Hello and See You Around

Hello.  It has been ages since I last posted here. I've been doing a lot of thinking and finally came to a very hard decision.  This will be my last post for Pia's Journal. As I read back my old posts, I realized that since I started blogging at 2004, everything was about challenges, disappointments and trials of different kinds. I've waited for a long time to change the theme of this blog, but it didn't happen. That's okay though.

2015 is a new year and I'm starting a new life. Some would say it's been long overdue, but I say it's better late than never. Besides, as the saying goes - Life begins at 40. 

As I venture into a new beginning, I have also decided to cease blogging. I'm not saying it will be forever. Who knows, I might just start a new one. In the mean time, I'm closing this chapter book of my life and am very excited to step into my new life.

Here's wishing you all a very HAPPY and BLESSED NEW YEAR!

I wasn't able to post this last Christmas, but I'm still posting it anyway. 

See you around!

We Are Called Victorious

Went back to Salon de Matt earlier to have my hair treatment. The hair cut I had two months ago was just perfect now that it grew longer.  I just wish I could fix my hair everyday like I just stepped out of a salon.  Wishful thinking...

Anyway, I wanted to share with you a very encouraging message we had at church this afternoon.  It was about Gideon.  See how similar our responses are sometimes to Gideon's.

12 When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, “The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.”
13 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the LORD has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”
14 The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”
15 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”
16 The LORD answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”  Judges 6:12-13

The Lord called Gideon a mighty warrior in verse 13.  In verse 15 Gideon responded by asking how he can save Israel when his clan's the weakest and he's the least in his family.  But God knows the future.  Notice how God didn't mind Gideon's social standing.  In the end we knew that Gideon was able to defeat the Midianites.  

In the same way, we are called victorious.  You ask, "But God, how can I be called victorious when everything in my life is a huge mess?"   Or maybe you ask, "If the Lord is with me, why did all these terrible things happen to me?" "Why do bad things happen to good people?"

We have to understand that God sees the end from the beginning.  He already knew what our future holds.  He isn't surprised  with the things we are going through now.  He has a clear picture of what's going on. He knows and He has a plan! And there's only one thing we need to do - OBEY.

Do you sometimes feel  like God abandoned you and allowed you to be defeated by your circumstances?  I guess we all felt that way one way or the other.  The good news is, those were just feelings and not facts. For as long as God is with us, we can be assured of victory no matter how bad and ugly our current situation is.  

Wherever we are in life, it is where we're suppose to be. It's not a mistake that we are where we are.  Each of us is given a unique assignment and we have to respond by obeying.  Like in verse 14, God is turning to us and saying, "Am I not sending you?"  And in verse 16, God is telling us, "I will be with you..."

"What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:31

A Work In Progress

I am really disappointed with myself. I was disappointed with the way I reacted to my frenzied emotions early this afternoon. See, I got into a heated argument, ok… an ugly shouting match with a neighbor friend because of a ridiculous miscommunication which resulted in an awful tangled mess.

What I thought was a harmless and casual conversation turned into a disaster because someone thought that she heard "trash" when what I said was a totally different word. I won't go into any of the details, but what I realized was that that situation brought my doppelganger out of Pandora’s box once again.

I knew that in my younger years, I had a fiery temper. I thought that I managed to tame that temper; I thought that nothing would bring it back… I was wrong. I lost control and said things that I shouldn’t have. I felt sick to my stomach thinking that I was such a disappointment to God. I wish it didn't happen, but it did.

I learned a painful but important lesson today.

I should think first before I act, especially when I am angry. I have to learn to step back and think first before acting on impulse. Above all, I realized that God isn’t finished molding my character. I am still very much a work in progress. 

By the way, I am back at Fuda Hospital with Dad for his fourth nano chemo session.