My Personal BIG TEN in 2011 Part II

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7.      7. SINGGOL. Mahal na mahal kita, at ang sakit-sakit na. It’s not about you. SINGLE = Stress Is Now Gone, Life’s Easier. Single again, but now with experience. Just because I’m single doesn’t mean I don’t know a thing about love. Being single is a lot wiser than being in wrong relationship. Delight yourself also in the LORD; And He shall give you the desires of your heart. The first duty of love - is to listen. Love is a motive and others-centered. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. We let emotions confuse us, and that often leads us to make decisions we later regret. Being in a relationship is a full-time job; don’t apply if you’re not ready. God has the most perfect timing. There are no accidents. When a man is trying to win the heart of a woman, he studies her. He learns her likes, dislikes, habits, and hobbies. But after he wins her heart and marries her, he often stops learning about her. If the amount he studied her before marriage was equal to a high school degree, he should continue to learn about her until he gains a college degree, a master’s degree, and ultimately a doctorate degree. It is a lifelong journey that draws his heart ever close to hers. If there’s one thing that girls look for — it is CONFIDENT and SECURE men. Maniwala kang minahal kita sa paraang alam ko … I’m a work in progress… So please, please don’t give up on me. Time is MEANINGLESS when you’re in love.

6.       6. 1^st Anniversary. It was Sept 19, 2010 when I first encountered Christ.  The day when He led me to a new direction in life – Godward. And from then on, I never look back. Events from that day still linger in my memory. I would never ever forget that feeling when I was like having a one-on-one conversation with our Lord, Jesus Christ. It was so surreal, I cried… hard. Tears all over my face while raising both of my hands, feeling His presence. 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. And from that exact moment, I felt like I’ve been healed from my pains, freed from my sufferings, and unloaded from all of my burdens. That day was even made awesome when I met Pastor Rommel, my mentor, who introduced me to the Christian world and made me feel the sense of belongingness that I’ve been searching for so long. The first year was probably the easiest part of being a Christian. That was when everything was like falling into places. I didn’t experience any problems at all; in fact, I even had so many breakthroughs back then. And yes, it has been a year since then.  This time, I can’t call myself a baby Christian no more. A lot of things happened – struggles, pains and sacrifices. But I’m glad I did overcome every single one of them… of course, with the help from God. When man fails, God excels. True story. Growth comes with experience; and I can say I have grown up pretty well. Every danger gives me courage. Every problem gives me wisdom. And every difficulty gives me strength. With every experience, whether good or bad, contributes in helping me become a much better person. My 1^st year had been great, but I bet the 2^nd year would be more awesome, and the 3^rd… and the 4^th… and the 5^th…

6.     5. Role model. Namely, Norman Vincent Peale, Max Lucado, Joel Osteen, Rick Warren, Joyce Meyer, and yes, Ramon Bautista. They are my indirect influences. They may not know me, but they really helped me a lot to become what I am right now. You can’t do it on your own. You don’t know everything. Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding – Proverbs 3:5. So seek role models, and learn from them. At first I was like so full of myself thinking that I can handle my own life. But there came a time when I can’t answer all of the questions in my head, especially when I started spreading God’s words. I tell you, being a messenger is not that easy. I can’t just talk to a person and pummel him with words of wisdom. But these people, they know what they’re doing. They’re professionals who have a high degree in their respective fields. Most of them are preachers/ pastors; but one of my favorites is Mr. Ramon Bautista. Actually, I don’t know much about this person. But based on his posts, I believe that he is a man of wisdom and responsibility. His method of influencing people is unorthodox. He is no preacher. He’s a comedian… and a college professor at UP as well. He uses his social networking sites such as formspring, twitter, etc. to share his wisdom. He targets teens, and is more particular about love, life and studies. I can still remember the first post that got my attention. It goes like this,

Question: Hi sir! :) What’s the most effective strategy in moving on? Do you always have to look for a new one? Kasi madalas ang nangyayari, ‘pag walang bago sa buhay mo binabalikan mo lang ang nakaraan at mas lalo kang nahihirapan magmove-on. :P

RB: You don’t have to look for a new person. It can be a hobby or pet or anything that’ll get your mind off the past. It’s always hard but if you have to do it then don’t waste precious time for life making emo or laslas.

                

Yeah, it’s funny… but definitely makes sense. He uses his gift of humor in order to attract viewers/readers. I learned so much from these guys. Learning is a lifetime process. I read books, watch movies, listen to podcasts in order for me to expand my knowledge and understanding on how to live this life that God gave us. Life will never be easy when you’re alone. Find inspirations. Find role models.

Part III… coming soon! God bless you!

