Celebrate Life

    Did you ever see how important? that.. every.. single.. moment..  when you see a person alive or not in pain?.. Did you ever feel how life can be happier if you see someone sick in bed but was able to stand and go on with your life?.. Did you ever think that lying in bed because it is already night and taking a rest for tomorrow's task is such bliss, instead of being in bed with sickness? The moment  I open my eyes without the pain, I am glad I can eat my favorite dish I have cooked yesterday, I can hear the crunch of my favorite mixed nuts "Ding-dong", and I can savor the sweetness of my favorite coconut "Hany".

     Succumb to an unknown chronic pain that could stop my world for a time, I cherish every moment that I can touch and hold hands with my kids, especially my youngest...Faith. Stand and go out looking at the greens, smell the breeze at the beach, eat my favorite foods, working on my laptop to write what I was thinking. Pain can make one surrender life itself. So much throbbing pain every minute wet my eyes to tears. Pain that lasts, it seems to no end. Every pain I dreaded to feel. Worries came in when I feel its onset. 

     Life is wonderful..why end it?.. Everything on earth is amazing.. why destroyed it?.. Some people fight for its life to stand, walk, run, speak, eat normally, to see things the way they were. God is wonderful to make me see things as they were and were they not, to think deeply of all things He has created for what it is. I'm thanking Him for every time that I can open my eyes and see the light of the day, hence, hoping for what the day would bring. Oh, yes, God. thank you I'm still alive! I'm celebrating my life!

The Gift of Giving

       I have come across a story that seems like a fairy tale but truly happened in the early 90s during the Bosnian war. It would remind you of an old fairy tale about a golden fish caught by a poor fisherman who begged to free him since he was actually a prince. When the wife of the poor fisherman was told of his experience, she asked her husband to return and make a wish to the golden fish for them to be free from poverty. Though a disaster happened later in the fairy tale, the true story I have read is in a way different since the blessings given to the family are intact.

      This true story began in the northwestern village of Jezero, before the outbreak of the Bosnian War. A father named Smajo Malkoc returned from a trip in Austria bringing with him a gift of an aquarium with two goldfish for his two teenage sons. Two years later, women and children fled but the men stayed back to resist the attack of Bosnian Serb forces. Smajo Malkoc was killed and his wife, Fehima, sneaked into the destroyed village, secretly buried his husband, and took whatever remains she could get off their belongings. Fehima took pity on the fish in the aquarium and she let them out in the nearby lake saying to herself, "This way, they might be more fortunate than us."

      Later in 1995, Fehima returned with his two sons to their home. Looking toward the lake, she glimpsed something strange on the lake and walked over to the shore to find out. She found out that the whole lake was full of shining golden fish. From then on, they started caring for and selling the goldfish, and 3 years after, the Malkoc house is one of the biggest in their village. The Malkoc family said they have enough money to quit worrying about the future. According to one of the sons, it was a special kind of gift from their father. 

       The father took the initiative of giving the gift of goldfish to his two sons, then the mother follows by giving the gift of freedom and life to the two goldfish by letting them to the lake during the war, thus, life underwater flourished and the gift of hope and new life had come to the Malkoc family after the war. Homes, stores, and coffee shops all over the region had their aquariums with goldfish from Jezero. This story is a good example of giving and receiving that the gift of love or an act of kindness, no matter how small or insignificant it may be, God blesses and uses it to accomplish and fulfill great things. "Give, and it will be given unto you" (Luke 6:38). We should not doubt that God can take whatever we offer Him and turn it into something magnificent. Amid chaos and trouble, God's grace is relentless, and his kingdom is flourishing even though life on the surface is full of trouble and strife. 

How Big is GOD?

The prophet Isaiah certainly was captivated by the greatness of God...and I am too...as He is far bigger than the limited mind can conceive...

Do you not know?
   Have you not heard?
Has it not been told to you from the beginning?
   Have you not understood since the earth was founded?
He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth,
   and its people are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,
   and spreads them out like a tent to live in.

"To whom will you compare me?
   or who is my equal?" says the Holy One.
Lift your eyes and look to the heavens;
   who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one,
   and calls them each by name.
Because of His great power and mighty strength,
   not one of them is missing.

