Stagnation

Many who have an intelligent knowledge of the truth, and are able to defend it by arguments, are doing nothing for the upbuilding of Christ’s kingdom. We meet them from time to time, but they bear no fresh testimonies of personal experience in the Christian life; they relate no new victories gained in the holy warfare. Instead of this you notice the same old routine, the same expressions in prayer and exhortation. Their prayers have no new note; they express no greater intelligence in the things of God, no more earnest, living faith. Such persons are not living plants in the garden of the Lord, sending forth fresh shoots and new foliage, and the grateful fragrance of a holy life. They are not growing Christians. They have limited views and plans, and there is no expansion of mind, no valuable additions to the treasures of Christian knowledge. Their powers have not been taxed in this direction. They have not learned to view men and things as God views them, and in many cases unsanctified sympathy has injured souls and greatly crippled the cause of God. The spiritual stagnation that prevails is terrible. Many lead a formal Christian life and claim that their sins have been forgiven, when they are as destitute of any real knowledge of Christ as is the sinner. {5T 264.3}

 

We're Moving Soon *Excited Much*

If you've wandered about this blog and its pages, you've probably noticed that my church and I are currently big on a church building project. It's been a little over a year since we started eyeing this piece of land and because of the grace God gave through the support of many kind brethren from near and far, we will be able to start cleaning up and moving into there next month! How truly wonderful is that? :D

This photo is from Google Earth. The boundaries set here are purely from my estimates and probably aren't accurate, but I'm sure you get the idea. The lot is about 5120 square meters in size and will be enough to contain not only a church, but also an office, a guest house, a health and wellness center, a publishing house, a training school, a vegetable and herb garden, a vegetarian restaurant, and maybe even a bookstore and a small media center!

Initial payments have been made for this lot, but it's still going to require years and years of hard work, benevolence and self-sacrifice before this could be fully ours. But it's work we're all willing to put in.

Besides the one by the entrance, there are three dilapidated buildings on the land that, with some scrubbing and minor improvement, we can temporarily use for services and assemblies. There are also two swimming pools, one of which we're thinking of converting into a baptistry.

Browse through recent photos of the lot here.

If God impresses you to extend your support for this project, please let us know through royalvalleyfreesda@gmail.com.

You can also learn more about Royal Valley Free SDA Church by clicking here.

-o-

Growing Family

This photo was taken November of last year at our Radio Ministry anniversary. Just this morning, we added two more to our growing family.

Warm welcome for 

BRYLLE

and

JADE

:)

a vegetarian option

one of the rather difficult things for vegetarians is finding food at get-togethers where everyone else would rather eat meat. it's one of the reasons why vegetarians are always encouraged to learn to cook their own food - tasty, healthy alternatives that you can bring to get-togethers or just to the office or school.

last night, i met up with friends from the company where i used to work. it was a rockstar burger party: beef burgers, meaty pasta, soda, the works. what i did was whip up my own vegetarian sandwich which was essentially identical to the burger, except for the patty.

here's a recipe that's loosely based on a much better recipe my friend originally made. i was kind of counting on her to be here when i made the sandwich, but she wasn't. so i sort of made it DIY. much thanks to my mama and to brian for helping me assemble the sandwiches.

Ingredients:
whole wheat loaf bread
bell pepper, sliced thinly
onion rings
cucumber, sliced
lettuce
tomatoes, sliced the way they're sliced for burgers
vegetarian tapa
honey
oil, for frying the tapa

Procedure:
Cut the tapa into slices the size of your wheat bread. There's an option to first dip it in batter to make it crunchier and to add flavor. Assemble the sandwich.

Assembly:
place one or two slices of the tapa over a slice of wheat bread. pour a bit of honey over it. Put on another slice of bread. layer the vegetables. top with a third slice of bread. voila!

i'm not really a cook, so you'll notice this recipe is kind of loose. you just place as much of the ingredients as suits your taste. some people like more onions, some don't. make the sandwich meatier by adding tapa in the layer with the vegetables. you could also use other meat substitutes instead of tapa: veggie burger for example, or vegetable patties. banana flowers would make a good alternative, i think. or monggo.

you can also dress up the entire thing with ketchup or mustard or both. i like it plain.

so there you have it - a vegetarian delight so easy to prepare even i could do it. :)

-o-

youth group logo

you know how sometimes you do one thing and it leads to another and that other thing leads to still another and so on?

since i started on the journal project for the students of my Sabbath School Class, i decided to create a Facebook group page where i could remind all of them at once to write their journal entries.

