*moments w/ family & friends*

so how was everyone's Christmas? always hoping that all was well!

here's mine...
well first, i was happy to see my friends at willow and so grateful to see that the church was packed. willow held 12 services for Christmas and each one of them were packed. about 7400 seats not including the lakeside auditorium where people can watch in the big screen. just amazing! all glory to God!

nway, we hosted for Christmas eve... lots of preparation and shopping, we dropped off 2 loaded vehicles of stuff at goodwill... too bad they don't take baby furniture w/o manuals so I have 1/4 of my garage full of baby furniture to be picked up by NCCS on the 3rd. nway, with all the last min. stuff and driving here and there... thank God! - though tiring - our Christmas eve turned out just the way we had hoped for! plus, OUR BASEMENT IS DONE!!! just love the carpet and theater seatings... thanks to Christmas! i'm sure if we weren't hosting we would've probably waited till next year. i'm so humbled that my fam enjoyed our presentation of food and decorations... thank God for the strength, we couldn't have done this all by ourselves.

Christmas day, we went to my sis' place and spent the night there. my goodness! sooo much food! i feel so bad coz a lot of the food got wasted. so sorry Lord =( as usual we enjoyed every moment together. every laughter, every gifts, every hugz and kisses... plus we have a new member in the family... not mine, but my sis-in-law's new pug... my niece named her, bb (short for betty boop - her fave character).

pictures? was too bc to take pics.... but here's what i got

29th: great! i'm now a mom of a teen! NOOOO! my eldest daughter turned 13th last sat and i tell you... this has been the most stressful and confusing bday party i arranged. she just could not make up her mind. we had to cancel her original plan of having a sleepover. but i just have to have some of her real close friends (4 of them, but 2 only made it) thankfully, 2 of her cousins (almost the same age - last seen when we went to VA last summer) came over and added more color to her bday. thanks to 2 of my girlfriends, they stopped by too to celebrate with us (marge w/ fam & char). our house was once again a full house (when is it never anyway?). thank God for the life He gave my daughter and His amazing plans for what's ahead of her. Lord, may you guide her every step and keep her away from any harm and temptations. Help us raise our kids just the way you want us to. And may they grow to be a good example to their family and friends. Amen!

here's some pics:

so, now it's new year's eve... as a tradition, we go to my sis' place, have a karaoke and movie night... still have to buy some poppers and all that good stuff to welcome 2008 with lots of joy, laughter and love. may you and your loved ones have a blessed 2008 and may the Lord be the center of it all!

thank God for 2007 (may it be tough for you this year or just full of blessings) and let's embrace a new beginning the Lord offers us in 2008! God is good all the time!


continue to be blessed and be a blessing to others! thank you for your dedication, your support and prayers!


HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

just sharin'

it's almost midnight and i thought of blogging before noel and i start cleaning the basement. yep! we're vampires... hehehe really? we have lots to do in our list and we wanted to get things done right away before we end up putting it off again. weird? yep! i know.

quick update about project hope: thanks to our faithful supporters who promised to send in their donation before the end of the year... we've received $600 last week! all glory to God! please continue to pray for our trip this march. with our finances, we need God's help to make our trip happen.

nway, i thought of attaching today's ODB on today's blog since the message brings the true meaning of Christmas... i think it's important for others to read it just in case some do not bother reading the daily devotional section. i encourage you to read on and hope you'll receive a message that will stir your heart.

I sure hope I made it on time for everyone to read today’s ODB. Since for sure some of you, including me, will be on vacation for the rest of the year. So let’s start!

Two weeks ago, I gathered my kids to talk about the Reason for the Season... you know what Christmas is all about! You can just imagine the logical discussion we had... ah! the amazing questions they all had were unbelievable – as an adult, I think I learned more from them than they did with me. Anyway, after many Q&A and the excitement of gifts they look forward to opening on Christmas Eve and day, I asked them a question that brought silence in the room. The question was, “Since Christmas is about Jesus’ holy birth, what gift would you like to give Him for His birthday this year?” Well, after much thinking... we all came up with the idea of adopting orphaned children for Christmas by providing them with their needs through the help of our home church (www.willowcreek.org ) and as an individual to show God’s love to others by offering help (for my kids, it would be at their school) & prayers for people in need of one. For in Isaiah it says, “If you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness.” The Lord wants us to serve others for this delight Him and once we do it others, we have done it to Him.

See, God’s gift of Jesus is most fully realized when we become messengers who feed the hungry, befriend the friendless, or offer hope to the hopeless. We can make sure that the decorations and lights lead us to know Christ’s peace and love and to share it with others.

