Tag Archives: faith

The Silent Millionaire

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This article was inspired by a recent convo. It made me wonder about that “big” word – millionaire.

Before I start with this article though, I will be describing people not because I am judging them. First, I am no saint, I have my own flaws. Second, only God does all the judging and has every right to do so. Lastly, it is only for the purpose of driving towards my point and let the message across. No offense intended here, folks. *peace* ☺

Upon observation, there are two types of millionaires – the silent type and the loud type. The loud types are those who are very obvious when it comes to their riches for the world to see. There are those, however, whom people never knew as rich and some are heirs and heiresses by birthright because they were silent all the time living very low profiles.

The loud types have all the flashy wealth anyone could think of from high-karat bling blings, designer clothes, cool cars, huge houses, and all the “riches” this world offers.

The silent types, on the one hand, are the millionaires who are dressed simply, mingled with the commoners, refused to be addressed with the title he/she deserves, and live a simple life.

For the latter, I remembered this one incident wherein I encountered a man dressed in simple casual clothes without the “tags” while going inside a 30+-storey building. He greeted everyone courteously and offered to give way to other passengers going inside the elevator. Then after we went out, I overheard someone saying, “Didn’t you know that that’s the CEO and owner of this building?”

I didn’t hear what the reply of the person’s companion was because I was heavily processing the information with unbelief. A lot of questions went through my head like why would he dress that way, how can he become a CEO and still act like a regular employee, etc.

Another similar incident happened at a resort. While touring around the place, we asked for directions from a man dressed in working clothes – all shabby and soiled. We found out later on (much to our surprise) that he is the owner of the resort. 😃

Ah yes, never judge a book by its cover, eh?

I’m just amazed how these silent millionaires prefer to be identified and be associated with having a low profile in society when their bank accounts and assets speak the opposite. They have every right to claim power, entitlement, and authority because they are rich according to this world’s standards. But they did not conform to the standards of this world.

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–His good, pleasing and perfect will.” – Romans 12:2

This reminded me of the life of Jesus here in this world. He is a silent millionaire too. The richest, if I may add. He’s the son of God and the son of Man but He never lived a life of comfort, splendor, and extravagance just like a King. It was actually the opposite – He lived life in SIMPLICITY, HUMILITY, and SERVITUDE.

Imagine a God serving mankind. I mean, you’ll never even see it in Greek mythology. All gods and goddesses are regarded in society with such high bearing.

If there is one thing that wealth, riches, and self-glory bring and if our souls are left unchecked, it is pride. Pride leads to arrogance and arrogance leads to greed, discontentment, and so on. It glorifies no one except the world, its standards, and its riches.

Then He said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” – Luke 12:15

“Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.” – Luke 12-21

With humility, we acknowledge there is someone supreme who is richer, someone who provides everything we need, someone who is more knowledgeable, more powerful, and someone who deserves all the glory. With humility, it always prompts us to ask this question – what are the things that matter to God?

We are supposed to please no one with our lives except God and this includes our lifestyle. I’m sure your question then is this, “So Tin, are you asking that all of us should live like beggars?”

No, not really. It’s always between you and God and your own conviction how you live your life. It requires asking God if what you do pleases Him or not. The Spirit knows what is sinful in your nature and He will expose it.

If God thinks your weakness involves money and material possessions and you easily get carried away by its sinful nature, then certainly He will ask you to let go of your possessions.

If it is pride from achievements and God knows it will lead you to become self-sufficient and self-glorifying, He certainly will rebuke you in that area too.

On a personal note, I hated the feeling of standing out because I have “more” in terms of the riches of this world. I hate entitlement and biases. Back when I was in high school, my Dad drops me off at school with his company car. I studied in a public school and it isn’t common for public school students to be dropped off or fetched by a car going to school or going home.

So what I did, I asked my Dad to drop me off at the main road and then I’d walk about 1 km going to school instead. Pretty absurd, right? lol My Dad couldn’t get my logic behind that but as a loving Dad that he always is, he always gives in. 😉

Even now, I still have this guilty feeling when I eat in a fancy restaurant or when I dress up too much only to see a beggar on the street dressed in shabby clothes talking to himself, or an old woman who pees on her ragged clothes and sleeps on the side streets, or that kid rummaging the garbage can and someone treated him a meal at Ministop.

It’s that aching guilt that what I can only offer to them at that point were prayers. I felt that they deserve more than my prayers or a meal. I was saved by grace, I know they will be saved too by His grace. Though this world may be unfair to them, God is never unjust and I can only continue praying that they will live the life that they deserve. I am confident they will have that kind of life in eternity. But how do I share the Word with a stranger without being rejected? Yes, that is what I always ask every time I felt this need to talk about faith with those who aren’t saved yet.

There is no perfect answer how we should all live. But as far as I know, the Bible is clear in stating we should all be Christ-like in every manner. No, we can never be like Him when it comes to supremacy because He is the one and only TRUE GOD. But as followers of Christ, He gave us the Bible as a guide how to live pure and uncorrupted lives.

“So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit in spite of the severe suffering it brought you. In this way, you imitated both us and the Lord.” – 1 Thessalonians 1:6

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” – James 1:27

I guess what we can only ask ourselves is not a matter of whether we live like a beggar or live like a loud or silent millionaire but a question whether we’re going to allow the world to corrupt us or not?

My answer is a solid “NO.” And yes, “no” to excuses too. Let us never validate our actions even if they are wrong because what is sinful to God will always be sinful to God.

They say Christianity is a lifestyle. With that in mind, I constantly ask myself: are we really living it out? Or are we too consumed by this world we already forgot who we’re supposed to be living for?

“Live in freedom, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.” – 1 Peter 2:16

“Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.” – 1 Timothy 6:6‭-‬8

P.S.

This is a 1am thought, by the way, written a few weeks ago. It’s an unlikely hour but I always have this urge to write and browse through random bible readings from 12am until 3am. The thoughts just all come as fluid as they can be making me finish an entire article in just 15minutes compared when I write them during the daytime.

