Anger!!!!!!!!!

"In your anger, do not sin." I've always found this verse quite difficult to do. When it's that time of the month, or when I'm stuck in traffic, I get this urge to blurt out in dismay and just complain till I turn completely red. There are moments when I would hear some things from other people that would just tick me off, like, what in the??! Or silently before I would say, "madapa ka sana!" or say whatever quiet curse I could think appropriate for that moment.

I later realized that anger is a choice that one person can make. It says in Proverbs 15:1 "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger". There! Isn't all a matter of choice? You can choose to respond in a well-mannered way OR you can reply with one big blow of profanity. Which do you think can yield more of a solution? Violence, endless cussing won't solve anything. Like the more I yell at my kids when I'm having a bad day, the more inattentive they become. But once I apologize to them and I am calm, the kids feel sorry for their behavior too.

I used to get offended by small things said against me. Even just a dispensable comment about my driving can make my eyebrow raise. But I'd rather be called a wise man rather than a fool. "A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control", Proverbs 29:11. Choose not to take offense. Choose to find a positive angle in the situation. Of course you wouldn't draw to become a martyr or something like that, but God has given us the right mind to decipher situations and circumstance. I'm glad that I'm progressing on this. Thank God!

Anger leads only to evil. Sure, yell at your spouse, friend, sister or brother and get the results that you want. But you will only be planting hatred in their hearts. Sure you can be condescending to a friend who's not earning as much as you are. But money is not confined alone to measure wealth and success. Sure you can punch your neighbor in the face for taking that parking slot but it only leads to... yes, you guessed it right, more fighting. Sure you can give that "maangas" look and "mansindak" all you want, but it only is "JUST THAT" at the end of the day.

LOGIC should supersede anger. Hey, even the Bible says that. I know we're only humans, we are not perfect, we will always fall short. But our God is a loving god. It is working fine for me, to having to pray continually, and for sure will work for you too. Anger - and how you will respond to it will always be a matter of CHOICE. We may be having the worst day of our lives but ANGER won't make it any better. You may have been hurt so bad that you feel the need to take revenge, but ANGER will not turn back time. Are you having a difficult time dealing with your anger but is so sick and tired of it? Maybe it's time you focus more on God instead of your circumstances. Maybe it's time to look to Him for your troubles instead of dwelling too much negative, unproductive, angry thoughts. Now, it's time for you to make that choice.

Thank you, Jesus!!

Ok, this post is for someone who's very, very special in my life. In fact, He's what I'm here for! I'd like to say thank you - Jesus. We all wouldn't be here if you weren't born into this world and if you didn't die for our sins. It was the ultimate life-saver for us all. Imagine swimming in the fiery lakes of hell.. the thought just gives me the creeps. But PRAISE GOD. The world lives. We live. We breathe a breath of new fresh air everyday. All BECAUSE. It's funny how some people look at me as if I have a disease just because I'm a born-again Christian. What gives? Do we pray to a different GOD? At the end of the day, no matter which religion we belong to, God will not ask you, 'so which hood have you been at?' .. He will ask, 'did you believe and live for my son, Jesus Christ?'. If you love Jesus and believe that He died for your sins, start living a life of love and service to God. Live a lifestyle of worship. Love your neighbors. Bless your enemies. Enough with slander. Hey, I'm not perfect. No one is. Do you know that we are all works in progress? We are God's workmanship. He ain't done with any of us yet. What matters is we progress in our faith, in our walk and in our obedience in His Word.

Again, thank you Jesus for your unconditional love. I pray that everyone will realize the importance of what the hoola is all about this Christmas. I love you to bits! :-)

Your Best Life Now

I'm reading this book, "Your Best Life Now - 7 Steps to Living at Your Potential" by Joel Osteen - Lakewood Church's Senior Pastor, and oh I strongly recommend you to read it too! It got me glued after reading the first few pages on amazon.com. Praise God for technology, I immediately got myself an e-book copy and downloaded it right away. I'm not done reading the entire book yet but it has a handful of uplifting content that can boost your spirituality. Take seven healthy tips to take your family, relationships and career to greater heights!

Why should you read this book? If you've said any of these comments before ..... "I can't do it", "I wasn't born that way", "I'm not an eloquent speaker", "I just can't seem to get it right all the time", "I'm never going to achieve my goals", "Life sucks", "I'm no good, I'm never getting that promotion".. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? These are the very things that hinder our success. If you've been down and out for the last couple of months or years, and if you feel as if God doesn't care about you, think twice. Joel Osteen narrates verses and stories from the Bible and presents what God thinks about YOU and YOUR situation and how God is so excited to bless you!

