How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord almighty!

"How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty!" (Paslms 84:1)

       

Tribute and pleading to the greatest mother

Happy birthday, dearest Mother of Jesus. Thank you for having humbly accepted God's will, and for having consecrated your life to the divine purpose.

Dearest Mother of Jesus, O blessed and highly favored by God among all women, O queen of righteousness, the world more than ever is in dire need of prayers. Therefore, we humbly ask you to please help us in our prayers. Pray with us and pray for us; for it is written: "The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." Who among men can be purer and more righteous than you who was chosen by God to bear in your womb His only begotten Son and to take care of Him?


MARY, DID YOU KNOW?

Mary, did you know that your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you've delivered, will soon deliver you.
Mary, did you know that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?
Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
And when you kiss your little baby, you have kissed the face of God
Mary did you know, Mary did you know, Mary did you know?
The blind will see, the deaf will hear and the dead will live again,
The lame will leap, the dumb will speak, the praises of the lamb.
Mary, did you know that your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy will one day rule the nations?
Did you know that your baby boy is heaven's perfect Lamb?
This sleeping child you're holding is the great "I am".

       

Adapta-bee-lity

One morning at our backyard, I chanced upon this solitary type of bee busily boring a hole into a branch of an angel's trumpet flower tree. It's amazing that this ever busy creature, that can sometimes be rugged when boring a hole into a tree branch, is most of the time a gentle creature when it cautiously lands on fragile flowers everyday to sip nectar without leaving a scratch on the petals. Now that is what we may call "adapta-bee-lity".

While it is necessary to be tough sometimes when challenges call for it, yet it is always gentleness that is more adaptable most of the time.

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Adaptability is the ability of an entity or creature to alter itself or its responses to the changed circumstances or environment. Adaptability shows the ability to learn from experience and improves the suitability of the learner as a fellow agent of change in its environment.

That which lures and attracts

When you find yourself getting very interested in investing your self in something despite the cost;

When you discover the passion to want to know the fullness of that something and learn from it;

When inside you burns the drive to see that thing give its full potential and be a success;

And when that something could be an entity or a person whose visions you are so much willing to support;

Then, that thing or entity or person has got you! You may have not realized it yet, but that thing or entity or person has already got the greatest catch of all... YOU!

Kahalintulad sa isang isdang nabingwit. Sa lahat ng isda sa dagat, ikaw yung isa rin sa mga lumangoy patungo sa pain na ito at nilunok mo rin ito.

But when you know that it is the "Master Fisher of men" who is holding His fishing line, then be lured by His bait and be caught by His hook. Otherwise, swim away quickly!

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The day is coming when the Lord shall cast a hook into the sea and shall take up the fish that comes up first. He will open its mouth and take out something that is in it and on purpose give it to them who urged for it.

In God's kingdom we find purpose

The Author of the universe did not simply cause you to exist by just some normal random act of chance. Rather, He created you for a divine purpose. In God's kingdom, all of the creation shall discover their respective ultimate purpose.

Jesus, while He was on earth, had told so many things that described what the kingdom of God is like. In essence, He was describing the way of life and how things work in God's kingdom. He was revealing creation's ultimate purpose in the heavenly kingdom!

Therefore, the most fruitful and meaningful thing we can achieve in life is to live life according to God's purpose for creating us.

Whatever status in life we might be in, and whatever endeavors we might be trying to accomplish, let all of these be according to God's purpose for all of us in His kingdom.

Can you sense God's ripples?

In many different ways, all things generate ripples. Drop pebbles of kindness in still water everyday, and watch the ripple effects they will have on people's lives.

In the part of the world that you are in, what sort of ripples are you sending out from your corner?

How about God's ripples, can you sense them?

Pursuit of happiness

"The taste of success was like a drug, and I couldn't get enough. I figured, the more productive I am, the more successful I become because money buys happiness. I grew to understand how happiness comes at a cost..." -- Michelle Phan

In this creative short story content animation which she made, Michelle Phan (an artist, beauty guru, and entrepreneur) talks about her pursuit of her dreams and her realization of the pitfalls of success.

Michelle Phan's Facebook page: @Michelle Phan

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"At the end of the day, what you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals." ― Zig Ziglar

“Find a purpose to serve, not a lifestyle to live.” ― Criss Jami

Launching into deeper sea

Small boats are good for small seas, whereas the challenges of bigger seas necessitate bigger and stronger boats. But it needs more than just having a bigger and stronger boat to sail over deep seas. You must have the skills necessary for navigating deeper seas, and there also must be willing shoulders to help you launch a bigger boat.

Sometimes, dark clouds...

