Everything on earth has its own time and its own season

Everything on earth has its own time and its own season

-          Ecclesiastes 3:1

Yes, it is true. There’s no need to rush, for rushing things would only lead you to a much bigger problem. There are no shortcuts, detours, and u-turns to success and life. I can still remember all of endeavors that I’ve faced and luckily surpassed back then. Dang, there were too many of them to the point that I almost had given up; but God never left me, not even just for a second. Despite the fact that I didn’t usually ask for His help, He was so generous that He never failed to stay beside me. When I was down, He reached out His hand and helped me rise up again. When I was in doubt, He showed me reasons why not to. When I was about to give up, He gave me strength and the tenacity to continue fighting. He was there, and will always be with me.

“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’ So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?’” (Hebrews 13:5-6).

I almost ended up in a different college back when I was in 3^rd year. I got a grade of 5 in my major subject, and in our school there’s no repeater or whatever, so the only choice was to transfer to a different school. I never thought that I will fail. I got way too overconfident of myself and didn’t focus on my studies well. It was really a disastrous event for me. I thought it was over for me in FEU, but then God came to the scene. When I asked for a rechecking of my grades, they found out that it was only a miscomputation. I felt so relieved back then, I called my parents, my tito’s and tita’s and thanked them for all the prayers and support. I thought that it was just a false alarm, but it wasn’t. It was a warning sign from Him and I didn’t respond well.

Despite what happened, I still lived in an easy, no-stress and egotistic life. Instead of focusing on what’s more important, I indulged myself on less significant activities. I’m not perfect… I commit mistakes; but I didn’t say I regretted playing Dota and hanging out with my friends. I also met a lot of friends just by playing Dota and had tons of wonderful memories with them, but it would’ve been better if I just prioritized them well enough so that there won’t be any potential problems. As a result, I failed my first take on NLE (Nursing Licensure Examination). I was stunned in disbelief and really never thought of failing that examination. There were so many things that were on my mind back then – a lot of Who’s fault, What’s wrong and Why’s this happening to me. Funny thing was it only took me about 30 minutes to jump from Denial phase to Acceptance phase of DABDA/ Stages of Grief. Funny yet amazing, even until now I’m still amazed on how God enlightened me that moment. I asked Him, and He gave me an answer. Again, having been overconfident and way too relaxed led me to lose focus on my studies.

After that, I said to myself, “Maybe this is not for me, or maybe this is not the right time; maybe there are things in my life that I have to fix first before I achieve this goal of mine.” So I moved on and tried finding out what was wrong and what was lacking. I worked in a BPO Company for around 6 months and learned so many things there. I went through tough decisions; I decided to forfeit my NLE last November 2009 believing I still have a lot of things to learn from work. I also chose to review here in Zamboanga for the past July 2010 NLE to focus on my studies. I learned so many things in my stay in ACS and ADZU review center, which molded me to become what I am right now. It took me almost a year to evolve and learn from all of my mistakes. 12 long months of waiting, learning, adapting and never giving up before becoming what I am right now, a full-pledged nurse.

I am quite excited for all the things that God has planned for me now that I’m already a Registered Nurse. I have this vision of myself in the future that I am teaching young minds and at the same time drawing them close to God. I know I can make a difference, because God is with me. Speaking of vision, I would just like to add something that I’ve learned from Pastor Rommel just awhile ago. In order for us to grow in our present jobs/works, we should have these 4 P’s: Presence of God, Pleasure, Provision from God, and Purpose. These 4 P's will help you excel in your area and at the same time nourish your relationship with God.

It is not easy and will never be easy to understand what’s in store for us, not unless you let God control your life. God has plans for you, and if you let Him sit behind the steering wheel, He will give you everything far beyond your imagination. Never give up on what you believe in and never let any distractions slow you down to your pursuit of happiness.

Testimony: God gave me trials and sufferings for me to be dependent on Him.

Life Lesson: God is never in a hurry, but He is always on time.

