A Prayer for a Daughter

Sharing with you this prayer I read during my devotion this morning.

Father who breathed into this daughter…

I pray for this girl being formed into eternity….

May the wind always be in her hair

May the sky always be wide with hope above her

And may all the hills be an exhilaration

the trials but a trail,

all the stones but stairs to God.

God, clothe this girl in a gown of grace
Grace, the only dress that makes beautiful,
the style of Your spirit.

Nourish her on the comfort food of the Word,
Word, that makes her crave more of Christ,
have hunger pangs for Him.

Enclose her in communion with You
You, Love who makes her love, who folds her heart into a roof
that absorbs storms for souls,
that makes her tongue speak only the words that make souls stronger.

May her vocation in this world simply be translation

Translating every enemy into esteemed guest
Translating every countenance into the face of Christ
Translating every burden into blessing

When it’s hard to be patient… make her willing to suffer
When it’s ridiculous to be thankful … make her see all is grace
When it’s radical to forgive … make her live the foundation of our faith
And when it’s time to work … make her a holy wonder.

May she be bread and feed many with her life and her laughter
May she be thread and mend brokenness and knit hearts
May she be dead to all ladders & never go higher, only lower, to the lonely, the least & the longing
Her led of the Spirit to lead many to the Cross
that leads to the tomb wildly empty.

Oh, and raise me, Lord, from the deadness of my own sins to love this beautiful girl like You do…

In the name of Christ who rose

and appeared first

to one of His daughters…

Amen…

by: Ann Voskamp

Counting my blessings

Despite my aching neck, my lightheadedness, despite being stuck in traffic this morning for 3 hours (Magallanes-dela Rosa lang 'yan ha!), despite the deadlines I have, I still have a big smile on my face today because:

1) I got to play with my baby girl when I got home last night. I arrived at 11:30 pm, and learned that Aeris just woke up. Nagulat daw sa lakas ng doorbell namin. So we played until she got sleepy again.

2) Ber months na!!! :) Christmas is just around the corner!!!

3) I have a husband who really plans and wants the best for our family. See, my husband is not really a person of spontaneity. He loves working within his comfort zone. He gets irate when he has to deal with sudden changes in his routine. Early this week, he told me his plans of looking for other possible work opportunities with better compensation. He reiterated that he wants me to just focus on my business and stay at home. He wants to find a job that would cover for all of our needs and a few wants. Imagine he even asked me kung magkano daw ba kaya ang enough na (shopping) allowance ko monthly!

Thank you, Lord for blessing me and so much more. <3

Sya ang 'yong kailangan

My sister and I used to sing in the Children's Choir. Kay Teacher Vicky namin nakuha ang 'dapat pag O, 'owwww' talaga. Bilog ang bibig', 'upo ng straight para lumabas ang boses' 'N should be 'ennn', M should be 'emm'. We used to sing Psalty songs. Nakaka-miss. Now my baby girl is next in line! Feeling ko iiyak ako sa unang pagkanta ng anak ko. Nakaka-excite!

Yesterday was Children's Sunday in our church. The Children's Choir, headed by Teacher-Ninang Vicky, sang Hesus. I wish someone recorded the kids as they sang. Para ka talagang kinakantahan ng mga anghel.  I remember Aegis has their own rendition of this song, original ba nila 'to? 

Sharing with you the lyrics of the song:

Kung nag-iisa at nalulumbay
Dahil sa hirap mong tinataglay
Kung kailangan mo nang karamay
Tumawag ka at Siya'y naghihintay

Siya ang iyong kailangan
Sandigan, kaibigan mo
Siya noon, bukas, ngayon
Sa dalangin mo'y tugon
Siya ay si Hesus sa habang panahon

Kung ang buhay mo ay walang sigla
Laging takot at laging alala
Tanging kay Hesus makaaasa
Kaligtasan lubos na ligaya

Siya ang dapat tanggapin
At kilanlin Sa buhay mo
Siya ang araw mong lagi
Ang karamay kung sawi
Siya ay si Hesus, Siya ay si Hesus
Siya ay si Hesus sa bawat sandali

The song's very beautiful. Ang simple ng lyrics, simple ng tono, walang birit birit o kulot kulot pero sapul na sapul. 

Lord, thank You. I know I'm not 'in Your zone' lately, and I don't know why. I have everything I need, and I have no one to thank but You alone. Sorry, Lord. But please don't ever let me go. (I know You won't) Please do not also let me forget of how great and majestic You are. Please do not let me let go of You, Father. I love you! 