Once in a while, dark clouds may come floating over our lives. But not all the time they come merely to carry rain or usher storm. Sometimes they appear simply to add color to the sky over us and to give accent to the progression of our life's scenery.

Peaks and valleys

The peaks make the valleys and the valleys make the peaks. We all go through peaks and valleys -- that's how souls grow. We learn more in our valley experiences than on our mountaintops.

[Psalm 23:4] No matter how dark the valley you may be going through, do not be afraid, for the Lord God is with you. His rod's protection and His staff's guidance shall bring you comfort.

The High Road Principle

The High Road Principle
By John C. Maxwell
Philippine Daily Inquirer

“It's nothing personal; it’s just business,” is a commonly heard phrase in the workplace. However, I tend to disagree with anyone who tries to “impersonalize” business. At its heart, commerce is a human enterprise, founded upon relationships between people.

Most of us spend the majority of our waking hours in our business or at work, and our vocations endow our lives with meaning or purpose. When we devote ourselves to profession, we’re giving a piece of who we are to our work. In that sense, business is deeply personal.

In the workplace, as in the rest of life, relationships get messy.

Sooner or later, we will be mistreated. A boss will unjustly fault our performance, a partner will fail to honor an agreement, or a co-worker will cut us down in a meeting.

Since business is personal, those instances hurt us, and unless dealt with correctly, they can derail us. As leaders, we have to commit to taking the high road when others, intentionally or unintentionally, wrong us.

Traveling the high road

1) It’s not what happens to you, but in you that really matters.

During the Civil War, Confederate General W.H.C. Whiting envied rival General Robert E. Lee. Consequently, Whiting spread vicious rumors about Lee in an attempt to smear his character. Lee had the opportunity to get even, though.

Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy, was considering Whiting for a promotion, and he consulted Lee’s opinion of the general. Without hesitation, Lee endorsed and commended Whiting. The officers who witnessed the exchange were astonished. Afterward, one of them asked Lee if he had forgotten all of the slander Whiting had spread about him.

“I understand that the President wanted to know my opinion of Whiting, responded Lee, not his opinion of me.” Lee did what high road travelers do. He refused to be dragged into a game of bickering and petty jealousies by treating another person with respect, even when that respect seemed unwarranted.

2) High roaders see their own need for grace. Therefore, they extend it to others.

Let’s face it; we all screw up from time to time. Each of us has quirks that we know can be annoying, and bad moments when we’re not so pleasant to be around.

People who take the high road recognize their humanness, know that they need to be extended grace, and accordingly are more likely to extend it to others.

3) High roaders are not victims. They choose to serve others.

People who take the high road don’t do so because it’s the only available option. They don’t do it by accident either: the high road goes uphill and takes more effort to travel. Instead, high roaders choose their path as a conscious act of service to others. By taking the high road, they drain animosity and bitterness out of relationships, serving to keep them open and productive.

Interestingly, in serving others, higher roaders benefit themselves, too. As the author of Proverbs wrote, “It is a man’s glory to overlook an offense.” When we maturely respond to a slight by showing forgiveness, we display admirable character that elevates us in the eyes of others.

4) High roaders set high standards for themselves than others would.

Abandoned as an infant, author James Michener never knew his biological parents. Fortunately, he was taken in and raised by a widow, and he adopted her surname. However, each time James published a book, he received nasty notes from one member of the Michener clan. The relative chastised James for taking on the Michener name, which this person felt the novelist had no right to use.

Despite being berated, Michener did agree with one statement his relative had made, “Who do you think you are, trying to be better than you are?” As James Michener professed, “I’ve spent my life trying to be better than I was, and I am a brother to all who share the same aspiration.”

When we conduct ourselves according to the highest standard, we are less likely to become defensive and take the low road when others attack us. Once you’ve done all that you can, then you can let the noise of detractors roll off your back like rain.

Summary

In leadership, as in life, others will behave unkindly toward you. When ill-treated, don’t retreat into a defensive mode or strike back in anger. Instead, take the high road and discover how rising above offenses frees you from petty arguments and adds to your reputation.

Uniquely Positioned

"God put us in our individual unique positions such that we can have an influence, not necessarily in the whole world, but at least on one person."

--Pastor Jared, Your Time of Grace

According to your heart's capacity

The word "feed" may also metaphorically symbolize or mean help, care, or agape (the God-kind of love).

     

What's your gifting?

