Whatever happens...

I'm not really a US Masterchef big fan although I admit that I am one that I would like to call as a culinary junkie. I enjoy watching homecooks battling it out in the kitchen and I just love watching people cooking. (I try to apply what I have watched though in my limited resources and capabilities). I was more drawn to Masterchef Australia, but that's another story.

Anyhow, this week caught me with the c/pox virus so I had not much choice but to stay home. I found it as an amazing time to deepen my relationship with the Lord and at the same time, get my share of rest from all the traveling and the stress of hinterland work.

I also was able to catch up on some TV time and it was quite a welcome since I did not have much of the television for the five months of my hinterland duties. And so, it was in our very own sala and in our very own TV set that I get to watch the last few episodes of Masterchef US Season 4. Now, to start with, I have had a few re-runs of season 4 during the weekends or holiday that I am home and to be very honest, I did not quite like it. To begin with, there was a lot of bad-mouthing and pride and people fighting and calling each other names. I mean, that was just so unusual for a reality cooking show.

The Judges. Photo credit: http://awesomedl.ru/tag/masterchef-us/

Anyway, I am not going to write about the culinary masterpieces or critique about the show. Instead, I am going to write this very small albeit life-changing moment that happened during the semi-finals round--something so small and may be insignificant to others but something which has a profound effect on me.

You see, the semi-finals saw three of the best contestants left, namely: Luca, a restaurant manager from New York City but is actually Italian; Natasha, a stay-at-home mom from San Diego; and Jessie, a yacht stewardess from Georgia. Since Jessie won the previous challenge, she enjoyed the privilege of choosing her own "king" ingredient for her dish which was Kobe Beef. Natasha got the Alaskan King Crab while Luca got the king of cheeses and forgive me for forgetting the name. Afterall, I am no chef. :))

Masterchef US Season 4 Top 3: Natasha, Luca, Jesse.
Photo Credit: http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2013/09/masterchef-season-4-finalists.html

So, I'll spare you the other details but what happened was while on the semi-finals round, Jessie forgot to get butter from the pantry for her Seared Kobe beef with Ponzu Butter. Since she won't be able to go back to the pantry, she asked for spare butter from Natasha who was on the kitchen counter behind her. It was an intense moment as Natasha paused and had a let-me-think-it-over look in her face. A part of me was already expecting that she was going to give at least one stick of the three butter sticks in her counter which were obviously just sitting there. I mean, come on, isn't it a girl thing to share? Although there was this small part of me which doubted that she would actually do that because I just had that gut feeling that she was being competitive. So, it wasn't really much of a surprise when she said "No." I kind of understood her because she was in a competition, after all, and that one stick of butter might be her loss.

What surprised me then was the gentleman in Luca who stepped up and threw a stick of butter to Jessie. And if that gesture alone was not enough, what he said during the interview is really something all of us should always consider. It goes something like this: "It was just one stick of butter so what's the big deal? And if I go home just because of that stick, then, at the very least, I can still look at the mirror tomorrow and say that I am still Luca." 

You know, not all of us would have that attitude. I cannot judge Natasha just because of that one act but really, just that one small act will have an impact to a person (and a lot of persons actually, counting the viewers from around the world) and will forever be associated with her. Luca did not care if that one stick of butter will make Jessie's dish a whole lot tastier than his and which in turn will earn him an elimination. He only cared that someone needs something and he actually has that capacity to help. 

This really made me think about my life. I am pretty sure that there were times that I was very hesitant to help others because of personal reasons or convictions. There were also several times that I did not do what I know I was supposed to do in the name of saving myself or for any amount of advantage to myself. 

And this brings me to the verse in Philippians which commands us to conduct ourselves worthy of the Good News, whatever happens. 

May we all learn from the simple act of kindness of Luca. Let us be like Christ...whatever happens. 

In the end, Jessie was eliminated and it was Natasha vs. Luca for the final round.
Photo credit: http://articles.latimes.com/2013/sep/12/news/la-st-masterchef-luca-natasha-20130912

And after serving a three-course meal of seared duck liver, short ribs,
and basil panna cotta with tomato jam, Luca wins the Master Chef title! Photo credit: http://www.ctv.ca/Masterchef/article/Natasha-vs-Luca-Who-won-the-MasterChef-finale

My Top 13 for 2013

I know. I've sort of lapsed out of this blog for a couple of months. I did introduce Wedding Wednesdays but did not actually commit to it. MY FAULT. I am so sorry {praying and believing I have and still have readers here}. Work and too many commitments and the planning of our wedding got the better of me. 2013 was an "all YES!" year for me, so...

