First day of the year, first Sabbath of the month...aahh, the New Year has finally started to roll! Most of the people all over the world are doing fasting and prayer right now and while I am not sure if I will be able to get through the day without food, I decided to spend this afternoon, not just in prayer, but also meditating in His Word. While I am doing this, I would like to record some of the significant passages that have been an inspiration to me in the past and I know will always be a good reminder for me in my daily Christian walk.
"You are the people of God; he loved you and chose you for His own. So then, you must clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Be tolerant with one another and forgive one another whenever any of you has a complaint against someone else. You must forgive one another just as the Lord has forgiven you. And to all these qualities add love, which binds all things together in perfect unity. The peace that Christ gives is to guide you in the decisions you make; for it is to this peace that God has called you together in one body. And be thankful. Christ's message in all its richness must live in your hearts. Teach and instruct one another with all wisdom. Sing psalms, hymns, and sacred songs; sing to God with thanksgiving in your hearts. Everything you do or say, then, should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, as you give thanks through Him to God the Father." Col. 3: 12-17, TEV.
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as though you were working for the Lord and not for people. Remember that the Lord will give you as a reward what He has kept for His people. For Christ is the real Master you serve." Col. 3:23-24 TEV.
"My friends, consider yourselves fortunate when all kinds of trials come your way. for you know that when your faith succeeds in facing such trials, the result is the ability to endure. Make sure that your endurance carries you all the way without failing, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." James 1:2-4 TEV
"We may make our plans, but God has the last word. You may think everything you do is right, but the Lord judges your motives. Ask the Lord to bless your plans, and you will be successful in carrying them out." Prov. 16: 1-3 TEV.
As I begin this year, I want to start it with a positive outlook and total submission. Although I am pretty determined to make the first half of this year a continuation of the first five awesome months of the school year, the other half of the year is still blank and unplanned. I am hoping that as I begin planning for those months, I will be guided by the Holy Spirit and will continue to have that positive outlook. I may have to say goodbye to people at some point but, I am praying that I will have the courage to embrace the new beginnings ahead.
I know this year will bring new challenges for me...maybe even big changes. But as I ponder upon His blessings to me in the past and the way He has always been there for me, I know that I will be able to make it through each challenge, each change...if I will only allow Him to work in me and through me. I will make that as a daily, conscious effort on my part to entrust my life to Him and let Him take full control.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Remembering 2010...Looking forward to 2011
I have barely 2 hours until 2011 and before this year will end, I want to make my last entry in my record book. I remember starting 2010 full of hope -- hope for a better year. 2009 was a very tough year for me and I remember being on my knees begging God for a better year. I was struggling emotionally then. Things at the school were pretty tough and it seems as if problems came to us one after the other. It was like being out in the ocean during a storm and being hit by huge waves. I was trying to swim but could barely raise my head above the water to take a deep breath. But God did answer my prayers. 2010 became a start of positive things, not just for me, but also for the school. We were able to end the school year well despite the struggles we had on the first half of the year. It felt like being in a war, fighting, and winning the battle! I was a bit emotional after all the graduations. It was a tough year, but it made my relationship to God closer than ever.
The new school year started on a very positive note. I am grateful for a great group of people to work with this school year. Everything has just been pretty smooth. Our enrollment is picking up and so far, we have exceeded last year's records in several areas. We still have our financial struggles this year. But, amazingly, I have been pretty assured that if we got through last year's struggles, we definitely will be able to get through this school year's as well. I praise God that He always comes through whenever we need Him.
I had been complaining for some time not being able to celebrate my birthday to the fullest this year because it was the same day that all the new teachers came. So, the day before and the day of my birthday was spent preparing for their arrival. Usually, the new teachers came the day before or day after my birthday so I was able to really have that time for myself to celebrate or just relax. This year, which was supposed to be a significant year for me to celebrate, it was not as relaxing as before. So, I would usually joke about it with my housemates and blame them for it. Thinking about it more, I think God actually gave me one of the best gifts I have ever received this year. He gave me a group of people that have made me appreciate and enjoy life in Saipan again. People that, if this will be my last year in Saipan, I would actually love to end my year with. I don't have any reason to complain about not being able to celebrate my birthday. It has been an awesome five months so far...and I am looking forward to another awesome five more months ahead!
The new school year started on a very positive note. I am grateful for a great group of people to work with this school year. Everything has just been pretty smooth. Our enrollment is picking up and so far, we have exceeded last year's records in several areas. We still have our financial struggles this year. But, amazingly, I have been pretty assured that if we got through last year's struggles, we definitely will be able to get through this school year's as well. I praise God that He always comes through whenever we need Him.
