New flats!

Sa wakas, nakabili na rin ako ng new shoes... I thank God for His provision! I got extra money to spare from my sweldo so I was able to buy these cute flats from The Little Things She Needs:

When John saw these, akala nya wine! Hahaha!

Flats #1

Flats #2

I shall use one of you tomorrow when I get back to work! Yey!

Salamat din kay Laureen Uy na sobrang magaling mag-promote, sa kanya ko nalaman ito at talagang na-curious ako sa brand na ito. 

Good thing meron nito sa Robinson's Galeria. Bought these yesterday before going to church. Only P1,199.00 two pairs. If you buy only one pair that would cost you P699. Ayun wala lang, share lang! Hehe.

Why God doesn't want His people to worry

For the last two weeks, I had the privilege of studying Matthew 6:25-34 and I taught a lesson I entitled "Why God doesn't want His people to worry" in Connect Agents' of Change GG on January 21st and 28th.  It was a challenging study time as the passage was VERY VERY RICH but I thank the Lord for His grace is indeed sufficient and His wisdom is just amazing!

Now let me share the gist of what I learned about the passage...

The word worry pertains to being distracted from things to the point that it causes us (believers) to lose focus in God and to not have that attitude of worship in everything that we do (same as in Luke 10:40-41).

The passage was addressed to believers as it states- "your heavenly Father" (Matthew 6:26) and "O you of little faith!" (Matthew 6:30).  Not everyone can call Him Father, only those who have a personal and intimate relationship with Him through Christ Jesus (John 1:12) and then Jesus didn't say "O you of NO faith" but rather "little." Who are those whom have genuine faith in Him but those who belong to Him right?

God's children shouldn't worry because God is their Father, He knows what they need even before they ask Him (Matthew 6:8), God the Father being the Creator of all things provides for His creation (Matthew 5:45) how much more to His children? God's children shouldn't worry about basic things needed with the arrogant attitude as if God wouldn't be able to provide it, because in the first place He already gave up His best (Romans 8:32) what else can He not give to us? God's children shouldn't worry because it shows that they do not trust God enough and lack of trust in God is sin! And God calls His children to continually seek His kingdom (Romans 14:17) and his righteousness (Romans 3:9-24) rather than worry!

To just ponder on the passage- Matthew 6:25-34- gives encouragement to me! It's mind blowing to realize and learn of the things I learned from this passage and I really thank the Lord for allowing me to study this, for guiding me and opening my heart to His truths, and for giving me the opportunity to apply it even before I teach it to our growth group.

Praise His name! To Him be all the glory!

Btw, here are my GG members and attendees that night:



L-R: John, Kuya Anthon, Jane (John's Sis-inlaw), Mama Edith (John's mom)



R-L: Raya, Sai and Lheng

How about you? How was your weekend?

Our partnership

I was supposed to share this last year [last month] but for some reason I totally forgot about it.

Anyway, just want to share photos of me and John during GCF Connect's Growth Groups' Christmas fellowship...

We had a wonderful opportunity serving God and His people that day- myself as one of the photographer, as a co-emcee, as an assistant overseer and then was also tasked to share my testimony as a GG leader for Connect Agent's of Change and Connect-Taguig (dami bang role? hehe) while John, he was the our speaker/preacher that day.

Nakaka-humble at nakaka-bless lang! And I really am so grateful to be serving the Lord with my future husband on the same ministry/group. As in, answered prayer talaga yun sa akin! Sa ministry na ito namin napa-practice ni John ang aming partnership... Yes! May ganun! Hehehe! :)

Anyway, as usual! The following are some of the photos during the event:

Bb. Litratista mode

Co-emcee of Olive and this was during the icebreaker game

Emcee mode pa rin

Bb. Litratista mode uli.
Jonas Acorda was my back-up in documenting the event. He was the one who took this. :)

And now here is John as he talks about what the Bible says about importance of Growth Group fellowship

Very enlightening yung message Nya through John. All were blessed and encouraged...

And may ilan na na-move tlaga na bumalik sa GG...

While the rest were all encouraged to continue on growing together in the Christian fellowship!