i know it could be a task to have to write sometimes, and i hope the regular prompts would actually work. :D

creating the page compelled me to find a suitable profile photo. not having enough photos to go through for the perfect one (meaning everyone's there so no one feels left out), i decided to just make a logo.

now, i know photoshop, but only as far as crop, save, fill, add text, and other basics. but i think the effort i put into this logo was pretty much worth it.

the idea revolves around the International Association of Free Seventh-day Adventists logo, which my church has adopted. so the three angels and the globe are there to depict the world-wide scope of the gospel commission. but i wanted to add something to make the logo distinct from the general group and to emphasize that this is a sub-group for youth, thus the text. blue has always been our unofficial color as a church and it's fortunate that the IAFSDA logo is also largely blue. the maroon/dark red is yet another tribute to IAFSDA which uses the color a lot in its publications, or in its newsletter at least. the contrast with the blue is also nice, i think. the yellow "Royal Valley" text was added as an afterthought, just to make it closer to home. maybe after we've planted other churches, they would like to customize that part. it's yellow because i realized i didn't want too many colors in the logo. it's the same color as that of the angels in the IAFSDA logo.

i was in a bit of a crisis for a while regarding this logo. i was caught between making it more "fun and colorful" or a bit on the "formal and conservative" side. i apparently chose the latter. :D

after i got this logo up on the page, i thought it would be fun to turn it into a badge that the members could wear. but i didn't know how to make one that the others could conveniently use. besides, i'm still hoping they would want to use it. haha. so i just made one for myself.

with Genry, my on-off "boyfriend." ;-D

the logo isn't official. it's just me trying to stretch my creativity and photoshop skills.

so there, my recent example of "chain reaction." it happens a lot, too, with habits. and that's why we need to be careful what we're doing because it may lead to other things we might not be able to handle.

the chain that led to this logo, i think, was okay. :D

-o-

Ghosts

I believe in ghosts - but not the usual kind. I believe in the ghosts of wrong deeds. However you repent of them, they have a way of coming back and haunting you.

One is haunting me now as I write. In fact, it is why I write.

It was a sin that apparently left a vicious scar on a memory other than mine. It is a ghost that now threatens the very ground on which I stand.

Just when I thought that all is well again. Just when I thought I could finally begin again.

"Do not yield. Do not succumb." -God.

Lord, let Your grace be sufficient for me. Please get me through.

Happy Birthday, Papa!

in honor of my father's 48th birthday,

:)

Are you a Carrrot, an Egg, or a Coffee Bean?

-author unknown-

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life, and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it, and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved a new one arose.


Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water. In the first pot, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs and the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil without saying a word. In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me what do you see?" "Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied. She brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they got soft. She then asked her to take the egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, she asked her to smell and sip the coffee. The daughter smiled, as she smelled and tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, "What's the point, mother?"

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity- boiling water-but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water they had changed the water. "Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When trials and adversity knock on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?"


Think of this: Which am I?


Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity, do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength? Am I the egg that starts with a passive heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside, am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart?


Or, am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you become better and change the situation around you. When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate to another level?

soar like a hundred pretty balloons!

i gave this card to my friend, Jeanelyn, who shared my birthday. she seemed really happy - though i don't know if it's because the card was pretty or because she shared a birthday with me. ;-)

i added a fairly large yellow balloon on the front of the card and wrote Jeanelyn's name on it.

i wrote my message on the left side of the balloons: a reminder for beautiful spiritual growing and "soar high like a hundred pretty balloons! :) "

birthdays are such happy times. well, at least mine was. :)

writing is a path to understanding

next to air, food, water, clothing, shelter, family and friends, the two earthly things i could not live without are pen and paper. that's how things have always been for me since as far back as i could remember. not that i write anything earth-shattering; mostly it's just doodles, ideas (that fleet without paper and ink), reminders, to do lists, insights. but you get the idea. i love words, the worlds they create, the worlds they make known.

when i look at kids of the younger generation - the ones who compose the Sabbath School class that i teach - i see a lack of this love, if not a complete absence of it. oh, how much they are missing!

what i did was provide them with notebooks to use as journals with the instruction that they write two entries per week. i don't care what they write about, their grammar, the language used (just as long as i understand), the spelling, the length, the viewpoint, the attitude. what i want them to do is to look at their subject and write about it. i am hoping that by doing this, they will learn to look beyond what meets the eye, inspect, analyze, compare, contrast, describe, think critically, form opinions, form attitudes and understand.