I had been complaining for some time not being able to celebrate my birthday to the fullest this year because it was the same day that all the new teachers came. So, the day before and the day of my birthday was spent preparing for their arrival. Usually, the new teachers came the day before or day after my birthday so I was able to really have that time for myself to celebrate or just relax. This year, which was supposed to be a significant year for me to celebrate, it was not as relaxing as before. So, I would usually joke about it with my housemates and blame them for it. Thinking about it more, I think God actually gave me one of the best gifts I have ever received this year. He gave me a group of people that have made me appreciate and enjoy life in Saipan again. People that, if this will be my last year in Saipan, I would actually love to end my year with. I don't have any reason to complain about not being able to celebrate my birthday. It has been an awesome five months so far...and I am looking forward to another awesome five more months ahead!
Sunday, December 5, 2010
In The Spirit of Thanksgiving - Part 2
It has been over a week since Thanksgiving day and I haven't done any follow up post. Things have been hectic lately. I have planned to continue on with my theme from the last post and feature the next batch of people that have made a difference in my life but decided otherwise. I'll post that some other time. There are a lot of things that have happened lately that I am definitely thankful for and would want that to be the wrap up of my theme.
Thanksgiving Break this year started out with a beautiful, relaxing afternoon at the beach with Silvia. It was nice to have a break from all the rushing and stress over the Thanksgiving lunch at the school. The following days were spent feasting! A lot of eating! We had back to back celebrations that, by the end of the week, our fridges were full of leftovers from all the feasting that we had. Good thing we did some physical activities during the break by joining the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day and snorkeling during the weekend. The weekend was also exciting because we spent it camping at Managaha. The break seemed so short that by Sunday night, I didn't want to go back to work the following day. I knew that it will be one of the busiest weeks I will have because of my long list of things to do that week and the Hope Run that was coming up. I was thankful, though, that I spent those 5 1/2 days well and did not think of work. It was such a blessing! Thanks to these awesome people that made my Thanksgiving Break enjoyable!
Today, I am thankful again for the success of our 5K Hope Run fundraiser. It was my first time organizing an event that's open to the public so I was really worried about it. I am thankful that everything went well - we had good weather, good number of runners, good number of tickets sold and that everything went according to plan. I am also thankful for the support of the students, SA Officers, staff and most of all my awesome housemates & neighbor that have helped me a lot in the planning and setup. Here's some pictures of the event this morning courtesy of Ernie Lacorte and Tiffany Odiyar.
Thanksgiving Break this year started out with a beautiful, relaxing afternoon at the beach with Silvia. It was nice to have a break from all the rushing and stress over the Thanksgiving lunch at the school. The following days were spent feasting! A lot of eating! We had back to back celebrations that, by the end of the week, our fridges were full of leftovers from all the feasting that we had. Good thing we did some physical activities during the break by joining the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day and snorkeling during the weekend. The weekend was also exciting because we spent it camping at Managaha. The break seemed so short that by Sunday night, I didn't want to go back to work the following day. I knew that it will be one of the busiest weeks I will have because of my long list of things to do that week and the Hope Run that was coming up. I was thankful, though, that I spent those 5 1/2 days well and did not think of work. It was such a blessing! Thanks to these awesome people that made my Thanksgiving Break enjoyable!
Today, I am thankful again for the success of our 5K Hope Run fundraiser. It was my first time organizing an event that's open to the public so I was really worried about it. I am thankful that everything went well - we had good weather, good number of runners, good number of tickets sold and that everything went according to plan. I am also thankful for the support of the students, SA Officers, staff and most of all my awesome housemates & neighbor that have helped me a lot in the planning and setup. Here's some pictures of the event this morning courtesy of Ernie Lacorte and Tiffany Odiyar.
The Registration Table
At the starting line...
Ready to start..
The finish line...
Time for the raffle!
Waiting for their names to be called...
Thank you, God, for all the blessings, for the wonderful and supportive people you have surrounded me with and for the beautiful island that I am lucky to live on!
Saturday, November 20, 2010
In The Spirit of Thanksgiving - Part 1
This week, everyone here will be celebrating Thanksgiving. I never knew that it's supposed to be like a kickoff to the Christmas season until I came here in Saipan. My view of Thanksgiving have always been how Bacolod Adventist Medical Center celebrated it - lots of food from the different departments (mostly local delicacy) to celebrate the year's abundance, different speakers talking about the blessings they received that year, and everybody feasting on the food afterwards. Thinking of it now brings me back lots of childhood memories being a "hospital kid". It is what you call someone whose parent/s worked at the hospital, grew up playing at the hospital premises, and attending all hospital family functions.
Since I am away from all of that right now, I will dedicate this post to people that I am thankful to have in my life. There are several and some may not be included here, but I am thankful for all the people that have influenced me in big and small ways and have made me who I am today.
