These Little Wonders

"You yourself are no longer a slave but a son or daughter, and yours is the inheritance by God's grace."  (Galatians 4:7) Christianity is freedom from slavery and gaining authority to be called children of God through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. :) Image Source: www.calvarywilliamsport.com *STEP is a personal project of someone who is in the midst of a great spiritual battle. Fight with her. Pray for her. :)

"We ourselves were once foolish, disobedient and misled. We were slaves of our desires, seeking pleasures of every kind. We lived in malice and envy, hateful and hating each other. But God our Savior revealed His eminent goodness and love for humankind and saved us, not because of good deeds we may have done but for the sake of His own mercy, to the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit poured over us through Christ Jesus our Savior, so that having been justified of His grace we should become heirs in hope of eternal life." (Titus 3:3-7) Christianity is a relationship initiated by God, out of His mercy and love for us. It is about a God who constantly reaches out to us, forgives us, embraces us, and eternally loves us despite our sinfulness and unfaithfulness. Truly an amazing grace. :) *STEP is a personal project of someone who is in the midst of a great spiritual battle. Fight with her. Pray for her. :)

"I am the resurrection; whoever believes in Me, though he die, shall live. Whoever lives and believes in Me will never die." (John 11:25-26) Jesus is not just the vine, the bread of life, the good shepherd, the way, and the truth. He is the resurrection and life. Unless we believe and live in Him, we will never experience the fullness of life. Choose life, choose Jesus! :) *STEP is a personal project of someone who is in the midst of a great spiritual battle. Fight with her. Pray for her. :)

"If I were to praise myself, it would count for nothing. But he who gives glory to me is the Father, the very one you claim as your God." (John 8:54) Jesus never sought the approval and praises of people, nor did He commend Himself for His great works. Instead of boasting who He really is, He let His actions speak of His true nature. Human applause and recognition is nothing compared to the glory that God will give to the humble, faithful servants who strive to do what is pleasing to His sight. Great reward awaits the one who does the will of the Father. :) Image Source: http://eisakouo.com *STEP is a personal project of someone who is in the midst of a great spiritual battle. Fight with her. Pray for her. :)

When Jesus saw the faith of these people, He said to the paralytic, "My son, your sins are forgiven."  (Jesus forgives and cures a paralytic; Mark 2:5-12) Happy is the man who is assure of his pardon through the glance and the words of Jesus! God is He who lives and loves and we need to meet Him so that forgiveness can be authentic. Because of this, God had to become human - Jesus forgives sins because He is a son of man and from Him we receive the pardon both of God and of people within the Christian community. :) *STEP is a personal project of someone who is in the midst of a great spiritual battle. Fight with her. Pray for her. :)

"Truly I assure you, the Son cannot do anything by Himself, but only what he sees the Father do. And whatever He does, the Son also does. The Father loves the Son and shows Him everything He does; and He will show you even greater things than these, so that you will be amazed." (John 5: 19-20) Jesus lived and died through and for the Father. Everything was according to the will of the Father because He and the Father are one. We too can be one with the Father and the Son if we follow the example of Jesus - humble obedience and total submission to the will of the Father. We obey and then we witness overwhelming wonders from our great, big God. :) *STEP is a personal project of someone who is in the midst of a great spiritual battle. Fight with her. Pray for her. :)

"I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." (John 14:6) Jesus became human precisely so that we might see the Father in Him. He followed His way, so disconcerting for us, so that, meditating on His actions, we would progress towards the truth. Although in the beginning we may not understand Him well, with time, we will discover the Lord and understand that His way is ours. Passing through the cross and death, we will achieve our own truth and arrive at life. :) *STEP is a personal project of someone who is in the midst of a great spiritual battle. Fight with her. Pray for her. :)

"I am the Good Shepherd. I know My own and My own know Me, as the Father knows Me and I know the Father. Because of this, I give My life for My sheep." (John 10:14-15) We cannot love someone we do not know. And we will only be able to give our life to someone we know well enough, someone we love so much. Just like Jesus, the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for us, His beloved sheep, we are also called to be shepherds to one another. Because it is only in the process of knowing, loving and serving others that we can truly know, love, and serve our God. :) *STEP is a personal project of someone who is in the midst of a great spiritual battle. Fight with her. Pray for her. :)

"I am the bread of life; whoever comes to Me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in Me shall never thirst." (John 6:35) The world will never be able to satisfy our every need because we were not created for it. As St. Augustine said, "You have made us for Yourself, o Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You."  Stop looking for love, peace, hope, and joy in the wrong places. They can only be found in God who is the ultimate source of everything. As a song goes, "all our hunger Sacred Bread will fill." Only in Jesus can we be complete. Only God can satisfy. :) *STEP is a personal project of someone who is in the midst of a great spiritual battle. Fight with her. Pray for her. :)

