Who Am I?

Yey... this is truly a song I considered so powerful - by Casting Crown

Who am I?
That the Lord of all the earth,
Would care to know my name,
Would care to feel my hurt.
Who am I?
That the bright and morning star,
Would choose to light the way,
For my ever wandering heart.

Bridge:
Not because of who I am,
But because of what you've done.
Not because of what I've done,
But because of who you are.

Chorus:
I am a flower quickly fading,
Here today and gone tomorrow,
A wave tossed in the ocean,
A vapor in the wind.
Still you hear me when I'm calling,
Lord, you catch me when I'm falling,
And you've told me who I am.
I am yours.
I am yours.

Who am I?
That the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love
And watch me rise again.
Who am I?
That the voice that calmed the sea,
Would call out through the rain,
And calm the storm in me.

Not because of who I am,
But because of what you've done.
Not because of what I've done,
But because of who you are.


I am a flower quickly fading,
Here today and gone tomorrow,
A wave tossed in the ocean,
A vapor in the wind.
Still you hear me when I'm calling,
Lord, you catch me when I'm falling,
And you've told me who I am.
I am yours.

Not because of who I am,
But because of what you've done.
Not because of what I've done,
But because of who you are.


I am a flower quickly fading,
Here today and gone tomorrow,
A wave tossed in the ocean,
A vapor in the wind.
Still you hear me when I'm calling,
Lord, you catch me when I'm falling,
And you've told me who I am.
I am yours.
I am yours.

I am yours.

