God's economization

God is the author of economization. In His economy, nothing is wasted. Even the smallest portions of resources we wasted unknowingly, He took careful notice of them and He had predefined a purpose for them.

True Contentment

Only thru God, in God, and with God, that you can live life in the real essence of fullness and with true spirit of satisfaction. His wisdom will teach you to be faithful and contented at all times regardless of your circumstances.

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In his letter to the believers in Philippi, St. Paul said: "I am not saying this out of need, for I have learned to be content regardless of my circumstances. I know how to live humbly, and I know how to abound. I am accustomed to any and every situation—to being filled and being hungry, to having plenty and having need. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength." (Philippians 4:11-13)

       

Transcend from seeking happiness into discovering meaning

Our culture is obsessed with happiness, but there's more to life than happiness. Happiness comes and goes, but having meaning in life -- serving something beyond yourself and developing the best within you -- gives you something to hold on to regardless of the circumstances of life. There is a big difference between being happy and having meaning.

True happiness is a consequence of a truly meaningful life. Therefore, it is far better to find a purpose to serve than to strive for a lifestyle to live.

Life's true meaning can only be found in serving others, just as the Savior did while he was on earth. In the Lord's standard, a life of service is a preferential way of life than living a life like a master.

[Mark 10:42-45] Jesus called his disciples together and said to them, "You know that the rulers of the world lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. But it shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be the servant of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

[Ephesians 6:7] "Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, and not merely people."

[Ecclesiastes 9:10] "Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, because there is neither work nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom in the grave, the place where you will eventually go."

       

Prayer; Mooring & Anchorage

When our hearts were right with God, our lives then were a prayer. He GRANTed us the things we asked for; even things we were not asking for.

But now, when we asked something from Him when we pray at times, He is ever faithful to ANSWER our prayers. But the answers are not as according to our asking. And so we realized that we have allowed ourselves to be slowly drifted away from Him. The everyday concerns of living have gradually weakened our anchorage and loosened our mooring to Him.

Even though God always answers our every prayer, yet we now fail to recognize and understand the way He is answering our prayers, because now that we have slowly drifted away from Him, our thoughts are no longer fully aligned with His thoughts. Our way of thinking now has started to become out of line with His way of thinking.

So now, says the Lord God: "My people, if you would only firmly secure your mooring back to Me, strong currents will no longer carry you away from Me. If you would only put your anchorage firmly back to Me, you shall regain the strength to sustain against strong winds."

       

A Priceless Freedom

Spirited, and as if tireless, for long, souls had gambled lives and limbs trying to dive into freedom's seemingly abyssal crimson depth-of-no-return seeking to fathom it. And even though as if they were holding on to only a loosely moored dive-line-of-hope as their guide, but seemingly at last, a flash of light appeared all of a sudden amidst the abyss' darkness.

Alas, with all the countless valor sacrificed, the bittersweet reward to savor now is the finding of a bargain of the kind of freedom that to this world is highly regarded and appreciated.

But the greater challenge on freedom is not in the hardships of the struggles that people have gone through (or must go through) to achieve freedom. It is in how people ought to live their lives within the kind of freedom they have achieved (or will achieve).

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True Freedom: O how priceless you really are that it costs the Savior's holy blood to be shed for your sake.

[Galatians 5:1] It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

[2 Corinthians 3:17] For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

[Galatians 5:13-14] You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

[John 8:36] So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

[1 Corinthians 6:12] You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. And even though “I am allowed to do anything,” I must not become a slave to anything.

[1 Peter 2:16] Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.

[Re]discovering your calling

Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Listen to His word and you shall know wisdom. Meditate on His word and you'll learn to delight in Him; and His word shall empty your old heart and fill it with Godly desires, and then you will [re]discover your calling according to the gifting He had bestowed upon you.

       

So you go fishing? But God is calling!

Peter - The apostate that God used

          

Finding the strength to cope

The increasing challenges of the road you have taken have caused you to feel too drained for some of the other essential concerns which every now and then still beg for your spare time and necessitate your gifting. But keep on keeping on, this part of your journey is crucial. Along the way you'll gradually learn and find the strength to face and deal with the challenges.

It's how you face and handle the challenges that will push you to grow better and stronger. If something that crosses your path doesn't challenge you, it has no potential to change you.

   

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