When Christmas season starts, many of us become preoccupied with decorating & shopping. We invest our energy and money in this yearly ritual. Although, this can all represent our excitement for the season this also has a downfall... we become absorbed in the commercialism of the Christmas season that we place emphasis on material things and putting the gift of God’s message of love and salvation to the bottom of the priority list or sometimes totally disregarding it.

On another note, when we celebrate a child’s birthday, people bring presents for the honoree. Rightly or wrongly, the child expects presents and most guests would not feel right to come to a party without bringing one right? So, why is it that when we celebrate the birthday of Jesus Christ (Christmas Day), we expect presents for ourselves and not for the honoree?

Friends, if you spent time and money getting Christmas presents for your spouses, children, grandparents, friends and co-workers... why wouldn’t you get a present for Jesus? This year, as we decorate for Christmas, buy gifts for our loved ones... let us not forget to decorate our world with the best Christmas gift of all... the love of Jesus Christ. What I suggest for a present will not cost you a dime, but it is a gift that Jesus will truly welcome and love. Okay, here goes.... drum roll... I challenge you to bring a friend, a classmate, co-worker, neighbor or family member to church for the first time as a Christmas present to Jesus, the ONE whose birth we honor. Now, if you’re one who’s been putting off going to church yourself... I encourage you to go and bring yourself instead.

Remember, a heart-work is God's work... not ours and it’s the best Christmas gift ever!

Once again, thanks for your prayers, support and your faithfulness in reading the Daily Bread I would send. May you all have a Merry Christmas and blessed 2008!!!

so out of it!

yep! that's me... i'm so out of it today. i'm working, but i'm not myself. u know the feeling?

so lemme just update you w/ what's been happening in my world...

besides shopping and prepping my home for Jesus' birthday celebration... well....
we just had a blast celebrating our annual frendz' Christmas party (16th yr). kudos to the magsingit fam for offering their new home and for the wonderful Christmas story and crafts to keep the reason for the season alive!

although we were incomplete, we made the most out of it. we had a great time from start to finish. the white elephant game (although the rules were changed - hmp! nevah again - rules are rules and we're stickin' to it next time lolz) and the apples to apples which turned out to be charades (don't ask!) brought too much laughter that by the end of the night my cheeks were hurtin'. thank God for such awesome friends and husbands who are absolutely nutz in the head just like the wifeys!

what surprised me though... by 2am everyone's tired lolz - tsk tsk tsk we can't hang anymore lolz! so does that have anything to do with our age? yikes! goodness! we're still young, but i guess too many kids really takes away your energy.

i'll let the pics speak for itself!

whew! thanks to blogging i'm getting my thoughts together.

i'm so looking forward to this weekend's service at willow and i sure hope my friends will be there to experience it with me and my fam. if you live in illinois... you're invited too!
come check it out www.willowcreek.org

i will definitely blog before Christmas... so blessings to you and bye for now!

stay safe and warm =)

here's a photo of a frozen tree caused by today's ice storm (freezing rain).

if things can wait (no emergency), stay in and keep yourselves warm - well at least to the ones who live here in the midwest. check on your loved ones and elders nearby. let's also pray for those who are suffering without heater, power outage & shelter during this difficult weather. if you have access to lend a hand to someone in need, let's do our best to help.

let's join hands as we lift up these people to the Lord. These people are in deep need of great comfort... may the Lord give us the resources to be His hands and feet to provide for them.

in Christ,

love

blog time - it's been awhile * )

this Christmas season is really keepin' me busy. i've been trying to come up with new things to do this Christmas, not only for my family, but also for my friends' 16th Christmas celebration together.

the reason for the season should be the focus and i'm so grateful that my kids are slowly gettin' it *wink*

last night at awana, i realized one thing... that we truly get Jesus' birthday mixed up with "it's all about gifts and us". so while playing with son yesterday, we talked about what we can give Jesus for His birthday this year... we came up with the idea of serving someone in need. we wrote it on a piece of paper, discussed it with the whole family and wrapped the paper w/ a nice gift wrap and hung it on the Christmas tree for Jesus. we prayed for the Lord to bring us to these people. we've also taken some wish lists from 4 orphaned kids, registered at willow.

we truly believe that when we touch others in the name of Jesus, we can bring hope and comfort. for the Lord said, "whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."

as for me and my house we will serve the Lord and His people.