I promised myself and to God that I'll cultivate deeper and more meaningful relationships this new year, 2014, starting off with my relationship with the Lord. As such, I am starting this year with my first ever post (thanking the Lord Almighty for all that He has done last year) and praying and hoping and actually committing to be more intentional with this blog. After all, my prayer is that this blog will be an instrument of His love and hope to anyone who stumbles upon this. :)

So, here's my Top 13 for 2013! I started this "attitude of gratitude" last year, as inspired by one of the beautiful Christian women in the blogosphere. I have not met her (nor does she know that I exist) but her blog entries have made so many positive impacts in my life.

Anyway, here goes my Thanksgiving List:

1. Our Godly and evangelistic wedding.
In my last post for 2013, I did verbalize the need to pray that "God's glory and story will be our canopy" in the preparation and in the actual wedding. Well, guess what? HE did just that. And MORE. He used various individuals and groups in our church (family and personal friends as well) to bless us with our needs. My personal prayer really was for the guests to say that our wedding was different from the usual ones they have attended. And yes, somebody said that to me, three months after our wedding! :)

What makes me more amazed by our wedding is the fact that it was scheduled on October 19th, four days after the 7.2 magnitude earthquake hit my province of Bohol, causing severe loss and damage to several towns. But the Lord is just so amazing and so faithful that He won't let any earthquake of any magnitude or any aftershock of any magnitude ruin what He has already ordained! I am just so overwhelmed at how God provided everything--from providing us a new venue to setting the schedules and commitments of our suppliers, and the attendance of our guests (one of the towns most hit was my father's hometown but my aunties, uncles and cousins still graced the affair)!

2. A Christ-centered hubby whose boldness in the Lord inspires me! :)
The first time we met, I knew there was something special about him. I could not just pinpoint at that time. And no, I was not drawn to any of his physical attributes at that time. But the more I think of it now, I very well knew in my heart what it was that drew me to him and what it is that keeps our bond together: it is his inner glow that only a man fully given to Christ can ever have. The more the days I spend with him the more inspired I get to, by God's grace, strive to be like our Master.

3. Obedience to God's will for specific members in our church youth group.
I've had the privilege to go on individual "dates" with the girls to address some concerns on their crushes, boyfriends, and the like. And I praise God for the wisdom in all those times. Though I must emphasize that I am not perfect and I am pretty sure that there were also times that I did not quite know what to say. But God answered my prayers that these young ladies will seek His will and do what He commands in their personal lives. Hoooray for that!

4. The Lord's sustaining grace in my Talibon sojourn. 
Talibon is a town opposite of the city where I live and used to work. Three months before the wedding, when wedding preparations were at the busiest, I was asked to transfer to the District Office there and the obedient side of me said "Yes." (See, it was a year of "yes" for me!) I knew no one in there and I definitely had no idea what to expect. But the Lord was just so abundant and amazing with His grace for providing me a safe and clean apartment to stay, patience to deal with the clients (though at times I just felt like giving up), and most of all, the strength to survive land travel of three hours (a total of six hours) per week! To top it all, He even designed that my husband dear was also doing fieldwork in a nearby town for two days a week!

5. Much love and fun with my family and relatives.
Before the year ended, we had a mini-reunion and sportsfest in my father's side. My husband and I are still staying with my parents as we pray for our own space in the city. And I praise God for these opportunities to have fun and show love and be loved by our family and relatives!

6. My cutie-patootie nephew and niece!
Well, children are always blessings! My sister has a son and a daughter and both of them are so sweet and close to me, calling me their Auntita! The older baby boy is running three so he's starting to talk and he's just very witty. And recently, he's been talking a lot of English, thanks to Disney Junior, and we are always awed at how he can use the phrases in context! The younger baby girl is just so adorable with her sweet smile and doe eyes! They take the kapoy out of me!

So there goes six of my thirteen. I will be blogging seven more within this week, Lordwilling! God bless us all!