Jesus is my savior. Jesus is my superhero. Jesus is my super (insert noun here - friend, brother, companion, etc.) Jesus is my life. Jesus is my everything. Jesus of yesterday  is the source of our joy , our friend , our teacher , our master . Jesus of today  is not only concerned for you but for the common good . Jesus of the future  is the source of enthusiasm  for us to keep going.  It is useless to argue or even to prove that Jesus is God. That is already a fact. And to him who believes, no explanation is needed, but to him who does not believe, no explanation is sufficient.  God uses all our experiences to reveal Himself to us. Jesus' title in your life will depend on your personal encounter with Him. When you say He is your best friend, own Him as your best friend. Do not rely on His many other titles, instead, compose His title within yourself. No other person can ever tell you who Jesus Christ is in your life, only you k...

"You are saved if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart you believe that God raised Him from the dead. By believing from the heart, you obtain true righteousness; by confessing the faith with your lips you are saved." (Romans 10:9-10) We know that there is a God who loves, forgives, strengthens, and empowers us. We believe because we have experienced His unconditional, eternal, pure love through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and  we have felt His presence and witnessed His greatness even in the ordinariness of our daily lives. That knowledge and belief are the very foundations of our Christian faith - faith that we ought to share especially to those who need it most. Something so great and wonderful can never stop with us, we must keep it going until it reaches the ends of the earth so that everyone will  know, believe, and proclaim GOD who is also LOVE ! :) *STEP is a personal project of someone who is in the midst of ...

"God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him may not be lost, but may have eternal life. God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world; instead through Him the world is to be saved." (John 3:16-17) God knows it's not enough to say "I LOVE YOU" because love is meant to be expressed not with mere words but with concrete action. Thus, He did the greatest act of loving through Jesus who laid down His life for our salvation. No other love story can be greater than this, that sinners as we are, God still choose to save and not to condemn us, He still believed we are worthy of His Son's blood. God knows we can never love Him as much as He loved us, all that He asks of us is to BELIEVE.  :) *STEP is a personal project of someone who is in the midst of a great spiritual battle. Fight with her. Pray for her. :)

"For in Christ we obtain freedom, sealed by His blood, and have the forgiveness of sins. In this appears the greatness of His grace, which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and understanding, God has made known to us His mysterious design, in accordance with His loving-kindness in Christ. In Him and under Him God wanted to unite, when the fullness of time had come, everything in heaven and on earth." (Ephesians 1:7-10) The Father loves us so much that even if we greatly sinned against Him, though we were the ones who have gone astray, He still made a way for us to be united with Him. It was by God's grace through Christ's passion and death that we were freed from the bondage of sin and saved from eternal damnation. God's will is for us to spend eternity with Him, and in His perfect time, we will all be brought home, back into the arms of the Father who so long waited for us. :) Source:  http://myhopebox.wordpress.com Source:  http://biblicalproof.wo...

"Live in Me as I live in you. The branch cannot bear fruit by itself but has to remain part of the vine; so neither can you, if you don't remain in Me. I am the vine and you are the branches. As long as you remain in Me and I in you, you bear much fruit; but apart from Me, you can do nothing." (John 15:4-5) Jesus died that we may live. And there's no other way for us to live but to remain in Him. We are living in a tormented world full of hate, violence, injustice, and indifference; as Pope Francis calls it, a world that misses God . But it is the same world that sees our joy, witnesses our peace, and experiences our love , only if we remain in Christ who is the ultimate source of these. We are children of the Light, loved by the Father, saved by the Son, guided by the Holy Spirit. Apart from God, we are nothing. But in Him, through Him, with Him, we live and bear much fruit. :) Source:  http://mosaicneo.com *STEP is a personal project of someone who is i...

"For I know what My plans for you are, plans to save you and not to harm you, plans to give you a future and to give you hope." (Jeremiah 29:11) Never doubt God's plan. Our plans may not always be aligned with His, we may never understand His will, but we have the assurance that all things works for our good because we are the children of the Almighty, ever-living, all-powerful God who redeems, loves, forgives, heals, provides, and gives hope. :) *STEP is a personal project of someone who is in the midst of a great spiritual battle. Fight with her. Pray for her. :)

"I, Yahweh, your God, teach you what is best for you; I lead you in the way that you must go. Had you paid attention to My commandments, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea. Your descendants would have been like the sand, and those born of your stock like its grains, their names never cut off nor blotted out from My presence." (Isaiah 48:17-19) Obedience unlocks wondrous blessings and surprises. Sometimes we fear what lies ahead, but we just have to trust and be confident that the will of God will not take us where His grace cannot keep us . We only need to say YES to the Father who deeply loves us and allow Him to work miracles in our lives. :) Source:  http://eaglesinleadership.org/ *STEP is a personal project of someone who is in the midst of a great spiritual battle. Fight with her. Pray for her. :)

