Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Get Ready, Set, Witness!



The 12th National Conference in the UAE will take place in a few days/hours at Sharjah! Everybody's excited and ready to experience the immense love and graces of the Lord. Good things and even greater things will happen and everybody just can't wait to experience it. So therefore we must get ready, get set and witness how God's mercy, outpouring of blessings, forgiveness and unfailing love that's constantly felt, experienced and meant to be shared.

GET READY.
We must get ready as the Lord has prepared surprises for us! The sessions and the activities are meant to teach and mold us to become effective witnesses and mouthpieces of the Lord. We must also be excited because it is going to be a day of worship and praise therefore it means a lot of singing songs, jumping for joy and unending thanksgiving to Him. For now as we prepare, let's feel the excitement as we are counting the remaining days to hours before the awaited event. Ready your pens and paper to take note of the wonderful messages He will reveal and also capture Jesus' moments that you can share with your friends around the globe. A lot of things are waiting for us and let's get ready to experience God's greatness, graces and goodness anywhere and everywhere.

GET SET.
Let us also lay down to God all the brokenness we feel, the struggles that we've been through, the unresolved problems and issues, the worries and all other concerns. Let's surrender everything to God and allow Him to take over. Learn to let go and let God's will be done. Let's set our hearts and minds so that we can place our focus on to God alone. Also, as we learn to pause for a while to think and reflect, let's remember to pray and ask God's leading so that our decisions and actions are well guided and are in accordance to His plans. May the Lord set our hearts ablaze because we want to go out and spread His love. Everything is all set, we just have to do our part, patiently wait for the go signal and pray.

WITNESS.
To become a witness is not an easy task but it can be fulfilling. Proclaiming God's word and becoming a witness is challenging especially in a world full of different cultures, religion, practices, race, experiences, beliefs, language and understanding. Testifying and being Christ like is what God wants us to be. Revealing to the world about Jesus Christ is a struggle and it is worth fighting for. God made it known to us that we should share whatever is in us. He emphasized the true meaning of love and it is manifested in giving, in sharing, in blessing and in forgiving. Let us not allow the hindrances that we experience to stop us from proclaiming God's word in evangelizing His people as we share the good news in transforming the world and renewing the face the earth.

So let's get ready, get set and witness!
Prayers up for the NatCon.

Saturday, June 1, 2013

If God gave..



If God gave me a higher paying job than what I have now.. then I would not know how to save and spend money wisely. I would have decided to spend and spend on useless material things. I would have things that I just don't need but even what I want. I may have been selfish and keep it all to myself without the intent of sharing to others especially my family.….. but God gave me a job that's not that high but not that low. It is an average paying job that taught me to budget my money and even share it to my family. God made me realize that I should be thankful because some experience the worst cases regarding there job and even abuse. He entrusted me with little and I believe He will entrust and bless me much when I am capable of handling the responsibility. 

If God gave me a part time job.. every week or even twice a month then I would've earned hundreds to a thousand but He didn’t. He didn't give me that because He knows that if I was busy earning money then I would've forgotten about Him. I would not have any time to go to Church and attend the Holy Mass. I would not be able to serve Him completely because I'm too busy. I would also not be able to attend my household, trainings, fellowships, conferences, etc because I would rather choose to earn money than building my faith, strengthening my relationship and spending on fellowships and other things.

If God gave me expensive, latest, cool and hi-tech gadgets.. then I would be busy using those things rather than praying, writing my journals, create designs, etc.. I admit that I love having gadgets because I feel comfortable having them and they meet my needs. I feel "IN" especially if I have the most expensive ones. I even dreamed of having an IPHONE but then I realized that having those things will only give me temporary happiness and contentment. After acquiring these things I will keep on wanting more and more. One more thing is that I can't bring these gadgets with me when I die. It can't save me from anything. It can't replace any person who's important to me. It was made for a purpose and that purpose is to entertain.

If God gave us a chance to be together as a family.. then I or we wouldn't realize how important having a complete family  and how it influences each one of us. God made our family to be like this so that we can appreciate each others worth and presence. Being separated from each other, dealing with their differences, misunderstanding, selfishness, cat and dog fights, etc led to a gap that continuously grew as the years passed and became a major, major issue. It may be hard to express the suppressed and corny feelings but the power of love conquers all. Time and love changed and motivated us to value God's greatest and gorgeous gift which is the Family. When all else fail, it is the family whom we can always run to and with God.. I am blessed to have a complete family and I will never stop believing that one day we will be complete and we will never be separated again, with the grace of God and His blessing, AMEN! Reunited 2013!!!

If God gave me perfection.. then I wouldn't have realized my flaws and shortcomings. Only God, blessings and love are perfect. I always believe that I have to do things perfectly. I had the attitude of being a perfectionist. I was afraid to make mistakes. I was afraid being told and being embarrassed. I am concerned on what people will say to me. I am mindful of my actions and I follow the standards of the world. But then I realized that it was only I who is hurt. It was I who struggled with perfection. It was I who had to prove my worth, be accepted and be pleasing in the eyes of others. God assured me that it is only Him that I should please and that if I continued doing this then my identity will be lost and I will always be broken. God healed me and transformed me to be better. He allowed these things to happen to open my eyes to the reality that I was blinded to. He made me realize that I am not perfect, that it's ok to make mistakes, that I shouldn’t be affected on what people may say, that I should go out of my boundaries, that I should live life to the fullest and that I shouldn't be afraid. God used my imperfections to see, experience and reveal to me how beautiful life is with Him.

If God gave me a perfect love story… then I would have not experienced being heart broken. Then I wouldn't feel any pain and disappointment. We wouldn't have been hurt if it did. And if He did then we wouldn’t learn from it and we wouldn't correct our mistakes. He made me realize that people have to break up in order for them to grow up. When God closes a door, He would open a window. Sometimes people have to experience being broken for them to realize that God has better plans for them and maybe God is preparing them for someone better as long as we trust His will and timing. God allowed me to understand the true meaning of love and trust despite the brokenness in me. He is slowly healing me and mending the scars I have. For now I have to wait and do the things God wants me to do. I have to love God and my family more so that when it is time and when I'm ready then I can be able to accept and love someone again yet this time being wiser, better and more mature.

If God didn't give me pain, hurt, disappointment, rejections, struggle and difficulties… then my life would have been easy. If He didn't then I wouldn't have learn things the easy way. God used those struggles to mold me to become the person that I am now. He tested me by giving me those struggles to shape my character and to change me of my ways. He revealed to me that when things go wrong I should call His name always in prayer and most of the time. He made me hold on to Him because He knew that I need to grow, learn and move forward. He assured me that "Nothing just happens." And "All things have a purpose and that we have to discover that." He made known to me that there are no accidents and all of it is a part of His great plan for me and for everyone. .Things became clear after our eyes have been washed away with tears.


 Sometimes God doesn't give you what you think you want..not because you don't deserve it but because you deserve more. :)
 
If God gave me things that I want rather than what I need then I wouldn't have realize the importance of having less and be contented other than wanting to have more and more. God allowed these things to happen because He knows that it is for the better. Nothing just happens. Everything happens for a reason.  It may not be clear now but soon you will understand. As they say, there are no accidents. Indeed, God moves in mysterious way. His plans are way better than ours. He is in control and we need to be still and trust His will. God is so good and great! Thanks be to God. In Jesus' name, AMEN! :))

May God be praised!!