God Is Faithful

God keeps every promise He makes through the Scriptures. Walk closely with the Lord and in time, you will see Him bring His promises to fruition in your life.

Thankful Thursday

This week I thank God:

• For a wonderful friend who went with me to the grocery and paid for everything I bought. Isn't God awesome?!
  

• For giving me a chance to work in one of the government offices here and at the same time still receive an allowance monthly from my current job. That doesn't happen often from where I live. Normally you work eight hours a day for only one company. Now, I'm going to have two! That's what I call favor! Thank you, Lord!

• For a new phone. A Nokia N95... for free! God is so amazing! Imagine, I got a text message from one of the major cell phone company here and the lady told me that they're giving me a new phone as a reward.
  

• For the pastor friend of my brother who has been going to my mom and dad's house to share to my parents the word of God. I asked my mom, who was just recently saved, if my dad was attending the Bible study they're having every Thursday and my mom said yes. Praise God!

• For all the blessings I received this week and for all His promises that He'll do in our lives.

For more of Thankful Thursday, visit Iris over at Sting My Heart.

Celebrate God's Healing

Yesterday's message at church spoke to my heart and I'm sure to a lot of others too. As Christians, we don't always understand everything that's happening in our lives. And we always try to find some explanations to it instead of just trusting God. I was guilty of that and I guess I still do sometimes. I'll give you one personal example. Both my husband and I are Christians and I'm sure that it was God who brought us together. If so, why then are we in this pit? Why am I experiencing such pain? Did I do something really bad that God is punishing me now? Or is my husband in some sort of a curse because of his family? The answer is NO!

Pastor Rico said this... "It's not the REASON but the PURPOSE." It's not because God is mad at us that we're going through this. That's not the reason. Maybe He's also trying to teach us patience and total trust in God Almighty. But more than anything else, He allowed us to go through this road because God wants to deliver us and for Jesus' name to be glorified. What seems impossible with men is possible with God and when He makes the impossible possible, His name will be glorified.

Next question is HOW is He going to deliver us from this? That's not our problem, it's His. Our job is to obey what God is telling us to do. Obedience to God's Word validates our faith.

Pastor Rico said this... "It's not the MANNER but the MESSAGE." There is no fixed formula that we can follow to get us through the other side of the mountain. God works in our lives differently. Just like how Jesus healed in the Bible times, it's different each time. God can heal a person instantly, but for another person he should probably take meds and go through procedures first then he will be healed. God uses doctors and medicines too to get healing across. The same is true for healing hurting marriages. The important thing is not the manner in which we receive healing but the message it brings about when we are healed. We point back to God as our miracle giver. The glory should be His and His alone. It's not the HOW but the WHO.

Reference: John 9

********************

Don't forget to join my friends' cute giveaways.

Link 2 Me

My friend made me this button. Thanks Jay!

If you want to grab this, just copy the code on my sidebar. =D

********************
Don't forget to join my friends' cute giveaways.

More Cute Giveaways

I was doing my usual round of visits to other blogs and guess what I found - another set of fun contests. I love these a lot.! The prices are just sooooo cute!!! Okay, here goes...


Andrea over at The Laughs Will Go On is having another contest. JellyBean Apparel is giving away TWO shirts to a lucky winner. Awesome! I'm not YET what the picture says but there are shirts for siblings and grandparents too. For more details on how to join, click here. Contest ends April 19.




Here's another one.

Lis over at Simple is hosting a giveaway. MudPuppy is offering their readers a chance to win a children stationery set. See how cute they are! To join, click here. Winners will be chosen on April 21.

And another one!

Win 1 $50 gift certificate to Bruno Jamais Restaurant NYC over at The Domestic Diva. To join, click here. Contest ends April 27.


Please do drop by these sites and join the fun! =D

A Reason To Live

Understand how beautifully God has added one more day in your life, not because you need it but because someone else needs you...

Divine Delays

I got an email last month that talks about divine delays. I used to be very impatient. I hate waiting! Patience is one of those areas in my life which is still under construction. God taught me and still is teaching me this virtue. He allowed some things to happen in my life even if He knew very well that there would be great resistance on my part. I've learned my lessons and I continue to learn because God's not finished with me yet.