Do you not know?
   Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
   the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
   and His understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
   and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
   and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord
   will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
   they will run and not grow weary,
   they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:21,22,25,26,28-31 

As I was reading these passages, I am really awed by His Greatness..amazed by all His Creations, from detailed landscapes and shaped mountains to deep oceans to large continents to the vast formation of galaxies...yes, the Creator of a big wide world,  is greater than its creation, and yet sometimes I fail to remember that He is also Bigger than life, Bigger than my sadness, Bigger than my problems.. so I have to keep on reading it again and again... try it yourself if you feel your strength is leaving you to carry and move on because HE is Bigger that He can cover me, you, the universe.. entirely!..that is.. my God.

Our Father..How Great is His Love

     

image credits to hallow.com

    Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name, your Kingdom comes, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.... a line of praise for our Great Father who founded the family, who gave up His Son for us to be saved.

 "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him." (John 3:16-17, NIV). 

     The heartbreak He had felt when He provided salvation for us. The decision of giving up His only Son to suffer the mocking of the crowd. Every lash and pain, every weight and humiliation of our sin, the agony of being alone and abandoned....the Father's heart was deeply pained. Yet to save us all, He let it be so that whenever we believe in the reason that His only Son had died for us and risen victoriously, we have a right to be His child and call Him Our Father.

     He is there looking at us, seeing how we grow...teaching us...He knows every bit of us...He understands...He is there waiting for us...

     

Pleasure or Joy

Giving time to God in a solitary place is like having a date with Jesus, talking, and being with Him the whole day. The time spent is not in vain. It was confirmed to me today through my daily Bible reading this morning. It is about the joy in our hearts and the passing pleasures in our environment. Despite the storm and the loneliness, I have many reasons to be joyful. Talking to God, asking for His guidance, the faith in Him, and His assurance. I've got joy in my heart. A real joy..complete.

To share with you In the Our Daily Bread article, joy was differentiated from pleasures.

                                                                                                                        

* For a joy that will last, always put Christ first!

*Acknowledgement to Henry Bosch of Our Daily Bread

     

Mercy...Not Sacrifice

     Reading the book of Matthews, I have come across one of Jesus' statements that do have an impact on me as a Christian, "I desire mercy not sacrifice" (Matthews 9:13&12:7). Jesus said these words when He heard what the Pharisees had asked His disciples about why He was eating with the tax collectors and sinners. On another occasion, the Pharisees condemn Jesus for allowing His disciples to pick some grains on the field and eat them during the Sabbath. At first, I thought, Jesus was talking about for people to show or feeling mercy on Him than giving their sacrifices. Upon researching, I thought I was wrong and also found out that somehow I may be correct.
      In the context of what Jesus has stated, he said those words when the Pharisees had asked questions that might be caught Him unaware (as the Pharisees had thought). For that matter, Jesus answered that it is not healthy who need a doctor, it is sick. Jesus told His people to go and find out what it means that He desires mercy and not sacrifice. Jesus also cited what David did when they were hungry, eating the consecrated bread which is unlawful for them to do and yet they are innocent. In a simple explanation, what I understood from the searches I have found, Jesus doesn't need our sacrifices if it isn't done in true devotion and faith and in love. Our sacrifices meant nothing if we don't have love. It was like, we are working all day making sacrifices for our parents, kids,  or siblings and yet we are just doing it because it is our responsibility and obligation to do so but we don't have love, all our sacrifices would be in vain. We will not be happy and contented doing all these things.

    Jesus said "I desire mercy not sacrifice" because he wanted His people to do what He has done, showing mercy for the sinners, for the lost soul, and for the broken spirit. Forgiveness for those who offended us, not being judgmental to other people, being considerate, and being sensitive to the needs of our fellows are what Jesus desires for us to do. Jesus had offered His life so He could save the sinners, find the lost soul, and heal the broken spirit. All these things Jesus had done because He loves us.  Following His example, Jesus desires for us to do His work, to make sacrifices out of love. I may be true to what I had thought first, that Jesus needs to feel that we love Him than giving our sacrifices for Him. For if we do love Him, what we have done to other people, we have done it unto Him. Follow His example and our sacrifices will not be in vain.

Ease Your Loneliness

     Many people if not some are lonely. They build walls instead of bridges. That very same thing has happened to me. Trials of life and discouragement from people whom I have trusted. I stopped talking to people and go out. I have my own world then. But then I realized, I still have some that left of me and I should be happy that I have them..my kids...and truly, they are my treasures. They have kept praying for me until I decided to go back to where I have grown up as a Christian, my Church, my Christian home. 