Medyo nag-over time nga lang si John... Sai was raising an idiot card saying: Extra Grace Time! Haha! :)
Pero oks lang naman, it was all worth it! Praise God!

Now here's me again...

This time sharing my testimony...

I look silly here! Haha!

Ilan sa mga GG members ko: (L-R) Cecil, Fhang Jena, Mich and Carmie far right.

Showing few pictures of our GG meetings. :)

To God be all the glory!

And I say it again, To Him be all the glory forever and ever, amen!

Nothing compares to serving the King of kings and Lord of lords! :)

Photo credits: myself and Jonas Acorda

An addition to the one I'm wearing

I've been meaning to post this here but I always forget to take pictures until today... Yey!

Ladies and gentlemen, my wedding ring:

Engagement ring's made of silver while the wedding ring is of white gold!

So love it! As in!

More of them in my photo-blog, check: Silver, White Gold and Diamonds and I will also feature this in my wedding blog of course! So watch out... :)

Hope you're all having a great Monday... Happy Chinese New Year!

Important lessons

Just want to share few of my take home from our Saturday night Bible study and Sunday service sermon:

"Not all good opportunity comes from God... As a believer, you have to always keep in mind that your purpose is to worship God in everything! If the "good opportunity" will draw you far or away from God and cause you to be distracted [worried] , then most probably that's not from Him!"

-John Velasquez (yes, my beloved Ü)

"There is a big difference between good and God's best! Let's be discerning..."

-Pastor Larry Pabiona, GCF Senior Pastor

I’ll sing to You Lord

♫ You are forever in my life
You see me through the seasons
Cover me with Your hand
And lead me in Your righteousness

And I look to You
And I wait on You

I’ll sing to You Lord
A hymn of Love
For Your faithfulness to me
I’m carried in everlasting arms
You’ll never let me go
Through it all... ♪

One song I listened to as I wake up today... very Encouraging...

Good morning all!

The Lord is good and His love endures forever!

Forty



*taken on our first day as a couple... seems like yesterday! *



Guess what?

It's our 40th month today!

Yay!

I love you more and more my love! :)

And thank You, Lord for showering us with your love and grace...

♥

My breakfast for today and some thoughts

My breakfast for today—Whole Wheat cereals, banana, coffee, Matthew 6:25-27 (in preparation for tomorrow night. I’ll teach in our GG), Luke 10:40-41 and then Genesis chapters 39 and 40. Talk about physical and spiritual feeding… Oh yeah! Burp!

Realization—I’m a Martha! Oh my, napa-ngiti ako when I studied that passage (Luke 10:40-41) about her earlier… I really am a Martha! And all along I thought I was a Peter. Hehe. Well siguro, may Peter side din ako. Wala lang. Na-realize ko lang and ngayon ko lang inadmit... My discipler told me that already pero dineny ko. Haha! :D

Sweet thought—I said to myself on my way to our office: "I miss John… But yeah, we’ll have a life time to spend together very soon so that’s okay! I can miss him now but I shouldn’t have to be so emo about it."

Bow. Thank God it’s Friday! :)

Hershey

John texted me this last night:

"May bad news pala... Wala na si Hershey."

He said he died Tuesday, January 17, 2012. He accidentally ate something with poison which caused his stomach and intestines to have holes... He was in pain for days and he tried to bear it but his body gave up...

You will be missed dear Hershey, ang pinaka-cute na shih-tzu sa balat ng lupa!



Yung short lambingan/kulitan natin nung Monday was our last na pala... :(
I'm sure Mommy (Ate Alynna) will miss you more!

Oh my, he's not mine and yet I'm crying over him... :'(

To my best friend... ♥

♫ I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend

Lucky to have been where I have been

Lucky to be coming home again

I'm lucky we're in love in every way

Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed

Lucky to be coming home someday♪

Wala lang, that song is playing and I automatically thought of you... Hehe! Miss you! Love you! Mwuah! ♥

Philippians Sermon series

3 I thank my God every time I remember you. 4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 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.

7 It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. 8 God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. -Philippians 1:3-8

Our Senior Pastor, Dr. Larry Pabiona preached on that passage last Sunday.
 
And every Sunday talagang blessing for me, kasi sobrang personal ang pag-speak sa akin ng Panginoon and I really thank Him for that!  He speaks well through His servant, Pastor Larry...
 
