A Christmas Rant

I do not understand men.

Just when you think you’ve finally figured them out a little, a man goes and does something totally unpredictable.

Merry Christmas to all!

From my family to yours,

a BLESSED and MEANINGFUL Christmas to you!

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
John 10:10

2nd Avenue is my favorite street

Was in a meeting this morning with the great people from Solar Entertainment about possible tie-ups for the coming year and I told them how much I adore 2nd Avenue.

I LOVE 2nd Avenue. Let me enumerate the reasons:

1. Jeopardy: I am a trivia junkie. I think it’s the input theme showing here. I love learning about new things and I get supreme satisfaction when I correctly say “Who is John Quincy Adams?” even faster than the contestants.

2. The Insider: I love entertainment shows, especially un-trashy ones. The Insider and Entertainment Tonight happen to be my favorites. However, I am going to say that I am quite fascinated with TMZ.

3. The Ellen Degeneres Show: She is smart, quick, funny, and entertaining. No pathetic moments here. Just good, light fun. Just the way I like it. I do still enjoy Oprah when the topic is good but with Ellen, it doesn’t matter who’s on the show, I’m sure to enjoy any episode with Ellen in it.

4. The Today Show: If I were to live in the US and I had the chance to work in television, I would want to work in The Today Show. This is my favorite morning show. Love it.

I have yet to get the chance to watch Mad Men but it seems very interesting and it’s also airing in 2nd Avenue. So are Saving Grace, Nip/Tuck, Lipstick Jungle, House, and Top Chef 3.

2nd Avenue can now be seen on Sky Channel 19, Destiny Channel 31, Dream Channel 36 and Cable link Channel 46.

Daddy is Santa??!

I was always creeped out by the Christmas song “I Saw Mama Kissing Santa Clause.” Santa is supposed to be St. Nicholas and a saint does not go around kissing someone else’s wife!

As I was searching for bloggers I can send free magazines to, I came upon this blog. I can’t believe it was Daddy kissing Mommy after all!

Please don’t tell me you guys knew all along that Santa was Daddy!

Pumped up about Women's Health Philippines

I am so excited about the magazine we’re launching next year - WOMEN’S HEALTH!

I was always a fan of the magazine SHAPE, but ever since I started reading our local Men’s Health, I’ve looked forward to the coming of our own local Women’s Health. Men’s Health is chock-full of health and fitness tips, which I love to read. So I’m sure I will love Women’s Health even more because now the tips are going to be specifically for women.

Hmm.. I wonder who they’ll get as the first WH Philippines cover girl… Any suggestions?

My Twilight Date

I took my 12-year old sister to see Twilight today.

As I watched her get all giddy upon seeing Edward Cullen on the big screen, I can’t help but feel a little fear that my baby girl is growing up so fast, too fast.

She already has her period, cannot be told what to wear, and now has to face the complications of trying to belong in school.

I remember I had problems with some girls in school when I was her age, but I don’t think it’s as bad as what she’s having to experience now — some girl calling her a b*tch, telling her that nobody likes her. Some psycho kid who pretends someone “hacked” into her YM account and that she’s not really the one YM-ing my sister all these awful things.

I know I’m not supposed to get involved but I want to wring the psycho girl’s neck.

How can they already be like this at 12?

All I can do is pray — pray that the Lord will keep my sister, that He would teach her how to be secure in Him. That and be here for her, no matter what. Go out on dates with her. Tell her that she’s beautiful. Listen to everything she has to say. Validate. Love. Pray.

Thirty and Thriving

I turned thirty last week.

My birthday week was wonderful, the best I've had so far. To all of you who made my day really special, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

So how does it feel to be 30?

AWESOME.

I know there's nothing that really changes when you reach the big 3-0 but I feel like some changes have happened inside of me.

For one, I have to admit that I feel less awkward. I really feel like I had a puberty extension when I was in my late 20s. I was breaking out, I was having all kinds of mood swings. I was also somewhat clumsy and well, just awkward. Now, my skin has cleared up significantly, I am not as on the edge as I would usually be when faced with certain situations, and I don't feel so awkward anymore.

There are other changes, but I can't really say much about them right now. But I'll blog about them soon enough.