     Being lonely is not the end of the world but a way to understand other people who are undergoing the same situation, thus, the opportunity to reach out and find encouragement for each other. Through this blog, I hope I can reach out to many people by sharing these thoughts and discover how these three actions can help to ease our loneliness.  Dave Branon of "Our Daily Bread" correlated them with verses in the Bible. 

1) Learn contentment. Read Philippians 4:10-13, then ask God to help you to depend on Him each day and to learn to be content in any situation.

     "I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last, you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength."

2) Do good for someone. Read Hebrews 13:1-3, then look for someone in need of help. You will get rid of loneliness for both of you.

     "Keep on loving each other as brothers. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering."

3) Worship with God's people. Read Hebrews 10:21-25 which emphasizes the value of worshiping with other believers, Find someone with whom you can praise God. 

     "...and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. and let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

     These actions will redirect your thinking and remind you that when you know God you are never alone. Lean on Jesus for contentment. 

     If you feel lonely and alone, feel free to talk to me. ('',)





#loneliness #alone #God #christian 

7 Things That We Can Do In Discovering God's Will

  

   
     According to Joanie Yoder, one of the writers in "Our Daily Bread", a daily devotional guide, some people love to serve God, but they don't know what to do. The best way to discover God's specific will for your life is to obey His clearly revealed will. There she enumerates a list of how God wants us to live and what He wants us to do.

1) Love and pray for your enemies.

     "But I tell you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."  - Matthew 5:44 (NIV)

2) Walk by faith and not by sight.

     "We live by faith, not by sight." - 2 Corinthians 5:7 (NIV)

3) Love God by enduring temptation.

     "Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial because when he has  stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him." - James 1:12 (NIV)

4) Serve one another.

     "You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love." - Galatians 5:13 (NIV)

5) Lay up treasures in heaven.

     "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal." - Matthew 6:19-20 (NIV)

6) Share the gospel with the lost.

     "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." -  Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV)

7) Exercise your spiritual gifts.

     "We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully." - Romans 12:6-8 (NIV)

Wonderful Opportunities

Life is full of opportunities, but they say opportunity knocks once. As I am reading a lesson on Pre-encounter to an Encounter with God, opportunities are in abundance. It changes my outlook on opportunities. As long as we live, we could have these opportunities, the four wonderful opportunities that would change us ...

1) The Encounter Opportunity

This struck me the most..no matter how far we have strayed from God, we can STOP right now and TURN BACK to Him. Remember the story of the prodigal son? The son made the decision to return to his father's house looking for a second chance. (Luke 15:11-20), we can do the same thing by deciding to have an encounter with our Father God. Anyone ...ANYONE .. who desires to have an encounter with God CAN do so. God is always close to us, as close as the air we breathe."We are His offspring"(Acts 17:27-28).

"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." - Jeremiah 29:13

2) The Reconciliation Opportunity

We can have true reconciliation with anyone if we recognize our sins, and our faults and ask for forgiveness. The same thing with our God, ACKNOWLEDGING our sins, REPENTANCE and ASKING for His forgiveness, and RENOUNCING all the evil we have committed. When we do this, God stretches forth His merciful hand toward us. 1 John 1:9 assures us: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and purify us from all unrighteousness. Just like the prodigal son, seeing his fallen condition he decided to come back so as not to stay in that condition and take the risk to find a new opportunity. An opportunity to be in his father's place once again.

"I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against You. I am no longer worthy to be called Your son; make me like one of your servant men." - Luke 15:18-19

3) The Restoration Opportunity

As to how an old painting is being restored by its painter, a new set of coloring kits is being dabbed in and a time spent to bring back its natural and original beauty, God does it to His sons. All of our sins deserve punishment, but God allowed His Son Jesus Christ to take our place and pay for our sins. Just like the father in the prodigal son, he decided to restore his lost son's dignity when he came back and ask for his forgiveness. He ordered a fattened calf to be a sacrifice in honor of his son's return. 

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this; while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:8

4) The Provision Opportunity

As children of God, we have all the privileges that we could enjoy. God considers us His dear children, making us participants of the same riches and glory as Jesus Christ. Once, we had lost these privileges because of sin. Coming back to Him, He dresses us in the best garments, puts the best shoes on us, and gives us the ring that represents the authority we now enjoy as His children and heirs. God treats us as His beloved children.

"Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God." - John 1:12

In general, when there is an opportunity, there will be an encounter a new task, a new life. Opportunities would open a new door to a new beginning. Specifically, these opportunities are always available to us, life-changing opportunities, to begin with.

