Life is Beautiful

Not always is actually, but we have to choose to see the brighter side in everything.

When one is busy, one can either see it as a deprivation or simply a disadvantage. Me? I look at it as a blessing. 

God is truly good! Did people ever tell you that God's plans for you are better than what you can imagine? Well... That's the bold truth!  I have prayed for a lot of things in the past and right now, God is showing me glimpses of His plans for my life. I tell you, I'm speechless and in awe! I'm walking through some of it now... The best is yet to come.

God's word for me for this year is OBEY. Even if He says something that doesn't make sense, just OBEY. The rewards of being obedient is limitless!

In the mean time, I'd like to share some photos with you that spells HAPPY. 

August 8. Fellowship with my spiritual family at Victory.

August 10. Mini family reunion at my Grandparent's house in Pampanga

August 17. Another mini family reunion at my Aunt's house in Pampanga

August 28. My family... We miss you Mom and Dad!

Me and Gabby

These are just SOME of the things I'm grateful for in life.  Life is beautiful indeed.

Happy...

God's timing is truly impeccable! I don't know how else to illustrate how perfect His timing and His ways are. He is beyond words! He creates the perfect situation on how His perfect plan has to happen. The result? Absolutely flawless!

For years, He made me go through things I didn't understand why. I really felt like He totally forgot about me already. I was wrong! All these years He was equipping me emotionally, mentally and physically for that time which I never thought would still happen. When it did happen, I was prepared. Boy, was I prepared! You have no idea!

My God! Why are there times that I still doubt You? Why do I still doubt your Words? Forgive me for my unbelief! 

On a different note, last Saturday was Sun Life's August Championship Kick-off at the World Trade Center. I'm excited on how God will make things happen for me again! Thank you, Lord, in advance!

Lastly, today is my Mom's birthday.  

There are so many things to be happy about... These are just a few... God, thank you for everything!

One Step at a Time

So many things are happening in my life, both good and bad.

Lost a friend, gained 10 more. Reached my purpose, missed my target. Health progression, financial recession. The list goes on... That makes life balanced and at the same time interesting.  To achieve something, sometimes we need to give up another thing. We can't have everything we want, but we can have everything we need.

Most of the time I walk my life's journey seeing only the step where my foot is at, following THE voice from the many familiar voices. One step at a time. Life is hard, but life is still beautiful. I have experienced a lot of disappointments and injustices in life, but I know my days are destined to shine brighter because God is faithful. I am so relieved (you have no idea) to have God's promise etched in my heart.

"Instead of your shame you will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance. And so you will inherit a double portion in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours." Isaiah 61:7 NIV

His promises are the ones that give me hope and keep me going.

Health Update

It's been a while since I last posted. So long that I feel like it's been ages. I'm doing good. God has been very good to me. I'm focused on getting well. So focused that I've joined a health club. It's just a 10-day program I'm trying out. I'm really excited because when they weighed me, my weight for my height is within the normal range. Something I wouldn't have imagined a few months back.  What made me even more excited was my metabolic age as compared to my calendar age. I'm almost 10 years younger! Five days into the program, I had my routine tests done just to be sure. Praise God! My crea went down, CBC are all normal, urine test is very good except for that nasty UTI that keeps coming back. The protein in the urine is just a trace from a +2 before. For some of you, these may sound like something from Mars, but for people who are not too well (to put it lightly), these results are excellent!  I'm so excited to get my health back! I'm going to try a new medicine which of course was prescribed by my doctor. We're just waiting for the shipment to arrive. Based on my personal research, this medicine does wonder to people suffering from autoimmune diseases. Lupus is an autoimmune disease that's why I'm excited.

Science can only do so much. I make sure I do my part. God is my ultimate healer. When He allowed me to get out of the hospital alive last 2012, I know in my heart that healing is mine.

Happy Resurrection Sunday

If God gave His only Son to make the ultimate sacrifice for all of us, what can He not do for us? 

When, Lord, When?

I ask that question a lot lately.  Am I being impatient? Probably.

Like many Christians, I am still waiting for the many promises of God  to come to pass in my life.  I tell God how much I want to walk into my Promised Land already.

I was watching "In the Beginning" last night with my yaya, very timely for the upcoming Holy Week. It's her first time to watch that movie and for me, well, I already lost count.  I know the stories of each character even from the Bible, but I still did pick up something towards the end. God never ceases to amaze me.

There was a question at the end of the story - Why have we wandered the desert 40 years... Because the people rebelled against the Lord. The people have sinned...

This made me think of my own Promised Land... my life... my circumstance.

When, Lord, When?  Only God knows, but He made me look at the bigger picture. Am I rebelling against the Lord by doubting Him and His promises every so often?

