He is jealous for me.

Rock and roll!



Grateful for Twenty-Ten

I was at my heaviest last year. Literally and metaphorically.

With every ounce of blessing I received from God, my weight seemed to have followed accordingly.

Last year, He blessed me with several opportunities to travel (and eat, needless to say), the chance to be part of a world conference with 18K+ attendees, the time and resources to join a missions trip, the honor to lead a growing group of young women striving for excellence, and the ability to complete a 10-month Bible and leadership training.

My plate has indeed been full of God's goodness and favor.
Here are a few pictures which would hopefully speak a thousand more words -

We kick-started the year off with a 7-day backpacking trip in 7 cities in 3 countries (Vietnam, Cambodia, & Thailand)

 You can read about our adventures there here and here.


Meanwhile, our ministry at Kids Church was in full swing ...

By midyear, we were having random beach trips to Malaysia (Tioman and Borneo)

 

I'm so blessed to have been a part of the Every Nation World Conference -

Our missions to Penang, Malaysia
This is one big highlight for the year, because I was reminded of my prayer last 2009 which was to be able to celebrate my birthday in an orphanage. The trip was even funded by my office mates!

In the midst of working full time, I'd find myself in a weekly leadership course trying to fight physical exhaustion. Now that I have graduated, it still seemed surreal that I was able to complete this. 

I used to think that I don't need to learn more about the Bible and God, because He is very personal. But I learned that living out Christianity may not have a formula, but the Truth is absolute. Whoever wants to be a leader must first learn what the truth is. And a true leader is characterized by his/her servant-leadership. True leadership is not at all about exercising authority and power; it is all about serving.


And definitely not the least - the greatest responsibility that God gave me this year is to minister to these beautiful ladies who are hungry for the real thing.

Truth be told, there were times when I would be thinking of throwing in the towel out of frustration. I used to feel that there was not enough level of commitment being given by the girls, but I learned later on that I was not really in control after all. God is. I know that God is and will be working in them even without me. We are all going through different stages with our faith, and I realized that I need to allow them to grow at their own pace. 

And being awesome as He is, God even made sure that there were icing and toppings on my cake, too. On top of the highlights of last year, there were some little, pleasant surprises that gave me more reasons to smile about - encouragement from people who matter, salary increase, material gifts which were in answer to a dilemma of whether to buy them or not, and unsolicited assurance from men that only strengthened my belief on how I am fearfully and wonderfully made (Go figure). ;-) God really do provide all our needs, and then some. :-)

But on a serious note, what I would consider the greatest-est blessing I have received is not actually pictured here. It can't be captured by any camera or be described with written words. The thing I'm most thankful for happened inside of me. I can't say it's love or growth or contentment - it is way more than those things. Perhaps it's a mixture of the learning experiences I underwent and the God-given grace that keeps on 'pruning' my character. I'm sorry I can't articulate this further; it's really beyond me.

But just the same, for all of these I am grateful.

I'd like to leave you with a song.

May this inspires us to believe even more...

It's now that I feel 

You're graceful like rain

From every fingertip...

Isabel's Painting

On my flight back to Singapore, I didn't expect that I would meet this cute and super sweet girl. Her name's Isabelle Villar and she was sitting beside me in the plane. I smiled at her and she smiled back, forming round bulges with her suntanned cheeks. I resumed my aimless task of solving a sudoku puzzle and she started filling up the embarkation card. I couldn't help but glance over her shoulders as she scribbled tiny letters. I told her, "Sweetie, you should write in block letters." To my surprise, she started drawing boxes around each letter! I laughed and told her that I meant capital letters. She then drew several lines over the words as if trying to erase them and asked for her mum to write for her instead.


After a while, she started telling me about their five dogs back in their house in Magallanes Village and how she has taken care of them. Suddenly, she unzipped her backpack and pulled out her sketchbook and began showing me her paintings. They were so beautiful, but what's more amazing was the fact that she's only 8! Then she took out a clear plastic that contained a couple of silver bling blings she just bought. I commented, "Yo! They're really nice, yo!" She began to whisper something to her mum so I looked out the window. After a while, she tapped my shoulder and offered me the other necklace! I was so surprised by the sweet gesture but I told her I couldn't possibly accept it. She was really persistent so I asked if I could have one of her paintings instead. She agreed, signed her name on it and gave me her Manila address asking me to visit her soon. Aaaaaawww....such a sweet sweet darling!....







I don't know but somehow I felt refreshed with that encounter. You see, while waiting for the plane to land, I was actually talking to God. I asked Him for strength and guidance as I continue my journey with a promise to let go of the past and give it my best shot this time. And He gave me Isaiah 43...."Do not be afraid...I have called you by name; you are Mine....because you are presious to Me...I love you..."





Geee!! He was telling me He loves me not just in words but through Isabelle! I was feeling down that time but having met her felt like my heart was being balmed. He was romancing me in ways that just left me awed. Thanks, Isabelle! Thanks, Dad!