Of the corrupt

Ang galing talaga ni Lord. Hearing ngayon sa office para sa Pork Barrel Scam/Napoles Case. At ito ang reading ko ngayon sa devotion ko.

1 Timothy 6:6-12

Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

6 Devotion to God is, in fact, a way for people to be very rich, but only if it makes them satisfied with what they have. 7 When we came into the world, we brought nothing. And when we die, we can take nothing out. 8 So, if we have food and clothes, we will be satisfied with that. 9 People who want to be rich bring temptations to themselves. They are caught in a trap. They begin to want many foolish things that will hurt them. These things ruin and destroy people. 10 The love of money causes all kinds of evil. Some people have turned away from what we believe because they want to get more and more money. But they have caused themselves a lot of pain and sorrow.

Some Things to Remember

11 But you belong to God. So you should stay away from all those things. Always try to do what is right, to be devoted to God, and to have faith, love, patience, and gentleness. 12 We have to fight to keep our faith. Try as hard as you can to win that fight. Take hold of eternal life. It is the life you were chosen to have when you confessed your faith in Jesus—that wonderful truth that you spoke so openly and that so many people heard.

Ang sakto 'no? This is God talking to us, His people, His children, that He already gave us all that we could need and that He will always (walang palya) provide. He will never forsake us. 

Nakakabilib talaga si Lord. He knew that we will be tempted, and once we allow ourselves to be absorbed in this world, we will be trapped. Alam nyo yung feeling na sa simula, akala mo ok na yung may nakuha kang 100php? Ok na yun, masaya ka na dun. Tapos syempre naranasan mo na yung 100php ng di nahuhuli eh. So try mo naman next time, mga 500php. E lusot pa din. Hanggang palaki na ng palaki. Before you know it, you've been amassing so much wealth that is not even yours and you don't even need. You just have to satisfy this thirst in you to get as much as you can. There's no stopping you. At ang masaklap, nahuli ka na nga't lahat, di ka pa din aamin. You've been in this trap long enough that you've already convinced yourself (and probably those who are close to you) that there is really nothing wrong with what you're doing, that it is perfectly okay because it has become the norm. 

This, my friends, is the reason why our country is full of corrupted hearts and souls. :( Let us all continue to pray for our country, pray for those involved.

Sabi nga ni Lord diba, pray for those who persecute you, pray for your enemies, pray for those who curse you. So tonight, I pray that the Lord will stir in me a more prayerful heart that I may pray not only those whom I love, but also for those unknown to me and those who I know needs the Lord's healing.

Tara guys, alam ko nakakapanggalaiti. But before everything else, may we learn to be vigilant through prayer.

Everyday is a new day =)

‘Father, we pray that your name will always be kept holy.

    We pray that your kingdom will come.

3 

Give us the food we need for each day.

4 

Forgive our sins,

    just as we forgive everyone who has done wrong to us.

And don’t let us be tempted.’

Luke 11: 2-4

Work with all your heart

This is my devotion for today:

“Whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.” -Colossians 3:23

Be such a competent and trusted worker that God is honored (Neh. 1:11–2:6). Care passionately about others and what’s important to them. Take action, occasionally even risky action, to honor what’s important to God and to fellow believers (2:3-6)

Often I forget who my REAL boss is. I am too engrossed in pleasing other people, that I neglect the Lord, what He wants me to do, what is pleasing in His eyes.

This verse is also a reminder that in everything I do (yes, the Lord says EVERYTHING. As in every little thing) should be for God's glory. Quite tough, right? (Well, for me that is) Is God glorified when I gossip? Do I get His sign of approval when I think of myself highly than others? Is He happy when I silently curse and kill my enemies in my mind? Would He be able to say 'good job my faithful servant' when I simply comply and not give my best at work? Of course, no no no.

I'm at this stage (yes, ang bata ko pa ata para ma-burnout?) where I think 'my bosses don't really care if I do my best or I go the extra mile, they are just after compliance'. And this sucks big time. What happened to me? What ever happened to that fire in me to excel in what I do? What ever happened to always giving it my best shot, not for people to praise me but to give back all the glory to our Lord?

Nakakahiya kay Lord, 'no? 

So as I start this week (and the 1st working week of the 1st -ber month of 2013) I pray that I keep this in mind. I pray that the Lord will forever be my guide in each and every little thing I do, say and think.