Where to get your copy:

OMF Literature
Along Boni Ave. Tel. 531-0141
* stocks to arrive only on January or Feb. 2006.

Amazon.com
* takes about 2-3 weeks to ship to Manila; and this is direct to your local post office.

Mobipocket.com
* If you've got a PDA/Pocket PC, PDA phone or a device that supports Symbian 60, 80, UIQ Sony Ericsson P800 or P900 series, download the Mobipocket Reader for free and purchase the e-book online and install to your device.

Can't Wait for 2006!

Perhaps for the first time this holiday season, Oli, myself and the kids finally braved the gift-frenzy crowd and tried to shop for Christmas. We checked out Tiendesitas. Bought a few items each for ourselves and went around enjoying this morning's cool christmas breeze. Had lunch at Casita's and it was fun to exchange dreams with the kiddies. Tristan was aiming for 100 million bucks when he grows up while Tiff was okay with 70 million. They said they wanted to have money to be able to provide jobs to other people, and of course, to buy their dream cars. It was actually surprising for me and Oli to hear them "want" to bless other people. Wow, they understand the teach-a-man-to-fish concept. We decided to bump off to Eastwood as the kids were aching to buy themselves a toy. Praise God these little ones know how to work around the "allocated budget", we seldom get tantrums with the buy-me-that-now syndrome.

As the kids were shopping for their toys, Oli was drifting in his thoughts and blurted out that it was his plan last year to "shop until he drops" in Christmas 2005. Well, here we are, trying to work around a budget, and planning carefully what to spend for, Oli gave a sheepish smile, somehow a little disappointed, that he couldn't actually make his 2004 plan a reality. Just as I was about to respond, he immediately turned the other direction and said, 'well, God has pruned me quite a bit this year, and yes, 2006 will be THE year for us!'. Yeah!! That's the spirit. God has built up our faith so much in 2005 and we are sure of the things we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

You see, last year, if you were to see me, I was the type who'd always appear positive and show that can-do attitude with family and work. I was trying for myself to build an image of strength, hoping to encourage the people around me. It is true as the Word says, out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks. I was never really an encouragement (well, maybe a little..hehe). My heart was doubtful, unsure and was on a weak foundation. It wasn't any different from Oli as well. We shared the same sentiments. We thought that life was "just like that".. and whatever comes, comes.

God has done awesome and wonderful things for us this year and He was gracious and sweet to teach us to look at ourselves as the person He designed us to be. God sees us (and you!) as overcomers and victors. He did not plan for us to settle for mediocrity. God is a god of increase! He wants to see us ever increasing in all areas of our lives. 2005 was an icebreaker for Oli and myself - and this is the year we've come to realize that God wants to bless us... over and abundantly! 2005 is the year that God said, 'enough of those negative, weakling, i-dont-see-myself-successful thinking! It's time to get it on!!!' This is the year we've come to discover our God given talents and gifts. The year we've come across new God-fearing friends; the year of open doors and opportunities, and the list goes on. The good news is, it doesn't end here! It's going to be an exciting new year ahead!!!

Of course we couldn't just laze around and wait for blessings to come. It's not like it's going to rain peace, forgiveness, love, provisions in just one prayer. God has done and will do His part, but we will do OUR part as well! ...........So, 2006, here we come!!!

A Word of Encouragement

The other night, I felt such great encouragement with how Oli prayed. He's a very straight-forward man, concise and direct. His prayers are short but sweet, not wordy but clear. You can just imagine how funny he looks when I start praying. We're complete opposites! I would say I'm ma-chicka in my prayers, trying to cover everything that I've gone through the day. I'd nudge him sometimes to tell him to wake up (hehe).

After our prayers, we had a quick chit chat about how the day went. Oli shared with me some new opportunities for business and gave our two cents for each topic. Just as he was speaking, I received a word from God. Amazing. I wasn't even sure, until I told Oli... God started with, 'Rache, look at your priorities, iron out the folds, and keep on seeking me'. Then He continued, 'I will raise Oli to be a great leader, someone like Robert Kiyosaki. But tell him I want him to know Me more.' Whoa. I couldn't believe it. Was it just my head? Was I hearing voices? Am I out of my mind? I paused for a few seconds.. Ok, checklist. Was it encouraging? Yes. Was it pleasing? Yes. Was it good? Yes. Did it give you peace? Yes! I tapped Oli on his shoulder, sat up and told him, 'Baby I just received a Word from God!'. He stared at me (probably thinking I was out of my mind.. hehe) and said nonchalantly, 'how? what?' I proceeded to narrate how it went. Oli looked up and said, amazed, 'well, actually.... I was thinking about that this morning! I was pretending to have the skill set of Robert Kiyosaki, trying to help and encourage people.' We both felt so uplifted. We actually slept with a smile.

God speaks to us daily, yes He does! Through situations, other people, circumstances, problems and even dreams. Oftentimes, we're pre-occupied with what we want, how we want to think about things, or we simply choose not to listen. I remember those faint voices in my head telling me don't do this or don't do that, go here or go there, etc. That's God. He speaks to you and me at any given time, if we know and choose to listen. How? Tune in to His channel by praying continually, enter His presence, seek Him at all times. Be blessed!

20 Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. 21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." Isaiah 30:20-21

Christmas Convergence 2005

Yesterday's Christmas Convergence for all Victory Churches in the nation was an awesome event! It's amazing how more than 15-thousand people can come together to worship, pray and bless the Lord with all their hearts and minds. God's presence was so powerful that it moved everyone, almost teary-eyed with every song and prayer. Oh we thank God for all the blessings He has not withheld from us this year.. and we look forward to a bright new year - 2006!!

*Photos from Pastor Steve's blog*

Starbucks

'Twas a so-so day with a lot of the usual stuff. What thrilled me most (however shallow this may seem) is that Starbucks (finally) found it feasible to ground a store along Congressional Ave. Good thing my bondage with coffee has worn off quite a bit; but I still look forward to girlie talks with my friends, bonding with my sisters (and in-laws), art time with the kids, tingling conversations with my hubby and relaxing moments to talk about God and His amazing love with my family and friends. One tall cafe mocha please! :-)

My Hiding Place

Psalm 91:2
I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."

This verse speaks of David, declaring that God is his fortress and refuge. God was his sanctuary, a shelter from danger or hardship, a hiding place, the safest place we can ever run to. Can you picture it?

When problems come, putting our trust in God seems easier said than done. Learning to trust in God takes persevering practice - and a lot of it! Sometimes, even the littlest setbacks put us down.. but these circumstances enable God to sharpen us until we are sharp enough to take life's blows and realize that He is always by our side. And it doesn't stop there. God is saying, 'I'll take you in!', 'I'll save you!'...

We all have this privilege. No one is exempted. When trouble comes and you have no where to go, be confident that you can get through that storm. Why? Because God wants to save you and keep you safe in his abode. All you have to do is call on Him. Your head's beem telling you that you're not ready or perhaps not 'good enough' to come to God? It's a lie. Jesus came to call the sinners - us! You have faith? Nurture it. You have problems? Cry out to Him. You need a shoulder to cry on? God is ready to listen. Are you tired? God is the perfect sanctuary. Don't let yourself go through the storms alone. God is just here, waiting for you.

What saddens me......

It saddens me sometimes why other people would:

1) rather have all the money in the world than to be loved..
2) rather have all the great stuff money can buy but is lost spiritually, emotionally..
3) rather attend parties and gimmiks and spend very little time with God through prayer, going to service or hearing mass..
4) rather talk about senseless, pointless gossip than speak positive things about other people..
5) rather look at the wrong at other people when they themselves have a lot to fix in the first place..
6) rather fight and create a hostile environment than seek and promote peace..
7) rather mope, complain, whine about their life problems than pray to God for a solution..
8) rather talk about other peoples' problems when they don't even have intentions of helping..
9) try to justify pornography, fornication, abusive and offensive language and try to cover it up by doing acts of kindness to the poor..
10) try to avoid talks on God or spirituality plainly because they think it's not cool or it's too weird, but cries out to God when they've got problems..

I pray that sooner or later, people would see how beautiful it is to live one's life for God. After all, whatever it is we're enjoying now is a blessing from above; and even the problems we face are meant to make us better people. Don't you think it's time to make that paradigm shift and look at things in another perspective?

