how to create a great story.

My bible verse for this year is really found at the book of Psalms.

“Even though I walk through the valley of shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. “ – Psalms 23:4

I know that I’ve gone through the valley of shadow of death for I know that this year has been the lowest point of my life, but still my God is with me. His rod is there to guide me and His staff is there to help me go back to the right way. It is Him who discipline me and gives me strength to overcome everything.

So now, before everything will end, I know that He should be praised continuously for everything that is happening in my life. So, Lord thank you for this tough 2012! It makes me stronger and it gives me courage to face a great 2013.

Boasting God

Despite all the adversity we might face in life, God’s grace is still present, and no matter what we’ve done he can still use us to demonstrate His glory. - Ryan Duncan, Crosswalk Devotional

My heart has been touched upon reading the above words in my quiet time today. I know that I've sinned against the Lord and despite of me knowing the truth, I still stumbled upon  a temptation which causes my soul to cry. I know that somehow a part of my decisions before causes where my life is today. I admit that I don’t have a life that pleases Him and I am sorry. If there is a point in my life that I can say that I am not worthy to be called as His princess, then it is this moment.

I don’t want to elaborate every sin I have committed against Him but I just want to speak that despite everything that happened and is happening today, I know that His grace is there. Today, I can attest the words from 2 Corinthians 12:9; Indeed, His grace is sufficient and His power is made perfect in my weaknesses.  I am not boasting of my sins here, rather I am boasting God here. Through my weaknesses, I know that His power will rest on me.

I once tried to do my best; to be the perfect Christian model but I am weak and I have failed to do it. I have done things that I ought not to do. I disobeyed the Lord and I am truly sorry for it. I wish I could go back to the past and not do those things but I have done it and I am sorry about it. Because of it, I want to run away again from the Lord, but He is faithful to His promises that He who begins a good work in me will put it into completion for He made me read the above words from my devotional. Upon meditating on it, I know that I don’t need to run away because He is perfectly waiting for me to ask for forgiveness because no matter what I've done, He can still use me to demonstrate His glory.

And I am here again, kneeling down before the Lord, asking for His grace to save me from my fall. I know that He has forgiven me two thousand years ago by sending His son Jesus Christ in the cross. I want to thank Him for everything He did in order for me to be right with Him once again. I want to quote here what Oswald Chamber once said:

“We are not meant to be seen as God’s perfect, bright shining examples, but to be seen as the everyday essence of ordinary life exhibiting the miracle of His grace.”

Yes, I don’t want to pressure myself to be perfect or to be a bright shining example anymore. Instead, I want to exhibit His grace in my life. On my own, I cannot achieve perfection or righteousness before God, I need Him to do it.

Through this post, I want people to realize that we cannot be perfect in this world unless we have God in our lives.

Because I have an ungrateful heart.

I write this to confess my sin against the Lord; this Christmas I begin to be ungrateful. The center of my attention is shifted from God to my own desires. Just this morning, while reading James chapter 4, I know that I am that person who has begin to be ungrateful and it’s all because I didn’t get what I want.

And today, I just want to say sorry for I forgot how to be thankful to everything that has been given to me. I should have whisper a thankful prayer instead of asking God the reasons why things happened the way I don’t want it to be. I begin to be friends with the world instead to be in love with Jesus. And I am so sorry about it.

I don’t want to prolong this post; I just want this to be short. I hope this post will be a reminder to me and to everyone who wants to read this that we don’t own this world and we should not put our hearts on earthly things. Instead, let our eyes be fixed to our goal, and that is Jesus Christ. Let us be thankful and be grateful to everything for we all know that everything happens for our own good. So, this Christmas season, let our hearts be thankful. May we whisper a little thankful prayer to Him today.

Manny Lose The Fight But Still Victorious In His Faith

Here is the new post regarding the Juan and Manny fight yesterday!

I am not a sports analyst or a fan of boxing but I have watched the game and I know the Manny lose the fight with Juan Marquez. I was disappointed of what happened, eventhough I am not a fan of Manny Pacquiao, I still wanted him to win the fight. I was expecting that this time he will surely win, but obviously he lose the fight when Juan Marquez knocked out him at round 6.

What interests me now is the reaction of people when Manny lose the fight. Some people whom I know were an avid fan of Manny don’t want him anymore, they now idolize Marquez. Some people says that Manny deserve it as he became prideful and greedy of money. Some blame its new identity as a Christian on why he loses the fight. But there are still those people that despite his defeat with Marquez, believes on him to be one of the greatest boxer of all times.

Of all the reactions I heard or seen, those who put blame on his new found religion, as people called it, is what bothers me most.  The moment I begin to know that Manny has become a Christian, who really understand what it means and have now found a new life in Christ Jesus, I became glad. I am happy because his identity belongs to Christ and not to anyone or anything anymore. On the other hand, I fear that when he fights, he will lose it and people will begin to question his new belief.   