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, My ways are not your ways, says Yahweh. For as the heavens are above the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts above your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8-9) When we get frustrated with life because things don't go our way, let us remember that God's plan is always better than ours. He knows what is best for us because He created us. Every detail of our life is a loving gesture from Him. :) *STEP is a personal project of someone who is in the midst of a great spiritual battle. Fight with her. Pray for her. :)

God's love is the everyday protection from harm and danger . God's love is the people you least expected to care but are more than willing to share .  God's love is the answer to a persistent prayer . God's love is the realization that you are provided with the basic necessities in life, sometimes even more .  God's love is the assurance that no matter how difficult your problems may be, you are never alone . God's love is the thing that keeps you going, gives you hope, and inspires you to live a life of service . God's love saves , nourishes , nurtures , heals , empowers , sustains , moves , and transforms .  It is because of God's love that we are alive. Let it be because of God's love that we live.  There is serious disorder in the world today and we do not deny the fact that evil does exist. We may be in despair, but let us be assured of one thing: God loves us! For Reassurance in Times of Desperation God spoke ...

April 13 marks our 32nd month together and Lolo's 12th death anniversary. Yes, it has been that long but I still miss him, and I can still feel the pain as if it was just yesterday. It was a very long day for me and Lawrence. It started with a long journey to Marilao, Bulacan for the SFC West A2 Christian Character Weekend. I was invited to give the session on courage which I truly believe is exactly what I need these days. During my talk I shared about the significance of Friday the 13th in my life. It was in April 13, 2001 (Good Friday, Friday the 13th) when I lost my first love - my Lolo. It was also Friday the 13th (August 13, 2010) when I finally mustered the courage to welcome love again. And it has been 32 months of love, friendship, service, and learning. :) Lolo Amen: My inspiration, my hero, my first love. ♥ After the session, we headed back to Manila for our other engagements. I went to Megamall first to do some personal errands then to San Lorenzo, Tay...

A young couple is getting married soon and being the "ate" in the chapter, they asked for my assistance since they don't have an idea where to start. These are the moments when you are forced to learn something not for yourself but for others. While there are a lot of readily available information found in the internet, I wanted to be sure. And so I went to the office of  Our Lady of Light Parish  in Cainta (where they initially want to get married). The first thing I asked was the availability of schedule. I was informed of the available dates and times and was asked if I already have the required documents. He then gave me this sheet of paper which contains everything that needs to be prepared before the wedding date. He assumed I was the bride. I politely told him that I'm just doing a favor for a friend. :) And because every time I log in to Facebook, I see people getting engaged and changing their relationship status (my News Food is so full of love, re...

Nothing is greater than these. :)  He died that we may live. ♥ Let's live ultimately  for Him! :)

I was eating alone in some fastfood when an officemate approached me and asked "Mag-isa ka lang? May hinihintay ka?"  I smiled and answered, "Wala."   Then I've come to realize that indeed, I am waiting...  waiting for the answers to my prayers,  waiting for my dreams to come true, waiting for promises to be fulfilled, waiting for forever to begin soon, waiting for God to surprise me in a major way! (alam na Niya yun :D) Waiting for a promo fare so that I can go back to this awesome place. :) I am waiting on God, waiting for God. Though there are times when I feel I've been waiting for too long, I will never give up on God, because in the first place, He has never given up on me. :) I will continue to wait, to hope and to trust because as God said (and I know He will never lie):  He makes all things beautiful in His time. ♥

The first eight days of April were truly AMAZING! Easter is not just a fulfillment of a promise, but is also a symbol of new hope and new life, of new beginnings. :)  Day 1. First ever Cluster 4 household. :)  New service. New brothers and sisters. JM & Aiza G. - cluster leaders RM & Kaye - EA4A (Cainta) chapter leaders Mel & Aiza N. - EA4B (Kabisig) chapter leaders JB & Lyn - EA4C (Riverside) chapter leaders Day 2. Kabisig Chapter Assembly. :)  New chapter leaders. New spirit. Day 3. Sector PFO Meeting. :)  New plans. New strategies. EA PFO Team: Racell, Lawrence, Aiza :) Day 4. Sisters Household. :)  New topic. New roles. Day 5. YFC ILC Day 1 - Liveloud. :)  New year (for YFC). New experience (the Kabisig bros were part of the competitions team and it's my first time to attend Liveloud with them). Day 6. CLP Talk 3 at Pinagsama, Taguig. :)  New buddy (Kuya Ian). New ideas.  ...