Endure and be Happy

"Happy the man who can endure the highest and the lowest fortune. He, who has endured such vicissitudes with equanimity, has deprived misfortune of its power." 

Seneca, philosopher

Only with the Heart

One of those parts in the book "The Prince" I truly love . . . 
hmmmm . . .

And he went back to meet the fox. "Goodbye," he said. "Goodbye," said the fox. "And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye." "What is essential is invisible to the eye," the little prince repeated, so that he would be sure to remember. "It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important." "It is the time I have wasted for my rose--" said the little prince, so that he would be sure to remember. "Men have forgotten this truth," said the fox. "But you must not forget it. You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed. You are responsible for your rose . . ." "I am responsible for my rose," the little prince repeated, so that he would be sure to remember.

Our Good Shepherd

Psalm 23

A psalm of David

¹ The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
²     He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
³     he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.
⁴ Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

⁵ You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
⁶ Surely your goodness and love will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.

 

Just Do It

"If you have faith that you you will be able to accomplish something, you will."

Mark Fisher

Cheer Up

The most certain sign of wisdom is cheerfulness. 

Michel de Montaigne

He is Good

I am happy knowing I have a God who cares for me.

Be happy as well. 

The Lord is good; He protects His people in times of trouble; He takes care of those who turn to Him.
Nahum 1:7

Letting Go

Sharing an excerpt from a year-old blog post of my son on "letting go" . . .

Bitaw 2011

Bitaw has been a word I fell in love with ever since Sir Bob used it in Th141 class. It captures within its one word such depth and clarity. It refuses to be vague or unsure, but exerts such a persuasive force that reminds us that life is not just about the things we hold on to, but the things we let go as well.

Funny how the first thing I think of when I was writing the previous sentence was the song, "Love is like a magic penny. Hold on tight and you won't have any." but if you "lend it, spend it, give it away, it comes right back to you."



I've held on to a lot of things for far too long I guess. And 2011 was actually my chance to truly let go. But I didn't take that opportunity at all. Rather, I spent most of 2011 holding on to most things that I should have moved on from a long time ago.

And it's the same with love. Falling in and out of love for a couple of years with practically the same person made me realize that maybe you really just have to quit it sooner or later. There is such a thing as a hopeless case, and this year, I've begun to accept that. I'm been in withdrawal ever since, but I'm starting to get the hang of it. I am really happy to have come to terms with it as well. Tsuruko, from the anime Ano Hana, was right all along. "I love Yukiatsu, but Yukiatsu would never choose me."

 I learned this year about a lot of things about letting go that I think I am a stronger person coming into a new year. I've grown as a person who is able to let go finally. I can finally be at peace, not so much in giving up on the various attachments I have, but reminding myself that those attachments were a part of me, and they are still somewhere in my heart, but at this point, I can't let these things anchor me down. It's good to know where I've been, but that's not really a nice place to stay in.

Not just that, I felt like I'm starting to finally establish myself as the person I really want to be. I'm becoming more sure of myself as a theologian and as a teacher. I've also started a new hobby, cooking and baking (I do make a pretty mean rhum cake. And don't get me started about my Shepherd's Pie).

So I guess, all I can say to 2011 is... handa na ako bumitaw. Here's to letting go and letting God. Happy New Year and God Bless!

Advises That Keep Me Going

You block your dream when you allow fear to grow bigger than your faith.

Feed your faith, not your fear.

Do not be afraid, I am with you.
If I am with you, who can be against you.

Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish He didn't trust me so much. 

It isn't the thing you do, dear, it's the thing you leave undone, that gives you a bit of a heartache, at setting of the sun.

Conscience is what hurts when everything else feels so good.

Just show up. 

It's time to STOP going through the motions of living, and START living.

Blessings

Excerpts from Bo Sanchez' book " How To Be A Blessing Magnet" . . .

Friend, are there violent storms raging in your life right now? Don't give up. Don't lose hope. Because God will turn that storm into your biggest blessing.

Be thankful for the blessings that are yet to come.

Friend, if you want more miracles in your life, you have to be thankful not only for what you see, but for what you do not see.

The Bible says, " Be thankful in all circumstances."

Wealth is measured by how thankful you are.

Every wish comes from a wound;

Every dream from discontent;

Every petition from a problem.

The Perfect Love

Source:ThinkFamily

For richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love even with the imperfections . . .

Charity Does Begin At Home

1 Timothy 5:8

But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

Weak Clay Pots

Yet, we who have this spiritual treasure are like common clay pots, in order to show that the supreme power belongs to God, not to us.We are often troubled, but not crushed; sometimes in doubt, but never in despair; there are many enemies, but we are never without a friend; and though badly hurt at times, we are not destroyed. 

2 Cor 4: 7-9 

 

On Encouragement

From Bo Sanchez' Article "Encourage Yourself" . . .

There’s this one passage in the Bible that I love so much. It says, David encouraged himself in the Lord. (1 Samuel 30:6). David and his men—600 of them—went away to work and left their wives and children in their camp called Ziklag. Three days later, tragedy struck. The Amalekites, sworn enemies of Israel, attacked and burned the entire village to the ground—and taking all the women and children with them as slaves. When David and his men arrived, the Bible says his men “wept until they could weep no more.” 