And so I want to share it here. You can watch last Sunday's GCF sermon here.
 
Hope you're having a good day! :)
 
Blessings!

Tip # 5

I found a new blog worth reading and sharing... She posted an article entitled "20 Tips for Teen Girls" and this is just one of my favorite:

5. Dress fashionably, but modestly. You want to be remembered for your personality (which is unique) not your cleavage (which looks exactly like everyone else's).

Haha! So true, right?

Go check her blog here!

Kristin is a writer/comedian who bounces back and forth between Los Angeles and Dallas. She writes for Susie Magazine, a Christian magazine for teen girls, and does stand up all over the place. She loves Chipotle and cupcakes, slapstick comedies, and attempting to grow things in the pile of dirt she calls a garden.

Connect - Taguig :)

I just realized I haven't shared this here.

One of the newest Growth Group (or GG) of GCF Connect is Connect-Taguig. We meet up every Saturday 7am in Bonifacio Global City. The group started meeting last year, July 9, 2011 and since then the Lord has been using the GG to be a venue where people get to know the Lord Jesus Christ on a deeper, personal and intimate level, and for believers to have fellowship and accountability to strengthen each other...

Last Saturday was our first meeting for this year and we conducted it in our new "home" because the original place we conduct our GG last year closed down already (we miss you Dunkin Donut Cafe! We really do!).

Our GG has been going through a study of the Parables.  And last Saturday, we studied Matthew 13:44-45 with John (my beloved) teaching... It was a divine appointment! And I was really encouraged and blessed by that encounter with the Lord and the fellowship that we had. Add to that two first timer guest came! Whom I am hoping and praying to attend regularly. Praise God talaga for that day!

Anyway, you know me, I love pictures... So here are few photos during our Growth group / Bible study fellowship.

Ladies and gentlemen, presenting, Connect-Taguig:

beautiful day. great place. nice weather.

The Word of God is our main and special "dish"
Burp!

Salvation is as precious and as hard to discover as the hidden treasure and pearl of great worth in the parable...
True! :))

Tree of life. Hehe. :)

John explained the parable and shared the Gospel.

Praise God for ministry opportunities like this! All for His glory! :)

Photo credits: Jonas Acorda and yours truly. :)

Look at me

Blessing na hindi naman halata sa hitsura ko na stressed ako... Would you agree? Hehe!

Anyway, for my fourth blog entry of the day... Here's some vanity pics taken last Saturday and yesterday, Sunday.

Taken last Saturday morning, while waiting for other GG members.
Thank you Jonas Acorda for this photo. :)

Taken yesterday after our Bible study.
Pa-cute at pa-tweetums. Felling teenager? lol
Thank you Sai Dapitan for this pic and the rest below.

Sisters in blue.
How do you like my earrings?
Special thanks to my sponsor, Analyn Santiago, for these pretty, pink and circle dangling earrings! :)

And one last time...
Raya and Rajsh.
Beautiful! :))

Pagbigyan na, Monday naman eh! lol! Anu daw? :D

Hope you're having a good one! Blessings!

What is half a decade?

January 2, 2012

I turned 5 years old working in JP Morgan Chase Bank! Yey!

Ano nga ba naman ang half a decade? Well, achievement yun! Hehehe... And blessing! I really am so thankful to the Lord for placing me where I am.  A place where He showers His provision for me and where He is using me for the furtherance of His Kingdom though I know very well that I'm not worthy...

Thank You, dear Lord for being faithful to me for the past 5 years... I pray that You will continue to bless me and make me a blessing to the people around me, that You will continue to protect me, sanctify me and preserve my testimony in accordance to what is pleasing before You... Thank You, because I have my work to feed me and my family... Thank You for Chase, my employer! :)

That night I had dinner with three of my wavemates in Dencio's - Paseo Center, Makati.

Yes, apat na lang kaming natira after 5 years! Hehe. Mike, Divine, Jenn and myself.  When we started, if I remember it right, 19 kami sa batch eh... And then habang lumulipas ang araw, linggo, buwan at taon, may mga umaalis. But we still remembered and we missed them that night.