It’s the “bewitching hour,” some say. Or maybe the Spirit always come during these unlikely hours? Or maybe God whispered a la the story of Samuel? 😀

Ah, I am assuming and I can never tell but the verse below just popped into my head so I searched for the exact bible chapter and verse over Google. Are you also ready? 😉

“He may come in the middle of the night or just before dawn. But whenever He comes, He will reward the servants who are ready.” – Luke 12:38

Serious Talks: Insurgencies and Helping Hands

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As you all know I barely touch on political and social issues here on my blog. This is also the reason why the articles before this are pretty “light.” I intended to organize them in this manner because today’s article is heavy reading. Definitely not heavy reading similar to academic or scholastic reading but let’s just say most points are all serious talks. 🙂

Another reason why I also skip covering these topics is that they are highly debatable. I love to hear varying and opposing views because you get to see both sides of the coin. However, when it becomes a heated discussion that leads to an argument, there is a tendency for the discussion to go off-topic. This is with the exception of debate teams, of course. They were trained how to keep their arguments well within the premises of the discussion and topic on hand.

On the contrary, when I share about faith, my appeal is usually reflective and personal. Yes, no one can question your experiences or what you have learned from your experiences. It is your story, you own it, nobody can nullify your “arguments.” Unless, of course, if it is a rebuke by the Spirit in cases where your testimony contains any of these – arrogance, pride, selfishness, self-entitlement, etc. and never in a way brings glory to God but glory to self.

Sometimes the Spirit’s leading brings me to topics that I would like to swerve away from but found myself writing about it just like now. So before I wrote this post, I asked God’s leading that I may choose the right words (never to condemn anyone) to let the message across. By the way, as of writing, it is Sunday but I will post it Friday. The tugging already came in now. 😉

Yet another reason why I don’t post heavy political writings is that I graduated from a university stereotyped as the university where most student activists were born and made – the University of the Philippines (Diliman). I cannot junk this statement either as truth or fallacy. It is partly true and it is partly false. I love my alma mater. I owe so much from this academe though it brought me bittersweet experiences. On a broader perspective, it made me to who I am now – just like faith.

Now for this one, a current issue about UP students becoming activists and doing nothing but to rally on the streets instead of focusing on their studies became the limelight of Facebook newsfeed as of the late. I read extremely derogatory accusations targeted towards the entire community of UP. I wanted to defend my alma mater. But I chose to keep mum about it on social media.

Why, Tin?

I know there are so many things that are beyond our control much more the human reactions and the human thoughts. I can never force people to understand where I came from and why my sentiments are such in those matters. Even if, let’s say, my sentiments have so much more bearing because I have first-hand experiences about growing up and living in the UP community as an “Iskolar ng Bayan.”

Iskolar ng Bayan – that is the second name UP students go by. Translated into English, we are scholars wherein our education is funded by the state. We were the high school students all over the Philippines who qualified by passing a mind-boggling entrance exam in layman’s terms. 😉 Our education is not free. But we pay low tuition fees for a good quality of education. Yes, UP is considered as one of the premier state universities in the country.

Not all of us are activists who rally on the streets. But all of us are ACTIVISTS BY HEART. The indoctrination of the university to serve the country as a way of giving back to the privilege of having scholarships granted to us lies embedded deep within us. It taught us resilience, to fight for what is right, to defend those who can’t, and to help those in need.

If there is one factor that I appreciate being an alumna of this university, it is the fact that I first became aware of the social and political issues when I was a college student back in 2002. The social experience and acculturation of the UP spirit are more defined and rooted among the undergraduates than on those who studied in the campus for their graduate studies. I guess this is self-explanatory? But I’ll explain it anyhow. 😀

Graduate students commonly meet once a week only and are not required to be involved with the university’s non-academic student functions and affairs. The only exception is when it is the grad student’s personal interest to immerse in those activities voluntarily. It is more likely too that grad students are preoccupied with a day job. Whereas if you’re an undergrad student, the peer pressure is greater. When your college friends started joining organizations, attending UP concerts, hanging out in dorms, etc., you are more or less forced to join the crowd.

This is the UP culture itself. It urged me to look beyond the social dogma and to learn how to work hand in hand with fellow students from all walks of life may it be the son of a senator or the daughter of a farmer. I became aware what the society is lacking, what the government is trying to do, and how the entire citizens are faring. And what can you, as students and in your own little way, give back to help?

We are not all activists who rally on the streets. BUT we are all aiming to become CATALYSTS OF SOCIAL CHANGE. Now, these two are completely different. An activist opposes a particular system, rule, or law and DEMANDS CHANGE. But catalysts of social change are those who, in their little power, INITIATE CHANGE and make the world a better place. Yes, not just my country. But it is very well a good advocacy to help those around you first, right? This is where the community comes in.

Rallies are the same as insurgencies. It is always an upheaval against the current way of governance regardless of who is the appointed leader. When we decided to utilize a property whether it is for commercial purposes or not, we are faced with one particular challenge – dealing with insurgencies and revolutionary taxes.

When I was a kid, I am already aware what “revolutionary taxes” are for. My dad, as a farmer and an engineer, gives these so-called “revolutionary taxes” along with other farmers and business owners in our town. They are an amount of money provided to the CPP-NPA or the Communist Party of the Philippines- New People’s Army.

They are very active in the provinces. Sometimes we hear news of people being shot point blank in public and rumors going around that the person was killed because that person committed an offense to someone. Then that someone sought justice and help from the NPA.

We do not condone such practices but sadly, it has already become the norm. When I asked Dad back when I was a child why we have to give, he just said it is mandatory. If you can’t pay the revolutionary taxes, they usually resort to destroying your establishments or property if you are a business owner. I asked Dad who these people are. He said that they are the ones who protect the people. If I interpreted it right, the people’s hope and savior.

When I was a little girl, I have always loved the idea of your “Knight in Shining Armor.” Ah yes, who among the ladies wouldn’t be bedazzled with that? Even guys loved the idea of having saviors like a superhero – the one who saved the world. Marvel has so much of that. 😉

But I also thought, the wrong notion of “saviors” and “salvation” can actually lead to even more lost lives, more chaos, more war, more pain, more hunger, and more poverty. Countries where there is zero violence, like Norway, are the richest countries all over the world (Source: http://fortune.com/2017/11/17/richest-country-in-the-world/). But in countries where war is anywhere but there, there are all sorts of endless social problems from hunger, poverty, illnesses, to murder, crimes, robbery, etc.