writing is a lot like public speaking, only you get more preparation time. the process usually compels a person to bring his thoughts together, choose the most appropriate words, structure a whole out of disjoint parts, and stretch creativity muscles. thus, a person's mind is exercised, strengthened, deepened, broadened and hopefully, elevated.

above all, i pray that the comprehension they develop will become one of their tools for understanding the Word of God and how it applies to the things they see and experience. God wants His every child to make full use of every opportunity for intellectual and spiritual growth. writing is one of those opportunities because it allows you to look not only at what you write about but more importantly into yourself and the things you value.

i am not expecting to suddenly discover Shakespeares or Davids in my students. i can't even expect to get them to share my love for words and writing. but who knows, i might be in for a surprise. this coming Sabbath, i'll find out. :)

what strategies do you apply to help your students understand?

"When weary and longing for rest, we may have to toil on; when faint, we may have to fight; but with Christ as our guide, we shall not fail of reaching heaven." EGW

i finally have my coloring books :)

yesterday, i got a set of books that i couldn't afford. a set of seven coloring books.

i've been wanting these books for the longest time but, like i already said, i  couldn't afford them. but God gave them to me at a much (a much much) lower price that i could pay in installments. how's that for a Father? :D

actually, this set is only a part of the entire (and endless) book collection that i want to start. one of my goals as a worker for our publishing ministry is to set up a library of resources for use in the education of children, youth, and adults. 

the money part is a bit difficult, but i'll get to my goal.

next quarter, i'll buy a few copies of Messages to Young People by Ellen G. White and hopefully other books in between now and then.

this set will be good for children who cannot sit to hours and hours of lectures. it enhances creativity and encourages learning and educates about limits. we currently study the Bible with a mother of an energetic five-year-old boy. this coloring book will really help the mother to focus. :)

in the next posts, i'll be sharing other resources that i find very useful at work. what resources would you recommend? :)

-o-

thank God for the internet!

it's true that we never fully appreciate the worth of something until we lose it. or at least, it's more often true than not. two weeks ago, i learned the value of the Ellen G White folio files program installed in my computer. and yes, i lost it.

besides the basic office applications and the internet browser, that program was unarguably the most important application i could have. ever. the program allows me to read and search all [or almost all] of Sister White's works and the KJV Bible, among other things.

in my work, i research, outline, and layout our Sabbath School lesson (we make our own because we're a self-supporting church. more on that in later posts). so it's really easy to see why i very badly need the infobase. i don't know how i lost it, i just know that i lost it in the middle of my layout job a couple of weeks ago and that my computer's usefulness has been cut to half since.

lucky for me (and for most people), there's the internet. so i downloaded html copies of the book i was working on. that worked pretty fine, though not as fine as having my EGW infobase. i also downloaded a Bible program. there are many on the internet but i didn't have the time to go through them all. what i got was one that was both simple and complicated and i ended up using an online Bible. i actually still couldn't get the hang of that program until now.

i had been using the EGW infobase for years and i think that i got so used to the workflow that it became difficult for me to work with other resources. i miss just clicking a button in my taskbar to open the program, having both EGW writings and the Bible in one place, the standard paging, and the way i could highlight text in different colors (categories!). i even miss the very button in my taskbar!

but what i miss most is having all the books in a single program and being able to search through them all at once. the many ways i could search the files. a powerful and simple (my fingers know the keyboard shortcuts like reflex) search feature, ahhh, bliss. 

i already tried removing the program and re-installing it to no avail. this only means one thing: i need help. :D

for now, i really just thank God that the internet was there when i lost the program. it got me through work by saving me from typing every word of the 78-page lesson. 

He even allowed me to print the entire lesson before the printer went crazy a few minutes later. the nth reason why i thank God everyday. :)

-o-

"It is in times of crisis that true character is revealed." EGW

juice diet experience (day 3)

it's our last day!!!! :) yeah, i know it's supposed to be a four-day no-solid-food diet. but mama and i changed our minds yesterday afternoon.

this morning was pretty normal. mama had pains in her abdomen. i didn't. it almost seems like the whole thing wouldn't have any lasting effects on me. but the attitude that i've always taken since before this diet is that even if i don't get any stones (gallstones, liver stones, etc) out, a fast is generally good for anyone and fresh juices would benefit the health a whole lot because of all the readily-available nutrients.

the thing with diets like this is that this isn't supposed to be taken as a one-time cure-all. nature's manner of healing has always been slower because it doesn't just eliminate the symptoms of sickness, it BUILDS health.

(this post was made yesterday. it was supposed to be longer. but my blog went crazy, i couldn't save a copy, only this part was saved.)

-o-