Whom shall I fear?
Whom shall I fear?
'Cause I am yours.
I am yours.

~~~sharing~~~

Just wanna share this with you... and I hope you'll be blessed...

"When Nes and Elle asked me to share tonight I initially said no. Not because I don’t want to but I feel so unworthy. And with that, I hope that beyond my sinfulness and imperfections, you’ll see how the grace and love of Christ moves mountain in me.

I am so arrogant and despised SFC. I had my bad notions of the community. For me and some of my friends and that include my X-BF, we called it SINGLES FOR COUPLE. And since I am not in a way looking for someone then… I know it will never be my kind of thing. I was in a relationship for almost 5 years, we’re kinda engaged. So mayabang ako… Lent of 2004, I attended one of Bo’s powerful Lenten retreats and there I know it started. I had a wonderful confession with Fr. John; he was somehow clairvoyant and the moment I stepped into the confession room he told me I was dying spiritually. Yeah I know I am… so after that, I tried to walk in HIS light. I was slowly growing in love with Christ, but I need to give it up because it was too mushy for him. After 5 years… it ended… leaving me wounded… but guess what? God wants to write my love story…

And truly He is a God of impossibilities and I know He has all the power to change things… and he wants me back… Can things get worst than losing a relationship you have cared for the past years… losing people you thought your friends with… losing a promotion and blagag… I was out of the lime light. That was strike one…

Then I attended the CLP simply because I am loving the talk, I don’t want to commit, more so join SFC Makati… I don’t seem to fit in… Mayaman kasi mga tao… dami pang conio… and God change my view on it and my whole life. He slowly filled the void in me. He slowly made me the woman He wanted me to be. And I slowly commit myself to service. So after I graduated I told myself that I will serve him all the more. It started with me in our household and I would like to honor them for their willingness to serve is so overwhelming that you can’t say no and the feeling is so comforting. More so, my household heads truly brings out the best in each one of us. Above all, the people serving in the community are so inspiring and wow… everything is just so perfect and God did pamper me… wow… I felt like I am soaring… exaggerating as it may seems but I feel so in love with everything I am doing. I don’t want to stop.

And God is such a good God… He stripped me off… the struggles never ended the day I said yes… but it come in numbers and worst I lose my job… I was so shattered so I decided to pack my things and left for Negros. I was loving my life there but something is missing. I realized my life is no longer there and I can no longer walk in my own footprints again… I need to go back here… and start all over again… it was all about FAITH AND SURRENDERING… deciding for the things that I want and having Christ on the side... I was missing my household... and whatever happened... it did not stop me from serving... and each trying times I felt God’s peace within me. All the more I wanted to serve. And God gave me all the opportunity… the tasks so overwhelming and truly it is in serving you’ll realized your purpose. He gave me the best people around to help me in my Christian walk, Nes, Elle, Jason, Pats, Taffy, Chacha, Ray… Just to name a few.

I was back in time for the MMLC and WOW… it was so powerful. God is amazingly good, in spite of the oppressions… He gave me the humility to accept things as they are. I had my disappointments during the event… and knowing me… I am good in complaining… but it taught me to see and to appreciate what is there and what the conference had to offer. I was crying listening to the talks and how affirming and healing it was. For so long, I thought I am done and over with my past, and that I finally forgiven the people who have hurt me but I was wrong. I felt all the bitterness… pains… I felt so wounded and I know why God let me realized that during Pat’s talk. It was because he wanted me to be truly healed with HIS Grace and he wanted me to have HIS true peace and not the peace I attempt to create. Truly, I did not just forgive them, but I longed for their forgiveness. And I am still a work in progress…

The conference is one of God’s many ways in letting me realized what it means to serve, and because God has blessed me with so many wonderful things that I truly needed: wonderful household, who never gets tired of serving and saying yes to GOD; a dynamic chapter who literally change my view about the community through their selfless desire to honor GOD; a not so-Christian family who inspires me to do more for God and hoping one day they will see how God literally humbled me and most of all a new-job I can earn my living with and continue to help in HIS mission, I am committing myself to serve HIM in my best and wonderful days.

Friends, believe me, you’ll find your purpose in serving and I am not offering a bed roses, I am not even saying it will make you a perfect, for I still do worry a lot of times, whined about things, sin most of the time but at the end of the day I know I will never feel unworthy of His love because it is so comforting and it keeps on embracing me no matter how many times I fall and I’ll find Joy to seek HIS righteousness… Am I well enough to face the world again? Well, yeah!!! Because after I lose everything, I gained one true friend who will never leave me, no matter what… well, HE MADE ME GROUNDED… on my toes up and well… and whatever it is… I will answer His call… I will serve Him all the more. And I hope and pray God will continue to nourish me and will always cling to His love at times I thought I am nothing. I hope you’ll pray for me as well. “Where is true joy? It’s found in God’s brand of love – love founded on faithfulness, love rooted in commitment.” God’s abundance is unlimited… it cannot be measured…"

