Thank You!

I have definitely been slacking this year on making blog posts and probably, 2012 will have the fewest entries since I started this blog over 2 years ago. Hopefully, I can make a couple more entries before this year ends.

Day after Thanksgiving, after all the feasting these past couple of days, I want to take a moment to thank the people who have been a great part of my life, especially this year. This is kind of a continuation of a Thanksgiving entry I made 2 years ago. :)

Of course, I will start off with my family. I wish my vacation this year was longer so I could have spent more time with them. Thank you for always making time to get together whenever I come home. This year's back to back feasting was truly memorable.

I am thankful for these 3 great friends for being a part of my life and for being there in every step of my journey this year. I know you guys know how much I value each of you. No need to say more. :) This 2011 vacation is definitely memorable and I am looking forward to our next vacation together!

This year, I am thankful for this group that I usually called "my people". This is one of the last group shots we have taken. Thank you for everything. You all have been very supportive in all the events I've organized this year & last year. We've had rough times throughout our journey last school year, but we've always managed to patch things up. I know, in time, we will be able to rise above our roughest time and dwell more on the great memories we have created. :)

I'm thankful for my church family. Not all of them are in this picture. I am glad I have great people who support me professionally, emotionally, and spiritually. And I'm thankful for game nights..so I can get to know them better. :)

There are so many other things to be thankful for and so many opportunities I will have in the remaining days of this year to get to know other people, especially those that just joined our school family this school year. I'm thankful that I have been blessed with family and friends who love me as I am. Thank you , Lord, for all Your richest blessings!

Happy Thanksgiving!!! ;)

Where to next, Lord? Take 2

I just looked through my blog entries and it's funny that I had almost the same post talking about almost the same thing with almost the same title as this current blog entry (posted in January 2011)! I just had to change the title a little bit and make this short introduction to comment on the similarity, but after this paragraph is the original entry I posted just a few minutes ago. :)

I just learned last night that Joeie and I were scheduled to sing for tomorrow's main service special music. So, tonight, I am cramming to learn this song we chose to sing tomorrow. As I was trying to familiarize myself with the lyrics, I realized the words are so powerful and it made me think of what I have been agonizing over this week.

Last Sunday, I have been trying to plan my life for next school year. I have been praying for a sign on what the Lord wants me to do next after my mission here in Saipan. I have been thinking of going back to school and finishing my Masters degree or taking the CPA board exams. But those two options lead to a more complicated set of sub-options. Taking the Masters degree involves picking a school in the Philippines or in another country or taking online classes. Plus, planning out the financial end: whether to stop working & finish faster or study while working and finish longer. Taking the CPA board exams involve also a choice between taking the Philippine exam or the US exam. It also involves planning out the financial end: which review materials to use,  start reviewing now while working or stop working next year and take review classes. The sub-choices can go on and on and get more complicated.

I have prayed for years now for a clear sign, but it seems like I haven't received any that I can definitely say, "This is what the Lord wants me to do next." I want to know and follow what His plan is for me. His answer, maybe, is beyond what I can see. But I know that he has something in store for me. I just have to keep on praying that He brightens my path so I can see clearly what He wants me to do and where he wants me to go.   

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Happy Sabbath friends! 

Grace

I just want to share this video that speaks of what is in my heart right now.  I am glad that I have a Father who  picks me up each time I fall, even if I have let Him down.

"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me." 2 Corinthians 12:9

To Be Like Jesus

Well, hello again, my recordbook! Last time I get to hang out here & made my last post was July of last year! Tsk Tsk! Pardon my laziness! So, I'm determined to make a new post tonight. My first for this year 2012!

Tonight, the choir practiced the song, "To Be Like Jesus" and my housemate, Sarai, loved the song & played it a couple of times when we got home. So, the lyrics of the song is kind of stuck in my mind right now.

To Be Like Jesus

words and music - Dick & Mel Tunney

A little boy is crying for affection.

A little girl needs a hand to hold.

And oh, how He loves those little children

How He longs to be a friend to young and old.

His tender Spirit welcomes all who seek Him.

His giving heart asks little in return.

And I have found His promises faithful.

I seek to live my life that I may learn…

To be like Jesus, To be like Jesus,

To be the one I was created to be.

To be like Jesus, To be like Jesus,

May all who see my heart find Him in me.

When I received His supreme salvation,

His Heavenly love fills my earthly soul.

And I became His new creation.

My brokenness He made completely whole.

And through the darkness of this world

I’ve been commissioned

To be a light that shines for Him alone.

Surrounded by His infinite mercy,

May my life always be known…

To be like Jesus, To be like Jesus,

To be the one I was created to be.

To be like Jesus, To be like Jesus,

My only earthly goals fulfilled

When I'm centered in His will.

May all who see my life find Him in me.

 It's actually a nice reminder and I think the message of the song made me re-evaluate myself. Am I a good example to the people around me? Am I a good friend, neighbor, or co-worker? I know I have my weaknesses and personal struggles, but I do want to be like Jesus. I want to strive to be a good example to the people around me. I want to have a "tender Spirit", a "giving heart", and "be a friend to young and old". I know I have to work on so many things to achieve that. But, I'm hoping that, in my own small way eventually, "may all who see my heart find Him in me."

"But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life." 1 Timothy 1:16

Happy Sabbath, everyone!