Thankful Thursday

Gratitude….Recognizing the treasure in the simple-a child’s hug, fertile soil, a golden sunset. Relishing the comfort of the common-a warm bed, a hot meal, a clean shirt. – Max Lucado


It was what I read when I opened my devotional book this morning. And while we are ( I am) going through a lot of testings this time, I am gently reminded by our sweet Lord that I am blessed and that there are many reasons to be thankful for.

It has been quite sometime since I last joined this meme and I also thought that God reminded me to come and join ladies with thankful hearts again as He has made me read about being thankful exactly Thursday morning :)

So here’s my list for this week;

1. Food in the table – God has always been faithful and provided every food for each meal.

2. Electricity – we tend to not see how blessed we are if we have electricity at home until someone you know tells you they doesn’t have and that their home is dark and gloomy and. So today, I take time to thank the Lord that we have that and we have lights and fan to cool us during the night  shallow but I am very much thankful for that.

3. Friends that make you laugh – I don’t categorized friends but I am thankful I have these set of friends that always makes me laugh which I find very helpful during tough times. You know when all you need is a good laugh.

How about you? What are you thankful for this week? Let us know, please join us at Spiritually Unequal Marriage blog.

Retreating Forward

Excerpts from "Our Daily Bread-July 05,2011"

In this fast-paced, get-ahead world,it's easy to wear our selves down-pressing ahead and moving forward at all costs. But even in our desire to be effective Christians, we must consistently be willing to retreat into God's presence. Only in the refreshing of His strength can we find the resources to move forward in our service for Him. Retreat in Jesus before moving forward.- Bill Crowder

"Alone with the Father is the only place to find strength to press on"