Praying as One Family

For the first time last night, we learned to pray together as one family. Often times Oli and I would be caught up with our busyness and forget to pray with the kids but it's a nice feeling when we can all come together and feel God's presence among us. Tiff did a great job praying for guiding Oli and me as we work everyday, Tristan was so cute as he prayed for his classmate, Angelo, that he may improve his reading skills. Sure they weren't super behaved, but we finished praying for each other one by one, and that alone is a great accomplishment - and a start - for us to come together and glorify God for His goodness. God binds families, heals relationships and places an impenetrable hold to those who seek Him earnestly. This is something that I pray, would be a regular act of worship that we can do every night before going to sleep.

Respect

Last Saturday, my friend Shiela had her bridal shower. She's one of the people I admire for her kind heart, bubbly stance and sincerity. Best wishes to her and Dexter for their upcoming wedding on the 17th at Bataan!

Anyways, the bridal shower party was composed of Shiela's buddies in the industry - it was a cute mix, a gorgeous group (ehem) hehe. Charm and I are thankful for their understanding (especially Shiela's) when we chose to stay in the coffee shop when the "highlight" of the party came. It's great to be around people who knows how to respect their friends' decisions and not judge them for it. It's nice when people you have known only for a couple of minutes, reach out and try to understand you for who you are. Wouldn't it be great if we had more people like them walking around this planet? Having fun means a whole great spectrum for all of us. Not taking offense and accepting people for their choices is a gift. I'm blessed to have great friends like them.

Blog Make-Over

A couple of minutes ago I was browsing through Day 28 of the Purpose Drive Life book by Rick Warren and it was about a person's growth and maturity in his Christian walk. It is never an easy road to walk away from your "old self", old habits, old ways of thinking, or simply put, your past. Rick Warren suggested creating some sort of a daily journal, an account of "things learned" as we take that big step to let God do the work in us, in our lives.

This is the reason why I've thought of reformatting my blog; making it indeed an account of what God has impressed on my heart as I let God shape me and my life to how He wants it to be. I hope that you can also find some great insights in my blog, and I respect that you don't have to agree all the time.. After all, this is a personal reflection of my Christian walk with our Creator. Be blessed!

Godly Reminders

Praise God for some stark realizations, affirmations and sweet reminders I've received over the long holiday weekend.  I pray that you will be blessed as well as you read through my post.  

1.  God gives you the competence to do your work, establish strong relationships and make sound decisions.  It is not exactly right to claim the glory for ourselves and be airheaded because of our achievements, but know that it is only through God’s gracious gift of “competence” that you are able to do the things you do.. and have done in the past.
2 Corinthians 3:5
Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.

2.  Pain, hurt, disappointments are some of the key indicators to know if God is humbling you.  Do you have a problem with arrogance?  Pride?  Accepting your mistakes?  It takes more of a huge effort to remain humble rather than to be defensive and give reason to what you’ve done to other people.  Are you going through a difficult time right now?  Pause and pray.  God may be tapping you on the shoulder asking you to humble yourself.  After all, pride never caused anything good in a relationship.  Make a stand.
James 4:6 NIV
But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."

3.  Set aside time to pray for people in your daily prayer closet.  I greatly appreciate friends and family who pray for me and my family; may God bless them (you know who  you are *smile*) with abundance and prosperity.  You are in my prayers, our prayers, as well.  I will be getting “Praying God’s Will” by Jay Duque this week as this book will help you/us to pray, not just for ourselves, but for other people as well.  
James 5:16 NIV
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

4.  God is GOD.  He disciplines just as your biological father would.  Without discipline, we would never have learned the values we will live with as soon as we turn into adults.  When God disciplines us, it may be difficult, it may be painful; but just as our dads would tell us, “anak, it’s for y our own good”…  God tells us that, it makes us stronger spiritually and mentally, mature and “not lacking anything”.  No child can learn to walk without stumbling.
James 1:2-4 MSG
Consider it a sheer gift, my friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides.  You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors.  So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely.  Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.

5.  God loves you.  God loves you – period!  He loves you and me and everyone else.  He is patient and kind.  He is patient in the sense that no matter how much we sin, He will still give you a chance to do that 180-degree turn, apologize, say sorry with all your heart and live for Him.  Sometimes we hate ourselves for not having this or that, we become disappointed when things don’t turn out the way we want them to.  We need to love our God more.  And only then can we learn to love ourselves and other people too.  It may sound weird, it may sound far out, but make a spirituality check and identify what/who you are living for.  Is it temporal?  Does it depreciate?  Is it always connected with money?  GOD is eternal.  No beginning, no end.  I don’t think anything in this world can match that.  Who/what are you clinging on to?
Titus 2:12 (NIV)
12It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age..