So to all Wave 20 peeps, let me share with you few photos of our dinner date:

Mike, Divine and Jenn

Mike, Rajsh and Jenn

Divine, Mike and Jenn

and now... kaming apat na!
Hahaha! Wala akong ibang maisip na captions! lol

Medyo nakakapanibago lang na few photos talaga ano? Busy kasi ako sa pakikipag-kwentuhan sa mga kaibigan ko kaya konti lang... :p

Happy 5th anniversary to us! :))

See also:

Happy Anniversary 2009 and Happy Anniversary 2010

2011 Holiday higlights

Indeed, the holiday is the time for families to gather and celebrate together. Minsan lang naman sa isang taon ito kaya dapat hindi palagpasin...

The past 3 years have been a challenge for me kasi I have to make sure I will make time for both my family and John's... Tamang balance lang.

Prior to going to my family on Christmas eve and to John's on New Year's eve, umattend muna kami ng service sa GCF. Will share photos as well.

Spent the Christmas in Laguna with my family, though hindi kami kumpletong magkakapatid at pati yung mga pamangkin ko kulang din... Keri lang! Saya pa rin. I'm happpy that our Lola was happy we were there.

Then on New Year, I was with John's family in Cainta. Hindi rin kumpleto silang magkakapatid kasi hindi nakauwi yung kuya nya na nasa SG pero masaya pa rin.

And just like my previous posts, blog-pics (blog na picture heavy) entry uli ito. Let the photos speak for themselves! ;-)

GCF Christmas Eve Worship Service.
Here is Sai Dapitan, my closest guy-friend and accountability partner namin ni John.  

With my Missionary friends Tita Joan and Tito Will Feuerstein and our Senior Pastor, Dr. Larry Pabiona

Now with John and his Mom.

GCF friends, standing: ate Lea, Ingrid, Mommy Bbeth
Seated: Biboy, Jv and Khryz

lagi kaming wacky mode pag nagpapa-picture kaming magkaibigan.
Everyone, meet my wedding planner and future wedding emcee. :) 

Dinner muna after service

Sizzling beef pepper. Yum-yum!

After the dinner I travelled na to Laguna... At wala pala kaming picture nung eve kasi hindi pala nakapag-handa si Lola ng pang Noche Buena dahil sa kapaguran. So nung 25 na lang mismo kami nagsalo-salo.

L-R: Grae, Mama, Raya, Diwa, Lola and Uncle Al
Not in photo: Papa, Majar, Strong, Kuya, Dayaw and Kaya

Good morning to my Kuya Lakan and his kids Dayaw and Kaya na nasa may pinto...
What yah doin there baby boy?

Here's Diwa talking to Nonggie who is in Las Vegas.

with Julia Sabio, the golden retriever :)

my Kuya's family: Diwa, Kuya, Kaya, Grae and Dayaw

this time with Lola...
ay bakit naiyak na si baby boy?

Kami naman ni Raya with Lola

Raya and I attended in Jonas' (the guy with the guitar) church 

left Laguna to meet with John and his family to eat out in Eastwood...
And uhm look at this? A gift from his ate, a casual DRESS!
Hindi ako ito! Haha! But I like it! Thanks ate! :)

L-R: Ate Alynna, Ma Edith, Jane, Erwin, Noel, Kate, Myself, Nikki and John

Nikki took this photo. ;-)

This kid was my playmate that night... or rather I was her playmate...? Haha! :)

New Year Eve came...

One of the passages that was read and pondered on that service. A favorite passage!

I attended with my baby brother Majar

Cheers for the New year ahead!
I was with John's family that night. :)

and then photo ops with the Velasquez family...

dalawa kasi ang camera nyan kaya magkaka-iba tingin namin. Haha!

sobrang love ko itong bata ito... so touched that she wanted to have an exclusive photo with me.
And I miss her na!
Hello Nikki in Australia! :)

but of course, hindi pwede wala kaming pic ni Love ko...
Ewan ko lang ba at bakit kailangang may Santa na kasama. Hmp. lol

Cluedo game night with John, Noel, Erwin, Sai and Mae! Walang tulugan ito!

So that's how I spent my holiday! Pretty special spent with two families. Aylabet!!!! :)