These Little Wonders

This  wordle   proves how the Lord has been working through the  little  and  big wonders  in my life. ♥ My life (blog) is all about these! GOD (LOVE) ♥ I started this blog when I was 25. In two month's time, I'll be 27 and it's sooooooooooooooooooo amazing to see these beautiful stats. :)  Not bad for a 2-year old blog. :D I've been blogging since 2006 but none of my previous blogs has ever reached this far. :D Not that I want to be a famous blogger, and I know I'm still far from being that, but these statistics are just affirmations of my passion and personal mission . :) I'm not really after the numbers nor the fame. My only prayer is that through this blog I am able to tell the world how great my God is and how deep His love is for us. :) Thank God because He has given me the grace to become a witness in my own little way. :)  More years of togetherness, days of learning about life and love, and moments...

My glimpse of heaven: Sagada ♥ The contemporaries of Jesus used the word Heaven  to signify God, because they would not pronounced his name. Jesus says likewise: Father in Heaven , meaning: God the Father. For us the limitless sky by day and by night is the image of a wonderful world where God is everything. In calling on our Father in Heaven, we do not mean that he is far or near, above or below, or inside. We only intend to raise our spirits to Him. We recognize that our words are not worthy, that our concerns are selfish and limited, when we compare them with the breadth of His thoughts and the generosity of His love. That we can address him and call him Father is not something natural, but a very special privilege. "My Father," says Jesus; also: "Your Father." For he is the only one, and we are adopted children, by the mercy of God who allowed us to be born again .  *Source: Christian Community Bible Catholic Pastoral Edition ♥ 1st of The Lord...

In John 15:14, Jesus said, "You are my friends if you do what I command you."  Friendship with Jesus has two requirements: love of God and love of neighbor . It doesn't seem like a lot to ask, does it? Yet, Scripture tells us that Jesus wasn't popular. Loving God and our neighbor requires that we turn the spotlight away from ourselves. That is possibly the hardest thing of all. Putting God and neighbor first involves humility. It also involves trust and a generous heart. These are all qualities of those who are friends of Jesus. We, too, are invited to be Jesus' friends. Accepting his invitation, we commit ourselves to daily growth in humility, trust, and generosity of heart. *Taken from  Loyola Press . With the recent calamity that hit the Philippines, the Filipino spirit of bayanihan is once again awaken. We are given another opportunity to serve and to show our love for God through our neighbor. Aside from prayer brigades, here's another way ...

*notes from the CO Weekend Talk 6 (Financial Stewardship) by Ate Gigi Alcala We live in a physical world. We are facing worldly lures. The good news is, we can be rich without losing our souls. God wants to protect us from financial bondage .  Financial bondage - being held captive or obsessed not only from the lack of money or overspending but also from an abundance of money or misunderstanding of why God has given us so much Everything belongs to the Lord. We possess, but God owns. God owns, we manage. It is God who enables us to acquire wealth. Why talk about money? God uses money to teach us to TRUST Him and to TEST and DEVELOP our character. Proverbs 3:9. "Honor the Lord with your wealth." Wealth is not exclusively for your benefit. Know how to use your possession to serve God. Malachi 3:10. "I will pour out on you in abundance all kinds of good things." Purpose of tithing: Financial support for the church Economic support for the ...

"Every detail of my life is a loving gesture from the Lord." And the third weekend of July was one affirmation of that. :)   It may have been already a month ago, but the memories of that beloved weekend are still vivid like they just happened last week. So here are the highlights and personal notes from my 6th Metro Manila Conference (MMC):  Friday, July 19 Session 1: Love Never Ending (Ace Lu) It was a very personal talk and the worship was so powerful that I really felt God embracing me, telling me how much He loves me. My favorite moment was when we were singing Oh I Love You. Oh I love You, Lord Oh I need you here Draw me closer to where You are I wanna be with You I was singing that line from the bottom of my (then bruised) heart. But God is so great that in the midst of tears, He allowed me to see an affirmation of His love. As if touched by an angel, I opened my eyes, looked up, and saw the lights form a heart on the ceiling. Sadly thou...

In one segment during last Friday's episode of Bubble Gang, a man (Mikael Daez) approached the genius hermit, Tata Lino (Michael V.) and asked if monthsaries are required to be celebrated. Tata Lino's wise words were: "Alam mo iho, kaya naimbento ang salitang monthsary  dahil maraming relasyon ang hindi umaabot sa anniversary ." (The term monthsary  was invented because many relationships don't even last for a year.) Sad but true. I can imagine Fr. Joel saying, "In the beginning, it was not so."  True love is forever. Relationships are meant to last. :)  For those who are married or are in a long-term relationship (skip #12), here are some of the best tips on how to take care of that beautiful gift God has blessed you with. These are addressed to men since it came from a divorced man's perspective, but I believe it takes two to tango, and so, the women must learn from these too. :) Source: Love Story From The Male Perspective ...

"We are human with a sinful nature. We are in need of God’s grace and love in our lives. Thankfully, God isn't like us. He never changes. He's never "out of character." Who He was yesterday is who He is today. He's gracious and loving and merciful. He won't shock us with an outburst contrary to His nature. He won't disappoint, and He won't dishearten." ~GodSpeaks Devotional

Single and still looking for love? Tired of waiting? Then maybe this is for you. :) Everyone longs to give himself/herself completely to someone to have a deep soul relationship with another – to be loved thoroughly and exclusively. But God to the Christian says: “No, not yet, not until you are satisfied and fulfilled and content with being loved  by Me alone, with giving yourself totally and unreservedly to Me – to have an  intensely personal and unique relationship with Me alone --- I love you, My child,  and until you discover that only in Me is your satisfaction to be found, you will not  be capable of the perfect human relationship that I have planned for you. You will  never be united with another until you are united with Me, exclusive of anyone or  anything else. Exclusive of any desires or longings. I want you to stop wishing, stop  planning, and allow Me to give you the most thrilling plan existing – one that you  cannot imagine. ...

During his homily in a KFC conference years ago, Fr. Gilles Blouin discussed the resemblance of Peter's story to our story of faith. In one Gospel, Peter professed his strong faith by telling Jesus, "To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." But not long after that profession, during the trial of Jesus, Peter denied his master. How can it be that Peter who had such a profession of faith suddenly denies Jesus? Because human as he is, he fails and is not consistent in faith. Just like us. When the storms of life rage or when we are faced with other life-threatening situations, we can sometimes be frail and filled with doubt, we tend to let go of the only hand that can keep us alive. But we just have to hold on tighter. Discipleship is not just about wanting and striving to follow Christ. It is knowing and believing that despite our weakness and unfaithfulness, our God remains faithful, merciful, and loving.  This is the faith that we decla...

For the first time in a long time, "bakante" ang Sunday ko!  Hooray! :) My weekends are usually full and in fact, I can no longer remember the last time I spent a Sunday as relaxed and laid back as this. You may call it "lazy" but I truly praise and thank the Lord for an extraordinary (and much-needed) day like this! I woke up at 10am, thank God for the looooooooooooooooooooooooooooong and restful sleep! Lawrence came over to bring Teddy (my laptop) home (I left it yesterday at the Cornerstone Orientation at San Lorenzo Ruiz Elementary School). He joined us for brunch while watching Happy Feet  on GMA! :D Mama left early to attend to her responsibilities in the parish. Yes, now that Papa is already going well, she can already go back to her service in the Ushers Ministry. :) Arnold left for work (yes, he's a very hardworking person - mana lang sa Ate :D) but we agreed to attend the 5PM mass at Rosario. After the mass, we had our early dinner at Jol...

Ever heard of the Diary of a Dog ? How about the Diary of a Cat ? Click here  to read. :) I first heard of them during the Beloved MMC in Subic. Thanks to Fr. Noel Nuguid who was so effective in delivering the humor and the lesson behind the two diaries. :) Today (and everyday), I choose to be a dog. And this is my diary:  5:00AM - Woke up due to severe back pains. Managed to sleep again. Thank You, Lord for the gift of sleep and rest. :) My favorite! 7:00AM - Woke up again due to intense back pains and difficulty in breathing. But was still able to get up and live the day. Thank You, Lord for the gift of life. :) My favorite! 8:00AM - Had champorado for breakfast. Took medicines afterwards. Thank You, Lord for the gift of food. :) My favorite! 9:00AM - Discussed a few things with my parents and readied myself for a long day. Thank You, Lord for the gift of family and home. :) My favorite! 10:00AM - Left the house and went to Dr. Mariano's clinic...

Today is my brother's 23rd birthday. That means I'll be 27 in a few months. But that's okay. I stopped counting at 25. :D  Today is also the 1st of August, the "love" month. :) Today, I got the result of Papa's 2D echo and it seemed good. I just need to confirm with Dr. Mariano tomorrow. :)  Today, two of my MV batchmates have moved to the next level - Pia got engaged, Kuya Rommel is finally in a relationship (with a very dear sister). :) Like what I posted on Facebook, we may be going through hard times, but no matter how difficult things may be, there will always be reasons to celebrate and be grateful. :)  For everything, I praise and thank You, Lord! ♥