*update (the highlight of this blog)*
i praise the Lord for one of my devoted ODB readers, Gloria Lyon. i never knew this 'till my sister had a chance to talk w/ her. i was informed of her courage and faithfulness in spreading the word of God w/ the help of the ODBs. she has taken the next step God has brought in her heart to proclaiming the good news... ever since she started receiving the ODB, she's been printing many copies of them and have encouraged 5 more people to volunteer with her to minister to the prisoners in the south side of Chicago.

all glory to our heavenly King! the Lord truly uses the smallest things in life to bring His gift of salvation to everyone. and i'm honored to be one of His servants.

and so i encourage you... that every act of your obedience to the Lord can be multiplied by our greatest Savior, Jesus Christ. let's spread the good news to everyone! we have a big job to fulfill with the Lord.

continue to be blessed!
-lovely

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

although everyday should be full of thanksgiving to our dear wonderful God, today is too special... i've incorporated something different (full of great memories) - not just traditional thanksgiving (no filipino food this time), but a day full of gratitude. i've asked each member of our clan to write down 5 things they're thankful for and out of those 5, we will pick one that is most significant to us and tell the story behind it. can't wait for every one's sharing!!!



we'll i'm just doing a quick blog since i have a lot of last min. errands to do. i wanted to share to you one of the most heartfelt experience i had with willow creek (our home church), last sunday. part of the thanksgiving service they included, towards the end of the service, the baptism of people who are ready to take the next level with Jesus Christ. the experience was awesome! so many people who expected to be baptized that day as well as people who just felt the calling to do so that day, most of them were all expensively dressed, some i'm sure with a $$ do, but nevertheless that didn't matter... the Holy Spirit definitely touched the heart of these people and i tell yah, i could not get myself together - i was in awe and tears just kept running down my face. the presence of the Lord was just too strong that day that even if the service was waaaay over, people stayed to witness this phenomenal experience of grace. i'm sure the Lord was absolutely pleased with the whole thing.


well, that's it for now... hope you all have a wonderful thanksgiving with your loved ones! may you all be filled with gratefulness to our Almighty God, who has been soooo good to all of us from beginning up to the very end.


all glory to our Savior, Jesus Christ!

i would like to leave you all with a treat from yanna... here's what she does when she's bored:

overwhelmed with support

hello all, just wanted to say a quick thanks for all who responded to yesterday's odb (experiencing the unexpected). i was in awe just seeing how many people are praying for us as well as people who share the same experience as we do.

please kindly pray for my husband's former co-workers as well who were also let go. i'm sure they also have a family to support.

i see the goodness of the Lord in spite of our situation now. the warmth of the prayer gatherings we would do at home - all because we honor a ONE TRUE GOD! i truly believe in the saying: the family that prays together, stays together.

oh! btw, in spite of all this... the Lord blessed our daughter, Camille, as one of the top 10 Honor Roll in her school (out of 1k students - only 10 have made it). noel and i are def one proud parents.

thank you all for your prayers... it's definitely a powerful weapon we continue to hold on to.
all glory to our Heavenly Father!!!

Reflections (In Dedication to Our Dearest Friend, Ella)

Grazela Ventura October 20, 1976 - November 9, 2002

5 years ago we lost one of our best friends, El, to a terrible accident. She was a person who saw good in people even when it was hard to find. One of the ways we see ourselves is in the reflection of our image in other people's eyes. I liked the version of me I saw in her eyes, and I continue to miss it… and of course along with many other things about her. My reflection in her eyes was like a curved mirror in a carnival that shows people as taller and slimmer than they really are. I know I'm not as good a person as El saw me to be, but I think it made me a better person to see the possibility.

I know you have a special memory of our dearest El in your heart. Let it remain an inspiration to you to bring out the best in you and in others. So many things have changed since El died, some good and some are not so good, but because God’s mercy are new every morning we can wake up and see a new beginning and a brand new hope. No one knows us better than God, faults and all. Yet no one better knows our potential either. God sees each of us as capable of more than we can imagine.

We should all learn from El to be careful how we look at other people. If we see only their flaws, that will be their reflection in our eyes and perhaps all they may see in themselves. But if we see other people as God's children, if we see God's image in them, maybe some will see that reflection… God's image shining in us.

We dedicate this day in memory of our dearest El. May you all feel the comfort and unconditional love of Christ as you reflect the wonderful memories she spent with us.

Please join me in prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for being a companion and a friend to all of us. Thank You for sustaining and guiding us by the presence of Your Spirit. Help us to remember that the life we live is a reflection of our gratitude both for life on this earth and life yet to come. Remind us that both of these are underserved gifts from You and that all of this is made possible through the life of Jesus Christ. Thank You Lord for this opportunity that we can come together in unity as we give You thanks for the friendship You have brought upon all of us. Thank You for the time You allowed us to spend with El and for the wonderful memories we all can never forget. The bond we have for each other was made real because of the precious time You have taken to knit us together. We offer this day to You, in Jesus Holy and Mighty name, Amen.

*new creation*

i just have to do a quick blog about this.

a friend of a friend of mine (r u confused yet? hehehe) was introduced to me some years ago. only saw her couple of times if i'm not mistaken, but kept in touch with her via email. anyway, by the grace of God... she emailed me today with a good news that she was baptized on oct 17th and surrendered her life to Jesus Christ. WOOHOO! PRAISE THE LORD! a huge celebration in heaven again f0r another saved soul! i'm so excited for her. to top it off - that's my birthday. hehehe sorry i gotta throw that in. *wink*

nway, watch out for her coz soon she will be joining our blog team!!! congratz again, ley!

on another note, i wanted to share to u what happened to me last night. i dropped off my son to his awana club and usually i would go home while he's there enjoying himself with his new found friends. but the Holy Spirit truly knows what i need at the right time. for the past few weeks now, i've been reading some parenting books to equipped my husband and i on how to raise our kids the godly way. i'm currently reading "don't make me count to three" and the next one in line is "parenting is a heart work". well friends, i decided to stay for the Bible study and lo and behold the series was about "parenting is a heart work"! truly divine!

long story short... i felt so good being there. hearing every one's different stories and sharing different thoughts with new people i never met before. it felt great! i knew that the Lord is watching over me and guiding me as i so desire to obediently follow His provision. i'm so glad i stayed and i look forward to the next session.

ALL GLORY TO OUR HEAVENLY FATHER!!! GOD ROCKZ!

continue to be blessed and be a blessing to others.
-love

weekend update!

woohoo! this weekend... although tiring... i was able to check-off everything in my list of to dos.
will post a before and after pic of my dinning. i'm so happy with the new look. thank you Lord for the strength - i really needed it. for 2 1/2 days i was totally wired to get it all done.

plus... managed to make it to my friend, lina's bday celeb last sat - got there at 10:30p even if i was pretty sore. unfortunately liz and lina were already leaving to go meet some friends at the club... so i just had a very short moment to be with lean. i sure hope she had a great time though. belated happy birth lean!!!

well, i needed the laughs that night - n sure thing i got it! tanx to my girlfriends - always great to be with them. left a 230a, but then again it was dst so... my daughter, c and i got home at 230a (which apparently was 330a).

sunday: instead of going to the adult service... i brought yanna to promise land for 2yr olds. and i must say i made the right choice... she sure loved it! i gotta hand it to willow. they sure know what they're doing. i was the only mom who stayed while other kids were there all by themselves. i've never seen such behaved 2yr olds. God is great! i sure hope yanna gets used to it... i really want her to learn about God at an early age. although she knows how to pray before meal... i still need to work on getting her mind and heart equipped with the word of God. i felt embarrassed when a 2yr old boy came up to me and handed us the kid's Bible and said, "here, read God's book, esp. the part with the donkey and say, AMEN afterwards. my mouth almost dropped i tell yah! i commend the parents of that boy, evan. oh wow! i just realized... his name is evan... and we recently just watched, evan almighty... a must see movie, btw.

i know i missed a great service since my family wouldn't stop making me jels about what they learned and the people who performed the play and the songs that were sang. grrrrr... that's ok, i wouldn't miss yanna's 1st experience with her new sunday school classmates hehehe.

will load some pics tomorrow... i'm too lazy right now, besides i need to do some reading and prepare tomorrow's ODB. (oh! btw, so sorry if i haven't been keeping up with loading the ODB online - will try my best to get ahead.)

keep the smiles and remain optimistic coz GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME!!!

busy weekend ahead

i'm working from home right now. while waiting for my co-worker to email me a report i thought of blogging quickly. here are some of my to do list. although i'm not feeling quite myself today... i really want to try to get everything done in my list. so here goes...

friday:
1) send ODB (a)
2) work
3) go to walgreens & menards/home depot or lowes (whichever one i end up going - works for me!)
4) prep my formal dinning
5) gather tools for scoring the wallpaper
6) strip, strip and strip some more... hey! i'm talking about the wallpaper in my dinning.
7) patch holes (if there's any)

saturday:
1) the best part of wakin' up... FRESH HOT COFFEE!
2) prep my painting tools
3) paint, paint & paint some more!
4) if i'm not too sore and hopefully i'll be done right away... go to e's house to celebrate lina's 30th bday!
5) if it's unfortunate to go.... then i'm left with rest, enjoy my accomplishment or regret it - lolz

sunday:
1) praise & worship our good God!
2) have our weekend luncheon
3) if need be... work on the dinning if i'm not done by sat.
4) enjoy the rest of the night with my fam.

k, gotta get back to work!
continue to be blessed and happy friday!