Rise up, Arenda Church! :)

It was a very busy day.. And I'm glad that I spent it with my Majesty! :)

Isn't it worth it when you know that all your sweat, all your sacrifices, and all the money you spent are only for the glory of our King? Hehe I'm indeed a happy servant! :">

I love Sundays because they are filled with church-loving and people-bonding :)

We went to Arenda Church of the Nazarene (ACN) in the morning.

We have been going to their church for more than a year already.. I forgot exactly when we started going there. It started when one of my friends wanted to train ACN's worship team. They were teenagers like us. :) We shared to them the stuff we know in playing for the worship team.  We would go there on Sundays to teach them new songs. We did that for months. And now they're good. :D Time came when there were conflicts with the schedule, so we stopped going there to teach them music.. And Jopel and I thought of mentoring them. We had small groups, accountabilities and even doctrine teaching. However, this could be the last Sunday that we could go there.. Our schedule of going there on Sunday afternoons would now clash with the new schedule of TFCN's youth service (Generation Congregation is now at 4pm!) But no, it's not goodbye. God still has many things in store for these young people. We're here praying for them and supporting them in whichever way we can.

It was their First Year Anniversary! They were an independent church for that span of time. It was tough, but through the celebration earlier, we were reminded how faithful He is to His people! Praise God! :">

What would be our response to His faithfulness to the church and to our lives?

Let's Rise Up!

That's their anniversary's theme, along with their theme chapter Ezekiel 37. :)

Pastor Sam Tamayo was their speaker.

He shared stuff about Ezekiel 37:1-10.

1. Nothing is impossible when you have faith! (Ezekiel 37:3)
     Ezekiel saw hopelessness in the dry bones in the valley. However, he knew that there are many things that only God knows, even the possibility of the rebirth of these bones. He did not deny the possibility; Ezekiel may have thought that this could be possible by directing His faith to the Sovereign Lord.
     Likewise, we should put our faith in Jesus. Not in our dreams, not in our goals. Our faith should be that His Will be done! 

2. God Himself will give the grace and blessings we need to nurture our faith.     God does not rate our faith when He's showering His blessings. It's not like school, where you get what you deserve. When God sees the littlest faith in you, He will definitely move in that little one. He does not wait for you to become the greatest person on earth - He is the one that supplies you what you need to be the greatest you could become. :)
     He also gives us blessings little by little. He nurtures our faith little by little. Pastor Sam shared how He imagined the scene in the chapter.. The dry bones assembled, then joints and ligaments appear slowly. Muscle would slowly creep up the bones until it fully covers it. Looking like a zombie, skin slowly makes the figure more human. (Ezekiel 37:7-8) And God paused.. To let Ezekiel appreciate how God will give breath and life to these bodies.
     God blesses us little by little so we would always have something to anticipate! Miracles upon miracles. God Himself will be the one that fills our life with encouragements every time we're down. He also supplies whatever we need to grow deeper in faith. 

3. The Holy Spirit would lead us towards victory.     It is the end result that is most important. And when you have God on your side, you're sure to end up victorious. The realization of this does not depend on how you read your Bible.. It relies on how much you allow God to move in your situation. :)

The Church's response to God's call to rise up. I pray that their response would not be merely raising of hands. May these only be symbols to how they would choose to rise up for God from here on forward.. :) 

Loved this kid <3

Here's Joy. Kat's sister. We also got to talk. I will miss talking to her.. She's very transparent and I know that God has big plans for her. I got a peek of her heart and I am blessed! Her heart would surely bring her to great encounters with God. :)  

Here's Ate Donna.. We had funny kulitan! Hehe and she shared a little secret........ HAHA.

(Okay, sorry for saying something you won't relate at all. Hahaha) 

 I love eating with people - great way to bond. :) It makes you feel like you are family. No wonder why there were many important things in the Bible that happened on dinnertime. :D

Here's Jopel, my ministry buddy. We became close to each other not because of ligawan or texting or whatever. We became close because of our mutual love for God that we express through ministries like what we do here in Arenda. :) I praise God for this man's life. Our sincere friendship has definitely helped me grow in immense ways! :)

 This is Kat. We had a great talk after the service.. I want to get to talk to her more often :( In person.. What could be God's plan why He allowed the schedules to conflict? But she promised to update me on Facebook. I really love this girl. She's the sweetest :">

With the other girls.. Their lovely, aren't they? Nothing makes a woman lovelier than the joy she experiences from God!

