catchin' up

with blogging. i've been busy digging through the boxes in our storage. i'm trying to get rid of stuff and really just organize everything before i start working again (dunno when yet... hehehe). my husband said, "the key is if you haven't seen it for a year and you survived with out it... get rid of it." so although i have the tendency to keep it all... i closed my eyes and followed my husband's advice. ouch!

the result? wow! i see more space hehehe. but does that mean, more stuff to buy? um, hope not. i did go to ikea the other day to finally buy the bins for the playroom in the basement. i bumped into my old friend, butch and his wife, nova and managed to catch up a lil' bit. that was nice =)

over the weekend was my son's 11th bday and my mom's 3rd yr in heaven. we invited ayre's close friend, matthew (my girl, marge's son) and headed off to volcano falls with my entire fam. the fun was a success! love the laser tag with the kids... hehehe. the lil' ones snuck up behind me & caught me too many times... i'm guess i'll die easily @ war *wink*

got home at 9p and i still had to prep my palabok (filipino noodle dish) for the next day. i planned to cook early sunday morning so that i have time to get ready for church. but unfortunately, my sis thought we had all the ingredients for the palabok i was going to make. i ended up driving to 4 filipino stores and they were all closed. whaaaaat? so i had to just drop them off to church, got all the stuff i needed at the filipino store and rushed myself home to cook. for someone who doesn't cook, i think i did pretty well. took me 45mins to cook and 5mins to load everything in the car. however, there's one thing i realized... i will no longer desire to open up a catering business hahahaha and to think that was just 1 dish i made - so sad... but hey! regardless all the driving and the stress... i'm so happy to get great reviews for my palabok hehehe made it all worth it! thanks Lord!

well, we made it to the cemetery on time and celebrated my mom's anni & again, ayre's bday. some of my mom's close friends were there so that really completed our day. brings the good old memories =)

too bad noel was working 7 straight days... he missed his son's bday and my mom's anni. thankfully he's off today and tomorrow so bonding time with dad is our itinerary for 2 days.

oh and to all the couples out there... whether all is well or you're in the midst of a trying moment, i encourage you to watch the movie, "FIREPROOF"! How far will you go to keep your promise and save your marriage?

i love you all with the love of the Lord,
lovely

Our God Reigns

i felt so renewed at church today as darlene zschech lead us to praise and worship. it was a concert filled with awe of our great God. ever since our pastor, bill hybels took over every service due to some major changes in the staff... the big vision that the Lord inscribe in his heart that our church will be filled with people praising the name of God and that we will be a singing church, i've felt nothing, but gratefulness towards his gift of ministry. the Lord never fails to use him to get the message of the Gospel to all people.

today, however was definitely one of the many special days at willow. darlene zschech, one of the most influential Christian singers of all time (some of her most popular songs are: shout to the Lord, through it all, & all things are possible), used her gift to lead us into prayer, worship & praise to our Holy God.

it was too surreal!

please allow me to share to you 2 of the songs that brought me to tears as i embraced the truth of how joyful and peaceful it is to live for Christ, to trust and give my life to His hands. and to be reminded that at the end of the day, God is enough and He is always good.





friends, each one of us face different trials and we all handle it differently. no matter how we deal with it, somehow, someway, we yearn for HELP. God knows our cry for help. He knows every detail whether we choose to tell Him or not. however, God gave us the gift of "free will" and therefore, it is still our choice to respond to His ever-present help. i know sometimes it takes for us to go through difficulties to take the route to God, but friends, i encourage you... this is the day! don't waste another minute apart from God, but receive His agape love. His love that is not only filled with amazing wonders, but eternal security. no, living for God doesn't exclude you from trials, but it brings joy in the midst of suffering and peace that passes all human understanding. i pray that you will take time to resolve this matter to our Creator and allow Him to reveal Himself to you. because friend, you matter to our awesome God!

test update

yes, i'm absolutely uncertain this time with 1 of the tests i took this morning. to start it off, i'm not a fan of history and to make it worst, the questions were not at all what i studied... grrrr

well, i can honestly say that at least 20% of my answers were all guess. i just submit all my tests in God's hands... after all He's my ultimate source of wisdom and knowledge. so God, may Your will be done!