I am thankful for my family for all the support that they have given me throughout the years. Now that the family is growing, I am thankful that our bond is stronger and that, despite the distance, we still keep the communication lines open. It is always a joy coming home because all of them will take the time off to spend time with me. I am definitely blessed to have all of them!
She might probably kill me for choosing this picture among all the pictures in her Facebook but this picture is the closest on how I will always remember my childhood friend, Yeng Buhat-Galang - playful, will always pick on me but I will never have the strength to fight back or hate and never fails to make me laugh. I will forever be thankful to her for being practically like my second mom when we were growing up. Though I haven't seen her for 8 long years now, she will forever be a huge part of my life.
I am equally thankful for this highschool partner in crime, Maybelle Belican-Espulgar. Highschool memories wouldn't be fun-filled and enjoyable without my experiences with Yeng and Maybelle. I will forever cherish that.
These 3 sisters were a huge part of my college life - Myrel Joy Macawili-Martinez, Zernah Faith Macawili-Alekseenko, and Helen Macawili-Huynh. I think music was one of the main thing that brought us together. That, and the fact that we were roommates for the most part of my college life. I am thankful to have them in my life. My college memories have been meaningful and fun-filled because of them. I have also learned a lot from them. Thank you, Ate Mai, Ate Luv & Manang Helen! I will forever hold you dear to my heart.
I am thankful for this great study buddy in college, Helen Cheryll Tan-Ebreo. Without her encouragement and persistence in keeping me awake on those long exam nights, it would have been hard keeping that GPA! Thank you, Friend!
I am thankful to have known these two great people during my first professional experience in Manila. Thank you, Leilani Joy Aba-Jucaban and Myla Mia Lope-Del Rio. Whenever I look back on my life in Manila, you will always be remembered with great fondness. Thank you for being there in one of the toughest part of my life.
This is it for now. Part 2 will be posted in the next few days. I am happy to have a few days off this week and spend Thanksgiving break with my housemates. I am glad and looking forward to making great memories this year! Advance Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Since I am away from all of that right now, I will dedicate this post to people that I am thankful to have in my life. There are several and some may not be included here, but I am thankful for all the people that have influenced me in big and small ways and have made me who I am today.
I am thankful for my family for all the support that they have given me throughout the years. Now that the family is growing, I am thankful that our bond is stronger and that, despite the distance, we still keep the communication lines open. It is always a joy coming home because all of them will take the time off to spend time with me. I am definitely blessed to have all of them!
She might probably kill me for choosing this picture among all the pictures in her Facebook but this picture is the closest on how I will always remember my childhood friend, Yeng Buhat-Galang - playful, will always pick on me but I will never have the strength to fight back or hate and never fails to make me laugh. I will forever be thankful to her for being practically like my second mom when we were growing up. Though I haven't seen her for 8 long years now, she will forever be a huge part of my life.
I am equally thankful for this highschool partner in crime, Maybelle Belican-Espulgar. Highschool memories wouldn't be fun-filled and enjoyable without my experiences with Yeng and Maybelle. I will forever cherish that.
These 3 sisters were a huge part of my college life - Myrel Joy Macawili-Martinez, Zernah Faith Macawili-Alekseenko, and Helen Macawili-Huynh. I think music was one of the main thing that brought us together. That, and the fact that we were roommates for the most part of my college life. I am thankful to have them in my life. My college memories have been meaningful and fun-filled because of them. I have also learned a lot from them. Thank you, Ate Mai, Ate Luv & Manang Helen! I will forever hold you dear to my heart.
I am thankful for this great study buddy in college, Helen Cheryll Tan-Ebreo. Without her encouragement and persistence in keeping me awake on those long exam nights, it would have been hard keeping that GPA! Thank you, Friend!
I am thankful to have known these two great people during my first professional experience in Manila. Thank you, Leilani Joy Aba-Jucaban and Myla Mia Lope-Del Rio. Whenever I look back on my life in Manila, you will always be remembered with great fondness. Thank you for being there in one of the toughest part of my life.
This is it for now. Part 2 will be posted in the next few days. I am happy to have a few days off this week and spend Thanksgiving break with my housemates. I am glad and looking forward to making great memories this year! Advance Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Friday, November 19, 2010
The First Step
I can't remember how many times I've thought about starting a blog. I always had reasons at the back of my head why I probably won't. I guess all you need is to take that first step. So, here I am. I am finally taking the first step and starting this blog. I don't know how often I will be able to post, or if I will always be active. All I know is that I have so many thoughts recently that I just want to share. So, now, I am bravely taking the first step. I hope this will be a start of something great!
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