Whaaat's happening!

Ok so it's been an entire month since I last posted. So what's happening? Nuthin .. haha. Simply put, it's a simple life.. Nothin super extravaganza chuva mega ecstatic experiences. But the past month was totally colorful. *smile* Not like there's anyone viewing this (haha) but yah, I like putting my thoughts on screen.. (not on paper.. aia! ugly penmanship lah!)

The family enjoyed the long long vacation last end of Oct. spilled through Nov. 4. We went to La Union and had a blast just laaazing around while the kids played at the pool. The whole troop was there - Oly & Nina with Lance Ocean, Mom & Pop, Irma. Oli's folks had a clan reunion as well at Porro Point.. some sort of a naval base. Pretty oldfangled if you ask me. Check out these interesting photos taken by Oly.



















Yeehaa, cowgirl mom and tiff. Doesn't my little girl look cute with that hat? Hehehe. I look pretty stressed with my eye bags sticking out (eww!) haha. Hey, it was a looong trip and I pitched in to drive so my hubby Oli can sleep. Oh where is Starbucks when you need them?! There's NONE in La Union.






















All crampled up for the pose! We have here (CW) Nina, Oly, Irma, Rache, Oli, Tristan, Lance & Tiff.















I'd love to show more pictures.. maybe in the coming posts :) So after two days at LU, we headed off for lunch at Camp John Hay Manor and went home to Manila after. Ya, it was an 8-hour drive.. traffic was really bad!

Gotta run.. I'll just post post post again. God bless y'all!

Victorious!

Maia, Rache, Rochelle, Lala and Jackie


Last Friday and Saturday, four of us from our cell group attended Victory Weekend for Women and all in all the experience was great. You know that feeling when you're light as a feather, renewed - made new! I've finally gotten rid of all of my hang-ups in life and it really is a brand new start. Lala, Maia, Rochelle and I witnessed around 400 women embrace the Lord in a mighty way, ready to face the world with the promise of a storm-proof life. Sure our lives aren't storm-free, but with the One who made us, getting through each and every trial will be a breeze. Some may wonder what it's like to be FREE. Free is such a beautiful word and committing your life of service to God is indeed something that I can never exchange for anything else. When I say free, it's being free of the bondages of this world.. what will I wear, how will I get through this problem, where am I going, what's my purpose, what will I eat, where will I be 5, 10 years from now, where will I shop or go out tonight, etc, etc. It's being free from the temporal things that bring happiness. I know no set of words can ever describe this joy.. But we're all glad we found Him and can finally be at rest and at peace. :-)

"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." John 8:36















Pastor LA, Rache and Jackie



Pastor LA,Lala and Jackie

Plastic ka ba?

A close friend and I were talking a couple of days ago and we were discussing "tupperware" people.. yah, ung mga "plastic" .. pretenders, or whatever you want to call them. At first we were so annoyed at how some people can be like this but later on we somehow pacified ourselves and gave the topic a good laugh.

I know I just posted something about back-stabbers and now, perhaps a brother of that are the plastics. Ok - I don't wanna be untrue and not admit that, at one point or another, I was also like this. But as grew older, I came to a point (in which I know most of you have), that being "plastic" becomes such a chore and a burden and I just couldn't keep up with it, especially when other people are like that.

Alam naman natin that it's BAD.. bad, bad, tsk tsk... Pero it's amusing how people love to swim in it. Even if I exhaust all thoughts and compile what my friends think about the topic, it will still boil down to this - it's unproductive, fruitless, pointless, derogatory, childish, foolish.. Here's what the Bible has to say about it.. If you fear the Lord, or if you say you believe in Him, consider these...

Psalm 5:9Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; their heart is filled with destruction. Their throat is an open grave; with their tongue they speak deceit.

Job 27:4my lips will not speak wickedness, and my tongue will utter no deceit.

Matthew 23:25"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.

Psalm 12:3May the LORD cut off all flattering lips and every boastful tongue

Proverbs 19:22What a man desires is unfailing love ; better to be poor than a liar.