k, just a quick blog here since i have lots to accomplish today!

have a blessed weekend everyone!

craigslist

yesterday, i couldn't stand the files and supplies that were exposed and in our office, so i thought i'd check out what my area has to offer as far as cabinets or shelves, through craigslist.

well, lemme tell yah... i spent about an hour searching for the right one and i'm glad i did. my husband and i found 2 bookcases that retails for $130 ea and we got for $120 for 2. One is brand new and the other one, although it has been used, looked just the same and has a 2 doors in the bottom. Plus, we've been putting off buying a snow blower. they're just so expensive that's why, but again i'm glad i looked at craigslist. there was one selling for $400. was just a yr old and it was def well maintained. we checked it out and of course you use your judgement by how clean and organized their house is since that's pretty much how you could tell if they're really taking care of their belongings. well sure enough, they live at a new subdivision (location not on my GPS yet) 15 mins. from where we live. they have a huge, clean and organized house... whew! the snow thrower? well, it was sitting in the garage, shinning! my husband examined it meticulously and we were both very pleased. and the good news is, we didn't even have to bargain, the owner just offered to bring it down to $350. yay! retail price for the one we got? $679 (the cheapest)... now that's a deal!

the best part was meeting the owner and his daughters... they seemed to be such a loving family =)

thank God for craigslist!

so today, i have some organization to do and studying later tonight. i have another exam (longer and harder than the last 2) this sat.

hope you all have an awesomely blessed day!

got chills...

as my husband and i listened to charice pempengco's duet with celine dion. a 16 yr. old girl from the philippines who struggled as a child seeing her mom abused by her father. she joined every singing contest she could possibly find just to have food on the table. both at one point were dreaming to be able to eat pizza and charice once again managed to win another contest just for this reason.

this girl has been blessed from beginning to end. her life might've started rough, but in God's time, He delivered them from it. i pray that this girl as well as her mom continue to praise the Lord for their success. that this fame will not lead them to step away from God's path. it would be such a loss if they do. i give the Lord all the glory for this mother and daughter. God is so amazing!

here's a clip of the duet with celine dion. worth watching...

whew!

thank God we're all ok. woke up early this morning to bring my sis to her dentist in chicago. while she was busy getting her teeth cleaned, my daughter and i drove to the nearest filipino store. haven't been at that place for years now. my daughter even had a blast shopping for junk food hehehe

before heading back, we stopped by my brother's oberweis, got my latte and ice cream for my sis and my daughter. on our way to pick up my son (5mins. away from school) someone accidentally hit the back of our van. there were 3 vehicles involved and thankfully no one was hurt. the lady who caused it wasn't paying attention, but i could tell she was scared, shaky and just in shocked. i felt so bad for her though, i had to calm her down. i had to make her feel that everything will be ok, cars are fixable and we should still be thankful that no one got hurt. thank God the owner of the other vehicle was gentle and very much understanding, he even agreed to what i said and added, "that's why God made auto shop" hehehe. i mean of course there are different types of accidents, i'm just not fond of people who go off... i think it's best to calm down and make sure that everyone assists and be remorseful of each other regardless whose fault it is. nothing will get resolved by hostility... in fact it'll just make matters worst.

so today, i feel blessed and relief... at least no one got hurt and we all got home safely.

my to do list for the rest of the day, it's simple? study and study hard... i have finals this weekend. Lord, i need your help again please! =)

stay safe everyone! find refuge in God!

You think you know?

It's amazing how I started to realize how different we are everyday. I never really thought of this 'till I started playing around with the mood character i recently uploaded. Yesterday, I felt so lazy and bored, but today I have so many things I need to work on that's why I picked "busy" as my current mood for the day... it's pretty much a combination of feeling fired up, organized, & accomplished. But believe me, there are also days when I question Him about my situation and I learned that it's ok to do that. And I kid you not, I'm always in awe of how many times He puts me back in the right track.