And yesterday, this is exactly what happened. Some people put the blame on his new religion. Manny didn't do his rituals anymore like bringing his rosary in the boxing arena and they already thought that it is the reason why he lose it.  They never see nor understand what is really happening to Manny.  They were blinded of the rituals that they didn't see that it is the Lord's will that He should be defeated on that fight. Yes, God allowed the defeat for a reason.  Knowing God, He has His reasons for whatever He is doing in Manny’s life. I mean, in a world point of view or shall I say in our limited view, we cannot understand what is happening. But when we look the Lord’s perspective, surely His reason is for the good of Manny.  

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who loves him, who have been called according to his purpose"- Romans 8:28

Manny has responded in a positive way after his defeat. Maybe because he has understand the verse above. He knows that in ALL things God works for those who loves him. In ALL things means including his victory and defeat. He humbled himself before the Lord and with it; I know that He is really a work in progress. Yes, Manny lose the fight but he is still victorious in his faith.  

And so before I end this post, I want to congratulate Marquez for winning the fight and Manny for winning his faith. 

Hey, It’s December

Hey, it’s December! But why the Spirit of Christmas is not yet seen nor felt?

It’s already the fourth day of December and I can’t feel the Spirit of Christmas yet. Yes, it’s true; I really cannot sense the presence of Christmas in my life. Maybe because I haven’t touring the City for a while or maybe because the Christmas decoration is very minimal and I haven’t heard a Christmas song played in the background. Well, is it really the reason why I can’t sense Christmas?

Does the Spirit of Christmas can only be seen by my naked eyes or can be heard by my ears? While writing this, I realized that the Spirit of Christmas is not based on what can be seen or what can be heard. But its presence can be felt only through our hearts.

So if it is based on my heart, is my heart in the mood for Christmas? Do I really know the true meaning of Christmas? I guess I have lost the real meaning as I am busy finding Christmas decorations in the streets and finding new Christmas songs. I think I have forgotten the real importance of Christmas.

So, while writing this, I want to ask myself again. What is really the meaning of Christmas for me? I know that Christmas is not about the decorations, the songs nor the giving of gifts to other people. So, what is it really about? Suddenly, I have remembered that Christmas is really about Christ which is from the word itself, so it all about Jesus Christ. We have Christmas because we want to remember His birth here on earth; on how He came here to save me, to save us from the eternal death. I should remember that Jesus birth in the manger is the reason why I can live freely right now.

“So, If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” – John 8:36

The real meaning of Christmas is Jesus and we can only feel the Spirit of Christmas once we accepted Jesus in our lives. Without Jesus in our lives, there is no point of celebrating Christmas. For how can we celebrate something we don’t believe? So I guess let’s take a look upon our hearts today, do we really celebrate it because we know the One who cause it? Or do we just celebrate it because almost everyone is celebrating it? Or are we really joining the festivities because this is the theme of everything that we see or hear?

So, I hope that we won’t be deceived by the commercialization of Christmas nowadays, for its real meaning is not about the decorations nor the songs but it can be found on its word, Christ. CHRISTmas is all about Jesus Christ. May we always remember this everyday of this December.

I hope that you won’t be like me that I forgot and swayed by the commercialization of Christmas. I became busy finding things related to Christmas that I forgot Jesus Christ, my Savior. And since this article is a reminder for me, I hope that I will be able to feel Christmas every day because I know that Christmas is all about Jesus. So,  Have a Merry CHRISTmas everyone! :)

A DETOUR IN SAMAL

I’ve been in Davao for four days for a workshop. And since its holiday the next day, I decided to stay with my sister and went to Samal Island.  It was almost noon when we took the jeep going to Sasa. We stop by at the wharf to ride for a ferry which cost ten pesos per person. I was mesmerized on how it is cheap to go to the island and how it is near to the city. I’ve been to Davao a couple of times and yet I never thought of going to Samal because I don’t know the way. And since I have with me someone who knows it, then I decided to go. 

It was noon when we arrived at the island. We’ve decided to rent a motor in the place for two hours in order for us to tour the island, as well scout for a place to stay. We almost entered and seen the resorts near the wharf when we decided to stay at the Blue Waters. It’s a resort good for people who want to take rest and be away from the pressures and busy life of the city. 

After picking the resort, we decided to tour at Samal. We went to the near market and to Peñaplata where there is a grocery and department store. We bought food and other items we needed for our overnight stay at Samal. After getting all we need, we went back to the resort and took some rest.

As the night went by, the kitchen staff is no longer available and we realized we don’t have rice. We again rent a motor for us to go to the market and buy some rice. There, we have enjoyed ourselves touring the place. Since I am exhausted in the said day, I decided to take a nap and unfortunately I wake up the next day. Well, I think I indeed took a rest.

As I wake up early morning, I decided to go to the beach and swim in the blue waters. Also, I took the opportunity to watch and enjoy the beauty of His creation. I also swim at the pool and enjoy its sea waters. Here are the pictures taken while I am enjoying the water.

My tour in SAMAL is just a detour in the seminar I have attended but it made me realize that sometimes we need to take some time to relax in our busy lives and enjoy the beauty of His creation. This is also what we need sometimes in our lives, we need a detour in order to appreciate some things that we have regret for a while. Just like Samal, I try to ignore it whenever I go to Davao, but when I went there; I admire the beauty of living in Davao as it is so near to this wonderful paradise, called Samal Island.