You think that was bad? It got worse. The Bible says that these men—once upon a time fiercely loyal to David—wanted now to stone David to death. Imagine you were David. You just lost your family. Your kids were taken away from you. Your home is now but ashes under your feet. You now own nothing except the clothes that you’re wearing. And the friends that you thought were friends now want to kill you. 

This is what you call an Impossible situation. In other words, it’s a Ziklag…

Are You Going Through A Ziklag?

Are you going through an Impossible situation? Then you’re going through Ziklag right now.

But I love what David did. In the midst of an impossible situation, he did the impossible. What was that? The Bible said, “David encouraged himself in the Lord.

Getting Encouragement From Within

But I believe there are times when we go through Ziklag. Ziklag is a place where even the family and friends that we depend on aren’t there. Perhaps because they’re busy. Or because they’re faraway. Or because they themselves are going through some struggle—and they’re not there for us. And that’s where you have to learn how to go to God directly.

Ziklag is the place where your relationship with God goes to a whole new level.

Ziklag Is A Furnace…

Let me warn you…

Ziklag is a burial place and a birthplace. It’s where boys are buried and kings are born.

Ziklag is a furnace. If you are made of wood, you will be pulverized. If you are made of gold, you will be purified.

Ziklag is a rock. You can be crushed under the weight of the rock or you can stand on top of the height of the rock—and see the world in a whole new perspective.

Ziklag is a sword. It can kill or it can cut. It can kill your soul or it can cut the cancer in your soul.

In Ziklag, David had to learn a very important life skill, a life skill you need to win permanent victory: You need to learn how to encourage yourself in the Lord. Do not wait for others to encourage you. Do not wait for your spouse to encourage you. Do not wait for your friends to encourage you. Do not wait for your leaders to encourage you. You need to learn how to encourage yourself in the Lord.

How To Encourage Yourself

       I don’t know what David did specifically. The Bible doesn’t say what he did. But I have a guess. Because I’ve been through Ziklag many times. And I know how I encouraged myself. 

I believe David went back into his own history to remember those special times when he saw God intervene in his life. Like when God rescued him from the bear and the lion. Or when God rescued him from Goliath with a stone and a slingshot.

       I have those special stories too. I dig deep and remember them. I even remember the small miracles in my life.

    God Will Return What Was Stolen From You

David wasn’t only seeking for Encouragement. He was also seeking for Enlightenment. He asked God, “Can I pursue the Amalekites? Can I overtake them?”

God told David, “Pursue the Amalekites. You shall be able to overtake them.” So David rallied his men and they chased after the Amalekites. They found them in the middle of a party, drunk and distracted. They attacked them, defeated them, and took back their wives and children. They also brought home the spoils of war—the wealth of their enemy.

When you experience loss, I believe that if you “encourage yourself in the Lord”, you’ll experience what David experienced: God returned to him what was stolen—plus interest!

What kind of interest? The Old Testament says that the thief, once caught, should return seven times what he has stolen. (Proverbs 6:30-31) 

Have you lost anything? 

Whenever I lose money in business, I ask God to return it to me sevenfold. It happens.

If you go to the courthouse of men, they may punish the thief and ask him to return what he has stolen. But if you go to the courthouse of God, claim in faith that God Himself will see to it that what was stolen from you shall be returned sevenfold.

Dreams, Updated

Hmmm, my big dreams have been realized. How come from then on, I stopped dreaming . . . dreaming big, dreaming grand?

Dreams are "want-to" desires of the heart (not have-to's). So I sing . . . "a dream is a wish your heart makes." 

Bo Sanchez shared that our dreams should make us wake up excitedly each day. Do you wake up full of enthusiasm daily?

 
 
I started seriously writing down my 10 unrealistic dreams in 2009. After 3 years, I have achieved most of these dreams and have cut them down to 5 redesigned God-given dreams.

How about you? Dream on, but write them down, pray for them and be amazed at how God works in one's life through those dreams.

With Us Always

Be happy for the Lord is with us . . .

even in the storms of our daily lives.

 

 The Lord be with you . . .

. . . and with your spirit.

Faith for a Happy Life

As the song goes, "Don't worry. Be happy." 

 Have Faith . . .

Dont Worry, Be Happy

You learn what you often try to do.

Worrying a lot these days? Then expect that day after day you are learning how to worry even better. Practice makes perfect right?

  

Why not try doing something else? . . . something you really want to learn and excel in. Learn to be happy, despite the circumstances.  Every moment you are happy, you are learning how to be even happier. 

Every time you act on something, you are learning how to make that action even better. What is it that you've been learning today? What is it that you want to learn tomorrow?

Rejoice Always

Philippians 4:4-9

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

  

Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

 

Prayer is Joy

Prayer is joy,

prayer is love,

prayer is peace.

You cannot explain it,

you must experience it.

It is not impossible.

God gives it for the asking

"Ask and you shall receive."

The father knows what to give to his children,

how much more the Heavenly Father knows.

Mother Teresa

Man Has A Soul

I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance. The poet's, the writer's, duty is to write about these things.

William Cuthbert Faulkner was an American novelist and poet whose works feature his native state of Mississippi. He was regarded as one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century and was awarded the 1949 Nobel Prize for Literature.