"God has given gifts directly to you! What has he given you? How are you going to use them?" --Pastor Jared, Your Time of Grace

Like Stained-glass Windows

Like stained-glass windows, when days are good and the sun is out brightly shining, all of us sparkle and shine in all of our majesty and splendor. But when the darkness sets in, only those who have light from within are able to reveal inner beauty. All of us have hidden inner beauty. All that is needed is for the divine light to shine from within so that our inner beauty could manifest.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)

The Ultimate Essence of Evil

"Until you know, see, and hate -- in your own heart and in the world -- the ultimate essence of evil, you will inevitably dumb down the majesty of God and you will inevitably minimize and diminish the triumph of Christ on the cross and in the resurrection and you will gut the Christian life of its glory. So, the question is, what is the ultimate essence of evil? In Jeremiah 2:13, the ultimate essence of evil is to lose a taste for God, or (the flipside of the coin), to prefer anything more than God." --John Piper

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Ang Ultimaorang Uyokan Sa Daotan

Sa pagkinabuhi sa tao, kung isalikway niya ang pagpakigsandurot sa Ginoo kaniya, dili siya makabaton sa langitnong matang sa kadasig nga tukma gayud ug nga alang lamang sa Ginoo. Sa tao nga masalikwayon sa pagpakigsuod sa Dios kaniya, para kaniya walay lami ang Ginoo. Ang pagkamasalikwayon sa usa ka tao sa Dios, kini magaganoy kaniya ngadto sa usa ka alaot nga kahimtang espirituhanon diin mas palabonon pa niyag taman ang lumalabayng mga butang nga sa iyang kaugalingong paminsar maoy pinaka-importante ug para kaniya mao kini silay makahatag kaniyag kalipay ug katagbawan, imbis nga palabonon ang matuod nga Dios nga kinsa unta mao ang ultimaorang tinubdan sa tiunay nga kalipay ug katagbawan. Ug kining mga butanga nga maoy iyang pagapakadak-an ug pagahatagag bili, kini sila magahulip isip dios-dios sa iyang kinabuhi tungod kay mao naman hinuon kini sila ang iyang pagpakigsandurotan ug pagagahinan sa iyang panahon ug hatagan sa iyang pagtagad sulod sa iyang pagkinabuhi, ug sa iyang pagbuhat niini, susama ra nga gisimba ug giyukbuan niya kining mga butanga. Kung unsa gani ang hatagan sa tao sa iyang pagsimba ug pagyukbo, kana mao ang iyang giisip nga iyang dios ug ginoo.

Daghang mga butang nga dili dautan, sama pananglit sa kwarta o bahandi, katigayunan og kabtangan, dungog o pagdayeg gikan sa mga tao, gahom o abilidad, ug uban pang mga butang nga nagadalag kalipay ug katagbawan sa tao. Apan kung kini silang mga butanga maoy imong hatagan sa imong tuman nga pagtagad ug panahon ug dili ang matuod nga Dios, nan kining mga butanga maoy imong giisip nga dios ug ang dagan sa imong adlaw-adlaw nga pagkinabuhi malimin ug mapuno lamang sa pagkapuliki sa pag-atina niining mga butanga imbis unta nga ang imong pagkinabuhi mahisentro ug magalibot sa Dios.

Kung ang labawng mahigugmaon ug labawng makagagahom nga Ginoo mao ang imong Dios ug sentro sa imong kinabuhi, imong matagamtaman ang iyang naghinubrang kaayo. Imong masinati ang iyang pagkamasaligan ug pagkamatinud-anon. Ang iyang mga pulong nagadalag kinabuhi ug ang iyang mga saad nagahatag og paglaom ug kalipayng langitnon. Kung dili nimo isalikway ang iyang pagpakigsuod ug pagpakigsandurot kanimo, ug nga kung kini imong hangupon sa tumang kadasig, iyang gipasalig nga imong makaplagan kung unsa siya ka labawng maayo, makagagahom, ug mahigugmaong magmumugna ug tigdumala nga amahan sa tibuok uniberso ug sa tanan niyang hinimo. Iyang gisaad nga kung maoy imong pakadak-an sa imong pagkinabuhi ang pagpakigsinati Kaniya, imong matagamtaman ang iyang naghinubrang kaayo nga hayan dili ka gayud magmakulang mahitungod sa kung unsang mahinungdanong mga butang ang imong gikinahanglan alang sa imong pagpakabuhi!

Sa gipamulong sa Ginoo nga nahipatik sa libro ni Matthew, kini ang iyang gipasalig ug gisaad:

6:24 "Walay bisan kinsa nga arang makaalagad ug duha ka agalon; kay mahitabo man nga dumtan niya ang usa, ug higugmaon niya ang ikaduha; o dapigan niya ang usa, ug tamayon niya ang ikaduha. Dili kamo makaalagad sa Dios ug sa mga bahandi.

6:25 "Busa, ingnon ko kamo, ayaw na kamo pagkabalaka bahin sa inyong kinabuhi, kon unsay inyong kan-on, o unsay inyong imnon; o bahin sa inyong lawas, kon unsay inyong ibisti. Dili ba ang kinabuhi labaw pa man kay sa kalan-on, ug ang lawas labaw pa kay sa bisti?

6:26 Tan-awa ninyo ang mga langgam sa kalangitan; wala sila magpugas ni mag-ani ni maghipos ngadto sa mga dapa; apan ginapakaon sila sa inyong langit-nong Amahan. Dili ba labaw pa man kamog bili kay kanila?

6:27 Ug kinsa man kaninyoy makadugang ug usa ka takna sa gitas-on sa iyang kinabuhi pinaagi sa pagkabalaka?

6:28 Ug nganong mabalaka man kamo bahin sa bisti? Palandunga ninyo ang mga lirio sa kaumahan, giunsa nila sa pagtubo; wala sila magbudlay ni magkalinyas;

6:29 apan, suginlan ko kamo, nga bisan pa si Salomon sa tibuok niyang katahuman wala gani makabisti maingon sa usa kanila.

6:30 Ug kon sa ingon gibistihan sa Dios ang mga tanum sa kaumahan, nga karon buhi pa apan ugma igasalibay na ngadto sa hudno, dili ba kamo labaw pa nga iyang pagabistihan, O mga tawo nga diyutayg pagsalig?

6:31 Busa, ayaw na kamo pagkabalaka nga manag-ingon, `Unsa may among kan-on? o `Unsa may among imnon? O `Unsa may among ibisti?`

6:32 Kay ang mga Gentil nagapangita niining tanang mga butanga; ug ang inyong langitnong Amahan nasayud nga kamo nagakinahanglan niining tanan.

6:33 Apan maoy unaha ninyo pagpangita ang gingharian ug ang pagkamatarung gikan sa Dios, ug unya kining tanang mga butanga igadugang ra kaninyo.

6:34 "Busa, ayaw na kamo pagkabalaka tungod sa ugma, kay ang ugma may kabalaka tungod sa iyang kaugalingon. Igo na alang sa adlaw ang iyang kaugalingong kalibog.

Light A Lamp

Only when you light a lamp that you will realize that while at all the time you were cursing the darkness, there were only vacant chairs and an empty table "who" were listening to you.

Father, forgive me

Forgive me, O Lord Father God; for I have sinned against you which would make me worthy of having a large millstone tied around my neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea. I am terribly sorry for having sinned against you. This sin has greatly cost me all my honor. In the eyes of the particular dear person whom I have wronged, and in the eyes of people who would learn or hear about it, this sin of mine has destroyed my witness to You and it has dishonored Your holy name.

Father, take me out of the pit of spiritual complacency so that I shall not be drifted away any further by the treacherous streams of the concerns of daily life and earthly desires that have choked the fruitfulness of my spirit. This spiritual complacency has caused me to ease my spiritual guards down, which the evil one wasted no time taking advantage of. And now I'm caught in his deadly snare. Forgive me. Give me even just enough strength to endure these spirit-draining, soul-vexing painful consequences I'm going through right now. I humbly and mercifully pray that you'll make these consequences work as divine chastening and correction for my own good - for my desperately needed healing and restoration.

You know I love you, dear Father God, yet sometimes in my weakness, I fall and succumbed to the strong unceasing proddings of this earthly vessel of mine, instead of heeding the promptings of the Holy Spirit within. Now I am so broken. My spirit has lost the joy and my soul has lost the peace. Father, restore unto me the joy of your salvation and renew a right spirit within me. Recreate in me a clean and truly obedient heart.

Forgive me, O Father God. Heal me; for my spirit is so broken. Restore me; for my soul is deeply vexed. Cleanse me and take away my old stubborn fleshly desires and protect my heart from the evil one. Help me in my asking for forgiveness to the dear person whom I have done wrong; for without you helping me, nothing good I would do would restore and repair the damage my sin has caused.

Now more than ever, I plead the blood of Jesus who died for the sins of mankind; for nothing else will cleanse me of my sin but Christ's precious and holy blood. Let mercy and forgiveness flow from your holy blood dear Jesus and wash away my sin.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for your love. Thank you, Lord Father God for your forgiveness. With a crying spirit, and a repentant heart, and in a trembling voice, I shall sing your praises; for my sin has no other recourse but your love, mercy, and forgiveness.

       

Broken

Fix me, O Lord; for I have become a broken tool.