Introducing...Wedding Wednesday :)

Never in my remotest mind did I ever think it was possible for me to talk about weddings in this blog. But, the Lord has His way and His way is always perfect. I can only praise and thank Him with awe and admiration that He has allowed this season to arrive in my life.

I would not dig unto details anymore but as I have posted in my Top 12 for 2012 entry, my then boyfriend of three years proposed to me after a street evangelism and Christmas party with the young people in church. And here we are, seven months from that time, thankful for all the things He has done and excited for all the things He will still do.

In this new series of Wedding Wednesday, I will be sharing my discoveries of new truths on Biblical concepts and principles of preparing for a wedding and for a Godly marriage--the convictions the Holy Spirit has been making in our lives, the lessons learned and the situations we need to prepare for, and even lovely details and DIY projects that the Lord will enable us to do.

So, I hope to see all of you next Wednesday, as we unravel the truth from my First Love. And while you wait for next week, will you say a prayer with us that God's glory and story be our canopy of protection, love, and provision in the wedding preparations, wedding ceremony and reception, and in our marriage and family life as well :)

12 for 2012

Before 2013 ends, let me just post this and praise God for the wonderful blessings He has given me last year.

And I know, this is late. But it is better late than never! Oh, it would help you to know that I prepared this at the start of 2013 but I simply forgot to upload this one... This is inspired by a wonderful Godly woman..:)

Top 12 for 2012

1.  My Job at the Public Attorney’s Office
2.  Ongoing Victory over my negative thoughts and jealousy
3.  Gospel shared to my clients and accepted by many of them
4.  Privilege of helping Calvin in the Youth Ministry
5.  Being a “back-up” in the praise and worship 
6.  Ate Teresa’s mentoring and discipleship sessions and BTCP classes with Ptr. Max
7.  Meeting Ate Ceith, knowing her love for God and His works through her, and being given the privilege to partner in her ministry for streetkids and traumatized children
8.  Our engagement (C proposed at Church, in front of the young souls we currently minister to, right after our street evangelism and Christmas party—I could not ask for more, Lord!)
9.  Answered prayers (specifically the ones on the youth ministry, ushering ministry and the evangelistic ceremony)
10. Being more open with my faith among my family, relatives, co-workers, and on FB despite the persecutions
11. PC Notebook which allows to connect with Him in many ways
12. Reconciliation and peace to His people after my hard-headedness and rebellious nature

My God is more than enough...

I've been feeling inadequate in everything--in my personal walk with the Lord, in my job, even in the ministry the Lord has blessed me.

I've been feeling extra low in spirit, always criticizing myself.

I've been feeling far away from the people I work with in the church and in the ministry and the more I think about it, the more I feel so alone and lonely.

I've been feeling a lot of weirdness, a scorched and parched desert of doubt as to whether in this ministry people like me or whether they secretly and silently wish I would just evaporate and move on to another ministry.

But because God loves me and He is perfect, he brought me to a river of refreshment and peace from His truth.

And I leave you all with this quote: "I might not be good enough, brave enough, profound enough. But the God who made me – He. is. enough." ~Lisa Jo

Rescued!

My apologies for letting April pass by without me leaving any word. I did promise to write my testimony (I recently did another testimony at church last Sunday so, really, I am lagging in my blog posts) but today I want to focus on the word: RESCUE. Because, really, that's the gist of my testimony--I have been rescued from my sinful self by the beautiful and perfect blood of Christ. I have been rescued from confusion and frustration, thanks to the amazing grace of God through His Son, Jesus Christ. I have been rescued from emptiness from the pleasures in the world, and led to the fullness of having nothing but Christ alone. 

How does it feel to be rescued? Liberating. Safe. Secured. I love, love, love the fact that I can just raise my arms and surrender everything to Christ because He knows what's best and His desire is the best for me. He has won the fight already and His victory is already mine!

And this brings me to those enslaved in the sex trade and other forms of trafficking. When you are locked in a dark and cheap brothel room, fearing for your life every day, and abused by men of all characters, attitudes, and strengths, how does it feel to finally have your brothel room opened, and be informed that these men entering--they are good and they have your best interests in their heart? 

Well, today, my heart leaps for joy and my soul dances with The Exodus Road and their partner, the Indian Rescue Mission for their successful raid of a leading brothel. Accordingly, more than a hundred girls were freed, more than 30 of whom were still under the majority age of 18. And all glory and praises go to the Lord Almighty. 