Matthew 14: 23
After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone,
~~~~

It is only indeed in God's presence that our longing is fulfilled, our strength renewed and we are refreshed. In God's presence there is completeness of joy!

Where are you headed?

“ All the days ordained for me were written in God’s book before one of them came to be”
Psalm 139:16

Approaching life without a plan is like building a house without a blueprint. Window placement could be haphazard; it could have five bedrooms but no bathroom. Without a plan, your life will also be discombobulated-you may be unclear about goals, anxious about decisions, and stressed about where you are headed. On the other hand, a well-designed life goes hand in hand with the simplicity you seek. To attain this, you must first create a plan-called a mission statement- to help you pinpoint and pursue God’s best design for you. With a mission statement, you feel less scattered, more focused. Activities and commitments work smoothly together, goals flow toward a common purpose, and you discover the smooth running life of simplicity.

After a diving incident in 1967, one teenager discovered that being a quadriplegic helped her formulate a plan for her life. At first desperate for healin, Joni Eareckson Tada now calls the accident a “ severe mercy” and, in 1979, founded JAF Ministries (Joni and Friends. She and her team reach out to the disabled community and have shared God’s love with 600 million people worldwide.. Everything Joni does as an author, speaker, and artist flows from her mission to tell others about God. It guides her day in and, helping her to live a simpler, more focused life.

A mission statement is a sentence or two that describes your purpose. Today, ask God yo help you discover your own mission. Consider how he might use your gifts and talents, dreams and passions. Think big, remembering that a mission statement is an overarching intent that encompasses all of life. It’s bigger than roles (such as being a mother or business owner) and bigger than goals (going back to college or traveling). Once you establish your plan, your mission, you’ll discover that your life’s aims, activities and commitments all beautifully harmonize. Stress and fear that thrive in uncertainty melt away as you pursue God’s best for you.

This is a proactive step toward simplicity as, no longer thwarted by indecision, you are guided steadily on the pathway God desires for you.

One final thought:

A mission statement promotes the simpler life, allowing you to leave behind uncertainty and pursue God’s true purpose for your life.

Jeremiah 29 :11
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Source : Simple living for Women (God's guide to enjoying what matters most)

Be Still and Know that I am GOD

Still
Words and Music by Reuben Morgan

Hide me now
Under your wings
Cover me
within your mighty hand

When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with you above the storm
Father you are king over the flood
I will be still and know you are God

Find rest my soul
In Christ alone
Know his power
In quietness and trust
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lord, I know I am in good hands and I want to trust you fully. I will BE STILL and know that YOU are my GOD!!

blackboard is ping pong table

Although this picture is taken somewhere in Sabah,Malaysia, I know the same can be found and is happening here in the Philippines. Lack of classroom and facilities such as chairs and books. In this picture, there is no classroom and they are using the ping pong table as their black board.

That's my husband teaching the kids how to count in English.

I know we can only do so much but there is nothing too little/small in the hands of God. If we can't give them classroom at least we can provide pencils and notebooks.

Or better yet, at least we can teach them how to read and write. If you want to help, you may contact International Teams Philippines. Or you may visit our website for more info.

Time for everything

It’s very seldom that we get to rest from our ministry, when God called us to serve Him through Fishnets, we knew it is an all time service and that there will be hard work. But of course, as it is written in Ecclesiastes chapter 3, there is time for everything, time to get busy, time to work, and a time to rest.

Our team had the once in a while rest and re-creation time out last Sunday and Monday, we were supposed to have a team building also but since J-mie couldn’t make it, we just rested and had a group prayer time. And we couldn’t thank the Lord more for that special bonding time with the whole team and some partners/supporters.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (New International Version)

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

God knows I needed that break and the rest and surely He knows and supply all our needs. Praising God for everything.

Now, it's time for me to check blackhawk holsters for some good reason.

Wishing you all a good week ahead! Will be posting pictures of the rest and re-creation tomorrow :)

Hygiene Day for Urban Poor Kids

We will be having our yearly back to school hygiene day for kids we minister this coming Saturday. Actually it's a bit late this year, we usually do this before the school year begins but we have been occupied with so much the past few months :(

We will be giving each kid a hygiene kit that contains a toothbrush, toothpaste,shampoo, soap, cotton buds and a face towel.  We will also teach them proper hygiene, we will also offer BP checking and free blood sugar testing for their parents. Someday I am hoping we can give free services to pregnant women also like prenatal check ups and well, it would be good if we can have the the best baby monitor also. But our ultimate dream for now is to have the lying in clinic where poor moms can give birth with no expenses and safe.

Please pray that these kids will learn something and that they will feel God's love through this activity.

LJBC 28th ANNIVERSARY PHOTOS

It went well, everyone had fun and it was nice to see old faces and new ones :) enjoy the pictures (which I've stolen from some members of our church..sorry, I haven't uploaded mine eh)

Tambourine dancers

Cavite Outreach performs

Masanticia

Pastor Sam & Pastor Ariel

 

Children from Sunday School wowed the audience as usual :)

Metro Manila Registration :) beautiful Joy and lovely Jomer!

                                                                       Dancers from Makati

 

The band 

Rodel jammed with the band!

And of course..the ever famous Christian singer and composer with his wife visited us and rendered one song. 

Pastor Rommel & Susan Guevara

What's with 7?

Just wondering what's with number seven?

When a child turn 7 years old, it usually is celebrated with a big bang, whatever is big for the family, for rich people, they celebrate it like a real debutant party complete with gowns and all. My niece when she turned 7 had a grand barbie birthday party (oh well for us that's grand because it's not the usual birthday party for us).

Last night I met a wedding supplier and I noticed how he lost weight and he mentioned something about a slimming coffee which brand name is seven days :) So I presumed it promises loosing weigh within 7 days.

There is a whitening cream also that is claiming you'll get whiter skin in 7 days.

and just now I read 7 second eye lift reviews , 7 second eye lift  is an eye cream.

7 day fasting is also being conducted in some churches :) and of course I should not forget the many 7 days crash diet I have tried.

So what else? what do you think there is in 7? any idea?

Church Anniversary

Our church is turning 28 on June 05 and like every year we try to celebrate it as special as we can. This year, the celebration will be in Pasay Sports Complex, a bigger one compared to where we had it last year.

Right now, the whole church staff is busy preparing for the occasion, in fact, today is the last day of rehearsal of the worship team. The worship team for the celebration this year is composed of every worship team of each outreach, so everyone in the music ministry of lJBC will have a part in the celebration. And this year, we will all be singing original compositions of LJBC music ministry, one from each outreach and the rest from Manila. They will also be recording the praise and worship session and everyone who wants a copy can request from Rudolf who heads the worship team.

And as usual, yours truly will be in charge of the decoration. Though it would be minimal this year due to budget constraint I still hope we can make it look as festive as we can.How I wish we can afford advertising flags and put some in front of the venue, that would be nice but as I have said, we will have very minimal decor this year.

But that doesn't make it less special. I know however we celebrate it, it doesn't matter to God for what matters most is that we are thankful for HIS faithfulness through all the years of LJBC.

I hope all of you can come and celebrate with us :)