23 July 2012

Confirmation

God has a way of confirming His message to us; primarily through His Word, through His children, other people, our present life situations, and even in ways we never think He would use.

My last entry about Mike, the e-trainer, is not simply a reminder and encouragement. I was surprised how God reminded me of the same message about perseverance in today's preaching of His Word. Ending the series on Let Us in VCF-Alabang, the message was clear, and it hit home.

Hebrews 12:1-2
"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.
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

Despite difficulties, we should be steadfast in doing what God has called us to do. Difficulties, like the testing of our faith, are for our own good and benefit. God wants us to level up in our faith, and grow and mature in our relationship with Him, with the chief end of becoming more like Jesus Christ.


There are, and will be, a lot of things that will hinder us from reaching that goal of bearing the character of Jesus: our past, fears, anxieties, disappointments, unforgiveness, and sin. But we must "throw off" all of it. We can't run the race with all the baggages and burdens on our backs. Let go, and run light...

Run with endurance. Each of us have individual races marked out for us. I thank God that I'm not alone in this run towards the finish line. He has set me in a family who constantly encourage and support me by godly counsel, gentle rebuke, and sincere love. We may be facing different testings, but we have a common goal.

Another big hindrance is our lack of, or wrong, focus. If we let ourselves be distracted with our surroundings, discouragements, problems, and other storms in life, we will lose our focus and have a difficult race. Matthew 14: 27-31. The enemy will give his all to distract us but, we must fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith. We may have been afflicted by the enemy and made mistakes in the past, but God can use that for His glory. For when we are weak, then we are strong. He will reveal His power and amaze people. That is a powerful testimony, showing how imperfect we are, yet by the grace of God we can be mighty tools for the advancement of His kingdom.

This video was shown before the worship service ended.


It wasn't the first time I watched the video, but it I was brought to tears realizing how easily I give up and how God always is willing and able to enable me to finish the race He has marked out. If we focus on ourselves, our unmet needs, problems, and inadequacies, we will get easily discouraged and lose hope. But, as we hold on to God's Word, His promises, His will, the Perfecter, the Beginning and the End, fixing our gaze upon Jesus, we will persevere and look forward to reaching the goal.

If you never quit, you will achieve your goal. It's just a matter of time.

20 July 2012

From Mike... the e-trainer

I opened my e-mail today and got a personal message from Mike. He's an e-trainer. I downloaded free workout apps in my iTouch, registered online, but never really used it that much (yes, I used it for a while then went looking for other apps). So I received an e-mail from Mike, which most probably is automatically sent to those who did sign up, but seemed to be discouraged by their giving in to the temptations of cupcakes and chocolates. It was encouraging, and applies not just in FITNESS, but in LIFE as well. Here are some of  it:

When life knocks you down, do you stay down or do you rise to fight again?

Success in fitness, and life is dependent on persistence, tenacity and determination.

If you never quit, you will achieve your goal. It's just a matter of time

Failure is never permanent... when you get back up.

These are not new words of advice, but it never gets old. And from time to time, we need these reminders.




P.S. Today was a "mommy-me" day.

06 July 2012

Hobbyist


I love trying out new things and I like solitary hobbies. Here are some of the things I do in my wee time (which I have a lot of recently):
I knit. This is one of those I finished making. I learned how to knit through watching youtube videos and following free patterns from Red Heart. That's where I got the pattern I used to make a scarf I gave Karla, my bestfriend, before she left for the USA. It wasn't perfect, but I'm glad she liked it. Failed to take a picture of her wearing it though.
I crochet, too, but I haven't perfected the art. The booklet of crochet pattern I bought is in Japanese, so I'm finding it hard to finish one pattern. Why a book I won't be able to read? Well, it has cute patterns, cheap, and my cousins and auntie can translate if the pictures aren't enough. The only problem is they're not around. haha!

I also learned how to bake! Mama bought me an electric oven and electric mixer, and here are the products of it. Not my own recipe though. 
Blueberry muffin.
(not real blueberries)


 Hazelnut brownie
(topped with condensed milk, for extra sweetness)

This is the cake I made for Marielle. Topped with vanilla frosting and gummy strawberry candy. Well, I still don't know how to make a cake, and this actually is:
... this chocolate chunk brownie mix. I added egg in the mixture to somehow make it cake-like. I was close, but not really. Hehe!


I made cupcakes, too!

And this oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, which Che, my bestfriend, liked.
I will be taking some baking lessons soon, and hopefully create my own recipe I can share.

I also know how to play the guitar.
I took piano lessons during primary school, but only for a while. I never really got the hang of it even after Mama bought me a piano/organ.
I became interested in learning to play the guitar when I was in highschool.
My youngest brother knows how to play it well and has bought a lot of "Song Hits" magazines. In the centerpage of each magazine are chord patterns. I started trying out the chords of songs I liked, followed the strum as I heard it was played, and I learned a few notes! I liked playing the guitar better than the piano. It has made my fingertips calloused and sore, but I never stopped playing. I'm not a pro though. I only know how to strum, and still find it so hard to pluck strings.
I also don't have my own guitar and would love one! Maybe then I'll try and learn more.