The pain will be worth it..

Muscle pains, itchy legs, sweating, dark skin, is it worth it? 

I know all the pain will be worth it as I make exercise (running/jogging/swimming) part of my lifestyle. As I grow up, or should I say grow older, all the more I realized the importance of keeping the body in good shape.  Making the most of this opportunity because time waits for no man. Aja! Aja!

Day 245: What makes you happy?

Joyce Meyer said that I should take responsibility for my happiness. It should not depend on other people neither on my situation. Happiness can be found in God and in my relationship with Him.

I listed some things that makes me happy.

1. Clothes and accessories on SALE.
2. Blogging.
3. Learning a new song and playing my guitar.
4. Good meal.
5. Pimples that disappears in my face.
6. Good performance in job.
7. Quality time spent with family and friends.
8. Serving others and helping the less privileged.
9. Good movies.
10. True love.

I am created unique and so are the things that touches my heart. It might mean nothing to others but this means a lot to me. What makes you happy?

Day 156: When life gives you lemons...

....Make lemonade!

Lemons are great energy booster and can strengthen the immune system.

Day 138: Your Love is Beautiful.

"Your love is beautiful, its the reason why I smile this much :))))))"
(newest tag-line)

Photo by Kelsea_Kismet

Day 135: Blog on Bananas.

Couple of days ago, we had "matamis na saging" as merienda. I was encouraged by my sister to always have this at home, she prefers to have her kids eat bananas than biscuits because of its nutritional value. (Ok, I'm starting to be a fan of her in certain family matters). I did some reading about bananas and here's I found out: 

 (1) The word banana is derived from the Arab word 'banan', which means finger. Banana is called 'the fruit of wise'. (2) Bananas are rich in Vitamin C which helps the body to defend and heal against infections. This vitamin also proves valuable in the synthesis of the connective tissue, absorption of iron and the formation of blood. (3) They also contain potassium. Potassium is a mineral that helps in the building of muscles and protein synthesis. This is done as potassium stimulates nerve impulses for muscle contraction. 

(Nutritional facts from Buzzle.com)

Let's eat bananas!

Day 133: Be happy :)

Today's devotion was on Philippians 3:1-11 NLT "Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. The verse challenged me to be joyful in spite of the things that I'm going through.  My mood swings is the result of focusing to situations, negative thoughts, people and reminiscing bad things in the past.  Rejoicing in the Lord does not mean denying the facts and pretending that nothing is happening.  It is embracing the current situation and at the same time having a heart that is resting on a faithful God. Never allow the enemy to steal the joy in your heart.  Bring those negative circumstances to God and allow Him  instead to use it to produce real joy in your heart. The joy that is based on a loving God who promised not to leave us nor forsake us.

Day 129: It is Finished!

This morning devotion was on Philippians 1:6, "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus". This reminds me of God being a finisher, someone who completes His work and will not leave anything half-done.  Since, the creation God has shown Himself completing His work.  Genesis 2:2 "By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work". I remember Jesus saying the word "It is finished" (John 19:30) on the cross after taking his last breath.  He will not stop working His great plan for me and won't leave me hanging.  This brought great encouragement in my walk with God and motivated me to continue trusting Him in the midst of what I'm going through. I ought to be confident of this promise. He is faithful and will complete the work in me.

Day 125: Today I am grateful for...

Even before I receive the very things that I am asking God for, I pray for a heart filled with thanksgiving. Let thankfulness be overflowing in my heart so that there will be no room for complaining, grumbling, discontentment and comparison to what other people have.

Today I am grateful for the newly-opened water refilling station near our place.  The owner lend us the container, allowed us to pay only for the water and delivered to our house for FREE! Grateful that we can drink purified water which is safe and healthy. 

What are you grateful for today?

Day 124: A Peek on my Prayer List.

I shared on Day 117 post on how I make my devotion exciting by putting some art on it.  This time, I would like to share how I do prayer which I learned back in college. There are seven days a week and each day I pray for different topics. Sundays, I pray for church leaders and pastors, Mondays for my family, Tuesdays for my lifegroup, Wednesdays for my Career and Ministry (Kids Church), Thursdays for my finances, Fridays for my friends, Saturdays for myself. This way, prayer will be more exciting and something which I will look forward to everyday.

Day 122: iCrave.