Godly Passion: Think Big! Do not settle for less. Have a bigger frying pan.

Good News: You were made for a purpose. 

God gave me what I wanted, but He didn’t let me get it my way.

God gave me what I wanted, but He didn’t let me get it my way.

-      Joyce Meyer

When I already finished reading the Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren, I started thinking about what’s next for me. Then a friend suggested that I should try listening to podcasts of certain individuals such as Joyce Meyer, Joel Osteen, etc. Actually I don’t have any idea who these persons are. LOL. All I know is that they are messengers of God, spreading the Good News worldwide. So I downloaded Joyce Meyer’s podcasts and suddenly got interested in everything she says (if you want to know how and where I downloaded it, just give me your e-mail address and I’ll send it to you).

Joyce Meyer’s message was entitled An Attitude of Trust and Patience. Honestly, those were the qualities that I don’t have. I’m not good at waiting. For instance, if we will be meeting in a certain place, I would rather tell you I’m already there even though I’m not so you can get your ass off quickly to our meeting place. I’d rather be waited than to be the one waiting, and that is one classic showing of how selfish I am, which is I’m not actually proud of. Well about trust, it is in fact not a problem to me… it is the other way around. After years of reflecting and contemplating, I finally found myself so hard to be trusted. LOL. Maybe it’s because I’m really good at reasoning, I mean sooo good. A friend of my father’s even told me that I should’ve taken Law instead of Nursing ‘coz I’m so good at it.

 

In one single event, the saved who are alive at Christ's coming will be caught up together with the resurrected to meet the Lord in the air. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord." - 1 Thessalonians 4:17

Christ is coming, and we don’t know when. All I know is that we should be focused on the mission He gave us. We don’t just wait until Christ’s return; we make use of the time He provided us so that in His return, we can say “Mission Accomplished.” This is where trust comes. We need to trust God, in every single thing that happens in our lives for us to accomplish our mission. Just by putting your trust in God, you can enjoy your life while He is solving your problem. Why should we trust God? I have three reasons for that:

1.      He is the omnipotent one

2.      He is the omniscient one

3.      He is the omnipresent one

He is the omnipotent one. He is our Creator, everything you see is made by God. He pulls all the strings of our lives. If you’ve watched the movie Bruce Almighty, there you will understand how powerful God really is.

He is the omniscient one. He is all-knowing. He knows everything that’s going to happen to us, every single detail of our lives has been already written down. He knows everything, and it is only Him that knows it all.

He is the omnipresent one. He is everywhere. He is the reason why we can fight temptations, feel safety and comfort, and make holy actions. Joseph experienced it. He had brothers who were jealous of him and sold him into slavery. Later he was lied against by Potiphar's wife; and yet "God was with him."

Then on Sunday I had the chance to attend at one of Victory’s worship services. That was my first time at Victory; again, my good old friend referred it to me. I didn’t know what to expect upon entering the center. I was just looking for a small group and hoped to find it there. Then I heard Pastor Ritchie telling something about Laying of Hands – more of like passing the torch or blessing someone. I enjoyed listening to his message, I felt like God was really close to me that time – like He was reaching out to me. Then every moment has just gone surreal. I cried… hard. That was the first time that I cried for Him, and it felt so great. I believe those were not just tears of joy; those were tears of guilt, confession, thanksgiving, and praise to Him. I felt like I’ve been healed from my pains, freed from my sufferings, and unloaded from all of my burdens.  

The day ended up so well; I met Pastor Rommel, who eventually adopted me to his small group, I found new friends in the likes of Ate Lei, Rence, and Joed, and I’ve finally found a family in them. I thank God for giving me this opportunity to do the things I want to do while waiting for His return. I want to thank Him for giving me another chance and entrusting me this very important assignment. As what Joyce Meyer also said, “Patience is not the ability to wait; it is how you act while you wait.”

