Of Gratitude and New Beginnings ♥

You have given it all to me. To You, Lord, I return it. Everything is Yours; do with it what You will. Give me only Your love and grace. That is enough for me.

-St. Ignatius of Loyola

Today is St. Ignatius of Loyola's Feast Day. And today, I remember all the things that the Lord has given me. :)

July is the new January! At least that's what I felt about the beginning of the 3rd quarter. God made all things NEW for me.

I welcomed the month with a new group (Paolo's badminton family) in a somewhat new place (because we took a route I haven't taken before) with new experiences (especially the Lumiang-Sumaguing Cave Connection).

I made a big career change and found myself working in a totally different environment. But I'm loving every part of it, minus the daily commute.

I met new friends and new mentors. I'm so grateful for my boss who took a chance on me and who has been so appreciative even of my little accomplishments.

I began attending The Feast again! Yay! I was actually part of the original group back in Prestige, but I was MIA for many years because I transferred work locations. Now, I'm back. And my Mondays (like today) are Feast Ortigas days!

I met new priests who were immediately added to my "favorite priests" list because they give the most insightful homilies. I really thank the Lord for allowing me to still attend masses, now at EDSA Shrine. Plus I get to pray the Novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help every Wednesday, also at the Shrine. Mama Mary is still holding me by the hand and leading me closer and closer to her Son. :)

I'm also beginning to get back on track - financially and physically. I know I'm on my way to health and wellness. Konting push na lang. :D

And the list goes on. I may not be able to enumerate everything here, but I thank the Lord for each of them, big and small, grand and simple.

I owe everything to God who is so gracious, so loving, so forgiving, so understanding, so patient, so kind, so wonderful!

I still feel at times that I'm unworthy and that I don't deserve His great love, but as what one priest said, our God is a God of "even ifs."

He loves us still even if we are sinners.

He blesses us abundantly even if we don't deserve it.

He remains faithful even if we are unfaithful.

With a God like Him, what more can we ask for?

And what's even more beautiful is, I know this is just the start.

Better things await those who continue to hope and trust. And I still believe that the best is yet to come. ♥

I look back and say, THANK YOU LORD! :)

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Understanding Lupang Hinirang

Every Filipino knows Lupang Hinirang (though some know it better as " Bayang Magiliw "). How can you not know it when it is the national anthem of the Philippines? But do we really mean the lyrics that we sing? Do we understand it in the first place? Photo Credit: http://diazi.ism-online.org This video has gone viral weeks ago. This afternoon, I shared it to my teammates, and one commented, "Yun pala yun . Ngayon ko lang naintindihan." He immediately downloaded it and converted to MP3. So for those who have not seen it, once again, here is Joey Ayala's version of Lupang Hinirang. And I agree, you would never want to sing it in another way. (But that's just me. :D) This rendition is simply beautiful. Truly Filipino. :) Of course that doesn't mean we need to revise our national anthem but maybe we can consider about correcting the way we sing it (read: proper pronunciation). Read more about the Philippine National Anthem here .

Jesus Week 2015: A Time To HEAL ♥

I had the best, most meaningful HOLY WEEK ever, so far (the best is yet to come!). :) Thanks to Joy who shared the Jesus Week poster on Facebook. It was God's personal invitation, and I couldn't thank Him enough for the grace that He also gave me to respond. Everything is grace. It was not just my personal decision to join. It was God's grace that allowed me to. So how did it go? Well, as what I have told my friends, it was amazingly beautiful! The experience was priceless! On Holy Monday, I posted Fr. Jerry Orbos' acronym for HOLY WEEK . I experienced all of that and more! :) I won't be able to share everything as there is just a lot of personal, intimate encounters with the Lord. But if I were to summarize, it was a time for me to HEAL. :) H alt . Indeed, I was able to stop and just rest in the Lord. Before leaving Manila, I have already told myself that this retreat will be all about Jesus ( Jesus Week nga e :D ). No emails, no texts, no calls. I

Thank You, Lord! :)

It has been a long and stressful day (the past three days have been lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng and stressssssssssssssssssssssssssssssful), but You are just so amazing, Lord that I couldn't sleep without telling You how grateful I am. :) Thank You, Lord for the miracle that You did yesterday. Break even and more. :) Thank You, Lord for the laughter and stories shared during the post-mission meeting with Team Thailand. :) Team Thailand - Princesses from SFC Metro Manila :) Thank You, Lord for Lawrence. He is just the (almost) perfect man. He has his flaws, but they are acceptable; he makes mistakes, but they are all forgivable. There are a lot of men but there can never be anyone else. He's really the one. And You know it very well. :) ♥ Nemo. Love. ♥ Thank You, Lord for giving me strength and endurance each day. :) Thank You, Lord for the short but restful sleeps. :) Thank You, Lord for every waking moment and every opportunity that You give

The Holy Spirit*

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Interesting Facts Courtesy of Celebrity Bluff :)

I was writing a different post, but Celebrity Bluff is just so fun and informative, I had to stop from blogging to list down the fun facts that I learn from each round. :) Thought it would be nice to share them here as well. For future reference. :D Q: In 2012, what kind of animal was named after Beyonce? A: Horse Fly Q: What rare job in China will pay you US$50,000 a year? A: Fart Smeller Q: What alcoholic drink literally means "water of life"? A: Whisky Q: In which part of the body can you find the tragus? A: Ear Q: According to Merriam-Webster, what is the female equivalent of dude? A: Dudine Q: What is longer in the male turtles than in the females? A: Nails And the final question is... Q: According to Box Office Mojo what are the top four (4) movies of 2013 according to global profit? A: (1) Iron Man 3, (2) Despicable Me 2, (3) Fast and the Furious 6 (4) The Hunger Games: Catching Fire That's all

These Little Wonders

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