What it Means to be Single

Even though it often seems that God is slow to answer prayers, no matter whether it's about a mate, or a job, or our children, or our finances, or anything else, we have to remember that God doesn't wear a watch. Nor does He look at our human calendars. He sees with eternal eyes. He operates on an eternal timetable, according to His plan and His schedule.

If God seems to be running late, don't get impatient and run ahead of him. Wait for the Lord's timing in everything. To the single folks out there, this is for you.

1. SINGLE GIVES YOU SPACE TO GROW. Sometimes, it's harder to grow when you are too close to someone. Trees are planted far apart so they can spread their branches and become strong as they mature.

2. SINGLE MEANS LEARNING TO LIVE BY YOURSELF. That is, however, no more difficult than learning to live with somebody else.

3. SINGLE MEANS FREEDOM. You are free to spend a week's vacation on the beach, to take computer classes, to work late on an interesting project, to spend the day in bed with a good book or simply with somebody.

4. SINGLE MEANS LEARNING NOT TO NEED A MAN/WOMAN TO MAKE YOUR LIFE MEANINGFUL BUT LEARNING TO LIVE WITH A MAN/WOMAN BECAUSE YOU WANT TO BE WITH HIM/HER.

5. SINGLE MEANS THAT SOMETIMES YOU WILL WONDER WHY YOU WILL BITE YOUR LIP AND FEEL WISTFUL AND WONDER IF MARRIAGE IS BETTER.

6. IRONICALLY, YET QUITE HAPPILY, SINGLE IS FEELING GOOD ABOUT BEING IN CONTROL OF YOUR LIFE. It is liking and respecting who you are and why you are.

7. SINGLE IS REALIZING THAT BEING MARRIED IS NOT NECESSARILY BETTER, IT IS MERELY DIFFERENT.

8. SINGLE MEANS THAT THERE COULD BE SOMETHING WONDERFUL AROUND THE CORNER AND YOU CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT.

9. SINGLE MEANS YOU ARE FREE TO LOVE AGAIN. There are times when we are afraid of telling\nthe person what we feel deep inside because we might just lose them.

Go Singles... enjoy and live life...

The Sacrament of Waiting

A very good friend of mine reminded me of this... Thanks Hazel...

This is an article written by: Fr. James Donelan, S.J.

Enjoy and be blessed...

The English poet John Milton wrote that those who serve only also stand and wait. I think I would go further and say that those who wait render the highest form of service. Waiting requires more discipline, more self-control and emotional maturity, more unshakable faith in our cause, more unwavering hope in the future, more sustaining love in our hearts that all the greatest deeds of deering-do go by the name of action.
Waiting is a mystery - a natural sacrament of life - there is a meaning hidden in all the times we have to wait. It must be an important mystery because there is so much waiting in our lives.
Everyday is filled with those little moments of waiting (testing our patience and our nerves, schooling us in self-control.) We wait for meals to be served, for a letter to arrive, for a friend to call or show up for a date. We wait in line at cinemas and theaters, concerts and circuses. Our airline terminals, railway stations and bus depots are great temples of waiting filled with men and women who wait in joy for the arrival of a loved one - or wait in sadness to say goodbye and give the last wave of hand. We wait for springs to come - or autumn - for the rains to begin and stop.
And we wait for ourselves to grow from childhood to maturity. We wait for those inner voices that tell us when we are ready for the next stop.
We wait for graduation, for our first job, our first promotion. We wait for success and recognition. We wait to grow up - to reach the stage where we make our own decisions. We cannot remove this waiting from our lives. It is a part of the tapestry of living - the fabric in which the threads are woven to tell the story of our lives.
Yet current philosophies would have us forget the need to wait "grab all the gusto you can get." So reads one of America's greatest beer ads - get it now! Instant pleasure, instant transcendence. Do not wait for anything. Life is short - eat, drink and be merry because tomorrow you will die. And so they rationalize us into accepting unlicensed and irresponsible freedom- pre-marital sex and extra marital affairs - they warn against attachments and commitments - against expecting anything of anybody, or allowing them to expect anything of us - against dropping any anchors in the currents of our life that will cause us to hold and wait.
This may be the correct prescription for pleasure - but even that is fleeting and doubtful - what was it Shakespeare said about the mad pursuit of pleasure - "Past reason hunted, and once had, past reason hated." Not if we wish to be real human beings, spirit as well as flesh, soul as well as heart, we have to learn to wait. For if we never learn to wait, we will never learn to love someone other than ourselves.
For most of all waiting means waiting for someone else. It is a mystery, brushing by our face everyday like a stray wind of leaf falling from a tree. Anyone who has loved knows how much waiting goes into it - how much waiting is important for love to grow, to flourish through a lifetime.
Why is this? Why can we not have it right now what we so desperately want and need? Why must we wait - two years, three years - and seemingly waste so much time? You might as well ask why a tree should take so long to bear fruit - the seed to flower - carbon to change to diamond.