My Personal BIG TEN of 2011

Last year, I’ve listed down my top 10 in 2010. And I liked it – remembering the best highlights of the year and having a look back on the things you’ve done the whole year gave me a good head start for the next year. So I’ve decided to do the same for this year (gusto ko sanang Top 11 for 2011… kaso pano kung forever ko na tong gagawin? Baka humaba ng humaba na upto my Top 50 for 2050. HAHA).

Again, another AWESOME YEAR has passed. It has been a year since I’ve encountered Him, and still He never ceases to move mountains for me, and always backs me up in every endeavor I take. He never fails. Never will.

  

1      10.   Back to Manila! At last! Touchdown Manila! After spending some time in Zamboanga, I then decided to come back to Manila. I missed everyone here, especially my parents and my troops in Batangas. I miss home. There really is no place like home. I can still remember the night before I leave Zamboanga when my whole KADAWEDS group blessed me with their prayers that I may continue searching for Christ and touch others’ lives as well. I will never ever forget what was tasked for me to do. I will continue carrying His name no matter where I go, and will never cease to proclaim His existence.

9.        9.    4 jobs for the year! HAHA. Seriously. Femace Enterprises. MacroAsia Airport Services. Phillipine Airlines. Skylogistics Philippines Incorporated. ANG BILIS NG PALITAN! HAHA. From being a nurse, to an Airport Staff. I never would have imagined that I’ll be a part of this industry. It was never included in my plans; it’s as if Zeus and friends came down from Olympus to help Theseus who’s about to face near death with **** (can’t remember the name of that monster) from the movie Immortals. What happened was totally God’s doing. Imagine, I was all good with what I have, working as a company nurse, and preparing for abroad for the next months. Unfortunately, AND fortunately though, it never turned out that way. I was told by my Tita to just pass my resume to this certain company and try my luck there. Soon enough, I got the job as a Customer Service Agent in MacroAsia, and went training under their company, only to find out that I was going to be deployed at Philippine Airlines. Then it never stopped there, after a few months, the company went Outsourcing all of a sudden, dissolving all of its regular employees. A lot of people were affected by this controversial move. Conspiracy theories emerged; strikes, boycotts, rallies were all over the place. A lot of passengers/customers were also dragged into this whole sordid business. I was made to believe that the change was inevitable. It just so happened that I was one of the few that were caught in the middle of it. I was then offered by the other company a job, and it was fair enough for me to accept it. Thus, I ended up working still here at Philippine Airlines but with a new set of bosses. From here, I can clearly see how God weaved all of the events for me to end up on the upper hand. Just like what the bible says, everything has its own time and season. His timing is always perfect. And I’m so much thankful for witnessing another of His epic works.

8.        8.   New House! I fasted for this one last year. I was given a sign that this thing will happen. Thanks to you Lord, you made my family happy. We didn’t have a huge house. It was good enough for a family of four. But it was old, and needed a serious overhauling. We had two choices back then – to have it repaired but would take a lot of money, or just sell the house and relocate. But Papabear didn’t want to leave Batangas; probably because my grandparents were our neighbors, and he felt like they still needed us. So we decided to just have our house renovated. However, we don’t have that enough money to push through the process so my parents thought of maybe postponing the renovation for a while. I was in Zamboanga back then, so I was not fully aware and only knew quite a bit of the details regarding the situation. When I knew about what was going to be their plan. I then decided to include our house in my Prayer and Fasting. Then Terris Lee, one of my friends in KADAWEDS, shared me the story of his humongous house. He told me, “It is a gift from God.” I said, “Whoa?! Really (thinking that I was experiencing the same situation back then)?!” Then his story continues… They never planned to build a huge house, but his mother had a strong faith with God, so she asked for a much bigger house for them. They don’t have that enough money. A couple of hundred thousand’s won’t give you a Mansion nowadays. But they never lost faith in Him. All throughout the building process, God never left them; He provided money with the help of Terris’s Tito’s and Tita’s. Now, they’re living at their dream house. With that, I was given a new hope.  A clear sign that God is telling me to pursue this house-renovation thing. So I decided to talk to my parents, and I was so touched by the message Papabear sent me:

“How are you son? Itinuloy na natin yung renovation, bahala na. Pag di nagkasya yun pera, edi uunti-untiin natin. Anyway, as what you’ve said, GOD is always there ready to help. Yun na plano mo ang sundin natin; pinaghirapan mo na yun kaya ipagawa na natin.”

Those words came from a man who seldom talks about God. A man who surrendered everything and let Christ do the job. Yung lang naman importante eh – to have faith in Christ and let Him do His thing. May 2011, the renovation of our house was already finished. And even until now, when I go home from work every weekend, I still couldn’t believe that we have a new house. Always saying, “Ang ganda, kaninong bahay toh?” LOL. God really is the ultimate provider… and much more awesome than Santa Claus.

WAAAA. Stop muna! I would love to continue with the rest of my list, but I have to report to work right now. HAHA. Until next time! Happy New Year! Enjoy the rest of the day!