If you read this and you feel like God's whispering to your ear to pray for these young people, please do so!

And yeah, by so doing, you're taking part in the great things God has in store for them. Let's wait and see how God would be using these teenagers mightily and powerfully! :)

Who are the people you are praying for? Who are those whom you encourage to be all out for our King?

❤❤Faye

Jesus loves the little children, do you too?

So things today did not go as planned, but somehow I thank God for that!

I had a great time with my nieces, as I became a baby-sitter for a day.

Not that I did everything all by myself, I was baby-sitter along with my mom..

But there were times I was actually alone with them :) (it was hard.. haha)

Whenever we are with kids, our tendency is to just enjoy their presence and play with them.

We laugh at their crazy antics! We laugh at their actions or sayings that they made to mimic the adults around them. :)

I remember the first time I heard my niece say, "Sapakin kaya kita dyan!"

It was sooo funny because you don't expect a three-year-old girl to say that, especially to someone older. I laughed so hard when I heard that! I can't help it!

I was sooo amused that I almost forgot to be Jesus's voice to this child who just threw an inappropriate  phrase. Maybe, mere laughing at her remark would affirm her thoughts that what she said was right.

However, what we usually forget when baby-sitting is that we should be a blessing to these children.

Little remarks we say, how we affirm their bad actions, how we neglect their good deeds, may have bigger impact on them than we think! When they start fighting with each other for a doll, how do you tell them that sharing is what pleases God and what makes their relationship the best thing they would imagine! :)

When we joke around about the bad things they do and make them feel as if it's okay, it has great impact.

When we tease our friends endlessly in front them, they are most likely to do that to their friends until they cry, and think that it's okay. Children look at us as the living examples of how they should act.. 

When we ignore their inquiries, letting go of the chances to explain to them stuff about Jesus, they could grow insecure and shy..

Why else do you think would 

I remember Nix saying earlier, "Di na kita love ate, kahit binigyan mo ko ng candy kanina.." I told her how Jesus loves His children no matter what they did to Him. And she asked endlessly, "Kahit na hindi siya nagshe-share? Kahit na inaaway niya ko? Dapat love ko pa rin siya?" When I told her yes, she immediately went to her sister's side and played again. It really touched my heart how receptive to God's Word these children are! That's why we should grab the chance to use our interactions with them to tell them about the truth of Jesus's love :D

You never know. The child in front of you could be the future generation's Paul, Deborah, Moses or Mary! :)

"Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.' "
- Matthew 19:14

Dapat wag natin ipagkait sa kanila ang pagkakataon na malaman na may Diyos na lagi silang sinasamahan, binabantayan, minamahal. :)

How are you as a kuya, ate, tita, tito, mommy or daddy to the precious little children you interact with everyday? Would they look back at their childhood and remember you as a blessing?

❤❤Faye

Fertile Ground to Learn to Love

Photo grabbed here. 

Have you ever felt like you are the lead actress of your very own teleserye?

You are sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall, your face covered with tears. Tears fall uncontrollably as you remember the hurts and pains. "Why should life choose me as its own punching bag?" You ask yourself, staring blankly at the silent surrounding that seems to understand exactly how you feel but does not know what it can do about it..

In the kind of world we live in, it would not be surprising to me if one of you tell me your personal story and  make it seem like I am watching Maalaala Mo Kaya. Everyone has a share of brokenness. We all know how it feels to be broken, we just encounter it in different ways..

It could be your boyfriend you trusted with everything you have but still chose to leave you for another.
It could be your health deteriorating that makes you unrelentingly ask, "Lord, why me?"
It could be your endless financial problems that always see to it that money puts your family's bond on the line..
We all know what it feels broken.

When we experience brokenness, our tendency is to raise our guard even higher, all out of fear.
We fear thinking of the reality we're in, horrified that hope for change could be mere foolishness.
We fear to enter new relationships with other people, terrified that abandonment could happen again.
We become a little too careful about everything we do - from mere walking on the sidewalk to beginning new friendships with people. Remember Kelly Clarkson's song, Because of You?
After being broken, we are filled with fear. We all do not want more heartaches! We think that we already had enough..

Do you think that's the response that our King Jesus teaches us?

Nah.. I don't think so.

No one can ever say to Jesus that He never suffered. He did! In fact, He suffered worst than any of us. Jesus experienced not just physical pain from the cross, He also experienced emotional, mental and other kinds of pain people experience.