There is no simple answer - no more than there is to life's other demands -having to say goodbye to someone you love because either you or they have made other commitments; or because they have to grow and find the meaning of their own lives - having yourself to leave home and loved ones to find your own path - good-byes, like waiting, are also sacraments of our lives.
All we know is that growth - the budding, the flowering of love needs patient waiting. We have to give each other a time to grow. There is no way we can make someone else truly love us or we them, except through time. So we give each other that mysterious gift of waiting - of being present without asking demands and rewards. There is nothing harder to do than this. It truly tests the depth and sincerity of our love. But there is life in the gift we give.
So lovers wait for each other - until they can see things the same way - or let each other freely see things in quite different ways.
There are times when lovers hurt each other and cannot regain the balance of intimacy of the way they were. They have to wait - in silence - but still present to each other - until the pain subsides to an ache and then only a memory and the threads of the tapestry can be woven together again in a single love story.
What do we lose when we refuse to wait; when we try to find shortcuts through life - then we try to incubate love and rush blindly and foolishly into a commitment we are neither mature nor responsible enough to assume? We lose the hope of truly loving or of being loved. Think of all the great love stories of history and literature - isn't it of their very essence that they are filled with this strange but common mystery - that waiting is part of the substance - the basic fabric against which the story of that true love is written.
How can we ever find either life or true love if we are too impatient to wait for it?
***********************************
Waiting is a good thing only if something is worth waiting for.
How will you know if it's worth it? Gut feel.
What if you don't trust your gut? Pray. You will be enlightened. Trust me.
Is it wrong to expect while waiting? It's not wrong, but it will increase your chances of heartbreak and disappointment if things don't work out in the end.
Is it good to expect while waiting? It is better to HOPE.
What's the difference between hoping and expecting? HOPING means you're open to either side of the coin landing though you're more inclined to believe that things will turn out well. EXPECTING means you're thinking single-track...which won't do you much good at all.
What's the difference between waiting and expecting? EXPECTING is waiting for something TO DEFINITELY HAPPEN. WAITING is staying where you are, but not necessarily expecting something to happen definitely.
Do you need assurance from someone you're waiting for while you're waiting? Ideally, yes. But realistically, do you really want assurance from this person? It's so easy to just point at something and make that the reason why you're waiting ("Because she said..." "Because he told me that...").
With WAITING, all you really can rely on are 3 things: your gut feel, your heart and mind. Just YOURSELF, not anyone else.
So should you wait? What does your gut say? How does your heart feel? What does your mind think? If they're saying different things, keep asking yourself these 3 questions (and pray!) until you get a solid answer.
THEN you'll know if he or she is worth waiting for.

No more slums… no more violence… no more poverty…

Yesterday was GK National Freedom Build… and wow… God is so good and magnificent to have guided GK leaders and empowered them so that GK will continue to inspire people… believers or unbelievers alike…

I was so overwhelmed yesterday to be with the youth… and whew… these kids are truly worthy to be called youth for CHRIST… They are truly inspiring and believe me they worship GOD as if it will be their last worship… I felt so blessed being with them… I was crying and rejoicing that God is working in them. Instead of them spending their time at home watching TV or spending their time for pleasure, they choose to be with us… building houses… cleaning the area… playing with the street children… and they never get tired… truly amazing… what I am praying right now is that they will continue to be in service for God in spite of.

Speaking of service to the poor? This is what I love about this work… you’ve got to be with people who have different perspective about life. Wow… I felt I am back to my first love… PSYCHOLOGY… would you believe it that in spite of how good and how wonderful the vision and mission of Gawad Kalinga (GK), there are still people who are not welcoming it… despising it… When I first learned about the works of GK I fell in love with it right then and there and really push myself to be a part of it… I want to serve this people (that’s what I often told myself). I felt so bad when I was blurted with the reality that not all are happy and agreeable with it. We were having the clean up drive while the rest helped in building the house. Guess what? Filipinos are truly arrogant… sorry for the word and I know I should be proud of my “kapwa Pilipino”. But how could I be when they don’t even realized their blessing and all they can do is complain… they were provided with a decent house, yet they want to stay with their “barung – barong”. They were educated on how to do a living yet they opted to do chit chats with their neighbors and talk about the lives of other people. They were taught to maintain cleanliness yet they can’t even maintain their hygiene. I am not generalizing but truly I felt sad… and I am very happy that there are still people who continue to believe that there will be a better tomorrow for all of us. I went home with a heavy heart not that because this people are useless… but because I am so overwhelmed and my spirit is soaring high above anticipating the challenge I am facing… I will live to see these days renewed…

