Gratitude for the BIG & small stuff

 Lord, thank You so much for Your kindness, mercy and grace upon me. Every new morning is a reminder that You are a living God who never forsakes His people. Thank You for the sunshine, thank You for the warmth it provides. Thank You for the air that I breathe, and thank You for the cold wind at night. Thank You for the unfailing sunrise and sunset of each day; they are seemingly ordinary wonders that are constant reminders of Your magnificence and faithfulness. Lord, thank You for the wonders of life and love that are evident in the various circumstances that You send. Thank You for the energy of every day that makes me alive. Thank You for giving me the passion for my job, and thank You for loving me first so that I can love others as well. Thank You for laughter; it reminds me that happiness cannot be kept inside for long. Thank You for silence; for it is in the quiet that I know You are with me. Thank You for friends; for it is through friendship that I get to exercise my patience, forbearance – it allows me to practice having a forgiving heart. Thank You for people that dislike me and whom I dislike; they are a constant reminder that I am not extending my patience near enough, and that I need to exert more effort to learn to love them because You have commanded so. Thank You for ballpens; they aid me in expressing my thoughts that would rather appear on paper than come out of my mouth. Thank You for summer; it gives me reason to hope and expect sunny days and bright memories to be shares with people that matter to me. Thank You for clocks and watches; they remind me that time is precious and I can never bring it back. Thank You for flat shoes; I can never endure being on heels everyday – indeed You know my every need and discomfort. Thank You for papers; it would be so hard to scribble down on barks of trees! J (16 March 2007, 08:54 AM)

There’s always a splendid view behind..

This Way

 
Show us the ancient paths..
              Lead us along eternal highways.

pieces of my broken self

 
When the going gets tough, it's always easy to give up and just let it all go. But a believer's life is all about battles, and winning them — not because we are such mighty creatures, but because we have such a mighty Savior. Trials and pains are designed to break us, to make us completely aware of the nothingness of our very own selves. Pains are meant to let us see our utter powerlessness so we can give up and scream to God: "Make me Yours, my Lord! Make me whole and new and pure for Your glory!"

Just can’t get enough!

Finally, you’re here!

 
After the loooooooooooooooooong wait..

…guess who's come??  

 
Luke Dominic Cagulada. Born on 24 October 2006, 2:20 AM, 6.5 lbs.

 
I look like my daddy, do I?

 
Yahoo!!

 
Mommy Yen, Daddy Doms, and baby Luke.

 
With mommy who suffered so much pain for baby Luke.

 
Yeah, I look like my daddy!

miracles

The chirping of the birds relaxes your flow of thought.

The gushing of the waters makes you want to take a nap.

The blowing wind seems to calm your emotions.

The sky takes you away into another place.

The falling leaves gives you the illusion of flight.

How great are Thy works, dear God!

The best miracle I know is the perfect God-man dying on the cross because I could not do anything to achieve blamelessness.

Homecoming

Welcome home, Dary!

 
Tawing and Dary

 
Opaw and me

After spending three Christmases on the boat, Dary decided to spend this Christmas with his family.

Thanks for dinner, Dar!

BREAK ME

 
If there's no other way to make me whole, go ahead and break me, my Lord..

Forgetful heart, forgetful me

"Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall."
- 1 Corinthians 10:12

How forgetful the heart is. How self-reliant it tends to be. How presumptuous it can be.

But..

How great is the Lord's mercy that He always takes time to remind His children always depend upon His all-powerful and all-sufficient grace.

Baptism of Ate Vi

2 September 2006
Saturday

Ate Vilma, one of the new members in our church, was baptized on Saturday. It was such a joy to witness her in this moment of obedience and submission to the command of the Lord Jesus.

On teaching

I know it's a bad day when I get angry at my students when they can't answer my questions in class..questions on a lesson we already had. It is such a heartbreaker when I find out that my students are more forgetful than me. Uh-oh.

I will rest on the reality that there is more than one factor for this scenario. Maybe I failed to emphasize some points.. (Although I would really say that there are times when, even though I think I have stressed the topic well enough, they still have a hard time grasping the concept.) Maybe the students hesitate to ask questions even when I almost always solicit for them. Maybe they just don't pay too much attention. Maybe they just don't get it. Maybe they're not just interested. Or, maybe — and this, I think could be the most important speculation..uhm, it couldn't even be a speculation at all; this is the primary solution to my concern – maybe I need to pray harder. I need to depend on God more. I need to see the nothingness of my efforts apart from the grace of my Lord.

 I have this student in Basic Accounting. She's not really doing well in the subject. It annoys me sometimes. And yet, when I meet her along the hallways and she calls out to me, "Hi, Ma'am!" with her bright and sincere smile, it warms my heart.

(I know this is such a disoriented post. I just wanted to let the thoughts flow out. *wink* )