But in His last hours of suffering, He uttered the most unexpected thing:
"Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."

(Luke 23:34)

In the midst of shame and suffering, Jesus loved.

Here's something we all have to realize about brokenness.
Pain and suffering make us understand more how our brothers and sisters also suffer. When we are hurt, we realize something that all the people in this fallen world share. We all share brokenness.
Amidst all your suffering, you realize how much a broken heart yearns for a hand to hold!
Your brokenness makes you relate to others in a more personal way. The excruciating hurt pushes you to make stronger connections with others.. Kapit-bisig, like how Maya would call it. (Be Careful with My Heart, hahaha)
In the middle of all the things you are going through, you learn how to love like how Jesus loves.

As you experience a deeper brokenness with a heart listening to what God to say, and with hands ready to do anything the King commands, you would learn that..
"Personal pain is fertile ground to learn to love."
- Pastor Rudy Rasmus

Someone who grew up in a broken family would know the needs of a friend whose parents just got divorced.
A girl who experienced being left by her boyfriend would know how to be a friend to girls who experienced what she did..
A rape survivor would know how to comfort a rape victim.
A broken person would know how to love another broken person.
As you hold hands to face the bitter realities of this fallen world, you would see God's healing coming through the love you share! :')

How does this apply to you? How did your own brokenness teach you to love specific people around you?

❤❤Faye

Seek God First

Seek God first. (Matthew 6:33)

You think this line goes only when you are anticipating food and clothing provision?

Nah, I think this one's true in every aspect of our lives.

Even in modesty.

Your covered body is not as righteous as you think if it isn't done with the right heart.

Did you know that being strict on the way you carry your modesty, also has the biggest temptation to be self-righteous? That's why, being modesty pledgers, we have to check ourselves regularly.

Just let God transform your heart as He transforms your wardrobe! :)

How do you know that your modesty is rooted on self-centeredness?

1. You think so highly of yourself because you're the most modest person you know.
2. Others, especially Christian women, are constant objects of your judgmental eyes.
3. It's hard for you to change ways when God rebukes you.
4. You find yourself always justifying your attire before stopping to think and really evaluate it with God's eyes.
5. You long for others to notice and give you complements for being modest!

Modesty could be a front of attention-seekers. However, it is also possible that you unconsciously do it for yourself and not for God. That's why we always need to have our motives checked by the One who really knows what's going on ;)

True modesty is not the drawing of attention to yourself. No matter how you cute you think your skirt is, or your necklace, know that modesty is not all about fishing for complements! Don't expect everyone to greet you with a.. "Oh, you're so modest."  'Cause you might just get discouraged and stop trying hard to be modest just because you think no one notices..

What I realize is, your journey towards modesty is something intimately between you and God. :)

And once you recognize that only His grace enables us to be modest, you'd learn true modesty. Modesty that aims only to give glory to the King, whose hands created everything beautiful! :)

Here are characteristics of the kind of modesty God approves of:

1. It's main and only purpose is to give God the glory!
2. It is practiced without anticipation of praises of men.
3. It is done to promote purity, above all else.
4. It makes one humble enough to accept rebukes and corrections.
5. It teaches one to consider others above herself. :) (immodest clothing can be a stumbling block not only to men struggling with lust, but also to women who look up to you)

 Indeed, modesty is a matter of the heart. It is not a list of dos and donts (although, you can make a list for yourself, like what I did, according to your convictions). Rather, modesty is the shifting others' attention from yourself to your God!

True modesty is driven by the desire that people would see Jesus in you and not yourself, your beauty, your fashion style or whatever. :) Seek God first, and more modest fashion choices and a God-centered heart will follow.

After all, God's looks at your heart.

Your beauty should be of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.

1 Peter 3:3-4 

Sorry for the wrong focus.. Mehehe. 

I liked the collared shirt I wore inside because it covered what I wanted to be covered. :P

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This is one of my take on how to make Meaningful Statement shirts less boring. Of course, when your shirt is worn in a fresh way, more people would be compelled to read the statement on it. :P

It was a Sunday full of girl-lovin'! :)

Our CG had lots of fun talking about how God gives New Beginnings ;)

I thought we were going to be complete that night because I wanted to celebrate my birthday with them :(

Had lotsa girl talk with Kir and Nica at Mcdonalds' Parola :)

Have you checked your heart lately? For whom is it beating for?
Let everything you do be centered on God! :D

❤❤Faye