How you'd know if your monthly period is coming? Feeling of discomfort? Backpains? Chestpains? For me, I crave for something cold.  It started last night, drank an orange softdrink to satisfy the craving. What a relief! In the bathroom this morning, I knew it! Uncomfortable and irritating  days are here.  Yikessss! These are the days I don't want to go anywhere, lessen my activities and stay in my room the whole day.  hahaha. I'm blogging about a subject someone would rarely talk about. But I'm not going to blog about this in detail, not in the mood besides my lower back is in pain.  

Day 120: Wandering Mind.

Dear wandering mind, Can you please focus on God's unfailing love for you? Sincerely, Me.

Find myself wandering again which is an unhealthy habit.  Practicing self control and discipline over unnecessary worries and thoughts. 

Day 117: Artwork devotion.

Want your daily devotions to be more exciting?  I would like to share how I do mine.  I use different color pens, highlighters, draw pictures, lines, arrows, boxed/encircle/underline keywords, put check marks, asterisks on important thoughts and so on. You don't need to be a very artistic person to do this. Look at my work! A work done by the child inside of me. Yay!

This morning, I meditated on Psalm 91, picked out one verse that strike me the most, which is verse 1: "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty".  I draw 5 shelters and write inside some of the things that I dwell in to find comfort and encouragement.  The verse says to find shelter in God alone so I draw a house (sort of) and draw a human inside.

I find studying God's word this way more fun and would not be a boring ritual or task that I have to do everyday.  After all, God wants me to enjoy my relationship with Him to the fullest. 

Day 115: Remembering Childhood Game.

Remember these? We call it "tex" (not sure if I spelled it correctly). Me and my cousins used to play this back in our childhood. Its different, though.  Back then, the cards are thicker and a bit bigger.  Most of the pictures are scenes from movies and has captions.  Surprised that the game is still being played today in the midst of all those new gadgets.   

Day 112: Why does it have to be Colton?

Last week's emotional "one-save vote" to Jessica Sanchez was indeed another record in American Idol. However, this week's elimination was very disappointing.  Colton is one of my favorites and even see him as one who will hold the AI title.  He has the complete package - has the looks, great voice, can play the piano and the star quality. I can also see the frustration on the judges faces and other contestants as well. They believed on Colton's talent and what he can do and I think he's better than some of the contestants who were saved. Colton admitted that he was not on himself when he performed last Thursday and promised that he will learn from it.  He sung his favorite worship song - Everything by Lifehouse as his last song. I'm not sure if he's a Christian or not but it made me admire him more.  At the end of the day, whether win or lose, he gave the glory to God and dedicated everything to Him.

Day 111: Overnight at sister's house.

 My brother-in-law was not around so my sister invited me to spend the night with them.  This was actually the second time I slept at my sister's house. Yay! Again, the reality of what a married life is starting to unfold right before my very eyes. All throughout the day, she has been shouting and "nagsasaway" to her two kids - a girl and a boy. My niece has a lot of demands and sometimes would cry without any reason at all. My nephew, on the other hand, was running here and there! They will play while eating and will mess up their food. They will do a lot of "delaying tactics" before brushing and bathing. My sister admits that its hard because she's working at the same time.Though she had a helper, she would still do other household chores after work (she's a teacher).  Ok, that's enough for my sister's life. Lol.

I realized that when I ask and pray to get married, I am not just asking a piece of candy that God would give right away.  Its not as easy as I thought. It dawned on me the importance of preparing yourself while single.  Also, I see marriage as the season where its not about me anymore, its about the kids, its about raising a family better than the one I was brought up to. Now I appreciate more my singleness and wanting to be prepared more than ever.

Day 108: Passport Renewal.

Got my passport renewed this morning. I am glad that DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) office is in our hometown because other people from nearby province will travel long hours just to get here. I am just so happy that I am from Lucena City. Its cheaper to have my passport renewed here in the Philippines than abroad so I would like to take advantage of it,  10 days will be the processing, though.  While waiting for my queue, I looked on my passport stamps and realized how great God is.  It was 24th of May 2007 when I left for Singapore. Excitement, fear, anxiety - all emotions were there because it was my first time to ride on a plane. Grabe! I have no idea why God would bring me in Singapore. It never crossed my mind the thought of working abroad, in fact I once told myself and even my friends that I don't see myself leaving the Philippines. Yay! At kinain ko lahat ng mga salita ko because God intrudes my own plan to give me a better one.  

Turning the pages of my old passport, I am thankful how God has brought me to different places - Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore. Not all people have the privilege of travelling and here I am going from one place to another.  Honestly, I didn't appreciate all these things at first, but later on I realized that God has always a better plan for me and that I needed to trust Him even it does not make any sense.