I never thought I'd say this but being thirty rocks! :-)

Discovering my talents through Strengths Finder 2.0

I finally got a copy of the book Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath last Thursday. For those of you not familiar with this book, it's the improved version of another bestseller entitled Now Discover Your Strengths. These books, as the titles imply, help you find out what your top strengths are and explain how you can work at improving those strengths. Instead of trying to become better at what you're weak at and end up just being mediocre at those things, the books explain that we should put all of our time and effort in becoming better at what we're naturally good.

Makes a lot of sense, of course. But I was surprised to find out after taking the test that I was off base all along. How frustrating that I didn't even know what my top talents were.

But now that I know what they are, I can at least try to work on becoming better in these areas.

Here are my top five talent themes:

1 Strategic: The strengths discovery report says, "Instinctively, you automatically generate numerous ways to enhance, upgrade, revise, correct, or revamp a process, action plan, or itinerary. Your suggestions often influence how a project will unfold in the coming months, years, or decades. You tend to find fault with your own and even other people's talents, skills, and/or knowledge. Fixing people or things ranks high on your favorite activities. Because of your strengths, you pay close attention to what is going on around you. You listen. You quiz people. You read. You probably take notes on key points. As you accumulate lots of information, you disregard what is unrelated, and pay heed to what is really important. The more you reflect on what you know, the more problems begin to reveal themselves, and eventually solutions start taking shape in your mind. Finally, given the situation, you select the best plan from your list of options. Driven by your talents, you generate ideas quickly. You draw clever linkages between facts, events, people, problems, or solutions. You present others with numerous options at a pace some find dizzying. Your innovative thinking tends to foster ongoing dialogue between and among the group's participants. By nature, you are a self-reliant person who needs time alone to think and work. You generate innovative ideas and propose systematic programs of action. You likely identify recurring configurations in the behavior of people, the functioning of processes, or the emergence of potential problems. It’s very likely that you can design innovative plans. You probably raise issues and identify recurring obstacles as you generate tactical options. Problems and possible solutions become apparent to you. Once you outline action steps, you quickly execute them one by one. You refuse to waste time questioning your ideas after everything has been set into motion. "

2 Activator: The strengths discovery report says, "'By nature, you are very decisive about implementing upgrades or making enhancements. You probably realize that great ideas without action are totally meaningless. You occasionally become frustrated with individuals who lack the gumption -- that is, boldness -- to transform their original thoughts into tangible results. Because of your strengths, you derive much joy from starting new projects, jobs, or courses of study. Before moving ahead, you automatically think about the things you need to upgrade, perfect, or do better. Instinctively, you step forward to take charge of start-up projects, processes, procedures, or initiatives. This is most apt to occur when you know your talent, skill, and/or knowledge perfectly match the task at hand. You carefully select the endeavors you are willing to spearhead. When you lack the expertise required for success, you wisely let someone else assume the leadership role. Chances are good that you rarely avoid telling people about yourself, your experiences, or even your shortcomings. You reflect on what you should do better, more completely, or more perfectly. You are comfortable admitting all sorts of things about yourself. Driven by your talents, you commonly influence people to produce results, sign up to work on projects, or rally around causes. When you take time to know them as individuals, many people are willing to move into action at your prompting. They are apt to realize you appreciate their special qualities, talents, interests, or experiences. "

3Connectedness: The strengths discovery report says, "Chances are good that you sense every event is somehow the consequence of a series of actions, reactions, or lack of actions. You can accept that which cannot be fully explained using logic. You say there are no accidents. You are confident that things are linked together for a purpose that may or may not be revealed to you. Driven by your talents, you have no doubts about being linked in some way with everything in the universe. This includes all creation and all humankind. Instinctively, you consider people more important than things. The value you place on humankind guides your decision-making. It also influences what you say and do as well as what you choose not to say and do. It’s very likely that you rely on your awareness of others' feelings, thoughts, and needs to guide you into and through partnerships. You consider various ways to initiate, nurture, and sustain the linkages between individuals and groups. You bring people together. You help them discover reasons to cooperate and support one another. By nature, you sometimes sense a special bond with certain individuals regardless of whether you have met them. Perhaps time or distance does not prevent you from feeling closely linked to specific people or the lives they lead."