When You Are Hopeless..

image credits to thegoodbook.com/blog/ministry-blogs

I've chanced upon to watch this video...what I could say is.."Oh my God!"..these are people who seem hopeless but managed to survive despite their disabilities. I thought of my 5-year-old daughter who wouldn't be able to walk, because of a congenital defect. I am hoping for her...Hoping to see the day she could walk or excel in everything she does despite her disabilities, despite what she went through and what she will encounter as she grows up..and for all the people out there, watch this video, with courage and determination and God's help, nothing is impossible...

Hoping is believing...Believe even when others don't. Believe even against the darkness all around. Believe even when it is impossible. Believing is having faith...And we have a BIG GOD to have a BIG FAITH..(",)

#faith #hope #hopeless #believe #nothingisimpossible

Because of Who You Are ...

image credit to morethanuseless.com

When you look into the cottony sky, the beautiful landscape of hills and mountains, the shimmering sunlight of the sea, the awesome colors of leaves and flowers, and the glittering stars of the night..you might ask..what a Great Hand has created these things... When you see and hear the different animals, when you feel the warm embrace of your kids, the loving touch of your mother, the protection of your father..you might say...what a Wonderful privilege has been given to us...

Have you asked who you are to see and feel all of these things?.. Have you been wondering that with all those trials, pain, and sufferings, you still managed to get up and be someone you dreamed of?..

Watch, hear, and think of what this song is saying...

Video Credits to the owner and Casting Crowns

This song is like a prayer..with all those things around us, those people who have hurt us, those trials that make us fall..there is One Hand that will catch us..no matter what or who we are..without Him..we're like a flower quickly fading, a wave tossed in the ocean, a vapor in the wind..here today and gone tomorrow. We are nothing..but because of Who God Is..we are someone..someone His...
Who am I? .. God said, You are mine. "I am yours, God, and whom shall I fear?"..what a wonderful assurance that whatever we had done, because  He is God, He loves us and will be by our side...and God's promises never change...

The Promise

These are the promises that God has given us and in turn can be our guide to love, to guide, and to say to our spouses. Love them as God loves us unconditionally.

1. He has promised He will never leave you. Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. (Hebrews 13:5)...say:" Dear, I promised not to leave you just as God will never leave me.."
Can you say this to your spouse, and truly mean it as God means it toward you?

2. He is always thinking only the best about you. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. (Psalm 139:17-18)...say: "Dear, I am always thinking only the best about you!"
Can you say that your mind is always filled with only good thoughts about your spouse?

3. He is gentle toward you when you’re broken. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”  (Psalm 147:3) ..say: "I will be gentle toward you if you're broken.."
Are you gentle toward your spouse even when he/she is angry or unlovable – which is how he/she often responds when he/she is hurt?

4. He promises nothing will ever come between the two of you. (Nothing) will be able to separate us from the love of God... (Romans 8:39) ..say: Dear, I promise nothing will ever come between the two of us.."
Are there any conditions or exceptions in your mind when it comes to loving your spouse?  Is there something in the back of your mind that he/she could do that would end it for the two of you? God holds none of those reservations about you. He has promised nothing – that includes nothing you can do – will ever come between you and God. Can you say the same to your spouse?

5. He delights in you, quiets you with His love, and sings over you. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17)...say: "Dear, I delight in you, quiet you with my love, and sing over you.."
Can you delight in your spouse and rejoice over him/her, simply because of who he/she is – one who is loved by his Heavenly Father and by you? Think about the joy and comfort you have, knowing God feels that way about you. Now, what would it add to your spouse’s life if he/she knew you truly delighted in him/her?

As I am typing all these, I am thinking if I could do that, and thinking if he could do that. Easier said than done, but with a determination to save my long ailing marriage and with God beside me, I pray that it's all done. I am holding on to what God said..what He has joined together, let no man separate. It is my decision to love him even before we got married, still, do when things get rough. Maybe he didn't know that even with his imperfections I have love.
God has taught me many things, the hard way. Nobody knows. I may be seen as strong but it is because I have God and He is with me since the time I was born. I never questioned God for everything He has done, it is because God has given us..me..something ..a gift.. to conquer it all, to serve our purpose.
I assure you guys, God will never give us what we cannot bear and it is the other way around, God has given us those trials because He knew we could surpass it through the gift, the skills He has given us. I just do hope to inspire everyone who reads it...(",) May God bless you...

Acknowledgment to http://www.crosswalk.com