Day 105: At a Crossroad.

Crossroads refers to an intersection, a road junction where two or more roads meet (Wikipedia).  A crucial point especially where a decision must be made.  I am on that point and its not easy.  I felt like I'm stuck in the middle and don't know which road to take.  I'm weighing things, analyzing the what if's, the pro's and con's of each road. I am not good in decision making and its just so ironic that God will allow me in a place where you have to make decisions based on a lot of options.  I don't know if this is the result of me being fickle minded on things.  I can't make up my mind because I am afraid of failing and regretting decisions that I made.  My Mom once asked me "What do you really want?"  "You're already xx. You should know by now what you want".  And I will just smile and be silent.   

I am continually seeking God for directions and leading because at the end of the day, I desire to be in the place where God has called me to be.  I believe on the power of proper placement.  It is the place where I can expect God's blessings, grace, favor and protection. I want to be in the center of His will where I will worship and serve Him together with my future husband who remains anonymous as of todate. hahaha.

Day 103: Back to Basic.

Today I am grateful for the dinner that we had.  Actually, I don't like the food that was served at first but had a little surprise from God. I am glad that even in simple things like this He really knows what's inside my heart. I decided to blog about this so I will not forget how God has surprised me on this dinner. He indeed knows what I need and every desires of my heart. My part is to trust Him and seek Him first.  It goes back to the basic of my faith which I need to remind myself everyday. Trust God. He knows and is concerned on every details of my life.     

Day 102: Slow Down.

I would like to share this great post from Leo Babauta about 10 Essential Rules for Slowing Down and Enjoying Life More.  It was an interesting read and I learned a lot from it.  Surprisingly, the author has released the copyright, anyone can use it with or without credit (will credit him anyway) That is so unusual! Anyway, out of the 10 rules, I picked 3 that struck me the most.

1. Be present. It’s not enough to just slow down — you need to actually be mindful of whatever you’re doing at the moment. That means, when you find yourself thinking about something you need to do, or something that’s already happened, or something that might happen … gently bring yourself back to the present moment. Focus on what’s going on right now. On your actions, on your environment, on others around you. This takes practice but is essential

2.  Focus on people. Too often we spend time with friends and family, or meet with colleagues, and we’re not really there with them. We talk to them but are distracted by devices. We are there, but our minds are on things we need to do. We listen, but we’re really thinking about ourselves and what we want to say. None of us are immune to this, but with conscious effort you can shut off the outside world and just be present with the person you’re with. This means that just a little time spent with your family and friends can go a long way — a much more effective use of your time, by the way. It means we really connect with people rather than just meeting with them.     

3. Find pleasure in anything. This is related to being present, but taking it a step farther. Whatever you’re doing, be fully present … and also appreciate every aspect of it, and find the enjoyable aspects. For example, when washing dishes, instead of rushing through it as a boring chore to be finished quickly, really feel the sensations of the water, the suds, the dishes. It can really be an enjoyable task if you learn to see it that way. The same applies to other chores — washing the car, sweeping, dusting, laundry — and anything you do, actually. Life can be so much more enjoyable if you learn this simple habit.

Now I have new and specific prayer points for myself.

Day 98: Blogger Tips Blogging Challenge

This post is in response to the Blogging Challenge initiated by Jenson Taylor.

It was only recently that I started blogging. My blogsite is about daily act of thanksgiving.  It is a compilation of the random things which I am thankful of everyday. In a short period of time, I would like to share some tips (B-L-O-G) which I find helpful in blogging.

1. Be consistent.. It takes a lot of discipline to be consistent.  Consistency will help you improve your blogging skills and increase your passion as well.  Blog as often as you can to keep the momentum. Also, you will never be good at something if you are not consistent with it.

2. Look for great template designs and photos. Although people are after the contents of your blog, it is also important that your designs and photos are inviting. There are a lot of template designs you can check online and choose the best ones that matches your theme and personality. Personally, I am motivated to check blogs with excellent designs and colors. Great templates will also give your readers a "first good impression" and inspire them to view your site regularly. 
             

3.Observe other people's blogs.  You can learn a lot from other people's blogs. Check other blogs for tips and ideas. Do a lot of reading, researching, ask help from tutorial blogs and keep on learning.  Put those ideas together and your on your way to your very unique blogsite.

4. Grammar and Spelling. Blogs are more interesting to read if the sentences are grammatically correct. You can use the "check spelling" tool from the toolbar section. Make sure to review your posts before publishing them.

Happy Blogging!

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