4Relator: The strengths discovery report says, "Chances are good that you typically do your best work when you can bring your expertise to an enterprise. You prefer activities that keep you busy from start to finish. By nature, you routinely make the complicated very easy to understand. You are attracted to the basics of an idea, process, regulation, theory, or program. While you know every intricate piece of information, you place a higher value on identifying key points than on collecting too many details. It’s very likely that you embody the adage: "If you want to get something done, ask a busy person." You deliver peak performances when you can tackle a task. You experience tremendous satisfaction each time you accomplish something. You probably like being held accountable for your actions and words. Driven by your talents, you describe reading as a pleasure, not a chore. Generally you gain insights and acquire information whether you prefer fiction or nonfiction writing. You are likely to pull together ideas from printed materials or Internet sites. Typically you can talk about complicated topics or situations by highlighting only the basic points. Usually people can grasp what you are saying the first time because you refrain from burdening them with every detail you know. Instinctively, you are frequently sought out by people whom you have gotten to know on an personal basis. They come back to you again and again because they trust your judgment. Many of them realize you tailor your words of wisdom to fit their unique needs, strengths, limitations, goals, or personalities.

5Empathy: The strengths discovery report says, "Driven by your talents, you recall that as a child you were very attuned to the moods, feelings, expectations, and values of your elders. Your awareness of what these authority figures were thinking and feeling undoubtedly helped you govern what you said and did. Chances are good that you demonstrate a natural fondness for human beings. As a result, many individuals are attracted to you. They sense you really understand what they are feeling, thinking, or experiencing at the moment. People usually appreciate your willingness not to discount or belittle their emotions, ideas, or reactions to events. By nature, you know how to brighten others' lives when you sense they are feeling low or despondent. You probably have a hard time ending a conversation or a visit when the other person is still sad, grieving, or anxious. It’s very likely that you affirm others for who they are. You celebrate their unique gifts. Your encouraging words inspire and embolden people to be their real and true selves. Instinctively, you bring a keen awareness about human behavior to the classroom, laboratory, seminar, playing field, or tutoring session. You spontaneously tune in to what individuals are thinking and feeling minute by minute. These insights are likely to make you a better educator."

The book and report also have an action plan guide to help me strengthen these talent themes. It's so weird because I never got to really think about what I was good at before. I never took the time to sit down and process these things. All that was obvious to me were what I was really bad at and fixing them, which only proves that I have natural Strategic tendencies.

Anyway, I highly recommend that you get a copy of the book so you can find out your strengths, too. And I would love to know what they are. By the way, please do not buy a used copy of this book as it contains a unique code that you need to be able to take the online test. If you buy a used book, chances are the previous person has already used the code to take the test. So you'll just end up having to buy a brand-new copy of the book.

Some things about me

FAVORITES, FAVORITES and More FAVORITES..

• Coffee.. Toffee Nut Latte, which Starbucks has only during the holiday season and Coffee Jelly, also from Starbucks
• Color.. purple, pink, blue, black, olive green, and white
  
• Chocolate.. Twix (and they don't sell them here anymore), Butterfinger, and anything Hazelnut
  
• Lutong bahay.. Adobo, papaitan, dinuguan, tinapa, and tilapya
  
• Others under the "Food" category.. Oysters, cheese, KFC, Baked Ziti with white sauce and white pizza from Sbarro, Stuffed crust pizza from Pizza Hut, Yellow Cab Shrimp and garlic pizza, Gerry's sisig, UP Isaw, (Ateneo) Manang's Inihaw and Pork Chop
  
• Music.. Praise and Worship songs, contemporary Christian, Pop, and R&B
  
• Sports.. Basketball, tennis, swimming
  
• Movie.. Kramer vs. Kramer, Shawshank Redemption, One More Chance (the best!), My Best Friend's Wedding, Serendipity, Just Like Heaven, Pretty Woman
  
• Song.. Right now, The Man Who Can't Be Moved by The Script and Ms. Independent Remix by Jamie Fox and Ne-Yo
• Flowers.. Long-stemmed roses
  
• Perfume.. Still by JLo
  
• Expression.. OMG
  

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU'VE GOT THE BLUES?