PBPGINFWMY – Please Be Patient, God Is Not Finished With Me Yet. Don’t be in a rush. It will take a lifetime for us to fulfill what we are tasked to do. You will be taking a long journey to His salvation. Now be patient and have trust in Him, for it is the key to living a Christ-centered life. All along, I thought doing things in an old-Frankie-way was right; but then again, I was wrong. :)

Testimony:  Jesus led me directly to His path to Salvation.

Life Lesson: Patience is a virtue.

Godly passion: Your spiritual family is bigger than your physical family and in some significant aspects, it is probably more important.

Good news: Parousia- God also said the ever-great Douglas McArthur line.

do you believe in yourself and in life?

yes :D
absolutely.. I believe I can make a difference... and Life is one great testimony of how God loves us :D

Ask me anything :D

Trash

Trash - you take junk and you drag it over there and you deposit it, why? – Unneeded, unnecessary, old information, wrong information. Most believers have unneeded, unnecessary, old information. We were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in theirs. How you see yourself is how you will begin to act.


- Pastor Paul Chase

In whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things.

In whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things.

- 1 John 3:20

          Just a while ago, a friend asked for some advice about this “Discernment” issue. The funny thing is this topic has been running around my head since yesterday, so I finally decided to write something down about it since everybody seems to be having some issues with this (guilty @_@). About yesterday, Rai and I had a small talk before we went home. Somewhere in that conversation I mentioned something about decision-making and prioritization. Yes, I am guilty of having poor decision-making and time management skills, and being not-so-good at prioritizing as well. I could think of countless instances from where I experienced different kinds of consequences just because of wrong choices.

          I can still remember being reprimanded by my father because I always put my friends first before them. “Ang barkada nawawala din yan pagtanda mo… Hindi mo naman sila magiging asawa. Panandaliang saya lang yan.” Though I didn’t totally agree with his statement, he had a point. There are friends who are worth for keeps, but family comes first all the time (of course with the exception of God being the ultimate priority of us all). I so love my friends – Uno, Alain, Jeck and Geb, to name a few. Friends make you happy when you’re down; they make you enjoy things in life; and you can share your deepest secrets that you don’t feel telling anybody else (even to your family). Surely camaraderie is somewhat important in our lives because they offer you a FACE:

·         Freedom (parents yell at you)

·         Acceptance (parents are sometimes manipulative)

·         Company (parents always at work, busy making money)

·         Experience (parents so strict, they wouldn’t let you do this and that)

That’s why most resort in clinging with friends because they can’t find these reasons in their own family. Freedom of doing what to do, acceptance of what you really are, having a group of people surround you at times of need, and experience whatever you want to experience. However, it’s different in my case. I’d never really find a FACE in my own family until I tried understanding them. I thought they were manipulative, strict, narrow-minded and selfish; but they were the opposite. They guided me to have the freedom I dreamed of; accepted me for who I really am despite all my flaws; stayed on my side AT ALL TIMES; and most of  all let me experience life to the fullest (whether good or bad).

Kazoku (My Family)

It really is amazing yet mysterious on how the Lord works. He uses your pain for the betterment of the majority. Considering that, I felt guilty and that made me realize how much they loved me. Ha Ha (mother) took care of me for almost 9months inside her womb and endured the excruciating pain of delivery. Chi Chi (father) sacrificed his personal happiness, put his life on the line for almost 20 years and worked far away from us just to give us a better future. And how many times Ane (sister) gave me surprise gifts and treats just to see me happy? That is why I promised to myself that I won’t be a pain-in-the-ass anymore. Loving is just like a Nursing Care Plan – individual first, then family, then the community. One should learn to love himself and his family first, before loving his neighbor.

          This kind of wisdom comes from above and is given to us through four primary avenues – God’s Word, God’s Spirit, God’s Providence and God’s people. In other words, to ensure good decision-making habits, we must be people whose minds are consistently being renewed by God’s Word. We must also be people who walk in step with the Spirit of God, paying attention to his promptings and leadings. We must watch carefully and understand how God works providentially in our circumstances. And we must live in community with other faithful believers (http://bible.org/seriespage/decision-making).