May I earnestly ask you to pray for these girls? That the transition, rehabilitation and re-integration to the society will be smooth and grace-filled? Most importantly, please pray that they will meet Jesus in the process and accept Him as their personal Lord and Savior. 

"Ever wonder what the inside of a locked brothel looks like? In this short video, covert footage captures investigators with The Exodus Road and Indian Rescue Mission entering a brothel searching for victims of sexual slavery. These brave men consistently gather evidence in the darkest of places, for the sake of raids, rescues, and prosecutions of criminals. Visit The Exodus Road or like their page on facebook to find out more." (text and links from The Exodus Road)

When I said, "yes" to God...

Out of the unexpected, I was asked by our pastor's wife to share my testimony on God's great love during a spiritual retreat of graduating college (Tourism, Nutrition, and Hotel and Restaurant Management) students in one of the universties in the city.

I wasn't sure at first as to what to do with the opportunity (and a challenge!) considering that I was still struggling with a worldly loss, which I now believe was never a loss in the eyes of my perfect God. Thoughts of whether I was worthy or deserving haunted my decision-making but I knew very well that God has a purpose for me. I finally said "yes" as I have vowed to grab every opportunity to talk about God.

I intend to share what I testified during that event (and I am quite excited at the thought of it) but for that, I need more space and a longer time. But I will do so, in His perfect time.

For now, I would like to share what I have learned from the moment I said "yes" to the opportunity to share God's love to the moment that I was actually doing it until the after-event:

1) The moment I said, "yes," the enemy has been attacking me non-stop, determined to thwart God's perfect plan.

Whether it was a tiny-weeny detail that my fiance forgot or a minute mistake I made, I was quite irritable and easily-angered. Every little thing was magnified. My sinful self was up and about and the enemy knew it and he made sure to tempt me with every available circumstance.

I would be a hypocrite to say that I did not fall for any of the temptations. I did. I was impossible to deal with at some point and I allowed my emotions to control me. What was helpful was that, by God's infinite grace and the Holy Spirit's convictions, I was able to identify the enemy's tactic and I relied on His promise everytime I fall.

2) I always had to constantly and solely rely on God's power.

I am nothing without Christ. And I could not do anything without Him. The morning before I spoke, I wrote down in a piece of paper a detailed outline (yes, I am a perfectionist and I am excited to share how the Lord has been re-shaping me in this area) of the points that I wanted to be included in my testimony. I prayed hard for Him to speak through me and to use me as instrument of His love.

When I was finally speaking in front of the 60+ students, all my notes flew from my mind and I could no longer remember anything nor did I have the chance to re-check that piece of paper. I really had to rely on God alone and as expected, He enabled me to do so.

3) I did not have to do it perfectly because my inefficiency is the primary reason why His grace exists.

Did I say I was a perfectionist? Well, my old self was screaming my mistakes right after I did the testimony and the small-group sharing thereafter. All the "I-should-have-done-this" and "I-shouldn't-have-done-that" kept on flooding and it was only by the extra-ordinary grace of God that overcame all of these insecurities.

The truth of the matter is that, I am not perfect and I never will be. It is God's grace who fills all that I lack or those that I do not have. More importantly, it is the Holy Spirit who works in the hearts of those young students and my job was only to proclaim the greatness, the majesty, the glory, and the faithfulness of God. If there were some points (which I thought were important to share) I failed to mention, verses I did not share, or illustrations I did not emphasize, I trust the Lord that He will make a way--that He will bring His other children or any other way to further strengthen them.

4) I did not testify to please men or glorify myself but only for the purpose of pleasing and glorifying the Lord Almighty.

I don't know if it is just me but I assume most (even Christians) will agree that we humans all love to have the spotlight. After I gave my testimony, I was expecting/hoping/wishfully thinking that someone from the crowd will come to me, shake my hand, and with tears in his/her eye will say, "Thank you. I was so touched at how God worked in your life. Thank you for sharing."

But nobody did. And at first, I thought that perhaps, I wasn't effective. Maybe, I told myself, I should have just declined. But by God's grace, however, I was equipped to remember that I did it not to please men or to glorify myself but only for Christ alone.

When Christ's name was preached by me or someone else, God is pleased. Period.

To end this entry, I would like to leave you all with this photo that I found online. And remember that the Bible says that we should all do this with gentleness and respect: