A Personal Prayer

Today Lord, I don't want to write about anything in my life's journey. I want to just focus on You. For without You, I am nothing. I want to thank You Lord for giving me a renewal with my faith in You. I know that You have given me another head-start with my life. No more unfamiliar roads. No more dark roads. No more confusing pathways. No more fears even with new roads that come along. Because now I know that You are always with me, Your hand guides me.

I don't deserve all these blessings I receive daily yet through those, You are constantly reminding me of Your endless love and mercy. I thank You for all the wisdom You give me. I ask that I may be able to share Your love and wisdom not only with my loved ones, but to those who will happen to pass by this site. A welcoming friendship I extend to them, because that's what You did on the cross. You died with Your arms wide open. You welcome all of us, who will believe. And friendship You offer and a promise of eternal life.

My heart cries with the pure joy that only comes from You. There is nothing glorious than to be identified that I am Your beloved child and that You are always here with me in this life's journey.

I pray for your other children who are blogging for Your glory. Help us Lord by guiding us with Your wisdom. Speak through our hearts so that we may write Your wisdom in return. May many more people happen to peek through our sites and be able to know Your love and grace as they do so and may they open their hearts to You, O Lord and accept You as their only Savior.

Thank You for today Lord. Thank You for Your love. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

Come and Seek the Lord

I try to post once a week given the time, or when I feel that there is a very important topic that I need to write about and I don't want to forget to share it through my writing.

A special sister-in-Christ comes to mind right now [please check out her site and please pray for her and her family]. As I lifted her up in prayers, I had this urge to post about how each of us are going through different trials of life. There are so many roads that are uncertain. Sometimes, we are trapped and we can't either go back or move forward. Sometimes, the roads are too confusing. There are so many unfamiliar roads that we are just totally lost right away and just don't know what to do...

But glory to God! Because of Him, we can just look up and ask Him for His guidance and strength as we travel on roads that lead to mountains of trials. He is the One Who never leaves us nor forsake us. Jesus said, "I have told you all this so that you may have peace in Me. Here on earth, you will have many trials and sorrows, but take heart because I have overcome the world!" [John 16:33]. What a beautiful promise of how the Lord never leaves us, especially when we are going through trials.

I would like to request each and everyone of you, brothers and sisters in Christ, to pray for each other. We need that kind of encouragement. We might not know each other personally, but thanks be to God, we are One in Spirit!

For those of you hurting out there, my prayers go out to you. For you, dear sister-in-Christ, I want to share with you this song I had written on June 19, 2003:

Come and Seek the Lord

No matter how tough the trials that come your way
No matter how much they break your heart today
Fill your heart instead with joy
Knowing Jesus is there for us all

Come and seek the Lord [3x]
For He had overcome the world

No matter how much pain and suffering
No matter how heavy the burden they bring
Trust in the Lord it'll be okay
For He will show us the way

Blessings and Thanks

Wow!!! It was great to have been chosen by Sitka and her mom Andrea as they passed on the award Sitka got first!

God also pours blessings on us. His blessings are not meant to be kept but instead, when we share them with others, we bless others as well. Funny how when we share His blessings, they never run out and instead keep growing... Remember Jesus' miracle [Matthew 14:17-21] when He fed 5,000 men, not counting children and women, with only 5 small loaves of bread and 2 fishes? My, oh my! There were even leftovers...

So, I'd like to give the award back to Andrea . You deserve it, too. Please check out their blogs and you'll be encouraged, I guarantee! I also want to share the award to Inbox Ministry. Thank You Lord for Your blessings that each of us enjoy and use to encourage each other as well.

Addendum:

Wow...sorry Sitka. I didn't play by the rules with the award you had shared with me. Not that I forgot, but it's hard to share it with 5 deserving blogs, knowing that many deserve it. Now I know what you and your mom mean...So, if it's not too late to excite you by making you bark louder and wag your tails endlessly, here are the 2 rules with the "fabulous award":

Confess 5 things you're most addicted with:

1. the Bible of course, for it's a way of how our dearest Lord speak to our hearts

2. coffee, decaf or regular [I'm not picky]. There's something so magical when the aroma of freshly-brewed coffee whiff all over the house.

3. time with my husband & our precious child. Hubby is my greatest support [after the Main Man]. My world had changed dramatically when our son was born. It was that kind of change that no words could ever express nor money can buy. He is the meaning of "quality time" in my own dictionary.

4. time with my best friend. I'm so grateful and forever thankful and blessed to have met her in this pathway of life. Honesty and trustworthiness defines her character.

5. guitar. I have 3. I learned some chords on my own, write a song and with the guitar, worship my Lord anytime. [Glory to God for the talents He give us].

And now, the other rule; Pass this award to other deserving bloggers:

1. Check out Andrea 's blog [did I hear you bark so loud Sitka?]. A very inspiring writer who has a way of making her readers feel her day-to-day appreciation of God's love.

2. I was truly touched by "Alleluiabelle", a special sister-in-Christ who pours her heart out in her words, along with God's powerful promises that will make us feel that immense "joy" despite the turmoils of life we encounter.

3. I got excited when I had my first contact with other bloggers and I was awed by the way InboxMinistry explain God's Word. I hope everything is okay with you, Inbox Ministry, keep posting...

4. Sonya, another sister-in-Christ 's site worth visiting over and over. Her "what might seem an ordinary life", she turns into extra-ordinary when she incorporates what she learns from our Mighty God.

5. As I believe that "it's better to bless others than to be blessed," I want to give this award back to you, Sitka. With your special blog, humans will be able to experience of what you go through and you are a blessing to a lot of people in ways that no humans can do.

A Time To Cry and a Time to Laugh; A Time to Grieve and a Time to Dance...

We will all have to pass through a difficult trek of loved ones' death, whether expectedly or not, or that of our own. It is the road we don't want to take but the truth is...it's inevitable.

My mother had passed away almost 9 years ago. I was truly devastated when I had to go back home, along with one of my brothers to be there and at the same time, be a support to my father [who also had passed away a little over a year ago]. It was a totally different scene back in my parents' house during my mother's wake. My eyes were blinded by the lights illuminating her peaceful and beautiful sleep-like state. But I wanted my mother, "the very own light in our home". Without her, our home feels just like a "house", dim and lifeless. I hated the smell of flowers around that seemed to announce her unexpected departure as someone walked in by the front door. No! I would rather smell her wondrous cooking whenever she prepared the delicious foods, whether it'd be our daily meals or a welcoming feasts to guests. I stared at the pair of cold lips that used to smile a whole lot and was always painted on her face. Her smiles were infectious and would always make you smile back. Oh how I longed for her warmest hugs and kisses, only to be hugged and greeted by people mourning with us...

When God had found me wandering aimlessly as I traveled and either made right or wrong choices in selecting the roads to take, God was the first One to comfort me and reassure me that everything would be okay in this unfamiliar road I had to walk on.

As we were about to bury our mother, there was a flashback in my mind about a caterpillar that needs to die before becoming a beautiful butterfly. I had never felt a sense of peace and relief until that moment as if God was hugging me and wiping my tears of sorrows. He has tremendous ways of showing His love and making His presence known in our hearts.

To me, this world is a big school with all of us as students. We all have to graduate someday but before doing so, we have to overcome a lot of learning experiences but in order to pass with flying colors, we must learn to unconditionally love others and do everything with love. We must look up to the Greatest Instructor Who will teach us things we don't know about. He will be there to constantly encourage us and give us His wisdom. So, it is our choice whether we want to learn from Him or not.

Isaiah 25:8 -"He will swallow up death forever! The Sovereign Lord will wipe away all tears."

Psalm 30:11,12 -"You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothe me with joy, O Lord my God, I will give You thanks forever!"

2 Corinthians 1:3 -"All praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the source of every mercy and the God Who comforts us."

Revelation 21:4 -"He will remove all of their sorrows and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain."