Word of the Week: Collaborate

For the past seven weeks or so, I have been choosing one word that would best describe my week or what I most want achieved that week. I would write that word down in my journal/planner, at the bottom of my weekly calendar.

I thought this week would be a tough one since there's so much to do I couldn't really focus on one project or goal. But then, my eyes fell on the opposite page of my journal where I'd just finished jotting down the things I'm most grateful for this week. Almost every item on it are people with whom I have been working with on one project or another.

This may seem like something very common to some, but not to me. I have always been inclined towards working alone rather than with a partner or team. It's pretty tough for me to brainstorm with others without either clamming up or monopolizing ideas. I also find it hard to ask for help or share a workspace with others. 

Thankfully, God has been patiently showing me this weakness and helping me overcome it by giving me opportunities to share more with others.

This week has been filled with those. And the opportunities came in so beautiful a manner that I didn't have time to feel awkward about it. 

There are the moms who are sharing their resources/plans/ideas for future Child Education projects. There's the youth who helped me clean out the office. There are the church brethren who give gardening advice and gifts for the kids' sunflower project that I started. There are the youth leaders preparing for our major activity this weekend. There's the Publishing Team and all the production plans for the upcoming camp meeting. And I'd even count in all the Facebook conversations I had this week that included some sort of plans, sharing, and agreements.

So the word for this week is COLLABORATE. It's to realize that truly no man is an island, that there's beauty in synergy, and that God works in the hearts of His people to bring them together in His service, like stones framed together for the upbuilding of His kingdom.

Best of all, "For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building." 1Corinthians 3:9

God is working with me on me, building me up to become who He wants me to be. And sometimes He uses other people as instruments for that work. 

Our Leafy Kindergarten Ebenezer

So this quarter at church, I am back to teaching Kindergarten Sabbath School. To be honest, I was hesitant at first. I mean, it's been four years! But now I thank God for the privilege.

We started a little late this quarter, but we're definitely making up for it through our study of the Beatitudes. This particular subject is perfect since the adults are also studying EGW's Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing.

So what we're doing is going through the Beatitudes one by one, focusing on "Be-Attitudes" as opposed to "Me-Attitudes". Our learning device is a beehive with bees labeled according to the beatitudes. I am going to share the materials that we use for class on this blog in future posts. For now, allow me to share with you what really made me happy today.

The bigger girls (who had already moved on to a different class) excitedly met up with me after lunch to help decorate the tree branch from which our beehive hung.

We cut leaves from japanese tissue paper to stick on the branch made from felt paper. These are not ordinary leaves, mind you. On each leaf, the kids wrote or drew the things they were thankful for, like family, food, rain, sunshine, and the privilege of prayer. Even the smaller kids pitched in. While we worked, we talked about our blessings and how the trees around us should always remind us of our faithful Provider and Friend. As many leaves there are on trees are the blessings we receive from God, probably even more! We must remember to develop an attitude of gratitude.

I was truly touched when one of the students drew a girl and wrote "Thank you for our teacher who teaches us about Jesus."

That prompted another leaf from me.

This tree will be our ebenezer for the quarter. Needless to say, I had a happy Sabbath. =)

January 28, 2017

On Loop in My Heart: God’s Goodness

God is good.

Did that sound cliché to you?

There just isn’t any other way to say it. It’s the closest I could get to expressing that wonderful truth.

God is good.

I could not, for the life of me, find any reason why He would take the time to mold and shape me, to make sure I get everything that I need, to bring people into my sphere of influence. Patiently, He surrounds me and drenches me with blessing after blessing, every single one calculated to fill my individual need. But He does.

God is really just good.

I cannot repeat it enough times.

His goodness I see in nature, in the way He sustains me and my family, in the way He provides for my needs, in the privileges He gives me to serve despite my imperfections. The most wonderful evidence, however, remains to be the outworking of His grace in people’s hearts, bearing fruit in beauty, and mercy, and faithful surrender, and loving service.

One afternoon, I found myself alone in front of my computer, weeping. I was in conversation Kuya Nick, the man whom God had used to bring me to the LIGHT school in Nueva Era, Ilocos Norte, thanking him for being God’s instrument. Instead of taking the credit for himself, He glorified God and asked how God is leading me after the training. He shared to me his burden for today’s educational systems and his vision of establishing a school after God’s blueprint in Davao – a vision I share and desire to pursue.

At the end of our conversation, he said the words that stirred my heart and brought out the tears, “Learn what you can now, and if it be my calling to support you in the work that God has put in your heart to do, then so be it.”

How could it be? How could this man, with his talents and means and beautiful family, be willing to support me – sinful, weak, imperfect me? How could he surrender himself so fully to the Lord’s will? And the Lord – how could He will to entrust a sacred work into my heart – my wicked, wavering heart? How could He believe that I deserve these opportunities to learn and serve? How could He drench me in so much grace?

God is good.

What other reason could there be?

And when I see His goodness overflow in people's hearts to mine, it moves me and makes Him more real and more beautiful to me - so beautiful I could not fully fathom, much less express, just how much. Tears are perhaps the closest I could approach to expressing how I feel, and even that is not enough.

God is good.

God is good.

His mercies are new every morning.

His grace flows without measure.

His love – His unfathomable love – saves me, sustains me, amazes me, and awakens in me a love for Him – my good, wonderfully good, God.

Back from the Mountains

Now that training's over and I'm off the boondocks, there's so much I can't wait to do: upload photos and vids, get my computer back to shape, update my blog, get home, do the laundry, see everyone, cook (yes, cook), research stuff, organize my files, share the things i've learned, buy clothes na pang Christian Living , and reply to everyone who's been messaging me for the past seven months, among others. I miss the mountains already, but I'm sure that wherever the Lord is taking me will be even more beautiful. I'm still not better than anybody, but I believe that I'm better than who I was. I praise the Lord for His goodness and for His faithfulness in my life. Everyday I learn that He loves me with more love than I could possibly know in this lifetime.

thank you Lord for the mangoes

lately, i've been feasting on the luscious mango produce of the tree we have at church. it seems i've been having mango for breakfast, lunch and supper for the past two weeks.

just this afternoon we collected over 70 mangoes. two of our brethren climbed up the tree and shook the branches while my friend jade and I collected every fruit that fell to the ground. such happy times made only happier by the wonderful feast afterward.

these past few breakfasts have made me realize that mangoes are my favorite fruit.

thank you so much, Lord for the treat you threw in with the church property. You really are the best.

to brethren who are reading this, don't worry, we left you some.

Wherefore ye shall do my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; and ye shall dwell in the land in safety. And the land shall yield her fruit, and ye shall eat your fill, and dwell therein in safety.  

Leviticus 25:18, 19

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-

basta ako, i believe in a [soon] end... and in a new beginning. thank You, Lord!

 :)

may 21

every day is a blessing. instead of mocking those who believed that the world would end three hours ago, we should all just be thankful that the Lord has preserved us up to this time, May 21 bogus or not. :)

Thank You Father

Thank You Father
For when I doubt, You still love me.
Thank You Father
For when I trust, You never let me down.
Thank You Father
When I obey, You lead and guide me.
Thank You
For when I stray, You seek me and take me into your arms again.

Father, I can't thank You enough
For Your grace and perfect love.
My life is all I have to offer for Thee.
Take it Father, how little it may be.

And Father I thank You for Calvary.
Thank You for Jesus who died for me.
I can never repay You, I have nothing in me.
So thank You, Father, that Jesus came for free.