I cited this paragraph because I believe this, in its most basic sense, explains on how we are going to make good decisions in life - PUT GOD IN THE CENTER OF YOUR LIFE. Everything came from God. He knows everything that’s happening and will happen to us since He is the omniscient one. Our lives have been written already before we were even born. That’s why he already knows what we are going to choose in every choice we make. So whatever choice it is, just think that Jesus is with you and will never leave you. You don’t have to be afraid of making a choice, because Jesus is The Way, The Truth, and The Life.




Testimony: Jesus let my family feel the pain for me to understand their importance.
Life Lesson: Jesus uses your pain for the purpose of your life or to the others.
Godly passion: Good choices come from God
Good News: God Knows Everything

Father, everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine.

Father, everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me.

Yet I want your will, not mine.

- Jesus

Back when I was young, I always thought that I belong to those unlucky ones in this world. I have always said that life is unfair due to the problems that I have encountered.  Why has it always been me? What have I done to suffer this way? How long will I suffer this way? I felt pitiful and angry and had no one turn to. But as I know Him better with each day that passes by, I am starting to realize that I had been wrong all along.

“The Lord has made everything for His own purposes” – Proverbs 16:4. It is God who is the one to blame! LOL. Kidding aside, you shouldn’t be angry or whatever, instead, be privileged enough for God is doing anything (even if it hurts) to make you notice Him (pam-pam? LOL). It is during our darkest days that we say our sincerest prayers to Him, right? Well, we don’t have to feel guilty about that because that’s what He wants – You calling Him. Israelites cried out to God when they were brutally abused by the Egyptians, and then God has responded immediately by sending Moses and saved them all. God wants us to want Him.

Jollibee's Message

Yesterday, on my way to the hospital I noticed this thing posted on the wall of Jollibee. Bet this one’s a classic way of God reaching out to us, and all we have to do is respond to His calling. He is everywhere, yet there are still who doesn’t notice Him. At the hospital, I was looking at the elevator sign as I wondered, “Will we be using an elevator on our way up to heaven or just teleport?” Sigh, dami naiisip! LOL.  I brought with me my usual things (Bible, book, notepad, pen, and camera) while watching over my Tito Dats. He was diagnosed with ulcer (Hmm, not sure if it’s gastric or duodenal) and now confined at the hospital for almost a week already. At around 11, my cousin Rai came and accompanied me together with her "only" best friend Michie. LOL.  We enjoyed every bit of our chitchat and have been laughing out loud with all the shallow jokes and hilarious tales of each other. I can still remember seeing Tito Dats burst into so much glee when he saw his daughter. Blood is thicker than water – so true. Back there, I thanked God for giving me a beautiful family. I believe God gave us a family – father, mother, sister/brother, and other relatives, for us to feel that we are not alone. We are sensible people; we appreciate things much more if we can see it, hear it, feel it, etc. That is why He uses our relatives to show us how He loves us as much as we are loved by our family.

Just in the middle of our worthwhile conversation, Tito Dats had a convulsive attack; he was trembling and chilling as if he was stuck on a fridge for a year. That was the second time he had that attack, but the 1^st one was worse. He was restless and unaware of what happened back then. He’s as hot as Hell, having a temperature of 40.6 at max. I had a hard time to make him calm down until nurses came for help. I expressed to them my sincerest gratitude for taking care of my Tito. Even though it was their job to take care of Tito, I am still thankful that God made nursing a profession. Right now, my Tito’s still confined at the hospital but MGH (may go home) if everything stays smooth at the end of the day. God never abandons His children no matter what happens. Please help me pray for my Tito’s health. Prayers are more potent if prayed together. Thanks! God bless you! 

Testimony: Jesus used my problems for me to notice Him.

Life Lesson: Each problem has its own purpose in your life or to the others.

Godly passion: Blood is thicker than water.

Good news: God is everywhere.