Do you ask this question too?

If Only

I'm almost done moving stuff in my new home. I only have a few more stuff left at my old house which I will transfer here by next week.  I could say that by April 1, I'm fully settled in my new home sweet home.

Life has been bittersweet for me. I lost some and then gain some more.  You know, I'd say that I have been truly blessed in life in spite of all the trials I went through.  I may have lost a great deal - losing a husband and both my parents, but God carried me through it all. He gave me loving siblings, a nice home, a new car, health that's continuously improving everyday, loyal friends, a caring yaya, a sweet cat... the list goes on. And He's continuously blessing me with so much more.  As I always say, the Lord is not done with me yet.  He plans to prosper me and give me a beautiful future.  I am highly favored, greatly blessed and deeply loved.

With Cousins at my my niece's first birthday celebration

I miss my Mom and Dad very much.  If I could only have a day with them again... If only...

Anyway, I believe I received an instruction from the Lord last night on how He wanted me to start this new chapter in my life. I still believe that 2014 is going to be my year of favor and blessings. This is going to be a year of healing.   I'm very excited to walk in to my Promised Land already.  I think I'm more than ready.

I'll leave you with this beautiful song which I always sing lately. I sing this with all of my heart.  God bless y'all!

Till We Meet Again...

I just started packing Mom's stuff and it brought back memories. Tomorrow is exactly two weeks since Mom's gone. It's impossible not to be emotional.

What comforts me is the fact that Mom gave her life to Jesus years back and was rededicated to Jesus a week before she joined our Lord in Heaven. My youngest brother who's in New York felt very strongly to share the gospel again to Mom via Skype. I know in my heart that she is now reunited with Dad and together, they share everlasting life with our Lord Jesus Christ.

I miss Mom very much. When I was confined in the hospital last 2012 because of SLE, even though she, herself, was sick and had just came from her dialysis, she spent the night in the hospital to take care of me. She has been a very loving Mom to me and my siblings. She's not perfect, but she's the best Mom ever. 

Mom helping me choose stickers for the pens my sister is going to use for her daughter's birthday party two days before she breathe her last.

To all who prayed for Mom, thank you. 

Lord, thank you for the life of Mom. Thank you for welcoming her to your Kingdom. Thank you for granting her complete healing.

Mom, you fought a good fight. I know you are in a much better place now - free from sickness and pain. No more needles, Mom. I love you very much, Mom. We love you very much. We will treasure everything you and Dad taught us. You will never be forgotten... You will be forever loved. Till we meet again... In Heaven...

Welcome 2014!

This is my first post for 2014 and I really want to encourage others with my post.

We just finished our annual prayer and fasting as a church.  I'm all pumped up and very excited for what this year has to bring.  2013 was a good year, but I'm believing that 2014 will be a better year... wait, let me say that again... 2014 will be a GREAT year!

No matter what situation you are in, be encouraged!

Three things that I'm believing God to happen this year.

RESTORATION.  The act of returning something that was stolen or taken from you.  In Joel 2:25 it says: “I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten— the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm— my great army that I sent among you." That speaks of restoration. What is it that was stolen or taken from you?  Money?  Time?  Health?  Relationship?The Lord promised He will repay the years the locusts have eaten. That's a great promise!

PROVISION. In Joel 2:26 it says: You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed." Plenty to eat until you are full... That speaks of provision.  And not just simply provision, but more than enough provision.   In verse 22, if God is very mindful of the animals, what more us?  We are His children. In verse 24, it speaks of fulness and overflow.  You see, God can change your situation overnight!

IMPARTATION. In Joel 2:28 it says: "And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions." We will be filled more and more with God's presence.

These are some things we should be very excited about!

I am!

Christmas 2013

I can't believe it's almost Christmas.  How time flies!  I just celebrated my birthday, then we were just preparing for our Christmas party... And now it's almost Christmas.

Before I share some photos with you, let me just share the beautiful message we had at our service.  I was again reminded that God moves beyond the natural. Oftentimes, we tend to focus on what we can see in the natural.  Oftentimes, we get discouraged by them. The link between the natural and the supernatural is called a miracle and God still performs miracles!

If you are facing impossibilities in your life today - maybe you received a bad report from your doctor, maybe you're facing a mountain of debt or maybe you need restoration in your relationship... Whatever it is you're facing today that looks impossible in the natural, let me encourage you...  God can make the impossible situations possible.  God works miracles for His promises to be fulfilled ON TIME.

I was very encouraged with these messages I got from church last night. I hope you are too.

Now the photos...

 Red Willow Unit

Betty Boop & Princess Belle / Betty and the Men in Black

(✿◠‿◠) Merry Christmas!!! (✿◠‿◠)

Just in Time

Have you been waiting for God to answer your prayers and you feel like it's taking so long for Him to answer?  Maybe you feel like God is late?

How long have you been waiting? 10 days? 10 weeks? 10 months? 10 years?

You and I have been waiting for answers to our prayers.  Last Saturday's message was very timely because it spoke to me.  It's not a new lesson that I learned.  It's something I was reminded of. 

God is NEVER late. God is still on top of EVERYTHING.  He hasn't forgotten you and me. He's never surprised by anything that happens to us because He sees and knows from beginning to end. 

Are you waiting for your breakthrough to come to pass?  Be encouraged.  He has that breakthrough in mind and He will bring it to pass in His perfect time.  

Anyway, I would like to share some photos with you from last night.  Sorry for the amateurish shots.

With my Sis and Mom

With my chubby cheeks niece, Robyn Denise

Me & Mom

The event was a wedding that took time to happen but it happened just in time.  When everybody says it will never happen... Ask yourself - Did God say that too?  Whatever He says settles it. 

The groom here waited... for years and years until he was the butt of jokes among his circles of friends. Finally, the moment has come.

Time to Reflect

Hi friends!

I'm at my Mom's right now with Sushi, of course. Since it's a long holiday weekend, I decided to go get a stay-cation here at Mom's. Right now as I type, Mom has gone to her friend's house, not too far from here, to play mahjong.  That means to say I got the place all to myself until around 8 tonight. This gives me time to reflect. I have been busy up to my neck with all the meetings and deadlines I had to meet. Those deadlines consist of both personal errands and work related stuff. I'm not complaining because for me, this kind of busy is a good busy. Of course I have to take a lot of breaks in between because you know, I don't want visiting the ER again!

Right this very moment I'm listening to some praise and worship songs for some inspiration and vitamins for the soul. I need this to recharge. I'm feeling pretty good today, not that I wasn't in the past days. I'm just feeling light and happy today. Of course, that's a gift from God. Can you imagine some people breathing, but not actually living life? Some of them are drowning with guilt from their past and they think that by turning their faces away it will solve everything. That by running away from the crime scene, it will make them innocent. WRONG! Do they really think God is blind? GOD IS NOT BLIND. What's more is that GOD IS JUST!

I remember this verse from our service last Saturday.

"I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you." Genesis 12:3 NIV

See? God sees! And if we will let Him do what He does best, JUSTICE will definitely be served.

Thank you, Lord!

Fab at 40

Dear God,

Thank you, Lord, for adding another year to my colorful life. Inspite of the ups and downs I'm experiencing every now and then, You never left me.  You've been very patient with me.  I still have a long list of  prayer requests, but I know that you hold all of those on the palm of your hands.  Every single one of them is important to you as they are to me. 

Lord, thank you for blessing me with a good life, for healing me by helping me get better everyday. Thank you for continuously providing for me with overflowing. Thank you for the hope, joy and peace I have in my heart. Thank you for everything that you're about to do in my life.  I receive your blessings, favor, love and healing in all aspects of my life with praise and thanksgiving.  

All glory to you, Lord! 

In Jesus' name, amen!

Life is a Choice

I had a short chat with Sylvia, my best friend in Maryland, this morning.  We shared verses and prayer points like we used to; we talked about life both good stuff and bad; we talked about a lot of things.

I shared with her a verse which was texted to me by Izzy, a very good friend of mine, the other night. By the way, Ize, thank you for sharing with me that verse. It hit me in the heart like an arrow.

"So be careful to do what the Lord your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left. Walk in obedience to all that the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess." Deuteronomy 5:33 

Walk in obedience to ALL that the Lord has commanded you.  This isn't always easy.  Sometimes He gives instruction that wouldn't always make sense to the human mind.  When I get that from the Lord, I get all sorts of unsolicited advice from people who think they know better.  For these people, practicality is the name of the game.  There's nothing wrong with being practical, but when choosing between practicality and God's instruction, for me that's a no brainer.  I'd definitely go for His instruction.  This is not so with a lot of people and admittedly, sometimes I fail to hear His voice.  But when I do get it, there's no way anyone can talk me out of it.

Life is a choice. 

A Quick Update

Finally!  Our August Champ is over.  Whew!  Now I have some free time to post and update my blog. How's everybody doing?  Hope y'all are fine.

Nothing much has happened except that I was busy with work.  I feel like I've been saying that all the time, but that's the truth.  Okay... Alright, alright!  I've also been a bit lazy.  There.  I said it!  But for now I'm back so I'm going to make the most out of it.

Aside from my regular check up, which by the way, I'm grateful to God for the good results, I was also actively posting on my cat's blog.  I just find it very cute and relieves me of stress.  It was my cat's first birthday yesterday.  Here are some photos.

Me & Sushi

Here's something really cute.

Tada!

I will again be very busy WITH work by October and that will also be my birthday month.  Christmas is getting closer and closer.  I'm excited! Wow! Can you believe that 2013 is almost over?   Sigh... I miss Dad.

Well, this is it for now. Have a great weekend y'all!

If God is for Me...

How time flies. It's the first day of the "ber" months and guess what.  I heard a Christmas song being played a while ago while I was doing some grocery shopping.  The first for this year.  And since Christmas is my favorite season of the year,  I'm excited!

I was talking to one of my closest friends, Sylvia, this morning over FaceTime and we were discussing about how faithful God is.  I told her that there were days when I wake up in the morning feeling very fearful and worried about the future. I was being bombarded with "what-ifs." But when I started praying in tongues, the fear disappears.  Sylvia reminded me how the enemy works and how he will use people to try to sway me off my faith. Sneaky little devil.

“Now then, stand still and see this great thing the Lord is about to do before your eyes!" 1 Samuel 12:16

When the enemy says something, we have to counter it with God's truth because we know that everything the enemy says is a LIE.

The Lord holds my future on the palm of His hands.  If He is for me, who can be against me (Romans 8:31)?

Anyway, it's my nephew's birthday today.  Happy birthday, Andre!  Here's a photo of my family taken last night at Saisaki (with the singers at the back).

Would You Like to Have a Glass of Milk?

It's raining outside. Yey! Finally, some cool breeze is coming inside the house. I guess summer is almost over.

I've been crazy busy with work the past weeks. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining, busy is good. I've also started distributing farm fresh cow's milk. It's so yummy! I've tried it myself and even checked out the farm where the cows were. If you're a Philippine resident and want to know more about Holly's milk products, send me a message.

The farm

Anyway, my blood test results weren't all that good, but my doctor said, it's not alarming. Yes, it's frustrating, but she said it will eventually stabilize. And I'm praising God for that.  I feel fine and that's what matters to me now. God is still good.  I still believe that healing is mine.  I still believe that His promises to me, ALL OF THEM, will come to pass.  That I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

So... Would you like to have a glass of milk? =)

Random Thoughts

I totally lost track of time.  I completely forgot that it's May 1 today.  It's a holiday.

I asked my helper to prepare me lunch which I'd be bringing to the office. I called my health card provider and was wondering why nobody's answering the phone.  I was thinking , it's 8:30 in the morning, they're suppose to be in by now.  I called my client's office.  I went on looking for my client and the operator said, "I'm sorry, our employees do not have work today."  I said, "What?  How come? Is today a holiday?"  "Yes, ma'am, it is." I still didn't get it. I asked, "Huh? What date is today?"  The operator said, "Ma'am, it's May 1."

Oh...

Duh!  What was I thinking?

Anyway,  since I've nothing to do today, I gave my cat a bath.  She loved it. She used to hate baths, but now she loves it. I'm sure it's the weather.

I've a light bulb moment too. I was led to this realization because of what happened to one of my friends this morning.

When somebody goes away or disappears from your life, it's for a reason. It's for your own good. Cry if you want to, be depressed for a season, but get up and get over it.

Now I can see things from a different angle.  This is so liberating.

Let go and let God!

Yey!

I had my check up again yesterday with my three doctors. Showed them my latest blood test results and they were quite happy with them.  My nephrologist said lupus is under control.  That's music to my ears.  Praise God!  But as you all know, I'm not just believing God to make lupus under control but to make it disappear forever in my life.  Translation: completely healed!

Photo credit: loadedwithexcuses.com

I think the lupus was "under control" mainly because of my diet.  I eat what most would qualify as "boring".  I'll eat a banana and a glass of green smoothie for
breakfast. Okay, I have somebody who supplies me with that that's good for 3 days a liter. I'll have veggies and fish or chicken for lunch and dinner.  I'll have green salad in between meals. I'll have either avocado, pineapple or papaya for dessert. I'm not perfect and sometimes I still succumb to some of my guilty pleasures like ice cream, chocolate cookies, brownies and cheese quesadilla.

Believe me, with that kind of diet, my weight is still like a roller coaster.  I'd gain some, I'd lose some then I'd gain them back again.  I asked my doctor about this and she said it's mostly water retention and for as long as I'm taking steroids, I'll have that problem.  Good news is, my doctor started tapering my steroids. Yey!

I'm praising God for this!

Thankful Thursday

This week I'm grateful for His word to me.  It's an assurance, a promise that I can hold on to.

"No one will be able to resist you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not abandon you or leave you alone." Joshua 1:5

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What are you thankful for this week?

For more Thankful Thursday, visit Iris over at Grace Alone.