Salvation is an ideology to some. Society may not tackle it like how the church does but at some point, the church has a greater responsibility in informing the public what TRUE SALVATION is and who is the RIGHTFUL SAVIOR. It definitely is not our President who can save us from all the calamities that will befall our land and neither can it be the “Knight in Shining Armor” no matter how shiny his shield is. Salvation is never ideological but experiential. You will never know salvation if you haven’t been in a situation where you truly sought for God’s help because no one else can help you.

Going back to businesses, businesses are there to help communities. It helps build a community and a society in fact. Where there is revenue, there is commerce. Where there is commerce, there is an industry. Where there is an industry, there is manpower and livelihood. Destroy the businesses, the livelihood, and the communities, everything else will follow. Where there is destruction, there is hopelessness. People look for “saviors” who can lift them out of their desolate situations.

A changed life surrendered to the rightful Savior in the name of Jesus Christ will result in the salvation of a community. Bring that one person home and surely his influences will go on to his children, grandchildren, etc. When it becomes magnified, it can change a community. It is easier said than done but think of Jesus, Pilates, and the Romans. Jesus instilled change, Jesus was considered an “insurgent,” and many opposed it which brought Him to His death on the Cross. But little did everyone know that it was the kind of death which magnified Him as the Son of God and the power of God, Himself. This is now the HOPE that we cling on to.

CommunityHelp

Helping people cross over. 🙂 Photo copyright: istock.com

My prayer now is for God to lead us in helping communities progress through our sustainable projects not just with the livelihood, but to shed light upon who is the ultimate Savior – the one who died on the Cross for us. May more minds and eyes are opened and more hearts be touched, may it be in whatever medium that God will use as His instrument for the Good News to break through. Yes, we can only do so little in helping others compared to how God can completely transform the life of one human being, of one community, of one nation, and ultimately, of the world.

By the way, this is supposed to be a Holy Week special but I thought about posting it earlier since most of us will have our own moments of reflection during the week. 🙂

I just hope this article will remind us how to commemorate what took place on the Cross hundreds of years ago and how we can all be catalysts of social change through God’s grace and guidance. May His Saving power allow us all to fulfill the tasks set out before us in His perfect time – how we will carry our own crosses. ❤

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” – Acts 1:8

“And then He told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.” – Mark 16:15

P.S.

If you aren’t sure how or where to get started in initiating change, start by helping fund a student’s education. Some of the organizations listed in the left panel (web version) or lower portion (mobile version) of my website help kids get a scholarship. You can also ask your local church if they sponsor outreach activities and medical missions to communities. Or if you know a certain family, reach out to them. Helping doesn’t necessarily have to involve money. You can help by offering emotional and spiritual support through mentoring or even by prayers. Yes, never underestimate the power of prayers. 🙂

Also, these serious talks won’t be complete without this – it is Dad’s 78th birthday today! To honor him, I made him a portrait sketch which looked like he is in his 40s. 😀 Ah yes, may the good Lord bless the work of his hands, give him good health, protection, and strength in the coming years. ❤ ❤ ❤

Daddy

“Daddy” (9″ x 12″ Pencil Sketch)

Knowing Your Purpose: Are You a Godpreneur?

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Disclaimer: This is a pretty long message but you’ll enjoy reading the rest of it (I think or I think not). 😀 If you do feel sleepy in the middle though, you may skip the boring ones and just get on to the next pile of stories. 😉

“Are you a Godpreneur?”

Yes, I am a Godpreneur…..in the making. That is, for me and my siblings. 😀

But first, thanks be to God for restoring our landline and wi-fi connection from super slow to nothing last week to just right fast now. Just in time for me to prepare for this article yesterday, write, and post it today. Btw, 1mb for me is fast enough. lol 😀 If you are wondering too if I have no work assigned today, yep, God allowed it my Thursday and Friday be free for this week so I could research and prepare for this article.

So what is a Godpreneur? This might be the first time you’ve heard of it. If you have read my post entitled An Ode to My Grandpa: Memoirs, that was the first time I mentioned the term “Godpreneur.”

AboutGodpreneur

This is the website where I encountered the term first: http://www.dailygodpreneur.com/. When I checked it out, I can only say that indeed, this is what I need for this season. I’d like to reiterate what the owner of Daily Godpreneur said regarding the importance of reading your bible on a daily basis every morning. I do that every day too since I got saved in 2013. It is such a vital process if you want to know what God’s will is for you and in knowing your calling. Here’s how my journal/planner looks like – a combination of daily bible verses, daily devotionals, and prayers:

2018-02-09-15-15-42

Try writing in cursive, it is becoming rare nowadays. 🙂

But before I went to that website, I first got a glimpse of it through IG in its random Search feed where it collates similar photos based on your likes. Most of my liked photos are about bible verses so I thought maybe it got integrated with it. It captured my attention (God’s plan for sure) and I checked out the IG profile. At that time, I just came back from my hometown where hubby and I spent our Christmas vacation.

HowtoBecomeAGodpreneur

You may download his e-book for free: “How to Become a Godpreneur and Let God Be Your CEO.” 😍

After the prayer and fasting, this became one of the topics that the Spirit prompted me to write about – An Ode to My Grandpa: Memoirs. I wrote the article, shared it on Facebook, and tagged my siblings. I did mention in the article I have no idea how to utilize the land without the finances to back it up. The next thing that happened, we were all making serious plans about it. Literally serious plans. 🙂

When I wrote that article I guess I was praying to God that if this is His will over me and my family, may He lead the way and prepare us all for the tasks beforehand. Now, when I look back to the decisions I made, the sacrifices my husband and I had to go through, it seems the pieces of the puzzle are starting to fall into place though the entire picture is nowhere near completion.

Everything made sense.

All you need to do is just let go and let God, again and again and again. 🙂 Part of the sacrifices and hard decisions I mentioned is letting go of an opportunity to be promoted to a Managing Editor and earn 30-40k which could’ve brought me and my husband to such great relief financially. But when I prayed to God about it, the question He asked was this, “What is your motivation, Tin, for getting the promotion?”

Don’t get me wrong though, I absolutely love my job now as a freelance content writer. I never enjoyed any work I did in my previous jobs than how I do now. I love how my work demanded versatility as a writer with all the different clients and specific demands we have to deal with. But my reason is mainly that I didn’t feel it in my heart to take on the responsibility. If my motivation is the high salary, we all know it is the wrong motivation. I may be ready to take on editing roles, however, managing people is my waterloo. I wasn’t prepared so to speak and I felt it isn’t God’s perfect time either.

But hear ye, hear ye. God hears prayers even those little voices that our hearts tend to whisper because we are unaware we’re praying for them already. This article (http://www.dailygodpreneur.com/disciplining-employees/) yet again from Daily Godpreneur came just in time along with so many articles that I can totally relate now. I can’t help sharing them with my siblings too. In one instance, my brother mentioned in one of our meetings that if we are to venture into this business, it is not going to be for profit. We all agreed to it.

I also suggested we can use parts of the land as a retreat area and for the vacation home, God already gave us ideas how it should look like. For example, I got this idea of putting tables with bible verses on top of it when we ate at Mary Grace restaurant. Nothing is more spiritually rejuvenating during your retreat than being surrounded by the exact Words of God while communing with nature which is God’s creation at its best, right? 🙂

IMG_20180130_233641_882I was also hooked on this survival game called Ocean is Home. I loved it because the setting is on a deserted island (nature). But the good thing is that you get to design and build your own house just like a real architect’s AutoCAD. I know you’re going to laugh at me if I tell you that I actually made a floor plan for the game like what real architects do. lol 😀

 

Just to share though, this is common in the family. When I was young, I always see my Mom making floor plans. Both Mom (grade school teacher) and Dad (civil engineer) designed our ancestral house. I also have a cousin (mother side) who’s an architect and yet another cousin (father’s side) who’s a talented painter and artist. So I guess sketching and floor plans are quite a normal thing to do in the fam either by profession or as a hobby. 😉

Back to the game, I took screenshots of it after how many days of building it. Then suddenly an idea popped into my head and blurted it out to my hubby: “Hon, do you think it’ll be a great idea if I show this to my siblings as one suggestion for the design of the vacation home?” What do you think? 😀 I highly recommend this game if you’re into building stuff.

 

My eldest sister also suggested the idea of using our business to provide a livelihood in our community. The farmers and their families living near the property which we plan to utilize have work depending on the planting and harvest season only. This means they need to look for other jobs to sustain their families during the times they have no farm work. These farmers and their families have been serving our families for decades since we were young and even way before that when it was my late grandpa who was managing the farm.

Screenshot_20180125-102854

We would like to pay it forward by serving them and their needs too. I did mention in my previous articles that God placed a desire in my heart to put up my own school someday and a foundation that will help students without the financial capability to have a good education. This is actually the reason why I pursued a master’s degree in Special Education altho halfway through my grad study, I did let the opportunity go because God led me to a different path. If it is still God’s will for me to put up a school, this could still materialize how many years or decades from now in the property which we plan to utilize.

I was born a people-pleaser. My Mom once told me it isn’t a good thing. But thinking about it in a Christian context, I believe being a people-pleaser is actually good. Only this time the one I am pleasing is not people but God. How? By serving others not to earn my way to Heaven or receive a reward from God but to fulfill His tasks and to share what He has given me.

My siblings and I have been gifted with skills and resources despite some setbacks and I know they are for a purpose and never for self-gain. All of us, I believe, have been gifted with certain talents and skills because we all compose the body of Christ – everyone has a specific role to play. Just like how 5 of us, siblings, have a special part to fulfill to make our project work. But then again, use it never for self-gain. If God gifted you with so many talents and skills, then He has greater work for you to do.

One of the famous entrepreneurs in history and Microsoft founder Bill Gates also said the same thing:

Bill Gates

Biblically speaking, it can be found in this verse:

“…When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.” – Luke 12:48

Speaking of skills, you’ll never know when God will use them for His purposes. It doesn’t mean you have to go through the same experiences others did so you’d “activate” them. But it is all between you and God. He will use circumstances only designed for you and you alone because that is part of His blueprint when He designed you to fulfill a certain task – your calling. Do not try to copy how others lived and what they pursued because that is God’s calling for their lives. If we will always follow what others are doing WITHOUT consulting God FIRST, we are wasting away what God has prepared for us which, as we all know, is always the best. ❤

You may want to check this one out too. Every time I write my Friday article or even articles at work, I listen to worship songs. I sometimes play my guitar and my husband’s guitar as my icebreaker away from any screen (mobile phone or laptop).

So I browsed the internet one time for chords and lyrics of some worship songs I heard during a Sunday service. Voila, I stumbled upon this awesome website and it’s just the perfect site I was looking for. You’ll find most worship songs here with chords, lyrics, and tabs along with music videos and interviews with the composers and songwriters themselves. I am pretty sure they, too, have their own set of testimonials which led them to pursue God’s calling for them.

http://worshiptogether.com/songs/broken-vessels-amazing-grace/

Yes, they are all using their gifts, talents, and skills to fulfill God’s calling for them. Just like our very own Filipina composer, musician, and singer (a beautiful lady too), sis Moira Dela Torre. Here’s her original composition entitled Safe now featured in Victory Worship’s new album. Can you guess what the title of the album is? You guessed that right, “For Your Purpose.” Amazing, isn’t it? 😀

You may watch her acoustic version in the video below:

Going back to God’s purpose, my husband and I are going to relocate yet again to a new place soon which, I am sure, is part of God’s plans too. We have a lot of people to be grateful for in this season and I just can’t help thanking God for them every single day. Along with it also came great opportunities. I already have hints how the plans will play out but I can’t say it is exactly what will happen. Simply because I am not God and “His ways are higher than mine and so are His thoughts higher than my thoughts.” 😀

So finding out what my hints are is something for you to look forward to. I’ll share if my instincts, guesses, foresight, prophecy, ESP, whatever term you may call it, are correct. So stay tuned for my next Friday article. 😀

Also, yesterday a bible verse for the day popped up from my screen courtesy of BibleScreen.com which ignited something that I have been trying to figure out but at a loss what was it. The word came out – prosperity of the wicked. I decided to type it into Google search and ended up reading bible study websites which pointed me to Psalm 37. Upon reading it, Psalm 37 encapsulated what I think now is God’s way of preparing us – how to deal with the money and success through God’s way since we are going to put up a business which, as we all know, is greatly involved with money. Money is the root of all evil, that is a given too. So God made a step ahead to guard our hearts against finding the wrong motive.

For now, I know I am in towards a whole new set of different seasons and I am feeling scary ( no, I should not be) but I have these verses to equip the journey ahead. Yes, God will pave the way too and I need not worry. 🙂

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.” – Exodus 20:12

“You shall walk in all the ways which the Lord has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess.” – Deuteronomy 5:33

“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” – John 15:5

“You can make many plans, but the LORD’s purpose will prevail.” – Proverbs 19:21

“Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and He will establish your plans.” – Proverbs 16:3

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.” – Matthew 6:33

“The LORD Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” – Deuteronomy 31:8

“For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” – Philippians 4:13

“Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” – Matthew 19:6

P.S.

I hope these verses gave you the armor you needed too in whatever quest or crusade you’re set to journey on. The same goes when it comes to discovering the purpose that God has set for you to fulfill. Let’s all pray for God’s leading, our Master in everything, and claim the beautiful promises that He has for you, for me, and for the rest.

“Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.” – Proverbs 3:6

From God’s journeyman with love,

Tin ❤

The Journeyman’s Moments: Becoming

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Hello there, beloved reader! Yep, hello Friday too! 🙂 So here’s the post for this week’s installment. I was saving it for my blog site’s 6th year anniversary in October. But I just felt like posting it today so here it is. 😀

I am pretty sure most of you are interested to find out why I named this blog as “The Journeyman’s Moments.” I never really thought much about the name of my personal blog when I started to put it up back in 2012. I didn’t even intend on being a consistent blogger. 😉

I just thought I need to have my own space too in the blogosphere and share snippets of what I do. Little did I know God has a purpose behind it all – my blog as a megaphone for my faith. So back to the “journeyman,” I was thinking what will describe my blog which is all about my lifelong learning and my day-to-day journey here in this world. I started doing my research and caught a glimpse of the word “journeyman.” I made a quick research about it then I thought it’ll be good enough for now, I can change it any time anyway.

BUT little did I know too that this word will mean so much more. God never makes things happen for no reason. It is always the other way around and always to satisfy His purpose. As of writing (1/25/2018), I made an in-depth study of the word and it all dawned on me now why it has to be “journeyman.” Here’s the link to Wikipedia’s definition of it so you’d get the context: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journeyman.

If you will notice, I described my blog with this:

“The musings of a wandergeselle about faith, literature, music, dancing, culture, food, travels, art, fashion, photography, life experiences and everything in between from journée to journée.”

A “wandergeselle“ is a wandering journeyman – someone who is always in different places to learn something new. I have been in different seasons and places (locally) since I started this blog. It brought me to new people, new experiences, and new learnings which all made me who I am now. I am still learning, I am a true-blue journeyman in my profession, I have other obligations outside work which require me to be a journeyman too, and through it all, I submit to one Master who teaches me everything that I needed to know – GOD. 🙂

I also never thought about the background photo or the logo for my blog except for my photoshopped picture of a road and my randomly chosen bible verse closer to my life verse:

“I am confident that the good work that God has begun in me will be perfected.” – Philippians 1:6

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Reading it now made me realize that this verse also speaks about being on a journey with my Maker and my Master. It is indeed true that when you let go and let God take charge of your life when you surrendered to Him, He will and He will be the orchestrator of your new life – the One behind the steering wheel. We may not understand His ways at first, but our obedience is a sign of our love and our faith in God. So when the Spirit tells your heart something, always, always take heed and act on it – right away. 🙂

What Matters

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Friday blog post is here! 😀 I guess I need to start every Friday’s blog post with an attitude of gratitude thanking God who gives me the Grace always. 😉 Why? It seldom happens that I am idle and doing nothing. This means I need to find time for my blog and of course, find time for God. 😉 But as always, hindi Nya ako binibigo. Lagi Syang nandyan para alalayan ako.

For the most part of this article, English ang gagamitin kong lenggwahe. ‘Yun ay dahil ni-copy and paste ko lang sila from the caption of my photos over Instagram and tweaked it a bit para maging isang article. 😀

The gist of this article revolves around last holidays’ events (still) since I was hibernating for almost a month in the blogosphere. So, here goes my story. 🙂

I am sure a holiday never passes by na wala tayong natatanggap na regalo. Kahit sabihin nating konti lamang natanggap natin, meron at meron pa din tayong natanggap. However, in my case, I don’t go about counting how many gifts I received. I am even fine in case I don’t receive any.

Why? Let’s just say I am never materialistic because my love language is quality time. I appreciate gifts not based on their worth or brand but based on the sentimental value. Yet I never fail to appreciate all of them because I know they’ve been given thoughtfully.

To our beloved families and friends, our deepest thank you for all your time and effort to shower us with these gifts. This gives us all the more reason to pay it forward. So if you see me using branded stuff, they are not a personal choice but are gifts. 😉

Next in line was the holiday feast – yes, the food coma. *burp* I have made a promise that during the holiday season, one of my ways to express my love for God is to serve others. The best way to serve your family is through the tummy, right? 😃

Though it’s hard to pull off several dishes (chicken skewers, shrimp scampi, embutido, stuffed roasted chicken, beef broccoli, leche flan – not in the pic), I am just grateful to my assistant chefs (Ate Boden and hubby dear) for helping me out in the kitchen. But most importantly, I give thanks to God for giving me the grace to do it. ☝❤

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” – 1 Peter 4:10

This was the reason why I was hibernating on social media during the holiday season. I was very busy in the kitchen because having good food on the table means longer conversations a.k.a. meaningful, priceless moments with the family. This is something that social media can never offer – genuine moments and memories made along with your loved ones.

The cake’s not mine though because baking’s not my cup of tea. I am also not a lover of cakes but my Mom is the ultimate fan so there went Goldilocks’ Rocky Road. 😀

For the latter part of the holidays and the early part of January, hubby and I spent quality time with my second sister, Ate Ayn, and her Norwegian hubby, Kuya TK (they recently got married! Yay!). One of these photos was taken after our church service at Victory Fort.

Ah yes, this is just one of my answered prayers for my second sister – to have a lifelong companion who will be her prayer partner and who will share in her ups and downs, in sickness and in health ’til death parts them both. I am just grateful for this especially since she lives in Norway and we have no relatives there.

Indeed Lord, despite all the troubles we faced, You always give us a reason to smile, be grateful, and know Your goodness. Thank You for everything You’ve done for me, my hubby, and our families. All of us will remain to worship You as our one and only GOD in our lives.

Real treasures aren’t really those that are tangible but those that lay hidden in the depths of our souls and our hearts. They are what matters to God.

“..but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the Word, making it unfruitful.” – Mark 4:19

May we all not be pierced with so many sorrows brought about by the complexities of our own worldly choices. But may our minds be renewed so we can live in utmost freedom savoring the very essence of salvation – the priceless, most beautiful gift we have received and we can ever receive. ❤

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” – Romans 12:2

So this is it! This wraps up the Friday article for this week and I am wishing everyone a blessed weekend ahead! 🙂

From God’s daughter with love,

Tin ❤

An Ode to My Grandpa: Memoirs

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Finally! Thank You, Lord, for giving me the grace to finish my work earlier so I could post this. As promised, it is going to be in Filipino. But I’m keeping titles in English. 😉

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Biniro ko minsan si Brian na if he wanted to be a farmer, he will be going home with soiled clothes and feet from the mud every day. 😃

When we visited the farm at mga Japanese tunnels noong World War II doon, hindi lang damit ang naputikan kay Brian kundi pati ang ulo. Sa tanong na paano ito napunta doon, lahat kami ay walang maisagot. 😁

Masaya sariwain ang kabataan ko dito na para sa aming magkakapatid at magpipinsan ay isang napakalaking playground. My late grandfather taught us all about the history of the place. Naalala ko, madalas syang magkwento noon habang iniikot kaming mga apo sa bukid nang nakapaa sya. He’s never used to wearing slippers. Yup, a true-blue farmer. 😃

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My family along with my maternal grandparents (seated) and that’s 7-year old me in between them. 🙂

My maternal grandpa was also one great historian. Napakahilig nyang magbasa ng history books. He’s a great storyteller too and a devout Protestant. Sa kanya ko actually unang nakita paano maglahad ng faith with all fire and fervor every Sunday’s bible study.

My 94-year old grandma reminded us last holidays na kung ano mang meron kami ngayon, dahil ‘yun sa sakripisyo at effort ng lolo ko. When she said that, this bible verse came to mind:

“I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” – Genesis 17:8

At naalala ko na oo nga pala, sabi ni Mommy sa akin noon na noong bata pa sila madami silang tinirhan. Palipat-lipat ika nga ng tirahan bago nag-settle sa hometown namin ngayon. Nasambit ko sa aking sarili na it was my grandpa’s faith in the Lord and the Lord’s promise to him which brought my parents to where they are now and where we are now, his grandchildren.

Currently, masasabi kong I am at a loss how to utilize the land. My siblings and I have plans about it. Pero nananalaytay sa aming mga puso how to utilize it na mape-preserve exactly kung ano nakita namin noong una kaming dinala ng mga magulang namin doon when we were just kids.

Pero para maging productive ang lupaing ito, kailangan ng malaking pondo – still praying to God for this. Nothing is impossible with Him, kaya alam ko rin na kung kasama ito sa will and plans Nya for us, He will lead the way and provide the means.

Siguro kasama na rin sa mga plano ni God kung bakit na-assign ako sa mga business websites in my current job as a content writer. At first it was a definite struggle sa akin dahil wala akong background sa entrepreneurship, investing, finance, and everything related to money. But right now, with all the research that I am doing for my articles, natututo ako unti-unti. Sabi ko nga sa hubby ko, hindi ko na kailangan mag-aral ng MBA or MBM. Dahil sa ginagawa ko pa lang ngayon, para na akong nage-MBA. 😀

Regarding sa pag-aaral ng MBA or Business Management, minsan sumagi na rin ito sa aking isipan. At nabanggit ko rin sa aking asawa. Kasi sabi ko wala akong alam how to manage properties para gawing business. Hindi ako marunong humawak ng mga tao at wala din akong alam sa accounting. I mentioned this in my previous article na I asked my Dad about this dilemma and his answer was that we will learn in time.

As of writing, the thought is pretty daunting and scary for me – being an entrepreneur for real. But I am pretty sure God will prepare us along the way. Who knows, 10,000 years from now this is where another of God’s temple will be built. 😉

Ah yes, everything in God’s time indeed. This verse reminded me also why God made promises that are fulfilled in His own time:

“An inheritance obtained too early in life is not a blessing in the end.” – Proverbs 20:21

It’s just amazing that I also stumbled upon this IG account while I was browsing in my newsfeed and it’s exactly what I am looking for – how to be a Godpreneur. 😉

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Yes, there are so many things I don’t know and so many questions I want to ask. But I can only thank God for the lives of my grandparents on both sides of my parents. We are who we are because of them and because of God. What I have now I will forever cherish including my memories of them which are always a priceless treasure. 🙂

P.S.

This quotation today from my planner also came just in time, as always. This is not really related to the post but it’s related to today’s events. 🙂

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Make Praying Your Daily Habit

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At home, my husband and I made it a habit to take turns in praying before bedtime and before mealtime. This is regardless if we are going through tough times or good times. We intend our future kids to do the same for the following reasons:

1. They learn how to pray regardless of their ages. The little one (early grade schooler) can say a line or a 3-line prayer while for the older one (pre-teens), 5 sentences (so precise, Tin. lol) can be enough. 😉

2. You teach them responsibility and accountability at an early age. This will give them the confidence to take on leadership roles in the future and be accountable for it. They will have to choose what to pray for.

If they ask, “Mom/Dad, I don’t know what to pray for.” You can simply say, “Listen carefully when Dad or Mom prays. You may pray the same things but when you are older, pray from your heart and what your heart is telling you.”

3. They learn to address us, parents, as spiritual leaders of the household. We are the mentors, we guide them, we set the examples. They will copy what they observe, thus, it is best to leave a legacy behind that is worth following/copying.

4. They learn to say grace, to extend grace, and to receive grace from God who provides all – a great opportunity to introduce and build faith in the family.

If you and your family don’t pray together, make it a habit now. Remember, it is also our responsibility as parents to lead them well while they are still young. 🙂

“Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.” – Proverbs 22:6

Saturday Reflection

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*Ibinahagi ko ito sa Facebook at naisipan kong maganda ring ibahagi ko sya dito since nagsisilbing online journal din naman itong blog na ito.

Noong nagsimula kaming bumukod ni Brian at nangupahan ng sarili naming apartment dito sa Makati sa simula ng taong ito, masasabi kong isa ito sa pinaka-challenging na pinagdaanan namin. Nag-decide akong bitawan na ang MA ko para maghanap ng trabaho at makatulong kay Brian kumita ng pera. Wala kaming gaanong ipon. Sa tanong na bakit biglaan ang paglipat, dahil hiningi na ito ng pagkakataon. Commuting from Cubao to Makati ay isang pahirap kay Brian bawat araw. Kung maghahanap din ako ng trabaho, kailangan sa malapit na rin sa pinagtatrabahuan nya.

Ang paglipat namin ay maituturing kong isang napakalaking suntok sa buwan. Literal na start from scratch kami. Pati pang-downpayment inutang pa namin sa mga magulang at kapatid ko. Wala din kaming mga gamit sa bahay dahil sabi ko kay Brian, kailangan naming matuto tumayo sa sarili naming mga paa. Hindi kami hihingi ng buong tulong sa pamilya namin hindi dahil sa pride kundi dahil kung hangga’t kaya namin magtiis at maka-survive, ‘yun at ‘yun ang gagawin namin. Sariling sikap kumbaga at tiwala sa Dios na Sya ang magpo-provide sa lahat ng kailangan at gastusin namin.

Ayan na’t naranasan namin ang kumain na walang table at upuan at naka-Japanese style kami. Nariyan na din ang sobrang pagtitipid sa pagkain gaya ng mga de lata at turo-turo na nirarasyon namin para mapagkasya sa isang buwan. Natulog din kami sa sleeping bag ng ilang buwan dahil wala pa kaming pambili ng kama. Our families offered to help pero sabi ko kay Brian, mabuti nang matuto tayong hindi sa kanila umasa lagi kapag nagigipit kung kaya naman nating magawan ng paraan. Matututo din tayong maging resilient at mag-endure ng anumang klaseng paghihirap. Lahat din ng produkto ng pagsisikap natin at sakripisyo ay mabibigyan natin ng malalim na pagpapahalaga at matututo tayong humawak ng pera at mga responsibilidad sa tamang paraan.

Marami pa kung tutuusin ang natutunan namin sa mga panahong iyon. At sa ngayon, masasabi kong hindi pa kami totally settled sa lahat ng aspeto. Nakaahon na pero may mga bagay pang kailangang i-settle.

One sweldo day naisambit ko ito kay Brian,

“Hon, ganito pala pakiramdam ng maraming binabayaran mula rent, bills, expenses sa bahay, at utang. Para bang dumaraan lang sa palad ko ang sweldo. Lagi tayong binabalik to step 1.

Siguro way ito ni Lord para sa Kanya tayo kumapit ng buong-buo sa lahat ng mga pangangailangan natin.” ;-)

And yet masasabi kong anumang paghihirap ang dumating sa mga darating na araw, kampante kaming malalagpasan namin iyon dahil nagawa naming malagpasan itong mahirap na sitwasyon.

Ganito rin naman nagsimula ang mga magulang namin. Dios lang ang kinapitan namin sa mga oras na ‘yun at encouragement and moral support galing sa mga pamilya namin. At masasabi kong ang Dios ay hindi kami binigo dahil inalalayan Nya kami all throughout. Trials refine a person’s character ika nga nila. Pinagtitibay nito ang pananampalataya mo sa Panginoon.

Kung dumaraan din kayo sa ganitong sitwasyon, manalig lang at manalangin palagi sa Dios. Gagabayan din Nya kayo para makaraos sa mahirap na sitwasyong iyong kinakaharap.Walang imposible sa Dios at alalahanin nyo rin itong life verse ko:

“I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” – Philippians 4:13

And lastly,

“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.”

– James 1:2‭-‬4

☺ ❤

The Christian Professional: How Do You Respond?

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Photo courtesy: StockSnap

I originally thought about putting the word “react” in the title. But based on what I’ve learned in our bible study group, there’s a difference between “respond” and “react.” In a situation, when you choose to react, emotions come into play first. Whereas with responding, you think and analyze first what is the situation on hand then that’s when you act. The former is usually regarded as negative and the latter as positive.

Too often we neglect responding when driven towards tight and tense situations. I must admit there are times wherein I reacted with anger and we all know what happened next – more consequences came along with it. Yes, reacting ends with regretting.

When I became a Christian, I have learned so much about self-control and discipline. It applies on all – the way I speak, the way I think, the way I act, and even with the way I decide. I cannot say I’ve done it perfectly now but it was a long grueling process of transformation. I am not sure if you’ll believe me when I say that before I got saved I am a cynic. Sarcasm’s my favorite language.

A person from my past once told me, “Tin, you don’t need a knife or any weapon to kill someone. Your words are enough.” At that time, I glorified in it. Yes, it gives me that sense of power when you crush someone’s ego and pride.

But my sarcasm ended there when part of my spiritual transformation involved I, myself, experience how it feels to be on the other end – the recipient of that sarcasm. That’s how I learned that God indeed punishes as part of His disciplinary actions as a Father to make His children better. So I’ve learned how painful it is. Only then did I realize I needed to change it completely.

Changing is hard if you’re doing it alone. You cannot change if you don’t know why you need to change and what is it that needs changing. When I was starting to immerse myself in the Bible back in 2013, I have found everything I needed to help me with the transformation – letting go of the old self and ushering in the new one.

You will find in the bible everything about forgiveness, about unconditional love, patience, understanding, gentleness, about not retaliating and so much more. So I got to say to myself that indeed, these are what it takes to learn them.

I am at this age (31) where I have been in different work settings since I started as a working professional back in 2008. I have seen the different work cultures and the diverse people I have worked with. I have also heard stories upon stories about their ordeal in the workplace and the struggle of having to live with those challenges day by day.

I have observed how crab mentality, favoritism, abuse of authority, wrong accusations, taking the blame for someone else’s mistake, bullying, and persecution are all present in every workplace. The workplace showcases the complexities of the human behavior which we have no control over and why there is a need for Christians to be the “salt and light” and set Christlike examples.

If we are to react in all the situations I have given, these are what will come out – irritability, anger, bitterness, hatred, and retaliation. I am sure you will agree with me there. That’s perfectly understandable – part of our fallen nature as a man is being corrupted with sinfulness such as greed, envy, jealousy, hunger for power, discontentment, rage, and all other sins. These are the same reasons why Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden.

And yet, those sins are part of what the Cross is for which is also part of our own crosses that we have to carry each day. But because Jesus already paid a price for those sins, we should claim free and uncorrupted lives.

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” – Romans 12:2

So what does God require of us now? Instead of retaliating, leave it all to God. I have long learned that we do not have the power to change people. In the same way that it was only God who helped me change, the same goes for others. Instead, what He instructed us to do is to lord it over to Him all these things and pray for others.

Instead of letting bitterness and anger take the best out of you and make your life miserable, choose to forgive. This way you’ll also learn to empathize with people. You’ll learn to understand why they have so much anger on you, why they are behaving that way or why they’ve done this to you.

Maybe they went through the same thing and their anger made them into the person that they hated. Maybe they are having relational problems at home. Maybe they are depressed. We really don’t know the reason why but only God sees the hearts of each and every one of us. He knows and sees everything so take heart in that too. Do not fear these people even. As God says,

“Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the Lord means safety.” – Proverbs 29:25

Don’t take it personally either. Why? If they haven’t been saved, we all know they are still under the stronghold of the enemy. They don’t know anything yet about the loving grace of God and how great His love is. So maybe that is the reason why God put us there so we could show them that.

Forgive and do not retaliate….answer with gentleness…submit to authority…follow without grumbling…and so on and so forth.

“Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the Word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.” – Philippians 2: 14-16

I have seen numerous cases wherein when you leave everything to God, God always acts and would do something about it. He is the ultimate judge so to speak and has the ultimate power to do everything. In the same way that I have been disciplined for my wrongdoings, the same goes for those who have wronged others. I do not glorify in it because I also felt how painful it was when God disciplined me. However, I am grateful because I know this will be the start of a new chance for a new life for them too.

For the record, I am grateful to God I am working with a great team. Yes, it is not a perfect team but I appreciate all my supervisors’ work and the effort of the rest of the team members to work cooperatively despite our different backgrounds. I have no assurance it will stay this way forever but as always, it is in my prayers.

But for those who are going through the opposite right now, always believe in your heart God did not put you there for no reason. He has a very good reason why you have to be exactly where you are now. It might be painful but the best way to respond to it is to pray and ask God this:

“Father, what do you want me to learn from this adversity/season/trial?”

Then ask Him to lead you and your ways so you won’t go astray, you won’t be tempted, and you won’t fall to committing any sin and face the consequences.

I will end this article with a bible passage and I hope it will encourage you to fight the good fight of faith may it be in the workplace or anywhere else that He has called you to be.

Lastly, always pray not just for yourself but for the people around you too. ❤

Have the Attitude of Christ

“Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

 Though he was God,[a]
    he did not think of equality with God
    as something to cling to.
Instead, he gave up his divine privileges[b];
    he took the humble position of a slave[c]
    and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,[d]
    he humbled himself in obedience to God
    and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor

    and gave him the name above all other names,
 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
 and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.

Shine Brightly for Christ

Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.

Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless. But I will rejoice even if I lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God, just like your faithful service is an offering to God. And I want all of you to share that joy. Yes, you should rejoice, and I will share your joy.”

– Philippians 2:1-18

P.S.

If after seeking for God’s help God has told you to leave a toxic company and all the negativity around it, it is best to take heed. Remember, it is not your boss who gave you your job, he was just used by God as an instrument for you to get that job. Bottomline is that, if God takes away that job from you, most likely He’ll give you another one according to His plans in His right time. 🙂

“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

 

Hope for the Young Generation

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This is an excerpt from my previous article but I added this part a bit later after the article was published. I thought it would be best if I share it separately in another blog post. 🙂

“I cannot do all those if I lack in finances. Volunteering, for me, can only do so much. I want to help in a way that I can see these people slowly reach their dreams and see them aim towards better opportunities in life.

The recent killings of juvenile delinquents here in the Philippines are very alarming. Not only that. These juveniles are rising by the number and are becoming more aggressive. If only the spiritual family can reach out to them before another young life becomes a collateral damage again, the better opportunities for these kids to have another chance in life. Poverty is not reason enough why these kids should resort to crime, robbery, and drugs and vice versa.

Poverty has an end. Education can be a tool for that – financial education, family planning education, livelihood education, and regular schooling. Faith makes it all happen.

If money is the problem, there are foundations willing to provide scholarships to students as long as students meet a certain criteria and fulfill a set of obligations. Just to mention a few, we have in church the Real Life Foundation. World Vision and Operation Blessing also provide that. These kids don’t actually need a one-time outreach event. What they need is serious mentoring making sure they’ve been given the right opportunities toward a better life through empowerment.

I am never a fan of spoon-feeding when it comes to succeeding in life in general. Just the way my parents have taught me, it is all about personal effort which contains persistence, patience, and resilience. And yet faith has taught me too that it is only God who provides EVERYTHING we need and that we should trust in Him alone.”

These kids need faith. They don’t need money per se but who they really need is God in their lives. I know more opportunities will arise in the following years – game changers, radicals, advocates, catalysts of social change, the academe, and businesses will unite toward one common goal with God at the center.

I am believing there is nothing impossible with God. That’s why I am claiming it as early as now and doing the best I can in my own little way to fulfill God’s will not just for my life but for the rest of the world.

Because this is what it really means to be the salt and light in the world and that is our mission here in this world as sons and daughters of God – preach the Gospel and share the love of God.

“So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.” – James 2:17

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.” – Matthew 6:33