I am so blessed today… honestly, I am so broke but I am still joyful for God is so good. All this we give thanks and glory to God. May God be praised for every life that is changed… God bless everyone... Oh By the way... Thanks Bryan for being there with me...

just a note...

... CROSSROADS... to be continued....

I would want to write my wonderful experience last weekend but I know... God wanted me to go home now... rest and preserve my body for another long day tomorrow... I went to the office at 4 am... I need to go home now... since I need to be back at 2 am... with all these... I GIVE BACK all the GLORY and HONOR to GOD... My Prince of PEace...

You are holy (You are holy)You are mighty (You are mighty)You are worthy (You are worthy)Worthy of praise (Worthy of praise)I will follow (I will follow)I will listen (I will listen)I will love You (I will love you)All of my days (All of my days)I will sing to
(You are Lord of Lords)And worship
(You are King of kings)The King who
(You are mighty God)Is worthy
(Lord of everything)I will love and
(You're Emannuel)Adore You
(You're the Great I am)And I will bow down
(You're my Prince of peace)before You
(Who is the Lamb)I will sing to
(You're my living God)And worship
(You're my saving grace)The King who
(You will reign forever)Is worthy
(You are ancient of days)I will love and
(You are alpha, omega)Adore You
(beginning and end)And I will bow down
(You're my Savior, Messiah)Before You
(Redeemer and friend)
You're my Prince of PeaceAnd I will live my life for You(Repeat above 2x)

-A Forever Kind of Love-

Yesterday night's talk was indeed so powerful that indeed it could move mountains... WOW!!! The mountains in me... arrogance, pride, anger, resentment, unworthiness and all that crap in me melted and all I can do is run and seek HIS love... I was consumed with my personal struggles and that I forgot to that there is a life and sufferings outside my world and that whatever I am feeling right now is not a peculiar thing to linger upon... everyone has its own fare share of life's struggles and difficulties and it might be even worst that what I am going through right now. God has been so good to me... and even to you... Today I let go of my plans... to discern HIS WILL. This is not an easy decision but I know... this is because I LOVE HIM so and that unconditional love I forever longed for... could only be found in HIM... and it is only upon HIM I could found true happiness and acceptance.

"Lord today and onwards... I am yours... direct me to your pleasing will and I will give up everything for you."

What’s the reason for ashes on Ash Wednesday?

I got this article from this site: http://www.kencollins.com/question-02.htm

As you know, Jesus retreated into the wilderness and fasted for forty days to prepare for his ministry. It was for Him a time of contemplation, reflection, and preparation. By observing Lent, most Christians join Jesus on His retreat.
Lent consists of the forty days before Easter. In the western Church, we skip over the Sundays when we count the days of Lent, because Sunday is always the joyful celebration of the Resurrection. Therefore, the first day of Lent in the western Church is always a Wednesday.
Biblical societies relied very heavily on wood fires for heating and cooking, which meant that keeping ashes under control was a major housekeeping task. Then as now, if a person was preoccupied with something serious, they didn’t always tend to the housekeeping—it’s the least of their concerns. Imagine that there is a death in the family. A friend stopping by to pay their respects might gently say, “Did you know you have ashes on your face?”
So ashes became a sign of remorse, repentance, and mourning. Today someone might wear a black armband to signify that they are in mourning; back then people put ashes on their foreheads.
You can find biblical examples of this in 2 Samuel 13:19, Esther 4:1-3, Job 42:6, and Jeremiah 6:26. During Lent, ancient Christians mourned their sins and repented of them, so it was appropriate for them to show their sincerity by having ashes on their foreheads. The custom has persisted in the church as secular society has changed around us.
It is most appropriate on Ash Wednesday, when we begin a period of sober reflection, self-examination, and spiritual redirection.
Traditionally, the ashes for the Ash Wednesday service come from burning the palm fronds from the previous year’s Palm Sunday celebration. If you burn the palm fronds yourself, don’t add any other ingredient—just burn the ashes plain. Add a little oil to the ashes so that they will stick to people’s foreheads. Of course, it is easier to purchase them from a religious supply house. Don’t overestimate how much you need! It is amazing how far a small amount of ashes will go!
Some people only celebrate the happy times in Jesus’ life: Palm Sunday, Easter Sunday, and Christmas. But I think as true friends, we should also watch and pray with Him on Maundy Thursday, stand by Him at the cross on Good Friday, and retreat with Him into the wilderness during Lent. You can read more about Jesus’ fair-weather friends.
About fasting: Today the word ‘fasting’ means a total abstention from all food. In the historic Church, it means a disciplined diet so that your animal appetites become a sort of spiritual snooze alarm. You can read information about fasting.
You get more information about Lent. You can also read Honest to God for an explanation of what we accomplish by observing Lent.