Are you like me waiting for God's promises to come to pass? Are you waiting for your breakthrough and it seems like it's taking forever? I sometimes feel that way. I still get impatient sometimes, I still get aggravated once in a while.

Many times the delay is actually part of the plan to protect you from something that could hurt you if you stayed "on schedule"; on your schedule, that is.

How many times have we tried to go ahead of God? I always get myself in trouble every time I try to "help" God do His job. I felt like God was moving so slow so might as well do something to hasten it a bit. Gee... How stupid is that???

God knows what He's doing. He knows our pain and our frustration. Things happen for a reason. There's a purpose behind the delays. Now it may be that God is taking us the longer, slower way then suddenly all we can see are red brake lights in front of us. Just like the Israelites in the Bible times who were being chased by the Egyptians, going full speed ahead then were suddenly facing by the Red Sea. We're waiting and we don't know why.

It's because God knows what's up ahead and you don't. And He's protecting you from a battle up there that you're not ready to fight, from danger that might hurt you, from a temptation or a test for which you're just not yet strong enough. Remember, He's promised not to let you face more than He knows you can bear. Maybe you have prayed these words many times, "Lord, 'Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.'" And the reason you're waiting or taking what seems to be a detour is because your Father, who art in heaven, is answering that prayer!

And if the delay and the detour bring you to a Red Sea, not to worry! He's leading you, not into a mess, but into a miracle you'll never forget! So learn to relax when God closes the road or suddenly slows you down. It's all about His love for you, a love that knows what's best for you, a love that knows what's going to happen if you keep going the same direction at the same speed. So don't sit there, pounding the steering wheel and fuming. You aren't late. In fact, you're right on time - God's time. And this isn't Plan B. This is what God's Plan A has been all the time. So trust the One who plans the trip and who protects those who belong to Him. If you could see what's up ahead, you'd be so grateful that God has made you wait.

I still haven't gotten my breakthrough yet and I'm still waiting for God's timing. I wish the time is now but only God knows when. He's a God of suddenly, so we should be ready to receive His promises any time. It might be taking so long and we tend to get tired of waiting but we must remember that God hasn't forgotten us yet and He hasn't fallen off the throne as we might probably think sometimes. Hey, God knows and He got us covered.

PS. I made a post earlier and guess what, my entire post got erased! Gone! I had to rewrite everything all over again. Boy, Satan would just do anything and everything he can to ruin what is for and about God. Well, he lost... as always!

***************
Don't forget to check out some giveaways HERE.

Giveaways

I join contests for fun and at the same time meet new friends in blogsphere. Yeah, my name was chosen a few times and I was always excited to get my price in the mail. But win or lose, it doesn't matter. The important thing is I had fun. So what are you waiting for? Join in!

A Frog In My Soup is hosting a Truly Organic Beauty - Review andGiveaway. Michelle of ONE Group has offered readers the opportunity to win a bottle of certified organic Bug Spray. For more information about this bug spray and how to join this contest, visit A Frog In My Soup. Hurry! Deadline for this contest is April 10, 2008.


Ann'Re's blog has a new home! Congratulations! She's giving a little something to celebrate her new domain. It's a surprise actually. Help her spread the word about her special giveaway and join the fun. =D



See that cute kiddie plate on the right? Well, my friend Andrea from The Laughs Will Go On is one of those hosting this Super Healthy Kids plate giveaway. My nephew will sure have fun eating on this. As Andrea put it, this plate is super durable made from 100% melamine and is definitely not "cheaply" made! For more information on how to win your very own Super Healthy Kids plate, click here. Contest ends April 8, 2008.

Last but not the least...



Drea and her friends of Simple are hosting ACME Bags- Workhorse Style 1500 giveaways. This bag weighs a mere 1.5 oz. - the lightest reusable bag on the market. Made from super-lightweight, tear-proof, rip-stop nylon. Perfect for grocery shopping. To learn more about the product and how to enter this contest, click here. Giveaway ends April 11, 2008.


So there. Have fun and let's meet new friends! God bless y'all!