Deuteronomy 19: 17-19 17 the two men involved in the dispute must stand in the presence of the LORD before the priests and the judges who are in office at the time. 18 The judges must make a thorough investigation, and if the witness proves to be a liar, giving false testimony against his brother, 19 then do to him as he intended to do to his brother. You must purge the evil from among you.

What Pattern is Your Brain?

Your Brain's Pattern

Structured and organized, you have a knack for thinking clearly.You are very logical - and you don't let your thoughts get polluted with emotions.And while your thoughts are pretty serious, they're anything from boring.It's minds like yours that have built the great cities of the world!

What Pattern Is Your Brain?

The Back-Stabber

I’ve come to think about people who back-stab today. Silly me, but the subject just floated out of nowhere, now I feel compelled to say something about it.

I wouldn’t know if I’ve been a victim, but then again, with that Filipino culture of putting on a good face (even when it’s not called for), I’m sure I have .. and even you for sure. As I ponder about the realities of interpersonal relationships, the explosion of gossip and the trouble of people who are fond of making a fuss over simple things, I twist in dismay. Even more when I find myself tap dancing in the same water.. (but thank God not anymore!)

Why do people back-stab? These things come to mind – insecurity, bad childhood, bad environment, not God-fearing, envy, jealous, bad habit, blinded perception. When there’s back-stabbing, there’s gossip. When there’s gossip, there’s bent truth. Friendships come to ruin, trust is broken. Perhaps if we as humans, know how to be vocal about how we feel about things, back-stabbing wouldn’t be so much of an evil thing among us. Look at people in other culture, they are very frank and direct as they speak. We respect them for that and we appreciate their comments. But why is it hard to implement in your own country?

The cure for back-stabbers? To be comfortable with themselves and realize they are not perfect. Instead of bad mouthing the people around you, it is way so much better to approach and say, ‘Hey, I have something that I’d like to open up with you.” I say seek peace! I say down with gossip! I say start focusing on the worthy things in life!

Sow a thought, reap an act.
Sow an act, reap a habit.
Sow a habit, reap a character.
Sow a character, reap your destiny.

Ped Xing

Every morning I drive down North Edsa to get myself to work. Right past the MRT station and just before you climb up the flyover, if you look to your left, you'll see a conspicuous, clear-cut, straightforward sign in the aisle that says, "WALANG TAWIRAN, NAKAMAMATAY" (no pedestrian crossing, or you'll die!! hehe). From Mondays through Fridays and just about any day that I pass by that same area, I see bundles of pedestrians attempting to cross the wide, car-bus-infested road. I say to myself, 'what could these people be thinking?!' Sure they need to go somewhere, sure they need to get to the other side of the road.. or maybe there's no convenient way to cross over, but, what about the law? What about their lives for crying out loud?

If we think about our spirituality, often times we can identify ourselves with these stubborn pedestrians. The commandments written in the Bible are straight to the point, yet, as sons and daughters of God, we tend to deviate and do what we want, without sometimes thinking about its consequences. Perhaps if we allow ourselves to view the Bible as a direct instruction of living a peaceful, godly life, then we don't have to buckle under the desires of our flesh. Imagine a world with less self-inflicted problems, less stress, less sickness, less unpleasant feelings, etc, etc. No worries, uncertainties, fears, unnecessary risks. God sent the Bible to protect us. Not to suffocate us. Street signs were put there for a reason - public safety. God's Words were written for a purpose, too - for us to be saved. I guess next time we short change God and feel that seeking Him is a sign of weakness, think again.... Everything we have belongs to Him and was given to us on a loan... No matter how much we resist, His purpose will always stand.

what we've learned..

Oli and I were talking passionately about God last night and we had a few notes to exchange about what it means to have a personal relationship with our one true Maker. Here are some interesting points to note:

RELIGION, RELIGIOUS GROUP, WHA?
It doesn't really matter which group or religion you're in (James 1:26), what matters is:
- how you strive to live like Christ and move away from all that the Bible calls sin (1 John 1:9);
- how you can serve & glorify God by serving others (Col. 3:17);
- making your conduct reflect that you are indeed a child of God (2 Cor. 8:21);
- you have committed yourself to Jesus and acknowledged the fact that without Him you are nothing (John 6:28-29);
- daily acknowledge that Jesus died for you on the cross for your sins - and that is reason enough for you to move away from your "old" self to your "new" self in Christ. (Romans 7)

OH, SO YOU'VE CONVERTED?
Being "renewed" in Christ does not mean you have "converted" as other groups pray to God anyway. What it means to be a Christian is that:
- You gave your commitment to our Lord God that you will strive to follow His Word as you live your life (2 Cor. 3:17-18);
- That you know what it means to "repent" from the sins you have done and that you will do all means to change and avoid the same old sins;
- While people will always judge you depending on what your "religion" is, at the end of the day, God will ask you, "have you been faithful to me and not anybody else?" That is why being a Christian means having a "personal" relationship .. it is between God and YOU. Not between You and the religion you're in. When you face Him one day, you cannot call on your Pastor or Priest to come to your rescue. It will be just You and God;
- Some people may not understand but again, at the end of the day, we are answerable to God and NOT to anybody else.

TO FLEE OR NOT TO FLEE
- There are about 7,000 promises in the Bible. Promises for a good life, prosperity, growth, etc. But it also entails responsibility, commitment and OBEDIENCE if you would like to prosper in whatever area of your life. Obediece to God and His "law".. God will bless those who follow Him and following means, being obedient. (Deut. 11:13-17)
- Some Christians avoid certain things that lead them to sin (2 Timothy 2:22, 1Cor. 15:33, James 4:7). Some people find it weird, strict, exaggerated. But again, the Holy Spirit will convict you of the things you must avoid (John 14:15-21). And it is not the teaching of Victory or any other religious orders/groups out there. The groups are there to support us and to help us "know" God and not to tell us that, that's bawal, that's masama or what. It will then again boil down again to you and the choices you make.

IT'S ALL A MATTER OF CHOICE
- God gave us the right to choose. Left or right, black or white, yes or no. We are able to decide correctly if we constantly seek Him and acknowledge that He is the Lord of our lives;
- Some people might think that some Christians are trying so hard to "convert" the people around them, but, the truth is, no word can ever describe the "joy" you will have in Christ if you dedicate your life to Him and only Him alone. Just as Jesus made disciples, and just as His disciples preached the Good News, we as Christians are called to spread the Good News as well (Read Book of John and Acts);
- Having a "new" life becomes difficult when we have not made up our minds to leave our "old" selves;
- If we've given up our "old" selves and committed to God that we want to change, God himself will give us the strength to overcome.


So I guess the bottomline is, who exactly do we want to serve as we live on earth? Is it ourselves? Is it money? For Oli and myself, we're blessed to share the same conclusion.. That all of us are created differently, but yet our spirits seek only one God.. That Life on earth can be disrupted by so many forces that lure our focus out from God.. That living a fruitful life, with meaning, with purpose and sense, with simplicity and humility, does not match any worldly things that bring temporary joy and relief.. That when it's time to go, we can proudly tell God about how we did our best to be obedient to His Word and nothing else...

Dell Q2FY06 Ends Today! Whew!

Cheers to another great quarter! A lot of changes have taken place but the Dell
Team in Penang & in Manila is still 100% super supportive to us distributors! I miss Meiling and ML! Anyhoo, if you guys are reading this, I hope you're doing great :)

** Luau Party at the Rasa Sayang Shangrila Resort, Batu Feringgi, Penang, Malaysia with Dell Team & Dell Phil Distis.

chain letters..

I don't know about you but I've been getting some chain letters lately and somehow, it's quite irritating. I don't mean to offend anyone or anything like that but, thing is, chain letters aren't true. It's just not true. It's pure hoax. It's a waste of time, of effort and that precious happy cells inside your body are disturbed with these chain letters.

Just what is a chain letter? As researcher D.VanArsdale puts it, "Texts that appeal to superstition to encourage their copying or publication have circulated for over a thousand years. Beginning around 1900, copy quotas and deadlines were added, and claims of divine authorship and magical protection were removed. The resulting "luck chain letters" still circulate, and in over four thousand generations of copying (with variation) they have accumulated ways to increase replication that challenge our understanding."

Next time you see a chain letter lying around your inbox, you can choose to read it or delete. But try to really intuitively ask yourself, 'will a mere letter give me bad luck?', 'will it REALLY give me good luck if i pass it within the specified deadline?'. I don't think there's any logical explanation for it. Ultimately I would say, if you need "good luck" in your lives, polish up on your skills, do good with your job and keep on praying to God for guidance. If you think na "wala namang mawawala sa kin if i try it", i hate to bust your bubble, but, ya, meron ngang mawawala. Your time, the effort, that 5-10 seconds na sana you tried to invest in something more worthwhile, and of course, you'll end up hurting the feelings of God (who made you and everything!).. Do you trust Him enough for the blessings or are you going to sit there in doubt?

If there's anything more powerful in this world, then I'd say right away (and i'm sure most of you will agree), it is God. Who do you pray to at night? Who do you call on when you're happy? Scared? Fearful? Depressed? No amount of forwarded chain letters can take away your unwanted feelings, let alone will bring you that "luck" in life.

heaven sent!

Well guys call me mushy, or mushy, hehe, but it's high time someone paid attention to the most beautiful people in the world (aside from me and my family ofcourse hehehe). Call it kidstuff or what, but, hey, we don't see this around very often now do we?

Ok - i've been through so much in school and while i was in my teens.. we actually dunno how we would have suvived adolescence without each other. it was a great mix! we've got clowns, nerds, serious people all rolled into a single package. ever will i be thankful to God for blessing me with such great friends.

Girlfriends! Take a bow :)

CAMILLE

Oh yes, the voluptuous, the ever so charming, the very wacky Ca-Ca! Or Fungi during our high school days. I love Camille's wit, her smile and her ability to make something really fun... even if it's dead boring. She's smart and straight to the point. She can knock some sense into a person's head without sounding too offensive.. even if she's using offensive words.. haha. What can I say, it takes talent to be like her.

LEANNE

She's the powerhouse of the group I would say. She speaks with such conviction and is just so darn intelligent.. Leanne or Lehy as we call her is not someone you'd want to toy with. I mean she's fun and all but you better not get into her nerves or else you'll get some good ol beatin'. :) But of course Leanne's a loving and thoughtful person to her friends. All in all I can say that Lehy's one of the few people here on earth who can easily understand a friend.. No non-sense, direct, no beating around the bushes approach. Beauty and brains, my friend.

CARLA

Carlooney! Man, she's probably the kindest person I know and the scariest person at the same time! Please don't get her angry on the road. Kidding! Oh but Carl is such a sweetie. She's someone who has such great insights about life and would most often bring the group back on the right track. It's a blessing to be around Carla because she's such an angel. Need an advice? Need to hear something good? Need someone to pray for you? Need someone to help you with your walk with God? Carl's all that and more.

CHA-CHA

Everytime she would come before we would say Ho-Ho-Ho.. But now, when she comes, people say, oh good, Cha's here! Cha's the life of the party. She is totally hillarious. Can make your cheeks turnin purple as she pulls off her jokes. Cha can also be serious at times, and she is a deep-thinker. You can count on her whenever you need help and it's just amazing how she can blend well with the people around her. I admire her courage and tenacity, her drive to excel and her love for her family.

ELAINE

You have time for a nice long chat? You have time to read through a novela-type email? Elaine can stir up great conversations that can leave your jaws hanging. Haha. She's funny, she's smart and most of all God-fearing. Her two little kids are so lucky to have Elaine as their mom. She's a real blessing. I love Elaine's fighting spirit and her passion with work and family. One thing's for sure, Elaine will surely be blessed as long as she's here.

SOPHIE

Yoohoo, Sophiee! I've known this gal since grade school and all I can say is that, over the years, she never changed a bit. She's still the innocent type kind of person (innocent type, may I stress..hehe) and her patience on anything is just about awesome. I think when God taught us patience Soph aced the class. Fun to be with, sincere, loving and super thoughtful, Soph is a jewel of a friend that you can surely cherish for years to come.

LALA

Ms. Popular! Lala was the ever so showbiz person in the group. She'd be friends with literally everybody in school. Reason why she's a people magnet is that she is very accommodating, friendly and sincere. We've known each other since we were in our tiny cute underwears in pre-school? Or kinder? I admire Lala's will to succeed and her drive to make it good in her career. She is a blessing to her family and friends, indeed.

good mornin!!

(Copyright Gospel Communications International, Inc - www.reverendfun.com)

Verse of the Day

[God Disciplines His Sons ]  Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. ”- Hebrews 12:1

I'm blogging!!

Ha! I finally gave in. Well, I'm not a writer by heart.. and I don't recall "writing" ever liked me. .. Hehe. No I don't think it's a fad.. it's simply one of the nicest ways to write about anything under the sun and improve yourself along the way. Oh writing is just a great therapy! Cheaper than going to the spa.. I hope I can update this as often as I possibly can. God bless y'all!