• Pray
  
• Listen to Senti Songs
  
• Read
• Sleep
  
• Watch 'How I Met Your Mother'
  

WHAT DO YOU PREFER?

• Music or Sports? MUSIC
• The Beach or The Mountains? The BEACH.
• Rainy days or Sunny days? SUNNY DAYS.
• Victoria's Secret or Bath and Body Works? BATH AND BODY WORKS.
• Movie or Book? BOOK
• Fruits or Vegetables? FRUITS
• Read or Write? READ
• Leader or Follower? LEADER
• Listen or Speak? LISTEN (but I know I speak a lot, too)
  
• Slippers or Rubber shoes? SLIPPERS
  
• Milk Chocolate, dark chocolate or White chocolate? MILK CHOCOLATE
  
• TV or radio? TV

SShh.. NOT MANY PEOPLE KNOW THESE THINGS ABOUT ME..

• I'm scared of heights. I have this recurring dream that I'm on an elevator that's out of control, going up and down really fast. Some nights the elevator is even made of glass so I can see how high the drop's going to be.
  
• There are days when I'm really really shy. I sometimes get really nervous calling someone I haven't met before.
• I used to sing well. I just don't know what happened. Hindi ito joke.
  
• I used to have crooked teeth. I also used to be so conscious because of it that I refused to show my teeth in pictures, which explains why in my grade school grad pic, I had a weird smirk on my face. (pinipilit kasi nila ako to smile more but I refused to open my mouth)
• I have a secret dream to be OC.
• I hate the color red.
  

Fall Into Reading 2008 - my list

Since we have no fall season in the Philippines, I totally forgot to check in on this reading challenge that I join twice a year (every fall and every spring). The reading challenge is called Fall Into Reading and it's hosted by Katrina over at Callapidder Days.

I'm very late and am the 265th reader to register. But better late than never, right?

Here is my list of books for the Fall reading challenge:

1.Thanks for the Memories by Cecelia Ahern
Ahern is my hands-down favorite chick lit author. I'm in chapter 7 already. Started a bit slow. But so far, so good.

2. Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World by Joanna Weaver
I started reading this book two years ago. Never got beyond the first chapter. It's not that it isn't good because it's been really good so far. I just get distracted by the new books I keep buying. Planning to finally finish it this time.

3. Guerrilla P.R. 2.0 by Michael Levine
This one I'm reading for work. Interesting ideas. Have to finish this to help me plan for the annual planning session our group will be having in November.

4. Winning with People by John Maxwell
I love reading John Maxwell. I always learn something new from him even though it seems like the principles are pretty much the same in all his books.

5. Epic by John Eldredge
A small book with a big story. This should be a fast read. I'm excited because reviews have been good.

6. In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day by Mark Batterson
GREAT book! I'm down to the last few chapters. A must-read for everyone. Especially for those who often get intimidated by people and situations.

7. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
I've heard a lot of good reviews so I'm excited to read it finally. Oh and I picked my copy up in a second-hand book store for P75! Cheap!

8. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
My best friend says this is the best one by Picoult. Made her cry. So I'm pretty sure it'll make me cry, too.

There it is.



Eight books in eight weeks. That's doable, right?

Sick on a Saturday

I'm sick. :( My asthma is acting up again. Hmph.

This is the telltale sign that Christmas is near.

Despite my condition, I was still able to go over to the next village for lunch to celebrate an aunt's birthday .

Here's the birthday girl - Tita Beng

My sister Gabbi & cousins Mina and Julia

me and my Ateneo Krispy Kreme donut

I love family. Wish we could spend time together more regularly.

Quotable Fridays - October 17, 2008

Noted hostess and writer Lady Dorothy Nevill observed: The real art of conversation is not only to say the right thing in the right place, but to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.

Loved Jesus more than life

I am so happy North Point Ministries preaching videos are in youtube. They're now free to be viewed by anyone and I do hope more people get to hear God's Word through this youtube channel.

I was getting ready to shut off my mac tonight when I remembered seeing in North Point's website that the church now has a youtube channel. This day hadn't gone the way I had planned. I was not able to go to work. I was not able to do anything productive in the house either. In fact, I did quite the opposite.

I hate that I get things wrong a lot. I intend to be this or do this and I end up doing the exact opposite. Tonight I was reminded yet again that I must rely fully on God's grace to be able to get out of the rut that I often find myself in.

I cannot do anything on my own. I really can't. I always end up messing things up. And I hate that.

But thank God for His grace that is always sufficient.

Just want to share a video they showed at North Point during their preaching series called "It's Personal." The series explains how each one of us has a different story to tell about how we came to a relationship with God. I can talk all I want about what God has done in my life but my story can never be your story. Sure, it might inspire you or give you warm, fuzzy feelings, but it can never move you to truly give your life to God. Until you actually get an encounter with God that is uniquely yours, you will never really get the point. That's how it is, because God is a personal God.

This video was shown on the third Sunday of this preaching series.



"Loved Jesus more than life." I wish that could be what's written on my tombstone, too. As it is, I'll be honest and say I'm not there yet. I get so distracted sometimes. My heart seems so divided. And it frustrates me to no end.

Random Thoughts

So I'm off South Beach and it's been a great, yummy week. I'm dangerously close to gaining back the 6lbs that I lost because of South Beach and that's why I think it's time to get myself back in the gym.

-=*=- -=*=- -=*=- -=*=- -=*=-

But going back to the gym is easier said than done. I had a three-month gym pass early in the year, but almost never actually worked out. I'm so lazy. :( My body's really not the body I had back in college. This is going to be difficult for sure, but there's really no other option. Ugh, Lord, why does our metabolism have to slow down as we get older!

-=*=- -=*=- -=*=- -=*=- -=*=-

I can't believe I'll be 30 in a little over two months.

I dreamt of chocolate

As previously blogged, I'm on a one-year plan that started when September rolled in. I never got to blog about the plans and I still don't intend to as I have no time to write a long blog today. But you'll definitely hear about some of the plans in time, because I will inevitably blog about them.

I'm sleep-deprived on a Monday, as usual. One of the plans is really to make a habit of sleeping early and waking up early, and of course, of getting the sleep that my nearly 30-year old body needs. I think the going-to-bed routine is the problem: feeling sleepy, shut off MacBook, clear the clutter in my room, go to the bathroom to wash my face, brush my teeth, and take a hot shower, get into my sleeping clothes, prepare the following day's clothes, turn off light (lamp still on), get my bible and a book, read for another half hour or so, pray, then finally, sleep.

How's that for a restful routine... I think it's the taking a bath that gives me a spurt of energy. Maybe I should move it to earlier in the evening. All of this can be done earlier, really. So that when I feel sleepy, all I have to do is shut off the Mac, read my bible, pray, and sleep. That sounds a lot simpler and more restful.

Anyway, because I slept so little last night, I took a nap in the car on my way to work. And I actually dreamt of eating chocolate. That would have been no big deal if I weren't on South Beach right now. Yes, part of the one-year plan is to lay off junk food and start eating healthy again. My mom generously offered to treat me two weeks of South Beach food cooked by a personal chef service called Delicioso. So I've been eating surprisingly delicious vegetables and yummy tasteless meat (yes, it's possible for something to be tasteless and yummy at the same time) for the past seven days. I'm not craving as much as I was the first few days and I do feel really good because I'm not bloated at all and all that green stuff seem to make my face look brighter (or maybe that's just because of a certain someone...haha). I'm excited to really change the way I eat. So no dream about chocolate or Lay's or Jollibee is going to make me not follow through on what I've started. (Grace, Lord...)

A wild goose chase indeed

I'm a big fan of Mark Batterson. He's the lead pastor over at National Community Church in Washington, DC. Mark is also the writer of one of my favorite books.

I'm so excited because he's coming out with a new book this August called Wild Goose Chase. Here's an excerpt from the book:

When we turn Christianity into a noun, it becomes a turnoff. Christianity was always intended to be a verb. And, more specifically, an action verb. Some of us live as if we expect to hear God say, "Well thought, good and faithful servant!" or "Well said, good and faithful servant!" God isn't going to say either of those things. There is only one commendation: "Well done, good and faithful servant."

It is timely that I read this post on evotional.com this morning (pointed out by Perry Noble) this morning, just as I was thinking mean thoughts about some people.

This mean streak is so frustrating. But I wasn't always like this. I was very timid as a child (believe it or not). As I grew older, though, I had to learn to adapt to the people around me. And while most people were pretty nice, there were also bullies in school I had to stand up to. Witnessing very nice people being pushed around by mean people was also added proof to my theory that niceness is a weakness.

So, growing up, I liked the feeling of intimidating intimidators, of being liked by mean people, and of rescuing victims of intimidators and mean people. I learned to view kindness as a handicap and to take away my kindness filter.

Then I became a Christian. Nearly five years into being one, I'm still unlearning all the terribly wrong notions and attitudes I learned growing up.

Frustrating, really. It's easy to think it. It's easy to say it. But truth is it is very difficult to do. I can only take it one day at a time. Wait, that's not even accurate. I can only take it a minute at a time. Thank God for God's grace that is always sufficient.

Preparing a one-year plan

A fantastic idea came to me as I was watching (of all movies) My Sassy Girl last night.

Jordan and Charlie both wrote letters to each other, put them in a tablet, hid the tablet under stones at the foot of a cherry tree. The plan was to come back the very next year at the same place at 2PM to meet and read the letters together. If this happened according to plan, it meant that they were destined to be together. If, for some reason, one of them doesn't show up, it will mean that it was never meant to be.

Charlie walked away that day determined to prepare for the special day a year later.

Because Jordan liked to play squash, Charlie persevered to learn it. Because Jordan liked a kind of martial art, Charlie worked hard to master it. Because Jordan had an affinity for the ocean, Charlie learned to swim. All this he did so that he could be a better man for Jordan.

It was pretty sweet. They say the Korean movie is better then this American version so I'm pretty psyched to watch it.

Anyway...

Inspiration struck me as I watched the movie a second time.

What if I gave myself a 1-year plan? Not faith goals, or goals period. But an actual action plan for the things that I want to accomplish by next year.

I have to sit down and pray about what exactly will be in this one-year plan. But it will be specific and measurable. And the one year starts on September 1st and will run (obviously) until August 31st of 2009.

Am I excited? A resounding YES!

For the sake of accountability, I will blog about the one-year blog as I near the start date and will be updating this blog periodically in the next 12 months.

What can happen in 12 short months? We shall see about that.

Thump thump goes my heart

Dreamt of him again last night.

It feels weird when that happens. I wonder if we could ever get to the place of friendship. Maybe I wouldn't dream about him so much.

Music Video Monday - August 4, 2008

For Music Video Monday, I'd like to go retro and share an old 80's video from one of my favorite artists as a child.

Enjoy!

Coming Clean

I loved the preaching tonight.

The new series we have at church is called Faster. Higher. Stronger. I would've preferred for the series title to be Faster, Higher, Stronger! since those periods chop up the whole idea. The latter just strikes me as more energetic and "olympic."

I digress. Sorry.

The scripture we used tonight was Hebrews 12:1

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

It is just appropriate that we're on this series now because I feel like I'm going through a dangerous stage of stagnation in my Christian life.

I am still reading my bible everyday. I do still pray everyday. And I still am actively ministering to a growing group of young women. On the outside, it seems like everything is fine. But I know that a lot of things are not okay.

I know this because I haven't been my usual self spiritually the past few weeks. I've been insecure about ministry. I have voiced my displeasure about feeling like I'm invisible to more than a few people. I've grown impatient about being used in the church, feeling like I'm not needed here anyway and maybe I should just transfer to a different congregation where I will be used according to the gifts God has given me. It's been very tempting, really. I really, really want to teach. I want to minister to more women. I miss being part of the youth ministry. And I am ashamed to admit that I feared I might be in the wrong place.

Now, it's starting to look like I might have the wrong heart.

Tonight, Pastor Ferdie talked about three things we must go through to prepare for the race set out for us to run. Every single point hit home.

Here they are:

WORD: We must continue to be in the word of God. I have to admit there are days when I am more excited to read Christian books than the Bible. I want to get to the point when I crave for His Word so much that I can't get enough of it. I have felt that many times in my Christian life. But I know it's not something that just magically comes and goes. Like our pastors always say, even if you don't feel like it, read your bible anyway. And I do. But I just pray that I would go back to craving for it again.

WAIT: Not everything will come when I want it to come. Waiting is difficult but if we are to run a race and expect to win, we need to be patient and wait. Training for the Olympics is not something an athlete will do for six months. Many gymnasts start as early as four years old and they don't get to actually compete until after six to eight years. Training for athletes is not a 2-hours-a-day deal. When I used to play women's basketball for Ateneo, I had to wake up at 5AM to be able to make it to our 6-9AM practice five to six times a week. Then, I had to give two to three hours of my afternoons three times a week for weight training and roadwork. And that was just to play for the UAAP. Imagine if I had to train for the Olympics!

Training is not easy. And results are not quick to come. But if I just remain faithful and wait, I will get the victory God has promised in the different areas in my life where I still struggle.

WASH: You have to understand that I am a person who hates to be wrong. On the one hand, I like correction (I am a person committed to improvement). On the other hand, if I can help it, I don't want to get to the point where someone needs to correct me (I would rather catch myself first and self-correct before someone else found out about my wrong). As a child, I took pride in being the ate (ate = big sister) among us cousins. I would always be tasked to look over the kids while we played. And you would never catch me doing anything wrong, because I felt like I was always expected to be the best behaved. And so, until now, I can be quite cautious. Sometimes I get upset because I feel like I can't be myself because I'm always watching that I say and do the right things. I think that's why blogging became a chore sometimes. I felt like I was always editing myself.

But in preparation, we need to consecrate ourselves. We need to come clean about nasty habits (I remember hiding the fact that I smoked while I was in the varsity, mostly off-season and sometimes even during the training season [yikes!] but I'm sure our coach knew, because I was often out of breath, especially at the start of the training season.), wrong motivations, and areas of sin. I can't edit anything from God. He sees it all, even the things I myself can't see.

If I am to get anywhere near victory, I need to come clean and confess to God and allow Him to change what needs to be changed in my life. There is no way it's going to be easy. But it's something that must happen, better sooner than later.

Sorely Neglected

I know, I know.

I haven't posted in the LONGEST time. So sorry, blog, for neglecting you the past few weeks. Got too hooked to Plurk that I was not able to write proper blogs. And this after I had planned an actual schedule of what I was to write. Tsk, tsk.

Bad blogger. *spank*

Word Wednesdays - July 9, 2008

The sun will no more be your light by day,
nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you,
for the LORD will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory.

Your sun will never set again,
and your moon will wane no more;
the LORD will be your everlasting light,
and your days of sorrow will end.

-Isaiah 60:19-20

What a wonderful promise. When we choose to trust the Lord and give Him our very lives, He is faithful to lead, to guide, to uphold, to care for, to love.

Even the things we depend on and deem to be of utmost importance (like the light of the sun or the faint glow of the moon) cannot compare to the greatness of God and to His promise of life when we choose to put out trust in Him.

In the Lord, there is fullness of joy, there is promise of everlasting light.

Blown away by The Shack

I have two chapters to go but let me tell you, I am so blown away. It is so good.

Not as good as the bible, of course. But it just articulated a lot of things I've always wanted to explain to people but can't seem to communicate properly.

It also made me understand and appreciate the Trinity better.

I'll blog about my review on Thursday. In the mean time, enjoy Wordless Wednesday tomorrow.

Music Video Monday

Starting today, I will be having a theme for some days of the week.

Monday will be Music Video Monday when I will be posting my music video of the week.
Wednesdays will be Word Wednesdays when I will be posting my Bible scripture of the week.
Thursdays will be Thankful Thursdays when I will be journaling the one thing I am thankful to God for for the week.

For this Music Video Monday, I want to share one of the coolest videos I've ever seen.

Adele's Chasing Pavements

Sleep-deprived on a Monday morning

This is getting to be a very bad habit.

I don't know why it is so difficult for me to sleep before midnight on a Sunday. The least I owe to my body is six hours of decent sleep a night but I always have a hard time hitting the sheets at a decent hour on Sundays.

I have no idea why. Maybe I was made for Monday sabbath? ;)

Book Review: The Confident Woman by Joyce Meyer

The book starts out like most Meyer books and while it could probably be at once gripping to a Joyce Meyer rookie, it wasn't for me, just because I've read some of her works before.

This book picked up middle way and struck a cord with me several times. I started reading this book at a time I really did need a boost of confidence because I had just started working again for a company I used to work for before I went full time working for the ministry. It helped me tremendously and I'm definitely happy I decided to read this books all the way through.

Here are some points I highlighted in the book:

• Confidence allows us to face life with boldness, openness, and honesty. It enables us to love without worry and to feel safe. It enables us to live authentically. We don't have to pretend to be someone we're not, because we are secure in who we are--even if we are different from those around us. I firmly believe that confidence gives us permission to be different, to be unique.
• People with low confidence, on the other hand, are not sure about anything. They are double-minded, indecisive people who constantly get frustrated with life. If they do make a decision, they are tormented by self-doubt. They second-guess themselves. As a result, they don't live boldly.
• Fear does not mean you are a coward. It only means that you need to be willing to face fear and do what you need to do anyway.
• Preparation equips us to move confidently.
• Don't despise the days of small beginnings. The small beginnings are usually all we can handle at the time. God will give more when He knows we are ready. Enjoy every step of your journey. Don't be in such a hurry to rush through things that you miss the lessons you can draw from each day.
• Prayer makes tremendous power available.
• God uses men and women who are set on obeying and pleasing Him, not those who are controlled by the fear of man. We all want to be liked and accepted but we cannot let that desire control us.
• The best way to overcome anything is to expose it. Anything hidden has power over us, but once it is brought into light, it can be dealt with and overcome.
• Confidence is holding on to a strong faith in God, a faith that is backed up with a complete knowledge and understanding that with God's help, you can do anything.
• Putting something off does not make it go away, it only allows more time to torment you. As Christians with the power of the Holy Spirit inside of us, surely we can manage to do an unpleasant task without dreading it and with a good attitude. God's power is not available just to make unpleasant things in our lives go away, it is frequently available to walk us through them courageously.

Rated: 4/5

Strike of Midnight Download

It's a little past 12mn. Just got home from having dinner and coffee with one of my good friends and constant Sunday companion Iris. This weekend has been quite uneventful. I have a nagging feeling I wasted my two days of rest because I've been staying up so late and waking up just as late. I always think that the following week will be different but end up continuing the pattern week after week. Got to discipline myself to get up early and sleep early and get a lot of meaningful things done in between.

As it is, the only thing I have to show for the entire weekend is this new blog and The Apprentice Celebrity Edition.

I'm thinking of going back to working out, by the way. It's just that the new workplace, my work hours, and my ministry time are always a concern. I know, I know. As my grandmother puts it: I'm always full of excuses when it comes to going to the gym. I'm thinking to even employ a trainer, just to help motivate me to go at it at least four times a week.

Gosh, I need to be disciplined...

Cowboys are cute!

I'm on the last stretch of The Celebrity Apprentice. It's down to the final four candidates - Piers, Carol, Lennox, and Trace.

I am still very partial toward Piers. But I have to say Trace Adkins is so cute! I love that he's so likeable. He's a man of few words but when he talks, it's impossible not be drawn to listen to that drawl of his. He's no pushover. In fact, he's pretty straight cut. He says what he means and means what he says. A real man's man.

Country guys are cool in my book.

A dose of celebrity reality TV

I've been watching The Apprentice Celebrity Edition for most of the day. While it's pretty amusing (Omarosa, Gene Simmons, and Piers Morgan are part of it), I'm not enjoying it as much as I did the normal run of The Apprentice.

My goodness, Piers is pretty aggravating. But Omarosa is over the top. I hope I never have to deal with someone like that. Glad to see on Google that Piers won though. While he can be obnoxious, I think he's a smart, stable guy.

Ushering in a new season of blogging

I must admit. I am not a very good blogger.

It frustrates me to no end that I cannot seem to keep a blog going.

I start. I stop. I start again. I stop again. I start yet again. I stop yet again.

You get the drift.

But I also have to admit. I am dead set on becoming the best blogger I can be.

Why is this so important to me?

Because it is.

I have a need to write. I have a need to have people read what I write. I have a need to write without having to be my own screening committee. I have the need to be able to write freely.

I hope you'll see me again sometime soon.