I'm really grateful that the Lord gave me a chance to read the book I'm currently reading, it's called, "10 things you should know about God & Life". It gives me a better understanding of how life works and how the Lord truly desires for us to prosper through an absolute, really one on one relationship with Him. Understanding the difference between really trusting God and just saying that you trust God. I'm learning so much as I carry this load of job loss.

I don't know how He does it, but whatever magical thing He does, He never fails to give me new hope. And so with amazement, i just sincerely put my trust in Him. I mean, why wouldn't I? He's blessed me more than I deserve. He changed my life when I thought there was no other way around it. I know that He understands what I'm going through regardless I say something or not. But see, I finally figured it out that the reason why He wants to hear it directly from us is because it's for our own benefit, if you haven't realized that by now. I don't know about you, but for me, it helps me to get a better understanding of my situation when I vent out, either to a friend or a family member... it brings peace in my heart. I really think that keeping it in will make matters worst, not only for yourself, but to your loved ones. And so, what better way, but to let it out to the One who understands it all... our One and Only heavenly Father.

I've seen people panicked like it was the end of the world for them when dealing with a difficult situation. Sometimes, the problem comes when we rely too much on our own perception of the situation. Like with my situation, there were times I felt so disappointed due to numerous turned-downs I received in a week. I just couldn't imagine why the Lord would allow something like this? But yet again, I remember the verse in Proverbs 3:5, "Never rely on what you think you know." And so time after time, I hear the Lord gently telling me that out of a seemingly bad situation can come good. (Romans 8:28 - All things work together for good to those who love God...)

That's why I'm so grateful to say that I know that the Lord will be glorified during this waiting time in my life. In the meantime... I will continue to hold on to His promises and be obedient to whatever He wants me to do. I may not fully understand His plans, but what matters is I trust His results and I know that God is enough at the end of the day.

So friends, when you encounter hardship, I encourage you to be honest to the Lord and pray that He will remind you not to rely on what you think you know is best for you. Believe from the beginning that God will bless you in the experience. Let's walk by faith, my friend, and not by site.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know. -Proverbs 3:5

Have a JOYFUL day!

checkin' in ---

i don't think i'll be sleeping anytime soon... my husband and i just felt the urge to try dunkin' donuts' iced latte and i ended up finishing the entire large cup. so not only am i bloated from the party we went to earlier, i'm also kinda gassy, ewe i know, but oh well! hehehe

we planned to take out my mom-in-law after church & after the party, today, but unfortunately she suffered from insomnia again last night. she ended up staying home to get some rest. we then just spent a few hours at my girlfriend's house to celebrate her daughter's bday & christening. so glad we went tho... i had a chance to talk to a friend i haven't seen in a while. anyway, happy birth again, elyssa! thanks for the invite!

ok, so besides gardening, i've been studying all week for my exam (1 down 4 more to go!) last sat. i feel really good about it, but won't find out the results till after a month since essay was a big part of it. i just really hope that i pass all 5 and won't have to retake any of them. God's been really good to me - i have nothing but gratitude =)

i've been anticipating for the new series we just started today at church, it's called, "influence". see all of us are of influence to someone whether we know it or not. no matter what our status is in life, no one is a nobody. people we encounter everyday, are impacted by our daily decisions, actions, and example. however, if we're for God, are we walking the paths God asks us to walk on so that we can be the light stand to others? are you one who's just content to have the ticket to heaven or do you have the heart to reconcile others with God as well? or are you one who's for God on sundays then for the world for the rest of the week? one who should be grateful to know God, but yet instead of influencing others for the sake of Christ, you're the one who was influenced to do things that are apart from God? friends, there's always hope! i encourage you to take part of this 8-part series on influence. watch as our pastor, bill hybels, challenge us to make the most of the opportunities we have to make a difference for eternity.

click this site to watch today's message: http://www.willowcreek.org/MiniSite/story.asp?storyid=5

i pray that as you give your time and effort to listen to this series, the Holy Spirit will touch your heart to come alongside us and make a difference for Christ sake. remember, no good works will win you a ticket to heaven, but only through the saving grace of Christ Jesus. of course as we put Christ first in our hearts, good works will follow through the help of the Holy Spirit.

may the good Lord guide our ways as we live the days we have left here on earth.
have a blessed week!