Christian Music

Psalm 150
1 Praise the LORD.  Praise God in his sanctuary; 
   praise him in his mighty heavens. 
2 Praise him for his acts of power; 
   praise him for his surpassing greatness. 
3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, 
   praise him with the harp and lyre, 
4 praise him with timbrel and dancing, 
   praise him with the strings and pipe, 
5 praise him with the clash of cymbals, 
   praise him with resounding cymbals.
 6 Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!

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Good Medicine

I went to see my cardiologist yesterday for a check-up & to get a medical certificate. While I was waiting outside the doctor's clinic, an elderly couple came in. The elderly woman walked alongside the elderly man who held a walking stick & so I figured he was blind while his medical attendant held him by the arm to assist him. They sat down together on the couch near me while the medical attendant stood close looking more like a bodyguard than an attendant. The couple were talking happily; he was cracking jokes; she was giggling & laughing. We can't help but hear their conversations because the elderly woman would always ask her husband to repeat what he just said coz she can't hear him very well. And what made everyone in the waiting area laugh was when she said:

"naku honey, bagay talaga tayo..bulag ka, bingi ako at may ksama pa tayong pipi (looking at their quiet medical attendant)."

("oh honey, we really are meant to be together..you're blind, I'm deaf, and he's mute.")

Shortly after, they were called in by the doctor. Though it was just a short encounter, it was such a sweet & refreshing moment. It was really nice to see such a wonderful relationship they have with each other & such cheerful countenance. The Lord bless their hearts!

(Proverbs 17:22) "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones."

He Who Gives Me Strength

I haven't been feeling well since last Thursday..have had colds and have been coughing recently..the changing weather and climate may be the culprit but I think I'll throw in stress & lack of rest/sleep in the bag, too..I don't blame it all on the weather or on the devil (who's only here to steal my strength, productivity & joy)..I can also say I have my share of neglect & overwork..

But I thank God for His grace & promises..He is my Healer, my Strength, my Joy. And how glad am I to have been kept reminded of His Word:

(Philippians 4:12-13) "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength."

I know how it is to be full of energy & live out every ounce of strength there is in me as if there's not going to be any tomorrow..I know how it is to have plenty or be full..& for those times, I am truly grateful..but to have experienced lack or sickness, I am humbled for I know I am nothing without Christ. For these humbling times, I know I am abundantly blessed because I have a great big God who assures me of His love, blessings, provisions, forgiveness & redemption.

God bless us all!

Thank YOU!

I’m aching all over. I had to drag myself out of bed to go to work today. But then I mustered the strength to exclaim, “Oh, Lord! Thank you for a good night’s sleep and hearty rest!”

Yesterday, I was with the 3^rd & 4^th year high school students to their outbound trip to Anilao, Batangas.  First, we had a gruelling—a very loooooooooooong (about 5km) and steeeep trail—trek at Mt. Gulugod-Baboy before refreshing ourselves at Pier Uno’s swimming pools & beach/shoreline.

The trek this year was the toughest I’ve ever had in my entire outbound history.  I tried my best but I was only able to reach the 2^nd trail stop and wasn’t able to reach the mountain peak.  The treat on the other hand was at Pier Uno where I enjoyed swimming.  The place was beautiful!

Although there had been some troubles and difficulties with our students along the way, all’s well throughout the day. It was a day to be celebrated for God was indeed good and His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever!


(1 Chronicles 16:34, AMP) "O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever!"

This Remains

I bought my very first Bible as an early Christmas present for myself!

I’ve always had my Bibles but both (the 1^st one was KJV and the 2^nd one was NASB) were given to me by my Dada (my mom's sister), so this is (technically) the first time I bought myself a Bible (NIV).  It’s so nice 'coz it has 4 colorful interchangeable covers and I like them all! ^_^

I remember the cover of my NASB Bible which says:

(Isaiah 40:8)   "The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”

This truth is such a comfort that God is a God of integrity and that we can take Him for His words..He even confirmed it twice in the New Testament...

(Matthew 24:35 & Luke 21:33, NIV)
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”

Oh, how wornderful You are, Lord!

Pacquiao vs Margarito

As my co-teacher, msLeah, and her Grade2 students went into the Computer laboratory for their class, a group of rowdy boys playfully threw punches at each other and laughed.

My co-teacher said, "You boys still have the Pacman fever, huh?".

The boys replied, "Yes, teacher! He was great!"

Then msLeah asked them, "Ok, spell Pacquiao."

One of the boys answered, "P-A-Q..."

"Nope!", msLeah immediately interrupted.

So the boy tried again and said, "P-A-C-K..."

"Not quite right!", msLeah replied.

And the boy then requested, "Teacher, pwede bang Margarito na lang?"

The other boy exclaimed, "Mahirap din un! Manny na lang!"


Congratulations to Manny Pacquiao for a great fight and impressive show of sportsmanship! ^_^

Signficance in the Kingdom

"Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the Lord's work, because you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."

(1 Corinthians 15:58)

Last night, I attended the midweek service at our church which was called out mainly for all the workers and volunteers of the church. I'm so blessed!

Our pastor is still young in shepherding our congregation after he'd taken over caring for the flock when our senior pastor (his brother) came to be with the Lord about 2yrs ago, but he and his wife is (yes,"is"! go figure ^_^) doing a great job of leading us to where God intends us to be.

We've always been taught and reminded of the basic steps to becoming a fruitful, progressive disciple of Christ...to FOLLOW..to SERVE..to GO..

In "FOLLOWing", we learn about God's ways, revering Him, studying & obeying His Word, imitating His likeness to take on the full persona of a "saved" individual. Of course, just like any other "living sacrifice", we squirm, move about and fall from the altar at times, bruising ourselves or taking on dirt here and there. Yet, our loving heavenly Father picks us up, cleanses us and heals us, seeing us only with eyes full of love and deals with us with abounding grace because of the righteousness of Jesus enveloping our being...we take only the best possible care we can get when we truly rest in Him and abide in His words. This relationship depicts the vertical direction of the cross..God to man, man to God.

"The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him." (Lamentations 3:25)

 "And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13)

 "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength." (Deuteronomy 6:5)

Then the next step is when we feel it deep down in our spirits that all the love we have for God must show itself in more ways than mere sitting and listening during teachings, conferences and bible studies..we now are called to "SERVE".

Since we now have a great deal of awareness of our strengths, talents, potentials and spiritual gifts (probably affirmed by our co-followers of Christ or other God-sent people), we explore church ministries to serve others through our presence, time, skills or money. At this time, we still learn about obedience and submission and practice it through following our leaders and all God-appointed human authority over us. We learn to work and serve harmoniously with other people (people who used to be like you, still on the "FOLLOW" stage, and people who are now like you, serving). This relationship depics the horizontal direction of the cross..man to man.

"Be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility." (1 Peter 5:5)

"Let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth." (1 John 3:18)

The Scripture above in 1 Corinthians 15:58 encourages all followers and workers to be fruitful in the service, occupied in the issues and needs of the Kingdom. We are not mainly serving people for the sake of service but we are serving a great big God, and because we love Him, we serve Him..and because we know His heart, we love what He loves--people. May love be our primary reason for service. If that is, all other perks just come along with it. Such as what? you may ask..such as an extended family. A place where you belong, people who share the same passion as you, a sense of fulfillment, and the wonderful experience of "one anothering". But just like any other family, differences may pose as a problem only if we tend to see it that way. May our differences be sharpening tools to keep us on our toes and remind us that God is still ever at work in our lives. Cut the other person some slack! You'll never know, maybe another person is cutting you a great deal of slack as well.

"No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us." (1 John 4:12)

"Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing." (Psalm 100:2)

As time passes by in the "SERVE" stage, there will be a greater churning in our spirits that is calling out for more..much more significance. We are now called to "GO". This may lead us outside of our comfort zones..outside of the confines of the church building..outside our own worlds. We are ushered to a whole new world of greater differences, animosity or indifference. Be of good cheer! God does not lead us to where He hasn't set foot first. He has overcome the world, what are we to be afraid of?

"You are the salt and light of the earth..You are the light that gives light to the world.." (Matthew 5:13-14)

"He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:6)

SHALOM! SHALOM! (greater double portion of God's overwhelming blessings for you and me!) ^_^